The Dillinger Escape Plan
URGA MOTW
Public Enemies
It's 1933, and Chicago is in the midst of a crime wave, with bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) at the forefront. The fledgling Bureau of Investigation - before they were Federal - puts Agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) in charge of rounding him and his gang up. What follows is an exciting series of chases, captures, escapes and a bit of romance thrown in as Dillinger tries at all costs to be with his lover Billie Frechette (Mairon Cotillard). Or at least, that's what I assume this movie would be like, had it been filmed differently.
I found it very hard to concentrate on the story and acting, which were probably pretty good, because of the incredibly annoying and eye-strain causing cinematography. This film is full of shots that are far too close to actors faces, which makes it hard to get a decent focus, and the rest of the time it's filled with very shaky handi-cam footage. By the end of the film, my eyes were so sore I didn't really manage to enjoy myself much at all. It also didn't help that our cinema had the movie just a tiny bit out of focus (which was mostly obvious when titles were onscreen) as this added to the eye-hurting badness.
I know a dark gangster period film could probably be very good, and I think the (true) story behind this one would probably be compelling. I can't fault Johnny Depp as an actor, he pulls the role off well, but I am sending daggers to the director and DP for making this film just so very hard to watch.
Perhaps on a smaller screen (i.e. DVD) it may be better, and cause less eyestrain.
4/10
Public Enemies
It's 1933, and Chicago is in the midst of a crime wave, with bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) at the forefront. The fledgling Bureau of Investigation - before they were Federal - puts Agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) in charge of rounding him and his gang up. What follows is an exciting series of chases, captures, escapes and a bit of romance thrown in as Dillinger tries at all costs to be with his lover Billie Frechette (Mairon Cotillard). Or at least, that's what I assume this movie would be like, had it been filmed differently.
I found it very hard to concentrate on the story and acting, which were probably pretty good, because of the incredibly annoying and eye-strain causing cinematography. This film is full of shots that are far too close to actors faces, which makes it hard to get a decent focus, and the rest of the time it's filled with very shaky handi-cam footage. By the end of the film, my eyes were so sore I didn't really manage to enjoy myself much at all. It also didn't help that our cinema had the movie just a tiny bit out of focus (which was mostly obvious when titles were onscreen) as this added to the eye-hurting badness.
I know a dark gangster period film could probably be very good, and I think the (true) story behind this one would probably be compelling. I can't fault Johnny Depp as an actor, he pulls the role off well, but I am sending daggers to the director and DP for making this film just so very hard to watch.
Perhaps on a smaller screen (i.e. DVD) it may be better, and cause less eyestrain.
4/10