tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post8683428201665362050..comments2023-11-05T02:01:53.847-06:00Comments on Antagony & Ecstasy: MANN'S MEN: PUBLIC ENEMIES (2009)Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09491952893581644049noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-68617135335619472052009-08-01T02:16:01.870-05:002009-08-01T02:16:01.870-05:00This is a brave style to make a period piece. Hand...This is a brave style to make a period piece. Hand-held brings a realistic style to a genre that always looks the same. Any period piece is classically made, with gorgeous sets and costumes, and are shot conservatively. Credit to Mann for putting us in the 1930s. <br />Up there with Heat and The Insider in the Mann canon. Repeat viewings will determine how close it comes.casualtraderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11134906679686604849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-86904654741843938042009-07-05T23:03:02.928-05:002009-07-05T23:03:02.928-05:00I'm surprised at your positive review of Chris...I'm surprised at your positive review of Christian Bale's performance - to me it is the second movie in a row ('Terminator Salvation' being the other) where he seemed like a stuffed shirt. His performances in both seemed ultimately hollow and purely motivated by check-cashing or the personal joy of working with particular filmmakers or being attached to a certain franchise, because he certainly wasn't there to give a great performance. I found myself willing him to <i>act</i> to do <i>something</i> that made me at all interested in his character. The scene with Billie near the end of 'Public Enemies' was the only time in either movie when I cared about what he was doing, or more importantly, believed <i>he cared</i> about what he was doing.Karahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16255265513247098806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-54365079816579002362009-07-02T19:10:00.584-05:002009-07-02T19:10:00.584-05:00apparently, they shot the damn thing at 29.97 fps,...apparently, they shot the damn thing at 29.97 fps, which is the sort of thing for which any director ought to be dragged off and knifed.Cameronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07573022985434913749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14812333.post-56212962526944171872009-07-02T11:04:19.247-05:002009-07-02T11:04:19.247-05:00Were we watching the same film? Heh. Kidding, of c...Were we watching the same film? Heh. Kidding, of course, but I really thought that the film was beautifully shot. In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that some scenes were shot on film stock because they looked crystal clear. I dunno, the digital cameras don't really bother me at all. In fact, the graininess inherent in several scenes gave the film a grittiness, a textured quality. At any rate, I thought the film looked fantastic.<br /><br />You write:<br /><br />"He is, in other words, nothing but a tough guy and a hard-ass, and if Bale plays him with only a trace of subtlety here or there, it is because the character does not possess any subtlety."<br /><br />Well, there is one scene that shows a bit Purvis' humanity. It's when he stops the brutal interrogation of Frechette. The poor woman has obviously had enough and I thought it was a nice bit where he carries her to get cleaned up. That added a nice shade to his otherwise no-nonsense character.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08164105442273577128noreply@blogger.com