Customer Reviews

Angel Eyes

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

No matter who she's playing, Jennifer Lopez has the ability to draw me to the screen. I don't like her music, refuse to by her CDs, but if it's a music video or a movie, I feel compled to watch. I may not like her, but the girl knows how to speak to the cammera. Though the trailer seems a little misleading, I wasn't disappointed to find out the story was more a romance than a thriller or mystery. Jennifer has never failed to make me belive in her characters and "Angel Eyes" is no exception. ... you Miss Lopez, I want to not like your screen work, but I do.

Syrupy, mellow drama from director Luis Mandoki (When A Man Loves a Woman) that is sometimes flat but thanks to some very lovely moments and excellent performances by its two leads is never worth abandoning. Jennifer Lopez is riveting as a Chicago cop who is still hurting over the many conflicts she has had since chilhood with her abusive father and passive mother. One night on the job she is saved from death by a mysterious drifter (Jim Caviezel) who seems just as heartbroken over something, but he won't say what. Caviezel matches Lopez's performance in his moody role, but as has been the case with his last few films his hairstylists and makeup artists seem determined to completely hide the fact that this is a very good looking guy (realism is one thing, but come on! We're paying money here!) The experience of the film is that these two people heal each other simply by becoming each other's friends, and Mandoki's sense of atmosphere gives much to the film (the aforementioned Meg Ryan weepie, on the other hand, was never quite so effective). Better films have been made along this theme, from Passion Fish to As Good As It Gets, but anyone who likes a slow but steady drama about people revealing themselves to one another will definitely want to take a look at this worthwhile romance. Also listen for a fantastic jazzy score highlighted by a trumpet performance of the classy "Nature Boy" (also used this year in Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge).

Strangely, Angel Eyes starts as a thriller, building a promising Ghost- or Unbreakable-style tension. Sharon (J Lopez), the leading lady, is a lady-cop, tough but vulnerable, good-looking, but not eye-striking (thank God, the tasteless extremities of the Cell are over and forgotten), arrives at a scene of a terrible car-crash and tries to keep the last breathing victim alive (we keep guessing, who it is and what becomes of this person). Then, in a year's time, she is saved from a mortal assault by a handsome mysterious guy, Catch. Romance is budding quickly, but who he really is?

Well, not a guardian angel, not a reincarnation apparition, not even a victim of traumatic amnesia. Actors and director keep beating around the bush, stretching patience to the maximum, while you feel irritation building: what angels have to do with all this mediocre mess?

Whatever potential this flick had, vanishes into the thin air after first 40 minutes, degrading into mumbo-jumbo attempting to fuse together family drama, psychological thriller and banal love-story. Some ghosts from the past creep in and the viewers are dragged through all possible cliches while the characters deal them in with strained grimaces. Given the material, J-Lo does her best, while J. Caviezel, who's an undeniably gorgeous hunk (at least in Frequency he showed what he's capable of), shuffles around as a heavy-lidded sweating mannequin on heavy sedatives. Sorry, but these two actors could do better and really ought to know better before signing to participate into this trite, lazily written mess. Watch it once and learn how one s h o u l d n't make movies!

Jeniffer Lopez is truly a beutiful woman . In this movie the viewers will be glad to discover that she looks even sexier than usual in the police uniform . She's rude , she hangs out with the boys all the time but still , she's magnetic . In the film now , Catch ( Caviezel ) has lost his wife and child in a car accident a year ago and since then he wanders around the town with no goal in his life . Sharon ( Lopez ) on the other hand is being shut out by all her relatives because when she was a child she called the police once in order to protect her mother from her father who was abusing her . Yet here , we find her almost begging for forgiveness , trying to eventually fit right back in . The message of this part of the movie seems to sum up to this : when the man of the house hits his wife , it's wrong to ask for help . It's a family thing ,you see and it will ( hopefully ) stop at some point . Caviezel has troubles with his role too . He's being haunted by ghosts of the past and spend his time walking around like a good-looking E.T . His character is traumatised on the surface but what actually lies beneath that ?... who knows . Angel Eyes doesn't seem to bother to tell us anything more about Catch besides showing us his " angel eyes ". Furthermore , the problems with the script make the romance seem weird . The pieces don't fit that good together and the result is a well-crafted yet aimless film . Angel Eyes doesn't work as well as it could and it's a pity since it's been well directed and despite their problems , its two stars deliver the best they can with the roles they've been given and manage develop a bizzare yet affecting chemistry between them .

I didn't see this film in theaters because the reviews were bad, then I watched it recently in a hotel room. I was so pleasantly surprised with Jennifer Lopez's performance, the writing, the direction and the level of taste all around that I watched it again in another hotel room, then I pre-ordered the DVD so my husband could watch with me. James Caviezel is haunting as the man who has withdrawn from life (I never thought he was dead throughout the film, just wounded emotionally). I thought the relationship between the Lopez and him was realistic and sweet without being mushy. Lopez is edgy and vulnerable and a far better actress than she is given credit for being. Her last scene regarding her father is stunning and very emotional. Quite extraordinary in its restraint and good taste. I have decided after seeing films like this that were panned by critics (Moulin Rouge is another example)that I will ignore the critics and go with judgment. You should, too.

Angel has eyes- no legs

A basic formula movie, with a few nip and tucks to make it appear slightly different, this movie might have been direct to cable if it didn't have the guarantee teen, and pre teen audience. Jennifer Lopez plays a troubled cop who gets involved with a troubled victim, and their troubles united to lift them both. At times, it seems that the film is trying to escape its formula, and do a bit more-- and at times, it succeeds in doing a bit more. But I suppose the trouble I had with this film, is that it never succeeded in delighting or surprising me-- and it never actually said anything about the troubles the two were going through-- and like so many films of late, it wasn't really about anything. --Borrowing heavily from the stock image footage of the Sixth Sense, it appears that this movie is trying to mislead us to believe that the main male character "Catch" is dead. It drops the same hints as the Sixth Sense-- The man is killed in the opening scene, we flash forward a year later- he never changes his clothes-- he runs into a kid with highlights in his hair-- and the color red keeps reappearing in his presence. --But, unless your a pre-teen with no attention span, you will never for a moment think he may be dead-- or wonder if Catch is the same guy from the accident. -Oh by the way-- in the opening scene we never see his face--why?? -- This comes off more like cornball tricks, than it succeeds in adding any interest. --I suppose that some thought was given to this script, and it is true that Jennifer Lopez is a far better actress than I would have thought her capable of. It is, a somewhat enjoyable film, which, really should have been enjoyed on cable. It had a vision of better things, but was simply unable, or unwilling to fulfill it. --It had eyes, but no legs. --And-- please, someone tell Hollywood that most people don't swear every other word-- and please tell them to get a camera man that's able of holding the camera still when something's going on. --These elements are also popping up often in films today-- with the addition to, what I call, the double ending syndrome: They could give a sad ending --and they didn't want to give a happy ending-- so they did both-- playing to both sides of the fence-- which only weakens any story.