Movies
A bleak film on a story that exposed the cigarette industry. It's a classic biopic, but Mann does give the film that bit of extra flair. It also helps that Pacino and Crowe are doing a good job here. Despite its "happy" ending though, it's still a distressing film, as it illustrates how corporations use the law to keep basic scientific facts from the public. The Hollywood dramatization was unnecessary, an even darker and drier rendition of the events would've had an even bigger impact, but for a big production, it is bleaker than usual. It could've been a little shorter too and sometimes there's a bit too much focus on the characters instead of the actual events, but all in all, better than I expected.Read all
I never really got the fuss regarding Michael Mann, this cheesy war epic didn't do much to change my mind. The cinematography and score were ever so slightly above average, but not enough to counter the cheap sentiment that drags the entire film down. At two hours, this is another seriously flawed film. Daniel Day-Lewis' performance is pretty terrible, the romance is kitsch and the sentiment never feels earned. It's 100% unfiltered Hollywood schmaltz, but clearly there's an audience for that. At least the cinematography, setting and score manage to ease the pain just a little, but it's hardly enough to save this film.Read all
