Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This is supposedly based on a true story.Danny Cappelli (James Russo) is a former boxer working as a prison guard. He is an old neighborhood Philadelphia blue collar type guy who has some stress issue which he brings out with some early first person narration. His inability to get along with male inmates without going into the berserker mode lands him a job at the less stressful "G-Block" guarding women.Gidell Ryan (Cynda Williams) is a prisoner. She is an up and coming night club singer and part owner, along with her boyfriend Angel (Paul Calderon) of an adult entertainment establishment. He is the reason she is in prison. Our main two characters discover they both like closet sex and plan their escape.Gidell's character was not well developed. It could have used a few clever minutes showing us her crime. Russo played a fairly decent blue collar guard, being chased by an Adrian clone from "Rocky."Parental Guide: F-bomb, sex, brief nudity (Cynda Williams, some strippers with pasties)

I first saw Cynda Williams in One False Move and i was hooked. She is a raving beauty and can act too. Naturally, I grabbed this DVD as soon as I could.Unfortunately, like Greed, it didn't live up to the potential.The main problem was the lack of real support for Williams. James Russo (you might remember him as Mikey Tandino in Beverly Hills Cop) hasn't really gotten any better in a lead role. he just didn't display any real emotion in this movie. Yeah, he looked energetic enough when he was getting it on with Williams, but she can inspire the best in all of us. Outside of that, he was just a drunken prison guard who liked to beat on people. I am sure there are thousands of those available for casting.The back story for Williams was also weak. It was there, but it just wasn't fleshed out enough.And, the ending. Oh, the ending is a mess. Who in the world could believe that a prison guard with a drinking problem would have enough money to flee to Mexico? What was he going to live off? His looks? I'm not buying it.Watch it for Cynda Williams because there is nothing else here.

It is a low-budget movie, but expertly directed: for instance , with few actors and means the atmosphere in the prisons is effectively rendered. The movie in fact consists of three roles only ( the late Victor Argo being seen for very few minutes), but they are all well played. Paul Calderon is quite believable as a slimy gangster. I confess that I did not know Cinda Williams before, and found her very attractive in a sultry way, but also quite convincing. The best however is James Russo, who is really outstanding, using only his gimlet eyes and clenched jaws. *** Spoilers: while you expect Russo to be broken by the death of the loved one, the unexpected but appropriate end helps greatly to make a success of Condition Red

I saw this movie last night thinking it may be a good watch. I was wrong. Maybe in Finland can a prison guard practically walk out of a maximum security facility with a female prisoner "wrapped around his arms"(his girlfriend as well...) The gun fight at the airport was amusing. All that gunfire and not one shell casing could be seen from the guns or on the floor. Plot 2 - Action 4 - Acting 1. James Russo, time to get a real job.