It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
<center><font size = 4>part 9</font></center>
<center><font color = darkblue size = 6>MIAMI VICE (2006)</font></center>
<center>
So now I pick this thing up where I left it ages ago. ;-)
I never saw the series but I was eager to see the film back in '06. And I wasn't the least bit disappointed. Both Farrell and Foxx work for me. Li Gong was very impressive I might add. I love what Dion Beebe did with his camera and the music is - as usual - an essential part of the film.
Perhaps it's a good thing I never saw the series as I've heard most negative criticism coming from fans of that show. For me, it's another piece of the Mann magic, and I left the theatre satisfied back in the day and have been frequently re-watching the film at home every since. As I explained last Summer, I'm a huge Michael Mann fan. Well, Miami Vice works for me, though it's no Heat.
<font color = red>Final score:</font> 8/10
DD's Michael Mann retrospective score card:
HEAT: 10/10
The Insider: 9/10
Thief: 9/10
Collateral: 8,5/10
Miami Vice: 8/10
Manhunter: 8/10
Ali: 7/10
The Last Of The Mohicans: 7/10
The Keep: 5,5/10
DD's David Fincher retrospective score card:
Seven: 9,5/10
The Social Network: 9,5/10
Zodiac: 8,5/10
The Game: 8/10
Panic Room: 8/10
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: 8/10
Alien³: 7,5/10
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button: 7,5/10
Fight Club: 7/10
Although it isn't top drawer Nolan I would put this ahead of The Dark Knight Rises which remains for me the directors worst film to date. My review is from a few years back when I first saw it with a few tweaks.
Following 1999
Having become introduced to Christopher Nolan through Memento it is interesting to watch his debut, this small budget B&W thriller. It's curious to see those Nolan touches in their infancy and that this film comes across as what is essentially a dry run of what would be developed into the more complex and original Memento.
This is not to take anything away from Following, it accomplishes much in it's 70 mins running time. The style though was to become more honed and tweaked with Nolan's next film. Bill (Jeremy Theobald) follows strangers around London to research a novel he plans to write, the film opens with Bill telling someone who is not revealed till end how his obsession got out of control once he met Cobb. ( Alex Haw)
Cobb becomes aware that Bill is following him and confronts him, Cobb reveals to Bill he's actually a thief and Bill becomes involved with his activities. Eventually this brings him into a web a of deceit,lies and deception. The twist isn't so much of a sucker punch as something which starts to reveal itself as the film goes on, it's most likely you'll see it coming but Nolan still manages to keep it intriguing and Theobald's performance is effective enough to engage but it is Haw's Cobb which impresses most with his charismatic turn as the guy who always seems in control, you know he's manipulating Bill but it's not until the reveal you realise the true nature of his character.
The B&W feel also adds to the sense of unease and Nolan is already showing his talent as a storyteller and his ability to keep you engaged. A mention to David Julyan's atmospheric score. Yes Memento is a considerable step up, the now typical Nolan narrative is not so smooth but it's still flows well enough to hold the piece together. Those who came introduced to Nolan through his later work could do a lot worse than set 70 mins aside to take in his debut and see how as a film maker he has progressed. One more note, watch out for the insignia on Bill's front door, maybe a sign of things to come.
* * * 1/2 / * * * * *
Don't waste you time watching this. 1/10
This has to be one of the greatest movies of the 1990's and while Stallone can never be talked of as an actor of caliber, the other names in this particular release, actually make it work.
Simply put, a great little watch with suspense, action, violence, tension - it has all those things - only let down by a rather poor and mundane ending. But worth a watch of anyone's time. Highly recommended. Hidden gem of a movie and one of the best releases, for me, of the last twenty years
<center><font size = 4>part 10</font></center>
<center><font color = darkblue size = 6>PUBLIC ENEMIES (2009)</font></center>
<center>
Mann's final theatrical film so far bringing the Great Depression back in vogue. The concept of the sympathetic outlaw, exceptionally well performed by Johnny Depp, is right up to Mann's sleeve. We've been there before: Thief, HEAT. And Public Enemies sell me again on the thought of joining forces with that man, rather than with the 'good' cops, even if they are personified in overachiever Purvis, played with vigour by Christian Bale.
Mann's long time photographer, the great Dante Spinotti, is back and boy, does he apply some amazing style choices for this film! The 30s like you've never seen them, that's what it comes to.
The first time I watched Publick Enemies, I had been looking for things the film would ultimately deny me. To put it more soberly, I had been mildly disappointed, projecting far too many HEAT related expectations on the film. But I should have known better: Michael Mann never makes the same film twice, with the exception of LA Takedown of course. So I went back to see the film a second time, and knowing precisely what to expect, I focused my attention on other things, like production design, cinematography, acting, ... And it all fit! Depp, for sure, is right on fire and it sure felt good to see him - for once - in something else than as an over-praised pirate.
It's a good film. I don't rate it quite as high as some of Mann's other films though. Let's say I put it somewhere in the middle.
<font color = red>Final score:</font> 7,5/10
And thus I conclude my Michael Mann retrospective. So, what will the future bring? Mann's been working in television these past couple of years. I have solid hopes he will return to filmmaking soon, however. And guess what, according to Wiki, Cyber is set for a 2014 release, involving computer hacking and the military paying great effort to fight it. Sounds a lot like some 90s junk films I've seen dozens of but in the very capable hands of Mann, it could turn out just fine. No, it could turn out splendid. For in case you hadn't noticed, I'm a Michael Mann fan, and I will continue to be so.
DD's Michael Mann retrospective score card:
HEAT: 10/10
The Insider: 9/10
Thief: 9/10
Collateral: 8,5/10
Miami Vice: 8/10
Manhunter: 8/10
Public Enemies: 7,5/10
Ali: 7/10
The Last Of The Mohicans: 7/10
The Keep: 5,5/10
DD's David Fincher retrospective score card:
Seven: 9,5/10
The Social Network: 9,5/10
Zodiac: 8,5/10
The Game: 8/10
Panic Room: 8/10
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: 8/10
Alien³: 7,5/10
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button: 7,5/10
Fight Club: 7/10
11 - Freddy vs Jason
I soooo love this film. Seriously, FvJ, say what you want, but when it opened in 2003 I was there and I enjoyed every.single.second of it. Ronny Yu not only gave us the very best Chucky film with Bride, or so I think, he also turned this delicate project into a delicacy.
I first and foremost praise the producers for spending a lot of money and time on screenwriters - and boy did many of them get a chance - because they wanted to get it right. Finally! - some people out there realised that even slasher films benefit from strong scripts. But how do you take the best of both worlds? How do you live up to fans' expectations, especially when said expectations had been building up since, well, the late 80s. How do you cope with the lack of slasher interest in the early 2000s? Simple, you wait with making a film until you have the right script. What most other franchises have time and again lacked is A) patience and B) interest in a good story and a good screenplay. FvJ has it! And so the very foundations of the film were already perfectly stable.
Then you bring in the best cattle in any of the Freddy or Jason films. This time I can root for the victims. Perhaps two or three were instantly recognisable as Freddy or Jason bait (Kelly Rowland - ahum), but the rest went with it unlike any group of teens I've ever encountered in these films. Monica Keena, wow, may be the very hottest of the final girls in the past three decades of slasher films. Her chest seems to defy gravity in this film and luckily she can act enough to where her character is interesting more than just good to look at.
The people involved clearly understood both the Freddy and the Jason universe. We begin our massacre around Elm Street and proceed to Camp Blood. Perfect. No outer space or Manhattan. Some of the Nightmare scenes were genuinely scary IMO, and the T&A-factor is in perfect balance with the earlier F13 films. But when metal music starts playing as Freddy and Jason go at it in a burning cabin, I make a fist and yell 'YEAH!' The geek factor in this film is beyond belief. :D Being the Freddy fan, I'm sighting with the glove against the machete. They also went with the best ending this film could have gotten. I mean, after all, it is a Freddy VERSUS Jason thing, so we want to know who wins, don't we. But that fight, so bloody, and at the same time so engaging, thanks not only to Robert Englund who is on fire in this film (no Freddy pun intended), but also to Greame Revell and his great score.
The very concept behind this film works so splendidly well. You sleep, Freddy will get you in your dreams. You're awake, Jason might cut you in slivers. (He might do that in your sleep too, by the way.) You can't hide behind a bottle of pills any more. These two will hunt you down. And then - of course - each other. Freddy's afraid of fire, Jason of water; the polar opposites in this fight give one of the most memorable climaxes in the history of slasher films.
Seeing how well FvJ did, even though the comics Freddy vs Jason vs Ash underperformed, it's surprising they never got around to making a sequel. Then again, it probably would have gone downhill after this glorious moment anyway.
I'm a HUGE fan - can you tell? Is it the best film in both series? I'm not sure. I guess the first Nightmare film is still my favourite in that series but for F13, I'm going to shock people (not in the least my good friend @MajorDSmythe) when I say it really is my favourite Jason entry. That said, I will admit it's basically a Freddy film with Jason making a guest appearance in it.
There's a sad part to it as well. After this, it's no more Robert Englund as Freddy. But I guess I have a Nightmare retrospective coming to talk about that. ;-)
Final verdict: 9,5/10
Score card:
Freddy vs. Jason: 9,5/10
Friday The 13th: 8,5/10
Friday The 13th - The Final Chapter: 8,5/10
Friday The 13th Part 2: 8/10
Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives: 7/10
Friday The 13th Part 3: 6,5/10
Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday: 6/10
Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Bood: 5,5/10
Jason X: 5/10
Friday The 13th Part V: A New Beginning: 4,5/10
Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan: 4/10
Incidentally, the UK R2 copy of Jason Goes To Hell has a lengthy article that was originally printed in Fangoria. It charts the history of FvJ. From the release and fan reaction surrounding the ending of JGTH, through the many re-writes, and on to the eventual release of the film in 2003. It's well worth seeking of a copy, if you didn't read the original article.
I would be more than happy if Spinotti returns, as he hasn't done much since 'Public Enemies' release in 2008.
He did Manhunter, Mohicans, HEAT, The Insider and Public Enemies for Mann. That's half of Mann's films. I wouldn't go as far as saying the others aren't shot well. Collateral, Miami Vice, Thief and Ali were beautifully filmed. The Keep was pretty average, nothing too special, certainly not bad either, just average. ;-)
Spinotti also did X-Men: The Last Stand, arguably one of the weaker X-Men films. Yet I never had any problems with the way the film was shot. I recall being very much impressed by certain scenes, even before I knew who had done the cinematography.
From what I've seen so far, I cannot complain about the man's work. And somehow, he and Mann are a match in heaven.
I absolutely love the work on 'Miami Vice,' but I felt 'Collateral' really lacked what Mann's other films had when Spinotti was working with him. They really are a match made in heaven, and I do hope he returns. It will make my anticipation for the film even larger.
12 - Friday the 13th
I was very excited when the film got announced. Platinum Dunes had so far been able to entertain me with their horror remakes and director Nispel's part in that whole remake series - The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (2003) - had left me with tremendous expectations vis-à-vis this remake of the Jason films.
The final result was to my liking. Jablonski's music, which previously had added fuel to the terror of Chainsaw Massacre as well, worked very well. There was enough T&A and gore to make me feel like a teenager again and the overall acting was surprisingly enough almost as satisfying as the acting in FvJ, for me at least. ;-) I say surprisingly enough because I have a small beef with the film, and it centres around what happens after the first act.
The film dares to be brutal and while FvJ paid homage to its lead characters' roots, this one starts from those roots but moulds them into darker and more audacious bits, effectively helping the film to survive amongst the current torture porn craze. And somehow, they still managed to retain that 'cosy' slasher feel from three decades ago.
So how about Derek Mears? I must admit I rather like his portrayal of Jason. Even before the exciting moment of him finding the mask - one of those moments that make fans go wild - he put on a fairly good show. We're near Camp Blood after all and Jason never fails to remind us.
Only one minor element remains for me. After this film, I felt saturated; no immediate interest to pursue sequels invaded my fanboy mind. I guess they gave me something that stuck well as a remake/reboot but without opening too many windows to further explore this series. And as for the future, despite its rather impressive box office takes, a sequel surely is taking its time to be developed.
Final verdict: 7,5/10
Score card:
Freddy vs. Jason: 9,5/10
Friday The 13th: 8,5/10
Friday The 13th - The Final Chapter: 8,5/10
Friday The 13th Part 2: 8/10
Friday The 13th (2009): 7,5/10
Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives: 7/10
Friday The 13th Part 3: 6,5/10
Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday: 6/10
Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Bood: 5,5/10
Jason X: 5/10
Friday The 13th Part V: A New Beginning: 4,5/10
Friday The 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan: 4/10
A slice of 1980's Mitchum, with this competently made TVM Detective Thriller. Mitchum looks tired throughout the film, but that shouldn't be surprising as he was about 65 (also, Angie Dickinson was 52, so it was a change to see a mature on screen leading couple), and since his career started, there was only one year he didn't have a film released*. Despite being 65, Mitchum can still carry off lines such as 'Joe, I can beat you, I can hurt you', heard <a href="
Mitchum plays Harry Shillman, a police officer washed up after a failed suicide attempt. Shillman is hired by Casino owner, Carl Charnock (Mel Ferrer) to find his missing wife. Shillman succeeds in the task,tracking Caroline Charnock (Cathie Shirriff ) down to her apartment building in San Francisco. Caroline tells Shillman that Carl has always known where she was, and didn't need to hire a detective. As Shillman leaves her apartment and heads for the public phone, Caroline jumps or is thrown from her balcony. And thus the tangled web begins to weave.
*For trivia buffs, that year was 1981.
Mitchum movie ranking: 12/25
Just watched this epic movie for the first time in about 3 years. Still as menacing and thought provoking as it was when I first saw it. That dingy, evil, disgusting truck and the unseen driver send shivers down my spine the moment I see it. The clear demented nature of the truck driver parallels completely to Dennis Weaver's panicky businessman. The music is epic and the chases are clever and well written. The fact the film is not cluttered with meaningless victims of the truck drivers wanting to kill this one man works a treat. He does not want to hurt anyone else. Just this guy, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Truly a great film.
Rating: 9/10 (A great film, but not one of my faves.)
Matthew (Dillon), a young schizophrenic, finds himself out on the street when a slumlord tears down his apartment building. Soon, he finds himself in even more dire straits, when he is threatened by Little Leroy (Glover), a thug who is one of the tough denizens of the Fort Washington Shelter for Men. He reaches out to Jerry, a streetwise combat veteran, who takes Matthew under his wing as a son. The relationship between these two men grows as they attempt to conquer the numbing isolation of homelessness
This one, starring Danny Glover and Matt Dillon, is set in the city where I lived has a personal connection - I ffeel the connection between the men as I have also reached out for a connection.
Scenery: 5
Plot: 5
Characters: 5
Total: 15
<center><font size = 4>part 1</font></center>
<center><font color = darkblue size = 6>FEAR AND DESIRE (1953)</font></center>
<center>
Stanley Kubrick is a man whose work I deeply love. He may very well be my favourite filmmaker ever. To go through his legacy of films is not a task, but an honour. I will discuss all his feature length films in this retrospective.
Fear And Desire was the young successful 'Look' photographer's first motion picture. Young Stanley had been watching films all the time and he had learned about photography and other technical stuff from simply reading about film and talking to professionals. He got his first shot with some short films which, and this is not unimportant, already displayed an enormous talent in him. Still, he was somewhat inexperienced, a bit rough even, when he did Fear And Desire.
The story is incredibly simple and, contrary to most of Kubrick's later films, not based on a book. Instead, Kubrick tells the story of a fictitious war, with unspecified armies battling it out in the woods. We see a couple of soldiers in their attempt to reach a certain point, but the madness of war creeps in and mental breakdown and fear reign.
Hardly 65 minutes long, Fear And Desire is shot at a shoestring budget in 1.37 and with extremely low production values. The cast mainly consists of friends and family members of Kubrick's. It reminds me of Romero's Night Of The Living Dead. But unlike this very successful zombie film, Fear And Desire has been largely ignored, and not in the very least by Kubrick himself, who would later come to loath the film and attempt to destroy all existing copies. Finding it now can still be a bit of a burden, but watching it pays off to Kubrick fans. For despite its thin plot and low-budget look, some shots are already rather sophisticated, as is some of the visual symbolism that Kubrick applies. For example, when soldiers are shot, we don't see the blood or the corpses. In fact, Kubrick probably wouldn't have been able to afford those effects. But instead we see a dying man's hand crush and mould food and we see viscous liquids pour on the floor from a diner plate. The food mash-up is not only a cheap but from a storyteller's point of view also extremely effective way of bringing the sudden death of soldiers to our attention.
Kubrick wasn't yet the great Kubrick at this very point. Nor did the budget allow for much Strangelove or Shining quality of film. But it nonetheless remains an interesting film to see, if only to watch Kubrick in his very first cinematic effort. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for entertainment, but I would for film historical interest.
Final score: 5/10
DD's Stanley Kubrick retrospective score card:
Fear And Desire: 5/10
DD's Michael Mann retrospective score card:
HEAT: 10/10
The Insider: 9/10
Thief: 9/10
Collateral: 8,5/10
Miami Vice: 8/10
Manhunter: 8/10
Public Enemies: 7,5/10
Ali: 7/10
The Last Of The Mohicans: 7/10
The Keep: 5,5/10
DD's David Fincher retrospective score card:
Seven: 9,5/10
The Social Network: 9,5/10
Zodiac: 8,5/10
The Game: 8/10
Panic Room: 8/10
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: 8/10
Alien³: 7,5/10
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button: 7,5/10
Fight Club: 7/10
I especially love Robert Mitchum and Michael Mann. I have not seen much of Kubrick, so I look forward to reading more about his work.
I'm also a Sidney Lumet and Paul Newman fan.
Last movie I watched? Skyfall on dvd. Stellar. Classic. Fulfilling for this Bond fan.
Life of Pi - Good film really enjoyed it, though at times found the extremely vivid visuals a bit distracting.
OZ Great and powerful - Came across as just cashing in on a classic and an excuse to make more money out of rebooting yet another franchise.
Man of steel - Awesome loved this film and off to see it again on Wednesday.
Naked gun trilogy - Third one hi still very poor in comparison to the other two films.
Casa de me padre - Seen it a few times now, film is just stupid though find it hilarious.
A seventies gem, not on par with Eastwood's stuff, but engaging as a female version, and Ms. Welch done good! Robert Culp was mesmerizing as usual, and Borgnine delivered a fine villain. Great to see our Mr. Scaramanga Christopher Lee in a small role here, and Ken Thorn's music was good & brash as the seventies demanded. Thanks @timmer for reminding me!
7.5 of 10
12 points max
Yes, 12 points for a disaster. Say, perhaps you could explain the scale you use...
(:|