Twisted (2004)

Spoiler Alert : A detective who does not reveal she slept with both victims would be fired or at least severely reprimanded. I think I might be blacking out and killing people when I drink, but that's not reason enough to stop drinking. And although this happens in so many shows, no cop let's the murderer pull their gun out without pulling their trigger (even in the arm).

The main problem I had with this is that the real killer was somewhat obvious from the beginning. Also, it was DEFINITELY obvious by the halfway mark because you know the cast of actors and you're just wondering why the REAL star hasn't had much screen time and when we find out he did by trying to act up a flourish it was like DUH! Other things... I like Ashley Judd, but in this she somehow is elevated to investigator although she has an obvious alcohol problem and looks hung over a lot at work. None of her coworkers or her boss didn't notice? I could deal with her having so many one night stands, but when they turn up murdered, isn't she supposed to be a detective? And if she was concerned she was the killer, WHY would she tell everyone on the force after one lover after another of hers showed up dead?!?! You'd think she'd keep her mouth shut! Also, I mentioned her alcohol problem above, but she seemingly goes into a blackout every time a murder occurs. If you were her don't you think you'd go a little easy on the red wine until the end of the investigation? And, I'm a pretty accomplished drinker, and I know what's enough to buzz me, to get me drunk, and I've only blacked out a couple of times. You think she wouldn't figure out that something was UP with that wine???? Sheesh. So the idea that she was being drugged didn't really occur to me because if I had a few glasses of wine or an entire bottle or two and blacked out I'd still know something was wrong because you know how much does what to your system. So I just assumed that she WAS drinking enough to black out.Andy Garcia has really gotten puffy. I remembered him as being really attractive at one point.In all, it isn't awful, and if you like thrillers and whodunit's it is somewhat watchable. I made it through to the end. Just know that you probably had it figured out just from the cast list from the beginning.

Possibly the worst movie I have seen in the last decade. There are so many things; casting, directing, writing, acting. Take your pick, they were all dismal. Casting: Ashley Judd as a hardened detective? They have to be kidding. During the action scenes, she looked like a 12 year-old who had just been handed a gun for the first time. Writing: Four times she wakes up after passing out and she never realizes that she is being drugged. Unbelievable. Multiple instances of completely unmotivated behavior by characters who should have known better. Acting: Amateurish at best. Even Samuel L. Jackson, a respected actor, couldn't mask the deficiencies of the rest of cast. Directing: Multiple instances of unbelievable action scenes including discontinuities in makeup. Specifically, in the opening scene after being held at knife-point there is blood showing on her neck. Minutes later there is no mark, no bandage, nothing. A very disappointing work. Not worth the time.

Twisted (2004): Dir: Phillip Kaufman / Cast: Ashley Judd, Samuel L. Jackson, Andy Garcia, David Strathairn, Camryn Manhein: Thriller regarding both the case and the emotional state of its central character. Ashley Judd plays a cop promoted to homicide after arresting a rapist but she has issues. She is under duress due to her father's murder spree that ended with her mother before he took his own life. This drove her to alcohol and one night stands. Now the men she picks up end up dead and she appears to be the chief suspect. Interesting setup falls under repetition with Judd passing out night after night on drugged alcohol then awakening to the news that her latest fling is in the morgue. The climax is typical but director Phillip Kaufman places great emphasis on detail, just as he did his far superior Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Judd carries the film as she struggles to figure out reality and fantasy and cope with her duty as a cop. She unfortunately carries the film by herself. Supporting roles by Samuel L. Jackson, Andy Garcia, Camryn Manhein, and David Strathairn are stereotypical props that never develop into anything above a celebrity appearance. Their function is to just maintain a sense of guilt even though viewers will likely predict who the killer really is. Eventually any theme it attempted to present gives way to plot twists that serve only to jerk viewers around worse than Judd. Score: 4 ½ / 10