Public Enemies

John Dillinger...An American gangster... A man that I don't know much about but am very interested in. What a great idea for a film. Public Enemies, a Michael Mann Film, starring Johnny Depp as the notorious John Dillinger. I couldn't have been more excited but, I am sorry to say, I was very disappointed.

Michael Mann is one of my favorite writer/directors still doing it today. Mann has created a few masterpieces of his own including Heat and The Insider, making him, in my opinion, one of the best film auteurs of our time. Public Enemies is simply not one of his best pieces of work. His decision to use digital and mostly hand held cameras was plainly a bad choice. It didn't capture the essence of the 1930's and turned out to be a distracting film tecnique that took away from the movie.

Public Enemies seemed to begin towards the downfall of Dillinger's illustrious existence, and it seemed to take place over a very short period of time. I feel like this made the character development in this film very poor. You don't really get to know John Dillinger and the film didn't do a good job explaining why he was Public Enemy #1 opposed to Babyface Nelson or anyone else in his crew.

John Dillinger was a depression era bank robber whom the public admired. He only stole from the banks and he cared about the community because they were the people that he hid out amongst. I know that is how it really happened but it just felt like a really cliche storyline. Just another Jesse James.

The film became repetitive.....He gets caught, he escapes, he gets caught again, he escapes again, and then he dies. Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) the lead agent assigned to track Dillinger down seems to always be a step ahead of him. John Dillinger did not come across as a criminal mastermind at all. And in the middle of all that they throw in a kind of dull love story.

Despite my previous comments, I didn't exactly hate the film. I thought it was well acted and some of the shootouts and jailbreaks were very good. They were not few, but they were short and far between. Bottom line, I didn't really learn much about Dillinger that I didn't already know. I felt like the trailer basically shows everything in the film. It was poorly directed, the screenplay was weak and I would recommend waiting for DVD to see this one.

Trailer

Star Trek

I can't claim to be a Star Trek follower, in fact I haven't seen any of the original Star Trek series. Despite my lack of familiarity with Star Trek, I absolutely loved this film. It is everything you want from a summer blockbuster and seeing it on an I-MAX screen was amazing.

Star Trek was action packed from beginning to end. There wasn't one boring scene in this film. It composes a great introduction to the characters and the story, and it sets itself up perfectly for at least one sequel. I can't emphasize enough, how great the I-MAX experience is. I am going to make sure and see everything available in I-MAX in I-MAX.

The story revolves around James T. Kirk, a rebellious, arrogant young man who is destined to join Starfleet and become captain of a Star ship. Chris Pine was born to play the role of James Kirk and he created a character that is hard not to love.

James Kirk's counterpart is undeniably Spock; a brilliant young man who, throughout his life, has struggled with the fact that he is half human, and half Vulcan. The movie did a great job showing the effect that this simple fact had on Spock, even going back to his childhood.

The villain is Nero, played by Eric Bana, a Romulan (dude from the planet Romulus), who has traveled back in time, due to a black hole, and has far superior technology than that of Starfleet. Nero is creating black holes in the center of planets and these black holes are destroying these planets entirely. Along with their entire crew, Kirk and Spock must stop Nero before he destroys Earth.

The special effects are state of the art, making the visuals absolutely dazzling. The entire ensemble cast delivered, including a cameo from the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy. One of my favorite characters had to be Scotty, a transporter genius played by the hilarious Simon Pegg. I thought Star Trek was a great summer blockbuster and I am looking forward to the sequel.

Trailer

The Sting

Paul Newman and Robert Redford make up the legendary duo of Henry Gondorff and Johnny Hooker in George Roy Hill's The Sting. The two play the best con artists the big screen has ever seen. This classic film has become inspiration for many others such as the Ocean's Trilogy. A con film with twists and turns around every corner. The Sting won 7 Academy Awards in 1974 including: Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.

When a young grifter's partner and friend is killed by Chicago mob boss Doyle Lonnegan, (Robert Shaw), he teams up with legendary con artist Henry Gondorff to exact his revenge. Henry asks him "why do you want to get him so bad kid?". And Johnny replies "because I don't know enough about killing to kill him."

Hooker's partner Luther was well known and loved by many Chicago grifters and they all wanted to help Hooker execute the "big con" against the dangerous Doyle Lonnegan. The goal is to get a large sum of Lonnegan's money without him knowing that it is them who took him. A crooked cop, along with some FBI agents are just a couple of the obstacles that stand in their way.

The Sting is just an all around fun movie. I think that Paul Newman and Robert Redford delivered outstanding performances as Henry Gondorff and Johnny Hooker. I first saw Paul Newman and Robert Redford together in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a film that I absolutely love, and after seeing them together in The Sting I think they have become one of my favorite acting duos.

The Sting is a great film, a classic. I have to give props to my dad for recommending this movie to me. He has always supported my love for films and encouraged me to write about them. For that I am forever grateful. Before he mentioned The Sting I really hadn't heard anything about this film and, maybe to your surprise, that makes me happy. It makes me feel like even though I have seen more movies than the average person; everyday there is still a possibility that I will discover a great film.

It's crazy to think that films have only been around for about 1 hundred years and it makes me wonder how many good movies will be forgotten over time. I believe that the great films will live forever but I feel bad for the next generation, in the sense that it is going to be a lot harder for them to catch up with all the films from the past than it was for me; and there are still plenty of films that I need to see.

The Sting is a great movie from the past and I hope it lives on forever. So, check it out.

Trailer

Watchmen

Based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore, Watchmen is the first must see film of the year. I never read the graphic novel and I knew nothing about the Watchmen, but from the trailer I though it looked awesome. It was directed by Zack Snyder; an innovative director whose previous works include 300 and Dawn of the Dead (2004). I really wasn't a big fan of 300 but I thought Dawn of the Dead (2004) was a very good zombie movie so, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

Watchmen is set in version of a 1985 America, in which America is on the brink of a nuclear war with Russia. A war that would ultimately conclude with the end of the world. When the film begins the Watchmen are a group of ex-superheros. When one of them is killed, a few of the others, led by Rorschach, begin to investigate the murder of their friend and believe that this murder was just the beginning of an attempt to kill them all.

The film moves along with flashbacks and narration from Rorschach's diary that gives some of the background of each of the Watchmen. I thought the film did a great job of giving some insight into each of these characters personalities. Rorschach was, by far, my favorite character and I thought Jackie Earle Haley did a great job playing this character. One of my favorite lines of the movie was "I'm not stuck in here with you....you're stuck in here with me". This line was perfectly delivered and really illustrated how badass Rorschach was.

It only seemed like one of the Watchmen had actual super powers. Dr. Manhattan came to be from a science experiment gone wrong. He had the power to control all matter, so basically he can do anything and everything. The rest of the characters just seemed to be exceptional fighters. Besides that there was no evidence that they had any powers. I absolutely loved all the action scenes and I think the violence was very well done.

Besides the spectacular action scenes, I think this film was somewhat a criticism of human nature. I think the scene where the Comedian jumps into the street during the riot personifies my point. Also the comedian specifically says "mankind's been trying to kill each other off since the beginning of time. Now...we finally have the power to finish the job." It seemed to be a theme that ran through the movie and I feel like it gave the film more of a purpose than just a bunch of superheros running around fighting crime.

Watchmen was an epic film with a running time of 2hr 42min but I enjoyed every minute of it from beginning to end. Some of the criticism i hear from the graphic novel lovers is that Ozymandias was supposed to be a hardcore character but in the film he looked like a wimp. I agree that it probably was a bad casting decision but I don't think it really hurt the film.

Watchmen is one of my favorite super hero movies of all time. I think it is 2nd to only The Dark Knight. It is a work of art and I'm hoping to catch it in IMAX before it leaves theatres.

Trailer

No Surprises at 81st Annual Academy Awards

I can't say that I didn't see this coming, but to me, this was a disappointing night. Can someone please explain to my why the best movie of the year was not even nominated for Best Picture, Director, or Screenplay? As the second highest grossing movie of all time, The Dark Knight was clearly snubbed this year at the Oscars and it was just sad to see.

Slumdog Millionaire? Wait did you say Slumdog Millionaire? Are you serious? The more awards this film wins, and the more I hear people hailing at it's greatness, the more I hate this movie. Don't get me wrong, when I first saw this movie I liked it. I thought it was well directed but I just felt like the screenplay was a little out there. I thought the musical rendition summed up this film very well, CHEESY. Some say that Slumdog Millionaire is inspirational but I believe that in order to be inspiring a film needs to believable.

Slumdog Millionaire walked away with 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. I think that writing is one of the most important, and maybe the most important part of film making. There is no way that Slumdog Millionaire had a better screenplay than The Dark Knight. Each character in The Dark Knight faced moral dilemma in decisions that had to be made. I did not see as much depth in the characters from Slumdog Millionaire and it didn't look as though much thought was put into the ending. Yay, its so perfect, he got the money and the girl...Come on.

I did end up seeing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and I wasn't a huge fan but I want to give it another viewing when it comes to DVD. I also never got around to see The Reader, The Wrestler, or Frost/Nixon but for what I did see here is the way I thought the night should have gone. Out of what was nominated and what I saw I definitely think that Milk should have won Best Picture over Slumdog Millionaire. Milk is a truly inspirational film and it hard for me to understand how anyone, who saw them both, could think that Slumdog Millionaire was the better film. Milk was a harder film to distribute in America despite the fact that it is an American Film, with big name actors, and a big name director. Milk never received a wide release and I think this is due to the homophobia that sadly still exists in our society.

Sean Penn won best Actor for his performance in Milk. I was happy with this award but I didn't get to see The Wrestler and I hear that this film would not be what it was if it wasn't for a tremendous performance by Mickey Rourke. Personally I think that Clint Eastwood should have been nominated for Gran Torino, at least over Brad Pitt's performance in Benjamin Button. I don't think Brad Pitt's performance was bad I just liked Eastwood's better. Sean Penn gave a great speech, one of the highlights of the night, in which he gave Mickey Rourke props, and he also addressed proposition 8.

Kate Winslet won Best Actress for her performance in The Reader. I was happy about this even though I have not seen the Film. Kate Winslet has been one of the top actresses for a few years now and it was her time to win. I thought she was amazing in Revolutionary Road and maybe this Oscar is for the two great performances this year, The Reader and Revolutionary Road. Anne Hathaway was brilliant in Rachel Getting Married but I'm sure she will be back at the Oscars very soon.

Danny Boyle won Best Director for Slumdog Millionaire. Personally, out of what I saw and what was nominated, I would have voted for Gus Van Sant for Milk but I think Danny Boyle was a worthy recipient. Slumdog Millionaire was beautifully directed. I had more of a problem with the writing. I feel like I could go on about the Oscars forever but for a full recap click here.

Paths of Glory

Written and Directed by Stanley Kubrick, Paths of Glory dipped into an aspect of war that is not too often explored. This anti-war film is set in 1916 and loosely based on the Battle of Verdun, for a French stronghold; but the film really centers around the dysfunction within the French army. Stanley Kubrick was only 28 years old, with a minimal budget of less than $1 million, when he created his first masterpiece in Paths of Glory.

Paths of Glory takes place during WW1 and begins in the French trenches as they prepare to charge and conquer the "Ant Hill", an impossible mission that is destined for failure. There was a very important scene at the beginning of the film that set the tone for the entire film. When General Mireau tells Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) he must lead his men in this suicidal mission, with no support, Colonel Dax inquires about how many casualties the General anticipates. The General responds "5% killed by our own barrage, 10% going through no man's land, 20% going through the wire, and 25% in actually taking the ant hill."

The German gunfire was just too heavy and the French end up retreating, despite the Generals orders. As you can imagine the General was not happy with this result, so he ends making 3 men stand trial, under penalty of death, for cowardice. He wants to set an example for the whole battalion, but Colonel Dax defends his men and is willing to do anything he can to make sure that this does not happen.

I think it is ironic that the General, who was not in the line of fire, is accusing his own men, who were risking their lives, of cowardice. Instead of being concerned with the Germans, they were spending their time sending their own men to trial, and possibly execution. It was absurd to me that the only person who seemed to be thinking logically was Colonel Dax.

I absolutely loved the ending of this movie, with a German woman singing in a pub. You have to see it to know what I mean but it really brings out the fact that there is value in every life, a human aspect that can so often be forgotten in war, and was definitely forgotten by General Mireau.

Paths of Glory was well written and beautifully directed. Because of the critical assessment and the shame this film brought on the French military, it was banned in France and Switzerland for almost 20 years (until the mid 70's). This film is a work of art and Kirk Douglas delivers a superb performance as Colonel Dax. Definitely one of the top 5 war films of all time and one of Kubrick's best.

Christian Bale Sounds Off

Christian Bale snapped and tore Shane Hurlbut, the Director of Photography, a new one on the set of Terminator Salvation. This incident occurred in July of last year but an audio clip of the incident just recently surfaced. The main point I want to make is that this should have never leaked to the press, although as a blogger I am glad it did. I believe that things like this probably happen often and that it should remain the business of the professionals on set, and I think that usually is the case.

I really like Christian Bale as an actor but after I heard this I thought of this man as a conceited little brat. One of higher paid individuals on set who thinks he is more important to the film than anyone else. Personally I don't understand how one can attack someone so ferociously for something that is seemingly unimportant in the big scope of things. There is no excuse for his little tirade and at first I lost all my respect for him.

However recently Christian Bale came out on KROQ's radio program with Kevin and Dean to apologize (click here). After listening to this seemingly sincere apology I am back on the Christian Bale band wagon. I have no problem with the graphic language, just the way in which the words were directed. People make mistakes and I think that this apology was sincere and that he should be forgiven. According to Bale, Shane Hurlbut has forgiven him and they have let bygones be bygones and so should we.

Christian Bale is a great actor because he cares about the work he is doing and he expects perfection. Terminator Salvation looks like it will be an awesome film and I can't wait to see. First listen to his rant and then listen to his apology and please don't let this stop you from seeing the film. It's going to be a good one. And Christian you're still my boy.

Revolutionary Road

Directed by Sam Mendes (Jarhead, Road to Perdition, American Beauty), and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road seemed to have all the ingredients for a successful film. I went into this film with high expectations and I'm sorry to say I was very disappointed.

Based on the critically acclaimed novel by Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road is a story that takes place in the 50's about a couple named the Wheelers. Although to most the Wheelers seem to be living "perfect" lives, they are actually looking for a way to get out of the routine that has become their everyday life.

April, (Kate Winslet), is a suburban stay at home mom who has given up her dream of becoming an actress, and Frank, (Leonardo DiCaprio), absolutely hates his job in the city. There is a cool scene towards the beginning of the film when Frank is on his way to work. A bunch of men, all dressed the same and carrying briefcases, all get on the train to the city. Then when they get to the train station there is a slow motion sequence with all the men walking to work and I think this shot really personifies how mundane Frank's life has become.

One day after a couple flashbacks to when April and Frank first met, April gets an idea when she remembers how much Frank loved Paris when he spent time there during the war. "People are alive there...Not like here". Her idea is to move to the family to Paris. She would get a secretarial position at a government agency and Frank will have time to look for his life's passion. When circumstances don't go exactly to plan, Frank and April's relationship begins to unravel.

The obvious truth all along is that Paris will not save them from their misery. They are just no longer happy being together. Kathy Bates is good as usual as Helen Givings, Realtor, and friend of the Wheelers, but maybe the best performance in the film is that of Michael Shannon. Shannon plays Helen's son John, who is living in a mental institution and comes over a few times to meet the Wheelers. I think Roger Ebert described this character best when he said "With cruel words and merciless observations, [John] chops through [the Wheeler's] facade and mocks their delusions. It's a wrecking job."

Although I agree with Ebert in regards to this character, I disagree with his opinion on the overall merit of this film. To me this film was basically a depressing story about a miserable couple. Sam Mendes is a great director and Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet delivered exceptional performances but I don't think that the screenplay gave them much to work with. I'm sure it made a great novel but I don't think that Revolutionary Road was meant to be a film. The aesthetics were great and the film was visually shot well, I just did not gain any attachment to the characters and towards the end of the film I found myself hoping it would end.

Revolutionary Road Trailer

Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood's performance as the quintessential bitter, old, Korean War vet Walt Kowalski, makes Gran Torino one of the best films of the year. Although Walt Kowalski could be considered a bigot, he is so old and set in his ways that it almost becomes acceptable. Some of the things that came out of this man's mouth were absolutely hilarious.

Clint Eastwood's character seemed very real to me because Walt's values and beliefs seemed very similar to many of the senior citizens I have spent time with in my life. I find a lot of humor in some of the things that Walt says despite the fact that it could be offensive to certain people. When you see this old man, you understand that he grew up in a completely different time, with completely different values, and he is not going to change. Even when he begins to make friends with the Asian neighbors, the slurs do not stop. It's almost as if Walt is so old that he has earned his right to say whatever he wants and he had me cracking up in this film.

Walt has just become a widower as the film begins at his wife's funeral. You can tell that Walt isn't very close to his children or his grandchildren. His bitter attitude leads his children to treat Walt with little respect, as though he is someone that they have to put up with. There is a very funny scene that takes place on Walt's birthday, in which his son and daughter in law give him some brochures for retirement homes, and suggest that he sells his house, so on his birthday Walt kicks them out immediately. Walt is in great shape and it really doesn't seem as though he needs anyone to take care of him. It really seems as though his family really doesn't appreciate him and since his wife has died I think Walt is becoming very lonely.

As a Korean War vet Walt is a real old fashioned man's man. He has his lawn, his tools, his guns, his beer, and his 72 Gran Torino. When the Asian teenager who lives next door, Thao, is pressured by his gang member cousin to steal Walt's Gran Torino and fails the plot truly begins. Thao seems to be a good kid who doesn't really want to be a part the gang. When the gang returns to talk to Thao, his struggle lead to the infamous "Get off my lawn". That was a great line in the movie and some say it is the next "Make my day".

In order to apologize, and make it up to Walt for trying to steal his car, Thao offers to work for Walt for a week or so, and help him out around the house. Over the next few days Walt begins to form a bond with Thao and his sister Sue. He begins to become like a mentor to Thao and even helps him get a job in construction. Despite Walt's obvious prejudices he forms a closer relationship with Thao and Sue than he has with his own family. After a few violent incidents involving the gang Walt realizes he needs to take action in order to make sure that Thao and Sue can be safe.

Christopher Carley delivered a great performance as Father Janovich, a priest who promised Walt's wife that he would look after Walt after she died. He was a very important character and I think Carley did a great job. I also really enjoyed the scenes with Walt's Barber played by John Carroll Lynch. I thought Lynch was very funny and he worked really well with Clint Eastwood.

Walt Kowalski is my favorite character of 2008. Of course I have not seen everything, but Walt is badass making Clint Eastwood's performance was marvelous. I think he should definitely be nominated for a best actor academy award. Clint Eastwood is also becoming one of my favorite directors. I didn't get to see Changeling but with Unforgiven, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, and Gran Torino, just to name a few, Clint Eastwood is, in my opinion, one of the best directors of all time.

The only negative thing that I found in this film was the performance by Bee Vang. Bee Vang played Thao and wasn't horrible but there were definitely a couple of scenes that I just didn't find his performance believable. Besides that I absolutely loved Gran Torino. One of the best films of 2008 for sure. So, if it sounds like your choice of brew, check it out.

Gran Torino Trailer

Doubt

After only seeing the trailer I went into this film with "doubt". I didn't want to believe that Father Flynn, (Philip Seymour Hoffman), was guilty of the crime he was being accused of. Throughout this film writer and directer by John Patrick Shanley continuously portrays Father Flynn as "the good guy" and Sister Beauvier, (Meryl Streep), as the villain by simply creating doubt.


Doubt is a story that takes place in 1964 in a Catholic school in the Bronx. Sister Beauvier runs the school with an iron fist, believing in strict rules and discipline. Father Flynn is a priest who out ranks Sister Beauvier in the church, and he believes that the times are changing, and that it is essential for the church/school to change with the times.

For example, there is an interesting scene in which Father Flynn suggests adding a secular song, such as "Frosty the Snowman", to the Christmas play. However, Sister Beauvier objects to this stating that "Frosty the Snowman" promotes witchcraft and suggests that they choose something else. Personally I think that is ridiculous and I think this scene is just one example of why Sister Beauvier is an unlikeable character.

Because Sister Beauvier comes off as a really unlikeable character, it is hard to agree with her when she becomes suspicious of the relationship between Father Flynn and Donald Miller (a young alter boy). Donald Miller is the only black boy in the school and is having trouble being accepted by his peers. Father Flynn is very good to him, he watches out for Donald because racism is very present during this time and Donald is the only black student in the whole school.

One day after Donald returns to class after being called to Father Flynn's office, his teacher Sister James, (Amy Adams), believes he is acting strange and alerts Sister Beauvier. Although it is never stated, it is clear Sister Beauvier believes Father Flynn has committed some form of statutory rape and with no evidence and only her own moral certainty Sister Beauvier attempts to drive Father Flynn out of the school and the church.

Another scene which was very thought provoking was set at two separate dinner tables. It showed the audience a huge difference between the priests and the nuns. The priests sat around their table drinking, smoking, and having laughs, but the nuns dinner table was much more "proper" and stern. Everyone was sitting up straight, drinking their milk, eating their vegetables, and no one could talk without Sister Beauvier's say so. Personally I would prefer to be dining with the priests.

Toward the end of the film Sister Beauvier declares that she has doubts. When she expresses these feeling I think that she is begining to doubt he faith. It was against the rules of her faith to question any higher ranking member of the church and I believe the ultimate outcome really makes her question her beliefs.


Doubt was an excellent film fueled by four exceptional performances. I think that Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman are two of the greatest actors who ever did it, so, not suprisingly, Meryl Streep was terrific as Sister Beauvier and I think she is the best actress of the year out of the films I have seen. Philip Seymour Hoffman was also delivered a great performance as Father Flynn. There were also two great performances by actors that are not quite as well known. Amy Adams was great as Sister James and some say Viola Davis should win a best supporting actress Oscar for her role as Donald's mother, Mrs. Miller. I think she was very good but I just think her role was too small to be considered for that award.


Doubt was a great thought provoking film that had me glued to my seat. I think they did a great job of making the audience not certain of whether he did it or not, right up to the very end. I definitely think it was one of the top films of the year and it will be in my collection one day. So, if it sounds like your choice of brew, check it out.

Doubt Trailer