Reviews

I love this film. I learned a lot listening to director Wim Wender on the DVD commentary. Ry Cooder's score of "Dark Was The Night" (1928) by Blind Willie Johnson is perfect. With everything filmed on location, the final scenes in the peep show and hotel are perfect. A must see.

You can thank Robert Cooper for being the most unoriginal writer/director involved with this series. He unashamedly uses multiple scenes from well known movies, and TV shows. This just goes to show it's not what you know, but who you know. Here is yet another example of someone with too much money and not enough talent. Skip this trash. Shame on you Cooper. I'll give you a tip: Write something original.

It's true. We were both born in Shreveport, LA. I saw Randy coming out of a liquor store in Shreveport on a Friday evening. We said hi to each other. The next thing I knew, I heard he was dead; murdered by the Houston police. His father spent a lot of money trying to prove this. No cops did any time. This country is only getting worse.,

This is woeful pablum. The near constant stern-sounding voice over describing the supremacy of the FBI agents is laughable. There is no mystery whatsoever. Pure garbage. Skip this propaganda masquerading as "film noir".

(June 21, 2021). I saw "Heat" when it was released (1995) in a packed theater in Times Square, NYC. One of my favorite parts is the sound of the post-bank robbery shootout. This is absolutely stunning (and should've been awarded an Oscar). Much has been made of the robber's tactical movements. As terrific as these are, there is a better example in Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" (1987): The Steadicam shots of the squad advancing into the (bombed out) city of Hue is a supreme example of a "how to". I would lay odds Mann was inspired by this techinque. My only negative criticism is during the much referenced scene of McCauley and Hanna having coffee in the diner. If you watch closely, you can see Pacino break character by cracking a small smile (in the wrong place). Please note: As mentioned in the director commentary, this scene was not rehearsed. Regardless, "Heat' is a superb film I have seen many times.

(June 15, 2021) I saw this film in 2007, when it was released. Neal Jordan is an outstanding director, the screenplay is very good and the lead roles are played brilliantly by Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard. The supporting cast is very strong (Mary Steenbergen is great). There are nuances Ms. Foster brings to her "Erica Bain" character. Lastly, the location scouts did a terrific job of finding many areas people aren't familiar with (especially New York City dwellers). All of this is what separates "The Brave One" from the glut of dopey "revenge" movies. My only problem with the film is the ending: Tied up a little too neatly for me. I own the BluRay copy which contains many details (like location scouting). I lived in SoHo and worked in Manhattan (from the 1980s to 2016). Consequently, I know most of NYC (especially Manhattan) like the back of my hand. Unfortunately, little did I know this film would become all too similar to my own life: My wife, father, brother, sister, mother and business partner all died (in that order) in a very short span. I can really identify with her character. Most of all, I know "the hole you can't fill" and how "you become someone else". Anyway, this is a must see film.

(June 12, 2021). I like this film; however, there's some casting Issues. Matt Damon is terrific. Unfortunately, I thought Angelina Jolie never was believeable as his wife. I also had a big problem with Bill Crudup. I never believe he is British. Both Jolie & Crudup are terrific actors but miscast. Michael Fassbender would have been much better. I guess he wasn't available. Still, this is worth watching, even though it runs long.

(June 7, 2021)The opening scene is a direct ripoff of Luc Besson's superb sci-fi action thriller The Fifth Element" (1997). Specifically, it is the opening scene in that film which the writer stole the scene from. Still, this is a decent episode and worth watching.