COLLATERAL

Michael Mann's "Collateral" is one of the best looking films I've ever seen. It could be argued that it hardly matters if it's got an interesting plot, is well directed, written and acted, (it has and it is), just so long as you can keep looking at the screen. It was photographed by Dion Beebe and Paul Cameron and it makes LA at night look like the kind of place you might even want to visit. But enough of that; what of that plot, direction etc? This time round Tom Cruise is a villain, (and he's very good indeed playing bad), a hit-man in Los Angeles for a night of murder who commandeers Jamie Foxx and his taxicab as his hostage/accomplice and it's terrifically exciting; a brilliantly constructed noirish thriller with two terrific performances, (Foxx and Cruise compliment each other perfectly). It's brilliantly written by Stuart Beattie and the direction is superb but then what did you expect from a Michael Mann movie. When will Holllywood recognize the fact that he is one of the best directors on the planet and give him the Oscar?