Miami Vice

[pennygwoods]

bklynred said:

West Indian? Spanish? Creole?

Weasel! (Sorry, I'm a Dave Barry fan.)

My friend dragged me to see this yesterday. The fact that I will never get those hours of my life back depresses me deeply.

[marywebgirl]

Now I kind of want to rent this some day just to see the tile.

[huntergrayson]

Okay, so I guess I can add the tile onto my list of Architecture that Almost Overwhelms the Movie, along with Catherine's apartment in Basic Instinct 2 and Lex's yacht in Superman Returns.

I'll just say that I wasn't looking at any tile during Gong and Colin. That perfectly lit tear, though? Awesome.

I will be lone voice of dissent and say I loved this movie.

Shut up! I want Mojitos! I want a go-fast boat! I want Gong Li! I hate you! I hate you all for judging me! :sobs:

[bklynred]

But are you a fiend for mojitos?

In my rage earlier, I forgot to mention that I thought Gong Li really gave the strongest performance, IMO. She was captivating to watch at all times. And I want the name of her tailor OMG this is just like the pretty tile?! I'll show myself out, never mind.

[twodollars]

One of the things that confused me was Gong Li supposed to be Cuban? Or just Chinese-Cuban? Because her accent was definitely not Cuban (at least when speaking English - maybe her Spanish was Cuban?).

[Binky]

In my rage earlier, I forgot to mention that I thought Gong Li really gave the strongest performance, IMO.

Yeah, this is true. But given that I only understood 40% of her lines, this is still a pretty strong condemnation of the movie.

[huntergrayson]

But are you a fiend for mojitos?

Uh, yes? Don't you guys know me at all by now? Seriously, walking down the block to dinner, my dad and I passed a billboard proclaiming that Bacardi Mojitos were the "Official Drink" of Miami Vice. Guess what was on the menu at the restaurant?

Also, it's not Havana, but for the LA Greecies, Ciudad is close.

And I want the name of her tailor OMG this is just like the pretty tile?! I'll show myself out, never mind

No, her suits were fucking AMAZING. I'll bring in Stephanie Zacharek here: "During business hours, Isabella wears dark, narrow suits, so sharply tailored they look poised for takeoff, like a fighter jet; she gives the orders, and the underlings listen."

I think it helped that Gong Li wasn't hindered by lame facial pubes (Foxx) or bloat and stupid hair (Farrell).

Walking out, everyone in the theatre hated this movie and, well, general question here - what exactly did people (including you guys) want? Because I feel like if it had been a dumb, 80s, pastel Michael Bay remake, that would've been hated (hence the Worst Movie Ever predictions beforehand). But it obviously *wasn't* that, but hated anyway. I mean, the action was well-choreographed but there was more to it than that. I do understand that there was NO exposition and everyone was depressed and world-weary beyond belief - which, yes, maybe a mistake in a summer movie, perhaps, but not unexpected for a Michael Mann film. And hi, if Batman Begins can brood its way through 120 minutes, so can this.

But, hell, after nearly choking on the endless exposition of the Da Vinci code? I'll take pretty pictures, killer soundtrack and a hell of an atmosphere (isn't that what Miami Vice *is*?), with some minor musings about identity/surface vs. reality thrown in.

I will that grant there were two major flaws -- not enough Jamie Foxx's character and not enough interaction between the two.

Whatever, I'm being overly verbose when I thought of the perfect summation earlier - "I can't think of any other film that perfectly utilizes both a Mandy Moore pop tune blaring on the soundtrack and a brutally violent gunshot wound to the head. And I LOVE it for that."

[marywebgirl]

huntergrayson, since you brought up Christian Bale, something I really liked about American Psycho was how it just nailed the 80s. Not in a cheesey stupid way, but in a fantastic, "OMG were they really that awful? Yes, they were!" way. If they could have communicated that, as well as it being a good cop movie and possibly thrown in some smart elements of drug trafficking (like Blow did), I would have been all over it.

[huntergrayson]

But this wasn't set in the 80s. I think Mann felt that since he exec produced the show, he had been there and done that (if nothing else, the interviews with him in EW and LA Weekly are fascinating stuff...and made me feel like I should really listen to the Heat commentary).

Eh, what do I know? I will say that since I have gone against character and seen nearly *every* "big summer movie" this year (except MI3 - suck it Tiny!), between this and Scoop, it was nice to finally see two movies that were distinctive visions of the filmmaker.

Oh, Blow - a movie I enjoy but suffers from having more Penelope than Franka. That just crazy.

[satellite]

I saw this last night and rather enjoyed it (I've got your back,huntergrayson).
I think it effectively captured the atmosphere of the TV show while updating for the present. If you'll remember, the TV version could be a bit of a downer, once you get past the pastel 80's surface.
It wasn't as good as Heat, but it was typical of Mann's style. Farrell was better than I expected, and Foxx didn't have time to annoy me too much. Gong Li is gorgeous, but a little lipstick would not have hurt. Those pale lips were distracting.
One part that confused me

SPOILER: Click to show

I thought Isabella was being kidnapped in front of her house, and then the next scene she's talking to Sonny from Geneva. Huh?
Also, they don't think Arcangel de Jesus (really?), a top drug guy can find Isabella if he put in like 2 minutes of effort?