Judas Kiss

Here we have a thoroughly satisfactory crime caper of the film noir variety. The plot has the usual ingredients – greed, sex, betrayal and revenge – but nicely blended and all proceeding at a reasonably fast pace. The casting of two serious British actors, Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman, as a couple of down-at-heel Southern cops is a bit weird, but it works. There's Coco, a gorgeous young femme fatale (Carla Gugino) and three other offbeat young crims, a steamy, authentic New Orleans setting, a kidnap gone wrong (a bystander is shot), hints of police corruption and a tense finale.

The kidnap victim, played by Greg Wise (Emma's real-life partner, apparently) is a Bill Gates-like computer billionaire, though a lot better-looking, who is totally at a loss away from his keyboard – he spends most of his captivity quivering in a corner. I thought it was quite a neat trick to set his ransom at the level of his company's kidnap insurance cover - if you don't have to bear the loss you will be more likely to agree to the kidnapper's demand. The shot bystander turns out to have been the wife of a US senator, played by Hal Holbrook. Hal can do nasty political types in his sleep, but he puts plenty of effort into this portrayal.

Our own Aussie Simon Baker-Denny as Coco's boyfriend and criminal associate brings plenty of cool to the role (a long way from the innocent young cop in E- Street) but Coco is the real stand-out. She's so hot you could fry eggs on her tummy yet she has a certain sense of innate decency that engenders sympathy.

I don't really care if the film was directed by some hot young Venezuelan novelist (Sebastian Gutierrez) who is a fan of Almovodar (whose influence seems to have been limited to the primary colours used in the credits). We've seen the story and the characters all before - this is a Hollywood formula movie freshly prepared and presented with lots of silly bits and there's never a dull moment. Heck, Jamaicans can do bob-sledding – why shouldn't foreigners take over Hollywood? Yet the movie went straight to cable in the US. Silly Yanks.

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.

@Lary9

I caught this film on a lark, never having heard of it, and not knowing what to expect. It is a very well done plot twister, reminiscent of "Body Heat," and with a great cast of unknown young people, backed up by more established stars like Emma Thompson, Alan Ricker, and Hal Holbrooke. You're never really sure about what is happening until the end.

There are people who say it's sub-Tarantino.But I'm not a QT fan,by a long shot ,and I found this flick quite entertaining.There are enough twists to keep you interested throughout.My favorite is Emma Thompson ,whose playing is very tongue-in- chick :I love the scene when she's reading peacefully her book while eating Chinese food while they are waiting for an important phone call.The title is justified too,but you will understand it only in the last third.

Hats off ,once again to Emma THompson,a first-class actress ,who agrees to play a supporting part and so lets lesser known actors shine a little bit.

I caught this on cable. It started out well but I figured it would fall apart eventually but instead it got better and better. I don't know why it went to cable so fast and why there are currently no reviews in the database. It was an entertaining caper movie with great characters and truly unsuspected twists and turns set in New Orleans. Watch for great scenes: the Senators (Holbrook) put down of the detective ' .. don't ever even look at me again...' as well as later, Holbrook's "Apologize!' scene; the muscleman Reuben's method of showing how tough he is ; Coco's sexual heat scenes, Lizard's battle of wits with a determined FBI agent Sadie (Emma);Sadie (Emma Thompson) and (Rickman's) clever repartee. I did find the audio a bit difficult to follow because of background noise and character accents, and why an accountant was assigned by the corporation to deal with the kidnappers was unclear but on the whole an 8 out of 10 film.