SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Mac Attack Possibly the worst adaptation and horribly directed movie in the last 50 years with an A list actor. Disgraceful! Roy Scheider was the only one on screen who knew what the hell was going on and the number of porn stars in the film was laughable. It was like watching a train wreck. For some reason, I forced myself to see the end. Save you time and watch anything else.

mark.waltz A truly disturbing Neo film Noir that came in the mid-eighties between "Body Heat" and "Basic Instinct". It is the type of film that you can't take your eyes off of, but when you think about it during and afterwords, you are grossed out by the way it intrigues you. Welcome to the world of'80's glam trash.Roy Scheider is a millionaire businessman with a beautiful wife, played by the luscious Ann-Margret, but he is cheating on her with a much younger woman. He has to entangle with blackmailers of the slimiest kind who will not stop when he outwits them, taking all of them on a journey of intrigue around the Los Angeles basin where nobody seems to end up being the winner.You certainly won't forget John Glover in this movie, having already played many slimy roles on screen. He's the ringleader of a group of blackmailers and Lead writer on a journey is that turns out deadly for many people. Young Kelly Preston is seeing in videotaped evidence of Schneider's affair with her, and one truly disturbing scene may have you turning your eyes away. Another character that ends up suffering at the hands of the nefarious Glover is stripper Vanity somehow managed to get an obscure award nomination for this film but certainly not an Oscar or even a Golden Globe.There are some great moments in the film that are intriguing but as I said they are layered with an uncomfortable feeling of psychotic voyeurism that is often too disturbing to really make it watchable. It is worse than watching a car accident or a train wreck and seeing bodies carried off. I had no issue with the film's slimy way of presenting its story but the way it is resolved had me laughing at the ridiculousness of the whole set up, and while I can see it as being a crowd-pleaser on screen it is dramatically impossible for what happened in the finale to actually occur. Dramatic license can't be bought at the DMV.

SnoopyStyle Harry Mitchell (Roy Scheider) is a wealthy specialty manufacturer in L.A. with beautiful wife Barbara (Ann-Margret) running for city council. Hooded blackmailers with a video tape of Harry and his mistress Cini (Kelly Preston) want $105k. Harry has a cold relationship with his wife. Cini and her friend Doreen (Vanity) are porn strippers under the thumb of Alan Raimy (John Glover) and his underlings Bobby Shy (Clarence Williams III) and Leo Franks (Robert Trebor). Harry doesn't go to the cops but also refuses to pay. The situation escalates as Alan elevates the blackmail and demands. However Harry counters with negotiations and schemes which pitch the blackmailers against each other.The three bad guys are terrific. There are some dark things going on in this movie. There is a snuff film of Cini. Vanity has a memorable stripper scene. She has a great line after Harry says her picture is a little dark. "That's me, honey." Roy Scheider is a little bit too cold and distant. He needs some more emotions. In a way, he is overpowered by the dark crazy villains because they are such compelling characters.

Spikeopath 52 Pick-Up is directed by John Frankenheimer and written by Elmore Leonard (adapting from his own novel) and John Steppling. It stars Roy Scheider, Ann-Margret, John Glover, Vanity, Clarence Williams III, Robert Trebor and Kelly Preston. Music is by Gary Chang and cinematography by Jost Vacano and Stephen Ramsey. Successful business entrepreneur Harry Mitchell (Scheider) finds himself the victim of blackmail by three pornographers who have video evidence of his extramarital affair. With his wife about to embark on a new stage of her political career, the last thing Harry needs is a scandal, but when things take a turn for the worse Harry decides to use unorthodox methods to deal with the blackmailers. A nifty neo-noir this, certainly deserving of being better known in neo- noir circles. The presence of Leonard at the writing table ensures that the story doesn't drift too far away from his own source material, though location is moved to L.A. as opposed to the Detroit of the novel. Thematic thrust centres around Mitchell being caught for his indiscretions and what the consequences of his actions means for all around him, quite often with devastating results. Mitchell has to move about a seedy world of pornography, of cheap peekaboo bars, strip joints and snuff movies, he has to get to the level of his blackmailers so as to enact his plans with conviction. The three weasels played by Glover, Williams and Trebor are in turn slimy, menacing and a twitchy neurotic, an off-beat trio suitably framed by Frankenheimer's sleazy and cold world. It may not be prime Frankenheimer but the director knows his noir onions, both in performances garnered from his strong cast and via his visual ticks. Characters are more often than not smoking or drinking liquor, sweating or looking pained as the camera gets up close and personal, the director even finds place for a bit of slatted shadow play in one sequence and menacing angled shards for another. Some contrivances are more annoying than hindrances, it's a bit bloodless for a picture not lacking in action scenes, and although the finale is signposted without due care and attention, it is still sufficiently rewarding. Decadence, sleaze, greed, paranoia and moral decay come crashing together to create a sadly neglected piece of 1980s neo-noir. A yuppie revenger where there are no heroes, just sinners and victims. 7.5/10