norse76

In the history of sports movies, there are characters that will stand the test of time: Rocky Balboa, Apollo Creed, Rudy Ruettiger, Daniel LaRusso, and Randy "The Ram" Robinson. All of these pale in comparison to the most well-rounded, charismatic, and fascinating character, Rip Thomas, in Thomas J. Wright's gritty masterpiece, 1989's "No Holds Barred".

This film is a stunning portrayal of a scenario that's all too real in our society: a struggling television network looks to turn their fortunes around by seeking to hire the world's greatest athlete, professional wrestler Rip Thomas, portrayed by classically trained actor Terry "Hulk Hogan" Bollea. Although I'm sure it was a close call for the voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, this is a performance that should have easily won an Oscar for one of our most treasured artists.

Not to be outdone, is Tommy "Tiny" Lister, as one of the most quotable characters of the '80s, Zeus, a man struggling with brain damage who's determined to achieve what many believe to be impossible by beating Rip, the Establishment's "Great White Hope".

This movie will leave you wondering which of these heroes you want to cheer for, as we, the audience, have a chance to see all facets of their characters' backgrounds and motivations. You'll find yourself applauding one minute and holding your breath in anticipation the next, as Rip and Zeus battle to reach their ultimate goal of proving why America is the greatest country known to both man and alien lifeforms.

Make no mistake, although this movie is titled "Amadeus", it's really the story of tortured composer Antonio Salieri, who was forced to acknowledge that he would never be the musical equal of the brash, crass, immature prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The framework for this movie is a "confessional" by Salieri to a priest who is visiting him while he is recovering in a sanitarium after a failed suicide attempt.

As portrayed by actor F. Murray Abraham, in a performance more than deserving of his Academy Award, Salieri is both pitiful and terrifying in his desire to destroy a man who he feels was unjustly given his talents from God. Abraham does an incredible job portraying a man who seethes with fury while plotting his perceived rival's undoing, all the while maintaining his composure in public.

Tom Hulce turns in a great performance as the incredibly gifted but reckless Mozart, a man with immense talent who tends to squander what he gains on living lavishly and wallowing in alcohol.

Also of special mention is the work of Jeffery Jones as the tone-deaf Roman Emperor Joseph II, and Elizabeth Berridge as Mozart's long-suffering wife Constanze Mozart.

This film is both a testament to incredible acting as well as a feast for the eyes and ears.

I happened across this movie on Netflix and, due to my love of noir films and its 94-minute running time, I decided to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this.

The plot set-up is fairly simple: a wealthy British businessman returns home early from a business trip to America, discovers evidence that his younger, seemingly devoted wife has been stepping out on him, and decides to get his revenge. That's where the fun begins.

His seemingly foolproof plan doesn't quite go exactly as he thought, which is the case in a lot of movies like this. What separated this movie, though, was that even as the husband's plan began to lose its original shape, what he was able to mold it into became even more diabolical than it was at first intended.

Although all of the cast does a decent job in their assigned roles, it's really the lead roles of the husband and wife played by Eric Portman and Greta Gynt, that deserve special mention. Both play their parts quite well, Portman as the well-spoken, egotistical husband, and Gynt as the manipulative, philandering wife.

I especially enjoyed watching Gynt's character, who plays the role of the femme fatale here as a treacherous vixen who could stand alongside noir's best. In certain movies where wives seek the affections of someone other than their respective mate, they're portrayed as a character who just desires attention from an emotionally distant husband, or one who is either emotionally or physically abused at the hands of a domineering brute. Here, however, she is a truly terrible person, and some of the reactions she gives when hearing information that would normally be very troubling to a person is pretty fascinating.

I don't want to build this movie up as anything more than it is, an enjoyable hour-and-a-half of a formula most of us have seen before, but check this one out on a rainy day when you don't feel like going outside. You might find that it's a bit better than you'd expected.