Stiletto Dance (2001)

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Much better than I expected from a made-for-cable movie. Eric Roberts apparently can too act! Who knew? The plot is OK, and the direction is unobtrusive. Shawn Doyle plays the Russian baddie with flair. You might think he's taking it a bit over-the-top. But from what I hear, you really cannot caricature these Russki mafiosi as any more violent, evil jerks than they actually are. Canadian actress Lucie Laurier was stunningly beautiful, and totally nailed her part. As a bonus, Laurier and Doyle both did their accents pretty well, not overdoing them too much, but never getting caught out of them. Maybe not Streepian, but good. And the ending, well. There was the perfect opportunity for a standard sort of Hollywood ending, and the filmmakers took a pass on it. That's worth something all by itself. I'd say check it out if you can stand the gruesome violence.

Eric Roberts shows some of his native flair in this film. Lost of gruesome violence, but not senseless like in Tarantino movies. There's a wide range of fascinating characters, even some who make but brief appearances. An intelligent and sensitive look at the criminal world, with no rosy lenses nor ridiculous glorification. No miraculous or clever ploys to excuse the protagonist from partaking of the brutality that surrounds him.For a low-rent HBO crime movie, this film was astonishingly good. It's refreshing to see someone breathe life into what could have been a trite cliché. The director Mario Azzopardi exhudes such cinematic genius. It is a shame he hasn't worked on more films.

This movie was perverted, overly violent, and horribly acted. I can hardly consider it a B- movie. You couldn't help but hate the two so-called "good guys" about as much as you hated the "bad guys." The entire time Eric Roberts' character was taking part in all the crimes and murders alongside the mobsters, sleeping with countless women, and you even find out that he killed his former partner and it really is not explained why other than "he was in the way." Plus, the storyline is dark, depressing, and grimy and it contains a sex scene worthy of HBO late night. The only good part of the movie was the ending, and I mean the ENDING like when the credits were all done. If you ever see it on TV, turn it off immediately before you want to kill yourself.

"Stiletto Dance" is all about Roberts as a deep cover cop who's inclined to go so "deep" even his own partner doesn't trust him. His mission is to stop Russian mob heavies from getting some red mercury which they need to make a nuclear bomb to nuke Americans. The film features the usual sensationalism (babes, shootouts, blood & guts, brawls, etc.) but fails to distinguish itself even in the B-movie category. Ultimately it plays out like a bad Seagal or Van Damme flick. Only for the most macho-minded couch potatoes. (D+)