Public Enemies

[Darkness Falls]

i must be living under a rock.... i've never heard of her unti this movie

 

[ultrasuperduckman]

I've never heard of her 'till PE as well. But apparently she's won an oscar for...something. I'd have to to look it up.

 

[Hunter Rider]

She won it for playing Edith Piaf.

 

[CELTICPRED]

The only times I'd heard of her prior to this; were all the times people have had a hard on for her being Catwoman, which I don't see either.

 

[flickchick85]

Everyone needs to watch La Vie En Rose and A Very Long Engagement, for starters. If you're still baffled after that (unlikely), maybe check out Love Me If You Dare, Toi et moi, Furia, & Pretty Things (Les Jolies Choses) to name few, and then you might just see where some of us are coming from.

 

[ARROGANCE]

Saw this movie yesterday. It was a good film

 

[War Party]

And she had a nice little role in Big Fish as Billy Crudup's wife.

 

[zeptron]

Exactly how violent is this movie? Just curious.

 

[ultrasuperduckman]

And she had a nice little role in Big Fish as Billy Crudup's wife.

Oh wow. I need to watch that again.

 

[JaD]

Exactly how violent is this movie? Just curious.

Hmmm, pretty violent from what I remember. Like Bale killing Pretty Boy Floyd, you'll get some "Ohhhh"s in the theater There's a bit of blood and gun gore violence. Like a bullet to the face, Baby Face Nelson's crazy ass in general

 

[flickchick85]

Oh wow. I need to watch that again.

If you just want to see her English-speaking roles (which, with the exception of PE imo, are totally her thinnest roles, lol), she had a somewhat larger role as the love interest in the Ridley Scott/Russell Crowe "comedy" A Good Year. That was one big lightweight "meh" of a movie though, but it had some nice cinematography of the French countryside which would kind of make it a pleasant matinee on a rainy afternoon, I suppose.

 

[ultrasuperduckman]

A Ridley Scott/Russell Crowe comedy? Haha oh man, yes sir, I need to check that out.

 

[flickchick85]

Just to be clear, I said "comedy"...not comedy. As in, that appeared to be the intent. It's a bit...chick-flicky.

Nah, I'm probably being too hard on it. There's nothing terrible about the movie, it's just as predictable as they come. It's fine if you just want to turn your brain off for a little bit and enjoy gorgeous scenery and Russell Crowe acting a fool. Just...don't expect to laugh out loud or see anything particularly memorable. You can watch the trailer and see what I mean:

[YT]FuEgvuwurD8&fmt=18[/YT]

 

[CBGB]

I saw this last night. It was great, the only thing that stopped me from loving it was the length. It was almost unbearable.

 

[ultrasuperduckman]

ohhhhhhh "comedy" hahaha...I get ya

 

[JaD]

I saw this last night. It was great, the only thing that stopped me from loving it was the length. It was almost unbearable.

Speak for yourself there buddy, at least you didn't have a defective reel. At one point during the movie there was a replay of almost 7 or 8 minutes of footage. Alot of use were like "WTF, is this a *whisper* flashback? *whisper* WTF man, we see this part already?" That was a first for me

 

[XxDelta09xX]

I just saw this today I thought it was Awesome,I give it 8.5/10.

 

[CELTICPRED]

Exactly how violent is this movie? Just curious.

There's one of the biggest squibs I have seen on film in a long time early in the film.

Nothing Saving Private Ryan or Rambo violent, but it's still pretty shocking when you see some of the stuff.

 

[XxDelta09xX]

There's one of the biggest squibs I have seen on film in a long time early in the film.

Nothing Saving Private Ryan or Rambo violent, but it's still pretty shocking when you see some of the stuff.

Yeah,It had alot more blood than I thought it would.

 

[TheWrathOfGod]

This is a very well made movie, but I was expecting more from Mann. It would seem that he works better with a fictitious material ala Manhunter or Heat. I shouldn't be complaining, anything is better than the new Miami Vice.

 

[daywalker2007]

It was a bit slow at the start, but once the movie got going, it was great.

The nightime gun shootouts were terrific!

And the gunshot sounds were brutal!
Some people were a bit confused with the HD look for some of the night scenes, they probably have never seen a big budget movie done this way before.

But overall, it was a great movie, better than Miami Vice for sure!

I really like the way Mann is taking the HD look further, I'm quite used to it now.
It really works effectively for night scenes.

I'm glad I watched this, well worth every penny.
Michael Mann is a brilliant director.

I hope he does another crime drama, except set in present day like Heat, but this time use the HD look again, and make it more action packed than he did for Miami Vice.

I would recommend this to anyone.
Johnny Depp is terrific, the man never ages! its mind boggling!
Seriously, Depp looks like he hasn't even hit 30 years of age yet!

Absolutely incredible!

 

[Dylan17]

Saw this last night. While I can't say I'm completely surprised by the mixed reactions given it's Mann at his most un-commercial, I think it's also Mann at his best since Heat. While the latter has almost become a cliche amongst rave reviews and reactions, I think it's true. In fact, I think when putting my fanboy love of Heat aside, from a pure filmmaking level and Mann's direction, this is a little bit superior. I think it's certainly top-tier Mann, along with The Insider. There's a sense of energy that this film has, that while it's certainly a rebirth of classic gangster cinema that there's far too few of these days, it also doesn't glamourize it. The battles while having a almost spiritual battle to them, are very realistic and not for those with easy stomach's.

Besides it's superb techinical qualities, the heart of the film is with Dillinger and Billie's relationship, and Depp and Cotillard have such strong chemistry together that they take what could have otherwise come off as a hard to believe relationship, feel genuine and believable. You can feel the emotions these two people have for each other. I also like how it contrasts with the rest of the film; in that Public Enemies isn't your normal film, it doesn't feel like one when you're watching it, it's an experience. It's as if you're living it on screen, and if you as much look away, you'll be surprised to find yourself sitting in a theater seat and not in the film. But how does their relationship contrast with that? Because the film is true to reality, for the most part, and their relationship feels like something out of the movies. He sees her for the first time, and they don't develop a relationship like most people do, he went after her and didn't stop, it was 'love at first sight', which is believed to only exist in movies. It's interesting to see a film so true to reality have contrasts like this, and that's because of the whole Dillinger persona, he was like something out of the movies, he saw everything like that (even more true at the theater when watching Manhattan Melodrama), he saw himself like that, and his relationship with Billie came across like that. I love that. It's a fascinating contrast that unfortunately alot of people won't pick up on.

Bale is terrific, actually. I thought he was good in both T4 and the Batman films, and painfully underrated, but I won't deny when this man has given excellent performances in films like American Psycho, The Prestige and Rescue Dawn, I certainly was hoping for him to deliver another truly incredible performance that was out of his comfort zone. He does it again here, it's a "return to form" for him, he's back to taking challenging and interesting roles. As who grew up in South Carolina, I'm used to exaggerated southern accents in films, but Bale here nails it. It's very natural, and his performance is much more subtle than what we've seen from him lately, which is easy to appreciate. Crudup though not in the film often, gives a truly entertaining performance. He's a cold man, very cold and has no heart, and to see an actor who to me is one of the most magnetic and likable actors around at the moment take on a role like this, it's quite frankly surprising and impressive. Much of the supporting cast is also very impressive, though it's very much Dillinger's movie and some famous characters are reduced to little more than cameo's, they make the most of the time they have and each equally add to the film.

I think much of the mixed reaction to the film is certainly due to it's use of digital cinematography, you might say "well that's just one aspect of the film", but Mann uses it as a storyteller. The use of digital reflects the film's themes and pretty much tells the story, it's interesting like that. I think once audiences come to be more welcoming to digital cinematography, the film might then be seen as the masterpiece that I feel it is. It's a refreshing and interesting new style for films like this, which makes up for the rather lacking retread that American Gangster was. Now, you might say "besides the cinematography, the story has been done many times before", yes it has. But Mann is much more true to the actual history than any of the others, which makes it unique, and he doesn't cheat with the audience's vulnerability or patience. The movie plays it straight forward, it doesn't try to have a bunch of SUSPENSE in scenes where you know this is not where Dillinger will die, and when Dillinger does reach his fate, you know it's coming just as he does. The scene of him walking down the sidewalk is just breathtaking, and while it doesn't try to play with your emotions or make you cry, it punches you right in the gut when it happens. Sort of like in The Assassination of Jesse James, you didn't cry when he was shot, it instead just punched you right in the gut and hit you like you didn't expect it to. I think comparing Dillinger to a outlaw is a sensible one, before Dillinger dies as he reaches for his gun, it's almost out of pure instinct, because this is it, and Dillinger pretty much knew it. There was no running this time, there was no hiding, there were going to be no shootouts and getaways, this was the end of the road. And despite knowing this was the end, he wasn't going to go down without a fight, it's just he wasn't given that chance to. And that's where it breaks movie trends, that's the big point where reality meets fiction. As the scene comes to a close and we think the film is over, Mann proves what the heart of the picture was; Billie, and Dillinger's love for her. It seems fitting that the man who heard Dillinger's last words would tell her and only her what he said, and to end the movie that way. There's something about his last words being the lyrics to the song they first danced to, it brings the movie together, and Marion's acting her is perfection. She doesn't overreaction, she doesn't get overdramatic, she just sits there and cries, but in control of her body. It's a touching, beautiful, and tragic ending to this excellent film.

I firmly believe where time and acceptance learned to see Bonnie and Clyde as a masterpiece, this film will one day, hopefully soon, go down as one of the all time great gangster films. As it rightfully is, I believe.

10/10

 

[War Party]

Solid 9/10 for me. I loved it. The cinematography was great. Just love that personal touch that digital gives the film and it was beautiful. Lots of great shots and it was a great decision to use digital in my opinion. I thought all the main actors did a wonderful job. Love Crudup's Hoover. Great voice. Depp was of course excellent in this role and he really sold the role. Bale did a good job with what he was giving. Pervis had such a coldness about him that Bale nailed. It was all in the eyes. Cotillard did a fine job also. She wasn't winning me over to start but she got better as the film progressed. The interrogation scene was her best acting in the film. Fantastic. And Stephen Graham's Baby Face was great. Loved him in this. The shootouts were fantastically staged. There's some nitpicks I have, but I don't want to get into them. Their minor issues that don't affect the movie. Loved it.

 

[liesse00]

Was Walter Dietrich mentioned in the Public Enemies book. I've heard the name mentioned before I saw the movie but I've looked through the book and I can't find it.

 

[Nightmare]

Saw it for the 2nd time on friday, its better the 2nd time. Pretty Boy Floyd and Babyface Nelson were great. This movie has a lot of depth. Cant wait to get it when it comes out on DVD and see it again. One of my favorite movies.