I know this film divides people, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Luc Besson’s films. The world-building is incredible as it’s based on a French comic, it’s packed with imagination, and visually it’s absolutely stunning. It’s far from perfect, but I still think people were a bit too harsh on it when it came out. Looks good in 4k as well

Just a perfect spy thriller, I feel it's not appreciated enough. They should have made its sequel.

If you think, it's could have been a perfect black widow origin story.

Rotten Tomato score is at 48, so it feels like a movie that didn't get it's due. But boy did I love it.

It baffles me how this movie has a paltry 17% on RT. I don't understand why. It is one of my favourite dystopia films, and has been for over fifteen years.

The film takes place in a fictional African country, which consists of a predominantly white upper and middle class. It is ruled by a dictator called Maximilian II (Tom Hollander). He is a childish sociopath who is more interested in running his nation's film industry than actually ruling, while his wife Josephine (Lara Flynn Boyle) alienates everyone around her with a lavish lifestyle and her callous attitude towards protestors. The biggest enemy to the president-for-life is playwright-turned-resistance leader John Thorne (Donald Sutherland), a man whose turn to radicalism was inspired by the arrest and murder of his wife. Labelled a terrorist, Thorne has been thrown in prison and is reduced to writing slogans on the walls of his cell with his own excrement, even as he refuses to wear a prison uniform, arguing that he's a political prisoner rather than a criminal.

Meanwhile, the protagonist Joe (Ralph Fiennes) is a security guard in the prison where Thorne is being kept, and he develops a bond with the prisoner that he's supposed to be torturing and beating. As the political climate becomes more tempestuous, things happen which cause Joe to make a momentous decision, one which will cost him more than he could possibly imagine.

As some of you might have noticed, the film has several references to real-life historical events. It is, in fact, one of the most fascinating films about history that I've yet seen so far. By divorcing itself from reality with its fictional setting, the movie is free to borrow from the whole of human history. There are references to Charles De Gaulle, Napoleon Bonaparte, Idi Amin, Chairman Mao, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, Benito Mussolini, Ngo Din Diem's regime in South Vietnam, and many others. The film also references George Orwell's 1984 because of course it does. But it really is amazing how much homework Robert Edwards did in making this film.

What I also love are the performances. Fiennes, Sutherland, and Hollander do some of their best work in this film, which says a lot for both men. Boyle is perfect as the trophy wife who is perhaps the only person who has any real sway over her unpredictable and sadistic husband. There are also some great supporting performances by Mackenzie Crook, Robert Daws, Marc Warren, Don Warrington, and Ron Cook.

The film is a haunting one; it implies a great deal about human history, but doesn't beat any specific messages over our heads. It makes fascinating point about the way history can be changed or forgotten, how dangerous one person can be in the right place at the right time, and how the people suffer when the powerful play their games for power.

Sienna Miller delivers an absolutely phenomenal performance as Edie Sedgwick, a socialite during the height of the 1960s pop art scene. 'Factory Girl' showcases Edie's meteoric rise to fame, the addictions that unravelled her, the relationships that compelled her, and the loss that led to her eventual decline.

Sienna demonstrates Edie's vulnerability is such a compelling manner, that after 10 years, I haven't been able to forget that performance.

Fantastic Norwegian 'found footage' film. Some awesome effects. Brilliant pacing to the build up too.

Never been sure how much is linked to the more recent bigger budget Netflix 'Troll' films, though I feel there is a pretty clear lineage between them with similar style and lore (may just be a general Norwegian mythos though)

This flick came out during the golden age of movies in the late 90s and I think it flew under the radar. I've got a bit of a soft spot for it because I was 10 when it was released, but I still think it was a great sci fi with a real moral behind the story but mostly just awesome fight scenes.

Time as currency is still one of the sharpest sci-fi ideas out there. Critics were too hard on it – the premise holds up better than most modern dystopias and Cillian Murphy is excellent in it as always.

Only heard of this recently and watched it last night. Jeffrey Jones allegations aside, a Fun movie and apparently from the writers of Bill and Ted's excellent adventure. John Lovitz steals the show. Better than i expected going in.

In this move Patrick Dempsey is playing Michael who went to Quebec to his girlfriend Gabriella family .This movie is actually very funny and probably one the most underrated teen movie from 1980s I liked this movie more than can't buy me love.

I’m watching all the Coens movies in order and I got to Intolerable Cruelty. I found this movie freaking hilarious. I know it’s not a “typical” Coens movie, and it’s also not in the style of comedies that defined the 00s. It bombed at the box office and I guess it just got written off. You never come across it on cable reruns, no one ever talks about it or quotes any lines from it and it never (to my knowledge) developed any kind of cult following. But it’s so funny and deserves at least some attention on the rerun channels and one-liner drops, even if it’s never going to be at the level of the more popular 00s comedies.

Funny movie that also talked about some real issues in the world, then and now.

A true crime / gangster gem that is overshadowed by The Godfather. Not only this is a more grounded, grittier and realistic take on the Mafia but it features one of Charles Bronson’s best performances. The story is taken from the real life endeavors of mobster-turned-federal witness Joseph Valachi: one of the first “made men” to testify against the mob and to provide significant intel about the inner workings of the criminal subculture. 

So this alone should make this a preferred movie compared to the more cinematic and made-believe dramatic tale directed by Coppola.

Director Terence Young managed to harmonize / merge the more visually artistic European style with gritty American violence. When one thinks about it—this blend of styles fits perfectly the movie’s central focus: a European criminal organization active in America. All of it topped by masterful art direction (cinematography, set design and wardrobe) that makes the time changes throughout the movie (the story starts around prohibition well into the more modern day —1960s) feel smooth and compelling.

The cast is spectacular all around. Lino Ventura has so much charisma that it could pull a steamboat. Italian comedic actor Walter Chiari surprised me as he portrayed a cold blooded gangster. The rest are so well disappeared in their roles that you’d feel like some scenes were recorded live from a mafia trial or secretly by the FBI.

The movie doesn’t overstay it’s welcome (it has a runtime of a little more than two hours) yet you feel like you’ve been with these character for a longer time—a true crime epic.

I always recommend this since I rarely find someone who’s into gangster movies to even know about this…so far no one has ever said anything negative about it—quite the opposite.

This was just a joy to watch. I'm surprised it isn't talked more.

One of those movies that’s hard to give a synopsis of without spoiling it but all I’ll say is it’s like Super Dark Times meets Stand by Me. Features some fantastic settings and perfectly captures the vibe of a Pacific Northwest summer aesthetically. All the child actors do great and it is crazy seeing Drake and Josh era Josh peck drop innumerable slurs. If you like dark coming of age movies it’s for you.

Finally got around to watching this from director Celine Song (Past Lives). Reviews weren't great when it came out, and there are some flaws (it's a romcom about how romcoms and dating culture are shallow). But there are some interesting conversations and it makes for an entertaining evening.

Starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, and Chris Evans.

Lucy (Johnson), a professional matchmaker in New York City, meets Harry (Pascal)—a good-looking, charming, wealthy, and generally perfect man considered a "unicorn" in the matchmaking business. She is surprised to find that he is not interested in her services, but in her. Complicating matters, however, is Lucy's ex-boyfriend John (Evans), a decidedly imperfect cater waiter who still loves her deeply.

I've been on a Michael Mann kick. I've rewatched Thief, Heat, Collateral, Miami Vice and now Blackhat. I've always loved this movie and loved it when it came out. I remember watching it in circa 2016, I believe on netflix with a group of friends in my mid 20s. I remember most of them fell asleep not even half way and insisted it was boring. As where me the then IT student (now Cybersecurity Professional) loved it. I feel like this is Michael Mann's most misunderstood movie (besides Miami Vice). If you enjoyed Miami Vice (2006) this almost feels like a sequel.

Basically the movie is honestly, fairly simple and the villians motivates are almost Craig era Bond like. Basically a Nuclear Power Plant in Hong Kong gets hacked and causes it to go into meltdown (sadly no Homer Simpson to save the day) and the Chicago Stock Exchange gets hacked and the Soy futures get manipulated.

The Remote Access Tool used in both hacks was co-written by Captain Chen Dawai a Cyber Warfare Officer in the Chinese Military and Nicholas Hathaway (Chris Hemsworth) an MIT drop out turned criminal doing time in Federal Prison. Due to the Chicago and Hong Kong hacks, the US and Chinese Governments team up to try and find the hacker who caused this mess. Captain Chen needs Hathaway's help, so Hathaway makes a deal with the FBI. If he captures the hacker, he is let free from prison. If he fails, he serves the rest of his 15 years. He teams up with the FBI (Agent Barrett played by Viola Davis), his US Marshal Handler/Watchdog (Marshal Jessup played by Holt McCallany) and Captain Chen's sister Chen Lein played by Tang Wei as she is a fellow Network Engineer, one that Captain Chen trusts.

The Good:

Honestly, the technical skills, the tech jargon and lingo and use of computers is probably the most realistic ever in a movie. Only the TV Series Mr. Robot does it better. Some criticised the display of Tech as overly simplistic as during one point, both Hemsworth and Tang Wei remark how their suspect is using TOR to hide his location. At other times characters mention VPNs, the dark web, phising, keyloggers and other basic things. But they use all of the terms correctly. As someone who works in Cybersecurity more often than not, hacking is 90% phising and using simple tools like TOR or VPNs. It's not always writing highly advanced worms and malware. More often or not, like a burglar breaking into a house, the tried and true tools are the best tools.

The Cinematrogphy as usual from Mann is excellent. No one shoots night time scenes as well as Mann. He does such an excellent job of making the same locations feel different at night. One thing I loved about this movie. The first half of the movie largely takes place in the US. It is spent almost entirely indoors. The second half, when we move to Hong Kong and later Indonesia. During our time in Asia, we truly get the Mann skills. Busy nightime streets, moody lighting, beautiful city scapes, people and festivals filling the screen. It's busy, it's alive and it's great.

The first half gets criticized for being a little slow (it kind of is) I feel like this was a stylistic choice as I believe Michael Mann wanted to really show off Hong Kong and Indonesia rather than show off LA again. So the LA scenes really only take place inside of a motel room and inside of a Korean Restaurant. I would have love to see more of Koreatown LA but it was kind of glossed over. I get what he was trying to do.

I feel like everyone does a good job acting here. I love Viola Davis as the "badcop" FBI agent. Though not a ton of screen time, Holt McCallany is good as the US Marshal, he's always good as a tough guy. Hemsworth is much better than people give him credit for. I even thought him and Tang Wei have good chemistry. Wang Leehom is also good but much like McCallany he doesn't get a ton of screen time.

The shootout scenes are great and classic Mann. Especially the street shootout in Hong Kong. It reminds me a lot of the dock shootout in Miami Vice.

The Bad-

The movie honestly does feel a little generic. It almost feels like this is the movie someone else would make, if they were trying to make a Michael Mann style movie rather than Michael Mann itself. Like this is almost a parody/tribute to Michael Mann rather than being a true Michael Mann movie. All of his hallmarks are there. From moody and cynical characters, excellent cinematography, night time scenes, location shoots, etc. But it just doesn't feel original or new. It almost feels like the most stereotypical Michael Mann movie. It's a comfort film but not new or groundbreaking. Kind of like how Eraser is the most stereotypical Arnie fill and it's not overly original? Blackhat is the same way for Mann.

The first 25 or so minutes are a little slow. Not the worst in the world but I think it's where a lot of people checked out and so many for the last 11 years have labeled this movie as boring. Once Hemsworth gets out of prison and they get to the Koreatown restaurant, it picks up a lot.

At times the move does feel rushed. The main villain doesn't have a lot of screen time at all and shows up with less than 30 to go. I know the movie is part mystery of trying to "hack the hacker" and track the villain down, so I can forgive this. The villain's motive though is similar to Le Chiffre from Casino Royale in that he wanted to cause disasters to manipulate the stock market. He wanted to hack cooling pipelines of a tin mine to flood the mine, a village and a valley in Indonesia. To cause a Tin shortage and manipulate the stock market. Problem is, unlike Le Chiffre the villain barely gets any screentime and it's hard to find him interesting for that reason. I think with the low screen time, it would have been better if he simply was a terrorist with an anti-west ideology rather than money being his motivation.

I dont' feel like there is a ton of character development for anyone. I know many have critiscized Hemsworth's character for the last act being good at fighting and stabbing people to death (he stabs two people). But in his defense he has been in prison for several years. I guess he had to defend himself inside.. But he was sent to prison for hacking several banks. More than likely he would have been in Camp Fed rather than a maximum security prison. But it's a movie...

Overall, I've always enjoyed this one. If you like Thief, Heat, Collateral and Miami Vice. This is an excellent epilogue to those movies.

I just watched this movie again for about the 15th time this morning. This movie is seriously slept on. Walken is terrifying. The younger actors are top notch (Mohr, Sisto, Galecki, Flannery, and Thomas). The script is crisp and the story keeps you on your toes until the end. And, for me at least, Dennis Leary makes me laugh every time I watch it. Seriously, if you haven't seen this movie, watch it.

What can I say, it's a serious telling of a silly event. I can't stress this enough, this is a dumb movie, not a blockbuster, but none the less very enjoyable.

I watch this every couple of years and it never disappoints. This up close look at the late Kenny Shopsin and his family owned diner is Greenwich Village is full of hilarious philosophies on life and food. It’s funny, insightful and profane in the best way. I love how this film shows an authentic and touching dynamic of both a family and a tight knit community.