Public Enemies, April 1, 2010

Being a big fan of 30's gangster movies i couldn't wait for this one to come out. It was worth the wait! This is a really good movie with some great shootouts in it as well. Johnny Depp does a great job as public enemy no. 1 John Dillinger, and Christian Bale does an AMAZING job as Melvin Purvis. The most amazing thing about this movie is the fact that most of the locations this movie was filmed are the actual places John Dillinger and his gang were standing in close to 70 years ago!!! You could just imagine what it was like to be Johnny Depp and stand in the same jail, or hideout, or movie theatre John Dillinger did!! Michael Mann did an amazing job in paying attention to detail on this movie. Buy this movie if your a fan of gangster films!!!!

      OK Movie - terrible audio mixing and CGI, March 30, 2010

The story was really pretty good, but the CGI blood and poor audio mix make this blu ray a pass. Specifically, the dialog track (in full DTS-HD Master)is very unbalanced and requires the viewer to dial the audio up significantly, which causes all action sequences with gunfire to be extremely overpowering. Additionally, for some inexplicable reason, in many scenes, blood from bullet wounds was very clearly CGI-based and looks laughably fake - to the point of distraction. I found myself being drawn out of the movie mentally to consider why Michael Mann would have let such low grade effects pass muster in this big budget movie. For as much as I wanted to love this movie, being a long-time Mann fan, I am left feeling cheated somehow that this effort was 'phoned in' on the collective reputations of the stars and director. The source material was very good and the topic very interesting, in my opinion, so I cannot help but wonder if the script in the hands of a hungrier director couldn't have shined a lot more.

      Are criminals made or born?, March 27, 2010

I loved Johnny Depp's potrayal of John Dillinger, Chicago bank rober in post depression era. No matter how ruthless the character is, he is also loyal to his friends and the woman he loves. His charisma makes even journalists swoon over him. What I found fascinating is actually the bonus material that explains the making of this criminal character. As a young boy, he experiences his mother's death and lives dreadful life with an abusive father; Dillinger ends up in jail for 10 years as a young teenager boy after robbing the local convenience store. Dillinger is likable guy in spite of his ruthlessness. His buddies love him and stick with him though think and thin. Women adore his charm. He dresses like a succesful businessman in latest and finest fashion and makes Chicago the base of his adventures as a bank robber. Dillinger's love for Billie, young woman from Wisconsin of French and Native American heritage is type of a love story every woman dreams of. He loves her and takes care of her the best possible way he can considering his line of work. They have a lot in common. Both come from humble social backgrounds, both loose their mothers early in their lives and have almost savage way of savoring life and all that comes with it. They are smitten by each other and this type of volatile attraction is what makes their relationship unique. Cast assemble is wonderful - each character is powerful in their own way. It is american story about an outlaw who lives his life under his own rules and is willing to check out in a way he finds to be noble.

       Great Gangster Flick, March 20, 2010

Very Good, entertaining Gangster Flick. There is no way anyone could possibly rate this motion picture with one star unless they have an aversion to gangster films and, if so, they should not have watched this film in the first place. This movie is good entertainment, is is a 4 star movie, it is not a classic such as "Bonnie and Clyde". If you want a movie which is profound or delivers some timeless message look for another flick. Good, afternoon matinee fair. Enjoy! I gave it five stars instead of 4 to counter all the inexplicable one star ratings!