The Italian Job (2003) - Gray impresses with slick heist remake

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Sexy stars align on this neat poster for F. Gary Gray's The Italian Job

After a violent betrayal in Italy, professional fixer Charlie Crockett gathers a team of experts to carry out an elaborate revenge in Los Angeles with a prize of gold bullion at its conclusion.

 

The Italian Job is written by Donna and Wayne Powers (Deep Blue Sea (1999)) and directed by great New-Yorker filmmaker F. Gary Gray (Friday (1995)), loosely remaking the same-titled 1969 British film by Peter Collinson.

Attractive and entertaining, this heist picture benefits from intelligent heists, a rapid pace and handsome cinematography (by Wally Pfister (The Prestige (2006))) to go with the handsome cast: Edward Norton's (Fight Club (1999)) villain and Charlize Theron (Æon Flux (2005)) are especially commendable, along with the Mini Coopers, which are dope. The soundtrack cements the cool vibe of The Italian Job (excellent use of To Get Down by Timo Maas), and Gray's music video background is seen and felt clearly here. This may also be the film's minor weakness: It is an exciting case of fast in - fast out; cool but easily forgotten afterwards.

 

Related posts:

F. Gary Gray: Straight Outta Compton (2015) - Gray's N.W.A. biopic is excellent 

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

Law Abiding Citizen (2009) - Gray and stars are in trouble with this jumbled revenge thriller

 

 

Watch a trailer for the movie here

 

Cost: 60 mil. $

Box office: 176 mil. $

= Box office success (returned 2.93 times its cost)

[The Italian Job was released 30 May (North America) and runs 111 minutes. Norton was paid 1 mil. $ for his performance in the film; Jason Statham (The Transporter (2002)) got 450k $. Shooting took place around September 2002 in Italy, Manitoba, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #3, behind fellow new release Finding Nemo and holdover hit Bruce Almighty, to a 19.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weekends in the top 5 (#4-X-#5), grossing 106.1 mil. $ (60.3 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 12.8 mil. $ (7.3 %) and Australia with 6.9 mil. $ (3.9 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Plans for a sequel never came to fruition. Gray returned with 4 music videos prior to his theatrical return with Be Cool (2005). Mark Wahlberg (All the Money in the World (2017)) returned in I Heart Huckabees (2004); Theron in Monster (2003); and Norton in After the Sunset (2004). The Italian Job is fresh at 72 % with a 6.4/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of The Italian Job? 

Patriot Games (1992) - Lacking story fundamentals mar Ford's first Ryan performance

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A crisp and suspense-driven design collects this enticing poster for Phillip Noyce's Patriot Games

CIA agent Jack Ryan intervenes at a London terrorist attack and kills the brother of an IRA terrorist, who later swears revenge.

 

Patriot Games is written by W. Peter Iliff (Varsity Blues (1999)) and Donald E. Stewart (Deathsport (1978)), adapting the same-titled 1987 novel by Tom Clancy (The Sum of All Fears (1991)), and directed by Phillip Noyce (God Knows Why, But It Works (1976)). It is the 2nd adaptation of a Clancy novel, coming after John McTiernan's successful The Hunt for Red October (1990), which starred Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin.

Handsome action here, and Harrison Ford (The Devil's Own (1997)) doing well in the Ryan part taken over from Baldwin, as well as the ideal James Earl Jones (The Big Bang Theory (2014, TV-series)) back as his CIA boss. But despite these qualities, Patriot Games falls through the floor with its unlikely plot about the CIA seriously being threatened by the IRA.

The story is fundamentally unsexy and lacking in credibility, and the premise is light on suspense. Later world famous villain actor Sean Bean's (The Storyteller (1988, TV-series)) participation as a crook here doesn't work against the yawns.

 

Related posts:

 

Jack Ryan franchise: The Hunt for Red October (1990) - A stellar cast shines in the first and best Clancy adaptation

Phillip Noyce: Salt (2010) - Engaged Jolie in Noyce's lacking actioner

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 42-45 mil. $ (different reports)

Box office: 178 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 4.09 times its cost)

[Patriot Games was released 5 June (North America) and runs 117 minutes. Clancy was paid 2.5 mil. $ for the rights to Patriot Games and the following novel, Clear and Present Danger. Despite this high sum, Clancy uttered disapproval of the script and other aspects of the film in the time up until its release, at which point a studio head was able to break peace with the influential author. Ford was paid 9 mil. $ for his performance in the film. Shooting took place from November 1991 - February 1992 in Virginia, Maryland, California and in London, UK. The budget ballooned from 28 mil. $ during production, and the ending was reshot to the tune of millions of dollars. Another approximately 20 mil. $ was used to market the film. It opened #1 to a 18.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another weekend at #1 and then another 2 in the top 5 (#3-#5), grossing 83.3 mil. $ (46.8 % of the total gross). Roger Ebert gave it a 2.5/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. Jack Ryan returned in Ford's guise with Noyce back at the helm in Clear and Present Danger (1994). Noyce first returned with Sliver (1993). Ford first returned in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1993, TV-series) and theatrically in The Fugitive (1993). Patriot Games is fresh at 72 % with a 6.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Patriot Games?

Public Enemies (2009) - Mann heads to the 1930s

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Star Johnny Depp looking tough in layered period clothing and a semi-automatic riffle on this poster for Michael Mann's Public Enemies

The story of the legendary John Dillinger, who escapes prisons, murders and robs banks, becoming America's public enemy #1 in the 1930s - as well as the young FBI's greatest early catch.

Public Enemies is written by Ronan Bennett (Lucky Break (2001)), Ann Biderman (Copycat (1995)) and great Illinoisan filmmaker, co-writer/co-producer/director Michael Mann (Thief (1981)). It is based on Bryan Burrough's (Forget the Alamo (2021)) same-titled 2004 non-fiction book.

Mann gives himself free reins to experiment with digital photography, (the film was his first fully digitally shot, done by cinematographer Dante Spinotti (Black and Blue (2019))), giving the film a documentarian, minimalist distinction that can definitely (regrettably) also be experienced as; 'it looks like crap.' 

The soundscape is characterized by the same minimalism; mostly only a bit of jazz and besides that totally deafening salvos of cool firearm discharges, (what remains of the film is often hard to hear at all.)

Johnny Depp (Mortdecai (2015)) is stiff and distanced as Dillinger. Christian Bale (Amsterdam (2022)) and Marion Cotillard (The Dark Knight Rises (2012)) do what they can, but Public Enemies is a strangely unengaging, unexciting 'modern' period crime thriller.

 

Related posts:

Michael Mann: Top 10: Best drama-thrillers reviewed by Film Excess to date 

2004 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

2004 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Collateral (2004) - Great, urban, digital age thriller from Mann in his right element

1995 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Heat (1995) - Mann's superb masculine thriller showstopper 

Manhunter (1986) - Perhaps the best criminal profiling picture ever 

 

 

Watch a 2-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: 100 mil $

Box office: 214.1 mil. $

= Flop (returned 2.14 times its cost)

[Public Enemies premiered 18 June (Chicago, Illinois) and runs 140 minutes. Burrough had first attempted to write the story as a miniseries for HBO, failing at the discipline and instead writing it as a non-fiction book. Shooting took place from March 2008 - ? in Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Illinois and Indiana. The film is believed to be fairly historically accurate. It opened #3, behind holdover hit Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and fellow new release Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, to a 25.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#4), grossing 97.1 mil. $ (45.4 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 12.9 mil. $ (6 %) and the UK with 11.3 mil. $ (5.3 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. Mann returned with Luck (2011, TV-series) and theatrically with Blackhat (2015). Depp returned in Alice in Wonderland (2010). Public Enemies is fresh at 68 % with a 6.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Public Enemies?

Breakdown (1997) - Mostow arrives with action-packed, flawed thriller

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A blue-faced Kurt Russell seems to be caught in a scarlet dilemma on this poster for Jonathan Mostow's Breakdown

On their way through Arizona's raw desert, an attractive couple's Jeep breaks down, and the wife catches a ride to the next café, while her husband waits and lets the engine cool down. But when he is able to get to the café shortly after, his wife has disappeared...!

 

Breakdown is written by Sam Montgomery (Sawbones (1995, TV movie)) and co-writer/director Jonathan Mostow (Beverly Hills Bodysnatchers (1989)).

It starts well as a typical 'country-folk-are-cruel-and-hostile' thriller with a well-playing Kurt Russell (Captain Ron (1992)), who gives good fullness to his character. The film develops increasingly action-packed with some good cardboard-type villains, and despite Russell pouring plenty of emotions into his performance, it is correct what one critic noted: The third act especially needs that Russell's character gets mad and shows that he is capable in terms of violence, - because Breakdown wants plenty of action. (Speaking of the action, there is a scene in which Russell hangs under a truck, in which it is obvious that it isn't driving fast, when he drops an object down onto the road.)

But Mostow can stage suspense and action, which some other scenes in Breakdown demonstrate, but on the whole this is a lightweight and thin-legged time-killer.

 

Watch a short TV spot for the film here

Cost: 36 mil. $

Box office: 50.1 mil. $ (North America only)

= Uncertain, but probably a flop (projected return of 2.22 times its cost)

[Breakdown premiered 24 April (Los Angeles) and runs 93 minutes. Russell was paid 15 mil. $ for his performance. Shooting took place from April - June 1996 in Nevada, Utah, Arizona and California. The film opened #1 to a 12.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it remained in the top 5 for another 3 weekends (#3-#3-#5), grossing 50.1 mil. $. The international gross figures are regrettably not reported online. Figuring on an 80 mil. $ world gross total, the film would rank as a flop. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. Mostow returned with Directors on Directors (1997, TV documentary series), From the Earth to the Moon (1998, miniseries) and theatrically with U-571 (2000). Russell returned in Soldier (1998). Breakdown is certified fresh at 82 % with a 7.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Breakdown?

Man on a Ledge (2012) - Neutered stars in insipid thriller

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Star faces and a major still of the titular suicide scenario with fish-eye effect make up this poster for Asger Leth's Man on a Ledge

 

An escaped convict gets out on a ledge on a tall hotel building in Manhattan - but why?

 

Man on a Ledge is written by Pablo F. Fenjves (A Case for Murder (1993, TV movie)) and directed by Asger Leth (Ghosts of Cité Soleil (2006, documentary)).

It is hard to care about mullet-haired Sam Worthington's (Bootmen (2000)) protagonist's plans in this dull, unexciting thriller. A random cast of stars are seemingly present to cash easy paychecks, and unfortunately lead Worthington is especially uninteresting.

The film has only insufficient and small bouts of weak action. Man on a Ledge is deeply forgettable and pointless. Its story is hard to follow as it plays out, simply because it is so facade-focused and vacuous. A major turkey.

 

Related post:

 

Asger Leth: Ghosts of Cité Soleil (2006, documentary) - A. Leth debuts with formidable documentary

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 42 mil. $

Box office: 47.6 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.13 times its cost)

[Man on a Ledge was released 26 January (Germany and 6 other markets) and runs 102 minutes. Shooting took place in New York around October 2010. The film opened #5, behind fellow new release The Grey, holdover hit Underworld: Awakening, new release One for the Money and holdover hit Red Tails, to an 8 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it left the top 5 in its 2nd weekend and grossed 18.6 mil. $ (39.1 % of the total gross. The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 3.9 mil. $ (9 %) and South Korea with 3.8 mil. $ (8 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 2/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. Leth returned with Hold On (2012). Worthington returned in Wrath of the Titans (2012). Man on a Ledge is rotten at 31 % with a 4.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Man on a Ledge?

Rapid Exchange (2003, video) - Staid heist action attempt - will bore you

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+ Worst Movie of the Year

Dramatic coloring and another title adorns this promising if innocuous poster for Tripp Reed's Rapid Exchange

A group of professional thieves gather around a difficult but potentially very lucrative assignment: They want to rob a Boeing 747 mid-air, which carries means from the US Treasury Department.

Rapid Exchange is written by Sam Wells (Boa vs. Python (2004, video)) and co-writer/director Tripp Reed (Pretty Little Liars (2014-15)).
The problem here is that Rapid Exchange looks like a cheap straight-to-video or TV movie, (which it is), and that there is nothing in its content to weigh up for this fault. The qualities it arguably has are paper thin at best, and Lance Henriksen (Harbinger Down (2015)) as the flick's only real star brings it nothing substantial.
Rapid Exchange gives an inkling of the kind of light, humorous heist picture that it sought to be, but neither its narrative nor its execution makes this attempt stick. It is a drowsy, unrewarding couch potato time.

 

Related posts:

 

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain
[Rapid Exchange was released direct-to-video 13 May (USA) and runs 97 minutes. Shooting took place in Sofia, Bulgaria. Reed returned with Manticore (2005, TV movie). Regrettably, nothing is reported of its cost or gross; its production company Jet Productions LLC has only this release to its credit, - but that doesn't necessarily mean that the film didn't make money. Henriksen returned in Dream Warrior (2003); Lorenzo Lamas (Invasion America (1998, TV-series)) in 13 Dead Men (2003). 440 IMDb users have given Rapid Exchange a 4.6/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Rapid Exchange?

The Fugitive (1993) - Ford runs fast in Davis' overrated action thriller

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+ Most Overrated Movie of the Year

Harrison Ford is running next to a train in motion on this effective poster, which screams high-octane thrills, for Andrew Davis' The Fugitive

Dr. Richard Kimble is wrongfully convicted the death penalty for the murder of his wife, - but then he escapes!

The Fugitive is written by Jeb Stuart (Lock Up (1989)) and David Twohy (Waterworld (1995)), based on the same-titled 1963-67 TV-series by Roy Huggins, and directed by Andrew Davis (Under Siege (1992)).
The film has an enviably simple narrative thrust to begin with, which I feel is later dissolved by the simplistic cat-and-mouse story that follows, which also gets thick several times; SPOILER as when Kimble's death row bus crashes onto train tracks and is immediately in collision with a train.
Jeroen Krabbé (Sahara Sandwich (1991)) is good as Kimble's deceitful doctor friend, SPOILER but why he and the one-armed man Sykes killed our hero's doctor never becomes clear to me. The smartly handled action pace and James Newton Howard's (Nightcrawler (2014)) great score does a good job of overshadowing the weak points in this massive hit.

Related posts:

Andrew Davis: Collateral Damage (2002) - Good anti-terrorist Arnold vehicle derailed due to 9/11

1993 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 44 mil. $
Box office: 368.8 mil. $
= Mega-hit (returned 8.38 times its cost)
[The Fugitive premiered 29 July (California) and runs 130 minutes. Shooting took place in North Carolina and in Chicago, Illinois from February - May 1993. The train crash used a real train in a single take and cost 1 mil. $. The film opened #1 to a 23.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it held the #1 spot in the subsequent 5 weeks, then spending another 2 weeks in the top 5 (#2-#3), ending up grossing 183.8 mil. $ (49.8 % of the total gross) from a reported 44 mil. tickets sold domestically, where it was the 3rd highest-grossing film of the year. It was the first major US film to screen in China in decades, but regrettably its international gross numbers are not made public. It was nominated for 7 Oscars, winning for Best Supporting Actor (Tommy Lee Jones (Cobb (1994))). It lost Best Cinematography (Michael Chapman (Gotham (1988, TV movie))) to Janusz Kaminski for Schinder's List, Sound Effects to Jurassic Park, Film Editing to Schindler's List, Score to John Williams also for Schindler's List, Picture to Schindler's List and Sound to Jurassic Park. It also won 1/3 Golden Globe nominations, 1/4 BAFTA noms and other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, translating to 3 notches higher than this one. Davis returned with Steal Big Steal Little (1995). Ford returned with an uncredited cameo in Jimmy Hollywood (1994) and as a leading man in Clear and Present Danger (1994). Jones returned in the flop sequel U.S. Marshals (1998), which is actually a bit better than the original film.The film was remade in India as Nir Nayam (1995). Leslie Nielsen starred in the parody Wrongfully Accused (1998). The Fugitive is certified fresh at 96 % with a 7.94/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Fugitive?

Body of Lies (2008) - R. Scott's terror actioner is a fatiguing turkey

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+ Most Deserved Flop of the Year

Two major stars are the sole attraction on this sombre poster for Ridley Scott's Body of Lies

CIA agent Roger Ferris works to end a new Islamic terror group in the Middle East with the help of a big shot within the agency from back in the States.

Body of Lies is written by William Monahan (The Departed (2006)), based on the same-titled 2007 novel by David Ignatius (The Quantum Spy (2017)), and is the 18th film directed by English master filmmaker Ridley Scott (White Squalls (1996)).
The film starts out exciting enough with a dark dramatization of Islamic terrorism, although the group shown in the film may seem antiquated in our post-ISIS world.
But the problems for action-packed Body of Lies arrive soon after this introduction: Without scratching the surface of who the people in the foreign land who become evil terrorists are, the film relies primarily on floating as a tense star vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio (Blood Diamond (2006)) as field agent Ferris and Russell Crowe (Proof (1991)) as his cynical phone-line boss. But DiCaprio turns in a shallow performance as a frustrated pottymouth, who succumbs to a local nurse in a romance that we only get very little of in the otherwise very long and tedious action-thriller. And Crowe portrays another superficially drawn character; a preoccupied, headset-wearing father.
If we learn anything at all from watching Body of Lies, it is that the results are muddled, when one attempts to engage against evil in the Middle East. - So if you are tired of cacophonous news from the region from the everyday news, this film feels as anything but entertainment. I count it among the turkeys of Ridley Scott.

Ridley Scott:  Prometheus (2012) or, Even Then, Space Eggs Were Bad News
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Robin Hood (2010) - R. Scott's grand film of the English legend 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

2008 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

2008 in films - according to Film Excess 

American Gangster (2007) - Great American - now black - gangster picture
A Good Year (2006) - Ridley Scott likes Provence

Top 10: The best big flop movies reviewed by Film Excess to date  
Blade Runner (1982) director's cut - Visual extravaganza, great SF 
Alien (1979) or, Space Eggs Are Bad News 

DiCaprio talks about his work on the film here

Cost: 67.5-70 mil. $ (different reports)
Box office: 115.9 $
= Big flop (1.65-1.71 times the cost)
[Body of Lies premiered 5 October (New York) and runs 128 minutes. Shooting took place in Morocco, including Rabat, Amman, Jordan, in Maryland, including Baltimore, Virginia and Washington DC from September - December 2007. Shooting in Dubai was refused permission for political reasons. Crowe reportedly gained 63 pounds for his performance, - which seems a highly dubious 'fact'. The film opened #3, behind holdover hit Beverly Hills Chihuahua and fellow new release Quarantine, to a disappointing 12.8 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it fell out of the top 5 in its second week and grossed a measly 39.3 mil. $ (33.9 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Japan with 9.6 mil. $ (8.3 %) and Spain with 7.5 mil. $ (6.5 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a a 3/4 star review, translating to three notches better than this one. The film made in excess of 23 mil. $ in domestic home video sales, which might change its status to merely 'flop' if added in, (and the lowest 67.5 mil. cost is taken to be the accurate number). Scott returned with Robin Hood (2010), again starring Crowe, a much bigger flop. Crowe returned in Tenderness (2009), and DiCaprio in Sam Mendes' masterpiece Revolutionary Road (2008). Body of Lies is rotten at 55 % with a 5.8/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Body of Lies?