Episode 8 Scoreboard

She opened the door a crack two weeks ago - has she slammed it shut for good this round?

Our series one all-star Rachel Thuro was top dog for Episode 8 trivia. Is it enough to propel her to the win once-and-for all? Four more chances at big points still loom, beginning tomorrow morning with Episode 9 kicking off the final quarter.

Here are the results after eight rounds, with everyone's point pickup for this episode listed in parenthesis...

Rachel Thuro 111 (+20)
Rhys Bendeix-Lewis 101 (+12)
Andrew Buckle 69 (0)
Courtney Small 60 (+12)
Duke 32 (0)
Alison 22 (+4)
Shane McNeil 18 (0)
Joel Burman 15 (0)
Jess Rogers 4 (0)
Andrew Robinson 3 (0)

Hatter's Questions:
Oscar nominees cast in PUBLIC ENEMIES include Marion Cotillard, Carie Mulligan, Johnny Depp, and Christian Bale.

Van Zandt's muscle in HEAT is played by rocker Henry Rollins.

THE INSIDER concludes with Al Pacino's character Lowel Bergman breaking the story of Unibomber Ted Kaczynski's arrest.

Simon's Questions:
DR. STRANGELOVE was the film that sparked Mann's interest in becoming a filmmaker.

Michael Mann earned his graduate degree from London Film School.

The first film to include digital exterior shots was COLLATERAL in 2004.

Entries for Trivia close at noon EST on the Friday after the show; please email all answers to filmlocker@hotmail.com. The prize dvd/blu-ray can be worth a maximum $30 USD on Amazon.com

"It's that or we both better go do something else" (Simon reviews HEAT)

Woah! And you thought we'd forgotten about Michael Mann. Not just yet ...

Saved the best till last...

"I think it would be great to dwell on that perfect sequence in the coffee house between McCauley and Hanna. It establishes so much without making anything too obvious. Vincent stating his stance "I will put you down", while McCauley doesn't even flinch to state where he stands that if Hanna gets in his way, he "will not hesitate ... not for a second". Its all over-the-shoulder shots, subjecting us to the intense stare of McCauley and the pseudo-laid back approach by Hanna. We feel every line, and are aware of the importance of every line stated. For many months now I have been collected older issues of Sight and Sound that regularly turn up at Kentish Town Oxfam (50p a pop is worth every penny!) and in one issue dated March 1996, there is an analysis of this sequence as we see Michael Mann's script notes on the sequence. The article notes how both characters are aware of the nature of time as luck and that life is short. Mann notes that Hanna, as a hunter, darts his eyes around getting every scrap of information on McCauley while they are together. Fascinating insight details that I would recommend anyone interested in the sequence."

You can read much more detail and insight onto the same subject by clicking here.

"Bye-bye, blackbird" (Simon reviews PUBLIC ENEMIES)

Had enough Public Enemies? I think not! In fairness, neither of us chose this film for our top shelf choice and it sure-as-hell wasn't our Michael-Mann focus point.

But it is a brilliant film to extrapolate and discuss - so much so, that though Hatter reviewed it, so did I analyse a few factors to it. I started off one paragraph by mentioning the free paper the 'Metro' as it compared the film to the Michael-Mann bomb Miami Vice -

"Metro (a local free tabloid paper here in London - and Birmingham and Manchester ...) released a review today saying that the film was akin to 'Miami Vice'. This is absolutely untrue - while you struggled to follow the convuluted plot about drugs and 'the underground' and truth and fiction and what not in 'Miami Vice', the simple plot in 'Public Enemies' gives Mann space to focus on the characters themselves. In a nutshell - its Purvis trying to catch Dillinger - but the anti-hero edge to Dillinger, the persona Depp creates, makes you root for him - even though you know Billie's prophesizing his death is true, you cannot help but be upset at the expected showdown"Metro (a local free tabloid paper here in London - and Birmingham and Manchester ...) released a review today saying that the film was akin to 'Miami Vice'. This is absolutely untrue - while you struggled to follow the convuluted plot about drugs and 'the underground' and truth and fiction and what not in 'Miami Vice', the simple plot in 'Public Enemies' gives Mann space to focus on the characters themselves. In a nutshell - its Purvis trying to catch Dillinger - but the anti-hero edge to Dillinger, the persona Depp creates, makes you root for him - even though you know Billie's prophesizing his death is true, you cannot help but be upset at the expected showdown"
Read the full analysis by popping over to Screen Insight by clicking here!


For the full review, just click here

"What keeps you up nights, Mr. Dillinger?" (Hatter reviews PUBLIC ENEMIES)

I remember the pre-publicity for this. How could they get it wrong - depression-era Gangster film, Johny Depp playing Dillinger, Michael Mann direction. It was a sure-fire hit. All the pictures looked stunning and it was merely a question of whether the film would pay off on release. Then the reviews came in ... mixed.

 

Hatter wrote - "However, patience is a virtue, and patient audiences will be rewarded as the second half of this movie really takes off. From the moment of the Dillinger/Nelson heist, director Michael Mann shifts the movie into a higher gear, and suddenly decides to deliver on the sexiness of the story. One of the highlights is an explosive gunfight at a rural Wisconsin Inn, which evokes memories of the downtown L.A. shootout in HEAT. Interestingly, it’s the last pure action scene in the movie. The rest of the way, Mann goes cat-and-mouse and lets the intriguing nature of the manhunt entertain the audience"

Suffice to say, it was not as good as we expected and - in the first instance, Hatter wrote his semi-positive review. For the full review... just click here.

The Film Locker #8: Michael Mann

You ready for action? Good - because we have a modern master of shoot-em-up comin' at you today by way of Michael Mann. Mann has one of the shorter filmographies of our directors to date - and his last two films are especially tough sells - but when it comes to great human drama, action, and heist...there's little out there that can top HEAT.

Make sure you email the filmlocker [at] hotmail.com to enter the competition because that points race has gone neck-and-neck. At press time (10am EST on Saturday) nobody has emailed answers yet. 24 points worth of cheddar for the taking folks: Who wants it?

You can also email in if you want to simply expand on stuff we're talking about - we will endeavour to email you back!

Finally, the blog itself is filmlocker.blogspot.com and it has access to lots more reading material on the directors we have discussed. Not sure how much new material we'll have on Mann this week, but do check in.



And, as usual, it is already up on itunes and can be found easily on podomatic - so, please do try and write reviews and support us if you can! We have the ol' RSS feed and 2.0 RSS and, if you link in different ways, we also have it on Google and Yahoo