 Men in Black, 1997First off, this film had the best trailer I've ever seen. Tommy Lee Jones talking about the agency... shots of the clothes, the tooth brush... then the guns... and finally the big finally of the spaceship hitting the Worlds Fair sculpture... it was fantastic.Originally taken from the comic book by Lowell Cunningham, of the same name... this became one of the most anticipated movies of 1997. Just after the blockbuster movie ID4, Will Smith became the sci-fi actor... of any color. He was/is an action star, a comedian, mysterious... etc. Tommy Lee Jones is just a badass on so many levels... but I'll get to them. A lot of people won't recognize Ed Solomon's name, but they will recognize his work, regardless of how childish the movies he's written might seem. His original work was on the television show "It's Garry Shandling's Show" in the 80's. In 1989 he wrote (with Chris Matheson) the movie that propelled Keanu Reeves career, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. From there he went on to Mom and Dad Save the World, Leaving Normal, Super Mario Brothers... and then MIB. He's also responsible for What Planet Are You From? (with Shandling again) and Charlie's Angels. He is not writing the sequel to MIB, which is too bad... but not really too bad. I'll explain. This movie has so many great moments, it's not even funny. I've seen the film a large number of times, and I never get tired of it. It's got incredible make-up and special effects, it's got great characters, even a neat plot. But, what it has going for it in character and story... I have to tell you, there are some lines in this film that are strictly there to promote stupid jokes. They can be over looked, but it's upsetting that writers have to make excuses for people to say "My dick's bigger than yours" lines, and the such. Or saying things like "You know Elvis is dead, don't you?" "He's not dead, he's just gone home"... aarrrrrgghhhh! Stupid, stupid. Anything to get an Elvis-as-Alien joke in there. That's just nickpicking. I do that, because I'm a writer, and I would hate anyone to add stupid things to my script, like that, just so an actor can force a laugh from the audience. Barry Sonnenfeld, before he went the route as a director, was one of the best cinematographers in the industry. For real. Starting in 1982 with In Our Water, a television documentary, Sonnenfeld then shot what would start an incredible relationship with the most popular directing/producing/writing duo of the past twenty years, the Cohen Brothers. Sonnenfeld shot Blood Simple for them in 1984, and didn't look back. Along with some television, Sonnenfeld is responsible for the photography on Compromising Positions, Throw Mamma From the Train, Raising Arizona, Big, When Harry Met Sally, Misery and Miller's Crossing. A fantastic resume... but he couldn't stop there. In 1991 he directed The Addams Family... a huge responsibility for a first time director... but Sonnenfeld had the experience... and, he proved to have the dark imagination for such a film. It ended up being one of the top grossing films of 1991. He then directed the sequel in 93, which did not do as well... and Sonnenfeld had to go to the wayside of Comedy, directing Michael J. Fox in For Love or Money, a (lower) budget comedy film that pretty much proved nothing, in the long run. Two years later, in 1995, Sonnenfeld found another nitch. This time, in transforming an Elmore Leonard book into one of the most entertaining adaptions ever. Get Shorty, with its all star cast, brought Sonnenfeld's storytelling (and producing) abilities to the forfront, again... and he stayed with the Leonard bangwagon for a little while longer, in 1998 with Maximum Bob (a television series which he also directed) and Out of Site, both from Leonard books. A sequel to Get Shorty, written by Leonard called Be Cool, is in the works as a possible sequel, but no word yet on Sonnenfeld's attachment. In 1999, Sonnenfeld and Smith reteamed for the remake of the popular television series Wild Wild West, with Smith playing Jim West. Now... I can understand the modernization of this film... bringing in a black actor to play what was originally a white character... but I think this was the beginning of the end for this film, as you were locking out a large number of people who had originally seen the series, were fans of it... and then, BAM, it was changed in such a dramatic way. Now, as I stated, I'm a fan of Smith's work, but his portraying of this character, along with the poor writing, was just terrible. He was nothing like the character in the television show, and the modernization of the story brought too many elements of today's culture that it ruined the film, wholly. It's special effects are the only saving grace, and even then... it falls short. It seemed, when the movie came out, at the time, that movies with Will Smith were solely there to make sure he got a video and music deal out of them. Hopefully this will not be the case for MIB 2. Coming out later this year, with Tim Allen, is Big Trouble. I don't know too much about this project, but here is the Official Site on the movie. Should be neat. Also coming out in 2001 is (for me) the most anticipated television show of the fall line-up, The Tick. Sonnenfeld directed, along with produced this series of shows, and I couldn't be happier. He's really got an eye for fun imagery, dark humor and action. I can't wait. In 2002, the new MIB movie will be coming out with both Smith and Jones reprising their original roles. Written by Barry Franco (Benson, Archie Bunker's Place, The Golden Girls, Kingpin, The Crew (which Sonnenfeld produced)) and Robert Gordon (Addicted to Love, Galaxy Quest), we shall see. I thought that Solomon had done a decent job in rendering the comic to the screen, but we shall see. Will Smith. He's had his good and bad movies, to be sure. His two high profile films, ID4 and MIB, have been top grossers at the box office, and certainly, so will the sequel to MIB. But, his other films, the majority of them, are just awful, save his feature, Six Degrees of Separation. Bad Boys, Enemy of the State, Wild Wild West, Legend of Bagger Vance... (shudder), I hate seeing him in these films. But I have to say, he's one of three or four young black actors who can play action roles... and when the big guys like Jerry Bruckheimer and Robert Redford ask him to be in a movie, he goes. It's sad... that Hollywood can't expand, even slightly, to allow other black actors into larger roles like these. I'm not going to get into Tommy Lee Jones' entire career. It's too big. But, I will say that he's been a devoted actor since the early 70's, and hasn't looked back. He's become a huge box-office draw, especially after winning the Academy Award for his role in The Fugitive in 1993. From there, it was clear skies. Heaven & Earth, Blown Away, Natural Born Killers, Cobb, The Client, Blue Sky, Batman Forever (shudder), U.S. Marshalls, Small Soldiers, Double Jeopardy, Rules of Engagement, Space Cowboys and the soon to be released The Hunted, opposite Benicio Del Toro. I've always enjoyed his films... but he's particularly entertaining in this role as the wise, know-it-all Man in Black. He's got a sense of humor about his roles, but knows when to switch gears and be a serious badass. Linda Fiorentino's role could have been played by just about anyone. She was a hot prospect after The Last Seduction and Unforgettable (both John Dahl)... but is just not a good actress. This was clearly apparent in Kevin Smith's Dogma, in which she was, quite possibly, the worst actress I've ever seen. Luckily, she will not be in the sequel. Vincent D'Onofrio was INCREDIBLE. I don't think there is another soul on this planet who could have played that role better. He's the kind of actor who plays roles to play roles... not so much for fame, but for the challenge. He enjoys acting. This is apparent by his enormous career, starting back in Adventures in Babysitting in 1987, and then landing what would propell him into 'stardome', the role of Private Gomer Pyle in Full Metal Jacket in 1987. From there he moved slowly but steadily up. The Blood of Heroes, JFK, Dying Young, The Player, Malcolm X, Being Human, Ed Wood, Strange Days, Feeling Minnesota, The Newton Boys, The Thirteenth Floor, Steal This Movie (which he co-produced), The Cell (one of his first real starring roles)... and a number of other films coming out this year including the adaption of a Philip K. Dick short story Imposter, Last Word on Paradisse, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, Bark and some television. All in all a rounded out resume of films. Some great, some ok. But, he's still working, which is the great thing. I have to say that the music kicked ass. Danny Elfman is a genius composer, who's composed music for some great movies of the last fifteen years. Dig this list.
1. Men in Black 2 (2002) I mean, JESUS CHRIST, look at that list? He's also (was) the lead singer for, what I think, was the greatest rock band of the 80's and 90's, Oingo Boingo. But, then, I'm biased. Donald Peterman was the cinematographer for MIB... he'd done work for Sonnenfeld on both Addams Family Values and Get Shorty... the two knew how to work together, and they created a fantastic looking film. Peterman worked on a number of other great movies, prior to MIB. Flashdance, Splash, Best Defense, Cocoon, Star Trek IV, Gung Ho, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, She's Having a Baby, She's Out of Control, Point Break, Speechless, Mighty Joe Young and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. All in all, a very successful photographer who has stuck with three fantastic directors (Sonnenfeld, John Hughes and Ron Howard) over the years, producing fantastic looking films. Bo Welch (Production Design), Tom Duffield (art direction), Cheryl Carasik (Set Direction) and Mary E. Vogt (Costumes) all did bang up jobs on this movie. Their work was strongly apparent, and added to the fantastic atmosphere of this film. But... Rick Baker. (Head shake). This man has seen it all, in Hollywood. He's one of the most respected special effects and make-up wizards around, and his work has wowed us since the beginning. I will be doing a complete write-up of Baker's work in the future, but suffice it to say that his alien effects and make-up effects for this film were influenced from the beginning of his career, from his work on Star Wars. Nuff said. For me, this is one of the best films to come out of the 1990's. It's not in my top ten, but it's definitely in my top twenty. It's smart, well acted, well produced (thanks, in part, to Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment, along with ILM)... and was the pinnacle of science-fiction entertainment in the 90's. I have high hopes for part two... but I hope it's not just a recycled film with the same gags, same effects... kind of like The Spy Who Shagged Me... let's pray it's not as bad a sequel as that. Here are some links I found about the MIB and it's origin:
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