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Welcome to my film reviews page! All reviews are written by me. After collecting quite a number of Maud's films, it is rewarding to put my thoughts about them online. 'Tattoo' and 'The Women's Club' are my favourites so far, excluding 007. 'Perry Mason & The Case Of The Wicked Wives' (1993) Plot Outline: This was an attempt of the producers of the Perry Mason television movies to continue the series without Raymund Burr, who passed away. The star of this version is Paul Sorvino who plays Anthony Caruso, a friend of Mason's, who is using his office to conduct some business for a friend. It seems that a fashion photographer, wants to bring back his old models, who are also his ex-wives, for a pictorial. One night he is found murdered and his current wife is charged with the crime and Anthony has to defend her. Review: I haven't seen any of the other films in the Perry Mason series, so I have nothing to compare this with, i.e. the films in the series before Burr's death. But it was an above average television film. The plot is quite trashy, not that it's a bad thing in my eyes. It was funny when not meant to be and I like that! Maud acted to her best ability in this, I was just pleased to see her. Shelley Hack I quite like from being a fan of the "Charlie's Angels" TV show, she played Tiffany in the forth season. The only reason I watched this was for these two actresses and it was a quite decent tv movie. My Rating: 'Bugs' (1990) aka. 'Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation' Plot Outline: A female reporter investigates the death of a woman who, on fire, leapt off of a building to her death. Her investigation leads her to discover the existence of a strange female cult dedicated Egyptan god Isis, and the cult wants her as its new queen. Review: It's been a while since I've seen this film, I remember it quite well though. It was the first film I saw Maud in other than James Bond, and I can easily say it's the worst I've seen! What a way to start! The plot has a couple of interesting elements. When reporter, Kim, investigates a case of internal combustion. And the idea of the female cult (led by Fima, Maud's character) I like. The second half of the film is simply terrible though. Slime, bugs, naked Kim combined with slime and bugs!!! Ew! I remember Maud's acting was relatively good and I liked the scene in Fima's book store. But this film is awful, ill advised. My Rating: Half a Star Link: Baltimore City Paper Online - Review 'The Mysterious Death of Nina Chereau' (1988) Plot Outline:Ariel Du Bois has been imprisoned in a state asylum since the night socialite Nina Chereau was brutally murdered during an elegant dinner party in her honor. Is she really guilty? Review: CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS I was very pleased to see a Maud Adams film that was new to me (thanks Sian!) And this certainly is a very odd film! I did enjoy the it and it held my interest. I do have a complaint about the plot, it's structure could have been improved upon. There were no real hints of it having a supernatural twist at the end. With some films it works, a complete surprise ending. 'From Dusk Till Dawn' springs to mind, changing from a thriller to a vampire film, with success. You can connect Ariel and her mothers dislike of each other to the films outcome but that was only a slight hint. Was there was more there than a simple disfunctional mother/daughter relationship? Ariel also picked up a book while hiding in a shop after having escaped the mental home. This was a completely random situation, the book describes the woman Ariel is eventually revealed to be, someone who needs to bathe in the blood of virgins to remain forever young. The book store's owner is later found dead. While watching this film I didn't make any connection to the book, but it had some purpose, with only a little success. Maud is excellent in this film as Ariel Dubois. There is little glamour in this, a mental home and the streets of a french town, as the settings. But Maud looks as beautiful as ever, even with less than great costumes. Realism is created via the wardrobe but they should have been slightly improved. Maud's red dress when Ariel is revealed is very much like a temptress' dress. Scott Renderer acts well in this movie, as Ariel's doctor. I'd never heard of him before. There is a slight casting error in the fact that he is the only obvious American actor. There is no problem, in my eyes, with the France setting and the cast being all English speaking, it's common sense for a mass audience but the rest of the cast sound European, especially exotic Maud, and so Scott Renderer stands out as American. Francoise Brion, as Ariel's mother, is good casting. She performs her purpose well, especially near the ending, when she is walking around the house with a knife, tension mounts. The scene where she 'lashes out' at Ariel in the cafe seems a little over-the-top but perhaps it would be, given the circumstances. The supporting cast (head doctor at the mental home, shop owner and the detective) all function well, good casting again. The directing is okay, nothing particualrly smart or new is done. Editing is fine, apart for moments where it apparently cuts for ad breaks and there weren't any on my recording. This is certainly an excellent film Maud has made, one of my favourites of hers. My Rating: 'The Women's Club' (1987) Plot Outline: Michael Pare plays Patrick a dedicated but unsucessful writer whose screenplays can't even pay the rent. They don't buy him love either; Patrick argues with his girlfriend, Cali, and she storms out. Enter Angie (Maud Adams) - the glamorous owner of the most exclusive womens salon in Beverly Hills. In a humourous role reversal, Angie seduces Patrick and sets him up in a very special business - fulfilling the sexual desires of some of the wealthiest and most beautiful women in Beverly Hills. Patrick's dream job soon becomes a nightmare. Angie's clients overwork him, Cali finds out and Angie learns about his latest screenplay... the one detailing his sex-ploits. Review: Coming soon... My Rating: 'Jane And The Lost City' (1987) Plot Outline: In the Daily Mirror's comis strip Jane was always losing her clothes. In this hilarious adventure movie, she still has the same problem. The action 's set in the 1940's. Jane and the Colonel must journey to Africa to the lost city to retrieve the diamonds before the Nazis do. Review: Coming soon... My Rating: 'Octopussy' (1983) Coming soon... 'Tattoo (1981) Plot Outline: Karl Kinsky, an unbalanced tattoo artist, becomes dangerously obsessed with Maddy, a model he meets when he's hired to paint temporary tattoos on a group of women for a photo shoot. As his obsession grows, Kinsky becomes increasingly determined that Maddy should bear his 'mark' forever. Review: I was very pleased to get hold of this deleted film from ebay. Erotic thriller does categorise this film correctly but it was not explicit or offensive. The ending was the worst of it, the most disturbing part. The films storyline is very unique, never seen anything quite like it. It conforms to the thriller genre in many ways. A man who' actions are hard to understand, develops an obsession with a woman (who happens to be a model) and kidnaps her. The fact he is a tatto artist brings a whole new angle on this and makes it facinating (the ways his mind is working)at times. I think the structure is excellent, well thought out a lot of the time. But two moments don't make sense to me. A lot of emphasis is placed on a piece of broken mirror that Maddy plans to use as a weapon. But a few hours before she plans to use it, she is in the kitchen with Karl, slicing bread with a big knife, surely that would be even better? And when Karl finishes her entire tattoo, they proceed to have sex now Maddy had her 'gift'. She doesn't resist at first, as if she's been talked into it, but it's as though she comes to her senses and stabs him with a tattooing instrument a few minutes later. This is possible, but the film didn't explore how her way of thinking altered. A hostage's or kidnapping victim's frame of mind can be a facinating thing to explore. Bruce Dern (Karl) comes across as a good actor here. His character is very unpredictable. At times he is stable, but when he says he doesn't hit someone he doesn't like, he kills them, that's a real sign. As well as his over-reaction when Maddy uses the word 'fucking'. Maud (Maddy) is excellent here. A unique role. I didn't know what I'd think of seeing Maud, one of my favourite actresses, in a role such as this with nudity and sex. But I like the film and it wasn't a bad choice for Maud, in my books. This was the first film I've seen with her having to express extreme pain and upset, she pulled it off well enough. The scene showing this the most was the one worse than rape when Karl looks through a peep hole ordering Maddy to do things. The pain was expressed through Maud's expressions, it must have been an extremely hard scene to shoot. 'Tattoo' held my interest fully, facinating twist on a film from the thriller genre. My Rating: Link: Tattoo's Section of TheMakeUpRoom.info 'Hostage Tower' (1980) Plot Outline: A master criminal, known by the anonymous pseudonym of Mr Smith plans a new and incredible crime - the kidnapping of the Eifel Tower. To ensure the success of this staggering enterprise, Smith sets about recruiting a team of criminal specialists. Mike Graham (Peter Fonda), ec-CIA gone bad, is a modern weapons expert. Sabrina Carver (Maud Adams) emptied a diamond vault in Amsterdam escaping on roller skates. Clarence Whitlock "CW" (Billy Dee Williams), a human fly, pulled off a daring New Yord skyscraper crime and then disappeared into thin air. Having gathered together his team, Smith and his gorgeous sidekick Leah (Britt Ekland) begin putting the scheme into operation. The day set aside for the hijacking coincides with a visit to the tower by the mother of the U.S. President. Holding both her and the Tower to ransome for 30 million dollars, Smith threatens to topple the Tower unless his demands are met... Review: Coming soon... My Rating: and a half 'Rollerball' (1975) Plot Outline: In a corporate controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of it's powerful athletes is out to defy those who want him out of the game. Review: First thing I should say is that this is not my type of film, but I'm aware its a bit of a cult classic and was remade in 2001. I don't seem to have a lot to say about this film. It is put together well and I can see its appeal. Perhaps its because I'm not a sports fan, so I don't particularly like this futuristic 'life or death sports arena' film. James Caan, I have grown to like as an actor. 15 years after 'Rollerball' he gave an excellent performance in Stephen Kings 'Misery'. This was a good role for him too. Maud Adams acts as well as she can within the limits of her character, James Caan's character's ex-wife. I don't know what to think of Maud chosing to do this film. 'The Man With The Golden Gun' brought her great international exposure and her next film would have been a great stepping stone for her career. A main-stream film, co-starring with James Caan, you'd think would be a wise move. However, 'Rollerball' gave Maud no chance to prove herself and it was an unchallenging role. I apologise about the range of topics (or lack of) covered in this review but Maud is literally the only thing that attracted me to this film. She is a pleasure to watch (even though it is a limited role) in the year following 007. My Rating: Link: Rollerball - The Unofficial Movie Site 'The Man With The Golden Gun' (1974) Coming soon... Thanks to IMDb for Filmography listing, cast details, years of release etc!