Public Enemies | The New York Observer

Thumbs Down: The Great Divide Between Critics and Audiences Keeps Growing

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:42:52 -0400

Reason No. 68 why the disconnect between film critics and moviegoers is bigger than ever: The elitism of the old guard. Over the course of the past week, well known and nominally intelligent film critics Roger Ebert and A.O. Scott both wrote that the decline of the film industry is in direct proportion to the increasing stupidity of the audience. (Jeffrey Wells, hysterical blogger and all around curmudgeon, had written the same thing...

Box Office Breakdown: Brüno Tiptoes Past Ice Age, Beth Cooper Gets Left Back

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:33:37 -0400

What’s Austrian for “not as good as we thought?” It was a tale of two weekends for Sacha Baron Cohen’s Brüno. On the one hand, the guerrilla comedy pulled down an estimated $30.4 million in ticket sales to pace the field; on the other, the total gross came in well below the high expectations that were set after Brüno opened with $14.4 million on Friday. There was no splitting...

The Three Big Myths About Public Enemies: Don't Believe Everything You Read!

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:29:40 -0400

You'd be forgiven for thinking that Michael Mann's Public Enemies is suffocated by historical accuracies, coming as it does from such a notoriously detail-oriented director. Not so! Mr. Mann’s script, co-written by Southland’s Ann Biderman and Ronan Bennett, is chock-a-block with dramatic license. For example: F.B.I. agent Melvin Purvis (a decidedly underused Christian Bale) did not account for the killing of every major bank robber in the 1930s, as the movie seems...

Box Office Breakdown: Ice Age 3 and Transformers 2 Play to a Tie, While Public Enemies Steals Third

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:34:14 -0400

Ladies and gentlemen: We have a draw! Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs each pulled down an estimated $42.5 over Fourth of July weekend to tie atop the charts, meaning a winner won’t be decided until the final numbers are tallied later today. (Our money is on the kiddie flick.) Opening in third was the epic (and epically long) Public Enemies,...

Opening this Weekend: Celebrate July 4th with Johnny Depp in a Fedora and Those Cute Critters from Ice Age!

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:06:37 -0400

What, is there a better way to celebrate our nation’s independence over this July 4th weekend than by spending some time inside a movie theater? Three films hope to win your hard-earned money, but, if none of them get your juices flowing, you can always see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen again. As we do every Friday, here’s a handy guide to the new releases.

Public...

We Say Oui Oui to Marion Cotillard!

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:10:05 -0400

I saw Public Enemies last night—and plenty of critics have already weighed in about how cool and beautiful and entertaining the movie is (Rex Reed called it “one of the best movies of the year”). But here’s what I took away from it: my total and unabashed girl-crush on Marion Cotillard is still going and stronger than ever.

The 33-year-old actress (and, hooray to her being born in the mid-’70s!) first...

A Little Depp'll Do Ya! Johnny Gets His Gun

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:20:49 -0400

Public Enemies
Running time 143 minutes
Written by Ronan Bennett, Michael Mann and Ann Biderman
Directed by Michael Mann
Starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum, Stephen Graham, Giovanni Ribisi, Billy Crudup

America's enduring obsession with the folk-hero outlaws and gangsters of the 1930s is about to get ratcheted up a few notches. Ace director Michael Mann’s Public Enemies, with Johnny Depp as an unlikely but undeniably mesmerizing John Dillinger, opens on July...

Summer Movie Sneak Peek: Ten Big Flicks!

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 07:58:30 -0400

Break out the SPF 50! The summer movie season starts in earnest this weekend with the openings of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and, frankly, we could not be more excited. Bank on the next four months being filled up by superheroes, stunted man-children, teenage wizards and an unusual amount of killer robots. (Seriously, is Hollywood trying to warn us about something?) Check out our slideshow of the 10 most anticipated...

Christian Bale: The Consummate Co-Star

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 08:12:41 -0400

We have to hand it to Christian Bale. For as long as we could remember, he was always a conundrum: a brilliant actor that seemed to actively sabotage his stardom by appearing in mostly limited-appeal dreck. Then, something fascinating happened: Caught up in the wave of counterintuitive superhero casting choices—you can thank Tobey Maguire for this—Mr. Bale wound up starring as Batman and vaulting onto the A-list. Only he wasn’t just front and...

12 Movies for 12 Months: 2009 in Preview

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:44:53 -0500

We've gone ahead and surveyed the monthly film landscape to find for you the twelve key movies to see during the upcoming year. You're welcome! Naturally, all release dates are subject to change.

January: Notorious (dir. George Tillman, Jr.)

As our esteemed colleague so accurately wrote, January is truly the coldest month for Hollywood. Unless you plan on catching up on all the holiday releases, there won't be a whole lot of...