A Great Movie That Has It All

2012-01-23T21:53:00.000-08:00

Blood and Wine (1996) stars Jack Nicholson, Michael Caine, Judy Davis, Stephen Dorf, and Jennifer Lopez. Written by Bob Rafelson and Nick Villiers. Directed by Bob Rafelson. This is a really good film for sure.

Nicholson plays Alex Gates, the proprietor of a wine store. His marriage is going through the motions, and his step son Jason hates his guts. Alex has run the business in the ground and is broke, thanks to spending money lavishly on his mistress Gabby (Lopez), a mini-skirted hotsy working as a nanny for a rich family. Alex has a solution to his money woes with Gabby's help. Steal a necklace from Gabby's employers. But to pull it off, he needs the help of a low life British ex-con Victor (Caine).

Will Alex pull off this robbery and be sitting on easy street? Well things go a little hay wire when Alex finds out Gabby has an attraction for his step son, Jason. And when Alex's wife, Suzanne (Davis) finds out about his fling, well things are about to get ugly. As Jack is packing for a supposed business trip (with the necklace), accusations are thrown at Jack, and a big fight ensues with Suzanne. An ugly one.

Alex and Suzanne argues which soon escaltes into violence. Quickly Suzanne grabs her clothes as Jason comes home, and the two of them leave quickly before Jack can regain himself. When Victor comes over and finds Jack, hears what happened and that the necklace is gone, He is pissed. Half of the necklace sale was supposed to be his. Well there is only one thing to do for Jack and Victor. Get the necklace back.

Jack figures Suzanne is staying on her sister's boat, so he sets off with Victor to the Florida Keys. They are desperate and determined to get the necklace back, no matter what. Arriving in the Keys, the two men begin their hunt. and it doesn't take them long to track Suzanne and Jason down. But they have to be careful, they don't want to risk ruining their chances at getting their hands on the necklace. But after what Jack did to his mom, and the years of deep hatred, Jason is not going to give in to the desperate men's subtle pressure. Jason has a plan. And it is a good one. And he feels comfortable in trying to pull it off.

The ending of "Blood and Wine" is climatic and unexpected. My mouth dropped opened. Wow. I did not see that coming. At all.

While "Blood and Wine" had some critics nit-picking this movie to death, I totally disagree with all them. Most of the criticism was aimed at the director, Bob Rafelson. critics did not like, what they called, the amount of violence and over the top scenes in the 1981 movie "The postman Always Rings Twice", another Rafelson film. This is an excellent movie, with a believable story, great characters, and a climatic ending. To me it was a movie that moved well, never lagged, and will leave most very satisfied.

Running time is 101 minutes and rated R for violence and language.

REVIEWS FOR THIS MOVIE:

Boxoffice.com: "Blood and Wine" is a thriller with a satisfactory amount of action that culminates with a violent reconciliation".

EW.com: Rates this B-

Yahoo.com: 185 users rated this C+

Amazon.com: 23 users rated this 4 out of 5 stars.

Nicksflickpicks.com: B+

Stumpedmagazine.com: "The director Rafelson has created a stylistically beautiful movie in Blood and Wine".

Allmovieportal.com: "Blood and Wine is a black comedy of errors with a very hard edge.

INTERESTING FACTS ON THE ACTORS:

Jack Nicholson: Abandoned by his father in his childhood, he was raised believing his grandmother was his mother, and his mother was his older sister. The truth was revealed to him years later when a Time magazine researcher uncovered the truth while preparing a story about the star.

Judy Davis: Born in Australia in 1955, she attended acting school with Mel Gibson. She was among the cast members of the film "Dark Blood" which was left unfinished by the death of River Phoenix in 1993. As a child she was forbidden to see movies. She hates giving interviews. Only does them when asked and as a courtesy to the directors of her films.

Michael Caine: Born in 1933 in London, he took his name on the advice of his agent from the 1954 movie "The Caine Mutiny". In 1987 the UK publication Empire magazine voted him number 55 of "The Top Movie Stars Of All Time" list. Owns seven restaurants, six in London, one in Miami.

Jennifer Lopez: Born in the Bronx New York in 1969, she struggles with speaking Spanish even though she was raised in Puerto Rico. She used to dance for Janet Jackson.

Blood And Wine On DVD Starring Jack Nicholson

A Great Movie That Has It All