This page contains Dave's reviews of films seen from July through September 2009.

“Whip It”: Drew Barrymore has obviously been paying attention.  The actress, who has been in the “business” for most of her life, can now add ‘director’ to her growing resume.  Barrymore makes an impressive directorial debut in “Whip It,” the sweet tale of Bliss (Ellen Page), a 17 year-old girl who has had the added pressure of an overbearing mother, Brooke (Marcia Gay Harden), who has spent the bulk of her motherhood shuttling her two daughters between various beauty pageants, repeating the mistake of her own unsuccessful childhood.  Brooke’s youngest daughter, Shania (Eulala Scheel), has adjusted well, but Bliss has always been resentful.  The whole process only adds to the daily anguish of growing up in a small town in Texas.  A family shopping trip to Austin opens up a whole new world for Bliss, as she is introduced to the world of women’s roller derby.  Even though she is underage – a fact she conveniently forgets to mention at tryouts – she makes the team.  Before long, she becomes the team’s best player and her formerly dull life suddenly has meaning. She can’t tell any of this to her mom of course, so with help from her best friend, Pash (Alia Shawkat,“Arrested Development”), she manages to sneak off for weekly bus trips to Austin to participate in the games. It’s the roller derby sequences that elevate “Whip It” from ordinary to extraordinary. With the help of a talented and eclectic cast, including the completely wonderful Kristen Wiig and hysterical Jimmy Fallon, Barrymore’s first film is a rousing success. She and her screenwriter, Shauna Cross (a former Derby girl) do an excellent job of managing the story’s clichés – to the point where the film barely registers a single false note. And Ellen Page tones down her “Juno” persona to give a charming performance as a teenager who just wants the chance to find herself. Barrymore also plays one of Page’s “Hurl Scouts” teammates. “Whip It” is charming, funny and highly recommended. *** ½ (out of) **** (9/29/09)

“The Informant!”: Matt Damon stars as Mark Whitacre, an executive with the massive agricultural conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland. Back in the mid-90s, Whitacre brought attention to the company when he notified the FBI that ADM was conspiring with its competitors in a price-fixing scheme. It was a strange betrayal, since Whitacre had plenty of reasons to not talk to the feds. Scott Bakula (as FBI Special Agent Brian Shepard) and an almost invisible Joel McHale as his partner, Special Agent Bob Herndon, portrayed the feds who work with Whitacre to gather concrete evidence of ADM’s crimes. It doesn’t take very long before they realize that Whitacre is just starved for attention and will say and do just about anything to get it. Based on a book by Kurt Eichenwald and screenplay by Scott Z. Burns (co-writer of “The Bourne Ultimatum”), “The Informant!” blatantly mines the territory best explored by the Coen Brothers, from whom director Steven Soderbergh generously borrows. Matt Damon is terrific as Whitacre in a performance clearly inspired by William H. Macy in “Fargo.” Damon shows a new range, which is very welcomed, though I could watch him play Jason Bourne forever. He’s supported well enough by Bakula and McHale, as well as Melanie Lynskey (as his wife, Ginger). But “The Informant!” suffers under the suffocating direction of Steven Soderbergh, who is up to his old tricks, using color filters to distinguish the film’s many moods. It worked well in “Traffic,” but hurt his “Oceans” films and does not work here. Like the film’s so-called protagonist, Soderbergh seems to love to call attention to himself. He also throws in – to an obnoxious degree – heavy, heavy dollops of music to remind the viewer that his film is about to change a gear. It was very distracting and didn’t allow this viewer to get lost in the story. It’s a shame because this fact-based tale was interesting and had likeable characters, but they just couldn’t get out from underneath Soderbergh’s overbearing hands. Wait for cable or Netflix. ** (out of) **** (9/18/09)

“Yoo Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg”: “The most famous woman in America you’ve never heard of” is this documentary film’s tagline, and they’re right: I’d never heard of Gertrude Berg. And I’m an old soul, who, as a child growing up in the ‘70s, used to fall asleep while listening to revivals of old radio programs like “Fibber McGee and Molly” and “The Great Gildersleeve.” Since my parents spoke fondly of listening to the radio during their childhood, my active mind tried to learn as much as I could about the history of the medium, yet I couldn’t recall ever reading about or listening to “The Goldbergs.” As it turns out, the show had a radio and TV life-span of over 25 years and helped paved the way for early television shows like “I Love Lucy.” Gertrude Berg created “The Goldbergs” (and portrayed its matriarch, Molly) in the late-‘20s. Within a few years, America embraced Berg’s biographical stories of growing up in a tight-knit Jewish neighborhood in the Bronx borough of New York City. Documentary filmmaker Aviva Kempner (“The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg”) paints a vivid picture of Berg, showing her in a mostly favorable light, but highlighting the memorable parts, especially her show’s running gag where she (and her fellow neighbors) would stick their heads out of the window and call for each other with a friendly “Yoo-hoo!” Berg was a difficult and controlling woman at times, but considering she had almost full creative control of one of the longest-running and most successful shows in radio history (and she also wrote every script), this was to be expected. She also had the distinction of being awarded the first Emmy as Best Actress in a television show. Using old footage (Berg passed away in 1966) and accounts from some family members, surviving members of the radio and television programs, as well as ‘celebrities’ such as Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and television icons, Ed Asner and Norman Lear, Kempner ably demonstrates how much Gertrude Berg meant to their lives. He also touches upon the impact of the McCarthy era, and how her television husband (Philip Loeb) became blacklisted. It’s a film that’s probably best viewed on the Biography channel, but nevertheless is still a very good study of a mostly unsung person who was a positive influence for many people. *** (out of) **** (9/12/09)

“Inglourious Basterds”: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: there’s nobody quite like Quentin Tarantino. The writer-director has spent his career paying tribute to his filmmaking idols – to the point where it’s now become his style. Understanding the man’s objective and to whom he’s paying homage is part of the enjoyment of watching his films. In his latest, once again it’s the low-budget 70s stuff that he appears to be sending up. “Inglourious Basterds” begins in 1941 at a dairy farm in France where a farmer (played by Denis Menochet) and his three lovely daughters are suspected of harboring a missing French-Jewish family. The farmer is cleverly interrogated by a polite, but fairly sadistic “Jew Hunter” SS Colonel named Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). The farmer finally gives up family, but one girl escapes. Meanwhile, a rag-tag group of Nazi-haters (think: “The Dirty Dozen”) who call themselves “The Basterds,” (it’s deliberately misspelled, probably as a tribute to something obscure) are ambushing and scalping Nazis, and thanks to their gracious practice of letting one soldier go -- but not before carving a swastika on his forehead, -- the Basterds have cultivated quite a fearsome reputation among the Nazis. Colonel Landa would love nothing more than to get his hands on them, especially their leader, Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), a Tennessee-born self-confessed moonshine-maker, who may come across as rough around the edges, but is truly a leader of men. There are ten Basterds in all, including Sgt. Donny Donowitz (Eli Roth), or “The Bear Jew” to his Nazi enemies; PFC Smithson Utivich (B.J. Novak), aka “The Little Man;” Hugo Stiglitz (Til Schweiger), and Omar Ulmer (Omar Doom). The Basterds do their damage for a few years, all while biding their time until they can get to the real Nazi leadership. Fast-forwarding to 1944, the French-Jewish girl (played by Melanie Laurent) who escaped the “Jew Hunter,” now runs a movie theater in France she says she inherited from her aunt. Still understandably bitter, her opportunity for revenge comes when she meets the German war hero, Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl) who has just completed a propaganda film (playing himself of course) that he would like to premiere at her theater. The girl, now known as Emmanuelle Mimieux (the 70s tributes keep on coming), with help from her projectionist/lover, decides to use the timing of the premiere to introduce her massive collection of highly-flammable nitrate film as a device to burn down the house with the Nazi moviegoers still inside (with all the exits blocked off, of course). The Basterds, plus some of their British allies, also catch wind of the premiere (that Adolf Hitler is reportedly scheduled to attend) and plot their own party. “Inglourious Basterds” is Quentin Tarantino at the near-top of his game. It’s not his best film, but it’s still damn good. It’s filled with little touches, fantastic dialogue, a first-rate script from Tarantino, and a very memorable performance from German actor, Christoph Waltz, who is simply fantastic as the “Jew Hunter.” It wouldn’t be a Tarantino film without the tongue-in-cheek winks at the audience, the over-the-top acting (led by a hammy Brad Pitt), some well-timed music, and those fantastic credits. That has become his style, and frankly, I like it. Ultimately, “Inglourious Basterds” is a fantasy piece and alternate take to World War 2, but fantasy is what many movies are all about, right? And few directors do it better than Quentin Tarantino. *** ½ (out of) **** (In English, French, German and Italian with English subtitles, where needed) (8/23/09)

“Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!”: Like every serious moviegoer, I’ve watched more than my share of truly bad films. No, “Not Quite Hollywood,” isn’t one. In fact, “Not Quite Hollywood” is actually an entertaining documentary that celebrates Australian “exploitation” films; low-budget, drive-in style movies that were made to glorify sex and/or violence, all in the pursuit of a buck. These films were often made for very little money (and funded by the Australian government!), but were pretty popular and usually turned more than a few extra bucks. Despite battles with the Australian censors (biting the hand that feeds?), Aussie filmmakers like Brian Trenchard-Smith (“Turkey Shoot”), Tim Burstall (“Alvin Purple”), Richard Franklin (“Patrick”), and of course, George Miller (of “Mad Max” fame), helped to remind American viewers that those folks from “down under” could also entertain us cinematically. “Not Quite Hollywood” was conceived and directed by Mark Hartley, who used a massive amount of old film clips (which were very uncensored) and interviews with many of the principles that shaped Australian filmmaking. He also included plenty of moments with an enthusiastic film fan named Quentin Tarantino. I love his movies, but I wouldn’t be at all upset if he became a recluse. If you’re partial to the above, see “Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!” *** (out of) **** (8/22/09)

“In the Loop”: Ah, the political satire genre. Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece “Dr. Strangelove” (or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb) is the gold standard and few films have remotely approached its greatness (“Wag the Dog” tried), but darn if “In the Loop” doesn’t take its best shot. Based on the BBC series, “The Thick of It” and featuring several of its original TV cast, “In the Loop” sends up both sides of the pond, plus the entire political spectrum in a tale of how to spin support (or non-support) for a war. All proverbial heck breaks loose when an incompetent assistant British Secretary of State for International Affairs named Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) lets slip in an interview that “war is unforeseeable,” an opinion that runs contrary to the official script. In mere seconds, the prime minister’s utterly tactless communication director, Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) is down Foster’s throat with the first of several invectives that become one of the film’s many running jokes. Not that I personally condone people like Tucker, but in the context of a movie, his character is brilliant. Predictably, Foster continues to say the wrong things at inappropriate times, largely because the media seizes upon his, um, naiveté. Foster, Tucker, and two interoffice bureaucrats (played by Chris Addison and Gina McKee) convene in Washington D.C. with a pacifist U.S. General named George Miller (James Gandolfini, in a performance that almost tops Tony Soprano’s funniest moments) and a cocky State Department war-monger (David Rasche). The result is comic madness. In fact, “In the Loop” is so overloaded with great characters and chock full of running jokes, that you’ll barely catch your breath before another memorable bit occurs. “In the Loop” was directed and co-written by the BBC show’s creator Armando Iannucci, who used four writers from the TV show to flesh out his brilliant script. The ensemble cast is uniformly excellent, especially Peter Capaldi, who must be seen to be believed. “In the Loop” is one of ‘those’ films that pretty much mandates a repeat viewing, preferably with a remote control in your hand, as the one-liners come fast and furious (especially from Capaldi’s character). “In the Loop” is one of the smartest and funniest films you’ll see this year. *** ½ (out of) **** (8/16/09)

“District 9”: In an environment that’s awash with remakes, sequels and “modern renderings” of forgotten TV shows, when a truly original film is released, it’s refreshing. “District 9” is a $30 million science-fiction film that puts to shame anything made by Hollywood explosion and disaster experts, Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich. I’ll forewarn you that this is going to be one of those the less-you-know-the-better kind of reviews. ”District 9” begins in 1982 when, inexplicably, a huge alien ship from an unknown planet hovers, but never lands, over Johannesburg, South Africa. After about three months of discussions, authorities finally board the ship only to discover thousands of dying aliens too weak to defend themselves, yet heavily-armed with weapons that cannot be used by humans. Rather than mass-exterminate them, the aliens are extracted from the craft and isolated to a ‘refugee camp’ known as District 9. The whole operation is run by a private company called MNU (Multi-National United) who stand to gain handsomely if they can figure out how to use the aliens’ sophisticated weaponry. After about 25 years of discouraged human/alien contact and many discussions among the world’s leaders, it becomes necessary to move the aliens (also derogatorily known as ‘prawns’) out of the unhealthy and overcrowded area to a less-populated region several miles away. The alien population has obviously grown during that time and has somewhat assimilated, to the point where there isn’t much of a language barrier, but they’re also being exploited by a Nigerian gang that sells them cat-food (don’t ask). And there’s still an ever-present uneasiness among the nearby human population who are wary of the ‘prawns’ real intentions. An ambitious MNU pencil-pusher by the name of Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is put in charge of the “relocation” (read: eviction) project. A well-liked family man, Wikus is excited to finally get his fingernails dirty. But he’s clearly not prepared for what’s about to happen. And that’s about as much as I can tell you without giving away too much, but trust me – the film gets a lot more interesting, and I will tell you that Copley (in his first film) gives an absolutely riveting and nuanced performance as the loving husband and dedicated company man whose life is about to change forever. “District 9” was conceived by writer-director, Neill Blomkamp, also making his feature film debut. He fills his film with a lot of unknown actors (including his star), which was refreshing. It’s nice to not have to see John Cusack trying to rescue a little girl from drowning or Ben Affleck trying to defuse a bomb. Instead, we’re immersed in an incredible human and alien world that was created for pennies on the dollar when compared to what typically passes for Hollywood blockbusters. Blomkamp’s background is in visual effects, and it shows. He uses a seamless CGI process and a matter-of-factly, documentary-style to tell his story, all as if the viewer was already familiar with what is supposed to be going on in South Africa. And it’s also no coincidence that multiple parallels can be drawn from the human race’s own problems over the past several centuries. It’s a thought-provoking film that at times slams you over the head with what you’re watching on the screen, but like a train-wreck, it’s hard to turn away. It’s bloody and violent, but oh so good. See it. *** ½ (out of) **** (8/15/09)

“Paper Heart”: Charlyne Yi (“Knocked Up”) stars as herself in a mockumentary-style film that’s really just a scripted film that repeatedly winks at the camera. In fact, actor Jake M. Johnson plays the film’s director, Nicholas Jasenovec, who is supposed to be assisting Charlyne in her cross-country quest to find out if love really exists. She interviews scores of “real people,” all with different opinions about love. And along the way she becomes closer to a casual friend, Michael Cera (“Juno”), and the two develop a serious relationship. But Charlyne, who appears to be a very sweet and easy-going person, is still cynical about love, even as she seems to be experiencing it herself. Sweet is also a good word to describe “Paper Heart.” And like its title, it’s full of heart and has no problem manipulating its audience. More than happily, I lapped it all up. It’s a breezy, likeable film that deserves to be shared with someone you’re already sure about – or even someone you’re not. *** ½ (out of) **** (8/12/09)

“Funny People”: Adam Sandler stars as George Simmons, a once-hot comedian and movie actor whose star has seriously faded (just a tinge of irony). George’s life changes when he’s diagnosed with a terminal form of leukemia. There’s little his doctor (played by Torsten Voges) can do except recommend an experimental cocktail that has only an 8% chance of success. George is literally alone in his world. He has a huge house with domestic help, but there’s nobody to act as his support system as he tries to fight the disease. And his celebrity status doesn’t help matters. He just lost his last assistant, so he hires a struggling comedian named Ira Wright (Seth Rogen) to write new material for him and to act as his PA. Rogen’s character, Ira (in a bit of a nod to his “Knocked Up” persona), has eclectic roommates (played by Jason Schwartzman and Jonah Hill), a wishful love interest (Aubrey Plaza, “Parks and Recreation”) and a day job at a delicatessen. For Ira, working for one of his idols is his big break. George, who would rather not publicize his health issue, just wants to continue to live his life, which means surrounding himself with work, in part to forget his troubles and his deep loneliness. For the first time in five years, he’s back out on the stand-up circuit and there’s talk of a sequel to one of his biggest film successes. He confides to Ira and a caring friendship develops, but George’s arrogance never allows the employer-employee relationship to fully flourish. The development of the film’s two primary character is the strength of “Funny People,” writer-director-producer, Judd Apatow’s third directorial effort (and the last of his ‘birth-sex-death’ trilogy), and easily his most mature. But it’s also problematic because the film often doesn’t know if it’s coming or going. It’s difficult watching these funny people doing their thing right before and after a very serious scene. These are not moments touched up with a little joke; it’s often after heavy drama that leaves the viewer in an unfunny mood, making the laughter inappropriate and awkward. For me, that was a serious flaw in an otherwise well-made and well-acted film. If you isolate the humor from the drama, “Funny People” was, well, a funny film. Conversely, the drama was largely satisfying and well-written, but together, it didn’t always mix, hence my quandary as a reviewer. If you see it with tempered expectations, you may be pleasantly surprised. It also has a likeable cast (especially Seth Rogen). Mild recommendation. ** ½ (out of) **** (8/2/09)

“(500) Days of Summer”: A successful boy-meets-girl film should start with chemistry. If its two stars are lacking that key component, the film is likely to fail. It’s also helpful if the film has a clever, witty and likeable script. “(500) Days of Summer” scores well in both areas, with its stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tom and Zooey Deschanel as Summer, charming up the big screen. Tom works as a writer for a greeting card company, where he meets Summer when she’s hired as his boss’s new assistant. The shy Tom is almost instantly smitten with the young woman and with the help (or curse) of his closest buddies, he slowly charms Summer until she agrees to go out with him. But she cautions Tom that she isn’t interested in a relationship (uh-oh), so he’ll need to dial down his expectations. Yeah, that’s easy to do when it’s, well, Zooey Deschanel. The rest of “(500) Days of Summer” details the ups-and-downs of their relationship. This film is admittedly geared toward the frustrated young male. As a formerly frustrated young male, I could relate to many of Tom’s struggles. And as an unabashed fan of the 80s band, The Smiths (whose music is featured prominently in this film), I can attest to the general impossibility of meeting a viable member of opposite sex who actually liked their music. As soon as Summer admitted to it, well, it was all over. It could be argued that “(500) Days” downfall is that it lacks a strong female perspective, but since it’s told from the male (Tom’s) viewpoint, well, it was entirely appropriate. “(500) Days of Summer” refers to the number of days of Tom and Summer’s relationship, including the first day they meet to, well…see the movie to find out. The film doesn’t paint itself as a romantic comedy and it isn’t. Instead it’s a very cleverly told tale of a couple of young people who are interested in each other. It’s also presented in a jump around style (example: day 49 may be followed by day 349, then back to day 50). It’s a bit jarring, but the film’s director, Marc Webb (in his first feature), is trying to make a point. As guys, we remember the good times, but we also remember the bad and when trying to retrace the origin of the bad, it’s often necessary to go back and forth when telling the story. Webb and his screenwriters, Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, do an outstanding job of keeping the flow when it could get confusing. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel are perfectly cast as Tom and Summer, and are nicely supported by Geoffrey Arend and Matthew Gray Gubler as Tom’s buddies, and Chloe Moretz as Tom’s little sister, Rachel. See this film! *** ½ (out of) **** (7/25/09)

“The Hurt Locker”: Sometimes it’s the films where the actions speak louder than words that resonate the most. In director Kathryn Bigelow’s film, “The Hurt Locker,” there’s a scene where a still-dressed young man sits curled up in the corner of the shower, having just washed away the blood he’d accumulated while doing his everyday job as a bomb technician. He’s seen it all in his work, but it’s also his escape from his life as a young father and husband. It’s also one of the few moments in the film where he lets his emotional guard down. The young man’s name is William James (played by Jeremy Renner) and his new home-base is in Iraq. It’s 2004 and the insurgency is in full-swing. ‘Will’ is a former Ranger and now a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant in a bomb-disposal unit that also includes Sergeant J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty). Will is a newcomer to the unit, who just lost their former chief bomb tech to the hazards of the job. Will is a chain-smoker who loves heavy-metal music and is rightfully perceived as cocky and reckless, a sharp contrast to Sanborn, who prefers to play it as safe on the battlefield as he does at home. Specialist Eldridge is young, scared and fragile, and also under the watchful eye of the staff psychiatrist, Colonel Cambridge (Christian Camargo). Kathryn Bigelow’s film examines their often-volatile relationships one-by-one, but is largely centered on Will and how his team reacts to his sometimes-erratic actions. After all, each man depends on the other to watch their back. She depicts the action episode-style, with each sequence serving as a day – as the unit counts down until the end of their current rotation. While each day is filled with action and drama, Bigelow, working from a terrific script by former Iraq-imbedded journalist Mark Boal, does a good job of pacing “The Hurt Locker,” giving the art-house audience (many of whom appeared to be present just for the action aspect of the film) just enough time to catch their collective breath before moving on to the next drama. “The Hurt Locker” clocks in at 131 minutes, yet you’re never looking at your watch. This is suspense at its finest. It recalls the drama of “Wages of Fear” with the combat-driven tenseness of a “Full-Metal Jacket,” yet “The Hurt Locker” stands on its own among recent films depicting the vagaries of war, although it seems clear that it’s not a political film and doesn’t take a clear stance on war. And despite the heart-stopping moments with the bomb-disposal unit, it’s more of a combat film, with the action involving snipers and/or insurgents as the ever-present threats. Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd (“United 93”), also employing a series of hand-held cameras (giving it a natural, not nauseous, effect), enhances Bigelow’s nearly flawless direction. They’re both award-worthy, as is Mark Boal for his great script (appropriately, he also wrote the original story that inspired “In the Valley of Elah”). The three primary actors (especially Jeremy Renner as Will) are all terrific and veteran actors Ralph Fiennes, David Morse and Guy Pearce turn in brief, but memorable sequences. It’s only July, but here’s hoping “The Hurt Locker” is remembered during awards season. You may not see a deeper, more meaningful, or better film this year. **** (out of) **** (7/19/09)

"Il Divo": It must be intimidating to be an Italian film director. If you want to be taken serious, you almost have to do an homage to Fellini or Antonioni. That seemed to be the approach taken by writer-director, Paolo Sorrentino (“The Family Friend”) with his latest film, “Il Divo.” The film is subtitled “The Fabulous Life of Giulio Andreotti” and while I wouldn’t call his life fabulous, it should hold a certain fascination if you’re the wish-I-was-a-fly-on-a-wall type with the “Godfather Collection” in your personal DVD library. Andreotti (played by Toni Servillo) is an infamous Italian politician with alleged ties to the Mafia. Though it appears to be a meek man (think Peter Seller’s President in “Dr. Strangelove”), he actually wields a ton of power and is guarded carefully by a team of armed men (due to all the political/mob-related assassinations). “Il Divo” isn’t conventionally structured and has almost non-stop dialogue (get ready to read a lot of subtitles) and almost plays like a very, very dark documentary. It’s also extremely self-indulgent (hence my earlier homage remark) and a bit overlong, but at times, fascinating. It also sports a very dead-pan, yet strong performance by Toni Servillo as Andreotti. If this is your cup of tea, go see “Il Divo.” Personally, it was a tick too much for this viewer. ** ½ (out of) **** (In Italian with English subtitles) (7/18/09)

“Public Enemies”: I’m the type of movie snob who cares more about who is directing the film rather than who’s acting in it. Michael Mann, for example, is, in my opinion, one of a handful of Hollywood directors who could go toe-to-toe with some of the greats from the independent and foreign film world. And from the acting side, I feel the same way about Johnny Depp. The two men combine their talents in “Public Enemies,” a brash look at G-man Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) and his obsession with capturing notorious gangster, John Dillinger (Depp). The film focuses primarily on Dillinger and his propensity for robbing banks and escaping from incarceration, but at its heart is Purvis’ above-everything-else determination to stop the defacto ‘Public Enemy Number One.’ While I generally enjoyed “Public Enemies,” I was disappointed it didn’t take a deeper look into both men’s lives. Instead, Mann kept his film humming along to a tune of a whole lot of gunfire. In fact, I couldn’t help but recall the irresponsible glory (but impossible to look away from) of the most violent of moments in “Heat,” arguably Mann’s best film (one could argue for “The Insider” or “The Last of the Mohicans”). In the proper theater setting, you will feel like you’re ducking bullets during one of several shootouts between the gangsters and the lawmen. And as with “Heat,” this is an appropriate (to the story) statement from Mann. Johnny Depp, as always, is outstanding as John Dillinger, as is Marion Cotillard as the gangster’s moll, Billie Frechette. Bale, however, is fairly understated and seems to be channeling his Bruce Wayne character from the “Batman” movies. Michael Mann, despite his directing chops, can’t quite escape the typical Hollywood trick of never letting the facts get in the way of a good story. There are anachronisms aplenty in this film, but if you can overlook ‘em, “Public Enemies” is a fairly well-paced ride into an important moment in 20th century history. *** (out of) **** (7/12/09)

“Notorious”: The life and death of rapper Christopher Wallace (aka ‘Biggie Smalls’) is nicely portrayed on the big screen by newcomer Jamal Woolard. It doesn’t matter if you’re only vaguely familiar with the story, as there is enough going on to still be entertained, which is a tribute to the film’s director, George Tillman Jr. (“Men of Honor”) and writers, Cheo Hodari Coker and Reggie Rock Bythewood. Biggie’s story begins in grade school, when the shy and overweight young boy (initially portrayed by Wallace’s son, Christopher Jordan Wallace) is trying to find his niche. It turns out the young man has a gift for rapping. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to keep him out of the streets, and its prison where Biggie has the most time to hone his craft. He finally catches a break and starts to make money and gain widespread recognition, but, as evidenced by his untimely murder, Biggie still couldn’t escape the ‘game.’ In addition to Jamal Woolard’s fine performance as Biggie, Angela Basset is solid as Biggie’s strict-but-fair mother. Even if you don’t care for the music, “Notorious” has plenty to offer. *** (out of) **** (On DVD) (7/3/09)