Review: Public Enemies

Synopsys

Pulic Enemies is the story of John Dillinger (Johnny Depp), as he robbed banks with his crew in the mid 1930's, his rise to popular fame and his attemps to remain together with the love of his life, Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard), while being hunted down by rookie FBI Agent, Melvin Purvis(Christian Bale).

Comments

As I've stated before in my blog, I'm not a movie expert, but in my oppinion, this is Michael Mann's best film since "Collateral". "Public Enemies" is linear and hyper-realistic, combined with high tension and sharp dialogue. The movie features Oscar worthy performances by Johnny Depp and Marion Cotillard, whose characters' love story is at the centre of the film, since the story begins when john Dillinger falls for Billie Frechette, and decides to take her along for the crime sprees throughout Illinois.

Michael Mann pulls together a great deal of technical and histrionic talent to create an awsome gangster film. The action is gritty and the sound of the bullets during the shoot outs are as real as they can get. You will almost smell the gunpowder. Kudos to the film's sound engineers, they deserve their golden baldies come March 2010. Same for the cinematographers. The high resolution camera work is outstanding and its what makes the film so realistic.

The dialogue is great, and all the performances are awsome. This is one of the few films that dare to make us really cheer for the criminal despite the moral predicament, while the FBI agents hunting down Dillinger are mean as hell. Bale is fine as the cold blooded, but sort of frustrated Melvin Purvis. Billy Crudup plays J. Edgar Hoover with a funny Boston accent. Also one of the best performances comes from Stephen Graham, who plays Baby Face Nelson, with a large dose of psycho anger. I will be angry if Marion Cotillard does not get a Golden Globe and and an Oscar nomination for her role as Billie Frechette, Dillinger's grilfriend and true accomplice. This young French actress looks great and provides the emotional hook to the film, which without her and her chemistry with Depp, would have been almost an un-narrated documentary.

In my opinion, this is the best movie playing right now at theaters. Unfortunately in South Florida, "Moon" is not being shown in theaters. According to critics and fellow bloggers in other parts of the country, this is the other great movie of the summer.

Review: Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen

Synopsis

Sam (Shia LaBeouf) is set to go to college, keep a long distance ralationship with girlfiend Mikaela(Megan Fox) and live a normal life. Until he mysteriously starts seeing weird alien writings everywhere and his old friend, Optimus Prime, asks for his help in the battle against the Decepticons for the preservation of the human race. Sam must realize that after his involvement with the Autobots, and their struggle against the evil Decpticons, his life will never be normal.

Comments

The first film back in 2007, was a good visual spectacle, but became unmemorable for me after a few days. I was initially not very interest in watching Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen. That's why I didn't rush to the nearest theater on Tuesday night, and reviewed this film earlier. I was also weary of this sequel after reading mixed reviews from other movie blogs, and their complaints about two new Autobot characters called The Twins; a pair of gangsta wannabe Autobots that transform into Ford Focus cars.

This weekend I decided to go see this film on IMAX. I bought the tickets in advance and went early this very Sunday morning to avoid big crowds. Conclusion: a fairly good two hour entertaining session with excellent special effects. This sequel has more robots and much more action than the first film. For the last 30 minutes, the action is literally non-stop. The robot battles are grittier and more brutal than I expected. On an overall technical level, this film is excellent eye candy.

Now, the script follows the same plot formula from the first film. Sam is entrusted in protecting a piece of ancient alien technology in order to save humanity. There is an unexpected subplot twist, involving Sam's attempt to remain faithful to Mikaela while in college. There are exotic locations like Shanghai, Egypt and the ruins of Petra. Megan Fox is hot and a pivotal part of the eye candy factor, along with the special effects.

There is really dumb dialogue that does not provide an edge to the acting, or character development. Bumblebee, Sam's protector, was able to speak at the end of the first movie. Why can't he talk now? Dialogue should have been written for Bumblebee, and in turn, screenwriters should have not included The Twins. Although they were funny, they do not contribute to the story at all. Sam's parents, or even Sam himself, could have provided the appropriate level of comic relief. Another flaw in the script: US and British soldiers belonging to a top secret squadron, use normal sized guns and rifles to fight the gigantic heavy metal Decepticons. I found it unintentionally funny. Wouldn't it be like using bows and arrows to fight a modern day tank?

This movie is unmemorable, yet fun to watch, if you want to get out of the everyday rut. To avoid big crowds, either take a day off from work and go to the early morning screenings, or go early on Sunday morning. See it on IMAX to maximize the experience.