BuzzSugar

Public Enemies: Depp Shines Through a Shower of Bullets

BuzzSugar — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:30:31 -0700

The reason to see Public Enemies is the same as the reason to see any Johnny Depp movie: Johnny Depp. The story is engaging enough - there's plenty of sputtering machine gun shoot-outs and exciting escape plans and dashes of romance - but the actual enjoyment of watching this movie comes from Johnny Depp in a role he's naturally gifted at playing: the dark, mysterious rebel.

Depp plays John Dillinger, a bank robber who has gained a certain celebrity status with the public. His charm and calm cleverness have made him and his gang quite rich and have kept him from being permanently captured. Soon, however, J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) focuses his attention on Dillinger, his "Public Enemy No. 1." Hoping to use Dillinger's capture as a way to elevate his Bureau of Investigation into the national police force, Hoover puts his dashing agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) on the case. The majority of the movie is a back-and-forth dance with Purvis pursuing Dillinger and Dillinger eluding Purvis's grasp. Consistently thwarted by the sly criminal, Purvis's desperation to catch Dillinger leads to some extreme measures. Violence, gunfire, and bloodshed ensue as Purvis and his team start to close in on their enemy. For more of my thoughts on the movie, read more.

It's mind-boggling to see how relatively easy it is for Dillinger and his gang to pull off these crimes. In our era of constant surveillance and advanced technology, these guys wouldn't get three feet without someone snapping a picture or video with a camera phone. The movie is set during a more trusting time period, and one that is - for better or worse - far behind us. At the same time, we may have more in common with that era than we think. As we experience a recession, we watch a story in which the protagonist robs banks in the midst of the Great Depression - should we be rooting for this guy? Depp makes us want to, that's for sure, but what with all the bloodshed, it's hard to always think that what Dillinger's doing is cool. Public Enemies actually makes us think about this stuff, and making us think is more than most of the big Summer movies can boast.

The movie also features good performances by an impressive cast, with Marion Cotillard standing out as Dillinger's lady love, Billie Frechette. She is perfectly paired with Depp, her bright eyes and lively charisma nicely complementing Depp's dark and intense steadiness. The two make a sexy duo and their scenes together are some of my favorite of the whole movie. They're both soulful actors, interested more in substance than style. Some scenes that don't include either of these actors are all shiny cars, slicked-back hair, and terrible accents, making me yearn for Depp or Cotillard to be back on screen.

The actual filmmaking, however, made me queasy. I know Michael Mann is an intense director but I hate the herky-jerky camerawork and the random close-ups on things in this movie. The other distracting element is the actors' makeup, their faces clay-like, their lips bright pink. It's hard to become immersed in this world when the streaks of blush constantly remind us that this is all make-believe. But aside from these things, the film overall is an intriguing thrill-ride with a little bit of heart and the sharp, intelligent Johnny Depp leading us through it.

Photos courtesy of Universal Studios

Movie Preview: Nine

BuzzSugar — Thu, 14 May 2009 11:00:11 -0700

"Be Italian!!"

Wow! The first trailer for Nine, a movie-musical by the director who brought us Chicago, is a feast for the eyes and the ears. There are sexy women galore (Kidman! Cruz! Hudson! Cotillard! Sophia Loren!) in nothing but their skivvies dancing and doing the splits and generally looking like tortured artistic souls.

No one looks quite as tortured as Daniel Day-Lewis (replacing Javier Bardem) as famous film director Guido Contini, who's struggling to juggle his relationships with all the gorgeous women in his life, including his wife, his mistress, his muse, his agent, and his mother. It's an amazing cast full of Oscar winners, and the music sounds great. And hey, Fergie's in it, too.

Nine will be released November 25. To take a look for yourself, read more.

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Christopher Nolan's Inception Cast Gets Interesting

BuzzSugar — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 10:30:01 -0700

We knew that Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan was next directing a "contemporary sci-fi action" movie he wrote titled Inception, and that Leonardo DiCaprio would be the next big A-lister to work with him. Now an interesting trio has been added to the cast, including an Oscar winner, a young Oscar nominee and a "Scarecrow."

Apparently "Warner Bros. is in talks with Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy and Ellen Page to join the cast of Inception." Nolan has never worked with Cotillard or Page, but Cillian Murphy starred in Nolan's Batman Begins (and had a brief appearance in The Dark Knight) as the creepy Scarecrow.

The plot of Inception remains a mystery, besides being a sci-fi action flick "set within the architecture of the mind." (Architecture of the mind?) Still, though details are sketchy, the combination of this cast and Christopher Nolan in the director's chair has increased my interest in Inception tenfold.

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Movie Preview: Public Enemies

BuzzSugar — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:30:31 -0800

Stuff that we probably could have predicted about the trailer for Michael Mann's gangster movie, Public Enemies: This film will be intense, Johnny Depp is an awesome actor, and this cast overall is absolutely gorgeous (Depp, Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard? Yes, please). Michael Mann has proven that he works quite well with crime/action movies and Public Enemies is, of course, all crime and a lot of action. The trailer alone got my blood pumping.

As the story description goes, "the Feds try to take down notorious American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s." Depp plays Dillinger, Channing Tatum is Pretty Boy Floyd and Stephen Graham plays Baby Face Nelson. Bale plays top FBI agent Melvin Purvis while Cotillard is Dillinger's lady, Billie Frechette.

Public Enemies opens July 1. Though the story is dark, something about this trailer just makes me grin. You can check it out and tell me what you think if you read more.

Photo courtesy of Universal Studios

Which Oscar-Winning Film Do You Want to See Next?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:30:00 -0800

Well, the results are in, and we now have movies that will forever be known as Oscar-winning. A lot of you said you go see the films once they're nominated, but if you didn't get to all of them before Sunday's show, maybe now's the time. Some people were so smitten with Marion Cotillard's acceptance speech that they want to rush out to see La Vie En Rose for her performance. Others want to check out There Will Be Blood so they know why everyone is talking about milkshakes. What about you? Which Oscar-winner is next on your list of must-sees?

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Oscar Winners: Where Will We See Them Next?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:32:29 -0800

With the 2008 Oscars now just a memory, I'm looking ahead today to where we'll see this year's big winners working next. As a group, they have numerous projects in the works for screens both big and small - and, conveniently for us, several of them will be working together. To see where you'll see all the winners next , just hit "start."

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Buzz In: What Were Your Favorite Oscar Moments?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 08:30:00 -0800

This year's Oscars ceremony wasn't the most upset-filled or exciting in history - but there were still so many wonderful, touching little moments that made the show memorable. Several of them stood out to me when I was live blogging the ceremony: Jon Stewart bringing Markéta Irglová back onto the stage so she could address the crowd, Diablo Cody clasping hands with Ellen Page before accepting her award for Best Original Screenplay, and Marion Cotillard's giddy, lovely acceptance speech were a few of my favorites. What about you? Which moments stood out? You can watch a video of Cotillard's speech and weigh in with your greatest hits of the 2008 Oscars if you read more.

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What Do You Think About the Best Actress?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 19:19:20 -0800

Marion Cotillard won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose. Her fellow nominees included Cate Blanchett, Julie Christie, Laura Linney and Ellen Page, and her speech was absolutely adorable ("You rocked my life!"). How do you feel about this win?

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Oscar Nominee: La Vie en Rose for Costumes

BuzzSugar — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:29:05 -0800

In the days leading up until the Oscars, I'll be featuring the nominees in the various visual categories. This week, I'll be looking at the nominees for Best Costume Design. We've looked at the costumes in Across the Universe and Atonement, now let's examine those in La Vie en Rose.

Though it's hard to take your eyes off Marion Cotillard channeling Edith Piaf long enough to look at the costumes, I can easily see why this film was nominated. It's not that the clothing is outrageously ornate or complicated, but that the designers so thoroughly recreated the time period of Piaf's life. Similar to the Best Costumes nomination for The Queen last year, this nomination honors the accurate depiction of an actual person's life.

The costumes aid Cotillard's disappearance into Piaf's character by conveying her ascent from impoverished teenage street urchin to glamorous adult chanteuse. Although Piaf was always physically frail and slender (hence her nickname "The Sparrow"), the '40s-style dresses she wears in her triumphant stage performances help express both her strength and vulnerability. When this tiny woman belts out such songs as "Je ne regrette rien" ("I Have No Regrets"), her black dress with delicate lace detailing combined with strong shoulders echoes this dichotomy.

To check out a gallery of images from La Vie en Rose, read more.

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Photos courtesy of Picturehouse

BAFTA Honors Atonement, La Vie en rose and Shia Labeouf

BuzzSugar — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:30:00 -0800

While we were busy handing out Grammys last night, the folks across the pond held their own star-studded award ceremony: the BAFTA Awards. In keeping with many of the awards ceremonies thus far, Atonement and No Country for Old Men were warmly recognized, though the picture with the most wins was La Vie en rose. Marion Cotillard was reportedly "visibly shocked" to receive the Leading Actress award.

Atonement took top honors with the Best Picture award, though the Coen Bros. nabbed the prize for Best Director. Diablo Cody took home the award for her Juno screenplay, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly won for Adapted Screenplay. Many of the acting awards were to be expected (Javier Bardem, Daniel Day-Lewis), though Tilda Swinton's win against Cate Blanchett and Samantha Morton was a bit of a surprise.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, however, the Orange Rising Star Award - which is decided by the public - was given to Shia Labeouf. He was up against Sienna Miller, Ellen Page, Tom Riley and Tang Wei. Shia was not present to claim his award.

To see a full listing of this year's BAFTA recipients, including The Bourne Ultimatum and The Golden Compass, read more.

2008 BAFTA Winners:
BEST FILM:
Atonement

BEST BRITISH FILM:
This Is England

THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD:
(For special achievement by a British director, writer or producer in their first feature film)
Matt Greenhalgh (Writer) - Control

DIRECTOR:
No Country For Old Men - Joel Coen/Ethan Coen

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Juno - Diablo Cody

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
The Diving Bell And The Butterfly - Ronald Harwood

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE:
The Lives of Others

ANIMATED FILM:
Ratatouille

LEADING ACTOR:
Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood

LEADING ACTRESS:
Marion Cotillard - La Vie En Rose

SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

MUSIC:
La Vie En Rose - Christopher Gunning

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
No Country for Old Men - Roger Deakins

EDITING:
The Bourne Ultimatum - Christopher Rouse

PRODUCTION DESIGN:
Atonement - Sarah Greenwood/Katie Spencer

COSTUME DESIGN:
La Vie En Rose - Marit Allen

SOUND:
The Bourne Ultimatum - Kirk Francis/Scott Millan/Dave Parker/Karen Baker Landers/Per Hallberg

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS:
The Golden Compass – Michael Fink/Bill Westenhofer/Ben Morris/Trevor Woods

MAKE UP & HAIR:
La Vie En Rose – Jan Archibald/Didier Lavergne

THE ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD:
Shia Labeouf

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