Body Heat (1981)

 

In the midst of a searing Florida heat wave, a woman persuades her lover, a small-town lawyer, to murder her rich husband.

From memory: Steamy neo-noir thriller is heavily indebted and is probably meant as homage to Double Indemnity, so the plot itself is quite conventional, but it does convince with some highly energized erotic scenes and a spectacular debut by Kathleen Turner as the femme fatale.

Halliwell**: "Oversexed and superfluous, not to mention uncredited, revamp of Double Indemnity. Some evidence of flair does not relieve that 'I have been here before' feeling."

Maltin***: "Over-derivative of 1940s melodramas at first, then goes off on its own path and scores." 

 

The Jewel of the Nile (1985)

When Joan Wilder is abducted while on a trip along the Nile, her boyfriend, Jack Colton, and pal Ralph rush to rescue her and retrieve a fabled jewel.

A sequel quite in line with the original and still entertaining, but simply not addings anything new too the formula.

Halliwell*: "Moderate sequel to Romancing the Stone; plenty of action, but dull spots in between." 

Maltin**: "Contrived "high adventure"...can't capture charm of original, because the characters are set - and character change (particularly Turner's) is what made the first movie fun. Some good stunts and funny lines, but it all rings hollow."

Romancing the Stone (1984)

A mousy romance novelist sets off for Colombia to ransom her kidnapped sister, and soon finds herself in the middle of a dangerous adventure hunting for treasure with a mercenary rogue.

Lively and entertaining adventure spoof, sparked by some good chemistry between Tuner and Douglas.

Halliwell*: "Spoof adventure thriller which takes too long to get going and then it finds nowhere to go. But commercial..."

Maltin***: "Very likable high-adventure hokum...Silly story never stops moving - with some terrific action and stunts - but it's Turner's enormously appealing performance that really makes the film worthwhile."