"Mann" at his best

Tubbs: "So what's going on?"
Crockett: "As in?"
Tubbs: "As in there is undercover and then there is 'Which way is up'?".
Crockett: What? Do you think I'm in so deep I forgot?
Tubbs: "I will never doubt you."

If someone asked you: who do you think the best director was in the last ten years, what would you say? Scorsese? Spielberg? Singer? All good choices, but for me it's Michael Mann.

Michael who you say? Michael “Miami Vice” Mann, for those of you who grew up in the 80’s. But he was just a meager producer with a couple of movies to his credit back then. The 90’s is where “the Mann” made his bones. It is started in 1992 with his rendition of the James Fenimore Cooper classic “Last of the Mohicans”. Mr. Mann made Daniel Day Lewis (not known for his action roles) into a believable romantic action hero. This also stars Madeline Stowe and Wes Studi.

The movie that rocketed Mann to the A list is “Heat” (1995) this baby (in my best Al Pacino voice), “ROCKED”! It’s cops and robbers with Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, and Val Kilmer. This movie is a “historic occasion” because it marks the first time in screen history that Pacino and DeNiro starred in the same scene together. This movie has the best shootout scene between cops and robbers in cinema history. Not to mention the “A” list cast.

After “Heat” Mann took a well deserved break and came back in 1999 with the best picture of the year, “The Insider” with Al Pacino (Hoo AH) and the Marlon Brando of this generation – Russell Crowe. The movie is based on a Vanity Fair article about the Cigarette Wars between the US Govt, Big Tobacco and 60 minutes. Crowe disappeared into the role of Dr. Jeffrey Wigand by gaining more than 25 pounds and dying his hair gray. Pacino provided a strong supporting role as 60 minutes producer Lowell Bergman.

In 2001, Mann took on “Ali”. He remade Will Smith into a believable Cassius Clay. Now this is a character study and not for everyone. It is also a revelation in the directorial abilities of Michael Mann that he was able to bring out such strong performances and get Smith his first "Best Actor" nomination .

Another revelation is Jamie Foxx’s acting which leads us to: “Collateral (2004) This beauty was well received by the critics but not by audiences for some reason. It is a thriller that keeps building until the end. Tom Cruise goes against type to play a hitman, and it works!

Last summer, Mann took a trip back to sunny Florida with an updated version of Miami Vice. This is not the pastel colored, feathered hair 80's Vice. This is a much darker look at the world of going undercover. Beautifully shot against the night skies of Miami and the storm clouds of the 2005 hurricane season, Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell bring their own take to Tubbs and Crockett. Not the best movie in the Mann library by far, but it's worth checking out.