Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

trixie30 We watched this again because it was on a late night movie channel. It's as trite and cheesy as we remembered. But for us, it's worth it just to watch the scenery because we visit Hawai'i when we can and love the islands. Let's see...The notion of putting a hotel literally on Kilauea was ridiculous even then. Now, it's simply hilarious. Conditions change day to day. Less than 3 months after our last visit to the Halemaumau overlook, the parking area, path, and the old beautiful cross were destroyed by an explosive eruption. Ask anyone who had property in Royal Gardens or Kalapana about that. Madam Pele can literally drop rocks on your head at any time.We enjoyed Debra Winger then and now, even though her character was obviously clichéd. Her performance was strong and she always looks like an attractive real person. We disliked Theresa Russell then and now. I've never been a fan, but her performance here was so bland and flat that she seemed half asleep the entire time. She's certainly not unattractive, but we don't find her believable as a femme fatale. She didn't ruin the movie, but it would have been better with someone else in the role. Someone who could have made the material feel better than it was.The so called sexual tension between the two women seemed awkward. Maybe the producers/director/writer thought it was edgy at the time? Theresa Russell's Texas accent (and her whole "look") was cringe inducing. But that was redeemed by swimwear, etc. in Hawai'i.Don't watch this movie expecting a rich, deep film noir experience. But do watch it for the scenery, Debra Winger's enjoyable performance, the supporting cast, and a plot that let's you float along with it.

brchthethird This is a rather ordinary mystery/potboiler in which a game of cat-and-mouse is played between two women. I said it's ordinary because there really isn't much to distinguish it from other similar movies except that the two leads are women. The acting is serviceable, and no one really gives a breakout performance. The film's greatest weakness is probably in the writing. The film starts out strong, but it's as if the writers ran out of ideas when it came to the final act. The pacing slows down a lot (and wasn't even perfect to begin with, given all of the time lapses) and the story begins to focus on a love triangle that really isn't compelling at all. Some lesbian/homoerotic tension is hinted at and, as if to give the perverts in the audience something to guffaw at, culminates in one of the quickest and most awkward kisses I've ever seen. They also don't treat the women in the film very kindly either, particularly the two leads. The only type of independent women they have are either manipulative bitches or hard-working women without much time for romantic endeavors, and both of them are presented as sex objects throughout the entire running time. Debra Winger's character is of the second type and is constantly subjected to crude comments and unwanted sexual advances, while Theresa Russell is the other type, who sees marriage as the pinnacle of her life even if she uses it to her own nefarious purpose. There are some glorified cameos by Dennis Hopper and Nicol Williamson which are entertaining. It's too bad that they weren't in the film more, but they do elevate the material somewhat in their limited screen time. Overall, I'd say this is about two thirds of a decent movie, despite the implausibility of it all.

LeonLouisRicci Good Looking Film that has Disappointment Written All Over it. It is Sleek, yet Surprisingly Unsuspenseful. Theresa Russell Steals the Show Showing some Depth to the Title Character but Ultimately the Movie is Brought Down by Some Sloppy Editing and Rushed Exposition.It has Sheen but is Short on Thrills as it Often Cuts from or Eliminates Scenes that Seem Essential and Adds Others that are Supremely Superfluous or Silly (like the shower part with Winger). Speaking of Debra Winger, She is Boring, Clichéd, and Bland as a Modern Professional Woman that has Joined the Workforce, so Therefore Must be Written as "one of the boys". Much has been Read Into that.With No Dating Skills and Frumpy Clothes She Buys a Gun for Some Reason and then has it set off the Alarm at the FBI (this is supposed to be a smart Agent) and is Lectured on Firearms by Her "smart" Boss that Tells this Law Enforcement Officer to "Take it back to Sears." The Motivation Behind that Scene is Anyone's Guess.There is a bit of Chemistry Once the Investigation Collides and the Two Women Meet Near the Bedroom Battlefield, but that Part of the Film, while the Best Part, is Short and Leads to a Muddled Conclusion that is about as Unsatisfying as the Film Itself.Overall, this is a Feminine Fantasy, some Perverted Wish Fulfillment for Eighties "Greedy" Women, who were Left Out of the Market and do Their "Gordon Gekko" not with Stock Manipulation, but with a More Natural and Organic Talent.

johnnyboyz Black Widow spiders are, I suppose, as famous as they are out of their curious habits and perverse naturalistic tendencies insomuch upon reproducing with a male of their species, they proceed to consume the male. Does the male know what awaits them? Is it a little like a bee knowing that should it sting something, it will die? Are they each and all as oblivious to the female's threat as they always have been? Perhaps there's just a perverse set of intelligentsia trapped within the male that has them damn-well know what awaits them post sex, it's they just that they enjoy the sensation of going through with it before encountering doom so much that is doesn't bother them. Regardless, it will all sound rather improper to some and will put others off sitting through a feature entitled "Black Widow" upon finding out it's about a woman whose numerous husbands, of ridiculous wealth, show up dead just in time for said woman to inherit what it is they possess.But then there would be a mite of ill applied presumption about these people. Certainly, an unheralded 80's film from a director, whose previous work was the remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice, entitled "Black Widow" sounds like the sort of sleazy seduce-fest that happens to have an unnatural preoccupation for sex and death, usually in that order. The proof in the eating of this particular pudding is far from which its cover and reputation alone allude. For here is a film about a woman hunting another woman, that is to say a law enforcer seeking a criminal. Additionally, here is a film whose preoccupation with cause, effect and criminal procedure relegates men to that of bit parts and murder victims while promoting these female roles to the forefront so that may battle one another and essentially out smart the other. Here is a film sharper than one would think and Black Widow cuts a decent investigative piece.I suppose the thrill is always in the 'how' we're going to nail her, not 'who' we're going to nail when one tackles these sorts of films. We open on a private jet that the woman on board would never have afforded in half a dozen lifetimes, never mind her own here and now. She is the widow to a recently deceased and she's come to make it a bit of a habit in recent times to casually be informed of her husband's passing before blurting out some crocodile tears and marching on in life. In co-ordinance with the paragraph's opening statement, it's fairly obvious that the woman had something to do with the deaths of these people – it's just that the evidence column is too bare. We're aware that all this money and riches have suddenly entered this woman's life after a recent marriage, but clueless if we can unravel it as much more than mere coincidence.Cutting to the other important female named Alex (Winger), we observe a woman who works for her keep and stays within the law. Alex, a data analyst with the Department of Justice whose name is in turn ambiguous in regards to its gender, breezes into work one day and batters away any doubt over her theories that what this woman is doing is the obvious – that is to say, hopping from rich husband to rich husband and doing away with them silently once its confirmed their cash is hers upon death. As she looks further into the stories, it's revealed that she herself hapless with other men and relationships in general – something that seems embarrassing to her, something that needs to be tiptoed around. The central idea, then, comes to form a backbone to a film whereby a woman becomes besotted with a woman who happens to bounce from man to man with a sickly ease. While there is little question over Alex's sexual orientation, the investigations appear to open her mind to new things in this regard before essentially rendering her one of what the killer is in the first place: someone bounding around the world, infiltrating certain circles and then garnering that perverse glee once bodies have hit the floor and those left standing are all the more richer for it.In beating away the sexual advances of her male co-workers and changing her name to the more (in comparison to Alex) provocative "Jessica" once the film's reached the state of Hawaii, the film essentially depicts a charged exodus of someone becoming more and more engulfed in the life of a seductive killer than it does take the easy way out and revel in the depravity of the more standardised erotic thriller. It would be true to say that a lot of the infectious energy born out of the earlier investigative stuff is missed once we reach Hawaii, where scenes shot beside swimming pools and such provide most of the titillation, but Black Widow is a solid and often engaging film which has a decent stretch of engaging content in it.