Burning Betrayal

I watched both 50 Shades of Gray and 365 Days (part one), and the main focus of those two are sexual relationships, so sex and erotica made complete sense, because they were the main plot in the storylines of both of those films (who thinks otherwise, in my opinion, didn't understand those films). Almost every scene in them was a scene of seduction, so that even the events from characters' everyday lives played a secondary role in the storyline and those events were used as tools to perpetuate the main storyline of seduction, eroticism and sex (typically the more sexually explicit variation of the knight - damsel in distress trope).

In Burning Betrayal, however, the sex scenes don't quite fit in. The main storyline seems to be the typical thriller type story which I won't spoil, but then that storyline is interspersed with sex scenes in an awkward and rather clumsy and disconnected way. For all I cared, it could've been a "food network thriller" genre and the characters could've fine dined instead of having sex. It wouldn't make much difference to the main storyline, because guess what - couples generally do engage in sex every now and then, but they also eat a few times a day too, so either wouldn't make a difference in the progress and development of the storyline.

It looked like the actors weren't particularly thrilled (no pun intended) to be in this film, and if its story stuck to the thriller aspect which was intriguing, the score would've been much better. Unfortunately, this time - 3 out of 10.

At first, when I saw the major rating here qualifying (as usual) that a erotic thriller was quite down I was thinking about the major issues some viewers have with similar projects where only a specific target audience will enjoy it (but they won't say a word in here, myself included) and others one who'll just label as another ridiculous thing. However, this one didn't get me and I could almost say the whole experience was bad but not really, there were some cool moments but the majority of it doesn't make it even watchable, it's more like skippeable, if needed just watch for the sex scenes or to admire to actor/actress you like. "50 Shades" and "365 Days" are guilty pleasures of mine, I can handle, but this one was tough to endure.

It comes from a book that apparently was a hit but I only heard about such after the movie. All the cliches in those genres are feature here: a hard working girl (Giovanna Lancellotti) falls for an insanely hot yet mysterious guy (Leandro Lima) and after that a series of dangerous situations will stand in between with things they discover along the way. Difference in this case is that pretty girl was already committed early in the story, with a cheater (Micael) of whom she abandons hence the original title that goes for "The Upside of Being Cheated" rather than Netflix international promotional "Burning Betrayal" (easy to be remembered).

The book of cliches is ridiculous and nauseating, all the characters are hot or pretty, all lives seem well except for a couple of things, sex scenes must have some seductive music (which usually makes things quite lame) and ultimately when the dangers come...you'll probably know of whom comes from since the writers fail to create an expanded deck of cards, meaning limited numbers of characters make the charade easier to solve. I knew it all along who would be against the scheme revolving the young lawyer and the judge.

The mentioned franchises had some positive stuff on them, there are softcore with better elements as well, but this one was problematic from scene one, really sufferable that I had to stop after a while and continue later on (and usually those films make you going all the way cause all the thrilling elements push you to it). I know the viewership of this around the globe but trust me, Brazil has made a lot better and sexier than this and on decades before - but I won't complain about the pairing here, they make a nice couple if you ignore their dialogues together).

The good things that came from here: the helpful friend/co-worker (Bruno Montaleone); her best friend (Camilla de Lucas), a nymphomaniac who gives her all the best advices and I loved her ending in the story (but you don't get to see her in action with the guys); and the mystery revolving the judge was pretty good and it didn't revolve about a childhood trauma that makes the man sees women in a different way. It felt something real and quite unique in terms of film, I must say.

Basic generic stuff, overdone and mostly boring with some spicy moment. Just went forward out of curiosity and got a somewhat waste of time. 4/10.

Okay so I don't know why the ratings are so bad and as low as 1. Quite funny. But if you are not into this genre then yeah, you might not like it.

But if you are one of the lovers of 365 days, then yeah, this is in that zone.

It's a predictable movie so don't expect anything exceptional or some mind blowing story line.

It's just a movie you watch to pass the time and relax. Nothing exceptional.

However, it's nice. It's calm, some sex scenes, calm story. Not any wild acting but just a normal movie you can chill with for the night.

It's not as bad as the reviews say tho. I enjoyed it. Watched to the end:

Ok people it's got a super hot guy who seems to be able to act, sex, nudity and has more of a plot then 365 days. If your looking for a sexy flick to kill and 1.5 hr enjoy yourself. This is nothing new or profound just relax people. I liked that it had a beginning middle and a satisfying conclusion.

Now I have to figure out how to fill 300 more characters so this review can be published and people can see that sone people can still enjoy a basic film that is nothing beyond what it is trying to be. If you watched 365 days this is a copy cat for sure. Enjoy some cute butts boobs and a super hot judge.

I watched this expecting a steamy thriller. Instead I got soft porn with a bit of a storyline. If you like looking at naked or near naked bodies, of both genders, there are plenty of scenes to choose from. Inevitably all the actors have impeccable physiques and the sex scenes do show some imagination in terms of activities and positioning. It couldn't really have got more explicit without having to be differently categorised. I just wish that the thriller part of the narrative was more pronounced. I got the impression that the sex scenes were really the driving force for the narrative rather than the crimes. It was well acted nonetheless.