Video Vault: 'Miami Blues'

George Armitage didn't direct many films, but he has two great ones on his resume. Last week, I wrote about 1998's "Grosse Pointe Blank." This week, we'll skip back a few years for his offbeat noir classic, "Miami Blues."

Before Quentin Tarantino mixed crime drama and edgy comedy in 1992's "Reservoir Dogs," Armitage did it here - and did it just as well. Alec Baldwin plays Freddy Frenger, a seriously unbalanced goofball who swipes the badge of a downbeat detective (Fred Ward) and movies in with a naive hooker (Jennifer Jason Leigh). The result is wildly entertaining with a loopy energy few movies can match. The three lead actors (especially Baldwin) deliver strong performances, and cinematographer Tak Fujimoto gives the whole film a suitably sun-drenched look.

It's a shame almost no one remembers "Miami Blues," because it was - no kidding - one of the best movies of the '90s.

Will Pfeifer writes about new DVDs on Tuesdays and older ones on Sundays. Contact him at wpfeifer@rrstar.com or 815-987-1244. You can also read his Movie Man blog at blogs.e-rockford.com/movie man