Angel's Dance (1999)

I can't believe the positive reviews of this movie - I thought it was one of the worst, most poorly executed and poorly acted movies I have ever seen. And the plot was completely ludicrous (sp?). She starts making out with him while he's tied to the chair? puh-lease. The worst part was that it wasn't even bad in a good, laughable way. Just plain terrible - I couldn't figure out why they even bothered to show it on HBO. I thought Belushi was ridiculously silly - very unbelievable as an "eccentric" hit man. idk, I could go on - again, I am shocked by the positive reviews. The only thing that kept me watching it is that it's fascinating to see how a movie can go wrong and what makes it bad. And the ending didn't disappoint in its silliness either! "live by the sword, die by the sword..." ridiculous.

SPOILER ALERT!A few of the commentators wrote of a "surprise" twist ending. It did not surprise me in the slightest. As soon as Sheryl Lee's character started trying to protect herself i knew she would end up as the new assassin's apprentice.I could see Kyle Chandler's doe eyed character being her victim from the moment he thought she was "special".Both those events were signposted rather heavily and so for this reviewer the film did NOT go against Hollywood clichés and surprise the audience (ME!).Still a decent little film though!

I don't know why movies with Jim Belushi don't get more attention when they come out. After I watched Angel's Dance I tried to remember a truly bad Jim Belushi movie, but I couldn't think of anything he's done that I didn't at least enjoy. Well, K-9, maybe, and there was a sort of time travel one where he was a real villain – not like the part he has in Angel's Dance – and I didn't like him playing a bad guy. Otherwise I think its safe to say: if Jim Belushi is in a movie it's probably worth seeing.Angel's Dance also gives us Sheryl Lee in a quirky, funny role that fits her like her body armor. Belushi is the slickest hit man in the business, living on the beach in LA and engaged to train a new guy for a hit Uncle Vinnie needs done in Chicago on a protected witness. The new guy (Kyle Chandler) has to put up with Belushi's Zen training method, and do a hit on a randomly picked victim named Angelica Chaste, played by Lee. Angelica is a very whacked out mortician who doesn't take kindly to being assassinated and decides to defend herself. From there the plot is lightweight, but intelligent, and there are some good laughs and enough action to keep it moving fast.Belushi is a very funny guy! (Oh, and there's a small but lovable bit by Jon Polito as Uncle Vinnie in the first reel.)Writer and director David L. Corley has two other films credited here at IMDb, but I've seen them both and the others don't measure up to Angel's Dance.

This comedy-thriller stars Sheryl Lee, Jim Belushi, and Kyle Chandler (from the TV show "Inside Edition").It is an absolutely wonderful film that showcases Sheryl's acting in a way that none of her films has since "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me." Her character, Angel, goes through a series of transformations that is astonishing, hilarious, and touching. If the film had gotten a major theatrical release, it could have been the "breakthrough" role that would have made a lot of critics and moviegoers recognize her real talent.It is also that rare thing: a funny *and* intelligent thriller that not only shatters movie cliches, but keeps the viewer engaged for the entire length of the movie.School for AssassinsThe story opens on the streets of Chicago, where a businessman is being stalked by a mob hitman. Just as he is about to strike, the hitman is run over by a truck! We learn that the businessman is the former accountant for the mob boss, Uncle Vinny (Jon Polito of "Miller's Crossing"), and he is entering the witness protection program in order to testify against Vinny.A new hitman is needed pronto, and Tony Greco (Kyle Chandler), who once took a bullet to protect another mobster, is elected. Tony is sent to California to train with Stevie Rosellini (Jim Belushi), the most-feared assassin in the country. But Stevie turns out to be a laid-back California dude who lives on the beach and quotes Nietzche, so there is plenty of humor involving the clash between their personal styles and values.After training Tony for a while, Stevie reveals the final test Tony must pass before he can return to Chicago--killing an innocent victim selected at random from the phone book. The victim selected is Angel Chaste (Sheryl Lee), who turns out to be a mortician at a funeral parlor.As Stevie and Tony start tailing Angel, they learn that her life is a bit more complicated that it appears. When Angel discovers what is going on, she uses her intelligence and wit and turns into a far more formidable target than the assassins ever encountered. I won't reveal any more of the plot, as there are several delicious surprises and twists, and an ending that had the audience cheering when I first saw it at as the opening night film for the '99 Cinequest Film Festival.Surprising Production QualitiesIn addition to Sheryl Lee's superb performance, Jim Belushi is dead-on in his portrayal of Stevie. In a question and answer session after the screening, the writer/director David Corley revealed that Belushi was his first choice for the part, and how he fought with the producers to get Sheryl Lee for Angel after seeing her performance in "Backbeat."Corley also told of the five-year struggle to get funding for the film, and the reluctance of the Hollywood studios to finance a film with such a strong and quirky female lead character. This time allowed him to hone and perfect the script, however, and the film is perfectly paced for its 102 minutes. The musical score and cinematography are also impressive for a first feature effort. Corley's prior experience was producing industrial films for Silicon Valley companies and running a video rental store. One can only imagine that he watched a *lot* of videos to come up with a script this original!Unfortunately, the film did not acquire a US theatrical distributor, was bought by HBO, aired a few times on cable with minimal promotion, and was then released to video.Don't miss this "hidden treasure"!