TRAILER #2: "Public Enemies"

This team-up of Christian Bale, Johnny Depp and Michael Mann has been really growing on me since last month. As I mentioned in a past post, I was a little underwhelmed with the last (first) trailer for "Public Enemies" and its rather straightforward setup of the film that made it look less like a Michael Mann gritty crime drama (whose films are as much dramatic explorations of crime as much as they are suspenseful thrillers) and more like a standard studio production with clean lines and obvious bad guys. Too much of the expected (badboy lines about liking cars, money and baseball all set to a flickering montage, no less) and not enough of Mann's kinetic, pulpy style and earthy characterizations. And it almost made Mann's typical compositions of over-the-shoulder angles and medium shots look like they were taken from an old video, they were cut up so strangely. This new trailer is much better, the shots are allowed to breathe and speak for themselves (fades instead of clunky cuts), the music follows the pace and the natural tension of Depp's and Bale's antagonism is more fully placed on display. I love the beginning of the trailer with the creeping strings, and I love how Mann seems to fill every large, otherwise expansive space with people set and ready to clash.

The official premise, via Slashfilm: In the action-thriller Public Enemies, acclaimed filmmaker Michael Mann directs Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Academy Award-winner Marion Cotillard in the story of legendary Depression-era outlaw John Dillinger (Depp)—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), and a folk hero to much of the downtrodden public.No one could stop Dillinger and his gang. No jail could hold him. His charm and audacious jailbreaks endeared him to almost everyone—from his girlfriend Billie Frechette (Cotillard) to an American public who had no sympathy for the banks that had plunged the country into the Depression.

But while the adventures of Dillinger’s gang—later including the sociopathic Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham) and Alvin Karpis (Giovanni Ribisi)—thrilled many, Hoover (Billy Crudup) hit on the idea of exploiting the outlaw’s capture as a way to elevate his Bureau of Investigation into the national police force that became the FBI. He made Dillinger America’s first Public Enemy Number One and sent in Purvis, the dashing “Clark Gable of the FBI.’’ However, Dillinger and his gang outwitted and outgunned Purvis’ men in wild chases and shootouts. Only after importing a crew of Western ex-lawmen (newly baptized as agents) and orchestrating epic betrayals—from the infamous “Lady in Red’’ to the Chicago crime boss Frank Nitti—were Purvis, the FBI and their new crew of gunfighters able to close in on Dillinger.

The film is still set for July 1st.
Will you make a run for this film when it arrives in theaters?


SCOOPED first by: In Contention
TRAILER exclusive through: MSN
IMAGE from: Reel Movies

Time for a Bale-out

...and I don't mean the kind Bale's already had. That'd be more like a meltdown (and "fucking distracting"). I'm also not talking about a stimulus package or Congressional assistance out of bankruptcy, though perhaps the timing would be good for either of those. No, I'm simply referring to the fact that, in the span of a week, two trailers have debuted that feature Christian Bale rather prominently. And they come packaged with some new posters, too. He's here to save our flailing economy, he is. Color me excited, I relish any opportunity to see new work by him (my favorite actor, after all).

The first to appear online is the fourth installment in the Terminator saga, titled "Terminator: Salvation" with McG ("Charlie's Angels") at the helm (instead of creator James Cameron) and with Bale in the now-adult shoes of the John Connor character which was first played by Edward Furlong in "T2: Judgment Day" and then by Nick Stahl in "T3: Rise of the Machines." Yahoo! Movies has the trailer, which was a huge hit at WonderCon, and this one lays out a bit more than the first trailer did - with some more glimpses into the resistance with shots of Common looking fierce with a rifle as John's right-hand man Barnes, Anton Yelchin as the youthful Kyle Reese (John Connor's father) who was the main character in the first "Terminator," and Bryce Dallas Howard as Kate Connor which was vacated by Claire Danes after her stint in the third movie. It also accentuates the dilemma John Connor faces with Sam Worthington's Marcus Wright, who they discover possesses robotic parts and could be a terminator in Skynet's efforts to produce human-like droids which ultimately produced the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger throughout the original trilogy as well as Robert Patrick in "T2" and Kristanna Loken in "T3." McG kept hinting at the likelihood of Ah-nuld and Linda Hamilton (John Connor's mother, Sarah) making cameo appearances, and I'm holding out hope that it's true. The movie looks intense and very reverent of the mythology created by James Cameron, but if they can get some of the original faces in there (even in voice-form) then that'd be even better. It debuts May 21.

Anne Thompson thinks this one has far better chances at winning audiences than "Watchmen," which is similar to "T4: Salvation" in the way that both are contemporary translations of established lore and imagery, which has been seeing some rather nasty reviews come pouring in, with some rather ecstatic ones sprinkled in as well. (Here's Anthony Lane's acidic yet entertaining pan and Roger Ebert's high praise.) Thus: "As much as my instincts tell me that Watchmen will be a cult hit but a box office disappointment for Warner Bros, this Terminator Salvation trailer tells me that this action sequel is just what the doctor ordered."

Number two is Michael Mann's "Public Enemies" which stars both Johnny Depp and Bale with a rather impressive supporting cast which consists of Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard ("La Vie en Rose" and the upcoming "Nine"), Billy Crudup, Giovanni Ribisi, and Channing Tatum. Crudup has been pulling in some great early word with more than a few mentioning Oscar. We'll see how that pans out.

The premise of the film is the real-life story of gangster John Dillinger (Depp) in an episode of his life where, due to his multi-state crime spree during the 1930s which would've made Bonnie and Clyde go into retirement sooner, the US government had no other option but to create the FBI - whose top agent, Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) - was the one assigned to finally track down Dillinger and bring him to justice. Sounds rather basic for a gangster flick (by now), but there are some peculiar twists involved, the state of Indiana providing one of them (to some humor as delivered by Depp, no less) and Marion Cotillard another. Like "Bonnie & Clyde," this seems to have some sardonic humor sewn in (also channels its imagery and cinematography if the poster and trailer are any indication). I fully expect some more flourishes and knots in the narrative, as this is a Michael Mann film after all. The man's built his career studying bad people getting into worse situations at the hands of the law, and career killers and manipulators coming up against hard times because of a lack of restraint (usually at the foot of a beautiful woman or the prospect of a load of money). (Notable Mann flicks - err, man-flicks - are "Heat," "The Insider," "Ali," and "Collateral.") His characters are modern-day Greek figures at the mercy of the inevitable self-inflicted catharsis - only this time it's based on real cops and robbers. You can find the trailer at Apple Trailers (Quicktime) or at JoBlo (flash). Expect it in the late summer, my guesses.

As much a fan as I am of Christian Bale's, I'm not as thoroughly excited about either of these as I have been with his past works, notably his collaborations with Chris Nolan but especially "The Prestige," as well as "The Machinist," and "3:10 to Yuma." While "Public Enemies" does have potential to be a roiling, devilish crime drama with some great dialogue and opportunities galore for Bale to do what he does best - shout and brood (reaffirmed by his meltdown) - it's the action that's the centerpiece here. Hard to fit that in with some "American Psycho"-style monologues and outbursts, which is a shame since that performance was easily the best of 1999 for me and I think he's far overdue for another character of that level in playfulness, bravado and subversion.

Which one are you more excited to see?


IMAGE from: Buzz Focus
IMAGE from: Cinematical

Give Her A Movie

A few weeks ago, Elisabeth Rappe at Cinematical chalked up a rather intriguing question that studio execs are always asking themselves to prepare for the year's Oscar bait season: Who's in need of a biopic? They're a favorite of Hollywood, because they adapt the lives of mostly famous people into often conventionalized yet fascinating portraits that're ripe with drama, triumph, humor, tragedy and social commentary - a perfect mixture to appeal to Academy members. They also run opposite of ensemble flicks, of course, by highlighting the notoriety or stardom of a single person; and it's no wonder you'll find more nominated performances from a biopic than an ensemble piece because more depth and imitation is found in these than can fit in a film populated by a small soccer team of six or seven. The popularity and success scale of biopics resembles a bell curve, with those biopics which explore very famous people tending to hit the mark and make it to Oscar with at least an acting nomination of some sort ("Ray," "Ali," "Walk the Line," "The Queen") while also laying favor to the most obscure people - those who might be notable or important to their field or circle, but who lack the elements which we require to be called famous ("La Vie en Rose" about French singer Edith Piaf, "Milk" which explored well-known but not famous local politician Harvey Milk, "The Last King of Scotland"'s Idi Amin or "Hotel Rwanda"'s Paul Rusesabagina).

Rappe's own suggestions of Lev Trotsky and Mary Wollstonecraft (definitely the latter in the above, which is a pity on both accounts) come at the heels of the announcements that action star Steve McQueen and literary giant Ernest Hemingway will both be getting their dues finally in cinematic form (have neither been explored before? comment below!). For the purpose of this game we're playing, since I am asking for your thoughts on who you think is deserving of a biopic, let's see how obscure we can get with our choices. Or, even better, the most famous people yet to have a biopic - there's real blasphemy being committed out there with some of the glaring omissions that are coming to the fore with these new announcements (like Steven Spielberg's long and hard attempts at getting his Lincoln picture made, which might be getting yet another push - ack!).

Some of these biopics are getting really strange ("W.," for instance), but a lot of creativity has been fuelling some of the latest projects and the biopics of the last few years. Which brings me to my personal choice. We've had films which used extensive amounts of Bob Dylan's music, then we've got "I'm Not There" which may be the most inspired and most unique angle for a biopic yet (though the Diane Arbus pic, "Fur," was also quite odd and captivating). Why not devote an entire film to music's other great, female singer-songwriter - Joni Mitchell? She's a magnificent musician and hugely influential, as influential as Dylan I'd contend, and her life has been quite amazing with her frequenting the likes of Dylan, Janis Joplin, Carole King, and Herbie Hancock over the course of her long career, and straddling cultural moments like the beatnik movement, Woodstock (which she didn't actually attend), folk going electric, the rise of MTV and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The movie could cast two different leads to play the younger, more delicate and higher-pitched Mitchell and the older Mitchell with her drops in octaves and resurgence as a more politically-charged artist.

Who fits the bill for a biopic?

IMAGE from: More Things
IMAGE from: The Cinematic Art

'Milk' Does Everybody Good.

It's probably a good thing that Bryan Singer's production of the biopic about assassinated San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk didn't get made. Not that he wouldn't have done a great job, or a particularly accurate or humane one, but just for the sake of giving the memory of the groundbreaking openly-gay public official all that he deserves, I think it's better that we'll end up with just one picture. Gus Van Sant's version of the film, though much less neatly named (Singer's was called The Mayor of Castro Street), is the one that's pulled ahead. The lack of competition for location shooting, talent and awards expectations means that more can go into the production, and better care can be taken. And for director Van Sant, the cast and crew of Milk and the citizens of San Francisco - and especially Castro Street, which metamorphosed during the 70s from an Irish neighborhood to a predominant gay district - it's definitely a labor of love. The film's been in production for quite some time (extended and suspended due to the WGA Strike earlier in the year) and won't be in theaters for some time either, so the film's already making hearts heavy with melancholy and anguish. After all, several of the consultants and crew have fond memories of Mr. Milk, and the daily reminder of what happened in November of 1978 that's been recreated with the sets and costumes still shakes their roots. The San Francisco Chronicle spoke to quite a few of them back in January, and it makes for some good reading on the production and the remnants of Mr. Milk's legacy.

But the recreated sets and costumed actors have given quite a few some good old hope and faith, too. A good amount has changed in all of America in the last 30 years, and with so many more gay and lesbian public officials having been in office since and with the visibility of the LGBT community and the Gay Rights Movement on the rise, many who've long advocated greater tolerance and awareness are probably looking forward to the days where we'll take gay characters and gay culture for granted. With Gus Van Sant at the helm, one needn't worry about sentimentalism or sensationalism, and with his talent comes more talent: Sean Penn will play Milk himself (below), with James Franco as his first lover and campaign manager Scott Smith, Emile Hirsch as student activist and intern of Milk's Cleve Jones, Victor Garber as Mayor George Moscone, Diego Luna as Jack Lira - another lover of Milk's, and Josh Brolin as the noted killer and fellow official Dan White. Such a serious cast as that should easily be able to deliver some cathartic and enlightened moments, and enlighten the viewers who aren't aware of who Milk was. Maybe they'll even immortalize his best quote, which was an almost prophetic wish of what was to come: "If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door." He gets a second chance to say it.