Tuesday, 13 December 2011

Luck Pilot on VideoWeed

In my frustration in not being able to see Luck I found an alternative over at VideoWeed. Seems very naughty of the site and you have to endure interrupting adverts periodically. The quality is also poor, but good enough to watch full screen on a 15" laptop at a distance - just. If you are desperate for a glimpse of Luck, then try this:


If they haven't paid for it, then I am sure HBO will be closing it down fairly quickly.

I will post a review of Luck shortly (late now here in UK and all this late night blogging and tweeting is not good for the work that pays for my bread!). I would love to write it now, because Luck met all my expectations. I really loved it. I just connect with almost anything Mann does, and he brings the best out of the entire production. Superb dialogue by Milch, and extremely skilled changes of pace throughout. Very much reminded me of the construction of The Insider... lots of multiple conversations all interrelated and fascinating. I am deeply frustrated with the tepid, lazy reviews I have seen of the first pilot of Luck. It deserves much higher praise and examination. I found it stunning, from the quality of acting to the cinematography to the music. All the talk of poor audio seems nonsense to me - I found it perfectly legible. More on Luck later!

It does a disservice to the effort gone into the quality of Luck to watch it on VideoWeed, so if you can wait, I would...  but I couldn't! Can't wait to see it properly next February, on Sky Atlantic in the UK.
Posted by Mannfan at 16:57
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Monday, 12 December 2011

Luck Season 1: An Invitation to the Set

For UK fans looking forward to Michael Mann's HBO Luck, here is a longer behind the scenes video featuring all the cast of Luck! I think it brilliantly sums up Luck and, also what I think... that to get the most out of this series, you just have to keep watching and gradually become immersed in the lives of those characters in it. I like the quote from Tom Payne, who say's: "everyone's luck is based on everyone elses luck." I am expecting an intricate storyline that will fascinate us. Thank you David Milch.

Posted by Mannfan at 16:05
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HBO Luck Pilot Reviews

Being stuck in the UK, it is frustrating to be missing the HBO Luck 'sneak peek' party. But for your convenience I have pulled out some of the latest online reviews of the pilot that reveal mixed feelings, that are largely reflected in the twitter universe. From all the reactions, there seems to be largely cautious anticipation for the rest of the series, having been impressed by cast and "look", but confused by the 'in at the deep end' dialogue and naturalistic sound mixing (which is now common in a Mann production - Miami Vice had similar dialogue sound criticisms).

The overall consensus, I sense, is that there wasn't enough in the pilot to see where it is going (short Hoffman screen time), but there was more than enough to generate the want to see more and see what Milch is going to give us. As with any worthwhile, absorbing and character driven storylines, it has to slow burn before the viewer can 'feel' the inside of what is happening.

I get the impression that Michael Mann receives praise across the board for clear leadership and direction in the overall colour pallet, look and style - so can't wait to see it!

I will cut to the chase. Here is a selection of media reviews for you to consume:


Vogue

LA TImes

NYMag

Flavorwire

Owning Racehorses

What a culture

Entertainment Weekly

Hit Fix

ScreenRant

PaulLickReport (Various public comments)

Guardian

AOL TV

Daily Racing Form

Huffington Post

Slate

Posted by Mannfan at 15:12
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Sunday, 11 December 2011

Tonight's HBO Luck Sneak Peek

Finally, the world gets to see a better glimpse as to how big Michael Mann/Milch's cinematic "Luck" is going to be with a sneak peek preview of the show at 10.00pm on HBO in the US tonight (after Boardwalk Empire finale).

Since I am based in the UK I am missing the whole party! But I received tweets from Tom Payne and the awesome John Otiz, which cheered me up! The buzz is finally getting louder, and I am hearing that Nick Nolte could even pull the heartstrings as the horse lover. Let's face it... the cast of Luck is just breathtaking. All the trailers that HBO are releasing are trying their hardest to reveal them all adequately. I am losing count of how many iterations there are, but the below is one of the recent ones.



Check out the HBO tweets!

I am off to bed... I look forward to hearing what all you lucky Americans think of "Luck". If you are reading this, please leave a comment. I want to hear all about it!
Posted by Mannfan at 15:59
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Wednesday, 7 December 2011

The HBO December Luck Train is Coming Very Soon

It is all "Luck" at the moment, as preparations hot up for the greatly anticipated Premier episode taster due on Dec. 11, at 10:00 p.m., following the season 2 finale of Boardwalk Empire. Being a UK resident, I won't be seeing it (Doesn't come to us Brits until February). Now, if I was an entertainment magazine staff writer I may well be receiving the full nine-episode season to review, according to Stuart Levine at Variety. Click here for all the details. We will shortly be reading a lot of exclusives and seeing newly released promotional images in all those glossies.

The official series debut Sunday, Jan 29 with the remainder of the 9-episode season debuting on subsequent Sundays.

I am hearing rumblings that John Ortiz is superb in it. I loved his convincing role in Miami Vice, and he maximised his quirky role in Public Enemies too. I predict some serious awards will be coming Luck's way, and it would be fitting for John Ortiz to finally get wider recognition. Of course, Dustin Hoffman will receive the most attention, and all in all, I think Luck will become the pinnacle of modern day TV achievement. Quite a statement. Hope I am right. But being in the UK, I won't know until February, when it first airs on this side of the Atlantic.

I guess all the exclusives appearing out there will drown out this blog. I will bow out gracefully. With Luck to now enjoy, we can also be sure Michael Mann will not have had his feet up. Let's see what else pops up on his horizon... remember all that talk about Agincourt, Robert Capa and so on?
Posted by Mannfan at 13:57
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Thursday, 1 December 2011

HBO Sky Atlantic Luck Debut in the UK


Sky television's 'Sky Atlantic' Facebook page has a comment left by one of their people stating that HBO's Luck will not be airing on Sky Atlantic until February. They write, "we will be airing in soon after the US, in February next year" (2012). Given the debut for the US HBO Channel is Sunday, January 29th, February is indeed 'soon' after, but how soon is still unclear. It means I won't be able to blog immediately after each episode. I am sure you will survive...

There is no indication that the UK will have a special preview of the series either, as there is in the US in December. I could say we are "out of Luck" in the UK, but I think the "Luck" jokes will soon be wearing thin!


Posted by Mannfan at 11:52
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Public Enemies Michael Mann and Actor Interviews

Michael Mann Public Enemies Interview


If Public Enemies was your favourite Michael Mann film, then here are some additional interviews that may be of interest. There is a brief Johnny Depp interview where he reveals one of his genuine talents (as if he doesn't have enough already) is with aiming a gun, having grown up with them during his childhood. Christian Bale offers a full interview too. Unfortunately there are no embed sharing options for the videos, so I include the links below:

Michael Mann Interview: Public Enemies

Depp & Bale Talk Guns: Public Enemies

Christian Bale Full Interview: Public Enemies

Marion Cotillard  Full Interview: Public Enemies


Posted by Mannfan at 07:55
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