"Die like you live: all of a sudden." This line was spoken by Clark Gable in the 1934 film Manhattan Melodrama. I find it fitting that director Michael Mann (Heat, The Insider, Miami Vice, Collateral) uses this scene in Melodrama in a scene of his own in his latest creation Public Enemies. Why do I find it fitting? Not only is it poetic to see two of my favorite actors from two different eras somehow on the same screen; but it was a wonderful way to see Johnny Depp's John Dillinger connect with a character as large as his own. It was if Dillinger was looking into a mirror and with the side smirk Depp is famous for, Dillinger conveys to the audience that he knows his days are just as numbered as the character he's watching.
Public Enemies opens with an edge of your seat jailbreak that screams arrogance on Dillinger's part. The cast of criminals makes it look all too easy and the scene is the perfect setting for the soundtrack to grab you and make it's presence known. Scored by Elliot Goldenthal (Frida, Batman and Robin, Heat, and The Good Thief) the music of this film does a fantastic job of putting exclamation points at just the right times in each scene. It lends its voice to the era in which the film reflects. Many times you not only see the 1930s (through wonderful costuming and set efforts) you hear and feel it through the melodies Goldenthal projects.
The story of John Dillinger's life revolves around his hiests, his criminal family (Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and others) his woman Billie; touchingly portrayed by Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, and his nemisis at the FBI Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale). Dillinger and his band of ganster brothers tear across the country in a series of bank heists. Each job promising to be bigger and better. Each job putting Dillinger higher up on the Wanted list. J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) is frantically putting together a new force with the ultimate goal of ridding his cities of Dillinger, who will later become known as Public Enemy #1. The force? The F.B.I.
This is where Christian Bale introduces the audience to Agent Melvin Purvis. Bale's performace drew me in to the character of Purvis but sadly the character development was lacking. We never know the backstory of Purvis. Mann could have created a deeper connection between the audience and Purvis if he had given us even a glimpse into his past or a look at his true motives behind catching Dillinger. Bale had a real opportunity to shine but was not given the chance with this role. The same can be said of Crudup's role as J. Edgar Hoover. The acting was there but the character development was not.
Depp does not disappoint with his interpretion of Dillinger. He delivers his smug arrogance in classic Depp style. In one scene Depp strolls his Dillinger into the Chicago Police Department's Dillinger Investigation Unit. His enemies sitting blankly at their desks concentrating on paperwork, Dillinger boldly walks up and down the hall viewing police photos of his fallen comrades; pausing at each photo. At one point he asks the score of a baseball game on the radio. Never looking up to see who is questioning, the cops stupidly reply with the score. Dillinger smirks in classic Depp style and walks out.
Perhaps the shining performance of this film is that of Marion Cotillard. Her portrayal of Billie Freshette, our bad boy Dillinger's love interest, is captivating. Yes, the film is naturally all about Depp as Dillinger, but Cotillard's performance brings an element of grace and beauty to Depp's cold criminal aura. Her performance draws out the human side of Dillinger and creates a connection with the audience in which you can't help but want Dillinger to escape the law at each turn. Cotillard shines brightest in her gritty performance midway through the film when Billie is arrested and charged with helping Dillinger stay one step ahead of the law. She is beaten over and over in a brutal interrogation, even pissing herself at one point, but never gives up her love. Cotillard is committed to the character here and her performance holds you breathless throughout.
The cinematography of this film struck me immediately. Not only does the excellent costuming, set effects, prop pieces ( I loved the gangster Tommy Guns and cars) take you back to Depression Era America; the sweeping camera shots do their part to connect the audience to the time period this film travels through. Mann cleverly used the art of backlighting and crane/traveling shots in many scenes along with tight close ups of Depp and Cotillard a la Film Noir. These techniques help transport the audience back in time in such a powerful yet subtle way.
Public Enemies is NOT The Godfather but it is a great summer flick worth seeing. All the elements are there. Gangsters you secretly root for, lawmen you are conflicted about, guns blazing, a story line rooted in history, and a hint of love. If you know history you know how Public Enemies ends but it was still exciting to see Mann take Dillinger to his demise. And very fitting to see Clark Gable meet his demise just moments before Dillinger leaves the theatre to meet his own.
CAST: Johnny Depp , Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Dorff , Jason Clarke, David Wenham, Channing Tatum, and Billy Crudup
Rating: R
Monday, July 20, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Buno or Bru-NO?
Let me tell you...I seriously can't decide! Did I like this or not? Hmmmm. It's my fault really. I still hold Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat to be the funniest film I've seen in recent history. Not only do I own it...I STILL laugh at it every time I see it! For my money Borat was sheer genius, fresh, and absolutely hilarious. Hands down. So, I expected the same from Cohen's third (Ali G being his first) caricature. I have to admit I was a little bit disappointed. But, as I said it may be my fault. Not everything will be as brilliant as the great Borat.
Now, I go on record as being disappointed. BUT that doesn't mean that I hated Bruno or that it didn't do exactly what it set out to do. It set out to be outrageous. It set out to offend all people of all corners of this world. It set out to bring about discussion of society and how we handle topics such as religious intolerance, homophobia, cultural differences, and sex. In short, it accomplished all of these in a way that reminds us we all take the world and ourselves way too seriously. Bruno was offensive, raw, and in your face...and that's exactly what we all expected from Cohen.
Here's the basics. Bruno is a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion reporter who, just like Borat, seeks success and a new life in America after he gets booted from his cable show Funkyzeit(hopefully translation isn't needed) for destroying a fashion show with his Velcro suit. Once here he finds himself in more trouble which all translate into vulgar and shocking scenes of outrageous comedy. I don't want to give it away because we've all seen the previews but there are plenty of scenes featuring dildos, penises, and horrid attire (it is about a gay man ya know) that follow.
As with Borat, the tension comes from not knowing who is, or isn’t, in on the joke. Did Bruno really ask an officer of the Al Aqsa Martrys’ Brigade to kidnap him to boost popularity? Or tell the Alabama National Guard their uniforms were too “matchy-matchy”? A visit to a swingers’ party feels a little staged but the interview with the mother of a child model feels all to real when Bruno gets her to agree to have her baby lose 10 pounds for a photoshoot. Surely the "God Hates Fags" protestors Bruno encounters while chained to his man slave are real. Once again Cohen pulls out the worst in society in a way that highlights a serious issue while at the same time puts the audience in the floor with laughter. Oh, and I don't think God hates fags...but this is Bruno's spotlight; not mine.
However, and here's where my disappointment comes in, there simply wasn't enough of the aforementioned. There seemed to be more "plot" and "acting" in this installment. Normally this is a good thing but in this case the point of the film is to see the shocked faces of those that Bruno offends. Also, it seemed that Cohen relied heavily on penis jokes and vulgar sex innuendos. Ok, fine..I'm ok with that. But in this case it got old. Talking penises (Yes...talking) and dildos are funny the first time but not the other 49 times. Give the audience a little something more to talk about. Intelligent humor is always better than potty humor. We're worth it and you're better than that, Cohen. So there are my two gripes. Take it or leave it..either way this is still a film you should see if you want to spend the afternoon laughing and repeating OMG and WTF.
Look for a Rusty Trombone feature as well as a collaboration with Elton John, Snoop Dogg, Slash, Bono, and Sting. As for the rest of the film, I'll let you decide whether it is too offensive for you or not. The only caution I can give is that at times comedy turns to idiocy and you almost begin to doubt Cohen's ability. ALMOST. It's still hilariously bold and provoking. Just don't expect it to be BORAT. It's not, and as I said before it's not as funny or as well done either. You'll still laugh and you'll still like it if you're a Cohen fan. Just don't repeat my mistake and expect Borat sized laughs. And don't be jealous...Cohen's ass is hotter than most chicks in this movie. Wonder where he finds those shorts......
Now, I go on record as being disappointed. BUT that doesn't mean that I hated Bruno or that it didn't do exactly what it set out to do. It set out to be outrageous. It set out to offend all people of all corners of this world. It set out to bring about discussion of society and how we handle topics such as religious intolerance, homophobia, cultural differences, and sex. In short, it accomplished all of these in a way that reminds us we all take the world and ourselves way too seriously. Bruno was offensive, raw, and in your face...and that's exactly what we all expected from Cohen.
Here's the basics. Bruno is a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion reporter who, just like Borat, seeks success and a new life in America after he gets booted from his cable show Funkyzeit(hopefully translation isn't needed) for destroying a fashion show with his Velcro suit. Once here he finds himself in more trouble which all translate into vulgar and shocking scenes of outrageous comedy. I don't want to give it away because we've all seen the previews but there are plenty of scenes featuring dildos, penises, and horrid attire (it is about a gay man ya know) that follow.
As with Borat, the tension comes from not knowing who is, or isn’t, in on the joke. Did Bruno really ask an officer of the Al Aqsa Martrys’ Brigade to kidnap him to boost popularity? Or tell the Alabama National Guard their uniforms were too “matchy-matchy”? A visit to a swingers’ party feels a little staged but the interview with the mother of a child model feels all to real when Bruno gets her to agree to have her baby lose 10 pounds for a photoshoot. Surely the "God Hates Fags" protestors Bruno encounters while chained to his man slave are real. Once again Cohen pulls out the worst in society in a way that highlights a serious issue while at the same time puts the audience in the floor with laughter. Oh, and I don't think God hates fags...but this is Bruno's spotlight; not mine.
However, and here's where my disappointment comes in, there simply wasn't enough of the aforementioned. There seemed to be more "plot" and "acting" in this installment. Normally this is a good thing but in this case the point of the film is to see the shocked faces of those that Bruno offends. Also, it seemed that Cohen relied heavily on penis jokes and vulgar sex innuendos. Ok, fine..I'm ok with that. But in this case it got old. Talking penises (Yes...talking) and dildos are funny the first time but not the other 49 times. Give the audience a little something more to talk about. Intelligent humor is always better than potty humor. We're worth it and you're better than that, Cohen. So there are my two gripes. Take it or leave it..either way this is still a film you should see if you want to spend the afternoon laughing and repeating OMG and WTF.
Look for a Rusty Trombone feature as well as a collaboration with Elton John, Snoop Dogg, Slash, Bono, and Sting. As for the rest of the film, I'll let you decide whether it is too offensive for you or not. The only caution I can give is that at times comedy turns to idiocy and you almost begin to doubt Cohen's ability. ALMOST. It's still hilariously bold and provoking. Just don't expect it to be BORAT. It's not, and as I said before it's not as funny or as well done either. You'll still laugh and you'll still like it if you're a Cohen fan. Just don't repeat my mistake and expect Borat sized laughs. And don't be jealous...Cohen's ass is hotter than most chicks in this movie. Wonder where he finds those shorts......
Monday, July 6, 2009
MegaTron=MegaDisappointment. Transformers: Revenge on the Movie Goer
Ok, so I'll admit it. I actually liked the first Transformers so I had hopes for the second installment. But, alas, I have now seen 2 very bad movies in a row. Wow. Who knew reviewing movies would actually suck from time to time? I think I may pull out my old school DVD collection just to feel better about the world.
The main issue with this film is the fact that for the first solid hour there is no real plot! We start off with the main character Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf) preparing to go to college while his unbelievably hot girlfriend Makaela (Megan Fox) stays behind to work in her daddy's motorcycle garage. There's my first problem. Really? Motorcycle garage? Um, you're hot. Leave town and pose for Playboy. It feels like this could actually go somewhere for a few minutes. Then, suddenly Sam ends up on campus and all hell breaks loose. This is where the confusion starts. Things just escalate without any real reason or direction. As an audience member you start trying to figure out how we got from college to things exploding and running to Egypt!?!?! What's worse is the dialogue of the characters seems to suggest that THEY don't even know what's going on.
The other thing that really hurts this movie is the fact that there seem to be tons of charcters muddling up the script but we are supposed to only focus on 5. Bumblebee is back along with Optimus (of course), Megatron, and our two human heroes. But suddenly we are faced with welcoming 2 twin autobots who are SUPPOSED to serve as some sort of comic relief. In all honesty they are just hip hop annoyances that you almost have to have an urban dictionary to understand. Then we meet the 1,000 year old Decepticon turned good who brought back memories of Treebeard from Lord of The Rings (an actual good movie, btw). One of the worst things about this film is not being able to understand, that is HEAR, what the autobot characters are saying. Their voices are so overprocessed it is very difficult to understand their dialogue.
In fact, the movie is entirely too loud overall. It seems that director Michael Bay knew he had a weak plot so he filled it with unbearably loud explosions.
Visually it was a confusing mess as well. I almost got dizzy watching the autobots transform into whatever it was they were becoming. Everything moves so fast that you can't keep up with where the pieces are going. Many times I couldn't even tell which machine was fighting with machine. It was just a jumbled mess of loud, dizzying annoyance. All you know is now we're a car...or now we're a military tank...or now we're annoyed and falling asleep in the theatre (oh..sorry...that was ME).
This movie was entirely too long. Michael Bay spent too much time trying to develop his robots into emotional beings that an audience can connect with. The flaw with this? They're robots! Instead of meaningful dialogue it just comes off as cheesy attempts at creating an emotional link between these "beings" and their human counterparts. Also, there seemed to be alot of slow motion running. Our human friends seem to run VERY slowly out of explosions, into each other's arms, through the desert...In short, we could have ended this about 30 minutes sooner and I wouldn't have been nearly as annoyed.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a trick. Somehow it's raked in millions at the box office. My best guess is from 14 year old boys who are old enough to understand Megan Fox is hot but young enough to still have Optimus Prime on a shelf in their bedroom next to the cheetos and Dr. Pepper. Don't waste your money and if you decide to my only request is that you rent it later. At least that way you can fast forward through the bad dialogue and slow motion. Oh, and when you're done let Michael Bay redeem himself by catching The Rock...even if it's on TBS.
Cast: Shai LeBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Rainn Wilson, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, Hugo Weaving
Rating: Pg-13
The main issue with this film is the fact that for the first solid hour there is no real plot! We start off with the main character Sam Witwicky (Shia LeBeouf) preparing to go to college while his unbelievably hot girlfriend Makaela (Megan Fox) stays behind to work in her daddy's motorcycle garage. There's my first problem. Really? Motorcycle garage? Um, you're hot. Leave town and pose for Playboy. It feels like this could actually go somewhere for a few minutes. Then, suddenly Sam ends up on campus and all hell breaks loose. This is where the confusion starts. Things just escalate without any real reason or direction. As an audience member you start trying to figure out how we got from college to things exploding and running to Egypt!?!?! What's worse is the dialogue of the characters seems to suggest that THEY don't even know what's going on.
The other thing that really hurts this movie is the fact that there seem to be tons of charcters muddling up the script but we are supposed to only focus on 5. Bumblebee is back along with Optimus (of course), Megatron, and our two human heroes. But suddenly we are faced with welcoming 2 twin autobots who are SUPPOSED to serve as some sort of comic relief. In all honesty they are just hip hop annoyances that you almost have to have an urban dictionary to understand. Then we meet the 1,000 year old Decepticon turned good who brought back memories of Treebeard from Lord of The Rings (an actual good movie, btw). One of the worst things about this film is not being able to understand, that is HEAR, what the autobot characters are saying. Their voices are so overprocessed it is very difficult to understand their dialogue.
In fact, the movie is entirely too loud overall. It seems that director Michael Bay knew he had a weak plot so he filled it with unbearably loud explosions.
Visually it was a confusing mess as well. I almost got dizzy watching the autobots transform into whatever it was they were becoming. Everything moves so fast that you can't keep up with where the pieces are going. Many times I couldn't even tell which machine was fighting with machine. It was just a jumbled mess of loud, dizzying annoyance. All you know is now we're a car...or now we're a military tank...or now we're annoyed and falling asleep in the theatre (oh..sorry...that was ME).
This movie was entirely too long. Michael Bay spent too much time trying to develop his robots into emotional beings that an audience can connect with. The flaw with this? They're robots! Instead of meaningful dialogue it just comes off as cheesy attempts at creating an emotional link between these "beings" and their human counterparts. Also, there seemed to be alot of slow motion running. Our human friends seem to run VERY slowly out of explosions, into each other's arms, through the desert...In short, we could have ended this about 30 minutes sooner and I wouldn't have been nearly as annoyed.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a trick. Somehow it's raked in millions at the box office. My best guess is from 14 year old boys who are old enough to understand Megan Fox is hot but young enough to still have Optimus Prime on a shelf in their bedroom next to the cheetos and Dr. Pepper. Don't waste your money and if you decide to my only request is that you rent it later. At least that way you can fast forward through the bad dialogue and slow motion. Oh, and when you're done let Michael Bay redeem himself by catching The Rock...even if it's on TBS.
Cast: Shai LeBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Rainn Wilson, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, Hugo Weaving
Rating: Pg-13
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)