Uma Casa na Colina

This film is so awful, I just saw it on cable. Try to count the number of times you see the microphone in the upper part of the screen.. I promise you you haven´t seen anything like this... You see it more than the actors.

Have fun!

Just goes to prove it, if you can't beat them, join them. Helen Slater finally did it, appearing nude on film. An interesting movie made all the better by Slater's performance.

The first 30 minutes or so of this film makes you think it's a knock-off of "The Desperate Hours". But it's not. The film keeps coming at you with unexpected plot turns. Helen Slater is fabulous as the actress/housesitter. Michael Madsen is as good as he usually is, looking extremely menacing when he wants to. I thought this movie was delightful, surprisingly good for a film I'd never heard of.

The plot is not all that bad for a low budget item. The acting is good. Three viewings and no boredom! Must say something for it. The underlying theme to me is that sometimes in life two people come together reluctantly and their life changes. They are not meant for one another or so they believe. But every now and then they wonder: "What if?"

There is a murder in the Hollywood hills. Alex Weaver (Helen Slater) is a struggling actress working as a waitress. She replaces her friend to housesit for the needed cash. The cops are next door investigating the murder. The Rankins mistakenly take her bag. Exterminator Mickey (Michael Madsen) unexpectedly comes and assumes Alex to be the owner. He's looking to get something from Rankin and takes her hostage. Will Stryker (Jeffrey Tambor) is the Rankins' new neighbor.

There are a couple of scenes where it is a little too convenient. This should be an intense kidnapping thriller. However there are a lot of false notes being played. The music cues are wrong but that's not the half of it. Madsen is being too cool and lacks the intensity of a real criminal. The romance is awkward and fake like a bad romance novel. It's incredible that Mickey would fall for it. It's completely set up wrong. Jeffrey Tambor is a nice turn but the movie keeps trying to go back to the romantic tones. There is no chemistry to work with here. Just when the movie is coming to an acceptable end, it becomes silly as Helen Slater overacts unconvincingly.