Two Films, Both Starring Colin Farrell
Two films will be coming out this year that I have been looking forward to, mainly because of the directors involved. Coincidentally, both films star Colin Farrell.
The New World (Terrence Malick)
Terrence Malick is interesting because he has only directed 4 full length films in his career, including The New World. More interestingly, he directed Badlands in 1973, Days of Heaven in 1978, and then took a 20 year hiatus from film making, only to come back in 1998 with The Thin Red Line and pick up several oscar nominations for achievement in directing and writing.
Malick, in fact, is a former football star who then graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard while majoring in philosophy. As if that wasn't enough, he went on to be a Rhodes Scholar. His advisor was the very famous Gilbert Ryle. Because they had several philosophical disagreements, Malick left before completing a Ph.D. He did, however, get his translation of Heidegger's The Essence of Reason published, and by the age of 24 or 25, he secured a position at MIT teaching philosophy. He only stayed for a year, and by 26 he had moved to the American Film Institute and gotten an MFA. The rest is history.
With Christian Bale, Colin Farrell, and Christopher Plummer headlining, this movie should be interesting.
Miami Vice (Michael Mann)
About a decade ago, Joss Whedon turned his campy and corny movie Buffy: The Vampire Slayer into one of the most successful television shows in recent history. It quickly gained a cult following, as did its spin-off Angel, and Whedon's next project, Firefly. All three garnered much critical acclaim. I cannot tell you how many professors I have met who are fans of these shows.
I bring this up because many people seem to be tired of silver-screen sequels and remakes of old television shows. And, the idea of remaking corny and campy, though critically acclaimed, Miami Vice, seems to irk people. If I were a betting man, I'd wager that this film will be to the show what the Whedon shows were to the original Buffy film. The 2006 Miami Vice will be a much darker, more developed, well-made cops and robbers film. And, more likely than not, it will probably be one of the better films of 2006.
People seem to forget that Michael Mann actually was the executive producer of the original Miami Vice television series, and that the series' creator Anthony Yerkovich was the main writer. Interestingly, Yerkovich is now the executive producer of the 2006 film, with Mann directing and writing the screenplay. So I don't believe that the film will stray from the creator's intent, for the original minds are indeed the very people crafting this film.
I think Michael Mann is unquestionably the best director of his genre of films. His last 3 thrillers that he directed and wrote are Collateral, The Insider, and Heat. I felt that Collateral was one of the better films of 2004. We all remember The Insider, starring Al Pacino and Russell Crowe, which garnered 8 oscar nominations, including 3 for Michael Mann. And Heat, starring Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro, is probably the coolest cops and robbers film ever made. Mann isn't a slouch in other genres either. He wrote and directed The Last of the Mohicans and Ali, and produced The Aviator, giving him yet another oscar nomination.
With Jamie Foxx, Colin Farrell, and Gong Li as the main cast members, I have strong hopes for this film as well.
The New World (Terrence Malick)
Terrence Malick is interesting because he has only directed 4 full length films in his career, including The New World. More interestingly, he directed Badlands in 1973, Days of Heaven in 1978, and then took a 20 year hiatus from film making, only to come back in 1998 with The Thin Red Line and pick up several oscar nominations for achievement in directing and writing.
Malick, in fact, is a former football star who then graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard while majoring in philosophy. As if that wasn't enough, he went on to be a Rhodes Scholar. His advisor was the very famous Gilbert Ryle. Because they had several philosophical disagreements, Malick left before completing a Ph.D. He did, however, get his translation of Heidegger's The Essence of Reason published, and by the age of 24 or 25, he secured a position at MIT teaching philosophy. He only stayed for a year, and by 26 he had moved to the American Film Institute and gotten an MFA. The rest is history.
With Christian Bale, Colin Farrell, and Christopher Plummer headlining, this movie should be interesting.
Miami Vice (Michael Mann)
About a decade ago, Joss Whedon turned his campy and corny movie Buffy: The Vampire Slayer into one of the most successful television shows in recent history. It quickly gained a cult following, as did its spin-off Angel, and Whedon's next project, Firefly. All three garnered much critical acclaim. I cannot tell you how many professors I have met who are fans of these shows.
I bring this up because many people seem to be tired of silver-screen sequels and remakes of old television shows. And, the idea of remaking corny and campy, though critically acclaimed, Miami Vice, seems to irk people. If I were a betting man, I'd wager that this film will be to the show what the Whedon shows were to the original Buffy film. The 2006 Miami Vice will be a much darker, more developed, well-made cops and robbers film. And, more likely than not, it will probably be one of the better films of 2006.
People seem to forget that Michael Mann actually was the executive producer of the original Miami Vice television series, and that the series' creator Anthony Yerkovich was the main writer. Interestingly, Yerkovich is now the executive producer of the 2006 film, with Mann directing and writing the screenplay. So I don't believe that the film will stray from the creator's intent, for the original minds are indeed the very people crafting this film.
I think Michael Mann is unquestionably the best director of his genre of films. His last 3 thrillers that he directed and wrote are Collateral, The Insider, and Heat. I felt that Collateral was one of the better films of 2004. We all remember The Insider, starring Al Pacino and Russell Crowe, which garnered 8 oscar nominations, including 3 for Michael Mann. And Heat, starring Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro, is probably the coolest cops and robbers film ever made. Mann isn't a slouch in other genres either. He wrote and directed The Last of the Mohicans and Ali, and produced The Aviator, giving him yet another oscar nomination.
With Jamie Foxx, Colin Farrell, and Gong Li as the main cast members, I have strong hopes for this film as well.
posted by arun at 3:40 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home