Fascination
|
List Price: Our Price: $2.98 You Save: $1.00 (25%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.77 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Fascination
Movie Review: "Let me kiss you through the pain"
Summary: 3 Stars
Everyone knows that the lovely Jacqueline Bisset is a B-grade actress. So you can be pretty certain not to expect too much of a film that she's starring in. Klaus Menzel's Fascination is definitely one of those movies.
Advertised as a sexy, erotic thriller, Fascination is anything but sexy and erotic, coming across as a rather flaccid, adolescent exercise in boutique sex. A hallmark of this film genre is that is should at least typify a certain amount of sleazy seriousness, but Fascination comes across as anything but; it's too over the top to be erotic, and in the end, it's just not that thrilling.
The still ravishingly beautiful, Ms. Bisset plays Maureen Doherty, a wealthy Florida wife and mother, who becomes even richer when her husband (James Naughton) inexplicably drowns in the water off the coast of their exclusive shorefront mansion. They've never had a particularly happy marriage, but this becomes even more painfully obvious when Maureen returns from a recuperative cruise with new fiancé, Oliver Vance (Stuart Wilson) immediately in tow.
Maureen's son Scott (the Australian Adam Garcia) is outraged that she would even consider marrying Oliver so soon after his father's death. Convinced that some thing is "not quite right," Scott has his father's body exhumed to find out whether there were drugs in the dead man's system. His dad was a silver-medallist swimmer in the 1964 Olympics, and he'd swum off the coast thousands of times; it just doesn't seem right that he would inexplicably meet with this kind of accident.
Things get even more mysterious when Scott overhears a mysterious phone call of Oliver's involving the development of a beachfront property that Scott treasures in its natural state. In the end, all this proves just too much for Scott to handle.
But luckily though, Oliver's sexy daughter Kelly (Alice Evans) is around to ease his pain. They enjoy one long, seductive dance at a nightclub on the beach, and also have fully-clothed sex on the slanted roof of the local City Hall in the rain, while their parents are getting married.
There's something mysterious and puzzling about Kelly, and when she tells a story of how her father might have been mixed up in her mother's death, and consequently, Scott's father's death, the young man begins to realize that she maybe part of a "set up" to collect Scott and his mother's fortune.
The revelations come thick and fast, as the characters' pasts catch up with them, and Scott races against time to find out the truth behind his father's supposed accident. Suspicion, duplicity, and betrayal abound as the film stumbles along, and ambles towards a rather preposterous conclusion.
Much of the story consists of dreary, expository conversations as the two kids lay around their parents' picture-postcard, luxury home. Kelly, it seems, is already trying to plant seeds of suspicion in her new lover's head, and it is gradually revealed that she's a truly enigmatic character. But what's Kelly really up to? And what is the truth behind her relationship with Oliver?
The script is mostly laughable. In one instance Kelly anxiously tells Scott: "let me kiss you through the pain" just after their sopping wet, rooftop assignation starts happening. The acting is passable with Bisset probably giving the best performance. Evans and Garcia look terrific, but they're often stiff, and too obviously uncomfortable in their roles, and they have next to no chemistry together.
Fascination is mildly entertaining in a kind of "late-night, cable soft-core" sort of way. There's lots of flowing, gauzy curtains, sweaty bodies, and heavy panting, but none of it is particularly titillating. And the final scene is as outlandish and outrageous as it is welcome. Mike Leonard May 05.
Movie Review: 3 stars just about right for this film...maybe 3 1/2 for the sexy parts
Summary: 3 Stars
No synopsys of the film from me.
Pics and marketing of a film are sure to get ones interest....but seeing the film is the final proof.
Had this script been read by people who know film than a lot of changes would have been made. This could have been a taught little thriller in the right hands....but it wasn't. Sometimes less is more...but this was overall too much. Alice Evans does the best with what she has to work with. The others are just making a film for TV.
You can't judge a DVD title by it's cover yet we often do. A pic is worth a thousand words and sometimes less after you have seen the film.
Movie Review: You DON'T Fascinate Me So!
Summary: 2 Stars
"She's either the love of his life or the end of it" reads the tagline for "Fascination". And that right there is a big tip-off for what kind of movie to expect. It gives the entire movie away.
Patrick Doherty died in a swimming accident but the odd thing is he was an excellent swimmer, soon, 3 months to be exact his wife, Maureen (Jacqueline Bisset) is engaged to Oliver (Stuwart Wilson) to the dismay of her son Scott (Adam Garcia).
Scott soon meets his step-sister Kelly (Alice Evan) and believe it or not an attraction starts. Soon Kelly, in subtle ways, starts to manipulate Scott's mind and starts making him think his mother killed his father.
"Fascination" really wants to be a steamy sexy thriller. I can see it either as a cinemax late night movie or a WB TV series. The movie even goes as far as to have the guys walk around with open shirts to try and make us, or at least the women, think the movie is sexy. You could compare this movie to the works of Claude Chabrol, the dirty secrets of an upper-class family has always been one of Chabrol's favorite themes. But "Fascination" does not have the pleasure of being directed by Chabrol instead it is directed by Klaus Menzel. Menzel though makes the mistake of taking away all of the mystery of the film. He tries too hard to spell everything out of us. Events become too obvious and thus breaks all the suspense the movie could have created. That is a sign of Menzel's inexperience.
I mentioned that Scott and Kelly have an attraction between them knowing full well they are about to become related. "Fascination" is now starting to open a whole new can of worms for itself as now it's dealing with incest. The reason I question this move is because the movie just doesn't seem interested in exploring these people and instead wants to focus on the mystery of whether Scott's father was murdered. To bring incest in the story means that you are going to have to examine the relationship between these people. "Fascination" does not dwell on the psychological aspect of these people.
Then we have the terrible dialogue. It simply sounds phony. The scene where Scott meets Kelly is an embarrassment for the actors. The pick-up line he uses on her is corny. People don't really talk to each other this way. The movie has problem with that. Dialogue is not written in a convincing way. Even the music is wrong. It tries too hard to be alluring and sexy, like the movie itself. Menzel is hitting us over the head making sure no one walks out of this movie confused. While that is a very nice gesture on his part it really does take out all the suspense of the situation.
"Fascination" has a twist up its sleeve that is just sprung on us. I think it's a cheap shot, you may not. Nothing leading up to this secret though is really suggested.
Is "Fascination" a really bad movie? Not really. One is almost tempted to merely toss it aside as a "guilty pleasure". A movie that doesn't seem to have high ambitious but is entertaining nonetheless. Notice though I said one is "almost" tempted. That doesn't mean that I'm going to do that.
Bottom-line: Despite the pleasure of seeing Jacqueline Bisset the movie doesn't have much to offer. Director Klaus Menzel tries too hard to spell everything out for us but the movie then comes cliche and predictable. The movie carries no suspense.
Movie Review: Gobble Gobble
Summary: 2 Stars
The DVD for "Fascination" has a great cover and makes you think this will be a romantic film set in exotic locations. There really was only one beach location, which probably helped cut down on the budget. Klaus Menzel's direction lends a sputtering pace and made me feel the picture was going downhill as it changed from romance to attempted thriller. James Naughton from 1974's "The Paper Chase," "First Wives Club" & "Devil Wears Prada" plays the father whose swimming accident casts an early shadow over the film. Adam Garcia plays his son Scott. Garcia has been in a number of films including "Bootmen," "Coyote Ugly" & "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen." However, I didn't quite remember him, nor would his rather wooden self-absorbed performance and his flat vocal affectation be likely to make me recall him from this film. However, he does a good job in the bare bottom love scenes. Scott's mother is lovely Jacqueline Bisset who has had a long career since she first claimed fame as Giovanni Goodthighs in "Casino Royale" back in 1967 and went on to work with Francois Truffaut in "Day for Night." She has 4 Golden Globe nominations with the most recent being in 1999 for "Joan of Arc." She does a good job as the mother Maureen who has an affair that turns into her second husband. Unfortunately, her taste in men does not improve as husband #2 appears to be on a revenge mission for husband #1 who let husband #2's wife #1 drown -- in short, the plot is a bit contrived and confusing with more twists and turns than common sense. Husband #2 is Oliver Vance played by Stuart Wilson from "The Prisoner of Zenda," "Wild Things," "Lethal Weapon 3" & "Enemy of the State." As the bad guy, he is overbearing and a bit revolting. His intimacy with his adopted daughter turns him into a real sleaze merchant. His adopted daughter Kelly has the most confusing of roles, confusingly written, although actress Alice Evans does as good of a job as possible with this. Why a girl who survived the streets of Johannesburg decides to try to jump out of a car at the end of the movie didn't make sense to me. Such was the bundle of contradictions of this character. How could she allow herself to be used by her stepfather? Why would she still feel allegiance to him? The only real answer is the screenwriter wanted her in the movie; and that's how she arrived. Evans has worked in "National Lampoon's Blackball," "My Wife Maurice" & "102 Dalmatians." This role will hardly catapult her onto Hollywood's "A" list. The actors bravely stick with this turkey that does have some nice love scenes & one tropical location. Otherwise, you'll be wondering how much longer until it's over. The alternate ending apparently had Garcia dead; so I'm glad they picked the ending they did. Taxi!Movie Review: not fascinating
Summary: 2 Stars
Even though women viewers may love the bedroom scene because Adam Garcia is naked. . . (One reviewer already stated his butt alone is worth the price of the DVD.)
Even though men viewers may love the pool scene because Alice Evans strips off her wet panties. . .
This movie does not work. It doesn't work with either of its supplied endings. It doesn't work because soon after viewing other parts of the story start crumbling. It is a shame--there are creepy, interesting parts. With more nudity, it would have made great pornography; with more story, it would have been a classic.