[VIDEO REVIEWS]Breaking Bodies, Codes and Some Hearts

New releases reviewed this week include two action films based on books, and a spirited comedy.

EXIT WOUNDS (2001)

Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak. Starring Steven Seagal, DMX, Tom Arnold and David Vadim.

After a two-year hiatus from the movie industry, the martial arts movie star Seagal returns to the take on the role of a maverick cop, Orin Boyd. As "Exit Wounds" opens, Boyd, a Detroit detective, single-handedly thwarts an attack on the vice president of the United States.

In the process, however, he embarrasses the vice president. Boyd has made one too many enemies and gets demoted to patrol cop. Not only is he transferred to the worst precinct in the city, Boyd is required to attend anger management classes. There he meets television personality Henry Wayne (Arnold).

Boyd is supposed to be tucked away in the seedy streets, but soon enough he is back to doing the detective thing. He uncovers a conspiracy that reaches into the heart of the police department. Montini (Vadim), a crooked cop, makes deals with a drug lord, Latrell Walker (DMX). But all is not what it seems to be.

Based on a book by John Westermann, a former policeman, this movie may resonate with Seagal fans, but the plot is too cliched and convoluted.

THE TAILOR OF PANAMA (2001)

Directed by John Boorman. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Harry Pendel (Rush) has the perfect manners to fit in with the rich and powerful of Panama. Claiming to be from Saville Row, Pendel is as famous for his entertaining yarns as his well- cut suits.

Pendel is the husband of a U.S. government worker, Louisa (Curtis), and father of two children. But his entertaining skills and lifestyle are a cover for his roots as a con who learned his trade in prison.

One day, a real British spy, Andy Osnard (Brosnan), walks into his store. Osnard is mischievous and dangerous. Osnard blackmails Pendel into stealing secrets from the Canal Commission, where Harry's wife works. The story becomes a battle of wits between the two as betrayals singe everyone. The movie is based on a book by John le Carre.

HEARTBREAKERS (2001)

Directed by David Mirkin. Starring Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Gene Hackman, Ray Liotta and Jason Lee

Weaver and Love Hewitt play a mother-and-daughter team of swindlers. The mother, Max, tricks Dean Cumanno (Liotta) into marriage, only to "accidentally" catch him flagrante delicto with Page in disguise.

After the divorce settlement, the two flee for Palm Beach. At The Breakers, the most exclusive hotel there, the two find plenty of new love interests to prey on, including billionaire William Tensy (Hackman) and bar owner Jack Withrowe (Lee).

by Joe Yong-hee