Angel Eyes (2001)

So this was the first movie I went to see with my girlfriend at the time. Why did we choose it? I can't remember, maybe because I wanted to drool when watching Jennifer's beautiful rear.To be honest, I didn't expect much from it, but I have to admit that it's a regular-almost good dramatic feature that would work better as a regular transmission for Hallmark Television.The plot is good at some points but feels more like a direct for t.v. effort. The acting works pretty good and J-LO demonstrates she's a good actress. She performed fine at least. Jim Caviezel delivers a very good performance and demonstrates he's a serious actor. I wonder if he could've worked better in dramatic theater. Sonia Braga delivers a good performance as always.Oh, well, I could only recommend it for fans of the delicious J-Lo or if it airs on late cable.Oh, and I got to see J-Lo's naked ass in this one in a steamy sex scene near a river.

So this is what Jennifer Lopez can do when she tries! She is well cast as a tough Chicago female cop. I once had a friend who was a female cop in Washington, DC, I hung out with her cop pals sometimes, took part in their banter about their latest arrests, was even taken to see them in the cells, and all of that sort of thing is completely accurately portrayed in this film. This is obviously very much Lopez's own natural element: street life and all that goes with it. I can actually believe that she could have become just such a policewoman. She should play more such roles with true grit, as they suit her better than normal romances. She actually looks completely natural when she is punching people in the face and laying them out cold. (I hope she doesn't do that at home.) Apparently she insisted that the mysterious man in the film must be played by Jim Caviezel, which was the perfect choice, and her instinct was spot on. Caviezel does a wonderful job, and his mysterious eyes are just right for someone who does not actually know whether he is dead or alive, and could be either. The deeper purpose of this film is to show the dark, swirling psychological whirlpools of Lopez's family story on the one hand and Caviezel's tale on the other hand. Lopez is superb at conveying her searing emotional turmoil, which is constantly erupting above the surface as rage. Both her father and her brother are uncontrollably violent wife-bashers. She did the right thing as a girl by calling the police when he was beating up her mother, and had him arrested. Not only did the father never really speak to her again, but the mother could not forgive her either, which is of course typical of many battered wives, who suffer from the psychological sickness of not wanting to put a stop to it, and who have married these men on purpose (subconsciously, of course); the sister-in-law is another one who is just the same. Really, there is nothing more annoying than a battered woman who secretly wants it. The irony is that Lopez herself, in going 'to the side of the law' and becoming a policewoman, ends up using her fists a lot herself, but this time to stop crime, not to beat up a spouse. This shows how violent impulses can be turned away from the bad and be used for the good sometimes. (However, special forces soldiers, who are an extreme version of this, generally end up as psychological wrecks, and I know some.) Caviezel's dilemma and the coincidence of their double meetings border on the supernatural, and talented director Luis Mandoki and equally talented writer Gerald di Pego (they earlier collaborated on the excellent 1999 film 'Message in a Bottle') stress all the most mysterious angles in this tale, which makes the whole film more profound than it might otherwise have been, without ever descending into affectation. Shirley Knight gives excellent acting support, and the whole cast are good. This is a highly worthwhile film, which takes a star who often does superficial films and puts her into something real, with excellent results.

I never liked Jennifer Lopez, but she is excellent in this movie. Although you spend a lot of time wondering about 'Catch', Lopez shines in every scene she is shown. It's ironic that each has saved the others lives, but it's when they heal each others heart and soul that they find each other. Both characters have pasts they are trying to deal with, both hide those pasts from each other and refuse to speak of them. But, when they can't handle the past and present, they always turn to each other.If you don't like Jennifer Lopez, watch this movie and you may change your mind.

Surprisingly moving film with Lopez proving she is more than just her looks for a change. It's an early chance to see the guy who was later to play Jesus Caveziel. The director creates a touching scene when they are at the relative's graveside. Lopez plays a woman alone in Chicagio with no real friends until the shy man (Cavaziel) comes into it. They form a rapport over their shared insomnia. They start a disastrous relationship as it is afflicted with a cat and mouse game with both playing hot and cold. Because of their isolation and loneliness, the film is concerned with the need with forgiveness of self and others, reconciliation and redemption through a relationship. This is demonstrated through Cavaziel's previous secret life which he is running away from like the Lopez character. I can recommend this movie as I really enjoyed an intelligent and psychological work that had the courage to direct Lopez in something more challenging than popcorn liked Anaconda. Prior to this the most convincing thing I'd seen her in was in a couple of sketches by the actor Stephen Armourae and that was just pencil, paper and pastel. I hope she continues to be cast in these more demanding roles.