I like baseball, movies, good clothes, fast cars... and you. What else you need to know? -Public Enemies

There are some very good things and some not so great things about Public Enemies. Keeping in line with some of the simple thinking that took place in this picture I will assign Public Enemies a letter grade. 

C+. 

I was hoping for more.

Johnny Depp turns in a solid performance as the notorious bank robber John Dillinger. Dillinger is a captivating character and Depp is one of the best actors of our generation. When the camera is on Depp, you're paying attention.  Score one for Public Enemies.

Michael Mann’s (Heat, The insider) direction was solid and his attention to detail was above and beyond the call of duty. Mann was insistent upon shooting in many of the actual locations where the events of Dillingers last few years on earth unfolded covering an array of cities in the mid-west. This act of love gave the movie a sense of authenticity that is essential to any period piece. Score. There where several surprisingly funny moments and Depp delivers some lines that will go down in history along side some of the greatest (“I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse”). Always good.

But as I said, the movie had its weak points too. While Depp gives us a stellar performance and Mann shows his expertise with the camera (some will argue that point but I am a big fan of the handheld camera) I felt like something was really lacking in the story. At 2-1/2 hours I expected this movie to have a little more depth to it. It seemed to drag and I never felt like I cared about anyone. There was no real tension building. Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) the FBI agent hot on Dillingers trail didn’t seem to have enough motivation to catch Dillinger and Dillinger really didn’t seem to care if he got caught. I thought their relationship should have been heightened a little more-that their game of cat and mouse could have been more playful, more meaningful. 

This story started off on the right foot but in the end the shootouts and one-liners aren’t enough to make a completely satisfying picture. In a movie where you know the ending on your way into the theatre you  have to-have to-have-to be invested in the characters and I just never totally got there. 

And the music. Son-of-a, don't get me started on the music. 

My Vote: Catch it on the big screen if you got an afternoon to kill. Rent Bonnie and Clyde, 1967.

Tetro

Francis Ford Coppola is an amazing director. There are few people that can be linked to such magnificent movies as Coppola. The Godfathers, Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders, and Dracula are just a few of the popular standout pictures he has under his belt. He holds 15 Academy awards and a countless number of nominations. This guys daughter is a legit director. He produced George Lucas’s first 2 films. Respect. Everyone needs to see at least one of these classic Coppola movies start to finish.

While Tetro may not go down as a “classic” it is an interesting movie worth a view. Tetro is the story of a family torn apart. It stars Vincent Gallo (Singer, painter, writer, director, actor…Buffalo 66 and Brown Bunny) as Tetro and the combination of Gallo and Coppola together was enough to get my butt in a seat. The family saga unfolds as Bennie, Tetro’s younger brother arrives in Buenos Aires while the cruise ship he works on gets repaired. Tetro, not himself because of a broken leg is not happy to see his brother.

Bennie is curious about his family and heartbroken by Tetro not returning from his writing sabbatical as promised. Beenie longs to be just like his older brother and finds an outlet to do so. The plot has a fair share of twist and turns and it’s fairly entertaining.

The film is shot in beautiful black and white mostly set in Buenos Aires and Patagonia. The writing and the performances are very theatrical in a way that makes some of the situations a little more believable than if it would have been executed on a more dramatic and realistic stage. 

My vote: There are moments that drag and the black and white will keep a lot of people away but this is Coppola. Take it for what it is and watch a master filmmaker try some new stuff on ya’ll.

You've seen it before but you'll like seeing it again...

Horror flicks, coming of age flicks, and the romantic comedy are my favorite genres in cinema. They are predictable, cheesy, campy, and sometimes really poorly made but when done right they are always fun. 

The Proposal stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds as a couple that was never meant to fall in love but do, a very predictable premise indeed. Margaret (Bullock) is an uptight “witch” of a boss at a huge publishing company in New York. Andrew, (Reynolds) her hard working and under appreciated assistant is looking to move up in the publishing world. As luck would have it, Margaret is Canadian with an expired Visa who is going to lose her job and citizenship until she comes up with a proposal, one that forces this "odd couple" into an unusual situation, a fake marriage. To one extent or another this movie has been made before so I wasn’t expecting to be very entertained.

I was surprised, however, to find myself engaged in the movie right off the bat. I have seen more romantic comedies than any other genre and while there was nothing new or original about this one Bullock and Reynolds made a great pair and saved this movie from its lackluster plot. Kudos also goes to Anne Fletcher (27 Dresses), the director, for not shoving the romance down our throats but for letting it develop subtly and more organically than I have seen in the past (singing Rob Bases’ “it takes two” is a well played out scene).

I got some good laughs and walked out of the theatre with a smile on my face. While the final showdown is certainly one of the most over used and unoriginal final scene in movie history I can look past it because of the work that lead up to it. The beautiful Alaskan landscape and Betty Whites’ fun performance help make this movie better than average.

My Vote: A great date movie. Also, check out It happened one night and my review below.

It Happened one night.....a long, long time ago.

It happened one night is a classic American movie. Starring Clark Gable (Gone with the wind) and Claudette Colbert (the actress of 1934) it won five academy awards including best picture and best director (Frank Capra).

Filmed during the height of the Great Depression this movie holds up very well today. It offers us a very captivating look into what life may have been like a half a century ago while showing us where the romantic comedy really started to take shape. 

During such classic scenes as the hitchhiking scene and the donut-dunking scene I can’t help but appreciate the simple situations that make this movie great. Yes, it’s filmed in black and white and its style of humor is very toned down, (hey, it was 1934) it is well worth the watch. This movie paved the way for many of the movies we see today and hopefully you will appreciate a well played out scene a little bit more after watching It happened one night.