SAG Awards Predictions

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Public Enemies

Public Enemies
Starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Coltillard, and Billy Crudup

Michael Mann has had some hits in his time, and some near misses. With its lush images, close-ups that inject the audience into a character, and a few beautiful moments of film-making, "Public Enemies" would be one of his hits. However, the film also includes way to many characters to keep track of even for 143 minutes, a camera that needs a bit of stability from time to time, and actors that aren't so Batman-like.

According to IMDb, there are about 100 named character in "Public Enemies." Besides the cast above, Mann includes Giovanni Ribisi, Channing Tatum, LeeLee Sobieski, Stephen Dorff, Emilie de Ravin, and Lili Taylor, who are all very recognizable faces if not names. This causes a problem. If the film wants to focus on Depp and Bale with a bunch of scenes including Coltillard and Crudup, that's fine, but throwing in other known actors into the mix creates some confusion, especially when some of them barely have a line. It was as if the film wanted to justify itself as a pre-game for Awards season or something.

Johnny Depp was really the only great aspect of "Public Enemies." He drew us in, creating a humanistic side to his villain, John Dillinger, who ultimately was the protagonist. Christian Bale was a cold character, much like Josh Brolin in "Milk," however Bale provided no hint of weakness or humanity throughout the film, lacking a trait needed to match Depp's Dillinger.

Luckily Coltillard did not follow the path of most Oscar winners after they win the golden man (i.e. Halle Berry goes from "Monster's Ball" to "Catwoman"; Helen Mirren does "National Treasure 2" after winning for "The Queen"; and, of course, the infamous aftermath of "Ray" when Jamie Foxx starred in "Stealth," which i have yet to see on the grounds that I'm still boycotting the film), and she provides a solid non-Oscar-worthy performance as Dillinger's woman. She does have one scene at the end that is brilliant.

Mann's script lacked solidity and dragged for scene after scene, however, every bank robbery and jail escape worked as a tie that strung the film together. The excitement and tension outshone the dull scenes of dull dialogue. And one scene in particular, speaking of tension, that stood out above all is the one in which Depp struts into the police department, the police who are out to get him, and goes into Bale's character's office where all the files and pictures and clues are. All the police are out looking for him, and here he is, in the department, talking to some of the ignorant officers who don't notice him. It was perfect.

All in all, "Public Enemies" is what it is: a really great summer flick trying to be a winter consideration.

Grade: C+

WALL-E, Hancock, Wanted, & The Dark Knight

WALL-E
Voiced by Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Fred Willard, Sigourney Weaver & John Ratzenberger

Honestly, Pixar can do no wrong. Even "Cars," my least favorite of the Pixar lineup was really good. "WALL-E," full of compassion, humor and a new hope for a better future, clocks in as one of the mega-animating companies finest. The computerized artwork is so advanced and intricate that it will blow you away. The story is one for the books as well: a classic passive character trying to reach his dreams... love. Awww isn't it cute? The originality factor is the fact that he's a robot created with much inspiration from E.T. Oh yeah, it also has an environmental plug. Very timely.

Grade: A


Hancock
Starring Will Smith, Charlize Theron & Jason Bateman

"Hancock" is a fun, comical twist on the recently crowded superhero film genre. Smith and Bateman bring the movie to life - it would be horrible without them - and Charlize is hot as ever. However, it was predictable. Too predictable. But fun!

Grade: B-


Wanted
Starring James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie & Morgan Freeman

With a cast like this, the movie is badass enough. But throw in some crazy effects and stunts and it just adds to the pot. It was kind of like a melting pot of "Fight Club" and "Lucky Number Slevin," and it holds onto some of the philosophies in Dotoevesky's "Crime & Punishment"; if you kill one, you're saving many. However, compared to an action film like the one below, I prefer real effects and stunts rather than the popular computer animated ones, but the end was great because main characters die.

Grade: C+


The Dark Knight
Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine & Morgan Freeman

Christopher Nolan brings Batman back with many familiar faces from "Begins" and a few brilliant new ones. (Yes, this review is going to rave about Heath Ledger's monumental depiction of The Joker.) The film surpasses Nolan's first take on the Batman series by a long shot. It's powerful, emotional, dark and full of exploding hospitals, flipped 18-wheelers, and intense "social experiments." Two-and-a-half hours seems short for this non-stop thrill ride. The script is smart and allows one-sided characters such as Two-Face to come to life.

Bale, once again, brings us a Batman that is not a hero, but a keeper of Gotham. Eckhart makes us hate Harvey Dent for being the perfect man, someone everyone loves and the mob hates. He's better than Batman. But the character transforms so perfectly into Two-Face that it's scary. Gyllenhaal, faced with a feat of playing a role someone has already played (Katie Holmes), does a fine enough job as Rachel Dawes and is really stunning in the film. The fate of her role is surprising and unforgettable as well. And totally necessary. Then there's Oldman who allows Lieutenant Gordan to be the least stoic of characters in the film, allowing the audience to breathe a bit. Caine and Freeman are excellent as usual, though not as note-worthy as the performance by Ledger.

Heath Ledger will win an Oscar as The Joker; mark my words. This performance is raw, uncontrollable, creepy beyond all words, demented, so dead-on funny, and in every sense: perfect. Every time he was on screen I was captivated, and every time the scene shifted away from him, I wanted him back. He allowed himself to embody so much freedom with the role, and when an actor does that, he or she is unstoppable.

Even though it only released three days ago, I've seen "The Dark Knight" twice (and will probably see it again) and it is ranked as one of the best films I've ever seen.

Grade: A

I'm Not There

I'm Not There
Starring Cate Blancett, Ben Whishaw, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Marcus Carl Franklin, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Michelle Williams, and Bruce Greenwood

If anything can push itself closer to a masterpiece than what "I'm Not There" does, it's trying too hard. Through the eyes of director and writer Todd Haynes, we are given a collage of Bob Dylan, though he's never there (pun). With five, six or seven different interpretations of Dylan's life through five and up to seven fictionally true life characters, a near masterpiece - and the most original movie I have seen in years - forms.

There is Woody Guthrie, the lone wanderer, played masterfully by the young Marcus Carl Franklin. The casting is perfect for Woody, a version of Dylan. He is naive, adventurous, and running from or to something. Franklin's youth carries the character from place to place. Then we have Heath Ledger's Robbie Clark. This Dylan is washed-up and very persuasive in character. Love to anguish, Clark falls for Charlotte Gainsbourg's artsy Claire, and in the midst of the 60s, we see the evolution of couple. Probably my least favorite Dylan, Christian Bale is the epitome of folk music. He lives it. He is it. But Bale's character, Jack Rollins has the easy road compared to the other Dylans. (Bale also plays Pastor John, which may be the sixth Dylan). The final two definite Dylans are the most spectacular. Ben Whishaw's Arthur Rimbaud, outlaw, jailed up, delivers a picturesque interview monologues that trail throughout the film.

And finally, Cate. Cate Blanchett, in her most terrifically jaw-dropping role, is "I'm Not There." Her Dylan named Jude Quinn is the rock of Haynes film, and he knows it. She embodies Dylan more than any of the men playing him. She is the chameleon. She is perfect. She is, and I say this with all my knowledge of Hollywood, the best actress of our generation. Hand her the effing Oscar now.

Oh, yes - what about that seventh Dylan? Well, Richard Gere has a fun role near the end of the movie, playing Billy the Kid. Though he does cross paths with Franklin's Woody-Dylan, one may list Billy the Kid as a mirrored Dylan. I do. His scenes are bizarre and imaginative, giving us an alter-reality and something to ponder.

Todd Haynes delivered one of the best films of 2007, and one that really needs to be watched 50 times to grasp everything. I honestly can't wait to see it again.

Grade: A