Black Ice (1992)

Very well executed

Pretty Good

Masterful Cinema

A Disappointing Continuation

OnDemand can have some well-known choices and some not so much. This movie falls into the second category for sure. The title Black Ice seemed interesting enough as a name, and the premise drew me in, so here I am watching this movie. I cannot say it was the best movie ever, but it certainly isn't the worst either.The movie is about a girl from Detroit named Vanessa who is on the run from a villainous FBI agent. This idea has been done real well before. Why not now? Sure, Detroit to Seattle seems random, but for a road trip, it is nothing to take lightly. Trust me, this is coming from a guy who has been on a few road trips myself.The plot definitely has its ups and downs. On the bad side, this feels way too abrupt to really care for anyone too much and the final act did seem to get tiresome. This is the biggest problem this movie has and I feel like they missed an opportunity to make a great, risky movie. However, the plot is also believable even if the convenience of some of the happenings in the plot does tend to be grating when it gets repetitive. Also, it doesn't try to be anything more than what it is, but it also does not sugarcoat itself either and can get ballsy. There were times when I asked if it explained what it was trying to do, but then I remembered when the thing I got lost on was explained and carried on with the movie, so to say this movie doesn't explain anything is simply not true because there is actually quite a bit explained here for a movie rated a 4.9/10 overall on IMDb.Ben is not someone who is well-fleshed and so I did not care for his character at all, but Vanessa I actually did feel for, especially when considering why it is she ended up being on the run. Throughout the movie then, I am rooting for Vanessa, if only because she was the only person to root for. There weren't too many characters in the movie though, so that does in a way make up for lack of likable characters. The villain after her was a worthwhile villain, so the movie was kept interesting enough to watch start to finish.Spoiler alert: there are a few sex scenes in the movie. Through Vanessa's body, it convinced me how beautiful she is, so it was enough to feel erotic, but past that, these could have and should have been longer and shown more so that it wasn't so watered-down. Being a film not well-known, this could have benefited from a then-X rating instead of only an R.This film made me feel a lot of things, and while not all of them are good, the good feelings coming out of it do make the movie worthwhile, even for something that is absolutely a one-time showing. Most of the good that came out of the film was definitely from Vanessa, and since she is the main character, that works well enough for me.Do I recommend this? Sure, if you want to pass some time, but don't expect anything groundbreaking. If you have Xfinity OnDemand, you have plenty of time to watch this. It doesn't expire away until January 31st, 2017.

"A Passion For Murder" (or "Black Ice", as it is listed on here) is pretty much a neo-noir road-movie, which means it should add up to something like a mystery thriller. But it doesn't. Throughout the film there's no suspense to speak of and the plot is hardly anything intriguing. The film just hums along without many problems, really, and as mentioned before, Michael Nouri, Joanna Pacula & Michael Ironside manage to carry everything just fine with their three leading performances.Nouri plays Ben Shorr, a cab driver/aspiring writer. One night he picks up Vanessa (Joanna Pacula) who's gotten herself into a heap of trouble, demanding that Shorr should drive her all the way from Detroit to Seattle. All this while being chased by the cold-blooded Quinn (Michael Ironside), who has a score of his own to settle with Vanessa.Ms. Pacula brings a lot of sex appeal to the table (and gets very naked early on in the film, during an extended sex scene). Nouri is convincing enough and Ironside is always entertaining as the bad guy. The rest of the supporting cast gives inferior performances. Only Mickey Jones is worth mentioning, as the taxi company owner.In the end, the climax boils down to a very dull shoot-out between the threesome. Something you can predict from the moment their chase begins. People say they're FBI or CIA, wave a badge and all, but in the end, who cares? "A Passion For Murder" is nothing special, but at the end of the ride I can't bring myself to flunk this little movie. It's not a badly made film or anything and it's an okay form of distraction from every day life for 90 minutes long. The main purpose of most pulp fiction, anyway.

Seductive undercover FBI agent Vanessa (well played by the strikingly lovely, sultry, dark-haired knockout Joanna Pacula) is having an affair with an adulterous married up and coming politician. The sleazy politico wants to terminate the relationship. Vanessa and Hiz Honor the scumbag have a fight, which accidentally results in the jerk's untimely demise. Vanessa hires the chatty, gregarious Ben (a solid and charming performance by Michael Nouri), a down on his luck aspiring novelist who just barely ekes out a living as a cab driver, to haul her to Seattle. Vanessa offers Ben five grand and since Ben's up to his eyeballs in debt he gladly obliges. Naturally, there's a serious glitch: Vanessa's shady, ruthless superior Quinn (a typically steely and redoubtable turn by the always commanding Michael Ironside) doggedly pursues the pair with the sole malevolent intent of killing them both.Neill Fearnley's sturdy, capable direction ensures that "Black Ice" is a perfectly enjoyable and entertaining chase thriller. The pacing drags at first, but thankfully picks up speed and momentum once Quinn decides to give chase, with expertly sustained tension and the taut, compelling narrative successfully holding the viewer's interest throughout. Moreover, the chemistry between Pacula and Nouri is warm, funny and appealing, scoring points with some fine, witty dialogue and several cool quirky touches of offbeat humor. Technically, the film's up to par: David Geddes' crisp, smooth cinematography and Amin Bhatia's moody, bluesy, liberally laced with scintillating saxophone score are both quite tasty. Mickey Jones cameos as Nouri's cranky foul-mouthed boss; he gets wasted by Ironside. (Jones and Ironside previously acted together on the short-lived "V" TV series.) Although nothing truly special, this admittedly modest little item still cuts it as a nicely satisfying and proficiently executed diversion.

Good and strong performances from the three leads, holds up a rather weak script. This is certainly no thriller, but more like a chase movie. The fanciful plot, or lack of it, needed a bit more construction on the bones. It just could have been a lot better.