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Blackmail, Murder & Mayhem

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Body Heat

Body Heat

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Unpredictable and Stunning
Review: "Body Heat" is film noir in the finest traditions of Raymond Chandler and James M. Cain. Noir is the genre of darkness, illicit passion, violence, and guilt. This contemporary version features seduction, murder, and betrayal with engaging performances by William Hurt and Kathleen Turner. The story twists and turns to a conclusion that is both unpredictable and stunning. Director Lawrence Kasdan cleverly uses the heat of the steamy coastal Florida locations as a metaphor for the sexual tension and atmosphere of moral decay and corruption that engulfs the protagonists.

An outstanding supporting casts features Ted Danson as Ned's loyal but suspicious colleague; J.A. Preston as a policeman committed to duty before friendship; and Mickey Rourke as a small-time criminal with more common sense than the educated lawyer. John Barry's dramatic musical score enhances the mood and atmosphere of this memorable film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: SUPERLATIVE FILM NOIR...
Review: This film is simply top notch. With deft direction by Lawrence Kasdan, a stellar cast, and a clever, well thought out script written by the director himself, this is a moody, atmospheric film, reminiscent of those potboilers of the nineteen forties. Highly stylized, the film tautly maintains its tension and suspense.

The plot is simple, yet ingenious. In steamy, hot, and sultry coastal Florida, a beautiful blonde, unhappily married socialite, Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner), a veritable man trap with her smoky voice and Venus de Milo curves, meets a womanizing chump, Ned Racine (William Hurt), a small town, not too successful lawyer. He can't believe his luck when he hooks up with the wealthy Matty, as most of the women with whom he consorts work as waitresses, nurses, or in other service occupations. Better yet, the sexy, alluring Matty seems to want him as much as he wants her, and a torrid affair ensues.

Matty is married to a rapacious business man, Edmund Walker (Richard Crenna), whom Matty wants to have permanently removed. He is definitely a man with whom to reckon and the type of guy that takes no prisoners. He is, quite simply, a ruthless businessman, and the type of guy one loves to hate. He is also rich, very rich. Matty claims that she cannot divorce him without losing her wealthy life style, due to a draconian pre-nuptial agreement. Matty, in between huge dollops of steamy sex, does not hesitate to tell Ned how much she loves and wants him and that, were her husband to die, all that money would be theirs. Beneath her love goddess exterior, however, lies a mind like a steel trap.

As Matty slowly spins her web and ensnares Ned, like a mouse in a trap, he falls into lock step with Matty's homicidal plans. What he does not initially realize is the extent of Matty's perfidy and deceit, until it is too late. As the realization of what actually has happened begins slowly to dawn upon Ned, it is a thing of on screen beauty and an absolutely brilliant contrivance with which to push the film further along to its ultimate resolution. What initially appears to be just a film about sexual obsession turns out to be something quite different, with enough plot twists to keep the viewer riveted to the screen.

It is hard to believe that this was Ms. Turner's screen debut, so powerful a performance does she turn in. She is absolutely mesmerizing as the sexy siren with an agenda all her own. Just as she reels in Ned Racine, she reels in the viewer, as well, hook, line, and sinker. William Hurt is also terrific as the bottom of the barrel attorney who realizes too late that all is not what it seems. He approaches the role with the right amount of naivete, not letting the sleaze factor overwhelm the character. In the final analysis, there is a measure of sympathy for him, such as that for a little boy who is found with his hand caught inside the cookie jar, no easy feat given the nature of his character's actions.

A goofy looking Ted Danson is excellent in the small role of Peter Lowenstein, the State's attorney and Ned's friend, who suspects that Ned may be involved in the death of Edmund Walker. He, too, plays a game of cat and mouse with him. J. A. Preston is wonderful as Ned's friend and the detective investigator who follows the homicide investigation no matter where it leads. Mickey Rourke is very good as Ned's client and small time criminal, as well as a man who seems to have more sense than his lawyer.

This is a superlative film that is well worth having in one's collection. Bravo

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: about the movie body heat.......
Review: This story is basically about muder case in the ned where the body of the murdered person is being burnt by arson(need to know more can easily make your purchase here...not going to review everything which makes the story uninteresting). There are not many sex scenes in this movie but there are lots of sentences that review the word sex. There is one ver short sex scene inside where the actress in moaning with her face on the bed during the sex. I saw this movie, killing me softly as well as color of night from the pirated DVD disc made in Malaysia. For those whom are interested to buy this genre of movie, this is a ***recommended purchase***

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Film Noir. Never Has A Film Had Such Sexual Tension.
Review: The greatest film noir ever made! (Detour [1945] is second) Perfectly cast. It was this film where I took notice of William Hurt and would forever remember Kathleen Turner in such a memorable role (Her first film). Director Lawrence Kasdan did an excellent and outstanding job on this film. A one of a kind. never has a film made me feel such sexual tension and wanting. You can feel the heat! Ted Danson has an annoying role. Richard Crenna plays a real McCoy of a husband. Mickey Rourke in an earlier role before his success. You may recognize Lanna Saunders who played "Marie Horton" (a nun) on the NBC serial Days Of Our Lives from 1979-1985. Another soap opera actress, Kim Zimmer also has a very important role in this movie. Widescreen and Full Screen available on one disc. Adults Only!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Steamy Film Noir
Review: Ned Racine (William Hurt) is a Florida lawyer (apparently not a very good one) who meets Matty Walker, (Kathleen Turner) the sexy, beautiful wife of a rich husband she wants eliminate for obvious reasons-- she wants his money. Racine falls into Matty's bed and her clutches in this little gem of a movie. In the beginning, this couple mostly just takes their clothes off as they are embroiled in passion; but the plot "heats" up" quickly. I don't want to give the byzantine story away to first-time viewers, but there's not a dull frame in this film.

What makes this movie so successful is two first class performances by Hurt (I think one of our best actors) and Turner in what was her first major film role. Additionally the atmosphere is stunning. You can literally feel the heat, both from the sex and the termperature as read on the thermometer in this movie. The bedroom scenes are as hot as I have seen and not at all gratuitous here. The characters are drenched in sweat most of the time and there are fans and air conditioners everywhere running overtime. This would be a great movie to watch in the dead of winter.

This movie co-stars Richard Crenna, Ted Danson and Mickey Rourke. Danson is a vision in a dark wig and Sammy Davis Junior glasses as a local district attorney. I could never decide if he was miscast or not, but everyone else is quite spendid.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: AFI's Great Love Stories: #94 Body Heat
Review: The most important thing you need to know is that most of the women I know consider "Body Heat" to be the sexiest movie they have ever seen. Now, I do not feel that way, but I am pretty sure I can explain the difference in judgment. Then again, writer-director Lawrence Kasdan created sexual tension between Princess Leia and Han Solo, so we should not be surprised at what he can accomplish in a galaxy closer to home.

Attorney Ned Racine (William Hurt) is one of those lawyers whose life is in cruise control, the sort that usually find redemption in those John Grisham novels. Instead he meets Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner), a sexual siren with a well-to-do husband who leads him willingly down the path of damnation. Kasdan gets credit for taking 1940s film noir in which love goes terribly wrong and bringing it into the sexually provocative 1980s, but it is Turner who breaths the fire and passion into this film: Think Lauren Bacall's throaty voice put into the sculptured body of a sex goddess and covered in the sweat of a hot and humid Southern summer night. The plot takes some delicious twists and turns as well. "Body Heat" paved the way for every every other sick and twisted tale of bad love to come down the road since, from "Fatal Attraction" to "Basic Instinct" and beyond.

Most Romantic Lines: "You're not very bright, are you? I like that in a man." That pretty much sums up this film's idea of "romance."

If you like "Body Heat," then check out these other films on AFI's list: #49 "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and #84 "Double Indemnity." Why? Because they are also movies where a guy meets the sort of gal he would kill to be with--and he does.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Stylish mystery; with excellent acting, and a hot Turner.
Review: This movie, which follows the relationship between a lawyer (William Hurt) and a sultry woman (Kathleen Turner) provides a stylish mix, of sex, mystery, and relationships. With excellent performances throughout; and a very hot (at that time) Ms. Turner, it's a fairly good movie. Nice "jazzy" soundtrack, with the exception of one Bob Seger song (also cool). Kathleen Turner is one cool lady, as she seeks to knock off her husband (Richard Crenna), and later; when she gets greedy, her lover (Mr. Hurt). The sex was fairly steamy, given that it was an "R" movie, and she can convey more eroticism; with her facial expressions than some women could with their entire (nude) bodies. And speaking of bodies, while Ms. Turner isn't the most (physically) endowed woman, she does manage to use what she has to advantage. Sex aside, some interesting supporting performance by Ted Danson and Mickey Rourke too. Worth a look.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Beware!
Review: Don't get me wrong because I love this movie but I got it with a few extras that I didn't expect. First I thought it was a little tacky that there was a price tag on the DVD that was $3 less then what I paid for it. Paying a little extra money wasn't what really made me mad because I still got a pretty good deal for the DVD, what made me angry was the fact that the DVD arrived with little insects crawling on it! I think that the DVD came from a warehouse in Illinois so watch out! My package arrived sealed with my DVD and compementary insects inside.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Zowie
Review: This classic example of film noir is the one. Lawrence Kasdan scored big in this one, his directorial debut. Kathleen Turner plays a spider spinning a very complex web of deceit, and William Hurt plays a Florida lawyer led astray by desire, sex, steam heat, and the sneakiest plot of duplicity you could possibly imagine. Released in 1981, the movie caused quite an uproar with its sex scenes; the pairing of Hurt and Turner turned out to be cinema magic.
Be sure to watch it with someone you want to spend the night with.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: RIVETING MURDER/ROMANCE/MYSTERY YARN
Review: A noirish mystery from the time when William Hurt was an icon of you-know-what, and soon after, Kate Turner was too? I've never been that impressed by her acting ability, but here her limitations map perfectly onto the role of an insincere woman who pretends to be in love merely to entrap William Hurt into her scheme.

From the captivating eroticism, oops romance, to the windchimes, to the sultry background score, to the water condensed on the side of the tub, to every detail of the plot, this film is picture perfect.

But the main draw to the film is easily the terrific writing, it actually has a plot (a respite in itself!) and the final few scenes of the movie weave an intriguing web for all the loose ends of the movie. Five minutes before the credits, we're sure the story is over and we're into the wrapup -- after all, we've seen movies like this before -- but then, in one final killer twist, everything is upended, and we see that the there is much more to this plot than we had realized. The clues had been there, but in the end, we discover that we've been as gullible as William Hurt's character, and we're bowled over by the truth that's finally revealed.

Very well-thought-out scheme that'll leave you thinking for a while. Get it if you can!


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