Public Enemies

With a quality cast including cult classics Johnny Depp, David Wenham, Christian Bale, Billy Cruddup and Branka Katic; Michael Mann told a tale of crime in the mid to early 1930s. Strangely, this a film that Julie and I could agree on (there really aren't many). Although, Julie probably was drawn to the Indianan references and the vague familiarity of John Dillinger because she really did shy away from the blood.

What cinched to film for me was the not so subtle relevance to the 'War on Terror'. The formation of the FBI to combat crime from a national standpoint, which exploited the power vacuum to use methods preminscent of Gitmo and Abu Ghraib.

I am left with a Watchmen reference; Who watches the G-Men?

A mudblood by any other name

I saw Australia today and I am not afraid to say that I found it to be much better than I was told to expect. 

Ok, it was a little long at 3h but there was a great undercurrent about the importance of storytelling in identity and culture. Nullah, a 'half-caste' whose plight holds the plot together is torn between the two worlds of his origin, trying to find his story... I will stop before completely spoiling the film, just go and see it!

To finish though, 2008 is unmistakably a great first step toward conciliation. Whilst other films have brought some of the issues to light previously, it is heartening to see a film that comes closer to honesty about the tragic policies and actions committed against the Aborigines that will be seen in the mainstream. The importance of Australia is that it can at least cite a government apology...

The Dark Knight

I went and saw The Dark Knight, it was a Christopher Nolen classic. I have to say that it did not disappoint... That being said, the rhetoric around Heath Ledger's performance is interesting... the Joker is an unashamed archetypal Loki or Eris... Strange, alluring, quirky but not that dark. The darkness is brought to life by the White (Harvey Dent) and Dark (Batman) Knights... The fall into chaos and the perversion of Dent into Two-Face is truly dark but the chilling part is Batman... at the risk of spoiling the movie, I will stop.

I have taken the day off to get somewhere with my last Career Episode Report for CPENG painful.