PINNLAND EMPIRE: michael mann

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Thursday, October 1, 2026

HER PRIVATE HELL

Her Private Hell is Nicolas Winding Refn doing a parody of his own films. There’s even a few direct callbacks to Only God Forgives.

Only God Forgives / Her Private Hell

If you don’t like post-Drive Refn, this movie is not for you. It’s almost as if Refn used every negative critique of his work over the years as an inspiration for his latest project. This is his slowest movie to date. There’s tons of neon lighting and homages to his favorite filmmakers.

And the thing is...I’m not even mad at it. I will not recommend this movie to anyone. I barely know what it’s even about but I enjoyed this in a guilty pleasure kind of way.
In a dystopian future, a young actress trying to find her father crosses paths with a violent soldier trying to find his daughter. Beyond that, this is kind of a feature length perfume commercial where the pretty imagery trumps the plot (the city that the story takes place in is plagued with a mysterious gas that fogs the city 24/7 along with a leather-clad serial killer).

Instead of the typical reference points like Michael Mann, Williams Friedkin, Dario Argento and others - Refn references the likes of Kenneth Anger, Mario Bava, Kubrick and his mentor Jodorowsky. To be fair, Anger has always been a reference point for Refn but, outside of Ryan Gosling posing in the Scorpion Jacket in Drive, no one ever seems to highlight that except me (click here to read more)…

I’m not a film analyst but most of the things we do nowadays, also in advertising, lead back to Kenneth Anger’s work - Nicolas Winding Refn, Indiewire

Fireworks / Her Private Hell

Scorpio Rising / Her Private Hell

Planet Of The Vampires / Her Private Hell

Vampyr has always reminded me of a mysterious dream I once had when I was very little. The film has always stayed with me. I watch it before I make every film - Nicolas Winding Refn, Criterion

Vampyr / Her Private Hell

Unique, brilliant, fantastic! I love this movie! - Nicolas Winding Refn on Tokyo Drifter, Criterion

Tokyo Drifter / Her Private Hell

A Trip To The Moon / Her Private Hell

Seeing The Shining is like watching a painting of pure terror. It has no purpose, sexuality or function other than to completely terrorize you - Nicolas Winding Refn, Moviemaker Magazine

The Shining / Her Private Hell

2001... / Her Private Hell

I offered to read the tarot for him [REFN] and from then on he had me read his tarot every time he made a new movie - Alejandro Jodorowsky, Vulture

The Holy Mountain / Her Private Hell

Refn does kind of reference Michael Mann but instead of typical stuff like Manhunter and Thief, he pulls from The Keep.

The Keep / Her Private Hell

This could also be seen as a reference to everything from Demons to The Fog

The Fog / Her Private Hell

Demons / Her Private Hell

I'm hesitant to compare anything even slightly weird to David Lynch, but Refn is a fan and there are some very specific Lynch-isms in Her Private Hell

film is such an early medium in a way. You know what I mean? If you go through the history of painters, you can always say that somebody was inspired by someone to do that or to do this, and of course, it's the same thing with film. Every art form is an exchange to someone else, whether it's generational, whether it's of an experience, of an opportunity - Nicolas Winding Refn on influence of David Lynch, nrftsjournal

Inland Empire / Her Private Hell

Wild At Heart / Her Private Hell

This indiewire article from a few years ago serves as a nice companion to Her Private Hell (click here).

If anything, this was just an excuse for Nicolas Refn to make a movie collage of his inspirations (which gives me an excuse to make a bunch of side-by-side comparisons to share).

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

ONE MORE SHOT

One More Shot joins that elite list of sequels that surpasses it’s predecessor. I wouldn’t exactly call it Godfather Part 2 or Aliens, or The Empire Strikes Back, but it is better than One Shot (2021). And to be clear – One Shot is great. It wound up on my best of 2021 list (and this will more than likely be on my best of 2024). But where the first film may have a had what some would consider "slow moments", One More Shot is just non-stop in the best way possible.

Thanks to films like Extraction, the newer Mad Max films and the John Wick series, there’s a place for fast pace action films that take little no breaks. Even when punches aren’t being thrown and bullets aren’t flying, the tension in One More Shot is so intense.

One More Shot / Extraction

There's a few tense moments early on in the film that borrow heavily from a scene in Children Of Men...

Children Of Men / One More Shot

Tension is the unsung hero of this film. Director James Nunn pulls from his influences like Michael Mann & Steven Spielberg all throughout the film…

It was actually watching JURASSIC PARK in the cinema when I was 9 years old and I just fell in love with the idea of making movies and telling stories and bringing things to life - James Nunn, easternfilmfans.co.uk

Jurassic Park /
One More Shot

Heat / One More Shot

One More Shot plays out like the most basic yet fun video game with multiple levels. It picks up literally seconds after the first part. There’s no pause or intermission. We’re thrown right in to the thick of it in the opening scene. The hostage from the first film has been secured but there’s another “level” our hero Scott Adkins must go through to get him and his family to safety. In addition to a lot more action and intense moments, the film adds Michael Jai White to the cast as the main villain.
While White’s addition to the film is sparse, it’s still the high point. One More Shot succeeds because they use the formula of a lot of older action films where we get the final one-on-one showdown between the main protagonist and the main antagonist that’s been teased throughout the film. Michael Jai White is a varsity letterman when it comes carrying the final fight on his shoulders (see Skin Trade & Blood and Bone for further examples of this). And at this point, White & Adkins hove so much history & on-screen chemistry that it’s probably impossible for those two to choreograph a disappointing fight scene. White & Adkins use a combination of modern MMA (that they both helped popularize) from the John Wick films and the early MMA fighting style found in Bruce Lee films…

John Wick 3 / One More Shot

The Chinese Connection / One More Shot

The beauty of One More Shot is that you don’t actually have to watch One Shot first in order to enjoy things or know what's going on. I strongly suggest watching One Shot because it’s very good, but I almost prefer folks watch the sequel first and then treating One More Shot like a prequel.

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

FERRARI @ NYFF

Unlike the other films I saw at this year’s New York Film Festival (click here & here to read), I actually sat with this one for a few days before sharing my thoughts. I waited seven years to see this and I want to chose my words carefully. I have mixed feelings about Michael Mann’s latest Enzo Ferrari biopic. It disappointed and exceed expectation at the same time. Anything involving a car is an A+ as far as I’m concerned. The sound design, the cinematography, etc – it’s all great. Even the couple of surprise car wrecks, reminiscent of Tarantino’s Death Proof, were incredibly visceral and got a reaction out of me that no movie has in quite some time (I haven’t really spoiled anything. These scenes come out of nowhere and you wont be expecting them).

Now…anything that had to do with the actual story felt like a C-. I know some folks may think it’s silly to take a piece of art and use school grades to judge – but some of the accents in the film are pretty silly. Too silly for a film like this in my opinion. I appreciate Adam Driver’s dedication to his semi-subdued yet sill forced Italian accent but Shailene Woodley’s portrayal of Lina Lardi (Enzo’s mistress and mother of his son) was a bit frustrating. Her accent was a mix of American, Eastern European & Italian, and the performance was pretty forgettable (the chemistry between Driver and Woodley wasn’t really there either). Watching Ferrari made me wish there was a bigger pool of diverse actors to pull from in terms of age & nationality. Adam Driver was “fine” as Enzo Ferrari but are there no prolific older actors in their very late 50s/early 60s that could have pulled this role off? Is there no young up & coming Italian actress that could have portrayed Ferrari’s mistress? This is Michael Mann’s first feature film in almost a decade so that’s really the draw. It’s not like Woodley’s presence was going to make any difference. I know you need a "big name" or a recognizable actor to "sell" a movie but this is about the return of Michael Mann at the end of day.

With the exception of a few flashbacks, Ferrari focuses primarily on the 1957 Mille Miglia race along with Ferrari’s failing marriage & business. The issue here is even though the movie takes place over the course of one summer, there’s still the equivalent of three movies in this one biopic (a potential Right Stuff-style story about the team of racers hired by Ferrari, the horrific tragedy that came out of the 1957 Mille Miglia race, and Ferrari’s personal life at the time). This isn’t a quick 100 minute film but it’s still ten pounds of substance in a five pound bag. The movie ends at a weird place leaving me wanting another hour. But at a certain point I guess we do have to wrap things up. Perhaps this would have worked better as a mini-series?

I’m giving Ferrari a hard time but there are some positives. I sensed pinches of modern-day Terrence Malick's style in some select isolated moments. I know that might turn some folks off but that's a good thing as far as I' concerned...

A Hidden Life / Ferrari

Knight Of Cups / Ferrari

I’m not even that caught up in the visual accuracy or how much the actors look like the real life people they’re portraying. If anything we need to stray further away from that. The more obsessed some actors & filmmakers become with the look and mannerisms of their real life subjects - the more things turns in to a feature length SNL sketch (Viola Davis’ recent portrayal of Michelle Obama should have made folks do a universal reset on how biopics are approached). Mann doesn’t get caught up in any of that with Ferrari but there’s still a lack of chemistry between a lot of the actors and just an overall layer of flatness outside of Penelope Cruz’s portrayal as Laura Ferrari (I assure the accents are not the only problem with this movie).

There are certainly a nice amount of signature Mann-style shots in Ferrari but he doesn't go full-on "Michael Mann" from start to finish (the trailer does a good job of capturing the best shots but those moments are stretched out inside of a 140+ minute film). If I'm being honest, even Public Enemies has more style than Ferrari which is a problem because, in my opinion, an Italian film full of sexy cars should be oozing with style from start to finish and that's just not the case here.

No matter how many mixed feelings I have, I still loved watching Ferrari on the big screen. That’s the only way to watch it. This movie falls short in a few places but I still encourage everyone to see it big. I suppose this is the best thing Mann has done since Miami Vice? But is that really saying much?

Sunday, February 27, 2022

WRONG REEL EPISODE: 588 - MICHAEL MANN NEWS...

I'm back on Wrong Reel talking about the various recent Michael Mann-related projects coming out over the next few years. Click here or the image above to the go to the episode.

Enjoy...

Monday, November 23, 2020

WRONG REEL EPISODE #525 – 25th Anniversary Double Feature: Casino & Heat

In case you missed it, Rob Cotto & I joined James on Wrong Rell to chat about the 25th anniversary of both Heat & Casino (click here or the image above to go to the episode).