Columbia TriStar Home Video presents

Naked Lies (1998)

Mitch: If they wanted to, they could put the U.S. out of business.
Cara: Yeah, well I'm gonna put a stop to them.- Jay Baker, Shannon Tweed

Stars: Shannon Tweed
Other Stars: Fernando Allende, Jay Baker, Steven Bauer, Michael Edward Rose, Mineko Mori
Director: Ralph Portillo

MPAA Rating: R for strong sexuality, violence and language
Run Time: 01h:33m:28s
Release Date: 2003-05-06
Genre: television

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
D-	D-	B-	B-	D+

 

DVD Review

Throughout the 1990s, former Playboy Playmate Shannon Tweed made a crapload of allegedly sexy Z-grade, straight-to-cable thrillers, all designed largely to showcase her finely assembled frame, which as she passes the age of 40 still looks as smashing as ever, I might add. Mix in some explosions, a shootout or two, and a smattering of gratutious soft-core sex, and you basically have the core of any Tweed film, all ensconced in a patina of overly dramatic line reads, macho posturing, furrowed brows and heaving, exposed bosoms.

In Naked Lies Tweed portrays a disgraced DEA agent named Cara Landry (she killed a child during a raid), who is coerced into going undercover on "an unofficial assignment" in Mexico to bring down Damian Medina (Fernando Allende, who according to the backcover is a "Mexican superstar in his American film debut"), a powerful drug lord/counterfeiter who has eluded authorities. She is told to do anything (emphasis on anything) to bring down Medina, and after Cara lands a gig at a roulette table at one of his casinos, she finds herself right in the heart of the action.

Naked Lies is directed stiffly by Ralph Portillo, who a few years later went on to do the respectable killer-at-a-campground flick, Bloody Murder. The events here, though, flow with the uninspired narrative of a typical TV cop show, with only the infrequent appearance of a pair of naked breasts to shake things up a bit. It should also be noted that Tweed herself only does one major nude scene, and diehards will have to sit through about 70 minutes of Naked Lies to actually get to it.

I always wonder about the market for dumb films like this when they are released on DVD. Who wants these things? Coming across this on late night cable is one thing, where the bad acting and soft-core moments serve as some kind of temporary distraction as you flip through upwards of 500 channels. But to think that someone might actually rent this, or worse, purchase it...?

Rating for Style: D-
Rating for Substance: D-

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.78:1 - Widescreen
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	yes

Image Transfer Review: The 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is an average job, with a fair blend of natural fleshtones and nicely rendered colors. Image detail is a bit soft during night sequences, especially during the film's signature soft-focus sex scenes. The print appears to be free of any dirt or scratches.

Image Transfer Grade: B-
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: A straight-forward 2.0 surround mix, with all of the bad dialogue and action relegated to the front speakers, so the rear channels are completely silent throughout on this one. Though the soundstage is a litte flat the dialogue is easy to understand, and there were a few noticeable pans as vehicles moved across screen.

Audio Transfer Grade: B- 

Disc Extras

Static menu
Scene Access with 28 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English with remote access
3 Other Trailer(s) featuring Forbidden Sins, Human Desires, No Contest
Packaging: Amaray
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: single

Extras Review: Not much here, other than a trio of trailers (Forbidden Sins, Human Desires, No Contest) for other Shannon Tweed properties, as well as English subtitles.

The disc is cut into 28 chapters.

Extras Grade: D+
 

Final Comments

Trust me.

I've seen a lot of really, really bad movies, and this is without a doubt one of them.

Rich Rosell 2003-05-26