New series on HBO

Supposed to be a true story about an American reporter that gains access to Tokyo's seedy underbelly
I really enjoyed the episodes out so far

I'm getting flashbacks of Black Rain. It feels contrived to call it Tokyo Vice even as the book it's based on is called that and Michael Mann is also involved. Interesting that his name is not shown on the trailer. Maybe they don't want people to think it's turning into a franchise like CSI <insert city name>.

quote:

Originally posted by Rawny:
Interesting that his name is not shown on the trailer. Maybe they don't want people to think it's turning into a franchise like CSI <insert city name>.

So no Bren 10s or Ferraris?

Not even sure the book Jake Adelstein wrote is factual. There’s rumors that his “friend” who was murdered is actually still alive. The book was very entertaining, none the less, and when Warner Discovery puts together a discount for folks with Discovery+, I’ll be more than happy to watch Michael Mann’s next work.

Michael Mann's involvement doesn't surprise me, but it ultimately disappoints me, as it (perhaps) confirms he doesn't care to make movies like he used to. His yellow fever is apparently full-blown; it was becoming very evident in Blackhat, and showed early signs in the Miami Vice movie. Manhunter is the earliest of his work that I have seen, and Ali is the only feature film of his I haven't, between Manhunter and now. Miami Vice and Heat are both in my top five favorites of all time. Blackhat was barely passable, and would have been a total dud, if it wasn't for his signature gunfights. I guess I am not being totally fair, as he is only directing one episode of this Tokyo Vice, it seems, and producing three. I just really hope he directs another one of his signature movies one day. He may have moved on, stylistically, though, which would suck.

Michael Mann is also 79 years old. He’s got nothing left to prove, and Blackhat was also supposedly ruined by studio interference.

It’s also possible he’s doing TV/Streaming because Miami Vice, Public Enemies, and Blackhat underperformed or lost money at the box office. Which also sucks because of all the shitty people in Hollywood that get to move from bomb to bomb because of their devote belief in “The Message.”

I am only a few episodes in, but I am enjoying it so far.

quote:

Originally posted by KSGM:
Michael Mann's involvement doesn't surprise me, but it ultimately disappoints me, as it (perhaps) confirms he doesn't care to make movies like he used to. His yellow fever is apparently full-blown; it was becoming very evident in Blackhat, and showed early signs in the Miami Vice movie. Manhunter is the earliest of his work that I have seen, and Ali is the only feature film of his I haven't, between Manhunter and now. Miami Vice and Heat are both in my top five favorites of all time. Blackhat was barely passable, and would have been a total dud, if it wasn't for his signature gunfights. I guess I am not being totally fair, as he is only directing one episode of this Tokyo Vice, it seems, and producing three. I just really hope he directs another one of his signature movies one day. He may have moved on, stylistically, though, which would suck.

I was very surprised by Miami Vice. I thought it was outstanding.

What I am tired of is everything defaulting to episodic bullshit. I'll try to watch this, but I'm just tired of series. There are just too many on too many platforms and it makes me want to flip the off switch. This series would have been a great film. And the flip side is all the movie production budgets, many of them are going into episodic bullshit on this platform, on that platform. Films, you can rent a high quality disc in 1080p or 4k and not have to endure the shit quality audio that streaming provides as it's all compressed to hell.

Miami Vice felt like it needed the miniseries treatment. They shot way too much for that film including a $10 million boat race that ended up being cut, and the skinheads plot felt like a different movie to the Columbians and mashed together at the end. It also showed how bad early digital cameras were in low light conditions as the resolution drops and the digital noise levels skyrocket.

The Miami Vice director's cut is value added; I will not watch the theatrical cut. I watch as many movies as I can on DVD, as opposed to high-definition options, as I prefer the picture and sound on DVDs; I know that's weird. That being said, the digital noise you speak of doesn't bother me, though I do know what you're talking about. I love that movie; it balances grit and realism with perfect amounts on intentional cheesiness and bravado.

I really wished I didn’t get rope a doped into watching this. I just finished EP1. Phenomenal. Hooked now. Got damnit. They have 4 more ep’s available. Guess I’ll be losering it out this weekend catching up. These got damn series. At least it’s on something I already have and it’s Mann. You could tell it was Mann. Score very well done. Fascinating characters and story already. I’ve always found Japanese extremely interesting, and the Yakuza even more so. To me just their version of the Italians here but so much different. Watanabe is an excellent actor and he was barely in EP1 but you can tell he will be a title character during the rest of this. Very film like in quality and just the first one.

Just finished the second episode and really like it so far. I’ve always liked Ken Watanabe in anything he’s done.

I'm going to wait until a bundle is announced now that the new company is Warner Bros. Discovery and see what discount they give Discovery+ subscribers since they will eventually combine HBO Max and Discovery+.

Also, I'm not sure how many people know this, but this is based off of a book written by journalist Jake Adelstein called "Tokyo Vice."

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, there's some issue on how accurate the book is in every story that is presented in it, but it is a fantastic read none the less. It is a page turner that also goes into some interesting, if not flattering, bits of life in Japan and how Japan treats outsiders.

Somehow I missed all the hype about Tokyo Vice and that's my bad. What a great series!!! Excellent casting, production values, and story-line. I've been binge-watching Tokyo Vice for a couple of days now and LOVE IT!!!

Back in the day I enjoyed Miami Vice, but this series is very, very different. Much more credible drama to the stories of the principals involved and I like the look this series provides of the Japanese subcultures. Like the kid-reporter (protagonist) Jake Adelstein, viewers aren't just learning about crime in Japan, they're leaning about the Japanese culture(s) and how very differently the people related to each other (vs Americans) as well as the similarities.

I can't overstate this: Tokyo Vice is not a Japanese version of Miami Vice, the similarities between the titles do exist, but that's where they end. Tokyo Vice is a very enjoyable series on many levels and I'm sure other SF members will enjoy it as much as I am. If you're a subscriber to HBO Max, you'll be able to watch each episode that's already aired.