"I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives." - Ecclesiastes 2:3

FILM REVIEWS:

In the past two days, I've seen two movies, and so, here are my reviews....

First off "Public Enemies", Michael Mann's true life story of the bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp.) Set in 1930's era Chicago, the film chronicles both the crime life and the love life of one of history's most notorious felons. It's an exciting look into a part of history that never ceases to entertain. The movie was not without it's problems though. First, Christian Bale who plays the man assigned to catch Dillinger has once and for all proven that he cannot act aside from in a Batsuit. One does not have enough appendages to keep track of the number of different accents Bale uses to try and bring his character to life, and it annoyed the living heck out of me. The second problem I had with the movie was the lack of bank robberies. For a film ABOUT a master bank robber, there were far fewer bank robberies than I had hoped for, and the ones they did have were quick and not thought out on camera at all. Those criticisms aside, the film is well shot, well directed, and is entertaining despite it's slightly overlong running time which nears two and a half hours. I would give this **1/2 out of ****.

The other movie I saw in the past two days was "The Hurt Locker." This was one of my "Five Films To See This Summer", and I went into Boston to catch it as it was only playing in two theaters in the city. The film, which stars absolutely no A-listers, is truly an edge of your seat experience. Throwing viewers right into the life of those that defuse bombs in Iraq, the tension in almost every scene will be more than some viewers can take. For a film about bombs however, there is very little graphic violence - aside from one scene which had me squinting. The film's unique vision and feel (which will draw some "Black Hawk Down" comparisons) are to be praised, and if it weren't for a couple of silly narrative turns, I would be giving this movie an even higher rating. It's still not to be missed though, I would give it ***1/2 out of ****.