Heat (1995) - #36

Empire top 301: #36
IMDB top 250: #120

Rating 8/10

Director: Michael Mann
Writers: Michael Mann
Starring: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Natalie Portman & Ashley Judd

"Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner."

I'd never seen Heat before but it's one of those films that seems to get a two thumbs up from everyone who has seen it. I'd gone into this movie with high expectations, especially as this is the first movie featuring Pacino and De Niro acting together. Two of the greatest actors ever starring opposite one another, how could my expectations not be high? Surely they wouldn't pick an awful movie to mark this event!! 

I'm happy to say that my expectations were met and Heat is a very good movie. Obviously the main attraction is Pacino Vs De Niro and the scenes they have together are great. The 'Table' scene is a masterclass in acting; there is no showboating or eating of scenery, just quiet soft dialogue and the acting is all in the eyes and the facial expressions. If it's eating of scenery you're after don't worry Pacino still has his trademark 'shouting/raised voice' moments. In Neil McCauley De Niro has given us one of the best movie criminals ever, you really believe even though it would hurt him to do so, he would leave the person he loves most in 30 seconds flat. 

The rest of the cast are good, however I had to put subtitles on during Jon Voight's scenes because at times I couldn't understand a word he was saying. I wasn't particularly fond of Eady (Amy Brenneman) or Lauren (Natalie Portman) and I don't really think they were needed in the film; they were probably included to give Pacino and De Niro's characters a back story and make them more 'human' but for me they added nothing. 

I had my surround sound on very loud and this made the bank robbery and subsequent shoot out scene even more brilliant than it would have been on normal volume; this is another real standout moment. The scope of this movie is huge and it's no surprise to learn that it was the inspiration for Nolan's Gotham in the Dark Knight Trilogy. The only thing that bugged me about this movie is the background music played during some scenes, it wasn't needed and at times I found it distracting as it just comes out of nowhere and puts you off the scene. But this is just a minor issue. 

Heat is a great film worthy of the two legends that star in it! 

Se7en (1995) - #37

Empire top 301: #37
IMDb top 250: #22

Rating 9/10

Director: David Fincher
Writers: Andrew Kevin Walker
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt & Gwyenth Paltrow

"You're no messiah. You're a movie of the week. You're a fucking t-shirt, at best."

I love this film. I love everything about it. It's a brilliantly written, filmed and acted piece of work! It's ingeniously clever but never too clever for it's own good making it hard to follow and it has one of the best, most depressing endings in any movie ever! 

  

David Fincher's direction is so gothic and gritty and the sets are so good you can almost smell the crime scenes! The movie is gruesome but never violent as you never actually see the killer murder anybody! There is one particularly gruesome scene involving a prostitute and a deadly sex toy that will stay with you for days afterwards, and you don't even see it happen. This is down to some fantastic writing and brilliant acting from all involved. 

The pairing of Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman is brilliant and both play their parts excellently,  especially Freeman. Gwyneth Paltrow offers solid supporting and does well with what little she has to do. 

I don't want to ruin the movie for those who haven't seen it so I shall say no more, except this is a brilliantly dark, chilling, thriller of a movie that I will never tire of watching!