Review of Moonlight Mile (2002) by Alex C — 01 Aug 2006

[color=darkorange]Here's some advice: [i]Miami Vice[/i]. Don't do it.[/color].

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[color=#ff8c00]I was bored to tears during this movie. Minimal dialogue, Michael Mann's usual shaky camera work with a handheld, Colin Farrell's indecisive accent (is he from the south? Brooklyn? Ireland? It changed from scene to scene), Gong Li's miscasting, and the snail's pace storytelling. The whole thing. Geesh.[/color].

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[color=#ff8c00]I heard it rumored that it rivaled [i]Heat [/i]with intensity, grittiness and the gun battles. I can honestly say that [i]Heat[/i] is the better and is in no way in danger of being toppled.[/color].

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[color=#ff8c00]They gave Jamie Foxx absolutely nothing to do. I was disappointed in his lack of screen time and seeing as though he carried the movie [i]Collateral[/i] (Tom Cruise be damned), I thought they would give him more of a dynamic role. But no.[/color].

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[color=#ff8c00]Mann would be better off with the 80's theme, Crockett and Tubbs in icecream colored suits with no socks, an alligator named Elvis and someone living on a houseboat.[/color].

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[color=#ff8c00]On sunday, I went to see [i]Scoop[/i], hoping that it would make up for the Vice debacle. I was also hoping that Hugh Jackman did not wear a shirt at somepoint in the movie--and it happened exactly that way.[/color].

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[color=#ff8c00]I am not a huge fan of Woody Allen. Infact, I am not a fan at all. He was fine in the film as Stanley Waterman (or the Great Splendini), who is wrangled into Sondra Pransky's (Scarlet Johansson) investigation of a serial killer with a fondness for brunettes and Tarot cards.[/color].

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[color=#ff8c00]Sondra is an American journalism student in London. Johansson plays her like the female incarnate of Woody Allen--flustered, wild hand movements and goofiness all in one. She gets a tip from beyond the grave from a deceased reporter (Ian McShane) while aiding in one of Splendini's magic tricks. [/color].

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[color=#ff8c00]This leads her to investigating/romancing Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), a son of a lord and schmoozing with sexy. Yes. I said it. [/color].

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[color=#ff8c00]Thankfully, Jackman and Johansson even out the crazy contributed by Woody Allen on screen. [/color].

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[color=#ff8c00]I've rented a ton of movies that are older and I have not seen. My local rental place had a special this past weekend where I ended up renting five movies for five dollars for five nights.[/color].

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[color=#ff8c00]I watched [i]Moonlight Mile[/i] on sunday night. As you know, along with Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal is one of my favorites. Even with the unbelievably sad storyline (his fiancee gets shot in a diner, he is living with her bereft parents and ends up meeting another girl in the meantime) it has great moments of levity that only Dustin Hoffman can give. He and Susan Sarandon are great as the grieving parents, trying to get their bearings after the sudden, tragic murder of their daughter.[/color].

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[color=#ff8c00]I loved the soundtrack, and Ellen Pompeo actually turned in a very nice performance as Bertie Knox, who is also grieving in her own way. I always associate her with my least favorite character on [i]Grey's Anatomy[/i] (and she is Meredith Grey...), but she is great in [i]Moonlight Mile[/i].[/color].

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[color=#ff8c00]And of course, Jake is brilliant as the conflicted Joe Nast. Ah, I love him.[/color].

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[color=#ff8c00]I will be back soon. I've still got [i]Blow, Duets, Swordfish[/i] and [i]October Sky[/i] to review.[/color].

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[color=#ff8c00]Laters.[/color].

[color=#ff8c00]Court[/color].

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