Poder, Sedução e Intrigas

1st watched 11/19/2002 - 2 out of 10(Dir-Paul Levine): Boring, slow-moving movie that eventually becomes about a couple of people trying to steal from one another the high-tech way(thru swiss bank accounts). It's a sad thing when the best you can say about a movie is a person's figure and looks. I'm sorry but I have to say it, the best thing about this movie is Kari Wuhrer's body. The rest of the movie was boring, worthless, and a ridiculous waste of money(for those who made it and for those who purchase or rent it). I waited, and waited, and waited for this movie to be over and guess what. it finally ended!! I guess I've pretty much said enough. Don't invest in this loser.

stylish visual choices and expensive-looking locations highlight this old fashioned betrayal yarn, reminiscent of some of the early rko films, this one with a european feel; nice to look at despite a script that would have been better if cornell woolrich wrote it. while this isn't saying very much, it's probably the best performance of kari wuhrer's career. same goes for baldwin. it looks like the creative people may have cared. really sucky music and poor color timing, typical of films by this cheesy company, aren't consistent with creative directions, suggesting that producers (credits include milli vanilli) probably had the prevailing low budget hand in post-production. too bad.

A cheap movie - and not only because it is low budget. The action pretends to be about a cheating scheme in the high tech capitalist venture world. It actually is just confusing and predictable at the same time. Directing and camera work are close to ridicule, and acting does not get higher than low quality TV dramas. Steve Baldwin is shaming the Baldwin name by participating in this movie. Even the erotic scenes seem to be just there to fill in the time. 4/10 on my personal scale. Avoid it!

DVD synopsis:

A sexy executive (Kari Wuhrer, "Eight Legged Freaks", "Anaconda") is seduced by a younger man (Stephen Baldwin, "The Usual Suspects") into stealing $40 million from his politically ambitious father. As the elaborate swindle is set in motion and their erotically-charged affair reaches a boiling point, the two begin to question the intentions of one another. Is he pampered rich boy getting his kinky kicks with an experienced older woman or is she a shrewd black widow out to make a killing? As the bodies pile up and the double-crosses multiply, one will be left holding the fortune, while the other will be caught in a web of deadly deception.

Who is going to be the overall winner? Wuhrer or Baldwin? You cannot help but wonder but what happens to them in the film is their own stupid faults. It seems that no one is this world can get enough and it is true. Everyone wants what they cannot have and what is not theirs to be deserved or had. I have watched this film many times, and there is so many double crosses, over-laps, deceit and betrayal that when I think about it, it is almost as if that the film is a jigsaw puzzle, whose pieces have been scattered after completion.

All though good, I am sorry to say that the "money" thrillers have been done time and time again and now, it is hard to find or come up with new and unique ideas.

Lauren Bishop (Kari Wuhrer), an efficient executive, meets Clay Harding (Stephen Baldwin), the son of the owner of the company where she works, in a business meeting. After having intense sexual intercourse, they decide to deviate the company money to a Swiss bank. Last, a cheating game between them two will make a winner and a looser.

With more care, the plot of this low budget B-movie could be attractive. But the problem is the excessive and long sex scenes between the two main characters. Instead of improving the screenplay, writer and director give free sex for the viewers. Stephen Baldwin is a bad actor, and maybe for him it would really be necessary to show his butts many times for the pleasure of his feminine public. However, Kari Wuhrer does not seem to be such a bad actress. Indeed, she seems to know how to act. I have not watched the films in her filmography, but she does not need to show her beautiful naked body all the time. I am not daring to compare 'Spider's Web' with the fantastic 'noir' 'Body Heat', but sex in Lawrence Kasdan's movie was sensual, was part of the plot. In this 'Spider's Web', it is free, rough, looks like in 'Sexy time' or other erotic show. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Poder, Sedução e Intriga" ("Power, Seduction and Intrigue")