Public Enemies, Moon, The Song Is You. Book and Movie Round Up

Moon
Awesome. Sam Rockwell is diligently at work in solitude on a lunar station. Two weeks left to go on a three year stint. There’s an accident. Things go wrong. He’s starting to lose his marbles. Is he seeing things? Are there clones? What’s going on? Creepy, sci-fi quietude channeling 2001, Silent Running and Demon Seed. Is the computer good or bad? What about the corporation behind it all? A grim 70s view of the evil corporation and the sci-fi world in general. And it was shot in Shepperton. Right on!


Public Enemies
Not down with this at all. The film was pretty much a compilation of prison breaks (apparently very easy to do), bank robberies (apparently very easy to do) and shootouts with the cops featuring lots of tommy guns and dead people. But honestly, where was the story? If you’re gonna make a movie about Dillinger, you should at least give some insight into the inner-psyche of the character, what makes him tick, blah blah blah. Did I miss something? Depp could have been any gangster. Pretty generic at the story, back story and inner story level. I was also irritated by the camera work (oooh, low angles all the time, how ominous) and the music. I guess I didn’t like it. Marion Cotillard was purty to look at, but not so sure about the acting chops. There were moments where the film addressed the changing nature of crime during the depression and shifts taking place within the FBI and the world of crime fighting. I liked those moments, but those were fleeting at best.

The Song Is You by Megan Abbott
Fantastic neo-noir. Channels Ellroy and Chandler in a delicious way. Great story about the underbelly of Hollywood in the 40s. Desperate, wanna-be actresses, willing to do anything for a role. The stars and the studios willing to prey on these star struck girls from the Midwest. The jaded hangers on in the system undercutting their morals for a taste of fame and money. Expertly written.