tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post1226245101548388194..comments2024-03-17T10:11:46.952-04:00Comments on Film Experience Blog: Public EnemiesNATHANIEL Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11597109147678235399noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-55093579653593789532009-08-17T00:37:48.968-04:002009-08-17T00:37:48.968-04:00My full review is at my blog, but to sum up my rev...My full review is at my blog, but to sum up my review, I would give this film 3 stars out of 4. The performances are really the things that hold it together and the action scenes are brilliantly shot. I just had a problem with the script, it seemed like it didn't know what to focus on, and if it wanted to cover so many subjects, the movie should've been longer.Dannyhttp://thekingbulletin.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-79353187641162608902009-08-17T00:37:36.047-04:002009-08-17T00:37:36.047-04:00My full review is at my blog, but to sum up my rev...My full review is at my blog, but to sum up my review, I would give this film 3 stars out of 4. The performances are really the things that hold it together and the action scenes are brilliantly shot. I just had a problem with the script, it seemed like it didn't know what to focus on, and if it wanted to cover so many subjects, the movie should've been longer.Dannyhttp://thekingbulletin.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-58902392002917604842009-07-15T17:14:26.584-04:002009-07-15T17:14:26.584-04:00I loved the movie, but agree that it was flawed in...I loved the movie, but agree that it was flawed in many of the ways mentioned. I think Johnny Depp is a huge talent, but wish I could have really felt the Dillinger character through him. Also felt he was really detached from Cotillard's character (where was the chemistry in the lovemaking)? He seemed more into himself than her. he claimed to want to protect her, but it didn't come across, in my opinion.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-58719109799532370202009-07-13T11:22:46.733-04:002009-07-13T11:22:46.733-04:00i saw the movie (in french) sunday with a father a...i saw the movie (in french) sunday with a father and we loved it.It's not perfect but sorry ,it's so good to see a movie without robot,bimbo,FX or superheroes .<br />i understand the person who compared the movie with Fincher movie or De Niro and i'll even say more Eastwood movies.<br />My father often doesn't go to see a movie but he loved the movie ( our last movie together was Gran Turino)and the fact the gangsters and the policemen were all bad guys,it's very "roman noir"("dark book"?!)<br />and you was right :it's a Rorschach movie! him and me didn't see the same story or characters and that is interesting!FrenchGirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04984690899855445836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-44686605536037750122009-07-07T12:33:57.742-04:002009-07-07T12:33:57.742-04:00I didn't like it.
Firstly, I had sound issues...I didn't like it.<br /><br />Firstly, I had sound issues as well. A lot of the time I had trouble understanding what people were saying (not just Marion Cotillard, although she was the most difficult to understand!) because the sound kept dipping in and out. I'm in Ireland, so it seems like that particular problem is fairly widespread.<br /><br />My main objection to it was it seemed too bitty. There would be a bit of a love scene, a bit of a scuffle, a bit of a bank robbery, a bit of the FBI discussing Dillinger...none of the scenes seemed lengthy enough to actually communicate anything to the audience and they felt thrown together in a way that wasn't totally cohesive.It's called <i>Public Enemies</i>, plural, so I went in hoping for some good scene work with Dillinger's gang, but nada. The film barely differentiated between the separate gang members and I was thinking "Wait, which one is Baby Face? Who's that guy? Whaa?". The hi-def look also bugged me in a period film, but I'll accept that's just a personal preference. <br /><br />Overall I was bored and I kept thinking "C'mon, go see <i>Manhattan Melodrama</i> soon, will ya?".Catherinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09258493877737555910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-63433094729654910262009-07-06T21:16:25.758-04:002009-07-06T21:16:25.758-04:00Maybe my expectations were too high. I liked it. I...Maybe my expectations were too high. I liked it. I didn't love it.<br />Christian Bale should do a comedy. His brooding all of the time is getting old. Change it up a bit. Throw us a curve ball. All this seriousness is wearing thin on me. He has got that one serious look.No Bad Movieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06953359754737036858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-65720253764926957652009-07-06T19:03:15.642-04:002009-07-06T19:03:15.642-04:00First off, we should be grateful that amid all the...First off, we should be grateful that amid all the transformers and terminators of the summer we got an intelligent movie for intelligent adults. That's a victory in itself. I applaud any movie that opens before September that is pointed to an over 25 years old audience .<br />Second off, after a few days of letting it "marinate" I think I liked it. It lingers somehow with me and not a lot of movies I've seen lately did that. <br />Absolutely, it has it's problems but I liked the overall feeling even if at the beginning I was kind of put off by the camerawork and the bad sound ( it can't be a coincidence that is was bad everywhere). I'm a big Johnny Depp fan but I don't think this is "his" movie no more than I think it's Marion Cotillard movie. (I usually don't mind accents but in this case , when everybody tried so hard to sound Midwestern she sounded very weird ). This is an occasion when a movie is better then the individual performances or the sum of its parts. I could go on and criticize every scene and every performance. But the overall results is, amazingly, good.<br />Which is exactly the opposite feeling I had with <i>Cheri</i>. All the scenes were good, the acting was really good but the sum of it all...not very.<br />And that reminds me Nathaniel that you promised a more detailed version of the <i>Cheri</i> press conference. I'm still waiting for that.adelutzahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01500491363721543846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-25808685694961152252009-07-06T16:16:12.118-04:002009-07-06T16:16:12.118-04:00Mm, I was more bothered by Cotillard's perform...Mm, I was more bothered by Cotillard's performance to be honest. I mean, it's good that they try to explain why she has no clear American accent, but I was taken out of the atmosphere of the film whenever she came onscreen and spoke. Bale is workmanlike in his performance and Depp has charisma, but somehow both just don't show it on their faces. And I would argue that Cotillard's character became fairly useless during the middle section of the film. To Dillinger, she's just a prize and it bothers me that there aren't juicier roles for women in films like this other than to be the token object of desire. I wish Mann coule tell me or show me why Dillinger likes her so much. It's clear why she likes him. Like I said in the previous comment, the whole romance feels underwritten, like maybe there was some character stuff left on the cutting room floor.Henrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-22459217864080299562009-07-06T04:30:38.458-04:002009-07-06T04:30:38.458-04:00Henry- you make good points. I still think Cotilla...Henry- you make good points. I still think Cotillard's appearence are scene stealer's though.<br />Depp and Bale almost come across as bored. There's no emotion a lot of times. Blank looking faces. Maybe I am thinking more about Cotillard's performance because it seems everytime she was on screen it sort of breathed life into the film. I was expecting with such a fine male cast there would be more charisma.No Bad Movieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06953359754737036858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-26593831321156957782009-07-04T20:07:14.262-04:002009-07-04T20:07:14.262-04:00I think the movie all together just lacked intensi...I think the movie all together just lacked intensity you know? It was pretty good but none of the aspects were really good enough to be great. Also I think Bale was grossly underused.ThaDropDownBearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11166988492317967045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-73868013114873262482009-07-04T18:31:15.390-04:002009-07-04T18:31:15.390-04:00Public Enemies could have been better. I mean, gan...Public Enemies could have been better. I mean, gangster flick, Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Michael Mann directing and co-writing. What can really go wrong? I think it was just the case of all the parts being there, but the execution was way off. It's technically brilliant, beautifully shot, and the subject matter is inherently compelling (even if it has been done a bunch of times before). Honestly, it's borderline boring. It took a couple of scenes of gunfire blazin' to wake me up in some passages. It has more to do with the whole thing around John Dillinger. He's a fascinating character in history and Johnny Depp is a great actor, but for some unknown reason, he's a blank slate in this film. Depp is posing in the film and the plot demands that Dillinger operates in a quick and efficient manner. While it's great for the character to go and move through a bank robbery so ruthlessly and efficiently, it doesn't allow for the movie audience to be invested in the atmosphere and payoff of the robberies. You try to get into the moment and then it's over in a second. Bale works as Agent Melvin Purvis who is just as smart and efficient as Dillinger. Where Mann went wrong is the casting of Marion Cotillard as Billie Frechette. She tries hard to hide her natural French accent and it deters from her doing other things to help the movie along. It also doesn't help that she's a majorly underwritten character, one that disappears for long stretches of time and isn't involved with a lot of the major action sequences. But the movie seems stuck in neutral. It takes so long to get going and when it does, the momentum inexplicably stops. It was frustrating.<br /><br />What really bothers me is that the movie doesn't know what it wants to be. It wants to be an action thriller but doesn't really have a strong plot framework to be completely that. It wants to be a personal love story drama and the love story between Dillinger and Frechette is underbaked. To Dillinger, Frechette is not really a true love, but another possession to augment his playboy style. Dillinger is almost bipolar, ridiculously competent with bank robberies (he has lookouts who gun down policemen and takes hostages as human shields) but somehow stupidly attaching himself to things like movies, betting on horses, and Frechette. The movie has a wildly episodic feel to it. I will admit that the gunfights are well done, as is Mann's usual forté. The gunfight in the woods and at the lodge is exciting and well-shot. The final capture of Dillinger has a lot of tension. There's even a sequence during Dillinger's second escape from jail that is rife with tension. But, as I said before, it really could have been better.<br /><br />I'll say this: It's much better than Transformers.Henrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-18221050353141225172009-07-04T08:29:47.848-04:002009-07-04T08:29:47.848-04:00stella yes the more i sit with it that's it fo...<b>stella</b> yes the more i sit with it that's it for me too. I saw the flaws my friend is adamantly a thumbs down about but then there'd be moments where i was just sucked in. <br /><br />*SPOILERS*<br />and the lodge sequence is so vivid... the older Gman (or whatever they're called --what's the actor's name anyone know? the one who visits Marion at the end. i didn't catch his character name) that runs behind Dillinger when his back is again the tree and then promptly vanishes. This freaked me the hell out in that moviemovie way that's so grab your seat enjoyable.<br />[/END SPOILERS]<br /><br />so yes a film that's both films people are hating and loving.NATHANIEL Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11597109147678235399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-55973201605675111672009-07-04T04:09:58.991-04:002009-07-04T04:09:58.991-04:00Stella... no worries on your grammer, it's lik...Stella... no worries on your grammer, it's like I'm sleep deprived fron all the fireworks out my window but at the same time, I can't sleep.<br />I typed exceptions, when I meant expectations. Ha !No Bad Movieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06953359754737036858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-85187512628004951622009-07-04T01:23:45.318-04:002009-07-04T01:23:45.318-04:00Sorry for commenting so many times, but yeah Mario...Sorry for commenting so many times, but yeah Marion Cotillard was awesome in this film. She stumbled a few times with the accent, but she was the emotional center of a film that struggled to make the audience care about the characters. Her interrogation scene was just great, just beautifully done. And her ending shot? Just a little heartbreaking.Andreahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02452693756267509615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-55376572535290800782009-07-04T01:21:22.433-04:002009-07-04T01:21:22.433-04:00wow I'm really sleep deprived. I meant "s...wow I'm really sleep deprived. I meant "so awesome in a few scenes and then so flat in others". <br /><br />I'm going to rewatch this film. Either way, I enjoyed it, but I'm disappointed that it didn't live up to its potential as the next great gangster classic.Andreahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02452693756267509615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-43181096145675934642009-07-04T01:19:04.085-04:002009-07-04T01:19:04.085-04:00I'm also feeling incredibly mixed about it. I ...I'm also feeling incredibly mixed about it. I think it's because it was just so awesome in certain scenes and so awesome in the next, like two completely different directors made the film. <br /><br />For example, Bale would have some stale and monotonous line delivery in one scene and then be mesmerizing and as you said, effortlessly commanding in the next. The bank robberies sucked like hell but the Little Bohemia lodge shootout was nearly mindblowing. There would be scenes of true emotional involvement and characterization (a la Billie interrogation) and the characters would be like cardboard cutouts in the next. Such a polarization of great and awesome. it's the most curious film.Andreahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02452693756267509615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-66003944535325821512009-07-03T21:12:51.640-04:002009-07-03T21:12:51.640-04:00It just doesn't quite get to that height of gr...It just doesn't quite get to that height of greatness. But I was entertained. Exceptions, exceptions. <br />This was one of my top 5 most anticipated of the year. And it fell a tad short, but not by much. Depp and Bale have been better in other roles and I think the general consensus was they were both going to be Oscar worthy performnaces.No Bad Movieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06953359754737036858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-37587625821344231412009-07-03T20:57:36.091-04:002009-07-03T20:57:36.091-04:00it's funny as none didn't see the same mov...it's funny as none didn't see the same movie ! whatever happens,i 'll see it the next week!FrenchGirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04984690899855445836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-51012082241732042412009-07-03T19:06:17.446-04:002009-07-03T19:06:17.446-04:00I didn't care for it -- Mann's dullest fil...I didn't care for it -- Mann's dullest film.<br /><br />If anyone's interested, my take <a href="http://humanvacuum.blogspot.com/2009/07/cheeky.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>.Alfred Sotohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10465449057630241820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-71024926448581093792009-07-03T19:00:14.492-04:002009-07-03T19:00:14.492-04:00kitty yes it does seem to be breaking down that wa...<b>kitty</b> yes it does seem to be breaking down that way. nobody agreeing on Bale's Purvis. Most liking the Depp/Cotillard combo.NATHANIEL Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11597109147678235399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-2314503203690980232009-07-03T18:28:42.254-04:002009-07-03T18:28:42.254-04:00i loved the movie as i loved "zodiac" or...i loved the movie as i loved "zodiac" or "the good shepherd"(and i really loved these movies). It's like these movies but with great action scenes and the acts make the characters in this movie.<br /> Purvis is like Matt Damon character in De Niro movie . someone thought him boring but he's subtly intense!(it was the great talk between my friends)<br />One of my friends even said he was a bastard and Dillinger is a gentleman!<br />It was very funny because none was right on the movie or Purvis but every one loved Depp/Cotillard love story and Depp/Bale scene(very subtle)kittynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-15202564006180161572009-07-03T11:52:38.519-04:002009-07-03T11:52:38.519-04:00ooh. indeed that might be interesting.
if i had a...ooh. indeed that might be interesting.<br /><br />if i had all the time in the world a whole marathon of Dillinger stuff would be worthwhile for perusal since he's in a few movies.NATHANIEL Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11597109147678235399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-86525695243030640172009-07-03T10:55:29.498-04:002009-07-03T10:55:29.498-04:00Nathaniel, have you ever seen the 1973 biopic &quo...Nathaniel, have you ever seen the 1973 biopic "Dillinger" with Warren Oates and Michelle Philips (of Mamas and Papas fame) as Dillinger and Billie Freshette? It's been years since I've seen it (on late night TV) so I can't really give a good review of it, but I recall the grittiness and violence making an impact on my much-younger self.<br /><br />It'd be interesting to compare the two and see what each has to say about their respective periods (ie early 1970's and late ''00's).Janicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08049113750769117163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-43267506959156417922009-07-03T10:37:07.491-04:002009-07-03T10:37:07.491-04:00Just to keep up the odd theme...my screening had r...Just to keep up the odd theme...my screening had really awkward sound too. Odd trend?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-49250285535034314022009-07-03T07:14:22.750-04:002009-07-03T07:14:22.750-04:00glendon my showing had terrible sound problems but...<b>glendon</b> my showing had terrible sound problems but i'm guessing it was the theater (lincoln square) and not the film since Michael Mann usually uses sound so well.<br /><br />it was frustrating and exactly as you describeNATHANIEL Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11597109147678235399noreply@blogger.com