Miami Blues

Rating:
Summary: "I fired a warning shot... and it hit ya!"
Review: Set in the backdrop of early 90s Miami pastel and art deco, this intelligent movie mandates your full attention. Most of the hilarious scenes in Miami Blues can be overlooked if you blink at the wrong moment, which is good for watching the minute details over and over. The gags are quick... and when they happen, they're gone.
I can't comment on Alec Baldwin's "tight black shorts" response of one male reviewer since I am not a homosexual. Pufties notwithstanding, this is a great movie with a great ending.

Rating:
Summary: I wish there were some Hoke Moseley sequels!
Review: This film, along with David Lynch's 'Wild At Heart' , should be credited, or faulted, with sparking the shift in American independent cinema, and art films in general, from sex to violence. All the elements that made 'Reservoir Dogs', and its legions of imitators, so successful a few years later, can be found here. Alec Baldwin gives one of his best performances in this little-seen, underrated film based on the novel of the same name by Charles Willeford. Baldwin plays a dumb, small-time con man recently released from prison who takes off to Miami to work new territory. Once there, he meets a dim-witted hooker, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, and proceeds to use her as he continues to pull off small time heists and petty thefts to get ahead. Part of Baldwin's brilliance is that he gets to put his woefully underutilized comedic talents to work here (anybody who's seen his genius at work on the three times he's hosted 'Saturday Night Live' will know what I'm talking about.) The film is a brilliant blend of black humour, violent slapstick and just palin ol' oddball weirdness. I think it got filmed in the late 80s and didn't find a distributor till about 1990. The Miami setting is used perfectly, as a tacky backdrop to Baldwin's minor scams. Everything about this film is a bit off, and it all blends together brilliantly. Fred Ward plays Hoke Moseley, an aging cop who is put on Baldwin's trail after Baldwin breaks an annoying Hare Krishna's finger at the airport, who then dies from shock. From there its a series of strange scenarios set into motion, enhanced by the bizarre Florida settings (restaurants with synchronized swimmers, pastel-coloured hotel rooms, pawn shops with shotgun-toting bodygaurds) screwy characters and Alec Baldwin's collection of ridiculous looking stolen clothes (ugly cable knit sweaters, shiny running shorts and pink plaid golf pants). I can't begin to describe the many strange circumstances that culminate into scenes because so many of them are memorable...Baldwin pointing an Uzi at a toy store clerk who then asks for a price check, Baldwin holding up drug dealers with said toy gun and then finding out later in his hotel room that he's just stolen a million BRAZILIAN dollars. From there he launches into a hilarious Scarface impression. There's one fabulous part where he tries to stop a convenience store hold up with a jar of spaghetti sauce, only to get run over and have his eyebrow ripped off. Or when Fred Ward comes over for dinner, only to be stalked by Baldwin later, who steals his badge, gun and false teeth. Baldwin then goes on a crazy stealing spree, catching drug dealers and taking off with their booty, or shooting a robber at a bar before yelling 'Stop or I'll shoot!'. Another great scene is watching Baldwin get his fingers chopped off during a botched pawn shop robbery, and then witnessing him scoop up his severed digits along with the loot. You have to see this movie several times to appreciate it. It's absolutely hilarious. I've been quoting lines from the film for years, especially Baldwin's cruelly blunt lines. (One favourite: after getting his eyebrow sowed on by a widowed neighbour, he tells her ''I'll bet your husband was glad to die.'') The whole movie has the feel of a really bad Miami Vice rip-off, but it works to its advantage, painting Miami as this hopelessly gaudy town, rivalled only by Las Vegas in raw bad taste. I like how it shows the flipside of the glitzy, seedy glamour of Michael Mann's famous TV show. This is a more interesting look at Florida's grimy underbelly, filled with small time hoods, racketeers and crooked vice cops. George Armitage does a great job bringing Willeford's quirky characters and decidedly unconventional plot developments to life on screen. Both Baldwin and Ward are brilliant and Leigh does a good job too. There's so many great parts to this film I think I'd rather leave it to all of you to catch it sometime. The book is just as good and features three more stories in the series of Hoke Moseley detective tales.


Rating:
Summary: WATCH THIS CLASSIC! BLOODY BRILLIANT!!
Review: This is one of those buried treasures of filmdom (like Prime Cut) that gets swept aside because it's a "genre" movie. But everything about is first-rate, beginning with the performances of the 3 main leads: Baldwin, Leigh, Ward. None has ever been better, each carves a unique unforgettable performance. The direction by Armitage (whose Grosse Pointe Blank is another great treasure) is outstanding. This movie MOVES, it zips & flips & turns on a dime, it's got the momentum that only really great movies have. The writing is terrific, I read the book before seeing the film & I recommend the book to anyone, it's great, Willeford was another great unsung.This movie has loads of little details that reveal themselves in viewing after viewing & then stay with you...forever! How about the fact that Baldwin's character appropriates the billfold & consequently the identity of a fellow airline passenger & goes around for much of the movie as Herman Gottlieb, Herman Gottlieb??!! Remember him? The famed opera impresario? No? Aw forget it...



Rating:
Summary: A Quirky, Satisfying Unknown Gem
Review: This movie managed to stay under almost everyone's radar screen, and this is truly a shame. This is a quirky, unorthodox, and unpredictable film with potent acting and a very intriguing story. It's a compelling and intelligent film that is very funny and yet quite sad. The movie came and went before Alec Baldwin emerged as a (sometimes) legitimate star. And he's really at his best, acting opposite Jennifer Jason Leigh, who delivers one of her trademark credible and powerful performances. Alec Baldwin portrays an ex-con who has just been released from a prison in Florida, and it doesn't take long before he's returning to his criminal ways. Early in the film Alec intentionally breaks the thumb of a Harry Krishna follower at the airport, who proceeds to die as a result of the trama. At this point, a detective (aptly and humorously portrayed by Fred Ward) begins investigating and pursuing Baldwin. Ward doesn't have enough evidence to arrest Baldwin, but he is pretty certain he's got the right man. An interesting and funny cat-and-mouse game follows. Baldwin makes his living by stealing from other criminals, mostly by robbing muggers just after they have robbed someone. Midway through the film Baldwin obtains a detective's badge and proceeds to impersonate a police officer, which allows him to more easily apply his trade and opens the way for several hysterical scenes. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays a prostitute who, after a tryst with Baldwin, ends up falling in love and living with him. The dynamic between these two characters occupies a central role in this film, and it is both convincing and interesting. As the film progresses, it becomes obvious that Baldwin is battling himself and facing large changes and challenges within himself. While continuing to impersonate a police officer while robbing people, it becomes obvious that he begins to internalize the persona and seems to think of himself as a protector of others. While this film is frequently violent, comic and funny, it is tinged with a very serious edge that meanders into areas of human longing, sadness and loss. This film unfolds slowly, but is compelling and funny every step of the way. Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance is poignant and provides emotional ballast, but Baldwin's performance borders on being gut-wrenchingly good. The heaviness and self-consciousness that often accompany his later performances are nowhere to be found. This film is daring, orginal and intelligent...and a lot of fun along with way. Hopefully the new DVD edition will allow it to surface on radar screen's everywhere.

Rating:
Summary: cool
Review: when i noticed this movie on tv i decided to give it a chance. boy was i happy about that. it's a really good action movie. i've never seen better acting in a action movie. i'm usually into those buddy cop movies. well i liked this allot and will probably buy it.