Judas Kiss (1999)

How sad is this?

A Masterpiece!

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

It's not easy to find Judas Kiss on VHS (it's not available on DVD), but I wanted to add this rather obscure movie to my Alan Rickman movie collection.I can't understand how the talented Mr. Rickman gets into these mediocre films? Judas Kiss boasts several wonderful actors, an interesting plot and intriguing twists, but its strange visual wanderings and chopping editing ruined what might have been a great crime drama. Many scenes seem to be missing vital information to explain the character's actions: Why was our hero immediately suspicious of his bosses? Why did he mistrust the detective he replaced? There were times when I honestly couldn't tell if the director meant Judas Kiss to be a legitimate crime drama or a campy spoof. Why else would he toss in a topless/alien/lesbian porno scene in the first two minutes (that little surprise certainly made me scramble for the remote since my kids were playing nearby!)? Did he purposely instruct his two distinguished English actors (Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson) to use such awful New Orlean's accents? As an Alan Freak, I confess that I still thought Mr. Rickman was sexy: in a rumpled, weary, "take-him-home-and-tuck-him-in" sort of way.Judas Kiss isn't a great movie, but it does have some intriguing moments, but I don't recommend it unless you're trying to immerse yourself in Alan Rickman.

Crime drama has never been my thing. The only reason I even bothered with this film can be summed up in two words: Alan Rickman. As much as I have been impressed with other films featuring this exotic actor, if his on-screen career were a suburbanite neighborhood, this little fleck of mud in your eye would have been the foul-mouthed, vexed-at-the-world, everyone-is-going-to-pay teenage kid on the block. Rickman's darkly enchanting mastery of his craft -- as it sadly often is on-screen -- is scathingly underutilized here, punctuated appropriately by his lack of screen time. Due to a plot so shallow and used-up that it insults the average intelligence of protists, Rickman's performance can be synopsized as cardboard at best, with the screenplay allowing for none of the passion, power and poignant wit that are his trademark. The only ray of light in this pit of a production is the sheer rapier wit contained in the rapid-fire, super statirical banter between Emma Thompson and Rickman, whom,historically are pure poetry together on film.Overall this film is infused with excessive and non-contextual graphic sexual content from the first frame to the last. Overt exposition of the female anatomy and depiction or implication thereof in various compromising positions are the only selling points this otherwise impotent creature possesses. I can only echo the sentiment that this type of crime-drama has been more tastefully rendered in days past. Order take-out, but skip this losing proposition of a movie and splurge for a pint of Ben & Jerry's instead. ('Chunky Monkey' goes great with Chinese.)

I got this movie from eBay mainly because I'm gay and I love Til Schweiger. However, it's one of those movies that, when you watch it a second time, you never say to yourself, "Hmm. I forgot about this boring part. I'll go make popcorn." It doesn't have that part. It's a very fluid and constantly interesting film. And, yes, Til Schweiger is worth it, if nothing else. But, it's a great movie even for straight guys.

Thirty pieces of silver and a kiss for luck. This one was another totally unexpected gem. Usually, I'm not even a suspense/thriller fan. This satisfying 100 minutes has more twists than a boardwalk pretzel. It has titillating erotic romance, reminiscent of "Body Heat" in more ways than one; it has cops and crime; political intrigue and just a dash of daytime soap. It has just the right touch of gritty violence that any professional "by-the-numbers" crime job must employ. Emma Thompson, (FBI AIC), delivers her role with grace and humor and gets my vote for best fake southern accent by a Limey. Alan Rickman, (local cop), who always seems to steal the show, is excellent but not overbearing. They work well as a pair. Lots of plot misdirection that never gets out of control and gets coherently reconnected at film's end. And who is this awesome woman, Carla Gugino? I want her to bear my children. Carla, if you're out there, let's do lunch