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Cloverfield [BLU-RAY] (Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008) Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success. (continued)

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"Omen" expectations

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Yesterday's Omen forum was fairly interesting. What about Michael Mann's Miami Vice? Here's the trailer...watch it and tell us what you're thinking deep down. Does it look like $180 million or $125 million? Impossible to gauge, obviously, but the word "priceless" could also apply. For me, an urban-based Mann film is a near-guarantee of a first-rate, high-style mood piece. Unless he's wildly off his game, I anticipate seeing this thing three or four times.

Black-and-white Scope<< previous | next >>Upgraded HE function

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on May 30, 2006 at 7:37 AM

comment #1

guy steele says ...

Not sure why this flick would cost $125 or more million... But I will be there on opening day... It's a Mann flick after all. Though that said I hope MV has a better ending than Heat or Collateral. For some reason while I loved almost all of these two films I did feel let down at the end on each. I think in terms of all things being equal Mann's best movie is The Insider. Thief is very good as well, heck even his first Jericho Mile is cool except it doesn't have his usual visual flair. The Keep could have been great but that film was plagued from the get-go. Hard to say if MV will do well. If it cost that kinda coin then I would say it will bomb. Mann is a very serious American Talent. He's like our US version of Ridley Scott in terms of visual style being so important and the control the filmmaker has over each frame.

Posted by guy steele at May 30, 2006 8:02 AM

comment #2

Nicol D says ...

I think it looks great and I like that Farrel speaks like Crockett "We get down, bub".

I do not think this will be a big hit but I suspect a great film.

Like Saturday Night Fever, too many people remember Vice for the dated aesthetics as opposed to the truly dark show that it was.

It will surprise a lot of people for the better. It is also good to see some actors and attitude that actually look masculine for a change as opposed to what we usually get from Hollywood with the man/boy type actors.

Posted by Nicol D at May 30, 2006 8:30 AM

comment #3

Mathew says ...

Saw the MV trailer before the Davici Code. Has Collateral's mis-en-scene which is a good thing. However I did not see Collateral on the big screen and the first thing I noticed was that "this thing is shot on video" which is not readily apparent when viewing on quicktime. It looks good but a little edgy. I'm hoping that eventually they can find a middle ground between film's 'soft' look and that overly 'edgy' video look. Of course MV fits the 'edgy' look so it's all good.

Posted by Mathew at May 30, 2006 8:42 AM

comment #4

Paul H. says ...

Hm...VERY excited about a new Mann film. He is easily my favorite American director. However, I agree with an above poster that this film will probably end up in the low end tally section of Box Office winners and losers once the season wraps up. I predict a soft 18-21 million dollar opener followed by a fairly steep drop and a final domestic total of 50-65 million. Each time I have seen the trailer with an audience, I was psyched but the mood of the theater was giggly and groaning. Colin Farrel is a kind of box office poison as well which doesnt bode well...
Hope Im wrong about the numbers, but, I am sure Mann will craft a worthy film for his canon....

Posted by Paul H. at May 30, 2006 9:24 AM

comment #5

Christian says ...

This thing looks awful. I don't understand Jeffrey's Mann-love, particularly after the overrated TV show vibe of Collateral -- with Tom Cruise already playing Crockett. To do a serious version of Miami Vice is ridiculous. The show was a parody in the 80's and to see it taken so seriously strikes me again as ridiculous. I don't think audiences want to see a guy in sandals and a white suit ride a boat three or four times.

But I could be wrong. peace.

Posted by Christian at May 30, 2006 9:33 AM

comment #6

N says ...

People seem to be reacting badly to this trailer (check out the AICN message boards...not that those apes have any taste) but I don't understand why. Foxx and Farrell look awesomely sleazy, the film looks beautifully shot, and it's Michael Mann directing a crime film. It's my most-anticipated movie of the summer by far. (I'm not too excited about anything else, though.)

I do believe in the curse of Farrell, though. Hollywood needs to wake up and learn that audiences, for whatever reason, do not want to see this guy. He could've been a star in the eighties, but not now.

Maybe Foxx's presence will offset that factor, though. Foxx and Mann are a dynamite combination. Did anyone else think Foxx was fucking amazing in Ali?

Also, Gong Li is a stunner. I really am dying to see this movie.

Posted by N at May 30, 2006 10:14 AM

comment #7

Burbanked says ...

I'd likely pay to watch a documentary on the Cub Scouts of America if it were made by Michael Mann because he's consistently shown a strength with plot, visuals and eliciting top-notch acting performances.

I can't really figure out why he felt the need to remake Miami Vice, however. I wouldn't go as far as Christian above claiming that the show was an 80s parody; I just feel as though the MV name has got its own baggage that won't help it at the box office.

Mann's got the chops - why not just make an edgy copy thriller and NOT call it MV? Probably because commenters like us would just claim that he was retreading familiar ground, anyway.

Posted by Burbanked at May 30, 2006 10:22 AM

comment #8

Rich says ...

Been there, done that, had the t-shirt.

I love Mann and Foxx looks good, but Farrell is horribly miscast. Didn't they just try this with SWAT? And Mann should have learned from Oliver Stone that you should never put Farrell in a blonde wig.

Seriously, I'm with Burbanked and Christian in that I see no need for this movie. Mann should continue to push himself, not go over the same ground he trod literally twenty years ago. Slick, morally-ambiguous cops shooting BFGs while hip-hop plays in the background? Yawn.

Posted by Rich at May 30, 2006 10:30 AM

comment #9

Mike Schaefer says ...

My experience of the trailer (I've seen it 4 or 5 times theatrically) is that it looks great and then when the title comes up there's a LOT of snickering. Maybe he needed to call it that to get it made, but if it were called something else the reaction would be different.

But then I thought "Heat" was somewhat overrated in that it seemed like a couple of MV episodes strung together (with a locale change, of course).

Posted by Mike Schaefer at May 30, 2006 11:01 AM

comment #10

Brannon says ...

This easily looks like the best thing coming out. Michael Mann never disappoints. Seems to me like it has much more of the Heat vibe than a Collateral vibe, more extravagent and epic than tight and concise. He has done both well before. And to the television show haters above, the clothes and music may have become dated and silly, but the show itself and the format paved the way for a lot of the television we love today. I'll be seeing it 3-4 times too probably.

Posted by Brannon at May 30, 2006 11:33 AM

comment #11

amer says ...

No Phil Collins, no cameo by Lee Iacocca, no 'you belong to the city' or 'smugglers blues' tunes?

What do we get? Linkin park music, digital footage a la COLLATERAL and two leads who look like they havent showered since 1998..

not interested

ps - why does the farrell dude keep getting work? how many times must one flop (ALEXANDER, etc) in order to stop getting ofers in hollywood?

Posted by amer at May 30, 2006 11:56 AM

comment #12

Stephanie says ...

I've seen a couple of versions of the trailer and the TV spot. They all drew me in immediately. I can't wait to see the movie, primarily because of Mann. I love his visual style. I love the way he puts the viewer INTO his movies. I love that he takes for granted that the audience is smart and up to speed. I think this will be the only summer actioner that treats the audience like it has half a brain.

My opinion is that Farrell's performances are hit and miss; Jamie Foxx's Oscar should have been for Collateral, not Ray. I think Mann can and probably did pull great performances out of both of them.

I've heard that there are some incredible scenes: a speedboat race, an undercover sting that ends in a shootout, and a ferrari chase. I'm really geeked to see all those.

Wow, I just wrote "geeked". Like I said, the trailers have me hooked.

Posted by Stephanie at May 30, 2006 12:58 PM

comment #13

Dixon Steele says ...

Jamie Foxx' performance in ALI was the best thing about that film. He deserved an Oscar nom. at least (Jon Voight's Howard Cosell got it instead. Ugh).

Posted by Dixon Steele at May 30, 2006 1:16 PM

comment #14

Anonymous says ...

I saw Miami Vice as parody-like also...until I got the first season on DVD. While the production valued leaves a little to be desired (compared to my current favorite, The Shield, it's a turd), I think if you look at the pilot you see how good a show it was. Just based on that first episode, and the anticipation of Mann recreating that vibe, I'm excited to see it.

So long as Farrell doesn't get amnesia and become a cartel hit man. Ugh.

Posted by Anonymous at May 30, 2006 1:20 PM

comment #15

Edward says ...

If not for is being a Michael Mann film I doubt the anticipation for this one would be any greater than the prospects of a Bad Boys 3.

Posted by Edward at May 30, 2006 1:34 PM

comment #16

Daniel Zelter says ...

Not buying into it. It's nothing like the show. Not even like the stage show they used to have at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Matt: I could also tell Collateral was shot on video. That's one of the problems with DV. It might be cheap, but it makes everything look low-budget. Not sure why filmmakers like Lucas swear by it, but in Mann's case, Collateral and Miami Vice look like extended episodes of Cops.

N: Gong Li doesn't really seem to do anything in this film. Except play a Cuban...

Anyway, Farrell's not the worst actor in the biz. He just needs to stop getting typecast with all these flamboyant metrosexual roles.

Posted by Daniel Zelter at May 30, 2006 2:38 PM

comment #17

Mike Schaefer says ...

"Farrell's not the worst actor in the biz. He just needs to stop getting typecast with all these flamboyant metrosexual roles."

Well, he WAS "discovered" by Joel Schumacher...

Posted by Mike Schaefer at May 30, 2006 3:01 PM

comment #18

cullen says ...

MV is my #1 movie to see this summer...Mann ALWAYS delivers ("Ali" is great no matter what some peeps say). Granted I am a big fan of Mann's work ("Heat" is in my top 5 of all-time) but the trailer just looks awesome to me. Amazing visuals, a great cast, amazing action (it appears...), some hotties (both female and male). I have been reading the bad set reports for months now, but I don't care...I wish I was seeing this RIGHT NOW.

Posted by cullen at May 30, 2006 5:52 PM

comment #19

Anonymous says ...

Mann is probably the greatest stylist working in american cinema today. Even if this is bad by his high standards, it'll still be better than 99% of American films released this year.

But I agree it will be judged a relative flop. Too big a budget for a late-summer, adult crime drama without a Megastar (Collateral had Cruise and even then was a slight disappointment financially). The people who are paying to watch Da Vinci Code are the people laughing at this trailer.

Farrell - I liked him in The New World. & Ask The Dust. & Minority Report. & Tigerland. & Intermission. He can act, and unlike so many modern American actors, hes convincing as a man (despite being a pretty boy). His irritating public profile and ubiquity count against him, though. He needs to take a year off.

Posted by Anonymous at May 30, 2006 5:52 PM

comment #20

guy steele says ...

Time to chime in again... Farrell it seems is not miscast in this from what I can tell from the Trailer. Mann has already stated this is an updated, meaner, gritter Miami Vice. As for the show... come on guys, MV defined the '80's in a way that watching it today it will seem very dated and of course cannot stand up against something like The SHiled. But MV Paved the way for shows like The Shield.
While I was a fan of the series when it first aired I felt that it was groundbreaking in terms of editing, use of pop music and most off while yes they usually wrapped up the story line each week they didn't leave it all tied up in a bow. THey usually ended during a shoot out or Crockett reloading or some kind of action. It really was the second TV show to start breaking the ties that binded all hour shows before it. The three TV shows we need to remember and thank for giving us our new Golden Age of great TV Dramas are of course Hill St. Blues, Miami Vice and Wiseguy.

On Farrell again... He was great as Bullseye in Daredevil and did a bang up job in Minority Report. His performance in Phone Booth was good enough and wasn't to blame for that failure. Now the Alex pic... I agree poorly casted there!

Posted by guy steele at May 30, 2006 8:59 PM

comment #21

Brandon T. says ...

I've been looking forward to this for so long, I just might go see it on opening day.

Posted by Brandon T. at May 30, 2006 9:10 PM

comment #22

Roddy Reta says ...

You guys are delusional. This movie is going to flop big time. There is very little interest in it. Michael Mann has never directed anything that has resembled a blockbuster.

Posted by Roddy Reta at May 30, 2006 9:28 PM

comment #23