LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

lastliberal Like any good writer, I have no hesitation in admitting my biases. Any hero that drives around in a Mustang convertible gets extra points. Any film that occurs in the Florida hurricane season gets points for atmosphere.There, that's the biases, and they don't take away from a good crime story that also has a lot to say about the newspaper business. Like his boss says, "We're not manufacturing, we're retail." Sometimes, you forget that and become part of the process instead of just reporting the results. I like those blurry lines, as they really make you think about what you are watching.The story starts off really good, but it doesn't live up to the potential. "Seven" shows how it should be done. But, hey, this was way before that and it did a fair job of sucking you in and presenting some good surprises.And, we did after all, get to see Mariel's hemingways as she stepped out of the shower. Certainly, that's worth the price of admission. Richard Jordan as the serial killer was also excellent.

Spikeopath Malcolm Anderson is an intrepid reporter for a Miami newspaper, growing frustrated with the job he is thinking of moving away. As it turns out, the latest story he is on is going to involve him far more than he could ever have imagined.The Mean Season has a good cast working well, the direction is solid and safe, and the location work is very pleasing. Sadly the technical aspects of the piece far outweigh its substance, for The Mean Season brings nothing new to a constantly tired genre, even allowing for it being a mid eighties piece, the turns in the plot had been done to death long before this Kurt Russell effort hit the screens. Highlight in the picture is a fine bad guy turn from Richard Jordan, genuine menace portrayed from his voice work to his actual psychical acting, but sadly the script fails to let his character get fully into evil territory. There is a reason that something like Se7en nine years later became such a popular movie, because it's bringing new stuff to the table, a serial killer film to get under your skin, all The Mean Season does is scratch the surface, and after it's more than great first quarter, that is a major let down. 5/10

ccthemovieman-1 The first half of this find-the-serial killer movie was excellent. The story was very interesting and got me hooked into it, big-time. That made the second half really disappointing as the story evolved into one cliché after another. Two big examples: the killer abducting the hero's girlfriend and then making a surprise showing at his house at the end when everyone presumes he's dead. Man, how many movies does that happen? Too many.Kurt Russell plays his normal macho role and Mariel Hemingway joins him as the female lead. She looked nice. Overall, if you like crime movies it's worth seeing. But, rent it, don't buy it.

jmorrison-2 Decent enough movie, with an absolutely menacing performance by Richard Jordan as the sick, deluded serial killer.Kurt Russell was...just okay. I couldn't quite figure out what he was getting at. He was burnt out in his job with the newspaper in Miami. He seemed to be craving just the situation that he found himself in. Conversing with a serial killer, and writing about it; Having a literal front row seat at the story of the year; being the central figure in a national story; "approaching pulitzer territory". However, Russell erupted into attitude with just about everybody he came into contact with. At one point, he's smugly satisfied to have found himself to be so deeply involved in an emerging story of a sadistic serial killer, then he snaps at the killer when events aren't turning out favorably. This doesn't seem like the emotional response you would expect from a seasoned reporter. A serial killer is doing something like this just to play with the heads of authority. To expect him to behave rationally is naive and foolish.However, Russell gamely does generally well with the character, and there are effectively troubling and suspenseful aspects to the film. The subject of newspaper ethics is broached and discussed, although I'm not sure all that effectively.Andy Garcia, Richard Bradford and Richard Masur were excellent.Mariel Hemingway was absolutely terrible. She either was giggling, looking completely bewildered, or hysterical. Granted, the script gave her little else to do, but a creative actress could have made something out of it. She completely distracted me every time she was on screen. Just a terrible job.All in all, a decent, flawed movie with a first-rate performance by Jordan. He made the movie worth it.