Movies-TV

This is bad

I don't know if this was meant to be a comedy, but it sure had me laughing a lot. First there's Travolta's performance. He played his character way too dumb. I bet he wishes he could take this one back. There are the idiotic lines of dialogue sprinkled throughout the film. For example, when Travolta's wife is watching the reporters outside her own house right after finding out about her husband holding hostages, she says, "Look, now they're standing in my flower bed! That's it!" She's more upset about her flowers than about her husband holding hostages. And when Travolta is giving his first TV interview and says something about going to church, one of the kids he's holding hostages say, "I go to church too, with my family." What's the point of that, except to hit us over the heads with how Travolta is an 'ordinary guy' and is getting people's sympathy through the interview. The worst thing of all however is how utterly stupid the story is. First, the kids who are being held hostage over several days act more like their at summer camp then being kidnapped by a gun-wielding nut. They laugh and play with Travolta, they listen to him tell stories, and when he once in a while goes nuts and starts firing his gun out the window, they forget all about it when he opens up the candy machine for them. Real kids in a situation like this would be terrified. Then there are the people outside who start calling him a hero and printing up T-shirts with his face on it after his interview. Sympathy is one thing, that's understandable, but is anyone actually going to call a guy holding kids hostage a hero? And then there's the media. Everytime someone walks out the front door of the museum, whether its Hoffman or one of the kids, they get rushed by this media mob. The police would've barricaded the place, and the reporter's wouldn't be able to get within a hundred yards of that door. This movie is bad, some of it laughably bad, but mostly just plain bad.

What a Great Thrilling movie!

I thought this was an excellent movie! It is of course excellent because it has two fantastic actors in it: John Travolta and Dustin Hoffman. They are spectacular actors and whoever decide to put them in the same movie is a pure genius!! When i was reading about it i didn't think it would be my type of movie (even though John Travolta is my favorite actor!) but when i did watch it i thought it was great! Although i was very sad at the end when Sam commits suicide, his poor wife and family but that shows what a splendid actor John Travolta is,he really makes you feel sorry for him even when its not real. Dustin Hoffman is a wonderful actor as well and i really think this movie should get some sort of award because it was outstanding!!My hat goes off to John Travolta, Dustin Hoffman and The director!!

A very good show to watch on tape, not in the cinema

Mad City is indeed a very thought-provoking film with some very brilliant acting from Travolta, Hoffman and even the supporting actors/actresses. But however, the most critical factor that has resulted in the film being less than a success is its directing. I felt that the director has failed on his part more than any others. While watching the show, I felt that I was watching a very good 2 hours worth of television show, rather than an A-class top choice movie. Many praises goes out to the supporting actors/actresses who managed to bring out such strong portrayals of how cold, indifferent and manipulative the media can be.

A very good film!

"MAD CITY" BLENDED DRAMA, COMEDY, AND ACTION! Costa-Gravas has made a winner! HOFFMAN and TRAVOLTA rule the screen! ALAN ALDA is a great enemy anchorman! A MUST-SEE for all fans of Hoffma and/or Travolta!

no surprises

John Travolta is an everyman, a loving husband, father, and former security guard turned disgruntled ex-employee after being fired from his job at a local museum. He takes the museum, his former boss, and a group of kids unfortunate enough to be there hostage and the town erupts turning it into a national spectacle. Hoffman is a once prominent journalist whose career is down in the dumps trying to manipulate the situation for all it's worth regardless of who or what it may affect in the process. The story is interesting, the performances are rock solid, especially Hoffman, but its all been seen before. It's a shame, because there's a fine cast and crew involved. **

The Media Drives The Message

Mad City is almost a remake of Billy Wilder's Ace In The Hole with a bit of Network thrown in. The Kirk Douglas part has shifted to a television reporter and it's played with relish by Dustin Hoffman. By sheer chance Hoffman is in the Museum Of Natural History when a security guard who's been laid off due to budget cuts, pulls a shotgun out of canvas bag and holds museum director Blythe Danner, a school teacher and her class who were out on a field trip just as the museum is closing. Oh and he accidentally shoots his former co-worker security guard Bill Nunn as well. That kind of seals his fate.As good as Dustin Hoffman is the film really belongs to John Travolta as the desperate security guard, a slow witted kind of man who really hasn't thought through what he's doing. Hoffman realizing he's got an exclusive story becomes Travolta's media adviser, stringing it out for all it's worth. Travolta has to walk a fine line in this film, balancing his character's situation in his portrayal. We empathize with him, many of us who have ever been desperate and without a paycheck, but we can't sympathize with a man who's holding a whole bunch of grade school kids hostage. Sam Bailey ranks as one of the two or three best pieces of work John Travolta has ever done. In the meantime Hoffman who is also mentoring young reporter Mia Kirshner, too well as it turns out, has also got a rivalry with network anchor Alan Alda. One thing I've noticed about Alan Alda, since he's left MASH, he's gone out of his way to take roles that are the farthest thing from good guy Hawkeye Pierce. He and Hoffman hate each other and Alda's attempts to spin the story his way and Hoffman's countermoves are what really set up the inevitable climax.Mad City is not very nice look at the news business and what people will do to get a story. The film has its roots not only in Ace In The Hole and Network, but you could make a case going all the way back to Five Star Final and other films showing the darker side of reporting and the agenda driven people in that business.Sad to say is that the news is business, show business in fact. In the end poor Travolta had to get off the stage.

A Dog Day Afternoon At The Museum

Man, this was some indictment of the television-reporter-mentality! It was exaggerated, of course, but still interesting to see and in many respects good to see because of the onslaught of tabloid-mentality journalism that seems to have taken over the media in recent years. That kind of "reporting" should be exposed and ridiculed.Whatever, you can enjoy this film for the acting alone with Dustin Hoffman, John Travolta, Alan Alda, Robert Prosky, Mia Kirschner and Ted Levine. These actors, and some good dialog, make the film move along at a good clip despite the absence of much happening on screen.The story gets you involved and reminds me of the famous 70s film, Dog Day Afternoon, in which much of the film takes place in a bank. Here, it's a museum, and a man is in a predicament something like Al Pacino was in that film except Travolta's character here is totally innocent.The screenwriters added bit of humor to this involving story and that made it even better. It's very good entertainment and certainly recommended.

Mad About John

There's no denying that John Travolta's taken his fair share of knocks over the years, the least derserving of which he took upon the release of Mad City. Not only is his performance not bad, it's one of the finest of his career and hands down his best since Pulp Fiction. He plays an inept security guard on the short end of a museums down-sizing when he decides to take back his job, at gunpoint if he has to. This triggers a chain of events the has him taking hostages, children mostly, and becoming the biggest story in network news. To read this you might not expect to find Travolta's character any too sympathetic but he plays it in such a way that you can't help but feel for him and the dilemma in which he faces.

Dustin Hoffman plays opposite him as Max, a reporter with an unscrupulous past for manipulating the facts to further his career. But after locking horns with the networks golden boy (Alan Alda), he finds himself stuck at a small time local news station. His path to redemption with his colleagues, and ultimately himself, comes in the form of Sam Bailey (Travolta). Sam's misguided attempt at reclaiming his job becomes a TV sensation, comparable to Columbine or the Oklahoma City bombing in it's scope. Max spearheads the frenzied coverage from inside the building as a lucky coincidence has him being taken hostage himself.

With the world watching, Max tries to put a heroic spin on the story but finds himself confronted with a difficult choice. His career or Sam's life? And as Max makes his character arch, so too does the audience. The key to his self actualization is that we're taken along for the ride, following him down that dark road that is network politics.

Comparisons to the 1976 classic Network were inevitable and well founded, but this is a different time and the script is updated to reflect the cynicism that has filtered into all of our lives. You can almost see Travolta yelling out at the top of his lungs, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!" He doesn't, of course, and it's to the film's benefit. His quiet, subtle mannerisms are more telling than any line of dialogue or emotional outburst could ever even think of being.

Ted Levine, you ought to remember him as the serial killer Jamie Gum in The Silence of the Lambs, plays a supporting role as the local sheriff trying to achieve notoriety as being the law enforcement offical who "handled" the crisis. He's perfectly cast, as is every role from the children being taken hostage right down to the "background artists."

And those are just a few of the characters acclaimed director Costa Gavras (Z and Missing) dissects in the course of the drama. He centers the story as much on being a character study as a look at corporate news and how they spoon feed us their version of the truth. Deftly written, acted and directed the film's flaws are slight and it's deserving of high praise.

Among my few beefs is the inclusion of a moralistic voice in the form of Robert Prosky, whose less convincing and more annoying because of his preachy tone. That's not to say his performance isn't good or the character isn't necessary to the story, just that it should've been toned down. Afterall, how many of us really believe he could make it to a producer's status without crossing that "invisable line" of ethical integrity along the way?

But aside from that Mad City is a near perfect gem and one of the most underrated movies in a year that provided us with such instant classics as Boogie Nights and L.A. Confidential.

A good message, but flawed movie

I think this movie depicts how the media blows many incidents way out of proportion. In fact, they will desperately go to great lengths and alter what people said in order to present a more catchy, dramatic news headline. John Travolta portrays a man who lost his job a museum. All he wants is his job back. He brings in a gun to be used as threat but accidently fires it and kills a security guard. He realizes that his whole life is ruined. Meanwhile a reporter tries to portray Travolta as a working class man who was simply trying to provide for his family. He shuold serve some time but then should be granted a second chance. Basically he was trying to portray that not every criminal is evil at hurt. However, the media quickly revamped his story and turned it into a sick twisted, racist pig who is holding kids hostage.

As far as the movie goes, it is rather long and boring. Most of it is slow and dragged out over the 2 hour mark. This movie could have been made into an hour and a half. It starts and ends well but the middle became a bit confusing and can be very disinteresting for the viewer to follow.

Surprising!

I was surprised how many bad reviews this movie received. Travolta and Hoffman's on-screen chemistry was undeniable. It was pretty fast paced and kept me interested and seeing what was going to happen next as the situation escalated. Then ending lines in the movie were very powerful and meaningful in a broad spectrum. This is a clever film and is clearly underrated by the average moviegoer. There is some high powered themes and some good suspense playing out in this film. The drama never beats around the bush and it's message stays clear from start to it's powerful finish. The plot knows exactly what it is meant to be, and the acting is precise and very well done. Though some aspects of the movie were a little hard to fathom, I believe you can suspend disbelief if the movie is just good at entertaining. I kept my eyes on the screen the whole time, and definitely related to Travolta's blue collar maniac. I recommend this move to most people that want to have a good time. 7/10

Saw it three times...

...because the first two times I watched it, I fell asleep. (I rarely do this during movies.) Travolta is way out of his league with his role as a naïve security guard. He gives off such a "Look at me! I'm ACTING!" vibe, it's impossible to maintain suspension of disbelief. The movie progresses at a snail's pace. Alan Alda as usual convincingly plays a jerk. If you want to see an out-of-control media really fouling things up, check out "Tomorrow Never Dies."

It's a mad, mad, mad world

This satirical movie starts innocently enough, with Dustin Hoffman (Max Brackett) doing a "controversial" story on a local criminal. Brackett has been relegated to small-town duty after embarassing the network star, Kevin Hollander (played brilliantly by Alan Alda). Sam Baily (Travolta) has been fired after working as a guard at a museum. He lives paycheck to paycheck and has a family to support.

To get his boss to listen to him, he makes the decision to take a gun with him to capture her attention...a gun and a bag full of dynamite. The movie is wonderful, not for the twists and turns, but for the performances and nuances. A number of times, Brackett could take a risk and end the situation, a situation he basically created himself out of his own greed. In the end, this movie has great commentary on how the media goes overboard in its coverage. This movie may be more relevant today than when it was made.

First Review...

A very uninteresting story of security guard Sam Bailey (John Travolta)who loses his job and unintentionally takes hostage a museum curator and a group of school children. As luck would have it, National Enquirer type TV reporter Max Brackett is on location filming an unrelated piece on the Museum's financial troubles. As the story unfolds, Brackett befriends Bailey, and eventually tries to save him from 'spin' relayed by national news anchorman Kevin Hollander (Alan Alda). Boring and predictable stemming from a poorly written script. Only the screen presence and the above average performances of Hoffman and Travolta lend this picture an ounce of mediocrity.

Mad City

Awful film with every performer either wasted or terrible. Especially disappointing for Travolta, who never finds the root of his character. Sadly, he's forced to overacting.

Throughly ordinary, despite good two performances

Proof that taking on Big Subjects won't result in a Big Movie without some imagination or originality. Why has TV become Hollywood's bogeyman for the very late twentieth century? Mad City has an almost identical storyline to Billy Wilder's 1951 classic Ace in the Hole, still the best movie about media ethics.

Average

Fairly good movie. John Travolta and Dustin Hoffman both did a good job, but the whole movie could have been over with in 30 minutes. They drug it out too long. The sheriff was creepy after seeing him as the part of Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs.

Excellent depiction as to the power of the national news media

I just finished watching this movie and I must say that I am awestruck. Everyone around the globe should be exposed to the truth of what the national news media has at their fingertips, the power to move the public opinion to one side or the other. This film exemplifies to the last period exactly what I fear so many are ignorant to, and that is the fact that what we see and hear on our televisions everyday lies in the palm of executives and celebrities (news anchors) who run the networks. I was amazed at the amount of detail that was put into this film to show exactly that. Nothing is left unsaid. Bravo to a production all too unknown.

I liked the entire concept of the movie

We all know the media likes to sensationalize stories, sometimes give a specific story more attention that it deserves just because everybody else is. Most of us have just learned to accept it. This movie creates a good example of that happening, and really goes in-depth to show the audience how the media salivates over a story that has been sensationalized. In that sense it is a true satire. Keeping that in mind, the movie is pretty good for a few chuckles. It's certainly a funny movie, but it's not something you can expect huge laughs from.On that note though, it does make you wonder if the events portrayed are really the way things usually go down. The irony is that there are a few big names in the movie who probably get harassed by the same media, possibly in a very similar way. This movie probably could have done better in theatres, but the media didn't pick up the story at the time.

Another one of Travolta's flops

Ever since winning a Best Actor Oscar for his role in 1994's PULP FICTION,John Travolta was relentlessly,to this day,making films. This one,was his first post-PF flop. His previous flops include PERFECT,TWO OF A KIND,SHOUT and THE EXPERTS. This film was theatrically released on November 7,1997 and released on video on February 24,1998. In this film,Travolta is a former security guard who takes museum patrons hostage,very similar to what Tim Robbins did in 1990's CADILLAC MAN. Max Brackett(Dustin Hoffman) is a news reporter who covers the situation. Great support from Alan Alda. Travolta's follow-up film PRIMARY COLORS was much more successful than this. Despite the critical and box office disappointment,some of Travolta's fans loved this one.

Director Costa-Gavras creates a "Mad City", whose protagonist inhabitants, Max Brackett (Dustin Hoffman) and Sam Baily (John Travolta) unexpectedly meet in a twist of events.

They unite in their impulsive attempts to set the rules for a city gone mad from the influences of the media on a society, which venerates it. Max Brackett, an intelligent and audacious investigative reporter who was once valued by the network, is now desperate to get a good story that will catapult him back to his high status. Sam Baily is an uneducated man whose goals have been frustrated due to the lack of a post-high school education. His dream of joining the Air Force to fly planes dissipated into thin air, leaving a cloudy future before him. As a security guard for the Museum of Natural History, he could barely make ends meet and lived paycheck-to-paycheck, until one day, his boss, Mrs. Banks (Blythe Danner) decides to fire him. Coincidentally, after Max ends an interview with Mrs. Banks at the museum, Sam makes a desperate move to get his job back. While Max's camera assistant, Laurie (Mia Kirshner) waits outside, he steps into the men's room before leaving the building. He hears the commotion of Sam menacing his boss with a gun. Finding a potential of danger and tragedy in a story which could earn him prestige as a reporter, Max approaches Sam with a plan: to provide the world with images of Sam as an innocent victim of the American system and to place himself as the vulnerable-yet-dutiful reporter who would courageously cover the story. Soon, however, they both realize that there are many sides to a story, and the one, which airs first will dictate what the society will believe to be true. The film makes a critique on journalists' exhaustive attempts to feed the public's morbid appetite for tragedy and portrays a gruesome side of contemporary America.