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Original Sin (R Rated Version)

Original Sin (R Rated Version)

List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $13.46
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great, must see movie!
Review: I was amazed by this movie, it was realistic, touching, and gets to you in every way. It portrays the very real sides of human. And it also tells that no matter how ugly and messed up a person is (whether it's physically or psychologically), she can still change and be loved.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent performance
Review: Before watching this movie I thought that it was going to be another boring and long movie. I was totally blown away after I saw it. Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie make a perfect duo. Their acting is excellent! The plot of the movie is great but what really amazed me is that some of those things that happened in that movie still happen in the world today. I read some reviews about people criticizing those really strong scenes but they made it seem natural and normal and not as a pervert or nasty thing. I really recommend this movie to everyone, I really do!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Original Sin a Sizzler
Review: I saw this film in Portugal. It was spellbounding the sets were romantically set. I recommend it to anyone. The only draw back, like the Sixth Sense, Basic Instinct, Jagged Edge, etc., once you know the ending it will be a while before you watch it again

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Totally Enjoyable
Review: The plot may be fanciful but was totally enjoyable. Antonio
steams up the screen and the story held my interest all the way.
I don't understand why it got such poor reviews and would put it
in the same category as Robin Hood or Zorro. If you enjoyed
them you will enjoy this film as well. Can't wait for it to
become available for purchase. I'll be watching it again and
again!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: 3 1/2 Stars for Angelina and Antonio
Review: The camera loves both Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas and it's exploited to the hilt in Michael Cristopher's "Original Sin" in which there is nothing much that is original or ground breaking. But like Cristopher's HBO, "Gia" Ms. Jolie's talents and attributes are much on display in "Original Sin." Is there a face in movies today that can tell a story as well as Jolie's or Banderas'? Banderas as Luis Vargas, a South American plantation owner, "orders" a mail bride, Julia Russel. Who lands, via Delaware but Ms. Jolie with not only trunk loads of clothes but also a trunk load of secrets. Banderas is looking for an heir not a mate, per se but Jolie has other things in mind i.e basically to win Banderas over and steal his money. But instead she falls in love with him...or does she? Cristopher sets up a portent tropical milieu filled with bananas, coffee and mosquito netting where the humidity and sexual attraction is so thick you could cut it with a knife. There are several plot twists that lead to deception and betrayal that require a lot of suspension of disbelief on the viewer's part to swallow and much of this works. Cristopher tries to do it all in the high style of the late 50's potboilers like "The Long Hot Summer" or "Written on the Wind" and almost succeeds. But hey with Jolie and Banderas as his actors he's got most of his work done with just a close-up and a twitch or a raised eywbrow on either of their faces. This movie is a HOOT and along the way you just may sweat and shiver along with the actors. Take a sweat rag with you to the theater...just in case.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: ORIGINAL SINS
Review: WHAT CAN I SAY BUT, ANGIE WENT AND DID ANOTHER ONE OF HER BEST PERFORMANCE. PLUS ANT AND ANGIE DID A GREAT SEX SCENE. WORHT SEEING OVER AND OVER...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Surprising!
Review: This movie starts out like any terrible made for TV soap opera, but amazingly it continues to get better and it finishes up as an interesting new take on the femme fatale archetype. It is somewhat hard to believe that such a well worn plot could yield any knew ideas, yet this film seems to make an interesting reversal on the theme that indicates a reflection of a social change in regards to the role of women and men in society.

The basic plot centers around a wealthy businessman (played by Antonio Banderas) who orders off for a mail-order bride who "is not meant to be beautiful" but rather, "loyal, loving, and young enough to bear children." What he gets is Angelina Jolie, and though she isn't what he expected or claimed he wanted, he graciously decides to marry her anyway (I bet that was a tough choice). I'm not giving anything away by telling you that Jolie totally screws up Banderas' life, stealing his fortune and causing him to lose his prestigious position.

Ok, so the plot of a woman whose sexuality is so strong that it causes a man to destroy his life isn't anything new. But what makes this movie interesting is that it highlights the extreme vulnerablity of men. Banderas' character is constantly willing to forgive Jolie's, not because of some crude lustful desire, but out of a sincere love and acceptance for Jolie's character. Jolie's character is absolutely foul, and everybody in the film understands that, this makes the willingness for acceptance shown by the cuckolded Banderas oddly touching. In a way, this film takes the old belief that love is essentially acceptance and forgiveness and takes it to such an extreme as to be totally absurd. But if you're willing to go with it, the film is quite interesting.

In order for the film to work at all, there must be some sort of explination for Jolie's character, Bonnie. She must be essentially good, but forced, somehow, to perform evil. This difficulty is handled with the introduction of Billy. Billy is essentially Bonnie's pimp and is able to exert an iron hold on her emotions. Their relationship is quite similar to that shown between Sharon Stone and James Woods in "Casino." It seems quite clear that our society believes that women are inherently vulnerable to decietful males. The prevalence of deadbeat dads seems to bear this out, but for the sake of maintaining a more equal view of gender, perhaps it should be suggested that this is just a male fantasy. However, even as a fantasy,this idea has some revelance and social impact that should be explored. The main question it raises is: if women are suceptible to these adverse influences, how can you pry them away? Real love should be the answer, but "Original Sin" suggests that any woman actually in this position would be leary enough of lies in the disguise of real love to disregard love if it ever did turn up.

It is an interesting question, and it was totally surprising to see it dealt with so deftly in a movie such as this. Granted, there are many things that are terrible about this film. Many of the scenes go on too long and seem redundant or ridiculous. However, both Banderas and Jolie are superb and you can't help but be drawn in. In the end, you find yourself thinking about this movie a lot more than you ever anticipated you would. It is a pleasant surprise and that alone makes it worth taking a look at.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: original sin
Review: Basically every newspaper/magazine review I have read of this movie slammed it but I really enjoyed it. It's not the best movie of the summer but it's an enjoyable one. I'm an Angelina Jolie fan so I might be a little biased but she was great in the movie and even though, I don't like Antonio Banderas, I thought he did a good job. I'm no critic by any means, just a regular person but still, I urge you to see this movie and check it out for yourself.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: True Love
Review: This movie is a little twisted, but it is also a beautiful love story. The plot is not sappy, and it is a deeper look at love. The passion was intense and you completely fall in love with the characters. You are drawn in from the beginning and aren't free to breath until the triumphant ending. I don't recommend this movie as one you see on a tentative first date.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Shamelessly bares its actors but woefully bears no soul.
Review: "Original Sin" is a daring but unsuccessful attempt at an erotic thriller, baring Angelina Jolie's bust but never bearing a soul worth caring about. Actors Jolie and Antonio Banderas are in fine form, and just to see them act together is worth it, even if their talents are cast into a lost cause.

The writer and director of the film, Michael Christofer, gives the film two different complexes. One makes the film look like an honest effort on his part to make a movie that reveals too many of its secrets work. The other makes it look like one of those skin flicks that one can easily find on Cinemax in the early hours before dawn, only given an A-list cast and Hollywood gloss.

The film stars Banderas as Luis Durand, a rich coffee mill owner who is looking for a woman to be his wife, bear him children, and be kind and loyal. He's not interested in love, though his head certainly turns when he meets the woman he has sent for, Julia Russell, played by the overly busty Jolie. She provides simple explanations for why she did not write to him, and why the photograph he received looks nothing like her.

They waste no time in getting married, then taking their time to get to know one another. He gives her full access to his bank accounts, his house, and his love, which is sullied when she runs away, his money in hand. What she leaves behind is a trunk with the real Julia Russell's belongings inside, and feelings of betrayal and rage in Luis's heart.

Up to this point, the movie has built up some momentum. A scene involving Julia's sister protesting that the handwriting in Julia's letter is not that of her sister's has some impact an the opener for Luis's realization that Julia is not really Julia at all. And, despite what the critics will say, Jolie and Banderas do have some chemistry onscreen, more so in scenes that do not involve sex.

The movie is bold in giving us such a vivid depiction of sexual activity, however softcore it is, but in doing this, it causes the audience to lose interest in the rest of the story. Not only were people in the audience snickering during these scenes, but they really do not fit into the big picture. We know they are in love, so what is the purpose of scenes such as this?

As the film moves on, it begins to trip on itself. Luis hunts and reclaims Julia, and they reconcile their differences. When a rather mysterious detective comes into play (played by Thomas Jane), Luis shoots him, and the story turns into Bonnie and Clyde (incidentally, Julia's real name in the film is Bonnie). They go on the run, still being chased by the detective who is still alive and meeting Julia in secret to discuss Luis's financial ruin and timely death.

Truth is, the movie is just not that interesting. The beginning is not too bad, but the second half of the film is unbelievable, contrived, and listless. Luis wants her back because he is so consumed by his love for her, which would be convincing if the movie did not play him to be a whining martyr. He has force in the beginning, but as the movie wears out its welcome, he becomes little more than putty in Julia's hands.

The ending is also a complete betrayal of what the movie has been trying to prove all along. In the beginning narration, it is said that "this is not a story about love, but about the power it holds over people." The movie gets the power point right, yes, but in the end, the love aspect of that speech finds its way into the picture, throwing us for a loop when our predictions were centered on an unhappy ending.

Watching "Original Sin" reminded me of such movies as "The Scarlet Letter" and "Eye of the Beholder," two movies that were given harsh reviews as well. "Letter" worked for me because, despite the fact that it strayed from the novel, the story was still enjoyable. "Beholder" was a nice unconventional film to watch, with superb lead performances. "Original Sin" is unconventional, and has good acting, but somewhere along the line, it fails to hold any interest as it dwindles down.


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