Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Donald Seymour This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Verity Robins Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Scarecrow-88 Running concurrent with a slate of Jack the Ripper style killings, medical student John Wesford(James Spader), working in a free clinic for the uninsured, is attempting to raise awareness about Los Angeles' poverty plight. The style and subjects chosen are practically identical to the notorious Jack the Ripper, left-handed, with anatomical knowledge and precise with surgical tools. One more victim is left to be targeted, and due to a direct link with the Ripper slayings of the past, the one chosen will be pregnant. Jack Pendler(Rex Ryon), a janitor at the free clinic, shows up at a pregnant hooker's apartment to give her an abortion, when John himself decides he might check in on the same woman. John finds the hooker slain on her bed, covered in blood, and, coincidentally, Jack returns supposedly to bring her antibiotics. Panic-stricken, Jack eventually strangles and hangs John by a rope in the free clinic(after pushing John into the dead victim, getting blood on his clothes, he becomes the prime suspect)leaving the police to believe he committed suicide. So John, a "man of the people" is considered the Ripper killer and the only one who might help clear his name is a twin brother, Rick(also played by Spader). But, before losing it, Jack claims hysterically to John that he did not murder the pregnant woman..could someone else actually be responsible for the other crimes?I would love to say that JACK'S BACK is more than just your standard Hollywood thriller, but it really isn't..well, maybe except for the bizarre way the filmmakers arrange for the real murderer to be identified(not only of his own brother, but the Ripper killer as well). Except for Spader in dual roles, there really isn't much to distinguish this from all the other thrillers you are accustomed to seeing. Police are searching for a killer with multiple twists identifying who the real culprit is, while one clearly is shown murdering a victim, it's an obvious red herring in regards to the Ripper slayings. You know that, despite having completed the Ripper murders as intended, the psychopath would just have to target "damsel in distress", Chris(Cynthia Gibb, the love interest for John, and later Rick, joining forces with him to find the real killer)so that he can not only be put in a position to be caught in the act, but so that the "wrong man", Rick, could come to the rescue. Robert Picardo is psychiatrist Carlos Battera, a little weird(okay, a lot weird), who the police turn to with help apprehending the Ripper killer..his hypnosis assists Rick in putting a face to the real murderer. This film, as directed by Rowdy Herrington(Roadhouse with Patrick Swayze), does include an interesting development which propels the story forward..twin brother Rick actually sees through his dying brother's eyes as he's being strangled and eventually hung in a dream! I found it amusing how the filmmakers arrange the differences between Rick and John: Rick's hairstyle, leather jacket, air of mystery, aura of danger, a speedy convertible, while John has frumpy clothes, a messy apartment, dedicated work ethic, ease with the public, and a dying VW bug which has seen better days. Oh, and Rick knows karate, so he is able to defend himself, unlike his brother, against the mammoth Jack who outweighs him by a cool thirty pounds.

sol1218 **SPOILERS** Very disjointed movie about this "Jack the Ripper" imitator who's out to duplicated his horrific crimes this time in L.A ,not London,that he committed exactly, back in 1888, 100 years ago. After murdering and dissecting, like the "Ripper" did, four of his victims it's expected by the LAPD that the "L.A Ripper" is due for one more ,victim more #5, to complete his grizzly task.The film "Jack's Back" centers around the L.A Free Clinic "Echo Park" located in the poor and slummy side of town. Working at Echo Park is young and socially conscious minded med student John Westford, James Spader, who's at odds with his pain in the a** boss Dr. Sidney Tannerson, Rod Loomis. Dr. Tennerson is always threatening to fire John for shooting off his mouth to the media about how bad those without money or health insurance are treated in the country's hospitals.Working with John is this big sweaty and deranged looking med-student, like John, Jack Pendler, Rex Ryan, who's obviously, just by his actions, the #1 suspect, to those of us watching the movie, in the "Rippers" killings. Jack doesn't disappoint us by showing up at Denises Johnson's, Daitza Kimngsley, apartment to preform an abortion on her for a cool $200.00! This in 1988 when abortions were legal in the US and for free in the free clinic-Echo Park- where Denise was a patient at! We never really get to see what happened to Denise but she ends up dead with Jack now in deep sh*t in being the last person to see her alive!With John showing up at Denise's place and finding her dead, with Jack barging down the stairs, it's obvious to him that Jack is the "L.A Ripper" and takes off after him. Trying to take on the much bigger and powerful Jack John ends up getting killed, in his being strung up, by him. It's then that were introduced to John's twin brother Rick, also played by James Spender, who at the moment of John's murder he had a dream of it happening!By the time Rick shows up the "Jack the Ripper" angle of the movie becomes completely kaput in that the killer fulfilled his quota of murders, five, that the real "Jack the Ripper" committed back in 1888. Were then bombarded with claims and counter-claims, by the police and Rick, to who the real "L.A Ripper is". Jack after murdering John had left a suicide note on him where he confessed that he in fact was the "L.A Ripper" which obviously he wasn't!Rick with the help of his late brother John's fellow clinic worker Christine Moscari, Cynthia Gibbs, then try to track down the real killer of not only John but the five "Ripper" victims. The movie get more complicated by the minute with both Rick & Christine not getting anywhere in finding the killer who seems to be everywhere and everyplace at the same time! The ridicules ending of the movie has "The Ripper", now with his identity reviled, again come out of the shadows and attempt to murder Christina while she's sleeping in bed. Why "The Ripper" would want to murder Christina or anybody else for that matter is the biggest surprises in the movie! He already met his goal, five murders, so why try to improve it by adding victim #6 to his scorecard!P.S There's a scene in the movie where "The Ripper" is caught, by Rick, spying on Christina as she's undressing in her apartment. Making a hasty retreat all that "The Ripper" left was his wet shoe prints. Later at his job as a shoe salesman Rick fits the very same shoes on one of his customers, Brian Fats Bender, that was at least a size 14 or 15! This made you as well as Rick suspect that "Fats" was the elusive serial killer in that the shoes in both the size and style that he wears fits that of "The Ripper". It's later when we finally got to see who "The Ripper" really was he was at least half, in hight weight as well as shoe size, the size that "The Ripper" was according to the shoe prints he left outside of Christina's apartment!

d_sakaki I caught this on TV late at night. Thought it would just be sometypical 80's slasher movie, but I was pleasantly surprised to seewhat a genuinely well-made thriller this was. It's a basic potboilerstory, but thoughtfully executed and James Spader is excellent in adual role as twin brothers. It's got a little bit of everything --reincarnating the Jack the Ripper myth, twin brothers who are (ofcourse) total opposites, a bit of the paranormal, a great whodunitmystery, and some genuinely creepy scenes. Spader really makesthis watchable -- the story's solid enough, but his performance isjust so much fun to watch. He plays one twin, who is the affable,friendly doctor who works in a local free clinic, and then hisanti-hero bad-boy twin brother who works a minimum-wage job,has shady connections, but ultimately shares his brother's senseof justice and good heart. And Spader's performance isn't thetypical uber-yuppie, not a whiny preppy wimp, and not a totalpsychopath. He's just playing an average guy trying to do the rightthing, save the girl, and clear his brother's name by finding the realmurderer. It's good stuff! For James Spader fans, I think it's a greatchance to see him do yet another unique job of characterinterpretation.

pizowell Someone is killing prostitutes in a very Jack The Ripper-esque fashion on the 100 year anniversaries of The Ripper's original murders. A med student (Spader) gets caught up in the last murder and winds up meeting a tragic fate. Now his twin brother (also played by Spader) is out to find the man responsible for his death and gets caught up in the middle of the copycat murder case in the process. Oh, and he has to clear his own name because he is a suspect in the above mentioned case AND also a suspect in his brothers murder...Whooo. Now that's a s*** load of plot!Jack's Back is an odd movie and kind of deceiving. You see, no one in their right mind is gonna market a movie this complicated. So what the box tells ya is that Jack's Back is about a murderer mimicking the Jack The Ripper slayings of a century ago. Well, that's only half the movie. Jack's Back is a murder mystery turned revenge noir turned suspense thriller that manages to avoid drowning itself in murky plot, pointless subplot, or endless dialogue in an attempt to competently tell the story and wrap everything up in the end. From the title and basic premise of the film one may think it's just your basic slasher type/murder mystery exploitation stuff that was recycled over and over again when this movie was released. If so, you're wrong...Jack's Back starts as a murder mystery about a nutball killing prostitutes, when we meet a med student with a heart of gold, John played by James Spader. He soon finds himself at the scene of one of the Ripper murders and is eventually killed. His shady twin brother Rick who sees the murder in a dream soon pops up. The police are quick to write off John's death as a suicide, but Rick knows better. He soon sets out to find the guy responsible with the help of Chris (Gibb) who had a thing for John and is developing a thing for Rick when he finds that things aren't as they seemed and the Ripper copycat is out for more blood. Writer/director Rowdy Herrington gives us a strong, well developed script with great characters and memorable situations. His ability to shift from a murder mystery to revenge flick to thriller deserves major props. Props to Herrington for creating such likeable and complex characters too. Great job! From a directing standpoint, Herrington gives the movie a moody and uneasy atmosphere blanketed in thick fog. Burnout Central award to Herrington. James Spader delivers a layered and very strong double performance that engaged me and kept my eyes glued on him. Cynthia Gibb gives a strong performance as well. I dug how the script didn't go into familiar romantic territory even though Spader and Gibb had great chemistry. Burnout Central awards to both!It was great to watch a movie with such a dense storyline that never forget what it was supposed to do-entertain. I was intrigued and fascinated with the story, performances and Herrington's ability to construct such a multi-layered plot and still find a way to pull it all together. Jack's Back isn't conventional in the least, it marches to its own drum, has class, and is well written, acted and directed. Check it out!