‘Collateral’ Download and Reviews
“Collateral” Movie Details
Collateral tagline: It started like any other night
 Collateral DVD Cover |
Actors:
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Traffic Cop #2 |
“Collateral” Movie Review
“Collateral” Plot Summary
A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in LA. He must find a way to save both himself and one last victim.
The Best thriller of 2004.
Collateral combines star power, great performances, top notch direction, a fantastic soundtrack and what is a bona fide contender to be called the best action scene in years. Quite simply, I can not think of a movie released in 2004 that thrilled me quite as much as Collateral. Collateral has Tom Cruise (Who rivals Sean Penn to be called my favorite actor of the generation of 40-something year olds) as Vincent, a smart, precise hit-man in Los Angeles to kill five targets in one night. He hires cabdriver Max (Jamie Foxx, in a now Oscar nominated performance) for the night and they’re off. Max realizes that something is up around the time that Vincent leaves at the first stop and a dead body hits the roof of his cab. Upon his return, he replies that he didn’t kill him, ‘Bullets and the fall killed him.’ Over the course of the night they make more stops, most of which turn into great scenes, whether they’re going to a jazz club to off a guy or to a hospital to pay a visit to Max’s mom. The scene I was referring to the best action scene in years takes place in a night club where Max and Vincent, some cops who think Max is the killer, a thug belonging to Vincent’s employer who also thinks Max is the Killer, a cop who knows Max isn’t the Killer, club security, Vincent’s target and his bodyguards and a dance floor full of bystanders meet up. There is about five minutes of characters driving to the club that builds up tension beyond belief. When it goes down, it may be a flurry of gunfire, but with the setting of the club, the quality of Mann’s direction and the coolest piece of music I’ve heard in a movie this year(Paul Oakenfold- Ready Steady Go,) it adds up to the best action scene of at least this year, topping even the car chases of movies like The Bourne Supremacy, Which I loved, The Matrix Reloaded, Which I liked, and I, Robot, Which I didn’t care for. Collateral can be seen as an adrenaline pumping thriller, which it is, or as something more. For those of us who loved Mann’s 1995 epic Heat, Collateral is definitely the latter. Mann makes references to heat in several ways. For those who thought that the subway finale was a disappointment, check out Heat. The nod there is that Heat begins on a subway platform and ends at the airport, while Collateral begins in the LAX terminal and ends on the subway. That is just one of several nods. When people have been saying stuff about the best thriller of 2004, they are frequently mentioning Collateral, The Bourne Supremacy and The Manchurian Candidate. While I consider Collateral a clear victor, I certainly understand why someone would mention The Bourne Supremacy, but The Manchurian Candidate was murky all the way through, had a weak ending and was a major step down from the 1962 version, which is one of the best movies ever made. I’ll use the phrase that James Berardinelli uses on his favorite summer movies to wrap this up. When the dust settles, Collateral will be the best of this (Last) years summer movies. Sadly, Collateral only got two Oscar nods, Supporting Actor, Foxx, and Editing. However, that’s more than any other mentioned summer thriller got. ***1/2 (Out of ****)
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‘State of Play’ Download and Reviews
“State of Play” Movie Details
State of Play tagline: Find The Truth
 State of Play DVD Cover |
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| Directors: Kevin Macdonald | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IMDB Rating: 7.3/10 out of 27,380 votes |
“State of Play” Movie Review
“State of Play” Plot Summary
A team of investigative reporters work alongside a police detective to try to solve the murder of a congressman’s mistress.
Good Political Thriller
This movie is worth seeing just to watch great actors like Russell Crowe, Helen Mirren, & Rachel McAdams practice their craft. Add in a very good plot and a well written script and what you end up with is an excellent movie
I’d read that Brad Pitt was originally supposed to have the starring role of the veteran newspaper reporter played by Crowe but declined the role at the last minute due to artistic differences with the Director over the script. Not sure of the details, but the movie certainly didn’t suffer from Pitt’s absence. Crowe was great as the lead. Some critics carp over his funny ‘American’ accent, but I thought he was very good in the lead role
Rachel McAdams was very good as the cub reporter. I’m not sure if she’s the next Julia Roberts (as some opine) but she certainly is the ‘it’ girl and fills the bill nicely
Helen Mirren was excellent as the imperious publisher/editor of the newspaper
Ben Affleck was good as the politician at the center of the storm
As political thrillers go, this was pretty good. I’d say go check it out, grab a bucket of popcorn and soda, and enjoy.
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‘Miami Vice’ Download and Reviews
“Miami Vice” Movie Details
Miami Vice tagline: No Law
 Miami Vice DVD Cover |
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| Directors: Michael Mann | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IMDB Rating: 6.0/10 out of 49,310 votes |
“Miami Vice” Movie Review
“Miami Vice” Plot Summary
Based on the 1980’s TV action/drama, this update focuses on vice detectives Crockett and Tubbs as their respective personal and professional lives become dangerously intertwined.
Impressive
The film jumps straight into the action and keeps viewers interested throughout on a two and a half hour roller-coaster ride. Although sometimes a strenuous story-line (concentration is needed to follow the plot) Foxx and Farrell provide excellent acting in an impressive action – flick. Good acting support is provided in a film which doesn’t just concentrate on action but touches on so much else. An improvement upon the already great Collateral, and a worthy successor to the original Miami Vice T.V series. With a mix of romance, beautiful settings, gorgeous vehicles, excellent fire-fights and inspirational acting – this is the film of the year so far. Mann has outdone himself.
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‘Terminal’ Download and Reviews
“Terminal” Movie Details
Terminal tagline: Life is waiting.
 Terminal DVD Cover |
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| Directors: Steven Spielberg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IMDB Rating: 7.1/10 out of 71,536 votes |
“Terminal” Movie Review
“Terminal” Plot Summary
An eastern immigrant finds himself stranded in JFK airport, and must take up temporary residence there.
A charming and fun movie
The Terminal follows ‘Viktor Navorski, a man from an Eastern European country who flies to New York for a holiday. Upon his arrival, he is told that a war broke out in his country whilst he was in the air, and his government has been overthrown; because of that, Navorski is a man without a country that the U.S. can recognize, thus he is denied entrance to the United States. However, he also can’t be deported until his status can be fixed. Additionally, Navorski barely speaks a word of English, so no one can talk to him and he can’t talk to anyone else.
‘But he somehow adapts and sets up residence in the airport, which makes the man who placed him there unhappy – it seems he is line for a promotion but Navroski’s presence might complicate that. So he tries to get Navorski to leave, but instead the stranded passenger remains where he is.’ The film follows Navorski as he tries to survive in the airport and make it is home, as well as documenting all the people he meets along the way.
Steven Spielberg is doesn’t typically direct films like The Terminal, which closely resembles a romantic-comedy drama – the keyword there being ROMANTIC. Out of his vast and celebrated filmography, there are very little films that pertain to the romance genre. Hence, The Terminal was somewhat of a gamble on the director’s part, and it undoubtedly drew cynicism and scepticism from the public on whether he could pull it off.
And the result: The Terminal is a success. The film is an enjoyable blend of the three aforesaid genres, and is a delight to watch. Amidst the typical Spielberg epics that have propelled him into the English lexicon (e.g. Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Jaws), The Terminal is a breath of fresh air. Not to say that his other films are bad, it’s just refreshing to experience something new from the experienced director.
However, I couldn’t help but notice the emptiness of the film; yes, it’s very entertaining and a treat to watch, but overall the film didn’t do much for me. In the end in fact, I found the film to be quite pointless, and not a film that was thought-provoking at all. I realised that Spielberg’s films usually have a profound effect on its viewers, even long after the movie has ended. The Terminal, in all its delight and appeal, failed to do this at all. I was rather annoyed, hence the feeling of emptiness.
Then I realised that The Terminal is not like the director’s other films, and is a venture into the unknown. Spielberg didn’t want the film to be though-provoking, and just wanted it to be movie to entertain people, and nothing more. After this epiphany, I realised that despite being annoyed by the void of emptiness, it wouldn’t be fair to give this film a negative review. After all, it achieved its goal, am I right? This is probably why the film got mixed reviews from critics and audiences; they were expecting Steven Spielberg to astound us an amazing story of bravery, courage, survival and brotherhood, or a riveting biographical film, or a dystopian, post-apocalyptic thriller to keep us on the edge of our seats. They anticipated the wrong thing, and that’s why they didn’t like it.
Being a romantic-comedy-drama, The Terminal didn’t want us to experience the brutality of war, nor did it want to educate us on 19th Century history. It simply set out to entertain us, and keep us enthralled for two hours. Did it do that? Yes, and exceptionally well if I may add. Don’t get me wrong – despite being an atypical Spielberg movie, it still shows the traits of a master sitting in the director’s chair. The Terminal is an excellently made film that is one of the smartest, and most enjoyable romantic-comedies I’ve seen, no doubt about it.
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‘Ali’ Download and Reviews
“Ali” Movie Details
Ali tagline: Forget What You Think You Know
 Ali DVD Cover |
Actors:
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Cassius Clay, Sr. |
“Ali” Movie Review
“Ali” Plot Summary
A biography of sports legend, Muhammad Ali, from his early days to his days in the ring. add synopsis
The Greatest of All Times – Ali
In this true story about the life of Cassius Clay aka Muhammad Ali, director Michael Mann does a great job of bringing Ali’s personality to life by casting Will Smith for the title role. This movie takes you through the accounts of Ali’s life showing you how he became ‘The Greatest’ including his title fight with Sonny Liston (Michael Bentt), his decision to follow the Nation of Islam, personal triumphs and defeats with marriage, being banned from boxing, and the famous ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ against George Foreman (Charles Shufford).
Although the movie did a pretty good job of depicting Ali’s life by the use of non linear structure and showing the complexity of human relationships, I felt it would have been a little more interesting if it would have shown more about his connection to Malcolm X (Mario Van Peebles) and the Nation of Islam since he is a devout Muslim
The movie shows the heart and determination of Ali and his quest for being the greatest boxer of all times by the vigorous workouts and strict training regiments by his trainer/cornerman Drew ‘Bundini’ Brown (Jamie Foxx) with the use of deep focus in a lot of the shots where the two of the had conversations and extreme close up shots of Ali’s face during his fights when he was sent to his corner, especially of his eyes
The intensity of the workouts and the actual fights made you feel like you were right amongst the action, similar to the portrayal of Denzel Washington as Reuben ‘The Hurricane’ Carter in his life story
It shows his playful humor with his opponents, often calling them names, taunting them about being so ugly and his colleague, Howard Cosell (Jon Voight) whom he shares a close relationship with and always teased about snatching his toupee off of his head and how much prettier he was than Howard
In his personal life, Ali goes through a series of marriages with Sonji Roi (Jada Pinkett Smith), Belinda Ali (Nona Gaye) and Veronica Porche (Michael Michelle) and being banished from boxing for not participating in the Vietnam War
Overall, the movie was a pretty decent portrayal of Ali’s career and personal life, showing the highs and lows, personal triumphs and ultimate victory of one mans quest to be the ‘Greatest of All Times’ through hard work, being focused, dedication, love, and friendship with some tears, laughter and playful banter.
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