Blood Work (Widescreen Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Good Work
Review: There is a masked hold-up artist/killer on the loose, and the police believe the cold-hearted criminal to be selecting the locations purposefully, and that his victims are just unlucky, random individuals. Retired FBI agent Terry McCaleb thinks that it is the *locations* which are random, and that the killer's victims are very, very specific. Will his wisdom prevail? That is one of the interesting plot elements in "Blood Work", the 20th movie starring Clint Eastwood that he has also directed.

Eastwood plays McCaleb, a gritty man with a gentle streak, who was forced into retirement after suffering a heart attack while chasing a serial killer on his last case. Two years later, McCaleb receives a new heart, and the serial killer is still at-large. Terry McCaleb is Eastwood playing his age. We know that this man used to possess solid physical strength, but age has diminished that strength, so now he is left to rely almost solely on his keen intellect. That intellect does not fail him, although it is sometimes slow to catch on.

McCaleb is enjoying retirement on his boat, when he is approached by the sister of the woman whose heart he now has. She explains to him that her sister was murdered (one of the victims of the aforementioned hold-up artist/killer), and she would like for McCaleb to crack the case and find the murderer. At first reluctant, the former FBI man soon acquiesces to the sister's request, and the game is afoot.

I found "Blood Work" enjoyable. Watching Eastwood so easily play the role of McCaleb is fun in and of itself, and the story is always involving. It isn't necessarily as realistic as it could have been, but that is part of its charm. McCaleb falls into that realm of the Hercule Poirot detective: a former law enforcement official who should, by no real rights, have access to such things as police discussions of the case, a crime scene, evidence books, and videotapes of murders - yet he does. That is fine. It leaves the story unhampered, and it can progress at a good pace.

The revelation of the killer in "Blood Work" I found to be a little weak, and somewhat over the top. I would not dare disclose any more here. But suffice it to say, it jarred me a little bit. Nevertheless, I found the movie a highly entertaining weekend diversion. Blood Work is good work.

Rating:
Summary: Not all that great but far from bad.
Review: This movie is a rather average crime drama about a retired FBI agent who recieved a heart transplant from a murder victim and is now on the case of solving the murder and finding who is behind the heinous crime that took place at a convenience store.

He gets out of retirement after being asked by the sister of the murder victim to help her track down the one responsible for the crime. This serial killer targets individuals who have blood types that match that of the former retiree.

This movie is good to a degree but the whole thing is just watered down by a very predictable outcome and does nothing to make it very memorable. The acting has seen better days as well.

Not a bad film but this could really have been a lot better in my honest opinion.

Rating:
Summary: Okay, how long will it take you to figure this one out?
Review: I would expect a wide range of responses to "Blood Work," with the key factor being at what point in the proceedings you went from being behind in figuring out what was going on to getting way ahead of the game. Once again Clint Eastwood is working in front and behind the camera, playing Terry McCaleb, who is an F.B.I. Profiler working on the case of the Code Killer. Literally on the heels of the serial killer, McCaleb suffers a massive heart attack, but still manages to put a bullet in the fleeing suspect. We then jump ahead two years to a point where McCaleb is retired and ending his second month with a new heart. Then Graciella Rivers (Wanda De Jesús) shows up at boat and says she wants him to investigate the murder of her sister. McCaleb declines, since he is retired from the force and recovering from a heart transplant, but Graciella trumps his objections by telling him that it is her sister's heart that is now beating in his chest. McCaleb feels obligated to investigate, even though it means stepping on the toes of the local cops (Paul Rodriguez and Dyaln Walsh as the unfriendly cops and Jaye Winston as the helpful one).

McCaleb is not well; we know this because everybody constantly tells him and his doctor (Anjelica Huston) has a fit every time he even spends time thinking hard. But McCaleb has a debt to repay, and as he investigates the murder he, of course, uncovers things that none of the other cops are picking up on. I know exactly what I want to say about this type of thriller, but even announcing in general terms what is happening here would give the game away. I caught on about five minutes before McCaleb did and while I liked the revelation of what exactly had been done and why, I have to admit the film is all downhill by that point. From there on "Blood Work" is less about McCaleb using his brains and more being able to do what needs to be done to bring down the villain before he needs another heart transplant.

Clint Eastwood is in his seventies now and is deservedly up for an Oscar nomination for his work as director on "Mystic River." I have much less of a sense of Eastwood the director on this 2002 film, but mainly because Eastwood the actor is more noticeable. When you look back on the films in which Eastwood has acted in the past few years ("Space Cowboys," "True Crime," "Absolute Power") it becomes clear that that he is cognizant of his age and consciously making films suitable to a man his age. That is not meant as a slight, because most actors his age are not still running around at all, let alone as leading men in theatrical films.

The only persons that come to mind from my lifetime would be Spencer Tracy, who was 67 when he died after making "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," and John Wayne, whose last film, "The Shootist," was really the only one that showed him as a figure in decline before his death at the age of 72. You would think the better comparison would be to Wayne, given Eastwood's history with the western, but it was Tracy who had four Oscar nominated performances in his last decade, playing older men (add "The Old Man and the Sea," "Inherit the Wind" and "Judgment at Nuremberg" to the aforementioned film). Eastwood has only received one acting nomination, for "Unforgiven," yet he is carving out a body of work as an older leading man. Paul Newman has been doing mostly supporting roles since he finally won his long-overdue Oscar. Only Clint Eastwood has really been making a lot of movies, a list to which "Blood Work" gets added, about an old guy trying to hang on to his Alpha-male role.

Rating:
Summary: Great idea, good movie, okay book
Review: Blood Work is a timely subject, foreshadowing ethical, political, and personal questions which will become more important as we adjust to the transplantation and creation of body parts to keep ourselves alive. The basic story revolves around FBI profiler Terry McAleb's need for, acquisition of, and resulting complications from receiving a life-giving heart donation from a murder victim. Although Connelly's work is good in itself, Brian Helgeland's screenplay makes the story come alive in ways the book cannot. Clint Eastwood has been criticized for many aspects of his self-directing, self-producing, and self-starring roles, but the movie works and it is much more entertaining than the book. The May-September Wanda De Jesus-Eastwood romance enhances the story's theme of renewal of life and adds more poignancy than is possible in the book where the two characters are closer in age. Although Paul Rodriguez's over-the-top performance as the PO'd Latino detective is distracting (albeit, with some funny lines), I think it brings out the ethnic interplay of the characters and the environment better than the book does. After all, this is LA, and this is today. But where the movie really shines is in the portrayal of the villain. In the book, we catch only fleeting glimpses of the killer and never hear about his motives from him. However, in the movie, the villain is an integral part of the story. His life and motives may be a little too obvious and perhaps subtract from the suspense, but the book doesn't do any better job of fleshing out evil. The ending also shines in the movie but falls short in the book. Connelly gave us little dread or anticipation. The movie delivers both, not only with Eastwood's constant concern about his heart transplant going bad and a violent bout with a burly Russian, but also with the final confrontation between Eastwood and the killer himself.
All in all, an okay book, a better movie, but not an all-nighter.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but too predictable.
Review: A decent moviegoer can look at the cast of this movie and discern the killer. That's how wide open it is for people to see. So, the enjoyment is in the journey. And it's not a bad journey, as a retired FBI profiler (Clint Eastwood) takes the case of a woman (Wanda DeJesus) whose sister was killed by a serial killer, and whose heart now resides in Eastwood's body after a transplant.

Hooey? Well, of course it is. But the movie has to jumpstart itself somehow.

So, anyway, Eastwood ain't bad and admiring Wanda DeJesus is a decent way to spend an evening. Eastwood's leisurely "real time" method of directing a scene lets us relax a little, enjoy the flavor of the meat, if you will. I like that about Eastwood, even if I wouldn't want to see it every day. He plays the right cards here, letting scenes play long for atmosphere. Lord knows there ain't a lot of suspense.

Like I said, a six-year-old can figure out the killer. It so plain-as-day you almost get faked out and think "this is the red herring to end all red herrings." The book can take its time a little, reveal itself more slowly. A movie has a budget, and it has actors, and those actors are paid, and you bet your bottom penny a studio isn't going to pay a well-known actor to just pal around on a houseboat. That said, the pal is effectively chilling in a showdown scene, almost gross, which for once seems about right. Clint Eastwood was always good at directing villains.

Rating:
Summary: Read the book...
Review: I give kudos to Mr. Eastwood for seeing a great book in the novel - Michael Connelly is a gifted writer - and developing a movie, however, the movie does not have the suspense of the book.

As a devout reader of crime mystery, I had to have this movie for my library because it was a Michael Connelly novel - no other reason. It was distressing not to at least have an interview on the DVD with Mr. Connelly. The acting is mostly mediocre, with the exception of Eastwood. Buddy is miscast with Daniels, as is Graciela with DeJesus. I like the work of Daniels, and he would have been better in the cop role.

If you want a good cop movie, by another great writer, try the Onion Field.

Rating:
Summary: Forty-three years older
Review: For those of us Clint Eastwood fans who remember him as the young and headstrong Rowdy Yates in the TV series RAWHIDE (1959-1966), going to see the latest Eastwood Big Screen epic is a sobering reminder that time catches up to us all.

In BLOOD WORK, Clint plays Terry McCaleb, a high profile FBI agent who suffers a severe heart attack while chasing (on foot) a vicious serial killer who leaves taunting messages for McCaleb at the crime scene. Terry finds that climbing over fences just isn't as easy at is used to be, but then a Clint Eastwood character in the old days would've just stood back and shot the perp down at long range with his .44 Magnum. Oh, well. In any case, it's now two years later and Terry is just off a heart transplant and retired to his boat. Graciella (Wanda De Jesus) shows up to request that McCaleb get back in harness to investigate the death of her sister, who was murdered in a convenience store holdup. McCaleb at first demurs, but then has a change of heart, so to speak, when he learns that the dead woman was the donor of his new ticker.

The best part of BLOOD WORK, also directed and produced by Eastwood, is watching Clint depict the aging, debilitated and physically vulnerable McCabe, who can perhaps be viewed as a composite of all the other heroes played by Clint over the decades, only older. Eastwood, possibly mindful of his own mortality, is perhaps acknowledging time's inexorable march through Terry's persona. Beyond that, the film had its uneven moments. Paul Rodriguez plays Detective Arrango, a Latino LAPD cop so gratuitously buffoonish and unpleasant that I'm surprised the Brotherhood of Latino Law Enforcement Officers isn't suing. Anjelica Huston overacts her role as McCabe's cardiologist, Dr. Bonnie Fox, who's snappishly unsympathetic to Terry's desire to see justice done for the woman whose heart keeps him alive. Moreover, McCabe early on hypothesizes an unknown circumstantial link between Graciela's sister and another man murdered by (apparently) the same killer. Though Terry is proven right, of course, the evidence for this premature conclusion was decidedly unclear to this viewer at the time. Additionally, it was never explained how the killer got access to crucial blood type records, and this was a major loose end in my book since such data isn't in the public domain. On the other hand, Jeff Daniels does a swell job as Buddy, McCabe's neighbor in the next boat slip. Buddy, an affable but unemployed and self-professed loser, supplements monetary support from his father by acting as Terry's driver during the latter's investigations.

BLOOD WORK has a plot gimmick that eventually leads to a satisfying ending involving McCabe, Graciella and the Bad Guy. Despite its flaws, I liked this film a lot simply because Eastwood will always be my all-time favorite cinematic Tough Guy.

Rating:
Summary: Okay, how long will it take you to figure this one out?
Review: I would expect a wide range of responses to "Blood Work," with the key factor being at what point in the proceedings you went from being behind in figuring out what was going on to getting way ahead of the game. Once again Clint Eastwood is working in front and behind the camera, playing Terry McCaleb, who is an F.B.I. Profiler working on the case of the Code Killer. Literally on the heels of the serial killer, McCaleb suffers a massive heart attack, but still manages to put a bullet in the fleeing suspect. We then jump ahead two years to a point where McCaleb is retired and ending his second month with a new heart. Then Graciella Rivers (Wanda De Jesús) shows up at boat and says she wants him to investigate the murder of her sister. McCaleb declines, since he is retired from the force and recovering from a heart transplant, but Graciella trumps his objections by telling him that it is her sister's heart that is now beating in his chest. McCaleb feels obligated to investigate, even though it means stepping on the toes of the local cops (Paul Rodriguez and Dyaln Walsh as the unfriendly cops and Jaye Winston as the helpful one).

McCaleb is not well; we know this because everybody constantly tells him and his doctor (Anjelica Huston) has a fit every time he even spends time thinking hard. But McCaleb has a debt to repay, and as he investigates the murder he, of course, uncovers things that none of the other cops are picking up on. I know exactly what I want to say about this type of thriller, but even announcing in general terms what is happening here would give the game away. I caught on about five minutes before McCaleb did and while I liked the revelation of what exactly had been done and why, I have to admit the film is all downhill by that point. From there on "Blood Work" is less about McCaleb using his brains and more being able to do what needs to be done to bring down the villain before he needs another heart transplant.

Clint Eastwood is in his seventies now and is deservedly up for an Oscar nomination for his work as director on "Mystic River." I have much less of a sense of Eastwood the director on this 2002 film, but mainly because Eastwood the actor is more noticeable. When you look back on the films in which Eastwood has acted in the past few years ("Space Cowboys," "True Crime," "Absolute Power") it becomes clear that that he is cognizant of his age and consciously making films suitable to a man his age. That is not meant as a slight, because most actors his age are not still running around at all, let alone as leading men in theatrical films.

The only persons that come to mind from my lifetime would be Spencer Tracy, who was 67 when he died after making "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," and John Wayne, whose last film, "The Shootist," was really the only one that showed him as a figure in decline before his death at the age of 72. You would think the better comparison would be to Wayne, given Eastwood's history with the western, but it was Tracy who had four Oscar nominated performances in his last decade, playing older men (add "The Old Man and the Sea," "Inherit the Wind" and "Judgment at Nuremberg" to the aforementioned film). Eastwood has only received one acting nomination, for "Unforgiven," yet he is carving out a body of work as an older leading man. Paul Newman has been doing mostly supporting roles since he finally won his long-overdue Oscar. Only Clint Eastwood has really been making a lot of movies, a list to which "Blood Work" gets added, about an old guy trying to hang on to his Alpha-male role.

Rating:
Summary: Piles on the clichés
Review: The innocent black man mistakenly convicted of murder; the last-minute attempt for a reprieve. Been there; done that. All that was needed was a close-up of the telephone at the gas chamber and a close shot of the warden sweating before throwing the switch. Oh wait, we got those too.

If you want a nice antidote to the cliché, may I recommend 'Just Cause,' which, although filled with plenty of clichés of its own (including a hysterical flickering-lights-while-the-electric-chair-is-turned-on scene) ends up with an unexpected bad guy and a few innocent bodies to boot.

Rating:
Summary: Eastwood still has it.
Review: 3.5 stars. The Legend that is "Clint Eastwood" often conceals the fact that Mr. Eastwood is a very good actor, and one of the best directors working today. I was at first reluctant to view this feature on the grounds that it looked to be just another investigator-on-the-trail-of-a-psychotic-killer story. Just another yarn. This is a solid notch above your typical Hollywood formula, with excellent direction from Clint as well as another fine cast of supporting actors that seem to flock to any movie he does. Take "Mystic River" from last year, for instance. However, there is an over-riding problem with this particular genre. The dialogue and plotting are so slick (it is a thinking-man's film-noir) that I began thinking ahead and trying to figure things out on my own. Sadly, with about 45 minutes remaining, I had the rest of the movie figured out. Ah, well. This is a professionally made film with solid acting, good writing, but eventually predictable.