Ali

Raging Bull. Rocky. Somebody Up There Likes Me. These are a few titles that spring to mind when great boxing films are discussed. The reason is simple. They know how to depict the life of the boxer both in the ring and out.

If only I could say the same for Michael Mann's Ali. I mean, I don't blame Mann for trying to tell a tale. I just blame him for trying too hard. (I don't like it when good directors stoop to that level.)

I do, however, admire Mann for providing the brief backstory of Muhammad Ali (Will Smith). He pretty much chronicles the pivotal events in Ali's professional life, which, in this case, were during the mid to late 1960s. (This of course was an era where everyone and everything was changing.) It's not like what Mann did with The Insider, but Lord knows it's better than Public Enemies.

Smith is pretty much perfect as Ali. He's charismatic and knows how to get people to like him. But as Ali, he makes a few enemies. Just goes to show you that even the greatest have their downfalls.

Ali clearly has its flaws, but Smith (as well as Jamie Foxx) keep it afloat. Perhaps the main flaw of the film is simply that the story doesn't go anywhere. It just...stays put. But as I said earlier, even the greatest have their downfalls.

My Rating: ****

The Insider

Michael Mann always captures a certain grit in his movies. Most of them are crime movies set in Los Angeles, but in some cases they're set in various parts of the United States.

There are numerous movies about conspiracies and cover-ups. The Insider is one of those few movies that succeeds. We all know that smoking's a bad habit, but who would've guessed that cigarette companies were purposely making their products more addictive?

Of the many great performances contained within the movie, the best is from Russell Crowe as the mentally trapped Jeffrey Wigand. He knows his expose on his former employers is costly, but even that didn't prepare him for the many threats towards him and his family. Personally, I think Crowe's Oscar win for Gladiator was consolation for losing to Kevin Spacey the previous year.

I'm a sucker for journalism movies and The Insider is good proof as to why. It's hard-hitting and gets the facts of the case, just like a good story. And that's what The Insider is: a good story.

My Rating: *****

Thief

Two of Michael Mann's best received movies, Heat and Collateral, are Los Angeles-set crime movies that rely more on people in the movies rather than the crimes committed in the movies. They may not be everyone's cup of tea, but there's no denying how good they are.

Mann's film debut Thief is no exception. It takes the now-tired cliche of the skilled criminal doing one final job, and shows it as if it were brand new. That's a good thing, mind you.

James Caan, in his best work since The Godfather, is absolutely electric as thief Frank. Like Sonny, Frank is more concerned about getting the job done. (Getting the job done and not get caught in the process is for his partners in crime to take care of.) But that doesn't mean he's sloppy with his work. He gets every detail about the location he's robbing down to a T.

Thief is really good. Hard to believe that this was Mann's first foray into film. Like Heat and Collateral, it's all about character rather than crime. Personally, I think Mann's the only one who can do it without overdoing it.

My Rating: ****1/2

The Last of the Mohicans

The only movies I've seen directed by Michael Mann were crime-based (Heat, Public Enemies, Collateral). Growing interested on other genres Mann has done, I decided to check out The Last of the Mohicans.

As the English and French soldiers battle for control of the North American colonies in the 18th century, the settlers and the native Americans are forced to take sides. Cora Munro (Madeleine Stowe) and her sister Alice (Jodhi May) unwittingly walk into trouble but are saved by Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis), an orphaned settler adopted by the Mohicans.

A few years back, I tried to read James Fenimore Cooper's novel. I was interested in the first hundred or so pages, but then I just stopped reading it. Unfortunately, I felt the same way about the movie but I stuck to my guns and kept watching the movie. The cinematography is lovely and the fight scenes are well-choreographed, but overall I wasn't totally blown away.

My Rating: ****

Collateral

If you recall my little (ahem) "rant" on Public Enemies a while back, you remember that I stated that I was highly disappointed with it. I decided to watch an eariler Michael Mann movie, Collateral, to make up for Public Enemies. It did.

Max Durocher (Jamie Foxx) has been working as a night-shift cab driver for twelve years. He plans to open his own limo company, but he never gets around to it. One night, he picks up Vincent (Tom Cruise), who says he'll give Max a large sum of money if he's dropped off at five locations throughout the night. But as the night wears on, Max finds out that Vincent is a hitman. And as the L.A.P.D. and the F.B.I. race to intercept them, Max and Vincent's survival become dependent on each other, in ways neither would have imagined.

Oh man, this definitely made up for Public Enemies. It has oomph. It has thrills. It has an edge. I have a thing for charming yet chilling characters, and Cruise is just that. Collateral is reminescent of Heat on so many levels. How so? One reason: IT KICKS ASS.

My Rating: ****1/2

Public Enemies

You know how some directors are always noted for one particular movie, no matter how far their career goes? Unfortunately for Michael Mann, he's one of those examples.

In 1933, the fourth year of the Great Depression, bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) challenges the law with his gang and is considered Public Enemy #1. J. Edger Hoover (Billy Crudup) goes to Congress asking for financial support to the FBI and assigns Agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) responsible for the Chicago area. Meanwhile Dillinger falls in love for Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard), and Purvis and his men stake her out to try to catch Dillinger.

I had several problems with Public Enemies. First off is the development. The story is just so weak, it essentially collapses halfway through. Next off is the inaccuracies. Whoever wrote the screenplay didn't do enough or any thorough research. And finally, the violence. I think Mann tried too hard to make it feel like Heat. The performances from Depp, Bale and Cotillard are good, but I shake my head at the fact that good actors are in a movie this weak. It only provides mild entertainment at best. Makes me question why I was dying to see this when it was released last year (and makes me grateful I didn't waste $10 to see it).

My Rating: ***

Heat

Like I said before, I prefer guy movies over chick flicks. And to cement that statement, I shall review a bonafide guy movie: Heat.

Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) is a theif...an expert thief...one of the best. His philosophy in life: become attached to nothing in life that you can't walk away from in 30 seconds if you spot the "heat" around the corner. His crew of criminals is a high-tech outfit pulling off professional jobs that impress even the ikes of Det. Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino). But Hanna, a man driven through life only by his work, becomes obssessed, at the expense of his private life, with bringing McCauley down. As McCauley's crew prepare for the score of a lifetime, and Hanna's team tries to bring him in, the two find that they are challenged by the greatest minds on the opposite side of the law that either one has ever encountered.

Man, what to say about Michael Mann's crime film? I have a few choice words: gripping, tense, FUCKIN' AWESOME. (ahem) Moving on. I can truly understand why Christopher Nolan used Heat as an influence when making The Dark Knight.

My Rating: ****1/2