Public Enemies. I love how so many people get to “lead” in this movie, though Depp is still at the heart of it. Forgot about the brief Channing Tatum scene. The arrest/trasnport/imprisonment scenes have some nice echoes of Kit Carruthers, the charisma and confidence. “We’re having too good of a time today; we’re not thinking about tomorrow.”
Public Enemies. It’s a good ride, and it’s greatest charm and greatest flaw is that it doesn’t have a big arc to it. It’s not dramatic. Fine by me. This is a movie about a single-minded, short-sighted guy, told directly. I’d love to see Johnny Depp in more movies like this (i.e. non-comedy, non-Burton). Not sure about the very last scene, but I’ll give it to him.
Time for updated Michael Mann rankings. The top 3 are set, for sure. The others fluctuate day to day:
Heat. Yeah, this is definitely going on my list of movies that are 1) more than 2.5 hours long, and 2) worth watching 3x or more. At the center are two guys who are both in lines of work that keep them from being normal people with normal relationships. And they know it. (Pacino’s Vincent Hanna would probably be jealous of Ford’s Dave Bannion). The female leads help round them out. Such a great cast. Nice action sequences, but thankfully not every confrontation is noisy or fast-paced or even violent. Although some, of course, are. But Michael Mann knows how to use silence, too. The end reminded me of Hanna with its perfect use of environmental light and sound. And I can’t forget to mention the L.A. synth-mood breaks a la Mann’s Manhunter, which I also loved (same cinematographer, too). Great, great film.
Manhunter. Awesome. Slow-burning Miami-synth-moods thriller. I love the pre-cellphone detective work, cops running evidence from office to office. The sitting and pondering. The prison scene in Atlanta is actually in the High Museum! I now have to see everything Michael Mann has done.
Mark Larson 