Here is the list of my favorite films of the following decade.(2000-2009) And yes, I realize that The Company was a TNT miniseries and not a feature film, but Michael Keaton is such a bad ass, I had to put it on the list anyway.
To finish off the semester in my human psych and development class, our professor made us write our own eulogy. I'm sure my professor regretted giving us this assignment once she laid eyes on my paper. Well...here you go.
Leadership, kindness, honor, character, thoughtfulness. These are the qualities of a great man. Unfortunately for Dexter Babin, he possessed none of these qualities.
Then what will we remember when we think of him? I think if we review his life of misadventures, we can understand him better.
We all know that after he FINALLY graduated college (in the shade of a decade); he tried to be an amateur filmmaker. He totally failed at that.
His first film, "Auschwitz: The Musical", basically blackballed him from the film industry. But never knowing when to give up, Dexter took another stab at filmmaking with his second film: "Mafia Kingfish: The Story of Carlos Marcello". Surprisingly enough, "Mafia Kingfish" was an absolute hit. Dexter gained prestige, and erased the stigma his earlier film had on his career.
Then he basically ruined everything. After the success of "Mafia Kingfish", Dexter made the “socially consciousness” (his own words) film: "Abortion: The Musical".
He not only received death threats from both sides on the abortion issue, but he was also slapped with a restraining order. He was never to go within 500 feet of a camera again.
Being exiled from the film industry, Dexter then moved on to pursue another passion of his, history. He studied and taught not only about the JFK assassination, but also the history of both organized crime and the CIA in America, along with Cold War politics as well.
We all know in those confusing and pathetic years, Dexter became more and more obsessed with the JFK assassination, and the involvement of rouge members of the CIA, the Mafia, and angry Cuban exiles. He was convinced that the government had the truth. Knowing that they would never release it, he somehow broke into CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia and obtained the secret documents revealing who was behind the JFK assassination.
Well all know that he made history when he revealed to the world that it was indeed Bigfoot, not Lee Harvey Oswald, who shot Kennedy. When questioned, Bigfoot just shrugged and told the press that “He really had nothing better to do.”
As we all can remember, after Dexter found out that it wasn’t the trinity of rouge CIA agents, Mafia, and Cuban Exiles, but….Bigfoot (who changed his named to Jeff after his existence was proven), who was the sole party responsible for the assassination of JFK, he basically went insane.
In his deteriorating mental state we all know that Dexter then became more and more obsessed with prospecting oil. He grew out a thick handlebar mustache and started dressing like it was the early 1900’s. I thought Dexter’s appearance was odd, but it didn’t occur to me what was really going on until he just kept saying how there was "an ocean of oil, and nobody can get at it except for me." It then hit me that Dexter thought he was Daniel Day Lewis’s character from the movie "There Will Be Blood". I knew it was hard, but I put up with his behavior for the time being. Unfortunately I severed my friendship with Dexter when he started calling me “Eli” and kept yelling out the word “DRAAAINNAGE” while throwing bowling pins at me.
We all know that Dexter tragically died shortly after words from what the doctors called a combination of tuberculoses and a gunshot wound to the head. His body was found outside the residence of Mr. Clint Eastwood, who claimed that Dexter had been up all night throwing bowling pins against his house yelling for someone named “Blondie” to come outside. We all know that Mr. Eastwood publicly announced that he had no idea of the circumstances surrounding Dexter’s death, and suggested that maybe he fell on the 44. Magnum bullets found in his skull.
I basically had to pick a picture for my art class to do a critique on.
I chose:
This black and white photograph taken by Robert Jackson, former photographer for the Dallas Times, captures one of the most infamous images in American history. Taken on November 24th, 1963, the photograph shows Lee Harvey Oswald, suspected assassin of President Kennedy, being assassinated himself by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby. Even though this photograph was not a premeditated work of art, and taken really out of mere surprise, you cannot really tell. The scale and proportion of the photograph is perfect. Not only does the picture capture Oswald and Ruby at the center, but the camera also captures the reactions of the people around them, giving the photograph an atmospheric perspective. Being a picture that falls into the sociocultural category, it also captures the turbulence and madness that ensued during the 1960’s. The 1960’s not only saw the assassination of a beloved President, but also: heated racial tension, the Vietnam War, furthering strain with Soviet relations, and even more political assassinations to follow in the late 1960’s, including the assassinations of Martin Luther King, and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The photograph is also a staple for people who believe that Oswald was not acting alone in the assassination of President Kennedy. It is photographic proof that someone somewhere didn’t want Oswald to see trial for his crime. The official statement by our government is that Ruby acted alone in the assassination of Oswald, but as more and more government files are declassified, proof of a conspiracy is eminent. Maybe Oswald is exactly what he said he was…just a patsy.
The photograph provided by ARTstor is cropped. This is the full picture, which I feel captures even better the atmospheric perspective of the photograph.
The summer is coming to an end, so I’ve decided it was time to make my top 5 list of favorite films for the summer. I hesitated at first since I didn’t get a chance to see Moon, but since there is no DVD release date in sight, and since I’ve basically seen everything else, I just decided to make the damn list.
So here it is, my top 5 movies of the summer (May-Aug):
5. Drag Me to Hell
Sam Raimi exorcised the demons that have been haunting his career since Spider-Man 3 with this Evil Dead-esque horror film. I’m glad that Raimi dropped the big budget Spider-Man movies to go back to his filmmaking roots.
4. The Brothers Bloom
From the director of Brick comes this classy and witty film, which will instantly remind you of The Sting, about a duo of con men that reunite for one last job. The performances of Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz, and the again silent Rinko Kikuchi make this film unforgettable. Another great aspect of the film is that it doesn’t rely on technology; sometimes you’re forgetting in which time period the story takes place in.
3. The Hurt Locker
I’m not big on war films, but The Hurt Locker, as of yet, is the best film made about the current conflict in Iraq. Even though Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes have brief appearances in the film, Jeremy Renner steals the show as a soldier who leads a small bomb squad unit into the chaos of war torn Iraq.
2. Inglourious Basterds
Tarantino’s latest movie does not disappoint. I would summarize it, but everyone knows about this movie. Just change your shorts and go see it again.
1. Public Enemies
Even though the film has its problems, it does not stop it from being my favorite movie of the summer. Just look at my review at the bottom of the page for a further analysis.
With such crime films as Thief, Heat, and Collateral under his belt, director Michael Mann does not disappoint with his new film, Public Enemies. Johnny Depp starts in an Oscar worthy role as John Dillinger, the charismatic depression-era bank robber whose escapades landed him on the top of the FBI’s most wanted list. The film also stars Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis, the FBI Agent charged with bringing Dillinger to justice, and Marion Cotillard, who plays Dillinger’s gun moll, Billy Frechette.
Aside from great acting all around, the cinematography is one of the better parts of the film. Some scenes of Public Enemies not only makes you feel you are standing behind Dillinger and his gang while shooting it out with G-Men, but a few first person shots make you feel that you yourself are wielding a Tommy gun, running through the streets of Chicago.
Mann adds to the reality of the film by shooting at the actual locations where shootouts took place. Mann shot at the Crown Point Jail, Little Bohemia Lodge, and the Biograph Theater, where Dillinger was assassinated.
In the ongoing debate between “HD vs. film”, Public Enemies may prove to be the ace in the hole that settles the argument. There are just some things that look better on HD rather than on film, and one of those things is scenes that take place at night. Several scenes, especially the Little Bohemia shootout, are beautifully crafted at night, thanks to HD.
Composer Elliot Goldenthal, who also scored Michael Mann’s Heat, returns with a beautiful score that carries the film.
And in one of the most dramatic scenes of the movie, where Dillinger is at the Biograph watching his last film, Manhattan Melodrama, Mann actually puts in real footage of the film, which makes the scene unforgettable.
Now that I’ve totally sucked this movie’s dick, let me tell you a couple of things that bothered me about it.
First is the total lack of development of Christian Bale’s character, Melvin Purvis.
Christian Bale doesn’t have nearly enough screen time on this film.
In a film with a similar formula to Heat, one would think it would be filmed in that matter. I’m not saying he has to have the exact amount of screen time as Depp, but just enough for the audience to really give a shit about his character. I’m not blaming Bale for his character being a little uninteresting, I’m sure if he had more time to work with the role on screen it would have been an award winning performance. When we finally learn the fate of Melvin Purvis at the end of the film on a title card, unless you are familiar with the history of the time period, you don’t really give a shit. There is a great rise and fall story that could have not only been told with Dillinger in the film, but also Melvin Purvis.
Another problem I have with the film is its historical accuracy.
Yes, I realize that it’s impossible to adapt a true story into a film and be 100% accurate, I get that. But the movie goes out of its way to be historically accurate in some places (like Ana Sage not wearing red, Purvis not being one of the agents that shot Dillinger, and Frank Nitti’s character. Take that “The Untouchables” (1987)), and goes out of its way sometimes to be historically inaccurate. Like:
(Just to grab a frame of reference, John Dillinger died on July 22nd, 1934.)
-The first gangster shot in the film by Purvis, before Dillinger’s death, Pretty Boy Floyd, in real life died on ..October 22, 1934.., three months after Dillinger.
-In the film Baby Face Nelson and Homer Van Meter both died in/shortly after a car crash that takes placebefore Dillinger’s death. In reality Baby Face Nelson died on November 27, 1934, and Homer Van Meter died on August 23rd, 1934, afterDillinger was shot.
-Harry 'Pete' Pierpont was also killed before Dillinger in the film. Where as in real life he was captured by authorities and was executed on October 17, 1934, again after Dillinger was shot.
Seeing a pattern here?
-The film also suggests that Dillinger, and other bank robbers as well, had a relationship with Phil D'Andrea, a member of the Chicago Outfit who worked for its post Capone-era boss, Frank Nitti. The only bank robbers who had any kind of relationship with the Chicago Outfit were both the Barkers and Alvin Karpis.
-The film also fabricates a long term relationship between Alvin Karpis and John Dillinger, which didn’t happen.
-Dillinger also received plastic surgery shortly before his death, (which the film leaves out), which started the controversy rather it was actually Dillinger who was shot at the Biograph, or someone else.
And I’m not saying that all the historical interpretation is bad.
I liked that fact that the film suggest that the Mafia had a hand in Dillinger’s death.
The only reason I was soo upset by the historical accuracy of the film was because the author of the book the film was based on, Bryan Burrough, said it was one the most historically accurate movies he has ever seen. Now I admit, it’s probably the most accurate Dillinger film out there, much more accurate than Dillinger (1973) and TONS more accurate than Dillinger and Capone (1995), but still, have you forgotten what you have written Mr. Burroughs? The time line of deaths alone were enough to upset me the first time I saw it.
I was also surprised with the direction Mann took with the film. While he had a chance to make a truly epic story about the genesis of the FBI, the Kansas City Massacre, the first good, then disastrous relationship between Melvin Purvis and J. Edgar Hoover, and the stories of other Public Enemies, Mann chose to focus on just the exploits of John Dillinger alone.
.. ..
I’m also surprised that one of the characters in this film never got his own movie.
The character Giovanni Ribisi plays in the film, Alvin Karpis, has one of the most epic stories ever told. Not only was he a bank robber/kidnapper with the Barker Gang, but he himself has come face to face with Chicago Outfit boss, Frank Nitti. He was also the last “Public Enemy” to be captured. He was arrested by Hoover himself in New Orleans on May 1, 1936. After that he was thrown in Alcatraz. from 1936 to April 1962. After Alcatraz was closed in 1962, he was transferred to McNeil Island Penitentiary in Washington.State. Karpis was released on parole in 1969 and deported to Canada.; he moved to Spain and died on August 26, 1979.
Just as he was the last “Public Enemy” to be captured, he was also the last one to die. He out lived all of his former peers at the time, and he even lived to see the death of J. Edgar Hoover. Shit, he lived longer than all of the Mafia bosses at the time also.
Even though not 100% percent accurate, I don’t let that get in the way of me liking Public Enemies. It’s my favorite film of the year so far, and this fantastic film should be seen by everyone, at least once.
I give Public Enemies Four and a half Horse Heads out of Five.
25.) The Good Shepherd(2006)
