miami vice: a rope of sand
I saw Miami Vice on Thursday night.
Although I had no recollection of the series, I have been told by my father that I have seen practically every episode, situated on his lap while he fed me a bottle back in the early 80s. For this reason (and because my Mom wouldn't go) he basically begged me to go see the new movie with him, and how could i refuse? On the way he educated me on the main plot of the series, enthusiastically describing the great outfits, music, shootouts, and car/boat chases. bolstered by his ardor, i started to believe i might be in for a treat.
wrong. although generally i like michael mann, i wasn't down with his artsy take on the direction. when the movie began, there was no list of cast members, production companies or even the turqoise and pink words of miami vice. it just started. i am all up for skipping the credits, which sometimes take way too long, but not including the title coupled with the lack of plot setup and character introduction left me slightly concerned that the reel had skipped and we had missed something. Also, I'd say a good 20% of the movie was completely out of focus, 15% was a close up of someone's hands or mouth, and 45% didn't even take place in Miami. To top it off, the night shots were so grainy you might have thought the movie was instead directed by Seurat. i did like the cloud shots though. florida has great clouds. i've heard that other states have clouds too, but they aren't as billowy and distinctive as florida's which are so mezmorizing that they're liable to run you off the road.
I'd have to say the biggest accomplishment of this movie was that collin ferrel was able to stay consistent in his record of turning a somewhat promising film into yet another rediciously bad movie. and it's really his fault that i disliked it so much. i just find it hard to believe that a 'business woman' who has spent 15 years working her way to the top of the high-end drug trafficing world, would first see collin ferrel, immediately fall in love with him, and then put her hard-earned position into jepordy, no matter how nefarious and underhanded it might be. i mean, this movie was not set in the 80s: it's present day. yet someone forgot to tell collin ferrel's hair! mullet and lip-ferret? not in vogue last time i checked.
well after i tell my mom all of this she reveals that she recently tivod the pilot movie of the original show and demands i take a sit on the couch immediately so that i don't have a skewed view of the miami vice that she remembers and loves. and it was actually very entertaining. 80s clothes aside, the issues, cross-dressing and heartache still ring true to today's society, plus the orinial sonny (now played by ferrel) had good hair and a nice five o'clock shadow. he would never bedazzle himself with sparkly beaded bracelets. plus it turns out that the character was a former UF quarterback which is mentioned several times and he owns a pet alligator which he keeps on his boat! very cool. i highly recommend watching the original movie, and will always wonder at why they even bothered with a new one. peace out to my homies.
Although I had no recollection of the series, I have been told by my father that I have seen practically every episode, situated on his lap while he fed me a bottle back in the early 80s. For this reason (and because my Mom wouldn't go) he basically begged me to go see the new movie with him, and how could i refuse? On the way he educated me on the main plot of the series, enthusiastically describing the great outfits, music, shootouts, and car/boat chases. bolstered by his ardor, i started to believe i might be in for a treat.
wrong. although generally i like michael mann, i wasn't down with his artsy take on the direction. when the movie began, there was no list of cast members, production companies or even the turqoise and pink words of miami vice. it just started. i am all up for skipping the credits, which sometimes take way too long, but not including the title coupled with the lack of plot setup and character introduction left me slightly concerned that the reel had skipped and we had missed something. Also, I'd say a good 20% of the movie was completely out of focus, 15% was a close up of someone's hands or mouth, and 45% didn't even take place in Miami. To top it off, the night shots were so grainy you might have thought the movie was instead directed by Seurat. i did like the cloud shots though. florida has great clouds. i've heard that other states have clouds too, but they aren't as billowy and distinctive as florida's which are so mezmorizing that they're liable to run you off the road.
I'd have to say the biggest accomplishment of this movie was that collin ferrel was able to stay consistent in his record of turning a somewhat promising film into yet another rediciously bad movie. and it's really his fault that i disliked it so much. i just find it hard to believe that a 'business woman' who has spent 15 years working her way to the top of the high-end drug trafficing world, would first see collin ferrel, immediately fall in love with him, and then put her hard-earned position into jepordy, no matter how nefarious and underhanded it might be. i mean, this movie was not set in the 80s: it's present day. yet someone forgot to tell collin ferrel's hair! mullet and lip-ferret? not in vogue last time i checked.
well after i tell my mom all of this she reveals that she recently tivod the pilot movie of the original show and demands i take a sit on the couch immediately so that i don't have a skewed view of the miami vice that she remembers and loves. and it was actually very entertaining. 80s clothes aside, the issues, cross-dressing and heartache still ring true to today's society, plus the orinial sonny (now played by ferrel) had good hair and a nice five o'clock shadow. he would never bedazzle himself with sparkly beaded bracelets. plus it turns out that the character was a former UF quarterback which is mentioned several times and he owns a pet alligator which he keeps on his boat! very cool. i highly recommend watching the original movie, and will always wonder at why they even bothered with a new one. peace out to my homies.