★ 6 / 10
There's no such thing as honour among thieves
John Chard
There's no such thing as honour among thieves. It's a myth. Blood and Wine is directed by Bob Rafelson and Rafelson co-writes the screenplay with Nick Villiers…
There's no such thing as honour among thieves. It's a myth.
Blood and Wine is directed by Bob Rafelson and Rafelson co-writes the screenplay with Nick Villiers and Alison Cross. It stars Jack Nicholson, Stephen Dorff, Jennifer Lopez, Judy Davis and Michael Caine. Music is by Michal Lorenc and cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel.
A failed father and husband enlists an oily accomplice to enact the theft of a precious necklace. But when his wife and son get involved in the shady dealings, things quickly spiral out of control.
Bob Rafelson once again turns to his muse, Nicholson, to bring about another venture down the neo-noir lane. Unfortunately, just like the "The Postman Always Rings Twice" remake and "Black Widow", this also flatters to deceive.
Nothing wrong with the acting or story as such, Nicholson and Caine bounce off each other with scummy character glee, while Lopez and Dorff offer up some sexy sizzle in the supporting slots. In true noir fashion the pic is ripe with unlikable characters, while the vagaries of noirville fate comes into play. Yet as it plays out more as a character study than anything edgy or thrilling, it ends up being like a fine wine that has been corked.
Some nifty complexities in the narrative and the fine perfs ensure it's above average, but really it's not a must see for the noir faithful. 6/10
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★ 7 / 10
pretty good flick
rupie
This is a pretty good suspense/crime/intrigue flick about a jewelry heist gone terribly awry. The big draw here is Jack Nicholson and Michael Caine, working…
This is a pretty good suspense/crime/intrigue flick about a jewelry heist gone terribly awry. The big draw here is Jack Nicholson and Michael Caine, working together, for the first time, I believe. They provide two nicely contrasted portraits in malice: Nicholson as a two-bit hood with a connoisseur's taste and delusions of grandeur, down on his luck, and Michael Caine as a grimly desperate safecracker with advanced respiratory disease who feels the grim reaper at his heels and wants one last big score. Their plans are set askew by Nicholson's wife and stepson, leading to nasty complications. Nicholson and Caine are great together, especially the latter. Worth a see.
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★ 7 / 10
Enjoyable thriller with good acting
HotToastyRag
In Blood and Wine, Jack Nicholson plays the likable antihero he plays so well. He's married to Judy Davis, but is having an affair with Jennifer Lopez, and…
In Blood and Wine, Jack Nicholson plays the likable antihero he plays so well. He's married to Judy Davis, but is having an affair with Jennifer Lopez, and although he seems like a respectable wine merchant on the surface, he's actually planning to steal a diamond necklace from one of his clients, with the help of his partner Michael Caine. But, since it's Jack Nicholson, we forgive him.
Blood and Wine isn't your typical heist movie, because there are more elements to the plot than just the robbery. There are family tensions, a love triangle, and character development, which helps make this a highly enjoyable movie to watch. When you care about the characters, you care about the movie. The performances are very good, and Alison Cross's and Nick Villiers's script is pretty riveting.
So often in films, the actors who play children don't even think to adopt the mannerisms and inflections of the actors who are playing their parents. In real life, you can see an enormous amount of similarities through the generations, from gait to speech pattern to the frequency and timing of brow raises, to the tiniest of facial expressions. Stephen Dorff, while playing Jack Nicholson's stepson, took the time to do his homework. When he speaks, it's clear he grew up in an environment where Jack's mannerisms were influential. He's not giving a Jack Nicholson impression, though, and that subtle distinction makes all the difference in the world.
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65%
TOMATOMETER
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AUDIENCE
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6.0/10
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Casting JLO? :| Passsssssss!