Rating: 
Summary: Worst film i have EVER seen in my whole life
Review: January Man is a film is a must see if you need to to update your film evaluation measurement scale. It is the absolute worst. You can then use it as a benchmark to reconsider other bad movies you may have seen.
As I assume many others, I was attracted to the purchase based on the superstar cast. If one were to read the fine print, however, you could get a hint that something is wrong when you see that the film lasts 1 1/2 hours only. Unfortunately I did not read the fine print.
This film is so absurd and bad that you truely need to wonder about the people who have posted the other reviews. Probably friends and family of the filmamaker.
Rating: 
Summary: Mark your Calendar..... good all year 'round..
Review: sure, no car chases, no explosions....but an interesting plot with about a half-dozen twists...i first saw this film in spain in 1989....(in english, somehow) and have probably viewed it twice a year since. scores of friends (and my now grown son and daughter) have also found themsleves enamored of it.
rickman's turn is a far cry from his 'die hard' and 'quiqley down under' roles; kline is brilliant kline....no wonder he finally got an ocar for 'a fish called wanda'....allieo is just great, and steiger is, well, vintage stieger.
harvey keitel is semi-controlled sibling rivalry entrapped..the tension is palpable...susan sarandon is the tortured fatale that holds it together; mastrantonio's 'in a hundred years, we'll all be dead' has been my mantra ever since.
the tape's finally worn out. i gladly paid for the dvd...
would someone get me a cup of coffee, please? preferably an espresso?
Rating:
Summary: Terrible, unfunny, unromantic film
Review: Terrible - Good actors with bad material. How do you go wrong with Kevin Kline, Susan Sarandon, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (I haven't liked her in anything else, but she was actually good here), Harvey Keitel, Rod Steiger, and Danny Aiello ? Put them in a movie with a terrible screenplay and nothing to do. Kline plays a former cop, now fireman, and brother of the New York City police commissioner (Keitel - do these two look like brothers at all - NO!), who is called back on the force to stop a serial killer. Sarandon is Keitel's wife and was Kline's lover, and Mastrantonio is falling for our Kevin. The worst (over)acting job goes to Steiger, who seethes like a rabid dog throughout the whole movie. Anyway, to catch this creep, Kline uses methods so unbelievable (not in a good way) that you'll be shaking your head. To think: this garbage was written by the same guy who wrote Moonstruck.
Rating: 
Summary: Most Improbable Murder Method In The History Of Movies
Review: The solution to the murder puzzle in this plot -- the manner in which the killer was choosing his victims -- was the most improbable and absolutely lamest contrivance in the entire history of mysteries -- and this extends backward in time to before the Big Bang, to include any films which might have been made in all the past universes which existed before our present one.One interesting line of dialogue, however, was a comment Kevin Klein made to Susan Sarandon, asking about certain results when she thought about the money to which she now had access, due to marrying a rich man. It's the only time in a movie I have ever heard so precise a reference to that particular phenomenon -- it was simply something that is never referred to so specifically in mainstream cinema.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful updating of the Sherlock Holmes Persona
Review: This is a very funny movie while at the same time, it's very riveting. You root for the good guys, you love it when the bad guys get theirs'. Kline's character is a mixture of tough love and eccentric genius. He and his love interests play well off each other. All the supporting stars around Kline do a top rate job and leave the circle unbroken. Allan Rickman is really funny as a way offbeat artist who gets roped in to helping Kline figure out where and when the serial killer is going to strike. The final scene between the killer and Kline is somewhat slapstickish but also a choreographed ballet that would make the old silent stars proud. I've watched this movie many times and I never get tired of it. I know many of the lines by heart but I can always find something small and wonderful I missed the time before. I hope Kline and this group do more of the same. This movie would love a sequel! As Allan Rickman's character, Ed, says, "I'm going to go and try to paint something original." This movie paints an original and fresh twist to the Sherlock Holmes theme and other favorite whodunit plot points as well.
Rating: 
Summary: inventive whodunit with good acting and bad language
Review: This is an under-rated murder mystery with interesting, quirky characters and a very inventive solution. Kevin Kline and Alan Rickman turn in excellent performances, especially Rickman doing a dropout misfit computer expert turned artist. As a mystery buff, I found the story and most of the characters intriguing, but I also found the language aggravating. Every single character except Rickman's uses foul language constantly, and after a while this actually gets in the way of the story. It's like someone thought it would make the whole thing more realistic and less of a comedy, but it misfired. Still, it's well worth seeing; a witty, original character-driven mystery-comedy.
Rating:
Summary: Too good to be called bad, too bad to be considered good
Review: This is one of those movies that holds your attention precisely because you are anticipating, and keep waiting for it to get better, but it just never quite comes together. Sort of like watching a drunk try to put a key in a lock- it can be annoying and yet entertaining at- the same time. And in that odd, uncomfortable emotion is the strange appeal of this work. Rod Stiger has one scene, wherein he expresses displeasure with some of Klein's antics, that is so superbly, "over-acted," I found it riveting. This movie is not for everyone, for sure, but if you can appreciate the eclectic and obtuse caricatures as being entertainment, you might just love it. If you are expecting "A Fish Called Wanda," don't bother.
Rating:
Summary: underrated and underappreciated
Review: This movie got savaged (and continues to be) when it first came out. I think that with all the talent involved, people were expecting something a lot more... mainstream. This is one of those oddball detective/crime thrillers a la The Long Goodbye or Trixie that just doesn't fit in anywhere. It blends genres together and this bugged a lot of people who just wanted a by-the-numbers story. Everyone in the cast is fantastic but the real standout, for me, is Alan Rickman cast totally against type as the slightly effeminate artiste (and computer genius), Ed. Rickman gets most of the best lines and steals every scene he's in. He and Kline play well off each other and it's a shame this film tanked because I'd have loved to see more adventures with these two. The DVD is a real disappointment. No extras. Nothing! Just dumped unceremoniously on DVD. Oh well. At least it's letterboxed!
Rating:
Summary: COMICAL CHARACTER STUDY WRAPPED IN A SUSPENSE THRILLER..
Review: This movie is not a typical "mystery thriller," at least not in the usual sense of the genre. The characters unravel intriguingly but very fluidly, and it is easy to relate to almost all of them (I bet we can all think of parallels in our own lives.) Theme-wise it is ostensibly presented as a suspense movie where an ex-cop (Kevin Kline) is re-instated into a homicide detective role to solve a brutal murder spree by a NY psychopath. There is an interesting subplot of unrequited romance between Kline's character and his brother's (who is commissioner of police) wife. Kline's artist friend, his new girl friend (the Mayor's daughter), and in fact the Mayor himself -- are all amusing characters. But Kline is clearly the pivot of the movie, he turned what many might consider a very below standard screenplay and turned it into a very keepable film. The cinematography is neat, the dialog entertainingly scattershot and the movie flows with a very good pace. Most people who revile this under-rated but actually very watchable movie do so because it doesn't fit any Hollywoodesqe molds. It is not a suspense movie alone (clearly, to me, it didn't make any overt attempts to be) -- it is also a very adult and somewhat intellectual but credible study of multiple intertwined characters. The ending surprised me a bit, but I don't think it was chinsy or overdone. It was probably supposed to try and imitate real life and I'd say it did so. And with that kind of a price tag, this is definitely a steal. Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: COMICAL CHARACTER STUDY WRAPPED IN A SUSPENSE THRILLER..
Review: This movie is not a typical "mystery thriller," at least not in the usual sense of the genre. The characters unravel intriguingly but very fluidly, and it is easy to relate to almost all of them (I bet we can all think of parallels in our own lives.) Theme-wise it is ostensibly presented as a suspense movie where an ex-cop (Kevin Kline) is re-instated into a homicide detective role to solve a brutal murder spree by a NY psychopath. There is an interesting subplot of unrequited romance between Kline's character and his brother's (who is commissioner of police) wife. Kline's artist friend, his new girl friend (the Mayor's daughter), and in fact the Mayor himself -- are all amusing characters. But Kline is clearly the pivot of the movie, he turned what many might consider a very below standard screenplay and turned it into a very keepable film. The cinematography is neat, the dialog entertainingly scattershot and the movie flows with a very good pace. Most people who revile this under-rated but actually very watchable movie do so because it doesn't fit any Hollywoodesqe molds. It is not a suspense movie alone (clearly, to me, it didn't make any overt attempts to be) -- it is also a very adult and somewhat intellectual but credible study of multiple intertwined characters. The ending surprised me a bit, but I don't think it was chinsy or overdone. It was probably supposed to try and imitate real life and I'd say it did so. And with that kind of a price tag, this is definitely a steal. Recommended!
|
