Cinematical

It's the Fourth of July weekend, and what better way to celebrate America's independence than by watching a John Dillinger decide taxation with representation wasn't nearly as much fun as the patriots made it out to be. Public Enemies has gone wide this week, brandishing their tommy guns in the hopes of stealing some of Transformers' box office thunder. If anyone can do it, it might just be Johnny Depp, who does appeal to a crowd that Optimus Prime just can't reach.

Jeffrey Anderson was full of praise for Michael Mann's film, likening it to earlier crime classics such as Max Nosseck's Dillinger or Don Siegel's Baby Face Nelson. "... it equals them, capturing some of their raw energy and allure and clocking in as a longer, but equally fast-moving and adrenaline-pumping example Somehow Mann only manages to use the extra time for flash and spectacle, and hardly any for depth or detail, but that only helps to speed things along. Happily, he also avoids the typical origin story, and plunges right in ... One of the movie's main themes is that Dillinger lives for the moment, unwilling or unable to consider the future, and with little use for the past. That's Mann's credo as well, and it's what keeps the lengthy Public Enemies in shape. Most scenes come with an intense immediacy, with an effective use of shaky cams and stark lighting, giving chaos an open invitation to rear its ugly head at any time. The bullets are loud and plentiful and when they hit, the blood is not shy about making an exit."

But that's one smooth criminal's opinion. Give us yours!

1-10: Public Enemies

1. Totally Sucked2. Complete Waste of Time3. Kinda Sucked4. Eh, Not My Thing5. Some Good, Some Bad6. Pretty Good7. I'd Totally Watch It Again8. Really Dug It - Yeah!9. One Word: Awesome10. Dude, That Was OrgasmicVote

I can already feel the heat of the historians rising at the very title of this post, so let me begin by saying that there's no doubt that The Patriot isn't a good film. It bears very little resemblance to anything that our forefathers did in 1777, and is enjoyable only as a piece of frock coat fantasy. If you watch it in the same historical mindset you'd watch The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in, it's quite enjoyable and a decent way to spend a fireworkless Fourth.

I watch it purely for Jason Isaacs, whose Col. Tavington might as well be twirling a mustache and tying a heroine to the train tracks. You can practically hear the filmmakers going "I still don't think the English are coming off evil enough. How about he kills off some more women and children? And how about another one of Mel Gibson's kids?" But it doesn't matter how many atrocities he commits in the name of the Crown, I still root for him not only because he's handsome, but because I'm a bit of a Loyalist. Part of me wishes my Virginia ancestors hadn't decided to forgo afternoon tea, fish and chips, the BBC, and the National Rail. But hey, then I wouldn't be here on Cinematical with you fine people, so it's all worked out for the best.

With that, here's one of my favorite scenes from The Patriot. Sure, I could post the tomahawk scene (much cooler), but in a movie full of over-the-top moments, nothing makes me laugh harder than the loss of Cornwallis' supply ship, and Isaacs' reaction.

Go below the jump!

Minutes after Twitter was buzzing with the shocking news of Michael Jackson's death, it was announced that Jeff Goldblum had also passed away, having fallen to his death while filming in New Zealand (heh, same thing happened to Tom Hanks a few years back). Mainstream outlets also picked up the story, allegedly confirmed by New Zealand police, and it took some TMZ appearances, photos, and a statement from his representative Stan Rosenfield that Goldblum was alive and well and nowhere near New Zealand to make things right again.

Although similar pranks also swirled around Harrison Ford, George Clooney, Rick Astley (come on, that was just an excuse to Rickroll some more), and Natalie Portman, the Goldblum rumor was one that really took hold. It's easy to see why, of course. The others are too preposterous, whereas Goldblum is just clear of the spotlight so that when The Fly comes on TV, you stop to wonder, "Hey, why doesn't he do more movies? What is he up to? I should look him up on IMDB." Of course, you never do, and so he's someone you could easily believe was off in New Zealand filming something risky, like Jurassic Park 4. Thankfully though, it was all a stupid Twitter prank.

Or was it? Stephen Colbert paused to remember the actor on The Colbert Report, and Goldblum himself showed up to deny it ... only to finally confirm the rumors after all. The video is below the jump and, well, what can I say? We'll miss you, Jeff Goldblum.

One of the things I've been hoping to do with the Geek Beat for some time is to use it to interview the hardworking men and women of the geek world ... because come on, who wants to listen to me blather solo until the end of time? Wouldn't it be cool to hear from people actually creating the things I rant about? Yeah, I thought so too.

Finally, the stars aligned, and I managed to connect with someone whose work I've admired for some time: Justin Gray. You know Gray from his solo work on Legends of the Dark Knight, MA Fantastic Four, and numerous titles with Moonstone Books. You also know him from his work with Jimmy Palmiotti, as they've been behind such cool titles as Jonah Hex, Heroes For Hire, Friday the 13th, 21 Down, and Hawkman, plus the Ghost Rider and Punisher video games. Check out their official site for more info, and buy up anything with their names on it to keep those single issue sales up and thriving.

Now, enough of me! You see enough of me every week. Let's just jump right in with Justin, who graciously answered my questions about Jonah Hex, the comic industry, Hollywood's newfound love affair with it, and just what it's like to be a successful writer. The interview is after the jump, and I really hope you enjoy it.

Optimus Prime's entire life has been leading up to this moment ... no, none of that Revenge of the Fallen stuff, but having Devin Faraci and Todd Gilchrist debate his latest installment on G4's Attack of the Show. Michael Bay's latest robotgasm has been at the center of a lot of debate and controversy all over this great Internet, and while CNN may ignore this crisis of fandom, G4 is right there to report on it.

As you know from hanging around Cinematical, Gilchrist liked the film (and was quoted by Roger Ebert in his review). Faraci hated the film, and was one of the first to really call foul on the racist robots with his scathing Little Black Sambots piece. I know from reading the comments pouring into our 1-10 poll that our readers are divided right down the middle on the film's quality and whether or not its employing questionable racist stereotypes. Therefore, you may pick one of these men as your champion, and decide who (if either) comes out victorious, before realizing Transformers' massive gross doesn't care what you think.

Watch the video after the jump

If you've been reading The Horror Squad regularly, like you should, you know that I've only just seen Halloween. I've never deliberately avoided the film, or any of its slashing, bloody ilk and I'm still not sure how I saw Nightmare on Elm Street so many times, but missed this one and countless other horror offerings. It has nothing to do with being scared or squeamish. But my parents never enjoyed the genre (odd after scarring me with Poltergeist, Cat's Eye, and Critters before I was in kindergarten) so we never rented them. Always sharing a television and a Blockbuster card means you watch the stuff everybody likes. As for seeing them in the theater, well, it would seem guys knew I wasn't the jump-and-cuddle type, and didn't bother asking me to accompany them. And who wants to go alone? It has nothing to do with being scared. Gore is far more fun when you share it with others.

That's a very long and probably pointless introduction to offering up the Halloween scene I really loved, and keep laughing about. I'm not sure why Laurie just keeps dropping that damn knife when she's pretty kickass otherwise ... and nothing illustrates it more than her clever use of her knitting basket. Weinberg once scolded me for knitting during movies, but this scene is exactly what justifies it. You should always have sharp objects at hand for things that pop up behind the couch. A knife is excessive, but a knitting needle? Ideal!

Watch the scene after the jump

I constantly worry that I'm becoming desensitized to violence and horror thanks to watching so many damn movies, and having a penchant for those that are riddled with explosions and coarse language. (If Scott Weinberg has his way, I will have a healthy appreciation for the slasher flick as well. Speaking of which, have you read Horror Virgin yet?) As a kid, I was always sternly brought up to know that movies were fiction, and that violence was very real, and to know that guns, knives, grenades, etc. were no cheering or laughing matter unless Mel Gibson was using or running away from them.

Like much of the civilized world, I've been following the protests in Iran, and while I empathized with what was going on, I felt curiously detached from seeing images of real violence. I read comments from people who said they were shaking and vomiting from seeing people die on camera, and I wondered if I was a terrible person because I wasn't. Is it because I watch so much of it onscreen? Or am I saturated by it thanks to the real world -- I watched Columbine happen on television while living a few blocks away from it, to say nothing of the trauma of 9/11, and documentaries about Darfur and the Holocaust.