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'Judas Kiss'. I'd been watching this film for an hour before I began accepting the characters in this film. If you are English then it can be very disconcerting to witness two icons of the British acting profession appearing as Americans complete with Southern USA accents. Don't get me wrong Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman pull off the transformation but it is just so bizarre to see them cast in these particular roles. Anyway, on to the story. Coco (Carla Gugino) is part of a gang of kidnappers who get more than they bargained for when the wife of a US Senator gets iced during one of their kidnappings. Two detectives (Rickman and Thompson) are soon on the trail of the kidnappers who have made off with the deceased woman's lover. The story has several (predictable) twists and though Carla Gugino is OK as the gun wielding kidnapper the twists in the plot and character (and to my mind the casting of Rickman and Thompson) make the whole thing just a bit too unbelievable to pass as a credible thriller. Film Rating 4/10 and Gun Moll Rating 6/10..
'Epicenter'. This is another film from the low-budget stable of movie making. It is a standard action thriller with the added complication that much of the action taking place during the middle of an earthquake. Whilst you can't fault the producers for their aspirations the earthquake scenes are why the film falls down, figuratively and literally. Most low-budget film makers realise that you can't convincingly portray big budget effects with small amounts of money and no amount of acting (not that the film is over endowed in that area either) is going to persuade the viewer that polystyrene models splitting apart is really a devastating earthquake. Traci Lords (yep, her again) is a FBI mole within a Russian crime syndicate. To cut a long story short she is pursued around LA by the Russian Mafioso and her corrupt boss whilst buildings crumble and her kids get trapped in some rubble. Traci maintains her usual standard of performance, dull and unconvincing, and the rest of the characters aren't very interesting. You might want to watch it for the few scenes featuring a shotgun wielding Russian gangsteress (Istelle Petra) but overall I wouldn't bother. Film Rating 3/10 and Gun Moll Rating 4/10.
'Honest'. Do you want my Honest opinion? This is one of the worst films that the British film industry has ever produced. You'd have thought that a tale of gun toting girl robbers in the 1960's would be welcomed with open arms by this reviewer but I am here to warn you to avoid this garbage like the plague. The list of what is bad about this film is so overwhelming it should be standard viewing for film students on how NOT to make a film. The plot is stupid, the dialogue excruciating, the lead actresses can't act (the Appleton sisters from ex British girl band 'All Saint's') and the 'director' (ex Eurythmics frontsman Dave Stewart) should never be allowed near a film camera again. In summary, you may gather I didn't like this film very much - don't be suckered by the following images. Film Rating 1/10 and Gun Moll Rating 2/10.
