Mann is in quite a predicament with “Miami Vice” a remake of his hit show from the eighties. He created a show that was ahead of its time, a gritty realistic show about two cops in the underground, years subsequent to the shows success and ending, over a thousand imitations popped up in film, television, and novels, and the formula became old. The sad state of Mann’s adaptation of his own work is that “Miami Vice” was edgy in its time, but these days we’ve had so many gritty cop flicks with a black and white officer partnership, that the concept presented here is just tired and feels simply like a vehicle for its two stars.
Tag Archives: Crime
Amateur Porn Star Killer: The New Cut (2005)
This new cut of Shane Ryan’s “Amateur Pornstar Killer” (a film you must try to get a hold of) is much more sophisticated. Not only in terms of quality in which Ryan manages to improve his creation without tarnishing the original, but in technical aspects where Ryan is able to convey his story and imagery with much more coherency. While I loved the original, it was polarizing to one-minded people expecting a standard thriller and getting more of a thought provoking thriller. There’s no chase, no climactic battle, no back stories. It’s just a man running out of options and places to hide very quickly, and a young girl who gets snared in his trap. Much more is realized in this new version, and watching it a second time you begin to notice much of the nuances Ryan enlisted.
United 93 (2006)
Did we need this? No. Did we need to see this? No. Were we forgetting? I could live to be 99, and I’ll still remember it. So, why was it made? That’s up for debate. But it happened, and there was nothing left to do but watch it and hope for the best; Greengrasses depiction of the September 11th and the incident and eventual crash on United 93 is surely a tense and deft exploration that never really seeks to be fantastic or grandiose. I can tell you we didn’t need this, but does that devalue it? No way. I admit to you, I was prepared to tear this to shreds, and I was readying myself to loathe this. But a strange thing occurred. During this film, I had a lump in my throat and my chest was tight from the tension. And then suddenly I was back in September 11th, and the memories flooded back, and if you’ve had a more personal experience with that tragedy, I warn you that you will not be able to sit through most of it.
Fizzy Days (2005)
The plot is severely simple. Eddy (who bears a shocking resemblance to Roger Daltry) wants to impress the girls, and having a guitar just isn’t doing it. So, in order to grab some tail, he gets a job so he can afford a motorcycle. Bikes, which are affordable, just don’t garner enough attention aside from laughs. For the novelty of its plot and the time it’s set in, “Fizzy Days” is worth your attention; it’s not only entertaining, but utterly unique in terms of humor and characterization.
V for Vendetta (2005)
If you’re expecting an average comic book adaptation from “V for Vendetta”, then you’re out of luck. McTeigue’s film is both an excellent action film, and a brutally intelligent political thriller fixed to the modern socio-economic and political currents with biting satire, and an almost demented subtle commentary that only those in touch with the current political events can and will catch on towards; suffice it to say “V for Vendetta” is far from your typical superhero actioner. Set in a semi-Orwellian society, the Wachowski’s altered the eighties era story Moore set to the political current in his home country to coincide with America’s direction and its current tide of terrorism; Moore’s hero V is a pure terrorist, by many definitions, but this hero is also a freedom fighter.
Rottweiler (2004)
Why even call this “Rottweiler”? That’s what I’m interested in discovering. What’s the point? I’m confused as to why the director and screenwriter and Lions Gate Films felt it necessary to call this film “Rottweiler” when we only ever see the actual eponymous robo-mutt every so often. Instead of featuring the same old laboratory creature gone wild plot, “Rottweiler” instead focuses on a chain gang that breaks out of a prison. The lone fugitive named Dante is on the run from the robotic Rottweiler which happens to be cannibalistic, vicious and has one objective: to tear the on the lam fugitive a new one.
The Beast of Bray Road (2005)
At the start of “Beast”, a young bar patron drifts away from her friends after closing hours and is stalked and mauled to death by a werewolf. The beast grabs her, tears her apart, and howls into the sky. I enjoyed that. But, for no other reason I can imagine but to piss me the hell off, director Scott feels that even though we had that good opening signaling grand things, we could have done without it for another thirty or forty minutes, which in common sense land is a large portion of a film that doesn’t even hit the two hour mark, and that makes zero sense.