Vice

2008

Several elements of an undercover drug bust operation go awry. First, the police cover is broken and a the bloody shoot-out results in the death of an unarmed woman, which prompts the police to plant a weapon on her and create a cover story. Second, the most important drug dealer escapes. Third, a large haul of heroin is discovered by the cops, but it does not all find its way to the police evidence room.

The officers involved in the bust are soon isolated and murdered one by one. It appears that the escaped baddie is using his gang to get revenge for the bust and the drug rip-off. Finally the cops start turning on one another, each thinking another has taken the stash. The survival of the clean cops seems to hinge entirely on whether they can figure out just who is really dirty, a process which becomes even more complicated when IA and the Feds get involved. Several unexpected plot twists lead to a bloody conclusion in which the final secrets are revealed.

Vice is an independent film produced by actors Daryl Hannah, Matthew Robert Kelly and Michael Madsen, starring ... guess who? ... Daryl Hannah, Matthew Robert Kelly and Michael Madsen. They lined up some  respectable talent to support the script by writer/director Raul Inglis, most notably the cinematographer Andrzej Sekula, whose previous projects have included Pulp Fiction and American Psycho.

The atmosphere is fraught with tension, fueled by paranoia and some substance abuse, that the tempers of armed people often flare out of control. The cops involved in the bust who are not killed by the avenging baddies are killed by their fellow team members, sometimes in cold blood, sometimes in shoot-outs. The writing and direction are efficient enough that the most important secrets are revealed at the proper times while the action is fueled by a driving score and some particularly loud and frenetic background noises, which raise the ante on the dramatic tension in several scenes.

There's nothing really new here, but this unrelentingly grim film is competently assembled and held my attention to the end as I tried to guess everyone's secrets. Vice is certainly not for everyone because there are absolutely no light moments, and there's no wit. When not trying to solve the mystery, often by using abusive and illegal tactics on suspects, the cops are constantly on each other's backs. Even the brief glimpses into their personal lives reveal darkness and sadness. Tempers are so close to the edge that somebody occasionally gets mad at someone else and just blows them away. And I'm talking about the good guys!

The film got no takers for theatrical distribution, except for a token release in a few theaters in May of 2008, thus making it one of the strongest offerings to come along in the straight-to-DVD category. If ultra-grim cop mysteries are your thing, you could do a lot worse.

There is full frontal and rear male nudity, but the women provide only breasts:

• Justine Warrington
• Brenda Matthews
• unknowns
• Sandra-Jessica Couturier (Note: this clip is just a sub clip of the "unknowns" scene, for those of you who keep the material filed by actress names. If you will not be collecting these, and have watched the "unknowns" scene, then you have already seen this one.)

 

 

Malena

2000

One of the most beautiful women IMHO in the world, Monica Bellucci shows it all off in Malena.

No other words are necessary.

Elisa Morucci, who is quite a looker herself, also gave it all up in the same movie.
 

 

Pics

Elsa Zylberstein falls out of her dress.

Film Clips

Jane March in the European theatrical release of Color of Night: I'll let the guy who posted these three clips describe the action: "The Euro theatrical version of Color of Night has some extra scenes that aren't in its director's cut version. (Overall, the director's cut is longer than the Euro theatrical version, though) Here are some videos of those extra scenes: The first video is a webfind (credit to artists); in this video, you can clearly see Bruce Wills' penis dangling under Jane March's ass. (samples below) The second video is basically the widescreen version of the first video (I used this movie's Italy DVD to create this video); but for this scene, I like the widescreen version better. (In the widescreen version, you can't clearly see Bruce Willis' penis dangling under Jane March's butt, though) (Sample below) The third video is another webfind (credit to artists). It is another extra scene of Euro theatrical version. (Director's cut has similar scene, but you can't see Jane March's face in that scene) (Sample below) Amelia Curtis and Simona Armstrong in Love Soup, a BBC drama which began in 2005 and is still running (sample right) Julie Depardieu in The Witnesses  (sample right)

Barbara Hershey and Catherine Burns in Last Summer. (1969) This is the controversial rape scene. I have seen this many times in the past without realizing that I was looking at edited versions. This is a longer, and possibly a complete and uncut version of the scene. Catherine Burns, as the rape victim, was nominated for an Oscar. The other three kids in the scene, all unknowns at the time, went on to long careers in showbiz which continue to this day: Barbara Hershey, John-Boy Walton (Richard Thomas), and Willard (Bruce Davison). Davison and Hershey would eventually get their own Oscar nominations, and John-Boy would be nominated for two Emmys and two Golden Globes. (He won the Emmy in 1974 for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Continuing Drama Series)

Greta Scacchi in The Red Violin (1998)