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Blood Work (Full Screen Edition)

Blood Work (Full Screen Edition)

List Price: $14.97
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Farfetched plot, but still a good story. Fine acting too.
Review: I like Clint Eastwood. So naturally I enjoyed this 2002 film in which he stars as well as directs. He's over 70 years old now and, instead of making believe that this is not happening, he finds roles that try to show its reality. I applaud him for this. Blood Work is a good film.

Eastwood is cast as an FBI profiler nearing retirement who's being taunted by someone known as the "code killer". After a chase, he suffers a heart attack and the killer gets away. Fast forward two years. He's now the recipient of a heart transplant, and his cardiologist, played by Anjelica Houston, is telling him to take it easy. Ha! You and I know right there that he's going to be swept into some sort of new police work. Well -- it sure is wild. It seems the young woman whose heart he has received in the transplant was murdered. And her sister, played by Wanda De Jesus, is begging him find the killer. Naturally, he now has to use all his years of wisdom to investigate.

What follows is a fast paced police procedural drama to which he is personally connected. There are lots of clues and a few false leads and some startling twists and turns of the plot. Tina Lifford is cast as the cop who helps him. She has just the right amount of cop savvy and skepticism to make her very real. Paul Rodriguez is cast as the cop who's jealous of Eastwood's accomplishments. And there's even a ethnic angle thrown in as the murdered woman, her sister and Rodriguez are all of Mexican descent. The setting is Los Angeles and Eastwood lives on a houseboat in the Marina. His next-door-neighbor is Jeff Daniels, who becomes Eastwood's sidekick.

I enjoyed all the acting, the cinematography and the storyline. It didn't even matter to me that it was all a little too farfetched and that some of the details of the plot didn't make sense. I just relaxed and let myself enjoy another one of Eastwood's accomplishments. Recommended.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Very entertaining detective procedural melodrama.
Review: Based on the best seller by Michael Connelly, with a good-but-not-as-good-as- "L.A. Confidential" script by Brian Helgeland (which he also adapted), "Blood Work" serves as a fine adult suspense film.
First of all, Eastwood does a nice job playing McCaleb, the ex-FBI guy with a heart transplant. When you see him in the mini-documentary after the film, you realize the slow speech and overall beaten tone of his character is 'acting'. I feel a few of the other reviewers may have missed that. He is so spry and well-spoken that the contrast to the movie is a bit startling.
As usual in an Eastwood film, he surrounds himself with A+ talent. There are a few clunky lines spread throughout the movie; it is by no means perfect. But his ensemble manages to make it so you hardly care.
The only truly disposable characters were Paul Rodriguez, who quickly becomes tiresome, and Dylan Walsh, because I don't think he had one line in the whole thing.
The procedural portion of the film is very slowly and carefully told; it may put off viewers lacking patience. The melodramatic portion (he's investigating the murder of the person whose heart he now has...) may cause a viewer or two to roll their eyes, but those who are willing will enjoy a crisp adult crime film.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention the lovely Long Beach locations.
There. Done.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Clint Eastwood is cool
Review: I would definately recommend this movie for those who like murder mysteries and a good fight involving guns. Since this is just a review, I won't tell you the plot, but I will tell you that there's a good combo of action and drama, so see the dang movie. You might like it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Old Harry.
Review: In "Blood Work" Clint Eastwood returns to his memorable Dirty Harry, maybe for the last time. Even if the name of his character is Terry McCaleb, you can't go wrong - this is the old Harry we all know and love.

The legend of Harry started some 30 years ago, with Eastwood chasing serial killers and struggling with inept cops - and guess what? Almost nothing has changed. Nonetheless, the age does show its marks and therefore the pace of things is way slower; his heart is not what is used to be. It even gets to the point in which he needs a heart transplant. Would that predicament stop Harry from doing his favorite job?

Eastwood also directed this thriller and it's nice to see him talking about and with the actors he's chosen for the film in the "Extras" part of the DVD that proves to be a great addition to the movie.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: EMBARASSING
Review: I ALMOST DIED WATCHING CLINT EASTWOODS LAST MOVIE, TRUE CRIME,OUT OF BOREDOM, BUT THIS MOVIE HAS TAKEN MY SOUL. WHAT EXACTLY IS CLINT TRYING TO PROVE? THAT WHEN YOU GET OLD, LIFE SUCKS. THAT WHEN YOU HIT 60, EVERYTHING YOU DO IS BORING? I SIMPLY CANT BELIEVE ANYTHING CAN BE AS HIDEOUS AS THIS MOVIE. AS FOR EVERYONE WHO GIVES THIS MOVIE 5 STARS, GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF CLINTS A$$!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not Clints best work....
Review: This is an ok movie if nothing else is available. Not Clint's best work in acting, producing or directing. Plot was very predictable.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A more than solid Eastwood vehicle
Review: We all know good 'ol Clint isn't getting any younger, and he knows that himself which is part of what makes Blood Work as good as it is. Eastwood plays an FBI agent drawn out of retirement to find a serial killer which Eastwood had a heart attack chasing. What develops is a game of cat & mouse between Eastwood and the killer, culminating in a stunning revelation and an ending similar to that of another Eastwood starring/directing effort; In the Line of Fire. Blood Work is a smart, intelligent thriller and a throwback to the days when movies didn't have to rely on anemic storylines and bloated special effects to get going. Sadly though, the film didn't do very well at the box office, but I still strongly suggest checking out this gem of a film.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: very disappointing if you have read the book
Review: Perhaps almost every movie version of a very good book effort has to disappoint and maybe expectations are even higher when Eastwood is involved, since his previous attempts in the director's chair working with some challenging material (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) have gained him quite a bit of respect. Blood work is one of Connely's best thrillers and deserves better than this movie can deliver. Eastwood does not well directing himself as the main man and gets the McCaleb character all wrong. He acts like he jsut came back from the "Eiger Sanction" and had both a heart attack and a stroke! There is no chemistry between him and Wanda de Jesus who is definitely the weakest link in this movie. The storyline is flattened and loses so much momentum when compared to the book that even the decent efforts of Jeff Daniels don't help. Skip the movie and read the book instead!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Downbeat but enjoyable
Review: Clint Eastwood is acting his age in this movie, which I think adds a lot to its integrity. His character isn't up for non-stop action and so the movie doesn't go there. This is more of a stop start murder investigation movie, with Eastwood's character investigating and slowly getting to the bottom of the truth. This is probably similar to many of his other films that tend to have that laconic layed back feel to them. It's hard to be overly inspired by this, but it doesn't fail to entertain either. Overall, it maintains a fair degree of intelligence about it. Clint Eastwood fans will no doubt enjoy his good performance.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Eastwood hasn't lost his touch
Review: Clint Eastwood is a very durable leading man, and if that's not enough he also manages to produce and direct this film. He plays the part of a retired F.B.I. agent who has recently had a heart transplant. The sister of the heart donor asks Eastwood's help in tracking down her sibling's killer, and he can't refuse. As he gets into the investigation, his old instincts return, despite the threat to his health from over-exertion. Ignoring his doctor's objections, he continues his quest to identify the killer, and proves he's not lost his touch as a tough, understated hero. This is an entertaining movie which will be enjoyed by Clint Eastwood fans, old and new!


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