I used to occasionally do movie reviews on my old blog. I would like to continue to do that here, but there’s just one problem: we never go see movies anymore. Actually, that’s not entirely true. A few months ago I did take the kids to see a movie. It was Hannah Montana, and I spent most of the time nursing Jack Henry and counting the minutes until it was over and I could be put out of my misery. My review would have been something like, “Avoid this film at all costs.” Now that Jack Henry is getting older and can stay with Indiana Mimi, we may venture out to the theater a little more often.
Anyway, last weekend we did see the above film, and here’s my take on it…
Brief Synopsis (w/ no spoilers….I promise!): This movie is about the life of crime of Great Depression gangster, John Dillinger, played brilliantly…of course…by Johnny Depp. The plot also interweaves the beginnings of the FBI.
Why We Went to See It: Big D and I were celebrating our anniversary a little early because this year it falls on a Monday, which is a dud-of-a-day to celebrate anything, and the weekend before we have a TaeKwonDo tournament AND a baseball tournament, which leaves no time for a proper celebration. We did the traditional “dinner and a movie.” We had it narrowed down to this one and The Proposal, a romantic comedy with Sandra Bullock, and Big D made the final decision. Leave it to the man, and he will choose the gangster film every time.
Why You Might Want to See It: It really was a very entertaining movie, and at over 2 1/2 hours, you feel you get your money’s worth at least. The acting was above average. Christian Bale, another talented actor, plays Melvin Purvis, the agent trying to put John Dillinger behind bars. From what I can tell, it was fairly historically accurate. I didn’t know a whole lot about John Dillinger going into the movie, but I looked him up after seeing it, and besides adding a lot of clever dialogue, it seems the maker pretty much stuck with the basics.
Why You Might Not Want to See It: The film is rated R for gangster violence and some language. The “some language” they mention, while not profuse, is gritty. I handled the violence alright, and I’m pretty wimpy when it comes to violence. In other words, lots of people die, but it’s not that bloody. In a theater, the guns are pretty loud and sometimes startling. In other words I came very close to screaming out loud like I’ve been known to do when I’m startled. There are a couple of scenes of John and a lady friend that are pretty steamy. No nudity, but I wouldn’t want my kids to see it. I would guess that most of you would want to keep your kids home for this one too.
Will You Die If You Don’t See It?: No, I’d say not, but still a good flick nonetheless. I even toyed with the idea of changing my blog’s name to bankrobbermomdotcom , but I guess I won’t afterall. I’m still more of a pirate girl.
A Good Substitute: The Untouchables is in the same genre, but it’s been so long since I’ve seen that movie, that I can’t really intelligently comment on it. I haven’t seen a ton of gangster movies over the years, but I did find this, 100 Greatest Gangster Movies. I haven’t even seen The Godfather, which Indiana Mimi thinks is a crime in itself.
This definitely sounds like a man’s movie. Buy I could probably stand it because of Christian Bale (I love that man) and Johnny Depp (we go waaay back to 21 Jump Street days). However, Guy would probably like it because it’s violent. He seems to like The Godfather and The Untouchables since he’s watched them both numerous times. So from the bottom of Guy’s heart, I thank you.
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You should still go try to see The Proposal. I went for the 2nd time last night…
and laughed just as much as the first time.