Public Enemies

[Marc Chevalier]

Another problem I'm having with movies these days is the tendency of the actors to mumble their lines. (Scotrace has railed against this too.) I could hardly understand half of what Dillinger and his gang said: they sounded like graduates from the Vito Corleone School of Diction.


Fun fact: the real Melvin Purvis looked a cross between actor Crispin Glover and our own Forgotten Man.


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[Tomasso]

Another problem I'm having with movies these days is the tendency of the actors to mumble their lines.

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I hear you. Both Brando and Dean bug me to no end....................

 

[Tiller]

Well sorry to hear a good portion of the FL didn't like the film. I enjoyed it, although I wasn't expecting a documentary, nor was I expecting a film that could compete with Citizen Kane. I'll be buying it on DVD when it comes out. I give it a four out of five. A good film to watch, enjoy, and let the atmosphere engulf you in a bit of interesting escapism.

 

[Levallois]

Tiller, I enjoyed this film alot too and will see it again on the big screen to catch what I missed the first time. I wasn't expecting to be educated about Dillinger or his gang and the so-called mumbling didn't bother me at all. I also liked the look of the film and will own it when possible. Four out of five stars.

John

 

[John in Covina]

I did like the film but thought it could be better, and look forward to the DVD.
Since seeing PE I have watched "The Road to Perdition" and "Miller's Crossing" for a different perspective on the modern gangster film. Both have people talking in conversations for more than about 10 seconds, something Public Enemies did not have.

 

[Feraud]

Saw it and enjoyed it.
Much better than that piece of garbage Transformers 2.

 

[Fletch]

Another problem I'm having with movies these days is the tendency of the actors to mumble their lines. (Scotrace has railed against this too.)

Get over it. It's manly. So I'm told.

 

[carebear]

Get over it. It's manly. So I'm told.

Look at Fletch with his girly written enunciation.

 

[Viola]

How were the actresses in this? I mean I know it's a Depp-and-Bale movie but how did the females do? And how did they look?

 

[Lady Jessica]

I liked it. I thought the women did a good job, too.

I liked it a lot, the cars, the clothing, the story... I want to see it again, to catch details, too.

 

[Chasseur]

Not terrible, but really lacking something that made me care about any of the characters or the plot. I can't say I really cared for it as a film. I enjoyed the clothes, the sets, etc. Also, there were some excellent moments, like some of the prison breaks, the part in the theatre, etc.

Two things really bothered me:
(1) Way too much use of hand-helm "shakey" camera. Made it seem like a made for TV movie at times. In particular the cabin shoot out, it reminded me of an episode of "America's Most Wanted," or "Unsolved Mysteries."

(2) That tendency of Michael Mann to be too indulgent with long takes of driving and close ups of actor's faces that don't seem to add anything to the story. In this film and in particular that awful remark/re-boot of "Miami Vice" really made the story drag at times. While in some way this perhaps worked when he did the Miami Vice TV show in 1980s, he abuses this in films.

For this particular genre of film I prefered "Road to Perdition" to this one.

Just my two cents.

 

[JohnnyGringo]

Saw the movie. Liked the movie. LOVED the clothes and hats!

 

[Fletch]

Look at Fletch with his girly written enunciation.

Enunciation? Awful big word. lol

 

[spiridon]

Just got back from this one. Pretty weak. No character development. Not some; none - so it's not a character driven movie. There are a couple of good shooting/chase scenes, but it's really not an action movie. The only bright spot, as expected, was the fashion.

All in all, this was a really forgettable movie.

Perhaps my expectations were too high going in, but I have to agree with your review of this one Lefty......as much as I wanted to, I just never connected with this movie.

 

[Leesensei]

I have to say that I was looking forward to this film and really wanted to like it. I was hoping that the critics here were being too picky and overly negative. Alas, I finally got to see the movie today and I have to reluctantly agree with the points that the critics have raised. the Cinematography and the editing were terrible. You could tell all of the elements were there for great scenes, but between the shaky hand held camera, and jumpy cuts, most of the scenes were all but unwatchable. It's a shame that the set crews and costumers etc. put so much into the scenes only to have it all obscured by the filmwork.

I thought that Johny Depp and Christian Bale did a fine job with their acting, but they were really not given anyplace to go with their characters. In the end you really don't have any real reason to care about what happens to either character.

Perhaps with a better director and cinematographer, this film could have been really special! As it is, it is just average, and in the end it is pretty forgettable.

True, the members here will enjoy it for the hats and costumes, etc. but a film certainly needs more to be a success.

Just my thoughts for what they are worth.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

The Public Enemies Hat Thread should probably be merged with this one since the conversations have drifted away from just hats.

 

[Feraud]

Here are some PE photos for you fans.
From Flickr-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/uber-tuber/sets/72157605652998634/
A blog-
http://lisaschaos.com/public-enemies-is-coming/

 

[Stacy]

I liked the movie but I felt like they left alot of stuff out. And it got kinda boring at times. I was really looking foward to watching it ever since I first heard about them makin it. Between Johnny Depp and a movie about John Dillinger !!! I was thinkin that was gonna be like the perfect movie but it dissapointed me a lil bit.

 

[up196]

I saw it yesterday.

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I can see why some people complained about the lack of character development, but I think that it is because the movie was sort of the last half of the book. Having read Public Enemies by Bryan Burrough, I already had a feel for who all the characters were, even when they were referred to by their first names only, and how they related to one another. Same for the sequence of events. The historical inaccuracies were not so terrible that I couldn't enjoy the movie, understanding that dramatic license is commonly taken when making a movie.

 

[Wasz]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Chevalier
Another problem I'm having with movies these days is the tendency of the actors to mumble their lines. (Scotrace has railed against this too.)

Get over it. It's manly. So I'm told.

"Talk low, talk slow and don't say too much." -John Wayne

I kinda like that take on manly speaking.

I felt like Depp was only kinda half hearted on this one. Or maybe like the character was more of Depp's persona and less the character? I dunno something was kinda missing. I also thought they could have done a lot more with Bale's character. It was good, I'd watch it again, it just wasn't outstanding.