comment #1

Scott Mendelson says ...

Of course, Freidman called SWAT a flop, so he loses any credibility on the matter. Whether you like the film or not (I did, as I like Clark Johnson's no non-sense, 'this could happen in real life' action scenes... and I'm biased as I'm a recovering Homicide junkie), it opened to $37 million in August and topped $100 million. Sounds like a real flop to me.

Scott Mendelson

comment #2

Rick says ...

I thought it was widely accepted that Friedman stretches the truth and often makes sensationalized, unsubstantiated claims.

comment #3

craptastic says ...

Ali?

comment #4

Amy says ...

Friedman should never be allowed to write about films.

comment #5

Anonymous says ...

For the life of me I cannot understand why people consider Ali a bad film. I thought it was extraordinary.

comment #6

Alexander says ...

Ali is extremely unfortunate. It has some good set-pieces, and Will Smith gives a surprisingly strong performance. But the rest of it is just "meh" to me. By far Mann's weakest.

comment #7

oddDuck says ...

I agree with Alexander about Ali, but shit, anyone who can get a good substantial quality performance out of Will Smith is a movie god in my mind. Plus, when Ali is your "weakest" movie in recent memory, that says something about your talent as a filmmaker. That said, I though Collateral also fell flat in many spots and in many ways, but am still somewhat excited to see Vice and will certainly do so opening weekend.

comment #8

nick says ...

Ali is a breathtaking masterpiece each and every time I watch it. Michael Mann has made nothing but 4 star cinema. Miami Vice will be no exception.

comment #9

Matt says ...

The Keep?

comment #10

goldenhorse says ...

F.X. Feeney is a hardcore auteurist... which is the best way to enjoy movies.

Ali was a lot of things but "meh" was not one of them. Also "meh" is the biggest cop out way to describe a movie since "sucked", "rocked" or "interesting".

comment #11

craptastic says ...

The Keep ever going to be on DVD?

comment #12

AH says ...

I don't know about the Smith diss, I think he is a very good actor, but I odd and Alexander, Ali is his weakest film and a damn good movie.

Have to completely disagree about Collateral though, that movie rocks.

comment #13

oddDuck says ...

Ali was definitely "meh" for me, in the sense that I respected and admired the cinematography performances and story, but was still bored. It just didn't engage and captivate me in the same way so many of Mann's other movies have.

comment #14

AH says ...

... oh and Roger Friedman is a big fat idiot.

comment #15

Anonymous says ...

Friedman basically just makes shit up.

comment #16

Colin says ...

I agree on The Keep being the one misfire in an otherwise brilliant career by Mann. That movie is incomprehensible and really doesn't work on any level. Then again, I've only seen a pan and scan VHS version, so I'll have to give it another shot if a good DVD transfer ever arrives.

comment #17

Rich says ...

I actually read the novel The Keep was based upon back in high school and was really looking forward to the film. Definitely low-grade Stephen King, but had some interesting things to say about the nature of evil. This was before Michael Mann was "Michael Mann," but the film is a turkey. It's got a decent cast, too. Relies too much on crummy special effects. I guess everyone has at least one dud in them. Hitchcock made Family Plot, after all.

comment #18

Jones says ...

Rumors about the film and actually seeing the film are entirely different things. I saw a cut at Fox two weeks ago and I can say that Vice works on some levels and utterly misfires on others. The 3rd act is as good as anything Mann has done previously, though it's a long road to get there. Namely, sitting thru Gong Li's laughable attempt at the English language. Not that it's an attack on her acting ability because she's been excellent in the past but she's in WAY over her head here. She is so distracting that it's hard to believe that Crockett falls for her in the first place because you can't understand her. Another negative critique I have is Mann's obsession with the band Audioslave. I counted three tracks used with one under the "lovemaking" Farrell & Li scene. I will say that Mann does capture the feel of the original show, Crockett & Tubbs are front and center as there are other undercover officers that act as a team with them, though none are really identified (with the exception of Zito) Elizabeth Rodriguez has one scene that particularly stands out. As the film currently stands, Vice falls far behind MannÂ’s library of Heat, Insider & Mohicans, but is a step above Ali.

comment #19

nick says ...

Alright, The Keep isn't up there with the best of his work but it's always interesting while never fully successful. It really needs to come out on DVD, cleaned up, with some special features. The pan and scan video I got from Eddie Brandt is atrocious.

comment #20

Colin says ...

Hmmm...if I remember correctly, there was an Audioslave song that played at the pivotal moment in Collateral (when Foxx's character finally 'cracks'). So, is Audioslave now to Michael Mann as the Rolling Stones are to Wes Anderson (2000 Man for Bottle Rocket, I Am Waiting for Rushmore, Ruby Tuesday for The Royal Tenenbaums)?

comment #21

Patrick says ...

'The Keep' is a total piece of fucking shit! Easily,
one of the Ten Worst Films EVER MADE! Michael Mann
should spend a few days in hell before going to
heaven because of it. Now, Mann is my third or
fourth favorite director, but 'The Keep' is everything
a film shouldn't be! JUST GOD DAMN AWFUL!

comment #22

Alexander says ...

oddDuck, I think you're right regarding Mann's ability to direct actors considering the fact he extracted the best performance Smith has ever delivered. Certainly worthy of great praise for that.

goldenhorse, you're probably right. But, when I say "meh," I mean that it's lugubrious in many places, to the point of being almost sleep-inducing. There are many scenes that drag on and on; the editing, as Roger Ebert said in his three-star review of the film, is indecisive and downright boring.

The cinematography is excellent, as one would expect. Smith's performance earned the Oscar nomination. The last act finally gets somewhere, ending on a positive and good note. Yet I find nothing beyond those elements,

comment #23

Anonymous says ...

Colin, don't forget "She Smiled Sweetly," from the tent scene.

comment #24

YourBlueRoom says ...

When I saw Ali in the theater, i was underwhelmed. It is the only Mann film I have only seen once in a theater. However, a fw times since, I have seen it on DVD and found it to be much better then that first time. I think the film might've suffered at the time because of the release following so soon on the "When We Were Kings" documentary, scenes of which the film recreates but fail to get the resonance that the real footage brought through in the doc.

comment #25

Kris says ...

Michael Mann is my favorite working director, and even I can consider The Keep one of the worst movies ever commited to film.

comment #26

Daniel Zelter says ...

'The films is about "the psychological cost of working undercover, of leading a life in a mask for months on end, of behaving in terms of 'impulse without inhibition.' So Crockett must answer to a spontaneous passion while Tubbs must secure a more traditional, if endangered, one. This balances the Tubbs/Crockett partnership in fresh, unpredictable ways I don't recall from the series."'

It sounds like Mann's hoping to beat Marty's Departed to the punch.

comment #27

Dixon Steele says ...

Is it actually true that Adam Sandler (!) was offered the Jamie Foxx role in COLLATERAL and turned it down to do SPANGLISH.

Did Mann actually offer it to Sandler?

comment #28

oddDuck says ...

If that is true, I'm just going to pretend it's not true. Simple as that. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

comment #29

Sean Richardson says ...

> The Keep isn't up there with the best of his work but it's always interesting while never fully successful. It really needs to come out on DVD, cleaned up, with some special features. The pan and scan video I got from Eddie Brandt is atrocious.

Don't hold your breath. Mann intervened and stopped the studio (Paramount?) from releasing 'The Keep' on DVD, allegedly because he hates it so much that he doesn't want people to see it or consider it in his ouevre.

comment #30

Colin says ...

Apparently, Ian McKellan is dubbed in "The Keep."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085780/trivia

Wow, I wonder why that happened. I mean, the guy's got one of the best actor's voices out there.

comment #31

christian says ...

Another famous Jeff Wells overreach: Mann is incapable of a bad movie. Well, The Keep for example. And yet I don't find his films anywhere near great. They're too filled with macho angst.

But there is no way a movie based on a stylish empty show like Miami Vice is going to hit the great mark.

Two words: white suit.

comment #32

Dave Poland's Gut says ...

Friedman is the biggest hack in Hollywood. If he's not writing about what a perv Michael Jackson is (big scoop there) hes out of ideas.