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Michael Mann's MIAMI VICE (merged) - Page 7

post #181 of 403
7/27/06 at 1:51am

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nathan V
I think any film in which the filmmaker does something not quite expected will have trouble gaining fans on first viewing (particularly with Ali, which didn't even remotely try to be a summation of the famous athlete's life). Vice faces similar problems, in that viewers may be expecting a bang-up action film, a rehash, or a flashy exercise in stylistic fun, and thus they may not be looking for depth- which in Mann's films is often nonverbal...

Chris Harvey, none of this is directed at your review- I haven't read your post yet, I'm staying away from reviews until I see the film

Regards,
Nathan

Nathan, yeah, I understand what you're saying, and most of the time feel the same way about Mann's films. What *does* work in VICE is usually non-verbal... the weirdest thing is, though, is how much it felt like a rough cut; right down to the sound mix (which sounded oddly un-polished). But my issues with the film aren't technical.

I may see it again in theaters, just to see if my first-viewing feeling is right. (Usually, while repeat viewings may cause me to like a movie more, generally speaking I feel my first viewing is my most objective.)
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post #182 of 403
7/27/06 at 7:18am

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Chud.com's review is up at http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=reviews&id=7228

My favorite part of the review (talking about violence in the film) can be applied to many, if not all, of Mann's films:

Quote:
The violence is violence is violence, and Mann never takes a voyeuristic role in portraying it. The fact that Mann doesn’t slather it with style makes it completely his own – like the rat-a-tat-tat of a Tommy Gun from a man who clearly knows his Tommy Guns.
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post #183 of 403
7/27/06 at 8:12am

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Quote:
Vice faces similar problems, in that viewers may be expecting a bang-up action film, a rehash, or a flashy exercise in stylistic fun, and thus they may not be looking for depth

Based on the negative review quotes from RT, the movie doesn't deliver much of any of those qualities except the style.

Chris, how long was the cut you saw? As I mentioned earlier, there seems to exist different cuts. RT is still listing the movie as 2 hours and 26 minutes.

~T
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post #184 of 403
7/27/06 at 9:02am

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Quote:
My favorite part of the review (talking about violence in the film) can be applied to many, if not all, of Mann's films:

Absolutely. That's what made the Heat shootout so amazing- everything from the echoing sound of guns, the way they handled them, and the sheer destruction that an automatic weapon can cause felt far far more real than just about any other contemporary action sequence to that point.
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post #185 of 403
7/27/06 at 10:36am

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thi Them
Based on the negative review quotes from RT, the movie doesn't deliver much of any of those qualities except the style.

Chris, how long was the cut you saw? As I mentioned earlier, there seems to exist different cuts. RT is still listing the movie as 2 hours and 26 minutes.

~T

I didn't precisely check, but that sounds about right (assuming that runtime includes credits).
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post #186 of 403
7/27/06 at 1:25pm
Thread Starter 

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Runtime is 132 minutes 33 seconds. BBFC has the precise runtime, down to the seconds and # of feet and frames of film. This number includes credits. Early test screenings were 3+ hours, then 149 minutes, then 146, and now the final cut is 132.5. I assume he's just been whittling the film down to size, like any director. We'll know for sure tomorrow.

Regards,
Nathan
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post #187 of 403
7/27/06 at 6:49pm

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

I watched Collateral for about the eighth time the other week. Even after that many viewings, my breath literally caught in my throat at the beauty of the photography. It's on my wavelength precisely.

American Cinematographer's article on MV discusses how Mann and Dion Beebe take advantage of video's naturally large depth of field and expose for the background before then lighting the subject accordingly. It's a great, technical piece, as usual.

Interestingly, gain was held to a max of 6dB this time which should reduce the grain that was seen in Collateral. (It's implied that Beebe thought the grain in Collateral was too much. Naturally I'd disagree, but if the same atmosphere can be achieved with less grain, I guess that's a plus.)
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post #188 of 403
7/27/06 at 6:56pm

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Well, after 50 reviews at RT Vice is sitting with 28 positive and 22 negative for a score of 56% so it looks like people are split right down the middle on this one. Personally, I wouldn't care if it had a score of 5% as I'm still looking forward to seeing it and am almost sure I'll love it as this is definitely my kind of flick.
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post #189 of 403
7/27/06 at 6:58pm

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Does look split but I still want to see it. Not a big Collin Ferrell fan but really do love Mann's work. He's earned my $8
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post #190 of 403
7/27/06 at 7:37pm

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Yep, count me in with those willing to give Mann the benefit of the doubt even in light of some negative reviews.
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post #191 of 403
7/27/06 at 7:43pm

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Felix
Interestingly, gain was held to a max of 6dB this time which should reduce the grain that was seen in Collateral. (It's implied that Beebe thought the grain in Collateral was too much. Naturally I'd disagree, but if the same atmosphere can be achieved with less grain, I guess that's a plus.)

There are shots in VICE that are far grainier than anything I remember seeing in COLLATERAL. Clearly, though, it's an artistic decision.
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post #192 of 403
7/27/06 at 8:08pm

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Yeah, it seemed that way in the trailer. Maybe they were pushed in post.
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post #193 of 403
7/28/06 at 5:39am

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

A few of those reviews are saying how bad the film "looks".
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post #194 of 403
7/28/06 at 8:12am

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Below 50% at RT. Ouch.

~T
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post #195 of 403
7/28/06 at 8:18am

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

It's currently rated at 67% with the cream of the crop critics, though.
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post #196 of 403
7/28/06 at 9:27am

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Atkins
It's currently rated at 67% with the cream of the crop critics, though.

And while reaction is definitely mixed, quite a few of high profile critics *really* like the movie so it definitely seems to be falling more into the binary love-it/hate-it camp rather than the general lukewarm reception that many other films scoring in the 50s and 60s can get.
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post #197 of 403
7/28/06 at 9:45am

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Roeper and James B score it a B. We would see it if they scored it a D though.
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post #198 of 403
7/28/06 at 10:43am

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Yep.
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post #199 of 403
7/28/06 at 11:25am

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

anyone else see it yet
?
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post #200 of 403
7/28/06 at 11:32am

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Decided to leave work early and see this in a few.
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post #201 of 403
7/28/06 at 2:31pm

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

That's great Jon! I will be seeing it on Sunday at Arclight.

Quote:
And while reaction is definitely mixed, quite a few of high profile critics *really* like the movie so it definitely seems to be falling more into the binary love-it/hate-it camp rather than the general lukewarm reception that many other films scoring in the 50s and 60s can get.

From what I've seen, I would describe it as lukewarm; it all depends on whether Mann's filmmaking is enough to overcome the story and lack of depth.

~T
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post #202 of 403
7/28/06 at 2:56pm

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Just saw this about an hour ago, and enjoyed it. Not as good as Collateral or Heat, but definately has that MM flair and style to it.

My biggest complaints would be a lack of character development, which is unusual for Mann. Also, there didn't really seem to be any type of bond between Sonny and Rico. They really don't share the screen together all that much, as each is given their own thing to do for much of the movie.

That said, I still enjoyed it, and will be picking it up on DVD.
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post #203 of 403
7/28/06 at 3:33pm

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

It's a solid genre piece. As Brett pointed out, surprisingly thin...not just on character, but story in general.

I do think that Mann's visuals and style overcome it. I'll get it on DVD to add to the Mann collection.
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post #204 of 403
7/28/06 at 4:04pm

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

I'm planning on seeing it again, just to wrap my head around the issues I have with it (and also to enjoy the mood pieces that really make up the heart of the movie)... but off the top of my head, I don't think they wrapped up one of the (major?) story points--

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
Did we ever find out who the leaker was? They discovered s/he was in the FBI office, but I don't recall it ever being resolved. This is the McGuffin that starts the whole story, although it *is* just a McGuffin and not that central to any of the emotional story points.
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post #205 of 403
7/28/06 at 4:17pm

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Saw it at an afternoon showing...the first thing I noticed was how "grainy" almost all of the nightime shots looked, and how the level of graininess was not really consistent and seemed to vary with the presence or absence of anything brightly "lit" on screen at the same time (even scenes where say a single streetlight or lighter coloured building is even partially illuminated off to the side had less "grain" than other scenes where the overall frame did not vary much in brightness). It literally looked exactly like the preview trailers that have been circulating on the web which I assumed were suffering from my PC's less than stellar LCD monitor.

Story-wise I found it to be reasonably enjoyable viewing but similar to what others have said there was no really plausible development of the relationships between the onscreen characters, and essentially zero "partner bonding" developed between Tubbs and Crockett other than some single bits of dialog that almost seemed like they were thrown in just to create the "partners" feel. Some of the acting was actually better and more believable from the "secondary" characters than the "stars" that is for sure. The movie really only hits its stride in the last 45 minutes and not just because of the action elements.
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post #206 of 403
7/28/06 at 4:20pm

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

I saw this last night at a midnight showing. I was really looking forward to it and was not disappointed at all. I look forward to seeing it again and will definitely be getting the DVD when it comes out.

In addition to what I thought was a great story and a superb cast, I was very impressed with the overall look of the film, which was, I thought, pretty unique compared to others of its genre and actually fit the subject and its tone quite nicely. I'm interested to see how it compares, visually speaking, when it's on DVD (what I saw last night was a 35mm print, not a digital print).
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post #207 of 403
7/28/06 at 4:24pm

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Really enjoyed it!
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post #208 of 403
7/28/06 at 4:29pm

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

Seems like a lot of positive reviews from members here at the HTF.
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post #209 of 403
7/28/06 at 4:44pm

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

I found it to be a bit disappointing for reasons said above - a bit thin and not enough character development. Great moments though. I liked all the cast in the roles they played but it seemed like there was alot of untapped potential there.

Theater was about 1/2 full and there was some restlessness during the middle with the Sonny and Isabella scenes.

The gunfight at the end was masterfully done.
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post #210 of 403
7/28/06 at 7:16pm

Re: Michael Mann's Miami Vice: Teaser online

One word review: Droll.

Some scenes felt like COPS on a big budget, while other sequences overstayed their welcome (mainly Sonny's subplot in the 2nd act). Perhaps it was just too lowkey for my expectations, it needed a little more excitement throughout the film, not just for its climax. The characterizations felt thin to me as well. Afterwards, I overheard one viewer expressing his disappointment over the lack of "juice" (adrenaline) and fast cars, chase scenes, the "coolness" factor. Maybe it was played just too flat, too realistic for some viewer's expectations.

I give it 2.5 stars, or a grade of C+.
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