Pose Reviews a Movie. #20: Heat (1995)

There was a time before Miami Vice when Michael Mann actually made good movies.

Heat is undoubtedly one of them.

Not only is it chock-full of badassery, supplied simultaneously by Al Pacino as "the cop" and Robert De Niro as "the robber," it's also far more complex than a simple game of cops and robbers.

What I liked most about the film is that it presents both sides of the law as equally flawed and sympathetic. You get to see the story unfold both through the eyes of both the LAPD and the career criminals they're chasing, and you spend most of the film unsure of who to root for.

The fact is, both sides in Heat are very, very good at what they do. Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer play extremely skilled plunderers, whose Robin-Hood-esque morals lead them to target fortunes that are either federally insured or possessed by the very rich, while Pacino investigates their crimes with intelligent wit and vigor, and is always hot on the heels of the heisters.

You really get the sense that you're watching the best of the best, on both sides, and it's really exciting to watch the clever antics of the police and theives alike (Clash reference, anyone?) keeping the almost three-hour movie from getting tedious.

The film is also greatly supported by a phenomenal cast. I've already mentioned Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer, but you also get Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore (AKA Tom Arnold's talented equivalent), Ashley Judd, Danny Trejo, Henry Rollins, Hank Azaria, Dennis Haysbert and a young Natalie Portman.

It's kind of like watching the Oscars if they were interesting and only attended by cool people.

And it's also worth mentioning that Mann's script is pretty damn awesome. He doesn't necessarily pull any fantastic tricks behind the camera for this one, but with the screenplay he has prepared for it, it hardly matters.

Overall, Heat is a very human crime drama--not only does it present the perspective of criminal and law enforcer alike, but it also looks at how these roles affect the people behind them.

Heat isn't out to paint good guys and bad guys--it just tells a story. And it tells it very well.

Pose Reviews A Movie. #8: Gomorra

This can be a good movie if you go in prepared. So let me try and prepare you.

First of all, it's important to know that Gomorra has five interweaving storylines.

Five.

This is crucial, because if you're like me, and don't like to know too much about a movie before you watch it, you're going to be confused as hell.

Secondly, Gomorra is a movie about the REAL mafia. In Italy. So there's no Brando, no Pacino, and neither Joe Pesci nor Ray Liotta kick the crap out of ANYONE.

This is where the film can get a little disappointing. The real mafia is actually "kinda lame," in the immortal words of a friend of mine who saw Gomorra in theatres last summer. There's no smooth-talking, everyone seems to be hard-up on cash, and there's barely a tailored suit in sight.

Thus, it seems that the point Gomorra is trying to make is that life in the Italian mafia isn't as glamorous as Hollywood makes it out to be. In the most literal sense, crime just doesn't pay. The real mafia, as portrayed in Gomorra, is made up of petty thugs, greedy low-lives and wannabes. It's probably a very accurate portrayal, but it isn't exactly a flattering, or more importantly, an exciting one.

So if you're going to rent Gomorra, make sure you're not expecting car chases, epic shootouts or nerve-racking heists. Instead, you're going to get a picture of the ACTUAL mafia--it may be a bit dull and slow-moving by traditional standards, but it's definitely an interesting take on an established genre, and with the right attitude going in, it's actually pretty good. It manages to be aesthetically and cinematically gorgeous, while making a strong and unapologetic statement about the hazards and errors of regarding organized crime with admiration and respect.

But if you'd prefer not to stir the pot, you can always watch Goodfellas for the ninth time.

That's OK too.

tm Does the QT 20 Part 5: The Insider

1999, Directed by Michael Mann.

Mid-way through this movie, my wife says “Hey, this movie reminds me of that realllly slllooow movie Al Pacino did with Robert de Niro.”. Truer words have never been spoken. That movie was Heat, also directed by Mann.

This movie concerns a big tobacco company executive (Russell Crowe) that blows the whistle on the tobacco industry lie that nicotine is not addictive and then focuses on how the news show 60 Minutes (the producer is played by Al Pacino, Mike Wallace played by Christopher Plummer) gets involved – threats of lawsuits jeopardize journalist integrity, the ordeal that Crowe’s character goes through to get out the truth and how it affects him, his family, etc.

I like it – you’ve got great acting from Crowe as the tightly-wound and jumpy mid-management corporate guy trying to do the right thing even though he knows it’ll screw him over. And it’s a relief to know that Pacino can still act without all the yelling that he’s been doing lately. The movie is suspenseful despite basically being a court case. There’s a bit of cloak’n’dagger and the merest hint of violence but the movie moves slowly and deliberately, single-minded in telling the story and telling the story about the people that told the story.

The dvd extras are manky – a production feature-ette and a breakdown of one scene. Not that I’d sit through a commentary of a 2½ hour movie, but this movie clearly demonstrates patience and planning that would be nice to see and hear.

tm sez: 8/10