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Author Topic: The Inside Man Chris Hipp Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1462 From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas) Registered: Jul 2003 posted 03-24-2006 03:36 PM                     The movie itself is actually pretty good. Jodie Foster has the best character but she gets relatively little screen time. Spike Lee's usual racial and political undertones were there but generally subtle. The basic message of the movie: The white man is evil. ::Possible spoiler but not really:: One thing that should have been in the movie was one of the hostages using the kid's PSP to get online and communicate with the police, assuming that the bank had a wireless network. [ 03-24-2006, 11:02 PM: Message edited by: Chris Hipp ]  |  IP: Logged Sam Graham AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues. Posts: 1431 From: Waukee, IA Registered: Dec 2004 posted 03-25-2006 07:57 PM                        NOTE: Correct title should read "Inside Man (2006)". There's no "the". ===== CINEMA: Wallace Hollywood 10, St Joseph, MO AUDITORIUM: 8 PRESENTATION: Dolby Digital PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: Center channel out of balance with rest of sound (the center sound may have been tweeter only, actually, depending on how much of the high-midrange is handled there) RATING: Three stars (out of four) WARNING: Hostage situations often result in spoilers I opened the door to the entrance and it went SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!! Oh MAN. It was like fingers on a chalkboard. If the staff would rather put up with that noise than oil the hinges, I have no hope of anybody paying attention to the presentation. I had to hear that door two more times while buying tickets. The ticker seller should sue. There's two self-serve buttery topping machines, one on either end of the snack bar. There's a line at one and nobody at the other. So I go to the other and push the button. Nothing. So I go to the line and am shortly in front of the machine. I push the button and top the corn. And top some more. And more. And more. The line is clearly getting annoyed with me. But that's okay. MORE BUTTERY TOPPING! This is the perfect climax to my diet today, which consisted of one half pound of bacon, two Dunkin' Donuts, some Captain D's fried fish, two Dr. Peppers, two Cokes, and maybe later I might heat up a Red Baron pizza. I haven't eaten this badly since...well...Friday maybe. They had Movie Tunes on in the lobby, but not in Auditorium 8. Nothing in the speakers, nothing on the screen. Until 1:05, scheduled start time of the movie, when Projection Guy appeared in the booth and fired them up. Then he fired up the movie a couple of minutes later. Or should I say commercials? Yes, he fired up commercials. Fortunately, there was a movie attached to the commercials which played later. When I saw Projection Guy in the booth window, I realized something...There's seating under the booth. The last few rows of the stadium seating are under the booth, sort of like seating under a balcony at an old theatre. I'd say that would be a technical challenge for rear surrounds, but they didn't bother with any rear surrounds in this auditorium to begin with. I suppose that means those rear rows are also sitting above the corridor to get to the auditoriums. The latest Dolby Digital trailer stars Curious George? That blows. So this one guy designs the perfect heist. A detective on the skids due to a previous controversy gets assigned the case because the actual qualified is on vacation. There's a sub-plot about an evil banker and the problem solver (Jodie Foster's character) he involves to...uh...solve. And there's lots of shocking swerves. All of which would have come off as pedestrian if it weren't for Spike Lee, who provides an atmosphere and wit that works magic. Probably the biggest surprise of the film is how much fun it is to watch. There's humor when you least expect it, and pretty much whenever the movie looks to be getting dark or controversial, you get swerved. It's not brilliant, but beyond my expectations.  |  IP: Logged Steve Scott Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1300 From: Minneapolis, MN Registered: Sep 2000 posted 03-25-2006 11:45 PM                     What an empty shell of a heist film. The only thing Inside Man has going for it is a veil of social-importance thanks to Spike Lee's attention to real life racism & the hope of NYC. Beyond that, no part of Inside Man registered as entertaining or important to the film's progress. Clive Owen & Jodie Foster manage to stay vague as hell and Denzel Washington was still just spinning his post-oscar wheels on charisma & supposed emotional involvement to the hostage situation, which never seems to connect in any movie-affirming way. The film kept it's eye on the hostages & their ignorance to their kidnappers' plans, just as every other event within the plot managed to inch toward the possibility of tension & conflict; yet, in the end, it's all as tame and lifeless as the trailer suggested. It seems like Brian Grazer and Spike Lee should have retooled the script to match the tension & intrigue that the combination of two such film people ought to have delivered, especially in New York for Lee's sake! I never felt Inside Man reach out to me. The delicate pacing of the ending couldn't connect to the stalled lead-up & vague setup. Big names need big adventure, not mid-level concept without any entertaining plot developments. Even in center-surround the effects were well-placed  |  IP: Logged Mark Lensenmayer Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1605 From: Upper Arlington, OH Registered: Sep 1999 posted 03-27-2006 07:40 AM                     Location: Marcus Crosswoods Ultrascreen Time: Sunday, March 26, 2006 - 4:00pm I haven't been to the UltraScreen (formerly IMAX) for awhile, so I was glad to be able to check it out seeing INSIDE MAN. It was an ALMOST perfect presentation. The 65' image was bright and very, very steady...whatever equipment they are using is doing a remarkable job. Obviously some care was taken in setting up this system. No dirt or image problems of any kind. Sound was very very good, with clear, clean sound and a punchy, solid bass. HOWEVER,there was a very annoying sound coming from the right speaker during the pre-show and picture. It was especially heard during very quiet passages or between trailers. Sound seemed to be somewhere around 500hz. It was constant during the film, and did not change as the houselights dimmed. Spoiled an otherwise perfect presentation. I liked INSIDE MAN very, very much. It kept me guessing and had a satisfactory payoff. Writing is outstanding, acting is very good. Denzell Washington is terrific, as are the supporting players. However, Jody Foster did seem a little out of place and uncomfortable with her role. Spike Lee's direction was smooth and kept the film moving, but he has this annoying habit of having a stationary actor with the background pulling away (actor on a moving platform with camera attached). There is a bit too much of this gimmick here, but, otherwise, Spike keeps the politics out of the way. 4.5 stars from me. One of the best I've seen in awhile.  |  IP: Logged Jason Winn Expert Film Handler Posts: 131 From: Mesquite, TX, USA Registered: Jan 2006 posted 03-29-2006 02:21 AM                     I liked it. It had me guessing until the end. When I first went into this movie, I was expecting it to be just a typical bank robbery movie. A guy robs a bank, a cop negotiates, and it all builds up to the ending where there's a big shootout and the robber gets killed. It was nothing like that. The ending was completely different from what I expected. A movie that's unpredictable is always a good thing. Great movie, great acting, great direction. This movie has it all!  |  IP: Logged Richard Greco Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1180 From: Plant City, FL Registered: Nov 2003 posted 04-06-2006 05:54 PM                     Very Good 4/5 Great plot and kept me guessing throughout.... Did anyone notice that Jodie Foster was pretty damn hot in this film?  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-09-2006 11:29 PM                     Saw it t the America Theatre in Casper, WY. 62 foot image was great(from DP-70) and was exceptionally bright. This theatre has an incredible sound system and the mix was VERY dynamic. Overall the film was so-so for me. Too predictable and somewhan of a let down at the end. Jodie Foster did have the best roll in the film and the evil Christopher Plummer was second best. I give it 2.5 stars. Mark  |  IP: Logged Pravin Ratnam Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 844 From: Atlanta, GA,USA Registered: Sep 2002 posted 04-10-2006 02:30 AM                     I did end up watching this finally at a Regal multiplex which showed this on a big screen even in its second weekend(Atlantic Station). Presentation was OK. Jodie Foster: When did she get hot again? She was looking over the hill in terms of looks in Flightplan. Nice legs. The cast was good, but I don't know if this qualifies as a spoiler. But the movie plot nor any of the supporting characters show any progression whatsoever after the two thirds point of the movie. So at that point, do go looking for another twist, because there is none. Overall, I still liked it. Only big negative to me was Terence Blanchard's awful score. He was hit and miss in 25th Hour but at least his music gets a nice payoff at the end of that movie. His score for Inside Man was clueless. He's got some realy unsubtle unmovieish musical cues with sax or horns(I cant tell). And I don't want to even discuss the silly addition of a Bollywood song at the beginning and end of the movie.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-18-2006 05:56 AM                        Dog Day Afternoon was better. This was still good, though.  |  IP: Logged Lyle Romer Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1400 From: Davie, FL, USA Registered: May 2002 posted 04-18-2006 06:38 PM                     Decent movie. The score was terrible! It started off a little slow. Then the middle third or so was good and seemed to be building up to a good climax. Unfortunately, the ending kinda petered out. It was good that the plot kept you guessing. It was bad to still be kind of guessing at the end. SPOILER ALERT: Did Denzel's character steal the $114,000 or not? Why did he give the recording back? Is Jodie Foster going to expose the banker? I give it 2 out of 5 stars.  |  IP: Logged

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