U-571 (2000)

Director: Jonathan Mostow

Writers: Jonathan Mostow, Sam Montgomery, David Ayer

Composer: Richard Marvin

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel, Jon Bon Jovi, David Keith, Thomas Kretschmann, Jake Weber, Jack Noseworthy, Tom Guiry, Will Estes, Terrence 'T.C.' Carson

More info: IMDb

Tagline: You won't come up for air until it's over!

Plot: A German submarine is boarded by disguised American submariners trying to capture their Enigma cipher machine.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

I saw this in the theater, later on DVD and finally, last night, on Blu-ray and I'm done with this one.  It doesn't get better with each viewing but worse.  Not only is this picture LOADED with gross historical inaccuracies, but it's got a few little things that don't make sense like the open shelves on the sub not having lips to prevent things from falling off them, Tyler (McConaughey) standing topside on the sub looking at the destroyer that's actively firing on them, shit like that.  Now, the action is good.  I really like how the large cat and mouse chase goes on and on in the final third of the picture.  It's well-directed, edited and so on and I would recommend seeing the picture just for that but there's just enough of the bothersome stuff that gets in the way that will now, after having seen it three times in fifteen years, get in the way of me seeing it again.  Maybe in thirty years I'll give it another go but for now I think this one is behind me and DAS BOOT (1981) is waiting for that fourth go 'round.  The Universal Blu-ray looks great but there are no extras (!!!) except for a digital copy which the package says may or may not work after 2012.  

Heavenly Creatures (1994)

Director: Peter Jackson

Writers: Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson

Composer: Peter Dasent

Starring: Melanie Lynskey, Kate Winslet, Sarah Peirse, Diana Kent, Clive Merrison, Simon O'Connor, Jed Brophy, Peter Elliott, Gilbert Goldie

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The true story of a crime that shocked a nation.

Plot: Two girls have an intense fantasy life; their parents, concerned the fantasy is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again?  Nah, twice is fine.

I first watched this in the months leading up to Peter Jackson's first LOTR movie 'cause I wanted to see what this guy did that was so special to go from low budget horror to this film to the gargantuan LOTR trilogy.  Great flick, this one.  I like it a little more now than I did 15 years ago. It's playful, the relationship between the two girls is cute and infectious and the story takes us on a natural and understandable path that leads to murder and the murder is cringe-worthy even if you don't get to see it full on.  Dasent's score is beautiful and it's ideal for the picture.  The performances are strong, too, as is everything else. It's a well-crafted drama that spends nearly the entire film building the relationship between these girls and creating the atmosphere that justifies (in their minds only) their actions.  Fascinating and engaging pretty much sum this up.  The nearly bare bones Mirimax DVD has a nice anamorphic widescreen print but the extras are weak as you only get a trailer for this film and for BACKFLASH, TEACHING MRS. TINGLE, SHIPPING NEWS, PNERO and one that features a best of Mirimax which is them just trumpeting how good they are, all of which are fullscreen. 

The Mighty Quinn (1989)

Director: Carl Schenkel

Writers: A.H.Z. Carr, Hampton Fancher

Composer: Anne Dudley

Starring: Denzel Washington, James Fox, Mimi Rogers, M. Emmet Walsh, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Art Evans, Esther Rolle, Norman Beaton, Alex Colon, Robert Townsend, Keye Luke

More info: IMDb

Tagline: THE CHIEF OF POLICE AND THE CHIEF SUSPECT. They know each other too well to let a little thing like murder get in their way.

Plot: When police officer Xavier Quinn's childhood friend, Maubee, becomes associated with murder and a briefcase full of ten thousand dollar bills, The Mighty Quinn must clear his name. Or try to catch him, which could be even trickier.



My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Hmmmm.  It's a pleasant film with Denzel as a likable lead as usual.  The Jamaican location shooting is a nice getaway from the usual crime picture.   Walsh is fun and despicable as usual.  I liked the DR. NO (1963) nod with the three blind guys.  That was cute.  Quinn's (Washington) detective work feels 75% complete, as if there were some scenes cut that filled out more of the investigation. But then there's some thinly-veiled filler like with a scene where Quinn plays piano and sings.  It's funny how he suddenly loses his Jamaican accent.  It was a nice little scene but it distracted us from the investigation.  Once he's back on the hunt the film doesn't let up as if the film makers had gotten lazy and suddenly realized what they were there to do. Still, fans of Denzel or Walsh will dig it.  Rogers isn't in the picture much despite third billing and Townsend maybe has ten minutes of screen time and he's on the damn poster.  He's mostly there to deliver some much needed exposition on what really went down.  Oh, and what a bad poster, too.  It looks like it's a silly comedy.  There is some humor in this but it's not what the poster pretends to be (thankfully). The MGM DVD sports a non-anamorphic widescreen print with the sole extra being the original theatrical trailer.

The Longest Yard (1974)

Director: Robert Aldrich

Writers: Tracy Keenan Wynn, Albert S. Ruddy

Composer: Frank De Vol

Starring: Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter, Michael Conrad, James Hampton, Harry Caesar, John Steadman, Charles Tyner, Mike Henry, Jim Nicholson, Bernadette Peters, Pervis Atkins, Tony Cacciotti, Anitra Ford, Michael Fox, Joe Kapp, Richard Kiel

More info: IMDb

Tagline: It's Survival of the Fiercest and Funniest

Plot: A football player-turned-convict organizes a team of inmates to play against a team of prison guards. His dilemma is that the warden asks him to throw the game in return for an early release

My rating: 8.5/10

Will I watch it again? YES!

Probably about every 8 or so years I'll forget how great this flick is and slap it in for a reminder.  Probably this is my favorite sports film.  Reynolds oozes with charisma.  He's so damn likable it's not even funny.  Eddie Albert is an amazing actor, too.  This guy can go from charming as a peach to ruthless mother fucker on the turn of a dime.  Hell, the whole damn cast (and what a cast!!!) is outstanding.  Director Aldrich (just look at this guy's credits) did an outstanding job.  You can almost feel the heat on the chain gang.  The game in the last act looks like a legit game and they had cameras there to shoot it.  It's expertly edited and there is enough humor scattered about to keep things moving along and from being considered a comedy.  It's a sports prison drama with some laughs along the way.  This is a great film no matter how you slice it.

The Paramount DVD has a great looking anamorphic widescreen image with a few extras including a commentary from Burt Reynolds and writer/producer Albert Ruddy, two 11-minute featurettes with some of the cast et al on making the film, an "exclusive look" at the 2005 OK remake, the original theatrical trailer (anamorphic widescreen) and 7 minutes of previews (fullscreen and non-anamorphic wide) for guy-related shows and movies.  I can do without the horseshit that doesn't pertain to the '74 film but then I don't have to watch it. 

Miami Vice (2006)

Director: Michael Mann

Writer: Michael Mann

Composer: John Murphy

Starring: Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, Li Gong, Naomie Harris, Ciaran Hinds, Justin Theroux, Barry Shabaka Henley, Luis tosar, John Ortiz, John Hawkes

More info: IMDb

Tagline: No Rules

Plot: Based on the 1980s TV action/drama, this update focuses on vice detectives Crockett and Tubbs as their respective personal and professional lives become dangerously intertwined.

My rating: 5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

OK, I never saw the show.  I was at the right age when it came out to love it (mid-teens) but I wasn't much of a TV watcher (never have been, really).  Movies have always been my bag.  Anyway, I was aware of the show and what it looked like and what it was about and that's the extent to what I had going into Mann's feature film based on the show he created.  I was borderline bored from (nearly) start to finish.  Everything was so damn stylishly serious from the music to the acting and the overall dark look of the film (most of it takes place at night, the opposite of what you think about the bright, sunny city of Miami).  It's over two hours of gloomy machismo that kept me from caring about anyone.  Farrell and Foxx seem reasonably cast but they have zero chemistry.  Hanging around either of these characters would be a real bummer.  Was the TV show like this?  I wouldn't mind trying the show out (it's currently streaming on Netflix) but this movie has all but turned me completely off. 

The Sting (1973)

Director: George Roy Hill

Writer: David S. Ward

Music adapted by: Marvin Hamlisch

Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, Harold Gould, John Heffernan, Dana Elcar, Jack Kehoe, Dimitra Arliss, Robert Earl Jones, James Sloyan, Sally Kirkland

More info: IMDb

Tagline: ...all it takes is a little Confidence.

Plot:  In Chicago in September 1936, a young con man seeking revenge for his murdered partner teams up with a master of the big con to win a fortune from a criminal banker.

My rating: 10/10

Will I watch it again? Oh, yeah.

I LOVE this movie.  The casting is outstanding, the look and feel of the time and place, the con, the dialogue, the super fun ragtime Scott Joplin tunes (despite the music being 15 years too late, it works beautifully), the works.  This should be required viewing for everyone but especially film makers who want to make a crime picture.  I can't say enough about the casting. Everyone does a pitch perfect job.  This is one of those pictures that takes me away from modern day and transports me back in time.  I should have more to say considering how much I dig this flick but that's all I've got.  Oh, and that, for old time's sake, I'd like to see the sequel. It's been over 30 years.  I don't recall liking it all that much but the cast has some fun cats in it. 

Ant-Man (2015)

Director: Peyton Reed

Writers: Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay, Paul Rudd

Composer: Christophe Beck

Starring: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Anthony Mackie, Judy Greer, Abby Ryder Fortson, Michael Pena, David Dastmalchian, T.I., Hayley Atwell, Wood Harris, John Slattery, Martin Donovan, Garrett Morris

More info: IMDb

Tagline: This July, heroes don't come any bigger.

Plot: Armed with a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, cat burglar Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

My rating: 9/10

Will I watch it again?  YES!!!!!!!!!!

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy was this fun!  Not only that but it's got lots of humor and heart.  What Marvel has been doing in the past few years with their Cinematic Universe is amazing.  Despite AVENGERS 2 being a minor letdown (I still liked it but...) this picture makes up for it.  Maybe it's because it's a smaller film.  I don't know but there's a lot to love about ANT-MAN.  Rudd and the rest of the cast are fantastic.  I really dug the little bits of fun the film makers threw in like how Luis (Pena) tells a story getting other people involved but with his voice telling it.  It happens twice and it's hilarious both times.  Stan Lee's cameo is hilarious.  I dug the back story of the original Ant-Man and getting a little taste of it, I liked the setting and use of San Francisco, the special effects are marvelous and the 3D, for a change, was great and it really made a difference when you were in Ant-Man's shrunken-down world.  I highly recommend seeing this in 3D for that reason alone.  There are two short scenes in the credits and after.  You don't want to miss them; they're both juicy fun.  This has got me really looking forward to the next Captain America movie where so much is building up to a civil war within The Avengers and I'm super happy that Ant-Man is going to be a part of it.  They were right to release this picture after AVENGERS 2 because it's that strong of a film.  LOVE IT!!!  It was just announced this week that this film will be part of the big Blu-ray box set that has all of the films since the first Avengers movie.  No release date has been set but you can bet your sweet-ass britches I'll own it day one.  I don't think I've bought any of the films yet and I'm getting ants in my pants to watch GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014) again.