Yo homie, is that my briefcase?

 Yeah, it is.

Collateral (2004).  There's no aliens here, no fancy gadgets, no desert location, no government conspiracy, and no reasons for it to show up on this blog.  But I like it, and that's good enough for me.  Tom Cruise plays a cold blooded no bullshit assassin with some serious skills, and he's loose in Los Angeles.  There are some great action scenes, but that's not really what this movie is about.  Dialogue sets the stage here, and Jamie Foxx pulls off the "normal every day guy" role pretty well.

I'll still never get over the fact that, somehow, Vincent gets killed by Jamie Foxx's character at the end.  I knew that's how it "had to end" because it's a movie, but in reality, Jamie Foxx would've gotten smoked.  The gun play and tactical scenes were great because Tom Cruise puts in the work.  Everyone likes to trip over themselves about how awesome Keanu was in John Wick, but I'll say Tom does just as good or better in Collateral. The briefcase scene and the club scene really showcase his ability to show off some real deal moves.  No stunt guy here.

Aside from some small flaws (imo), it's a pretty damn good movie.  Michael Mann directed and produced it, so it had a damn good shot at being great.  

Someday?  Someday my dream will come?  One night you will wake up and discover it never happened.  It's all turned around on you. It never will. Suddenly you are old.  Didn't happen, and it never will, because you were never going to do it anyway. You'll push it into memory and then zone out in your barco lounger, being hypnotized by daytime TV for the rest of your life.  Don't you talk to me about murder.  All it ever took was a down payment on a Lincoln town car.  That girl, you can't even call that girl.  What the fuck are you still doing driving a cab?