Movies

Michael Caine gives one of his greatest performances, and that really is saying something. How many times have you seen someone overshadow CJck Nicholson? Well it happens here. Caine's character is at times pathetic, at others funny, and at others deeply nasty, and always believable.Jennifer Lopez looks astonishing in this but her character is a cypher. The script is so-so, as is the direction, but it is worth watching once for the Caine masterclass.

Jack Nicholson and Michael Caine are so good in this movie. The temptation to chew up the scenery must have been overwhelming, but neither did. Neither grandstanded, and each played their vastly unappealing characters right down to the last detail. Caine plays an aging and ill thief looking for that last big score on which he can retire. Nicholson plays a middle-class wine distributor locked into an unhappy marriage, failing business, and a young girlfriend to support. They unite to rob one of Nicholson's clients, an act they feel will solve all of their problems. Of course it doesn't and everything that can go wrong, does. And then things begin to turn ugly.Dark, noirish, this is not a feel-good caper flick. It's definitely not "The Sting". What it is is well acted, directed, and filmed. Highly recommended, I'm just puzzled why it was overlooked at the Academy Awards.

With the talent on board, Jack Nicholson, Michael Cane, Jennifer Lopez, and Stephen Dorff, "Blood and Wine" must be regarded as a misfire. The film seems strangely detached, with no real involvement for the audience. Jennife Lopez especially comes across as if she wasn't sure how to present herself. What you get are domestic disputes, disappearing diamonds, and disagreements among thieves, none of which are particularly interesting. Even the heist is depicted as an afterthought. With no likable characters, a script that seems underdeveloped, and little reason for the viewer to care about any of this, everything just sort of drifts along to nowhere. - MERK