Public Enemies

I didn't like this movie as much as I thought I was going to, but it is a well put together drama. My biggest pet peeve with it is at the end when Dillinger walks through his own Task Force unit and no one recognizes him. I get it, Dillinger was an escape artist and smarter than everyone else, thanks for forcing that one down my throat.

I think Michael Mann is a good director, I hated Miami Vice, but I loved the way it was shot, and Mann sticks to that gritty, harsh lighting and natural set-up in this film. Mann really comes into his own when it comes to shoot-outs. He just has a way of shooting gunfire that is unmatched by anyone else. The sound isn't cartoony and I love knowing that he's not talking down to me and trying to make a gunfight pretty. Bullets tear into and destroy everything in their path and I love it.

Johnny Depp really made this movie for me, and even though there was a rather impressive supporting cast I really didn't care about them that much. He makes the most of all his screen time and appropriates Dillinger's much revered nonchalant attitude with ease. While not being emotional, you can see that losing men and having the net tighten around his wily band weighs heavily on him, and every loss is a personal failure on his part.

I loved that the love story wasn't really a love story. Dillinger merely wants to protect something that can't protect itself and Billie just needs someone to take care of her. It's not so much love as it is a necessity in order to feel complete.

The film is confident in its delivery of the last 18 months of Dillinger's life, I felt like when I watched it it was less a movie than it was a cross section of how it all went down. It doesn't pander to the audience or explain how the characters got to where they are, and I love that. We all know how the story ends, and the movie doesn't serve to explain WHY what happens happens, but rather THAT what happens happens.

I'm sure this is one of those love-it-or-hate-it movies for most people, but I think I just appreciated it for the fact that it didn't SAY anything, it just puts together a series of images based on the researched history of one man's life and provides us with images of how it may have happened. It's excellence as a film is completely dependent upon its simplicity, and because of that it succeeds.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

So, I've seen this a couple of times now and I have to say, it was easier to stomach the second time around since I just blatantly tuned out the stupid shit. Let's face it, I love Michael Bay, I really do. But the man is not a poet. He's one of the best action directors out there, and while he doesn't really outdo himself here, the effects and action sequences are spectacular.

Aside from all the normal complaints, ie: the twins, Devastator's "wrecking" balls, random teleportation, a human going to "robot heaven," an even more random trans-terminatrix, being in forests 30 seconds after being in an industrial park, Megan Fox's pants staying white until the last scene, Wheelie humping her leg, Sam's high mom, The Fallen being weak as shit, not an entirely present or cohesive plot, etc., other than all that it was fine.

Yes, I know how stupid that sounds but really, what do you expect? The opening scene was fantastic, and while it left me wanting to know more about NEST it was enough to get me by. I actually liked that we didn't find much out about the new Autobots, and I really appreciated that this movie was basically about Optimus, and how much he was willing to sacrifice for another species. I liked his blossoming relationship with Sam, which can be seen as an allegory for growing up and realizing that sometimes it's not all about you, and you have to do the right thing even though it isn't an easy fix.

Optimus, while not being human, always comes across as a very human character to me. I actually find him to be the most fleshed out of all the characters, and I feel like he's some wizened grandfather passing on his knowledge to the next generation, complete with his double-arm blades. I know it's cliche, but I would have to say my favorite scene is Optimus in the forest, when he takes on Megatron, Starscream and a third decepticon. Not only is it a weird clash of visuals, (an untouched, natural forest being paired with an uber advanced alien race), but it's also where we see how much Optimus cares about Sam. The slow motion of him tearing that other decepticon's face in half was pretty damn amazing as well.

This movie is not perfect by any means, but is still worth a watch. It's fun, and though the plot is sketchy, you understand what's going on and definitely aren't let down by any of the effects. To be honest, the human cast didn't matter as much to me. LaBeouf is solid despite the writing, Fox has to scream way too much, and John Turturro is no where near as annoying here than he was in the first installment of the franchise. Appreciate Revenge of the Fallen for the visuals, and try not to hold the plot against it.