In the action-thriller “Public Enemies”, acclaimed filmmaker Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Best Actress Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard in the story of legendary Depression-era outlaw John Dillinger. Dillinger was the charismatic bank robber whose lightning raids made him the number one target of J. Edgar Hoover’s fledgling FBI and its top agent, Melvin Purvis (Bale), who ended up becoming a folk hero to much of the downtrodden public.
“Public Enemies” is not terrible or even unwatchable, it’s just too long and slow. I went into this film craving a change of pace from the regular high concept summer blockbusters like “Terminator Salvation”, “Wolverine” and “Transformers 2″ that have done little to make one use their brain while in the theater. Usually Michael Mann has a way of stretching out a story and making it seem seamless like he did in “Heat”, but with “Enemies” I found myself sighing with restlessness and boredom.
The acting by Depp, Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard are text book depression-era gangster cut out performances with not much real charm or passion added to them. The first half of this film had a lot of energy and excitement but somewhere in the middle, as the gangsters began to be executed by the FBI, the story began to plod along and lose steam. The two and a half hour running time was nowhere near as thrilling and cool as when it was done in “The Untouchables”, I found myself checking the time quite often.
In the end I had no compassion or sympathy for Dillinger, his love life or anyone in his band of outlaws. In much better gangster films such as “Bonnie & Clyde” we cheer for the Robin Hood mentality of the crooks. In Mann’s “Public Enemies” I ended up rooting for J. Edgar Hoover and his band of goons, and if history has taught us anything, that is not a good thing. This film may please hardcore Depp fans that think he can do no wrong, but I couldn’t help but wish the movie would just end about half way through.
“Ponyo” (titled “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea” in it’s native Japan when it was release in 2008) is a 2009 animated film by the Japanese anime studio Studio Ghibli, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The film did well in Japan grossing over $150 million. It is Miyazaki’s tenth film for Ghibli, his others being the Academy Award winning animated classic “Spirited Away”, “Princess Mononoke” and “Howl’s Moving Castle” among others.
The plot centers on a juvenile fish named Ponyo who wants to become a human girl. In pursuing her goal, she befriends a five-year-old human boy, Sosuke. The film releases in theaters in the US on August 14, 2009. The movie is Produced by Frank Marshall, Hayao Miyazaki & John Lasseter.
Miley Cyrus’s younger sister, Noah Cyrus, will voice Ponyo, while The Jonas Brothers little brother, Frankie Jonas will voice Sosuke. The film is rated G by the MPAA, being Hayao Miyazaki’s first film to be rated G by the MPAA since the 1998 direct-to-video release “Kiki’s Delivery Service”.
“The Box” is an upcoming horror film based on the 1970 short story “Button, Button” by author Richard Matheson. The film is written and directed by Richard Kelly (”Donnie Darko”) and stars Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as a couple who receive a box with a mysterious power. Kelly described his intent for the film, “My hope is to make a film that is incredibly suspenseful and broadly commercial, while still retaining my artistic sensibility”. “The Box” is scheduled for release on October 30, 2009 just in time to creep you out this Halloween.
USA Today has published new images from Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” featuring Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, and Anne Hathaway as the White Queen. Also included are three more pieces of concept art.
The article explains that the March 5, 2010 release, co-starring Michael Sheen, Mia Wasikowska, Matt Lucas, Crispin Glover, Stephen Fry and Alan Rickman, is almost like a sequel to the original story:
The traditional tale has been freshened with a blast of girl power, courtesy of writer Linda Woolverton (Beauty and the Beast). Alice, 17, attends a party at a Victorian estate only to find she is about to be proposed to in front of hundreds of snooty society types. Off she runs, following a white rabbit into a hole and ending up in Wonderland, a place she visited 10 years before yet doesn’t remember.
Pixie Lott is a 18-year-old British singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. “Mama Do” is the lead single from her highly anticipated debut album “Turn It Up”. The single is also known as “Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh)”, which is the full title, but frequently abbreviated. The strikingly attractive blond 18-year-old who is not only beautiful, but has an impressive and rich voice that makes her emergence on the music scene so exciting. Watch her fun video below:
“Zombieland,” a zombie comedy, has a release date of October 9th of this year and stars Woody Harrelson as “Tallahassee,” a man who looks to be quite skilled at killing zombies. The film revolves around a mismatched pair of survivors who find friendship and redemption in a world overrun by zombies. Judging from the trailer, it looks like it’s going to be loads of fun! It also stars super-cute Emma Stone, and … Bill Murray as a zombie??? Check out the kick ass trailer below!
David Lynch directed the video for the latest Moby track, “Shot In Back Of The Head”, from his upcoming album, “Wait For Me” (his 9th studio album). This track didn’t excite me too much, primarily because Moby’s already composed music that sounds very similar to it. I like David Lynch’s funny-crude sketches, but expected to see something more memorable. Moby called in his friends to help record the album, doodled the album art with sharpie on some copy paper and did the whole thing from the comfort of his own home. What do you think of the song and music video below?
The Juan Maclean have released their new single “One Day”, off the American electronic group’s second album titled “The Future Will Come”, which is out now on DFA Records. I love the 80’s throw back music video below, even though I do acknowledge it is very similar to every Human League song ever recorded. The Juan Maclean has been described as disco + electro + indie + funk and with Nancy Whang (of LCD Soundsystem) back on vocal duty this album is sure to rock.
Victoria Hesketh, known professionally as Little Boots, is a British electropop musician. She sings, plays keyboards, Japanese electronic instrument the Tenori-on, piano and the stylophone. Little Boots tours with a live drummer and keyboardist, and says she’s not a fan of playing to pre-recorded tracks. The official video for Little Boots single “New In Town” posted below reminds me of early Goldfrapp meets current Swedish pop diva Lykke Li. I am a huge fan of electro-pop and Little Boots already has me humming her tunes.
LISTEN TO A NON-STOP MIX OF OVER 100 SONGS FOR YOUR SUMMER VACATION BY THE GO-GO’S, THE BEACH BOYS, JIMMY BUFFET, BOB MARLEY, JACK JOHNSON, BANANARAMA, THE BEATLES AND MORE!!
THIS IS A GREAT JUKEBOX TO LISTEN TO WHEN CLEANING HOUSE, SITTING BY THE POOL, HANGING OUT AT THE BEACH, CAMPING, ROAD TRIPS, SURFING THE NET, HANGING OUT WITH FRIENDS OR KILLING TIME AT WORK!
CLICK THE “STREAMING MUSIC” TAB IN THE CATEGORY SECTION TO THE RIGHT TO LISTEN TO PREVIOUSLY POSTED JUKEBOXES.
HAVE FUN AND SPREAD THE BUZZ! SEND THIS LINK TO A FRIEND, FAMILY MEMBER OR CO-WORKER!
(SONG PLAYLIST IS SET ON RANDOM SHUFFLE AND ARE IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)
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Movie Review - "Public Enemies"
** STARS
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