How do you spell Miami?
B - A - D
Thats how .
Yeah NY has its PD and so does LA , and Chicago had its hooch days , and then there is Vegas , but nothing screams criminal chutzpah like Miami.
NY has it soho and columbia liberal-cultural arse trade hub status . LA is just too many freeways and nigga , Vegas is just sin city.
Miami has focus.
Its pastels in art-deco beachfront and suits in the 80s Miami Vice and the chainsaw amputation in Scarface . At the meeting of the industrial-military complex that's the USA and the cut throat justice of a Colombian gangster, Miami is the BAD boy.
Miami Vice is a bang for buck action flick from the man. Michael Mann.
Colin Farell does a passable job and like someone said , even if he has some talent , he'll be one of those guys who never seems to make it.
Jamie Foxx is his partner in crime , busting crime.
But , the onscreen presence that takes the cake is Gong Li .
She just exudes menacing *bitch* , confidence and vulnerability in quick turns. Her mainland china accent rocks the delivery with an uncanny spin.
(...sometimes does sound manufactured though)
The script is quite thin, relying on the action and quick lines.
What ROCKS is Mann's visual style. Witness the scenes with that black and white striped building , the buildings curved on the windshield as they drive thru the city , the clouds and car in the scene when Colin and Gong Li drive up to their house in Havana. Paintings each of them.
Mann could easily be the new Edward Hopper interpreting urban America.
While he shines in urban landscapes , there some kick-Ansell Adams' -ass shots too.
Those 5 or 6 scenes where the photography overloads ur visual processing make the money all worth it.
This sense adds the kitsch to the chutzpah mentioned earlier (and that's as much verbal oomph I can put in one sentence)
The thing is , with all that genius on so few scenes , sometimes its tiring to see a scene without such composition . But hey , he's only a Mann.(sorry)
Go watch Miami Vice. Solid action , fast paced script and sheer Miami Kitsch will give a good 2 hr experience.
And do yourself a favor , watch it on the big screen .
Gong-Li's little mole needs a large screen to dazzle you.
posted by mohayana @ 12:48 PM
6 Comments:
Also don't forget that shot of the jet flying between the clouds. And those grainy night shots. Nice.
Yeah , I'd like to list the other jet shot where it veers away from the storm on the horizon or the falls near the drug barons palace - but then I'd have to prefix it with a Wiki style Spoiler Warning .
Which you should have prefaced the comment with also, perhaps?
All the better to test your reasoning skills my dear. (you can take your red riding hood off now)
And also watch it for some cool lines like
Q: "how fast does your boat go?"
A: "fast, very fast".
Nice answer, 10 on 10 on the idiot scale. Probably the worst movie i have seen in a looooong time, but then we had this discussion before. ogdhkgqg
I wouldnt go so far as this reveiwer
* Quote *
Unlike Mann’s more pointed and story-driven “Collateral” or “Heat,” “Miami Vice” is more of a meditation, a series of moments strung together by the filmmaker’s art. Scene by scene, there’s more emotion than the sparse dialogue might suggest, and the movie sure is pretty, and it sure sounds great.
A “Miami Vice” koan:
“How fast is your boat?” asks Gong Li, on a walkway overlooking the sparkling water. She is thin and severe, and has not yet smiled or shown any possibility of it.
“Very fast,” says Colin Farrell. He has asked her to have a drink with him, and she has accepted. Her bar of choice, however, is in Havana.
* Unquote *
I liked the movie not for its lines , but its feel.
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