Alicia I love this movie so much

Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

juneebuggy A story that meanders and sort of goes nowhere despite the best of intentions. Nice cinematography and great cast though, Mel Gibson and Kurt Russell bounce well off each other as two old friends on opposite sides of the law. Michelle Pfeiffer is a perfect addition as the woman they both fall for.I remember liking this movie when I originally saw it, way back when but this time around not so much. Hideously dated sax music throughout -as all the movies from this time 80s tended to have- was partially to blame but the whole story just felt a bit dry.On the plus side the cast is superb Raul Julia steals every scene he's in as Carlos the charismatic dealer, Kurt is sleazy with his cocky cop attitude, cigarettes and slicked back hair, determined to get the girl and bring down his old friend. He actually reminded me of Dano from Hawaii five-0. Michelle Pfieiffer is beautiful and lovely as per, a sweet romance there. Yeah poor Mel, nobody will believe he's gone straight.

bkoganbing I'm betting that writer/director Robert Towne of Tequila Sunrise was a big fan of the great Warner Brothers classic Angels With Dirty Faces. That's the one where two kids who grow up to be James Cagney and Pat O'Brien, because one is caught by the authorities and one wasn't for some juvenile crime, one becomes a gangster and one becomes a priest.Here the mere fact that Kurt Russell was enjoying a midnight swim and Mel Gibson was caught smoking a joint on a Mexican beach makes all the difference in their lives. Russell becomes a cop, Gibson who gets protection in the Mexican prison from Raul Julia drug kingpin goes into the business. Little is left to the imagination about how Gibson enjoyed Julia's favor.Julia's wanted by just about everybody and while Gibson would really like to quit the business, he owes Julia and Julia is coming to the USA for a really big score. Putting Kurt Russell in a precarious position. It gets even more precarious when restaurant owner Michelle Pfeiffer arrives on the scene. She has a thing for both Gibson and Russell.This very unofficial redoing of Angels With Dirty Faces also from Warner Brothers is nicely updated to the glitzy 80s and all the players are doing some really good work here. Tequila Sunrise got an Oscar nomination for Cinematography and the way that fiery climax is photographed I can see why.I will say things work out a tad better than they did for James Cagney.

chaos-rampant I was intrigued going in. Robert Towne working from a script of his, Gibson, Pfeiffer and Russell at their most fresh. Conrad Hall handling the camera, a wise assignment to the rookie Towne. It would be taking place in LA, the most noir of cities. What could have gone so wrong?I guess one thing to note is that Towne isn't up to it. He films a hodge podge of scenes where romance, conflict or drug plot are sped along to be whatever the story demands them to be at that point. You'll see angles and shots awkwardly hanging about like discarded fabrics from something that was badly sewn. Heartfelt exchanges between the trio of characters but they all feel patched on. A Spanish guitar twirls wistfully now and then to remind that this is all fundamentally tragic.So it's all in disarray here but the real problem as I see it is deep in the fabric of the imagination that gives rise to it.A way to think about it is that America had caroused into apathy since the time of Chinatown, both in a larger sense and the Hollywood mirror. It was "morning again" but a kind of fake morning like someone had filmed the idyllic sunrise in an studio backlot of the 50s (much like Reagan's ad feels).This isn't a matter of the film not being dark or cynical enough as though either were a virtue. Chinatown was both but it was from having its ear on the ground. It's that the cinematic mirror here is pointed without care, showing no particular thing. It has a slapdash feel that to my mind serves as reflection of this larger dissipation of vision.(You can practically watch this disconnect take place in Lethal Weapon the previous year; a noir plot where cops come to investigate a mysterious suicide, by the end we don't get to know anything about the girl who leaped to her death, but we have all this time devoted to explaining the whole drug trafficking plan with its cartoon villains.)There's one scene that stands out; the one that begins with Pfeiffer and Gibson kissing in front of the azaleas, cuts to prowling shots outside the house, gives us their lovemaking inverse reflected on steamy waters, intercut with shots of voyeur cops "viewing" intently, and intercut again with Russell making an important discovery by looking at photos (that he magically procured from thin air to serve the story). But even that stands out as clumsy bravura, trying to be Welles for a few minutes out of the blue.It just goes to waste the youthful energy of these actors, Pfeiffer in particular. She brings to life one of the screen women truly worth knowing; aloofness that glides with kind dignity, guards herself without ego, spirited enough to stay and find out.Noir Meter: not a noir

kai ringler First off Michelle Pfeiffer in the hot tub scene is worth at least 2 points right of the bat.. Raul Julia steals the show with limited time on screen,, that's 2 points. beautiful camera work and scenery 1 point. interaction between Mel Gibson and Kurt Russel and their constant arguing,, and their solid friendship worth 2 points,, and the storyline,, a drug dealer a cop,, a sexy young woman who both are in love with ,,3 points.. so there is how I get a 10... Mac is looking for one final score so he can retire,, but his best friend is a cop and is highly suspicious of Mac,, they are both in love with a local restaurant owner Jo Anne,, J.T. Walsh also plays a great supporting role in the movie,, but for me Raul Julia just steals the show he plays two parts,, a Mexicali federale and a drug lord.. this movie is great to watch,, part action, thriller drama love story,,