beni1l

An okay thriller. Not great. Not good, really, just okay. Based on the cheesily provocative novel by James Patterson, this three-hour movie event brought to you by the peacock network is about a women's coffee-klatsch trying to bust a serial killer who preys on newlyweds. This klatsch includes a very competent Tracy Pollan (L & O; SVU), the great Pam Grier (Jackie Brown), perky and pretty Carly Pope (Orange County) and veteran TV HITG Megan Gallagher (Hill Street Blues, Larry Sanders, and everything in between). Their chief suspect is a highly desirable undesirable named Nicholas Jenks (Robert Patrick of X-Files). Some of the good things about this movie: Carly Pope's imitation of a skank, Mitch Pileggi (X-Files) showing off his leg (Grazie!), Eddie, the flower delivery boy, the saucy vintner ("His restaurants are terrible!"), the Cleveland wedding spectacle, Pam Grier and, yes, Robert Patrick. I wish the movie could have just been Robert Patrick and Pam Grier. Here's an idea for a series: he's a crook in L.A. who's been flipped by the Feds, she's a no-nonsense Fibbie assigned to be his handler as he skulks the underbelly of the City of Angels, snitching... Ah, where was I? Right. The bad things about this movie: the romance between Gil Bellows (The Agency) and Pollan, the "You go, girl!" attitude of the Murder Club, Pileggi's mustache, Patrick's earring, the plot, the ending, the cheesy CSI effects and Gil Bellows. O, Gil! You were so fine in Love and a 45 and now DEK's gone and crushed your finesse under his well-manicured thumb. Damn you, DEK! Damn you to hell! Ahem. Michael O'Hara (Murder in the Heartland) does a fair job adapting a poor novel into something somewhat entertaining and wisely changes the ending. It's not the ending I would have wanted but it was a hell of a lot better than Patterson's original idea. Russell Mulcahy, meanwhile, is wise to return to his beloved genre of Scots & SciFi (The Highlander: The Source) after this so-so effort. Not even Sean Young's violent death or Angie Everhart's breasts could save this movie from mediocrity. Now, about that series...

This is a sexy, cynical tale about journalists in a war zone trying to uncover the truth as they dodge bombs, gun-toting extremists and a corrupt government intent on using them as spies. Not bad for a pilot episode though I doubt America will receive this series with open arms due to the current war fever spreading in Washington. Still, kudos to NBC for even considering doing a series like this. What is established right off the bat is that there is no truth, just stories. We have a crew of hardened war correspondents, lead by Ben (Jeff Goldblume), who throw themselves into hot zones (and into each other's beds) with wild abandon, tossing off cigarettes and snarky quips at each other as they hunt for the all-elusive scoop. This group includes a newbie photographer who is partnered up with Ben, a foreign-accented spy/source, a beautiful blonde British journalist who sleeps with everyone but Ed Begley Jr., and, well, Ed Begley Jr. I think War Stories has great potential as it addresses the age-old issue of journalistic objectivity with more contemporary arguments and with sexy results. It's a refreshing alternative from the slew of reality-based TV programming spamming our networks.