Water's Edge (2003, U.S.)

Calling this a formulaic thriller would be an exaggeration. It wasn't even that good. Not that the idea was bad, but the writing and (most of) the acting was pretty awful. (Can't discount the power of Nathan Fillion, although even he wasn't in top form.)

Basically, an author and his wife are having a hard time in life, so they move out to his dad's old cabin in the middle of nowhere America. (Sounds like both of the horror/thriller type movies I watched recently—but without Kristen Stewart.) When he's out in the woods one day, he stumbles upon the county sheriff beating a woman to death. Well, he can't have that, so he shoots the sheriff. (Can you hear the cheesy music playing in the background?)

Husband and wife proceed to uncover a web of sex, lies, and murder in small town America. Most of the characters' motivation is unclear, as are several of the plot twists. All in all, a pretty awful piece of filmmaking. But hey, if you love Nathan Fillion, go ahead and watch it anyway.

Rating: 2.0

Appaloosa (2008, U.S.)

I really have next to nothing to say about this one. I can't really even remember what the plot was about. I do remember that Renée Zellweger was underwhelming (unusual), Ed Harris was Ed Harris (underwhelming), and Viggo Mortensen was Viggo Mortensen (understated but wonderful performance).

I think westerns just aren't my thing. Maybe this movie wasn't bad, but it bored me to tears. Disappointing.

Rating: 2.0

Public Enemies (2009, U.S.)

Johnny Depp. End of review.

Seriously though, I was really looking forward to this film, and with good reason. Cinematography: check. Acting: double check. Score: check. Script: check. Even the historical accuracy, while not always perfect, is still quite good for Hollywood, and it gets a check too.

I can't say enough good things about this film. It was a very serious subject, and they treated it as such. However, there were also some awesome one liners, well-balanced with the rest of the content. The ones delivered by Johnny Depp with his classic straight face/beginnings of a smirk were the absolute best. "There is absolutely nothing I want to do in Indiana," he says. (Of course this is funnier to me than those who have never resided in the Hoosier state, but there are other great lines as well!) The action scenes are terrific, very suspenseful and well-choreographed, but not overly graphic. There was a touch of romance that didn't overpower the rest of the story. And all of the bank robbers were not idolized. They were portrayed as real people with real lives and feelings and problems. Of course you wanted Dillinger to win because he is such a charismatic guy, and you might want to turn to bank robbery too if you grew up poor in Morgan County. (Side note: this is the county where I have my internship.)

The casting was phenomenal. Aside from Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and Marion Cotillard, there were countless others in more minor roles who were great—Emilie de Ravin, Billy Crudup, Channing Tatum, David Wenham, Giovanni Ribisi... we're talking good actors. Johnny stole the show, of course, but they still managed to hang in there.

The score was also incredible. Usually I'm not tempted to purchase scores from films with so much action (I prefer listening to quiet stuff when I'm listening to instrumental music at home), but this score tempts me. It fit the mood, it helped build tension in gunfights, the romantic theme was touching. Great stuff. I've never heard of Elliot Goldenthal, but apparently he won an Oscar for his Frida score. I'll be keeping an ear out for him.

I can't wait to see this one again.

Rating: 4.5