Inclubabu
Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.
ChicDragon
It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.
Hadrina
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Nayan Gough
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.
Woodyanders
Disgraced former CIA operative Stephen Guerin (an excellent and convincing performance by William Peterson) lives in exile on the lush tropical island of Curacao. Guerin finds himself mixed up in a deadly insurance scam involving fellow expatriate and lone best friend Cornelius Wettering (robustly played by George C. Scott).While the basic story sounds intriguing and the picturesque island scenery sure looks nice, this film alas never cooks the way that it ought to because of pedestrian direction by Carl Schultz, an often plodding pace, James D. Buchanan's overly convoluted script, a crippling dearth of tension, and a narrative that gets bogged down in too much rather tedious talk without nearly enough exciting action to offset it. Fortunately, the good cast keeps this movie watchable: Julie Carmen as Guerin's hard-nosed old flame Julia, Alexei Sayle as the shifty Seamuller, Maria Elligsen as the spunky Diana, Dennis Lipscomb as stuffy superior Henry Rawlings, Philip Anglim as pesky detective Van Vlaanderen, and George Cheung as the slippery Worthy Hsung. Trish Van Devere is wasted in a minor nothing role as a secretary. Ellery Ryan's slick cinematography and the spare moody score by Colin Towns are both up to speed. A decent diversion.
ShootingShark
Steven Guerin is a disgraced fed working a dead-end security job on the beautiful south Caribbean island of Curaçao when suddenly things go a bit crazy. A friend confesses his part in a terrible crime which is now catching up with him, a dangerous South African spy offers him a suspicious job, and a beautiful colleague/lover from his past arrives to complicate matters. What's the right thing to do ?This glossy and enjoyable made-for-cable film is a stylish modern version of glamorous forties classics like To Have And Have Not or The Glass Key, all sultry dames, put-upon heroes, sneaky plot machinations and idyllic scenery. The Dutch Antilles setting of Curaçao is fabulous, with its lush tropical backdrops, steamy groves, sudden downpours, Venetian stylings and carnival atmosphere - it pretty much has erotic thriller stamped all over it. As too does Petersen, who burns through the Bogart/Cagney lead, smouldering intensity, speaking quietly, piercing the other actors with thoughtful stares. Scott has an interesting part as the cowardly bartender Wettering, the lynch-pin of the story, but is unusually ordinary and lumbers himself with a slightly lame accent. However, there is excellent support from Carmen (In The Mouth Of Madness) as the career-comes-first agent, Sayle (Gorky Park) as the nasty apartheid Boss, and Anglim (Haunted Summer) as the world-weary flatfoot. The whole thing is polished off with pleasing photography by Ellery Ryan and a good clattering spy story revolving around a purloined ship's manifest. A fine cable movie by Schultz, who's made some other interesting stuff (The Seventh Sign, To Walk With Lions). Scripted by James D. Buchanan, from his book The Prince Of Malta. The UK TV print has the rather insipid alternative title, Deadly Currents.
David Vanholsbeeck
This is a very slow-paced drama about a bored embassy employee on Curacao. Then he finds out his friend, an old captain(George C. Scott), has some secrets. Soon both their lives are in danger. Not really that special, but quite an interesting story and well-acted too. 6/10
CAPTAIN INDIFFERENT
Seen this video on the shelves often enough so decided to give it a watch. Peterson who I don't mind from Michael Mann's Manhunter does a good job with the stereotypical hero character he's given. He's a disgraced American intelligence agent who has been exiled to a small embassy on just as small an island for killing a fellow (supposedly corrupt) agent.His only comrade is bar owner Scott, who seems to be the only other laid back dude on the island and content with exile. But of course Scott has a secret past, that has South Africa's intelligence agency and the powerful Hsung brothers looking to scorch his ass over his secret past involving a sunken boat with 20 + dead sailors and a hidden log book.Peterson is unwillingly sucked into the dilemma by all parties and even his own agency who promise a welcome back into the fold (by an ex-partner and sexy love interest from his past of course). Won't give away the outcome, or any twists but I will say it is a fair example of it's genre (in my opinion only). The gunplay is a little poor (but hey it was 1993), Peterson's character is also a little self righteous when criticising the South Africans and their policies, especially considering he's an American agent who don't always have a history of being all that upright or incorruptable (morally speaking). The visuals would have been greater with a wider view of the island settings and its karnival scenes however some places in the movie, (hostage and bar scenes) looked like sets regardless of how well the actors tried to, well... act. But I still enjoyed the movie since it's hero was less of a James Bond and more of a Len Deighton or John Le Carre character.