Public Enemies (Mann, 2009) — The Reviews Thread - Page 5

Boba Fett · 07-06-09, 12:20 AM

3.5/5 from me. Great acting, but the script was all over the place, the runtime was a good 30-35 minutes too long and littered with factual inaccuracies.

The Bus · 07-06-09, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FantasticVSDoom

It was hard to pick up the dialogue at the beginning of the film, which Im starting to get used to for Mann's films.

Yeah, something was very, very odd with the sound mixing. Like the center was muddled. Unless we both went to the Union Square theater...

Anyone else have this issue?

The Bus · 07-06-09, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suprmallet

Also, count me in as someone who hated the DV photography. I liked the stuff he did on Collateral and Miami Vice, and every so often the DV photography made it feel like you were really there, but usually in a "So this is how they shoot a movie" kind of way. One of my friends said he kept waiting to see a boom mic dip into frame because everything looked like behind the scenes footage. It just didn't feel like a movie about the 30's, despite Mann painstakingly recreating every detail of the period. If he wanted a gritty but authentic look, he should have shot 16mm.

The DV style was interesting but I wonder what Mann's reasoning for using it was.

At the beginning of the movie, I thought it worked very well. It did a great job contrasting the starkness of the prison, the escape, the emptiness of 30s. And it looked beautiful, almost as nice as the Che footage shot with the RED One.

But later, it just became more and more of a problem for me.

movielib · 07-06-09, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bus

Yeah, something was very, very odd with the sound mixing. Like the center was muddled. Unless we both went to the Union Square theater...

Anyone else have this issue?

Yes. I thought it was just our theater but maybe not.

Finisher · 07-06-09, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Bus

The DV style was interesting but I wonder what Mann's reasoning for using it was.

I was curious about this too since Mann's a perfectionist and a strong visualist and he's deliberately sacrificing a degree of visual beauty. Here are relevant snippets from a Mann interview with the Chicago Tribune:

"To me, what's important is to internalize things, getting the audience in the zone with the characters. That's the objective. That's the challenge."

Test footage (in high-def digital video) "made me feel like I was there, on a rainy night in Chicago, 1933." It's about "the closeness of the experience," the hard-edged immediacy of digital versus "the liquid surface" of film.

"The most exciting thing," Mann says, "is if I can convey what it felt like to be there. I try, anyway, for some authenticity. That's where the drama is. It lies in intense experience."

So, it's a tradeoff of visual aesthetics for immediacy, heightened identification. I personally don't think it's a fair trade but I at least understand Mann's choice to use DV better.

RD1973 · 07-06-09, 06:55 PM

Does anyone know if Lucas used a different digital camera for ROTS? That movie looks great and I wouldn't even know it was shot on digital if I hadn't read it.

Miami Vice, Collateral, and Apocalypto look like they were shot using the same cameras used for DVD featurettes. And Public Enemies looks even worse, especially the night scenes.

Daytripper · 07-06-09, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RD1973

Does anyone know if Lucas used a different digital camera for ROTS? That movie looks great and I wouldn't even know it was shot on digital if I hadn't read it.

Miami Vice, Collateral, and Apocalypto look like they were shot using the same cameras used for DVD featurettes. And Public Enemies looks even worse, especially the night scenes.

Oh I agree with you there. The night scenes in digital were just horrible.

RagingBull80 · 07-07-09, 12:56 AM

I thought the flick was pretty good myself. I think there could have been a little more emotional depth to most of the characters but all in all I liked it.

Oh, and the sound was really shitty at my theatre.

Boba Fett · 07-07-09, 02:41 AM

Mann uses primarily Thomson Viper which gets up to 1080p resolution, whereas Lucas uses the the Panavision HD-900F, which Mann also used in Ali.

If the movie wasn't so long, I'd go see it again in the digital theater to see if a pure digital presentation looks any better. I know the difference between Star Trek in 35mm and DLP was night and day (as was the sound).

RichC2 · 07-07-09, 10:17 AM

The thing with Trek is the color palette really came alive in DLP vs. 35mm. I don't think Public Enemies would fare the same since it seems intentionally muted.

Oh and similarly, Knowing was shot using RED digital cameras and looks pretty fantastic for the most part (save for some weak visual effects).

Solid Snake PAC · 07-07-09, 11:33 AM

Unfortunately you can't tell that by Nic Cage's hair in the way at all times.

jdslater1 · 07-07-09, 08:43 PM

I gave it a 4/5 and strangely enough I didn't find it too long. It had one of the best supporting casts I have seen ( I thought Lang was superb). The shootouts were great, the sound of a tommy gun is hard to beat.
But I agree with most about the sound, all over the place. I was not watching it digtally sadly but some of the cuts between scenes were really badly edited.

Geofferson · 07-08-09, 10:27 PM

I finally caught it this week and really enjoyed it (lowered expectations, perhaps). While flawed, I thought it was a great couple hours and would go see it again in a heartbeat.

Michael Ballack · 07-10-09, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RD1973

Does anyone know if Lucas used a different digital camera for ROTS? That movie looks great and I wouldn't even know it was shot on digital if I hadn't read it.

Miami Vice, Collateral, and Apocalypto look like they were shot using the same cameras used for DVD featurettes. And Public Enemies looks even worse, especially the night scenes.

Yes he did. Just like digital cameras, digital video cameras continue to get better every few years. For episodes 2 and 3, Lucas used Sony cameras, but the Episode 3 camera was supposed to be twice as good as the Episode 2 one.

will travel · 07-16-09, 02:55 AM

In my opinion the Best looking woman and the actress with the most talent in this film was Myrna Loy.

PopcornTreeCt · 07-16-09, 10:54 AM

I had too high expectations for this movie. It didn't resonate with me. I felt nothing for the characters. The gun fights were loud as expected but none of the scenes were truly memorable. Christian Bale was probably my favorite part as he was back to Bale and not Batman.

--Spoilers-- (you're in a "reviews thread")

The final death scene undermined everything we'd seen previously. I was hoping for a Leon death scene but Mann chose to go with super-fake slow mo CGI which was ridiculously out of place.

The bank robbery scenes were just scenes. They didn't reveal anything about the characters nor were they exciting, suspenseful or clever.

It had a lot going for it so I didn't hate it. But it was just a boring gangster film.

AnonomusBob15 · 07-16-09, 11:05 AM

Saw it a few nights ago. It isn't the most exciting movie ever but I enjoyed it. The cast and direction were great. I even liked the digital. It's just hard to sit in a theater for three hours if the story isn't tightly paced.

I expect this to grow on me more on DVD, much like Ali and Miami Vice.

Solid Snake PAC · 07-16-09, 01:10 PM

Dillinger died like that. Minus the little thing he says like that and that guy that's nervous as fuck about being killed by Dillinger.

Dan1boy · 07-16-09, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PopcornTreeCt

I had too high expectations for this movie. It didn't resonate with me. I felt nothing for the characters. The gun fights were loud as expected but none of the scenes were truly memorable. Christian Bale was probably my favorite part as he was back to Bale and not Batman.

--Spoilers-- (you're in a "reviews thread")

The final death scene undermined everything we'd seen previously. I was hoping for a Leon death scene but Mann chose to go with super-fake slow mo CGI which was ridiculously out of place.

The bank robbery scenes were just scenes. They didn't reveal anything about the characters nor were they exciting, suspenseful or clever.

It had a lot going for it so I didn't hate it. But it was just a boring gangster film.

Couldn't freakin' agree more...review is right on!!

damn mindreaders....

JimRochester · 07-17-09, 11:26 PM

Just saw this and give it a 3.5/5. It was good but not great. Too much shaky handheld photography for me and not enough depth of character compared to Untouchables

View Poll Results: Public Enemies (Mann, 2009) — The Reviews Thread
	2	2.90%
	5	7.25%
	23	33.33%
	10	14.49%
	12	17.39%
	5	7.25%
	8	11.59%
	2	2.90%
	0	0%
	1	1.45%
	0	0%
“They ain't tough enough, smart enough or fast enough” to rob me of my money.	1	1.45%
Voters: 69. You may not vote on this poll

07-06-09, 12:20 AM	#101
Boba Fett DVD Talk Reviewer Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Pacific NW Posts: 2,053	Re: Public Enemies (Mann, 2009) — The Reviews Thread 3.5/5 from me. Great acting, but the script was all over the place, the runtime was a good 30-35 minutes too long and littered with factual inaccuracies. __________________ On a gathering storm, comes a tall handsome man. In a dusty black coat with a Red Right Hand.

07-06-09, 06:55 PM	#106
RD1973 Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 404	Re: Public Enemies (Mann, 2009) — The Reviews Thread Does anyone know if Lucas used a different digital camera for ROTS? That movie looks great and I wouldn't even know it was shot on digital if I hadn't read it. Miami Vice, Collateral, and Apocalypto look like they were shot using the same cameras used for DVD featurettes. And Public Enemies looks even worse, especially the night scenes.

07-07-09, 12:56 AM	#108
RagingBull80 DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: West of the Fields Posts: 1,409	Re: Public Enemies (Mann, 2009) — The Reviews Thread I thought the flick was pretty good myself. I think there could have been a little more emotional depth to most of the characters but all in all I liked it. Oh, and the sound was really shitty at my theatre. __________________ "Through fields of Cattle. Through fields of Cane." D V D S

07-07-09, 02:41 AM	#109
Boba Fett DVD Talk Reviewer Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Pacific NW Posts: 2,053	Re: Public Enemies (Mann, 2009) — The Reviews Thread Mann uses primarily Thomson Viper which gets up to 1080p resolution, whereas Lucas uses the the Panavision HD-900F, which Mann also used in Ali. If the movie wasn't so long, I'd go see it again in the digital theater to see if a pure digital presentation looks any better. I know the difference between Star Trek in 35mm and DLP was night and day (as was the sound). __________________ On a gathering storm, comes a tall handsome man. In a dusty black coat with a Red Right Hand.

07-07-09, 10:17 AM	#110
RichC2 DVD Talk Legend Join Date: May 2001 Posts: 11,160	Re: Public Enemies (Mann, 2009) — The Reviews Thread The thing with Trek is the color palette really came alive in DLP vs. 35mm. I don't think Public Enemies would fare the same since it seems intentionally muted. Oh and similarly, Knowing was shot using RED digital cameras and looks pretty fantastic for the most part (save for some weak visual effects). __________________ Toshiba HD-A2 / Sony Playstation 3 60gb Xbox Live Tag: Gumai / PSN Tag: Seihaku Last edited by RichC2; 07-07-09 at 10:22 AM.

07-07-09, 11:33 AM	#111
Solid Snake PAC DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Denton, Tx Posts: 3,201	Re: Public Enemies (Mann, 2009) — The Reviews Thread Unfortunately you can't tell that by Nic Cage's hair in the way at all times.

07-07-09, 08:43 PM	#112
jdslater1 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: london Posts: 867	Re: Public Enemies (Mann, 2009) — The Reviews Thread I gave it a 4/5 and strangely enough I didn't find it too long. It had one of the best supporting casts I have seen ( I thought Lang was superb). The shootouts were great, the sound of a tommy gun is hard to beat. But I agree with most about the sound, all over the place. I was not watching it digtally sadly but some of the cuts between scenes were really badly edited. __________________ "Sit down, dim the lights. Or turn them off if you don't have a dimmer!"

07-08-09, 10:27 PM	#113
Geofferson DVD Talk Hero Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Gracen & Gracen Posts: 31,829	Re: Public Enemies (Mann, 2009) — The Reviews Thread I finally caught it this week and really enjoyed it (lowered expectations, perhaps). While flawed, I thought it was a great couple hours and would go see it again in a heartbeat. __________________ “Are we having fun yet?" Henry Pollard, Party Down

07-16-09, 02:55 AM	#115
will travel Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Iowa Posts: 408	Re: Public Enemies (Mann, 2009) — The Reviews Thread In my opinion the Best looking woman and the actress with the most talent in this film was Myrna Loy.

07-16-09, 10:54 AM	#116
PopcornTreeCt DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 15,194	Re: Public Enemies (Mann, 2009) — The Reviews Thread I had too high expectations for this movie. It didn't resonate with me. I felt nothing for the characters. The gun fights were loud as expected but none of the scenes were truly memorable. Christian Bale was probably my favorite part as he was back to Bale and not Batman. --Spoilers-- (you're in a "reviews thread") The final death scene undermined everything we'd seen previously. I was hoping for a Leon death scene but Mann chose to go with super-fake slow mo CGI which was ridiculously out of place. The bank robbery scenes were just scenes. They didn't reveal anything about the characters nor were they exciting, suspenseful or clever. It had a lot going for it so I didn't hate it. But it was just a boring gangster film. __________________

07-16-09, 11:05 AM	#117
AnonomusBob15 DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Auburn University Posts: 1,490	Re: Public Enemies (Mann, 2009) — The Reviews Thread Saw it a few nights ago. It isn't the most exciting movie ever but I enjoyed it. The cast and direction were great. I even liked the digital. It's just hard to sit in a theater for three hours if the story isn't tightly paced. I expect this to grow on me more on DVD, much like Ali and Miami Vice. __________________ DVD Collection Last edited by AnonomusBob15; 07-16-09 at 02:47 PM.

07-16-09, 01:10 PM	#118
Solid Snake PAC DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Denton, Tx Posts: 3,201	Re: Public Enemies (Mann, 2009) — The Reviews Thread Dillinger died like that. Minus the little thing he says like that and that guy that's nervous as fuck about being killed by Dillinger.

07-17-09, 11:26 PM	#120
JimRochester DVD Talk Hall of Fame Join Date: Sep 1999 Location: Rochester, NY. USA Posts: 8,301	Re: Public Enemies (Mann, 2009) — The Reviews Thread Just saw this and give it a 3.5/5. It was good but not great. Too much shaky handheld photography for me and not enough depth of character compared to Untouchables __________________ Pan58" Plasma,Pioneer vsx91, SONY s350, Toshiba A35, Def-Tech speakers supercube sub. Most wanted BD: Armgeddon/BeutyBeast/BevHillsCop/BigRed1/BTTF/Bugsy/DieHard4(R)/Gettysburg/GrossPoint/Honeymoon Vegas/JurassicPark/LionKing/MemphisBelle/Midway/Mohicans/MusicMan/PH(R)/PT&A/Raiders/SoundMusic/Stripes/Sleepless/StarWars/SPR/3King/TinCup/Tombstone/Tora/TrueLies/USMarsh/WhileUSleeping.