Steineded How sad is this?

Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Scarecrow-88 Success. Money. Power. The Pawns. Those that control. Those that achieve where others fail by the willingness to sell their souls. The cases of murdered prostitutes at the hands of a serial killer and the killing of an incredibly corrupt law professor who offers young female(..and men, we later understand)students a chance for high grades in exchange for sexual favors. The link between cases is detective Amanda Reeve(Rachel Hunter)who was removed from pursuing the killer of prostitutes to catch the person responsible for the professor's demise. What Amanda doesn't know, and will soon determine, is that she's caught within a web of lies and deceit, which could include her former lover, William(Matt Battaglia)desiring the position of District Attorney working with Edward Mills who is running for a Texas Senate seat.As you'd expect, it's so obvious that the filmmakers shout it from the mountaintops, the person responsible for the murdered law professor is someone of great power, and those who are familiar with these kinds of thrillers will know right off the bat who it was. The rash of murders towards hookers is an afterthought to the story overall, the killer, a troubled, rich, young male law student, merely used as a scapegoat for the law professor's death to cover up who really did it. There's no real surprise as to the identification of the killer and that rather left me anyway caring very little for the story. The outcome, Amanda's "evidence" of a confession and what she does with it(..although, the confession in itself is really only part of the game, the mind control motivated by a goal to acquire power through manipulation)shouldn't shock anyone. Those in power stay right where they're at unless someone in high position, like the law professor of the film, threaten others' chances of gaining even more authority/notoriety. The film features salacious themes that never cross the line far enough, director James D Deck doesn't push the envelope..Deck's Pendulum is ready made for LIFETIME TELEVISION FOR WOMEN. Just remove a little blood from wounds of a couple of dead hookers and the serial killer shot by Amanda as he attempted to stab her(..including some minor nudity). There's some tame lesbianism(..well for someone like me anyway)between law students Terry Weiss(Alaina Kalanj)and Melissa Regan(Stephanie Vogt), lovers often questioned by Amanda, who might know more about the law professor(..and his fate)than they're letting on..barely wearing any clothes, often touching each other, and presenting their attraction to Amanda without a hint of subtlety. Another major development is a witness at the scene of the crime, struggling law student(..working at the college library)Haley Porter(Scarlett McAlister)who reluctantly "offered her services" to the professor for higher grades. Pendulum, to be honest, offers nothing new, the story yielding the same thematic material used in countless thrillers regarding the powerful puppeteering a case making things difficult for a detective trying to bring a killer to justice. Hunter doesn't knock your socks off in the lead, rather miscast as the embittered detective. Kalanji and Vogt offer delectable delights as the lesbian duo, commanding the screen with their seductive power..a direct example of what using your feminine wiles can do for prosperous careers and the good life. James Russo goes through the motions here in a role where he pretty much wears "GUILTY" across his chest, barking orders to Amanda about how to conduct her case, pulling the strings..his politician is pretty much a cliché seen many times over the years, and Russo adds little to the role to make a smidgen of difference.

tedg The first howler in this is the notion that Texas hosts the 'finest law school in the south,' as if it were possible - and if would matter if it was. Of course, once we are introduced to a DA running for Congress, we know who the villain is. Having made that scriptwriting error, we wait to see whether the author will redeem himself with suitable twists along the way. And he nearly satisfies. There is a rather interesting red herring in an old case of 'justified' homicide which is cleverly introduced. There are the double red herrings of two fishy lesbians, obviously engineered for prurient seasoning and to reference Eszterhas's 'Instinct.' There is an unexploited narrative fold: we see the murder through a witness's eye and then see the detection through a detective's eye.It comes pretty close to being acceptable storywise. All the acting and directing is much worse except for one example, a woman with the mellifluous name of Scarlett McAlister, who has the appearance of a young Nichole Kidman. If this were an intelligent film, say a Lynch project, her role as double narrator and provider (as librarian) of the backstory would have been a fine opportunity for folded acting. The director is oblivious of course, but either she or her acting coach knew - and you can tell she tried this difficult approach. She's on my list to look out for.Though the murderer is easy to spot, the meaning of the title is not. I suppose it refers to the exhusband, who (we assume) swings both ways.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 4: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

The_Limey There is much that 'Pendulum' gets wrong, its Texas location, featuring not one actor with even a trace of a Texas accent. A non-actor as the lead etcHowever its biggest flaw is the fact it is so obviously trying to be a 'tough smart woman manages to outsmart the odds in a male dominated environment' type movie, however the ending totally destroys this, and I am fairly sure the writers didn't even understand they were doing so, so desperate where they to accomplish a complex Noir ending.*SPOILER*What she does is throw away the evidence because the killer is an ex-boyfriend. This makes her weak. The ex-boyfriend was not even the killer anyway, he was protecting the killer. Therefore she is stupid. So your tough female cop is, in the final analysis, weak and stupid.*END SPOILER*Really not worth the effort of watching, it isn't even bad enough to be fun, and the sound track is really annoying...

vpa21133 Pendulum is a murder mystery, or rather two murder mysteries. Rachel Hunter plays a detective originally assigned to investigate the brutal murders of several street prostitutes, then reassigned to investigate the murder of a prominent law school professor.Hunter's character is not exactly "Colombo," and there are several red herrings along the way. The film is set in a milieu of prostitution, lies, kinky sex, corruption, violence, etc., which is why I consider it a "film noir."This movie isn't a classic, but it keeps you interested. If you enjoyed "Presumed Innocent" you'll enjoy this one.