Cool News
Moriarty Reviews Michael Mann's MIAMI VICE
SPOILER ALERT !!
Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
There are many different reasons people fall in love with movies. Sometimes it’s because of a cleverly constructed story that draws you in. Sometimes it’s because you recognize something of yourself in the film, or in a character, and that recognition creates an attachment for you. Sometimes it’s a simple visceral reaction to action scenes or to a well-choreographed set piece or the soundtrack or a particular movie star. With Michael Mann films, I find that what typically nails me to my chair on the first viewing is mood, pure and simple, and MIAMI VICE holds to that pattern perfectly. This is a smart, adult, demanding motion picture that may well be the most artistically successful translation from a TV show to the bigscreen. Although you won’t hear the Jan Hammer theme, and you won’t see any of the same fashions or even the same sort of stylization, this film perfectly captures the broken heart of the series, that sense of slipping into a world that corrupts even the best intentions. And the fact that the film fairly drips with cool doesn’t hurt a bit.
I watched MIAMI VICE pretty faithfully during its first run in the ‘80s. My family had just moved to Florida when the film premiered, and I remember how much my dad flipped for it from the very first episode. I’ve watched the show on DVD, thanks to the recent releases by Universal, and I think it’s a fascinating record of a particular moment in television drama. HILL STREET BLUES was considered “gritty” at that point, a world before cable, and what VICE brought to the table was, as I said, mood. The way it used music that you’d hear on the radio at that exact moment, the way it distinguished itself visually from any other cop show in TV history, the way it made even its main characters into morally gray icons... it felt groundbreaking at the time. Looking at it now, it obviously can’t compete with the sort of authenticity of something like THE SHIELD or THE WIRE, but what remains great about it is that sadness that haunts every episode. Has there ever been a cop show that ended in disappointment so often?
There are no opening titles on this film. You see the Universal logo over silence, and then BAM! There’s a blast of sound, of pounding dance music, and you’re in a Miami nightclub and it’s sink or swim. Mann wrote the screenplay as well as directing this time out, and he has no interest in coddling you with a ton of exposition. This is the sort of film where you’re probably 20 minutes in before you’ve really got a handle on what’s going on or who’s doing what, and I loved it. I loved that feeling of being dropped into this undercover world. This isn’t a pilot for an ongoing series, worried more about setting things up than telling a story. This isn’t about following some crappy cookie-cutter three-act McKee-sanctioned screenplay structure. This is a movie that opens mid-stream. Things are what they are, and they have been for some time. Sonny Crockett (Colin Farrell) and Ricardo Tubbs (Jamie Foxx) are vice detectives, and they are absolutely part of the world that they cover. I don’t think Farrell has ever looked sleazier, with that crazy mullet of his and his perpetual face growth, and Foxx plays his part as a guy who wants desperately to seem like he’s chill, but who is really wound much too tight, ready to snap at the slightest provocation. As the film opens, they’re in the middle of a stake-out, something involving hookers and some abusive pimps, and every member of the vice team is in the club, circling like sharks, with cameras trained on the action. In addition to Crockett and Tubbs, we see Trudy (Naomie Harris) and Gina (Elizabeth Rodriguez) and Switek (Domenick Lombardozzi) and Zito (Justin Theroux), all of whom were regulars on the show. It’s obvious that Mann wasn’t trying to cast people to look like the actors from the series, and in the case of the guy in charge of the squad, Lt. Martin Castillo, he didn’t even cast the same race, instead opting to use Barry Shabaka Henley, who played the jazz club owner in one of the best scenes in COLLATERAL. The names are the same, but everyone seems free to reinvent these characters they’re playing.
Then in the middle of what’s happening, a call comes in from Alonzo (John Hawkes), a former confidential informant who the detectives turned over to the FBI. He’s in his car on the freeway, talking crazy, talking like a man who is sure he’s already dead. He says a few cryptic things, asks Crockett to take care of his girlfriend when he’s gone, then hangs up and speeds off into the night. That simple call kicks off everything else we see happen in the film, and it destroys the status quo once and for all.
For the first forty minutes, I had one very odd thought run through my head, but it certainly wasn’t a deal-breaker. “Someone’s been watching a lot of HBO” is something I suspect many people will think, since you’ve got Hawkes and Pavel Lynchnikoff from DEADWOOD and Lombardozzi from THE WIRE and ENTOURAGE and Elizabeth Rodriguez from OZ and Ciarin Hinds from ROME, all of them memorable actors with fairly prominent roles in their various series. Seeing one right after another like that, it sort of felt like I was watching a $135 million HBO film, and I worried that the whole thing was going to feel sort of small-screen, especially given Mann’s decision to shoot everything on HD again, primarily using the Viper camera system that he used on COLLATERAL. During the scenes at the club and on the rooftop and in a few parking lots, there’s a definite grain to the image, and for some people, that won’t look like a “movie.” Personally, I think Dion Beebe deserves an Oscar nomination for his cinematography. I think it’s brave, visually extreme in even the quiet moments. There’s an immediacy to the way Mann uses his camera, putting you right in the middle of things, and it’s a perfect match for the way his script works. Even better, once the film breaks free of the nighttime and Mann plunges you into the brilliant Miami daytime, all that grain disappears, and suddenly, this is a film of stunning color and brightness. It’s beautiful. Mann’s showing off the full range of what that Viper camera can do, and this doesn’t look a thing like SUPERMAN RETURNS, shot on the Genesis camera. That has a sort of candy-colored artifical feeling that the Viper doesn’t. This camera, especially in bright light, seems to be capturing the world as it really is. There’s a depth of focus that captures the Florida sky in a way you’ve never seen before unless you lived in Florida. If you want to know who the star of the film is, there’s no doubt... it’s Mann. This film sums up so many of the things he’s done before, and by building this whisper of a narrative to hang all his interests and concerns on, Mann has set himself free as a filmmaker. He’s really working at the top of his game here, whether you’re a fan of THE INSIDER or MANHANTER, whether you prefer ALI or HEAT or LAST OF THE MOHICANS. Because he’s done this before, because MIAMI VICE plays on character dynamics that he’s comfortable with already, Mann is able to sketch by suggestion.
Take, for example, the relationship between Trudy and Rico. Naomie Harris and Jamie Foxx play a couple in love, and the intimacy in their scenes together sets the stakes pretty high for us as an audience. Because we believe in their relationship... because their attraction feels so real and recognizable... we are invested when and if anything happens to either one of them. They both know the risks that they take doing this work, and in some way, that’s what makes their moments of happiness so much riper. There’s a moment at the end of them making love that just seemed so right on, so small and well-observed, that I realized Mann is sneaking one by.
See, this is being sold like a big-budget action film, but it’s not. It’s a drama, a four-person character study about what this sort of work does to the human heart. Trudy and Rico start the film in love, and you can tell that all the other detectives envy them their connection. When Sonny and Rico go undercover to follow up on the death of Alonzo, they come into contact with Isabella (Gong Li), a mysterious associate of Arcangel de Jesus Montaya (Luis Tosar) and Jose Yero (John Ortiz). Sonny is smitten pretty much the moment he sees her, but as he makes his move and the two of them start to engage, it’s not clear how much of his connection to her is genuine and how much is part of the cover. Because it’s not clear to anyone, even Sonny, things get complicated. As good as Fox and Harris are together, Farrell and Li are exquisite. I’ve always thought Gong Li was a stunning woman, but there’s something really striking about the way she looks in HD, every freckle and imperfection visible. It makes her more real. When she cries during sex, seemingly from joy, it’s a surprising character touch, and it seems like we’re peeking in on something real. She’s never been this good in a western film before, and she forces Farrell to raise his game in return.
The love stories between these two couples form what spine there is for the film. Everything else just provides the forces that conspire to destroy what these couples are building with eath other. Somehow, Columbian drug lords, a federal-level leak, Aryan Brotherhood scumbags and a weakness for mojitos all seem to be the elements that add up to near-destruction. I find it hard to believe that John Ortiz, who plays the venal, animalistic Yero, is the same guy who played loveable Reuben on THE JOB a few years back. Amazing transformation, and great work.
I remember seeing Luis Tosar in HEART OF THE WARRIOR at the FanTasia Film Festival several years back, but he hasn’t done much that I’ve seen since. As a result, he really stands out as Montaya, with a stare that is deranged and serene at the same time. He’s a scary, scary figure, even when he’s being as polite as humanly possible, and he reminds me of how smart and subtle Mann played Hannibal in MANHUNTER versus the souped-up Hollywood version we’ve been watching ever since. Tosar creates a completely believable angel of death, hovering over the edges of everything, outside the reach of the law, made of smoke when the authorities finally move in. Mann gets that same level of work out of everyone, even when they’re only onscreen for a few scenes. John Hawkes made a fairly strong impression in ME & YOU & EVERYONE WE KNOW and he’s good on DEADWOOD each week. Here, he’s got a twitchy doomed energy that really works. Ciarin Hinds is good, but a bit underused, as is Justin Theroux. And although there’s no one action sequence that delivers the sustained adrenaline rush of the gunfight/bank robbery in HEAT, the film plays rough, and when there is a flurry of violence, it’s always shocking and upsetting. There’s a scene early on that actually elicited a “Holy fuck!” from me when I saw it. It surprised me, and it showed me that Mann knows that the line has been moved, the bar has been raised, and if he’s going to compete, he’s got to deliver the goods. He’s got to make this film hurt if it’s going to make any impression on you. And once he makes you understand just how dangerous the world is, he dares to show us just a few faint signs of hope underneath it all, just enough to break our hearts. It’s masterful filmmaking, deceptive in how simple it all seems. There’s nothing easy about MIAMI VICE, and it reaffirms Michael Mann as one of the most consistent filmmakers working today.
I’ve got to get up my Zack Snyder and STARDUST articles before ComicCon for you guys, but I also have to move into my family’s new house in the next seven days, so I’m going to be very busy. That doesn’t even account for the screening I’ll be at by mid-afternoon tomorrow, which has me so excited I’m dizzy. More on that soon, though. For now...
"Moriarty" out.
"Moriarty" out.
-
+ Expand All
-
first
-
i'd like to see him spin kick that Dom guy in the head. he annoyed the shit out of me in Entourage. Does he play the same "character" in this movie, which i assume is who he really is in real life, a big, meat headed guido?
-
So close to first (sort of). Makes you wanna cry !
-
...for this. Mann is magnificent.
Heat and Collateral are two of the most kick-ass movies of the last decade. So says I. I thought Ali was mediocre at best, though.
-
Fine review, except the camera comments were very premature. Yes, Superman Returns was candy colored, but Singer also pushed the hell out of it to create what he was calling a color version of "Rebecca." It's impossible to know what a given camera can do without seeing what different cinematographers can do with it.
-
Or that loser who played his sidekick! Forget it then-
-
Bring this on, both Heat and Collateral are fantastic rides, cant fucken wait for this to own ass-hole
al -
...but why did he call it Miami Vice and gave the characters the same name, when he makes something completely new? I just don't get it! But hey, if the film is good...
-
The real star of the TV show was that ferrari testarossa and the alligator.
-
Hey Mori, what was the music/use of music like in the movie? Need to know. Also, does anybody no the tracklisting for the soundtrack CD out on 25th? Do you have a link to it?
Cheers
-
Stupid plot; studid dialogue; stupid action sequences; bad acting. Now Mori (one of the few good 'uns on this site) says it's as good as Jesus cum. Either Mann did some crazy good work in post/editing or I may have to bring down the pain on Mori. CONFLICTED.
-
Jul 13, 2006 8:18:23 AM CDT
Off topic again, but funny: uber-coked Brian Singer...
by jackpumpkinhead
tries to speak about the great success of Superman Returns: http://us.video.aol.com/video.index.adp?mode=1&pmmsid=1676445
-
It could be that some of the people who post early reviews are tards or plants. either way untrustworthy. really looking forward to this!!!!!!!!!!
-
...does that include silence of the lambs???
-
"Well, I, I, I... I feel, I... that, the, the... I can... what? I feel... about what? About, um, um... you lost me. It's cool! It means... people are going to movies! I guess. You know. Uh, I love the first one. So, I wasn't sur... excited that, that it, that... people are going to the movies. I mean... it's, yeah. I guess. It's a good thing."
So speaks the man given the task of resurrecting Superman. Can't wait for the sequel! -
If a movie doesn't have pastels, outrageous clothes, freaky cops, Jan Hammer, and isn't even mostly set in Miami, WHY THE HELL CALL IT "MIAMI VICE"? Why not "The Traffic NARC versus Collateral Shield", because that's what it apparently wants to be?
-
Isn't he currently busy doing prison term for smuggling drugs from Ukraine or something of the sort? Just remembering some news from last year...
-
I mean, I assume it's great, being a Mann film and all... but are there any defining moments, like those you talked about in the TV show? Do we get any Phil Collins? Is the Linkin Park/Jay-Z number actually in the film?
-
C'mon! I don't expect it to be filled with 1980s music, or even have cheesy 1980s fashions, but not even a new version of the old theme song? At least have some annoying modern hip hop version or something. Dummies.
-
I'm boycotting the fucking movie! Nah, I'm kidding. But Phil Collins should be in the movie! That song and Miami Vice go together, bitches!
-
it's always dodgy reviewing an incomplete/unfinished movie. However Mori didn't address some of the main concerns raised before (the massive plot holes/problems, etc. etc stuff I said above). It could be because they weren't there anymore as they were fixed. Or that he glossed over them because he has serious Mann love. That's my favorite term 'Mann love'. Just saying is all. Peace.
-
but it's the nonpoint version.
Haven;t heard it myself. Mori, how does the music work ?
Soundtrack list:
In The Air Tonight - Nonpoint
One Of These Mornings - Moby Feat Patti Labelle
We're No Here - Mogwai
Sinnerman (Felix Da Housecat Heavenly House Mix) - Nina Simone
Auto Rock - Mogwai
Arranca - Manzanita
Ready For Love - India Arie
Strict Machine - Goldfrapp
Pennies In My Pocket - Emilio Estefan
New World In My View - King Britt
Sweep - Blue Foundation
Anthem - Moby
Blacklight Fantasy - Freaky Chakra
Mercado Nuevo - John Murphy
Who Are You - John Murphy
Ramblas - King Britt & Tim Motzer,
A-500 - Klaus Badelt & Mark Batson
-
After all the poor reviews I've heard of this movie I was starting to get really scared. I had to assume that they just weren't the right audience. Your review says all the right things though. Thanks.
-
Oh my god! That's the same look I've seen in a student's eye when he's just realized he bombed the final! Also, he does seem a bit too, twitchy, if you know what I mean. It wouldnt surprise me to learn he was on something at the time of the interview--he deffinitely seems strung out on something.
-
Its like a retred tire; don't buy it. Have no interest to see this.
-
Colin Farrel is so cheesy and so is Jamie Fox. That do not "drip cool" - and btw, yuck. Trust me, I live in Miami and this ain't no reflection. Miami is the poorest city in the world.
Don't think this movie is going to be caca?? Read what Olmos said about coming back to his role. Exactamundo!
http://ignoremagazine.com/features/vicecity/index.html
Miami Vice will bomb at the b.o. -
Miami Vice is about an ongoing War. As long as Miami exists, the Vice will exist. David Poland & Jeffrey Wells also loved it, and haven't agreed on anything in MONTHS. Cannot wait!
-
I see no reason why a great director like Mann couldn't make his 80s creation into a terrific movie. Glad to hear he's not worried too much about continuity with the TV show. This is the last movie of the summer I have any real interest in seeing and I'll definitely have to check it out now.
-
Mann's films have an intensity and intelligence that are truly unique in cinema. I'm a big fan so, count me in.
-
I knew it would be good! SONNY IS GONNA SAVE MY SUMMER!!!
-
Can't WAIT
-
i respect your opinion and agree with you the most out of everyone on the site. in the previews i saw the tone looked exactly like you said. looks like ill be seeing this one. keep up the good work.
-
but I am going to see this HD shot movie
-
why the heck call this and associated it with "Miami Vice"? That series might have been "hip" back in the 80's but looking at it now it's just an embarassment. And while I like Foxx's acting and respect how much he's grown as an actor, in the interviews/talkshows he's been on he seems to have become the "I'm too smooth and cool" person which is a big turn off. Stay grounded dude. You're not Billy Dee Williams.
-
Loved the TV show, but knowing Mann would make the R rated version gave me goosebumps. Plus he hasn't made a bad movie. And Gong Li is one of my favorites, so damn beautiful.
-
I love Michael Mann a lot, which is why I was disappointed when everyone was saying this film was a disaster and Mann eve nsaid himself that things were going terribly, and that he was in reclusive editing mode trying to salvage it and it would take nothing short of a miracle to do so...But it's good? You enjoyed it? Well I may need to check it out. And yes, I do agree with the poster that stated, why even call it "Miami Vice".
-
redeemed by the man who brought us The Insider.
-
Finally, a movie that heterosexual men can watch.
-
Easily. Now that I think about it, CLERKS 2 was way better than Superman Returns and Pirates 2, as well...
-
just kidding...but i'm still pissed that whenever my country is represented in print everyone fucks up the spelling. It is not ColUmbia (like the fucking university, there's no U). It is ColOmbia...O's dammit. show some respect...I don't see anyone spelling Mexico Mexeco or Canada Canuda and crap. Oh and any michael mann movie has potential.
-
This site ain't exactly a haven for English professors, iff u no wut i meen.
-
that people would remember as very cool from the Summer. Mann rarely disappoints and both Fox and Ferrell look and act cool as sh#t in this one.
-
Just kidding there, blackthought.
-
Mori please post the fountain review as soon as possible please, that's my most anticipated movie this year, please dont suck!
-
I cancelled long ago.
-
Yeah, that's what I tell myself too.
-
But I don't really think it has an audience. I'm certainly not interested in it at all. I hadn't even heard of it till last week, and $150 million is a pretty damn big budget. I even like Michael Mann but I can't work up the motivation to go see the movie.
-
i'd read some earlier reviews that seemed disappointing. thanks dude.
-
I see you saying stuff like this now in every TalkBack. You're like the sites new self-appointed Eeyore. I recommend you update your username. The fact that you couldn't figure out a way to include that final "e" is really pissing me off. ;^)
-
Is because of the built-in fanbase. You know, the hardcore fans of the original show, all 246 of them. And as silly as that sounds, it's more or less the actual reasoning behind such a decision.
-
Ok, I saw this movie about a month and a half ago in Vegas. I love Micheal Mann and Miami Vice so I was excited
-
Congrats.
-
... for like, ONE season. Then it went on for four more and... NO ONE GAVE A SHIT! Why a TV-to-movie remake? 'Cause of that goddman TV Land, that's why! I HATE TV Land! Nostalgia-spewing crap factory!
-
"manhanter".
-
But something in my heart would've loved a period piece from the 80s.
-
Except this one has a darker tone, we find out that Clayton is actually Odo, an alien being from the late 24th century who was sent to the past ina time accident, accidentally killing the real Clayton, and taking his place so as not to disrupt the timeline.
-
I can't wait to see this, but if he wants to remake anything he should pull a Lucas and go back and update the effects on "The Keep" cause thats the only thing not perfect about that movie.
-
The one thing I never trust is when someone says, "And everyone in the audience felt the movie was bad/good too and were all making fun/praising it" Never, ever trust the masses. I've come out of movies and have heard some of the stupidest comments someone could possibly say, the kind of thing that makes you wish the meteor would just strike this planet and end all life before it gets any worse. As a whole, they're all just idiots. And focus groups and people filling out cards for test screenings... most of them are pretty much the bottom of the barrel of people you can find. Which is what Hollywood wants, so there ya go. I have not seen this movie, and I will see it because that's what I like to do. All I have to go by is what Michael Mann has done in the past, and he's put together some quality pieces of work. Heat remains one of my all-time favorite films, and I almost fought a guy in a parking lot because he didn't like it. And I didn't fight him not because I held restraint, but because he was bigger than me and would've kicked my ass all over. If not, we woulda thrown down. But I must admit, I haven't been gettin' good vibes from this. I liked Collateral, but I was still disappointed in it. I tend to trust Mori, so I'll wait and see.
-
You were ready to fight because you watched that badass movie and its awesomeness kept you sharp, on the edge, where you had to be. Thats almost as good as the time a friend told me he kicked a long time girlfriend out of his apartment and broke up with her because he finally showed her Strangelove, his fave movie, and she didn't like it or get it.
-
I LOVE Manhunter (my fav Hanible movie too). And frg10 music and action in Manhunter is cool as hell too.
-
If I felt that way about my films, yeesh, I dont think my wife and I would have eve talked to each other after the first date. She hates Star Wars (only got through the first half of the 77 movie), has never seen Indiana Jones, doesnt feel Bill Murry is funny, has yet to watch LOTR, though she is interested, and doesnt really like to watch R-rated films and hates the 3 stooges. Oh, and the movies she goes out of her way to see? Baby's day out, Paulie, How Green is my Valley, Serendipity, My big Fat Greek Wedding, and the Cosby Show. Oh yeah, and she's a democrat and I'm a republican. We're like a living sitcom, arent we?
-
Why does Moriarty do this?:
-
You live with one, strike one, Bill Murry fan, Strike two, and you have a severe lack of conviction about standing up for things you belive in, in this case your fav movies. Only a democrat can feel that strongly about something and not take any action. BTW, I'm a democrat.
-
no. try ebert.
-
...is one of the most amazing pieces of music ever. Something about that song is really quite stirring. Good call frg10; it's a perfectly composed scene. (I think "Syriana" used the track in their TV adds, too.) Mann has done this a couple other times as well - the music that plays during the final chase/battle scene in "Last of the Mohicans" and the music that plays when Wil Graham figures out how Dollarhyde is choosing his victims in "Manhunter" (one of my personal favorite moments). Great blends of music and images.
-
one time I thought it was Michael Mann doing Transformers, then I realized it was Michael Bay. I was sad....
true story -
http://beerfestmovie.warnerbros.com/
-
Saw it on Tuesday. For the first 20 minutes, you are completely on your own. A total voyuer into their world with no one to hold your hand and explain what's going on. It's actually quite exhilarating. The camera work is amazing, as you would expect. The story, once it starts, makes you completey lose track of time. I feel almost the exact same way about this movie as I did watching Heat the first time, I wished it would have gone on for hours. I was suprised that the 2 1/2 hours went by so fast, the story & perfomances are that good. And when the violence starts, holy shit, a 30odd6 (sp?) sure does make a mess of a person. The music is suprisingly very low key, considering how much of a character it was in the origional TV show. The songs are well chosen and the Mogwai (I actually thought it was Pelican at first) stuff works especially well (very Friday Night Light's ish...another great soundtrack)
And everyone bitching about why they called it Miami Vice if everyone isn't wearing pink shirts and no socks......it takes place in Miami...they are Vice cops. They movie is about how their jobs being MIAMI VICE COPS! affects their lives.
Dipshits. -
Means it will be decent at worst, and awesome at best. And, as Michael Mann fan, that gives me an enormous chubby. Fuck you, you naysayers.
-
I'm kind of skeptical due to 1. I like Jamie Foxx, but he's no Philip Michael Thomas 2. never liked a Colin Farrell movie in my life 3. I heard they wear socks in this which is BULLSHIT. But Michael Mann can be pretty good. I liked COLLATERAL, I liked THIEF, ALI was a decent try at an impossible feat. I predict that I will like the movie and then lose some respect for it when I listen to Mann being a pretentious jackass on the DVD commentary.
-
This is a followup to my previous talkback. Does anybody else listen to Mann's commentary tracks and squirm? I have noticed that that motherfucker has what you would call an EXTREMELY HIGH opinion of himself. The funniest one is COLLATERAL where he goes on for probaly more than ten minutes about the backstory he made up for Tom Cruise's character. There is a long discussion of the fictional character's feelings about jazz music and how that ties into his relationship with his father.
-
Collateral, Heat, Ali, The Insider, Last of the Mohicans, and even Manhunter were all great films. Even if you consider some of them merely adequate, he has no misses - none of them out-and-out SUCKED. He deserves his ego - thos are the people, incidentally, who get shit done.
-
I agree with Tony Mike Hall, I don't think he's ever made a BAD movie. Some shaky ones, but all have more going for them than against them. I'm now totally stoked for this flick.
-
I'm sort of with you on the commentary tracks. Mann's been described as a very "precise" individual. He works on films for a very long time, laboring over ever detail long before he actually starts shooting. Which I guess means that he's kind of a prick in his pursuit of the precise. But you are dead-on regarding the backstory he made up for Cruise's character - what a load of B.S.!!! It might have been impressive if any of that made it into the flick. Instead, it becomes DVD commentary fodder and the kind of self-indulgent nonsense Cruise loves talking about whenever discussing his "process".
-
who is a fan of Heat hasn't seen it. Its almost a prequel to Heat... Thats all.
-
Much Love! gfy
-
...is you know it's time to get serious and hunker down for a REAL flick when Harry or Moriarty label the article as "Moriarty reviews Michael Mann's Miami Vice". Nothing funny. Not "Harry snorts up a line of Miami Vice" or something ribtickling and humorous (or so THEY would think) like that. This is some real shit now. No time to fuck around. God I can't wait for this movie. Michael Mann fucking rules.
-
She has imperfections? Where?
-
The Ferris Buller's Day Off John Hughes commentary is great. He spends a lot of the time criticising the movie and his work and applogizing to the viewer.
-
You are looking for the term "Thirty Ought Six," which is the way a lot of people describe a .30-06 rifle. They use the term "Ought" to mean "zero." Like buckshot, size 00, is described as Double Ought Buckshot, or the way some people suggested calling this decade (2000's) as the "Oughts." I don;t know where that came from, but there's your spelling trivia for the day. And yes, having seen what a .30-06 will do to a deer, I'd imagine it will make a mess of a person. :)
-
Very Anime. Love that film. I think the only error in that film is the sit down scene between Pacino and DeNiro. Mann elects to cut back and forth with front shots of each actor as they say their dialogue (with only a couple of occasions cutting back to show the each character's reaction {I realize he was going for a kind of Tennis court exchange of bravado but it just seemed wasted when you got two of the greatest actors looking at each other mano y mano). Because of the historic cinematic "event" of that interaction of those giant actors, Mann should've pulled the camera back and given us a two shot of the actors (profile shot) while only cuting to a couple of quick front shots for their reactions. The scene could've been one of the greatest acting scenes ever. Hell, it still almost is.
-
talk to a divorce lawyer immediately. Hahaha! j/k. Seriously though, she needs to broaden her horizens.
-
(Just couldn't leave the Bob McKee reference alone :). HEAT's one of my N favorite movies ever, despite Pacino's bizarre awkward outbursts (improv?) and the ridiculous body doubles. I'm sadly behind on Mann's films; gotta try to see this while it's in theaters. One more thing: my coffee cup is raised in tribute to the two guys I knew in high school who had the balls yet the incredibly bad judgement to show up in MV-style white cotton suits and t-shirts (and yes, loafers with no socks), which kind of stood out amid all the Motorhead concert shirts and Eagles jerseys. Salut!
-
Why do I hear Bill Murray's voice as I type that subject line.....
Anyways, thanks for the gun clarification. That sucker makes a pair of appearances in the movie and does a shitload of damage to a couple cars and a few unlucky fellas. Ouch. -
YES! I have dated women who are into films, and that shit just does NOT work out. Unless they agreed with every single one of my extremely strong and stubborn opinions, it would always lead to problems. And I don't feel as strongly about ANYTHING as I do about movies. So, say my favorite sci-fi movie is 2001....if they disagreed with that, I would get mad and annoyed, but then it would fester deep inside me until the point of actual HATRED for that particular girl. So, anyway, long story short, I am with my current girlfriend who couldn't give two shits about movies, and I couldn't be happier. Like Jerry said, "I can't be with someone like me...I hate myself!"
-
You gotta admit that some of them are pricesless. Like: "Bon voyage, motherfucker!" and "Don't waste my motherfuckin' time!". Apparently, Pacino's character was supposed to be doing quite a bit of coke in the movie and would provide the reasoning behind his over-the-top outbursts. Mann chose to cut those moments out of the film because it put his character at odds with bringing Deniro down. Or some shite like that.
-
glad to hear this movie will likely be as awesome as i had hoped. michael mann is my favorite director working today. the cinematography and mood of his films -- even the more outrageous ones -- make you feel like you're watching that shit for real, almost like a good newspaper article about some big-time shit come to life.
-
didn't that douche bag bitch about how crappy the "battlestar galactica" was going to be, only to have it end up getting rave reviews and spawning a critically adored series? why do people even hire this asshole if all he does is gripe about the end product?
-
THX, Moriarty! Finally a very positive review and i can't wait to see it. It's Michael Mann for chrissake!
-
Mr Mann you da man.
-
yes, it really is a brilliant composition. i think it could instantly make any movie great just by its inclusion. this may sound lame, but i run the entire gamut of human emotions any time i listen to that song. it gives me goosebumps.
-
"She's got a BIG ASS!!" (At that time Ashley Judd did.) and "Sorry don't walk the doggie!" (Next time you see Tone-Loc, yell that at him.) As for Mann and Vice: he's a master filmmaker so that's in the movie's favor. I would be worried if they did try to work in cameos or references to the TV show. That would be corny, which none of Mann's films are.
-
The first time I ever heard that piece of music was during a Discovery/A&E Channel special on the Apollo moon landings. They played it during the closing segment as a moon lander was beginning its descent to the lunar surface. Honestly, it made me tear up. I think it's a combination of musical elements (loops, chords, melody) that come together in such a way as to actually create an emotional response. (I know there is a name for this sort of phenomena but it escapes me!) Anyway, it's rare that a certain piece of music has this sort of effect...but when it does, it's special.
-
It's "She's got a GREAT ASS!". Also, Toe, EJO didn't say BSG was going to be crappy, he just said that fans of the original series wouldn't like it because they want the campy crap sci-fi of the 70's, instead of the gritty drama of the 00's.
-
You movie "experts" should know this.
-
Just took a listen to that song since everyone is going on about it. Can't honestly say that it left an impression on me while watching Heat though. If you dig that song, definatley check out the music of modern classical composer Steve Reich. He's every post rock/IDM boys hero, for a good goddam reason. Music for 18 Musicans is the one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written in my opinion. Check it out.
-
I think Manhanter is my favorite in the hannibal series.
-
i'm totally there.
-
manhanter was the prototype. it spawned numerus copys. wolfman's nards is so right.
-
I now want to see this. Thanks again Mori for a terific review.
-
I was always impressed how he managed to snag the cute young singer while escaping from the Poseidon. An example to us all.
-
I'm sick and tired of reading about Superman Returns, Monsters House and Adam Sandler. Thank you Mori for reviewing a REAL movie.
-
that sounded like a completely different movie. they start out on a boat and blah blah blah boring. Second point- why isn't Harry portrayed as Dorothy in that 10th anniversary poster?
-
If it doesn't make it past $200 million domestically, no sequel. Just reported. Maybe the AICN payoff from the WB stipulates against reporting that. Heh, *Smallville* owns Bryan Singer's azz.
-
Heat was good, Ali was a joke, and the otherwise magnificant Collateral gradually fell apart in the second half. If Mann can make a whole film as good as the first half of Collateral he will have truely done something special. But I don't see that happening.
-
Jul 13, 2006 5:46:16 PM CDT
Crockett was morally gray, in spite of the pastel suits
by salvatoregravano
He kept a specimen of an endangered species in a dark cramped room, on a heavy steel chain. Evil. Plus, he committed thousands of fashion crimes on daily basis.
-
It has to be better than the nostalgic Miami Vice.
-
Seems the profit already seems to be enough for WB to make another one. Since everyone is hired for a second. Just hope they have a more fun bad guy in the next one like Brainiac or something. ANYWAY Miami Vice looks alright I'll see it I trust Mann and this review
-
He rates it excellent. Fantastic news.
-
..the disapointing 4th season y'know the one where crockett sports a mullet and tubbs looking like a bearded GI Joe. (sans kung fu grip)in a desperate attempt to recapture the magic of the first season crokett is back to wearing those tired blazers with pastel shirts. (too many viewers complained how dark and brooding the direction took when Dick wolf helmed the 3rd season. i actually thought it was one of best.who can forget the last minutes of Stone's war,The good collar and Killshot?
Anyway i have high hopes for the movie,especially since it's the only TV based remake i will invest my $10.00 on.
Mann is the Man -
You can take Pirates, Superman, and the rest of that bullshit and shove it up Ashley Judd's ass. I can't wait to see this... I advise all to check out the film's website for some tasty clips... and if the music on the website is the music from the film it should give you a damn straight idea of where Mann is coming from on this one.
-
except collateral coz it looks grainy as fuck like he shot it on VHS and aparently this too! Ho Hum! least it goes to daylight and loses the grain! might be able to handle it if it's not all at night! what was wrong with the gorgeous FILM he shot Heat on!?
-
I hear refrains of the Crockett theme on the films official site.
-
Jul 13, 2006 9:42:27 PM CDT
This movie has a character called Alonzo and he dies...
by alonzo mosely
That is an obvious dig at me, and I will be boycotting the movie in protest.
-
But his work doesn't age well. Exhibit 1: Miami Vice. Once cool, now the epitome of uncool. Exhibit 2: Manhunter. Once seemingly brilliant and intense, now obviously a tangled morass of overwrought mood shots, self-importance, and psychobabble.
Heat will be turning into Exhibit 3 in a couple more years, mark my words. It's already starting. A couple more years and it will be the cops and robbers Top Gun, just wait. -
Also, Vanilla Ice has a cameo...as a drug dealer...who has uncontrollable diarrhea...
-
I never really got into the tv series. And with the 53 different CSI shows on the air right now, I'm completely repulsed by crime drama. Good review, though. Sounds like it could be good, but I'm not gonna see it... not even gonna download via bittorrent. And in 20 years when there's a movie version of American Idol, I'm not gonna see that either for all the same reasons, and then some. lol My loss? Maybe. I don't care.
-
A couple persons have mentioned some supposedly bad early reviews for this film, coupled with the rumors of supposedly bad dialogue, and a supposedly out-of-control budget, and I have only one question to ask? Where the hell did these rumors start? The same New York Post gossip column that said Colin Farrell was fat and Jamie Foxx was battling with Michael Mann? because that column has been the only source for just about every horror story repeated verbatim about this film from the budget to the constant editing. The reviews posted on AICN from various test screenings were all very positive. To quote Merrick from April 12th: "nearly all feedback I
-
A Glenn Frey cameo? White Ferrari? No? Bah.
-
Jul 13, 2006 11:16:08 PM CDT
It's called "Miami Vice" to keep the trademark in use.
by flim springfield
That's about it.
-
Can't wait for this movie to come out.
-
they work for the Miami Police Department in the Vice Sqaued, I think its just coincidence that there is a TV show by the same name. Narf.
-
movie title? why call it heat? why call it anything? shit. why go see it? why bother seeing a movie when you have your mind made up already? why not just go see a typical remake like one of those comic book movies?
ps. it really fucks up the conversation when people confuse Mann with Bay. I know a few people that make the mistake everytime I mention Mann. You mean that greatest basketball player or do you mean the freak? -
The car was a supporting character in the TV series. Leeme guess, some ultra-expensive car horribly disfigured by 30" chrome wheels slapped on by hacks who fancy themselves "tuners"?
-
Yes, despite this review, I have a major and devastating complaint about Miami Vice...a pretty big one that will doom its once promising box office prospects!!! And what is my complaint, you ask?...Something so harsh that this film could be all but destroyed before it is even released in theatres??? Well, I'm sure some of you have already guessed what I am about to say...while others, among you, are wondering what could be this great problem with the film?...One that could harm the film version of Miami Vice inspite of such a powerful and affirming film review as presented above. Instead of keeping you all in locked suspense any longer...I'll just come out and say it!!! This film is doomed to failure based on the Trojan Horse that haunts so many movies today...and that's a bad Ad campaign!!! The commercials and trailers for this film are not doing a very good job of selling it to consumers. Hell, as a fan of Michael Mann, I could use a new and better series of cuts of the commercials and trailers...ads that give us the old flashy and once innovative so called...MTV style editing of the early 80s. I'm not talking about the new bullshit MTV stuff that I, and everybody else, hates!!!...No, I'm talking about the styles that inspired the Miami Vice tv show in the first place!!! And in terms of the score, I could stand to hear Yan (spelling?)Hammer's original theme music and Phil Collin's "Air Of Night" complementing the visuals. As it stands...the film looks like a typical buddy cop film...and a boring one at that!!! Give us some flash...and sex up the edit...Make it move faster...Give us some narrative dialogue that clues us in on the direction of the film's plot!!! Is that too much to ask??? Michael Mann is an important voice in film making and in the arts as a whole...I would simply like to see the great vision of his art advertised and promoted properly in order to give it the competitive and healthy life at the box office that it deserves!!!
-
We've got MUHFUGGIN' SHARKS ON THE BEACH!
-
It's always frustrating to see all the bad trailers and teaser posters for several movies and how they are perceived from the average audience. It's like committing suicide in the box office.
-
Incredible review by Devin on chud!
http://tinyurl.com/q2fa4 -
As always a great review Mori and ive been looking forward to this since it was announced. It if anything is further proof that idiots who write in from unfinished test screening for the most part haven't a fucking clue what there on about. Mann is the best director working today. Simple as that.
-
show. No way he could rip their title and plot and get away with it! Shameless Hack!
-
Crocket Silver Ferrari f430 convertable
Tubbs White BMW 6 series convertable -
Umm....When was Gong in a western?
-
suck, but if the dialogue is anything like what was heard in the trailer it will unintetionally be like going to see Starsky & Hutch. I'll pass on this one.
-
for this to fail. What was the point of making it?
-
for this to fail. What was the point of making it?
-
In the theatres of North America, and indeed, The World, it is common to find motion picture entertainment of the genus 'film'. These can easily be recognised if you know what to look for. Traits such as ovoid lens flare, smooth colour representation, and the ability to photograph in the dark without it looking like One Night in Paris... These are all peculiar to movies of the 'film' genus. An easy way to tell if the movie has been shot on an anamorphic lens is to look at out-of-focus lights in the distance; are they circular or ovoid? If they are circular, then it was probably shot on 35mm, most likely in the now-popular Super35 process. Ovoid lights indicate that a Panavision, Arriflex, or Technovision anamorphic squeeze was used. A simpler and indeed easier way to distinguish them is to just ask yourself, "Does this look good, or does this look like a bag of shite and a bunch of arse?" If the answer to your question is 'yes', then you can be assured with a high degree of certainty that it is NOT anamorphic. The genus which is more commonly being found in cinematheques around the world is 'digital', and can be identified using a modified, but similar, question, "Does this cinema feature appear to have been shot through a feces-coloured jello mold by my 13 year-old ritalin-denied sugar addled nephew Jimbo?" If the answer to this question is 'yes', then you are watching a movie of the genus 'digital', and it is probably SUPERMAN RETURNS. If you would like to know which shots were filmed, and which shots were videoed in a movie (MIAMI VICE, for example), simply apply the same questions to individual scenes within the larger picture. If the cigarette boat race looks quite good, and somewhat like 'a movie', then it was filmed on Super35. If the explosions and night shots look as though they were part of your family's ill-fated summer trip to the bubbling acid pits of Yellowstone Nat'l Park, then it was shot on 'digital'. Caveat: If the motion picture is directed by Michael Mann, who has a penchant for seeing 'into the night', and is a master craftsman of mood and environment, then all bets are off, and 'digital' becomes a tool, not just a spurious cost-saving tactic that has never looked even remotely good anywhere else.
-
Brycemonkey...You must be kidding, right? But in case you aren't...Michael Mann created the Miami Vice tv show!!! He can't sue himself...or can he???
-
The gun in question is actually a Barrett 50cal sniper rifle (probably an M107)...serious firepower.
-
with this summers fare and I'm hoping beyond all hope that this doesn't suck.
-
This is the review that I was hoping to read about Miami Vice.
Intense, nightclubs and truckloads of cocaine. I'm there.
Note to studio - recut the trailer. -
is what Mann does best. It's not the typical formula. Regarding 80's TV, most hasn't help up well, but when it comes to movie remakes of 80s TV, I'll take Mann's stuff all day. Crime Story (Torello! Ray Luca!) holds up well and would also be a good Mann directed movie IMO.
-
between Zito and Switek. Was that cut for time. I was hoping that to see a Miami version of Brokeback Mountain. Come on people. They didn't spend all that time in that exterminator van for nothing.
-
Finally, a filmmaker made a proper action/cop thriller movie set in Miami, unl
-
Michael Mann is the real deal. The Keep, Manhunter, Last of the Mohicans, Heat, The Insider, Ali, Collateral...hell of a track record. Now you're finished with Miami Vice what about that long promised THE KEEP extended DVD Mr Mann?
-
Regarding what Toe Jam said: Olmos never said the new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA was bad. He just said that if you can't accept the changes made from the old version that it was probably best not to watch it.
-
It breaks my heart to see Brian Singer so depressed and at a loss because of the box office beating his movie is getting from that Pirates movie. I truly feel very sorry for him, and i also get embaraced by osmosis for his embaracement when he stutters and is at a loss for words in that clip .. and at the same time, it's also perversally funny too!
-
Thanks for the excellent synopsis, jackass.
Can't a critic -- Roger Ebert included -- REVIEW a movie rather than simply reveal plot points and thus ruin any sense of surprise or other reason we might have for going to see the film in the first place? Hint, don't say "I liked the movie because of the scene when..." I know, I know, reviews are hard to write whenever you just say what you saw, but actually it's done all the time. Take A.O. Scott's reviews, for example. Oh well, I guess that's what makes AintItCool the site that it is. -
I bet he's laughing his ass off knowing that X3 has out-grossed SR and that eventually he'll run into Singer at some restaurant or showbiz function and will probably greet him with a smug (whaddup bitch) smile.
-
go away for a while, put this "failure" behind him and come back with a great film. in other words work hard on that superman sequel for 2009, lose that maroon cape, lose kate bosworth, re-hire hugh laurie has perry white. the great JK simmons(the best thing in spiderman 2) says that Raimi is mulling over doing spiderman 4. Regarding singer, he should leave comic book movies alone for a while and do something else and come back to them in a couple of years.
-
in your neck of the woods? I saw in the other TB you are form the coast near Dublin. I nearly took a job there a while back. Nice part of the world... And MetalWater, I was indeed kidding :-P
-
I wanna see space stations dogfights with coolships is lucas the only one who can make movies like that. Is there not some one out there who can take starwars to the next level. Please no more matador, collateral, or new world boring shit.
-
For the record Anthony Yerkovich
created Miami Vice. Michael Mann was the Executive Producer. I'm sure he had influence all over it though. Especially Style.
la_sith.
Are you just joking? He means Western as in American, North America etc...not like cowboys type of western. -
I found myself thinking the exact same thing about the way handles the exposition (or lack of it) in the film opening. Pure Mann... It is amazing how you can tell you're in Mann's world right away. Great review for a great film, so kudos to you.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 325 total posts 322 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 106 total posts 106 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 63 total posts 60 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 74 total posts 58 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 159 total posts 51 posts
- If the Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day drops her pen, pick it up, but don’t look at her legs or else it will be on your record. -- 47 total posts 41 posts
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 161 total posts 34 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 488 total posts 33 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 121 total posts 23 posts
- Here's The Red Band Trailer For Drafthouse Films' THE FP! -- 70 total posts 20 posts