Deuda de sangre

I found this to be one of those films I really enjoyed on the first viewing, but once you know the surprise ending, the second viewing isn't nearly as good.

It's a typically-entertaining Clint Eastwood film. He makes few dull movies, I'll say that for him. Now that he's gotten older, his weather-beaten face makes him all the more interesting to view.

I didn't find Anjelica Huston's weather-beaten face, however, as believable. Her tough demeanor, including vocabulary, is not something a doctor would have, as she plays here. Paul Rodriguez also is stupidly profane in his role but he does have a few funny lines.

The main attraction of the story is the twist near the end so, as mentioned, one look is just about right for this film...and it is worth one look f you want a decent diversion for one night.

Retired FBI detective helps a young woman solve the murder of her sister--but he's got a personal motive: he himself received a heart transplant from the victim! Not a bad vehicle for Eastwood, convincingly raspy and worn, and still imposing when he has to be. Brian Helgeland's screenplay via Michael Connelly's novel is full of police clichés, and the denouement isn't terribly surprising, but Clint has become a reassuring presence on the screen: his shortcomings and realistic aches and pains make him wonderfully human. Supporting cast including Jeff Daniels and Angelica Huston is also good, making the best out of a routine, unmemorable script. **1/2 from ****

While it might not be the most stylish or fast paced manhunt thriller, Clint Eastwood's 'Blood Work' is still a very enjoyable piece of film. Stylish in its' own manner, this drama returns to the yesteryears of filmmaking and displays Eastwood's talent as an accomplished Director. Today's cinema heavily relies on nifty editing effects and fast paced dialogue to retain the interest of the impatient audience, yet Eastwood gives us a refreshing and simplistic tale revolving around the resolution of various dastardly murders.

Eastwood stars and directs in this manhunt thriller that still manages to retain the intriguing effect in a film in which the characters; not actions, drive the film. Based on the novel by Michael Connelly, Brian Helgeland (A Knight's Tale, Payback) transforms the novel into a great script. In this film, Eastwood plays the anti-Dirty Harry in typical Eastwood fashion as he is thrust back onto the case of a vicious serial killer two years after retirement.

As FBI Agent Terry McCaleb, he is forced off the case after suffering from a near fatal heart attack. Two years after, he is given a new heart and through a freak occurrence with the donor's heart, he is forced back onto the case allowing for an interesting cat and mouse chase.

Eastwood has his imprints all over the film as he sticks with Musical composer Lennie Niehaus for his film once again. Niehaus' sporadic and rare musical additions are usually jazz based and open the film in an elegant manner instead of the usual commercialist propaganda that is not needed when opening a film of this nature.

Instead, Eastwood treats us to a good old-fashioned hunt in which the mystery slowly unravels in front of the viewer allowing for only the clues to be deciphered. The plot is seemingly eerie and for some reason reminded me of Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker's work (Sleepy Hollow, Seven) for how deliciously evil and calculated the motives for the crimes are. As a true professional, Eastwood lays low on the violence and while there are only a handful of action scenes, the tension builds as the clues become available and the audience begins to piece the puzzle together.

The ingenious script calls for some sold acting and the casting is excellent as Eastwood calls upon Angelica Huston as his perseverant Doctor and Jeff Daniels who at first seems to be only present for comic relief but has a surprisingly more important and unexpected role. Wanda De Jesus and Tina Lifford are also excellent as they round out the important cast members who all play a giant role in the serial killer's meticulous and mischievous plot.

As aforementioned, while it might not elicit the suspense thrills one would find in the Eastwood - Wolfgang Petersen collaboration 'In the Line of Fire', the film still is a well-crafted and engineered film that calls for attention. Yet, one point of contention is a love relationship that happens in the film. True: Eastwood is a legend and could do whatever he wants with his films, but somehow seeing a man his age hook up with a younger woman under those circumstances seemed to yell out 'insanity'. Perhaps to others it fit the film, but in this particular context, it seemed trivial and contrived and can make many wonder if Eastwood simply puts those scenes in to make himself appear to be the epitome of masculinity. In any event, it was a treat to see a 'back-to-basics' thriller that pays off at the end and avoids the formulaic clichés usually attached to these projects.

Giancarlo's Rating: **1/2

Clint Eastwood's 20th feature directed and starring himself, Blood Work, is a good sign in times of recent thriller drek. Here is Clint, 72 years old, and actually doing the right thing; being the old sort of Dirty Harry-esquire type of cop while still being realistic with himself. Truth be told, he won't do movies forever, much less be a cop with almost all the right moves, and here we see him as FBI Agent Terry McCaleb in the beginning try and climb a fence to catch a code killer (which resonates from past Eastwood projects) and he collapses from a heart attack (sad but oddly accurate). He retires, and two years later a woman comes forth to him asking for help in finding a killer.

And anyway, what makes Blood Work so fascinating (if only up to a point if seen more than once) is that it's a well crafted thriller, one that has the usual police procedural from many years back, a bit of a romance with Wanda DeJesus, and comic relief from Jeff Daniels. So, if you decide to see this latest installment in the sprawling career of Clint Eastwood, keep in mind that it has all the style, music, and nostalgia even in donuts that it had back in the day 30 years ago. And maybe it's just me, but it will be hard not to grin when you see him grab a gun. B+

Clintwood's 'Blood Work' may not be the best nor most stylish of its genre but it remains enjoyable for the most part mainly because of the cast. It's quite a simple film but I found the end revelation disappointing and the last half hour is a little too dramatic. During the entire first hour, Eastwood cleverly avoids excessive violence and gore and smoothly lets the tension build. Clintwood is supported by a brilliant cast that includes the fabulous Anjelica Huston, the elegant Wanda de Jesus, the charming Tina Lifford and the funny Jeff Daniels. The cast does well but Daniels's performance is ruined by the overdone last half hour. The film rests on Eastwood and it's great to see him play such a role at 71 and pull it off so well. The jazzy background score gives 'Blood Work' a classy touch. Thus, to sum it up, one can expect a simple but engaging whodunnit thriller which is ruined a bit by the ending but Eastwood and his cast prevent it from being a waste of time.