Movies-TV

Does she or doesn't she? Only her Optometrist knows for sure!

**SPOILER ALERT** Somewhat far-fetched urban thriller about this blind violinist Emma Brody, Madeleine Stowe, who gets a sight-restoring cornea transplants and ends up seeing her next door neighbor Valerie Wheaton, Joy Gregory, murdered.Going to the police to report Valeries murder Emmer is treated as if she's some kind of nut-case because of her claiming that her new restored eyesight has her see thing not only out of focus but out of their usual time frame! As if they come to her attention hours if not days after they happen. That's why she can't pinpoint the exact time that Valerie was murdered! With Valerie's body later being found exactly where Emma predicted it would be the police finally start to take her seriously but only for the wrong reasons. With Det. Hallstrom, Aidan Quinn, put on the case he seems to be more interested in getting it on with the pretty and head strong violinist then finding Valerie's killer. The killer who we soon find out mistook Valerie for Emma the person he really was out to do in!All the pieces of this mysterious puzzle come together towards the end of the movie with the revelations by Emma's eye surgeon Dr. Ryan Pierce, Peter Friedman, of who's corneas were implanted into Emma's sightless eyes. Eyes who's sight Emma lost when as an eight-year-old girl when she had her skull smashed into a mirror by her outraged mom for daring to use her lipstick! As it turns out it's Det. Hallstrom's partner Det. Ridgely, James Remar, who by doing his job and not always trying to get into Emma's pants finally managed-with Hallstrom's help-cracked the case. That's before Emma almost ended up being the killer's next victim!Following the film's confusing and complicated storyline was like navigating you way through a US Marine or Navey Seal obstacle course. It was actress Madeleine Stowe gutsy and tightrope-like performance that made you want to sit through the movie at all. Not in if she'll survive being killed but why she's being targeted to be murdered in the first place!

Solid and interesting thriller cum drama, though not perfect

I saw this film a while ago at least once, my and never remembered too much about it beyond the premise, on a second visit I can see why it wasn't the most memorable during my younger years, though I like it more now. The film concerns a sassy blind musician who receives an transplant and suddenly gains the chance of sight after having lost it as a child. However her vision is imperfect to begin with, with her brain not fully synchronised with her eyes and in this condition she witnesses a murderer. Its good thriller territory so far, but when the police get involved the film takes a turn into drama. The film is bolstered tremendously by the fine acting and effective dialogue but in its efforts to combine an affecting drama about romance and return of sight with a mystery suspense thriller result in the two sides slightly at odds with neither served as well as they might be. The thriller side is hampered by a lack of surprises, or intensity, with a few taut sequences not quite enough to make a truly effective thriller, whilst as a drama it lacks enough character insight or. Still, it moves along nicely and one cannot help but be caught up in it, Michael Apted directs well, making the exciting moments suitably tense and the rest of it smoothly enjoyable. The best thing here is the acting, which takes the film beyond its structural shortcomings and gives it most of its effectiveness. Madeline Stowe is excellent, sassy yet vulnerable, an affecting and sympathetic performance with a tough centre. Aidan Quinn is equally fine as the cop on the case, hardnosed and unsentimental, but a decent guy, whilst James Remar provides decent support as Quinns partner. Stowe and Quinn spark nicely off each other throughout whilst their scenes are well written. One wishes that the film had gone down the route of character piece, or thriller, or woven the two elements together to greater use, but it remains pretty fine. Recommended for fans of the main actors or early 90's thrillers.

Worth Watching

I'm surprised by some of the negative reviews: this film was suspenseful and, at times, genuinely scary. But, then again, some of the IMDB reviews of "Sixth Sense" were so scathing that I nearly passed-by watching one of the best movies of the past few years. While this is certainly no "Sixth Sense", it is a well-made film. The entire cast does a a fine job, the dialog is well-written (although I don't care for the protagonist's strong profanity: it sounds especially disgusting coming from a female's mouth), the cinematography is excellent, and the plot twists and turns remain sufficiently believable. I've given it a 7 out of 10.

Underrated Thriller

DVDs are wonderful things. Picking up this one recently gives me an opportunity to review yet another favorite from way back when.Madeleine Stowe features as Emma Brody, a gifted violinist living in Chicago, who was blinded as a young girl by her abusive mother. The story proper opens with her receiving corneal transplants after 20 or so years of blindness. This restores her sight, but her mind is so overwhelmed by the resulting flood of images that it operates a kind of delay in its processing so that she only perceives certain things some time after actually seeing them. One of the images so processed is that of a possible murderer…I have no idea whether this phenomenon is actually possible medically, but I didn't care much. The story is otherwise rather conventional, though its treatment is vivid. British-born Michael Apted knows his stuff and conveys a startling impression of Emma's situation and the Chicago she lives in.Stowe turns in a convincing, if sometimes rather shrill, performance, while Aidan Quinn is also good as the detective more or less in charge of the case, with whom Emma has a romance of sorts. The supporting players, including the excellent James Remar, are effective. I must admit though that the expression "red shirt" crossed my mind when a not very bright uniformed officer (named Crowe and played by Matt Roth) was assigned to keep an eye on Emma. My suspicions were more than justified.A satisfying thriller nevertheless – adequate plot, excellent playing, good music, and lively direction. Who could want more?Rating: 7/10.

A blind woman with a dog... and no sandwich

There was no 'story box' in this film, but there certainly was a mystery - a mystery surrounding who was the killer. But not just that, but was there a killer. And the main witness was a woman who's vision wasn't great and was a new recipient of a cornea transplant.Throughout the viewer has to question whether there actually is a killer. You might suspect the doctor for good reason. Maybe one of the cops as well. The writers certainly keeps you in long enough to discover who the killer is and if the formerly blind woman actually saw him or her.Overall, its a fairly good movie. Not too thrilling, but enough to watch again someday. "B-"

Stowe is lovely. The rest fo the film, not so much.

Blink (Michael Apted, 1994)

I'm still trying to figure out whether I liked Blink. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I've never quite bought into the idea of Aidan Quinn as a leading man. There's something about him that doesn't quite work, and I'm not sure what. He's a good actor, though he often seems like he's playing the same character over and over again, but he's not the kind of guy who works as a leading man. I can't explain it. There's just something about him.

In any case, Quinn here plays John Hallstrom, a cop who finds himself on the trail of a killer. The only witness to one of his murders is Emma Brody (Closetland's Madeleine Stowe), a formerly blind fiddle player who just had a cornea transplant, but is still not seeing the world around her too well. Worse, Hallstrom, who was attracted to Brody back when she was blind, finds that now she's starting to return the feelings.


As with any generic Hollywood cop film, the dialogue is heavy on one-liners and other general silliness, which helps balance out the Aidan-Quinn-je-ne-sais-quois factor I can't get past. The unfortunate bit is that it never goes much farther than that-- not surprising given screenwriter Dana Stevens' more recent output (Blink was his first screenplay that made it to the big screen) The other thing that does is Madeleine Stowe, who's one of those dead-sexy Hollywood types who never managed to latch onto roles where she'd be playing someone who's dead sexy. If you're a Stowe fan, you definitely want to see this flick. Anyone else... not too sure. A good way to kill an hour and a half, but not much more than that. ** ½

Above average thriller

As thrillers go this is above average. True, the premise is a "been there, done that" sort of thing with a romance between the detective and the potential victim with a serial killer in the shadows, etc. However there is just enough originality here added to solid performances by the stars to make it worthwhile.

Aidan Quinn (no relation to Anthony) plays a cute and quirky detective in the Windy City on the trail of a budding serial killer. Madeleine Stowe is a blue grass/Irish violinist blind since she was eight. As the movie opens she is about to get cornea transplants, and before long she can see, sort of, which is important since she has become a witness to murder. Some of what she sees are flashbacks to the day before, which makes her a problem witness for the police. Some other flashbacks are to when her mother smashed her face into a mirror for playing with her make-up. How sick is that? I presume this was dreamed up by Dana Stevens, who gets credit for the script, which is a kind of mishmash of clever lines and shlock dialogue as though two different people (or half a dozen) wrote it.

Michael Apted's direction is not inspired although it isn't all that bad either. But he doesn't develop the serial killer's personality, and so the weirdo's motivation seems a bit of a stretch. Also undeveloped is the doctor whose love for Stowe is unrequited. The main thing is the erotic chemistry between Stowe and Quinn, and the personality of Stowe's character, which is original and the best thing in the movie. I think this would have received a better reception had Quinn's character fallen in madly in love with the violinist. As it plays, we are not sure whether he really cares or not.

Madeleine Stowe is sexy and does a good job in a demanding role, probably the most demanding of her modest career. See it for her.

Above average thriller

As thrillers go this is above average. True, the premise is a "been there, done that" sort of thing with a romance between the detective and the potential victim with a serial killer in the shadows, etc. However there is just enough originality here added to solid performances by the stars to make it worthwhile.Aidan Quinn (no relation to Anthony) plays a cute and quirky detective in the Windy City on the trail of a budding serial killer. Madeleine Stowe is a blue grass/Irish violinist blind since she was eight. As the movie opens she is about to get cornea transplants, and before long she can see, sort of, which is important since she has become a witness to murder. Some of what she sees are flashbacks to the day before, which makes her a problem witness for the police. Some other flashbacks are to when her mother smashed her face into a mirror for playing with her make-up. How sick is that? I presume this was dreamed up by Dana Stevens, who gets credit for the script, which is a kind of mishmash of clever lines and shlock dialogue as though two different people (or half a dozen) wrote it.Michael Apted's direction is not inspired although it isn't all that bad either. But he doesn't develop the serial killer's personality, and so the weirdo's motivation seems a bit of a stretch. Also undeveloped is the doctor whose love for Stowe is unrequited. The main thing is the erotic chemistry between Stowe and Quinn, and the personality of Stowe's character, which is original and the best thing in the movie. I think this would have received a better reception had Quinn's character fallen in madly in love with the violinist. As it plays, we are not sure whether he really cares or not.Madeleine Stowe is sexy and does a good job in a demanding role, probably the most demanding of her modest career. See it for her.

Thrilling and Chilling Original Plot Line

Since first teamed up as boyfriend and girlfriend in the 1985 Richard Dreyfuss/Emilio Estevez comedy 'Stakeout', Madeline Stowe and Aidan Quinn make a huge comeback together in 'Blink'. Madeline Stowe is a young woman in her twenties who undergoes an operation that lets her regain partial vision after being tramatically blinded as a child. While still making the drastic adjustment to a new world, she unfortunately becomes the only witness to a murder. Handsome and cool Chicago police detective John Halstrome's (Aidan Quinn) attraction forces him to defend this witness to his doubting collegues as being credible. He subsequently winds up juggling a steamy affair with Stowe, and decifering true or false whatever she actually sees...and what are mere dellusions brought on by fear and the recent surgery. Two strong-willed and attractive stars make for a very good romantic scenerio, neither could've done better than Stowe and Quinn. The movie I think is a great for Chicagoians, staying true to the city and its make-up especially with it's native star Quinn and his awesome windy city accent. As for the plot, its a thrilling and interesting crime as it begins to unfold, adding touches of fear with scenes of the killer...seen mostly through Stowe's blurry eyes. You really need to see the movie unedited to get the full thrust, which is why I bought it a while ago. You really couldn't see a movie with these two without being able to watch their passionate love sequences, and I always thought watching a really good murder mystery that had frequent commercials was like making love with coffee breaks every ten minuets. Take a look at this great, new-classic thriller with plenty of comedic touches and you wont regret it.

Donor Death

I was glad I rented this one since I would have missed a great thriller otherwise. The acting, directing, story, sets, music were so good in fact I intend to purchase it. This is one of those sleepers you may have missed but are happy you find. Stowe and Quinn are great together and the rest the cast do fine jobs in their support roles.


When a girl that was blinded by her cruel mother as a child is given her sight back as an adult, she starts a new life. But while her eyes are adjusting to the change she sees a murderer in her building. She then falls in love with the detective that doesn't believe her story. As he comes around to it, the case develops and we see how the murders tie together and we fear for more than just Stowe's character. Good quality DVD but no extras.

I'll be seeing you

Blind musician gets her sight back just in time to witness a serial killer strike. Unfortunately, the lead now suffers from visual agnosia meaning that her mind is no longer used to seeing things and that there is often a delay between the actual event and her mind processing the image. So she doesn't realize she is a witness until several hours after the attack. While the skeptical police work to catch the killer, the death tool mounts and ultimately a mysterious connection is found between all the victims. Now the killer returns to snuff out the one witness who has seen him and lived.
I would have to say that this was average to possibly a little below average except I really enjoy the Irish music that played on the sound-track. This was a very typical 'cop meets semi-helpless woman in distress and believes in her when no one else does' film. I liked it and I liked the music and if you like this sort of movie then this is a movie you will like.

plot is simply wonderful

The film is excellent. Madeleine Stowe is performing perfectly. This film is a milestone in her career. Especially, I recommend the final scene of the film. Breathtaking.

Just a little creepy

Stowe portrays a blind musician who has undergone surgery to correct her vision. While she is adjusting to her new reality, she becomes a witness in a murder investigation. Quinn is the detective assigned to the investigation. Laurie Metcalf (from Rosanne) has a minor role in this as well. I especially enjoyed the music. If you like your mystery blended with romance, this would make a great Friday night rental.

no title

I enjoyed this very much. Of course, I have always loved Aiden Quinn, a Chicago boy who's been around a long time, and who I last saw in that great Friday night TV show that, drats, got cancelled, about a minister and his family. He was wonderful in Barry Levinson's "Avalon", and Madelaine Stowe was in Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" as Tim Robbins' wife. They both fit together well here, even thought she exudes more class than he. There's something so "homebody' about Quinn. This was his first big lead, and he handled it well. The romance is great. Much like "Wait Until Dark", yet Stowe is far from the hapless woman. She is very feisty, very strong. The ending was sappy, but the rest was good. Filmed in Chicago. Look of the picture was dark and gritty - very film noir, except for the ending which was filmed in morning light. To be fair, the Chicago Tribune critic didn't think Quinn's cop was written as effective at all - that he was completely inept. Maybe I missed something, or she knows more about police work than I, or am I just lured by his blue eyes? SPOILER - --- And I couldn't quite follow the leap Quinn made as to the murderer being after victims who had transplants from one girl. How did he get to that? -------

Spine-tingling

I always wanted to use that word, and in this movie it describes exactly how it made me feel all while I was watching it. Very exciting stuff. Terrific chemistry between Aidan Quinn, who has never been more handsome and compelling, and Madeline Stowe, who is really magnetic in the lead role as the patient-heroine. I don't know why more people don't talk about it more often.

A good thriller that can get under your skin...

I don't know why, but out of the thousands of movies that I have watched over the years, certain ones gain a weird status. I have favorites, and those that I believe are the best of all time (like Vertigo). Then there are a handful that I can't really categorize, except to say that I watch them over, and over and over. There are only about six of them, but I can watch one and rewind it and watch it again and keep repeating if time and a life didn't intrude. These movies aren't necessarily great, some aren't even good by critical standards - regardless I can view them over and over. Blink is one of those films. It's not a great movie, although I think the acting of Stowe and Quinn are quite good. Yet out of all the movies I have on DVD or VHS (and it's around 500) this is one of less than ten that I would always answer "yes" if someone asked if I wanted to watch it. I think the music has a lot to do with it. The soundtrack is good, and the songs by the Drovers are excellent. The blind woman theme is a favorite of most men in particular, however this one throws two great twists - one, she is more independent than most other women who aren't blind and two, she regains her sight very early in the film. The well done love scenes don't hurt, but edit them out and this film would still retain it's "multiple watching" status for me. Women I have watched this with enjoyed it, and surprisingly a few said it was the scariest movie they had ever seen. The reason given was the unknown element of danger and her level of vulnerability. I can see how this would be much more scary to women than to men. It is in no hurry to finish itself, and I find that leisurely paced movies that hold your attention and provide suspense all the while, are winners.
I'm sure everyone has that movie or two that they love, but can't explain why. Siskel and Ebert used to do a show once in a while called "Guilty Pleasures" about movies that were critically bad, but they enjoyed. Which is the nearest thing to what I'm talking - but not quite. Overall a good movie and who knows, it might become one of your cult favorites.

Great Movie but CD Music Disappointing

I loved this movie and it was great hearing The Drovers' music. I thought the CD of the movie's music would have more singing, but there is only a bit of singing at the beginning and end. Most of it is "mood" type music that served as the background to action in the movie, and this is not really music but just atmospheric stuff that is kind of slow and depressing. I think there was more singing in the movie. Maybe my expectations were off.

A Movie with real Chemistry

This is an intriguing movie. The chemistry between the leads is very strong. I enjpyed the mystery and and the personal side of this film. It is mostly shot in in the dark which makes it more exciting. If you like suspenseful movies, you should like this one.

Stowe and Quinn sizzle in this taut thriller

A good plot, interestingly shot in Chicago, but what jams it is the incredibly hot chemistry between (cop) Aidan Quinn and (blind violinist)Madeleine Stowe. Some people just create voluptuous sexual chemistry, and these two do it! Stowe is excellent. Quinn and other cast very, very good. You'll like this film very much. The serial murder angle is even a little different and ok.

Great Movie!!!!

This is one of the best movies I have ever seen and I am a huge movie buff so that is saying a lot. Great acting. Madeline Stowe and Aidan Quinn have great chemistry.