Hannibal (2001)

I believe it’s original title was “Florence Is Beautiful And Also Hannibal”. Ridley Scott’s real talent is creating worlds, whether it’s the wholly believable blue-collar space flight of Alien or the way he shoots the city and crowd scenes here. I don’t think he’s one of the great master film visualists but goddamn does he know how to make an environment come to life. It’s this, coupled with the joy of watching Anthony Hopkins Hannibal-Lecter-Around that makes this movie work in spite of itself.

Even though the plot has no mystery whatsoever (at nearly all points you know exactly where everyone is, what everyone is doing, and what everyone is planning on doing) it’s pretty enjoyable for most of the time. Special jeers goes to Ray Liotta and his character. It’s rare that a bad performance is so thoroughly coupled with a poorly-written character that you can clearly distinguish one from the other, but there you go. Also jeers to Ridley Scott opting for AVID’s “low-frame blurry strobey slow-motion” effect too many times. Honestly, once is too much for that annoying film practice. When will filmmakers know that the only effect it achieves is making your film look like bad television. I’m sure your intentions are noble, but that aesthetic is forever connected to CSI flashbacks now, and it’s time for real filmmakers to abandon it. B-

Spartan (2004)

Starts off as a tight minimalist thriller, and then turns into a character piece that’s nearly as great. Does it’s job and does it goddamned well. A

House of Games (1987)

Lindsay Crouse’s flat acting (and a frankly baffling ending) aside, this is a pretty perfect movie. Mamet’s filmmaking confidence wasn’t quite where it be with something like Homicide, but his script is dynamite and his casting even better. I can’t imagine any actor delivering “out of your motherfucking mind” like Ricky Jay, hitting the “g” as hard as he can. A-

Redbelt (2008)

Way better than you remember. A really great twist on the Rocky formula, where the greatest moral victory comes proving yourself not to the world, but to yourself. The final fight is disappointingly shot, though. You’d think a Jiu-Jitsu fanatic like Mamet would shoot it wide, but he succumbed (succame?) to the same “close-ups and quick editing = more emotional” fallacy that most action directors these days do. B+

The Winslow Boy (1999)

Turns out Mamet’s blunt style is really suited for turn of the century English dramas, even with the use of obscenities being taken away. The principle joys of the film are realizing that Mamet can do exposition better than anyone and, of course, the pure delight of his words. B

Homicide (1991)

A brilliant mix of police procedural, conspiracy thriller, and existential crisis. It’s ironic that this was filmed in Baltimore because “That’s what you get for giving a fuck when it wasn’t your turn to give a fuck” not only describes the themes of this film, but most of Mamet’s films. A

The Spanish Prisoner (1997)

A con film walks a tricky balance of deceiving the audience while still giving them enough so the ending will be a satisfying surprise. This film errs on the side of over-sharing, and I spent most of the movie wondering why the protagonist was too dumb to keep up. C+

State and Main (2000)

Probably not the most savage attack on Hollywood, but it’s up there. I have a soft spot for both movies about filmmaking and Mamet dialogue, so this was a real treat. B+

The Untouchables (1987)

Pretty bad, with a couple of redeeming sequences. Replaces police procedure with gunfights, and character arcs with more gunfights. Kevin Costner is horrible. C-