I've been busy rewatching Lost.

With 2009 coming to an end, we're thinking about this past year and everything we saw. While I did see some great films this year, there were two in particular that weren't necessarily bad, but were just disappointing.

Extract

This film was destined to be hilarious. Jason Bateman, Kristin Wiig, Ben Affleck, Mila Kunis, J.K. Simmons. These are some of the funniest actors of the moment. The concept had great comedic potential and it was written and directed by Mike Judge, the man behind the classic Office Space. This film had everything going for it, but it completely fell flat. Judge's usual quirky characters didn't entirely shine through, there was nothing comedically special about Extract. I laughed, nay, chuckled on a rare occasion and just left feeling disappointed. It was like Judge rushed this entire film. He didn't put the time and effort into developing the idea and characters and making it better. It was just awkward, shaky, and a disappointment. I was waiting for something to happen, but nothing ever did. Not only was this film the comedy disappointment of the year, it ranks high up on a list of disappointments of the decade.

Public Enemies

A 1930's gangster film with Johnny Depp as the lead? What could go wrong? A lot actually. Not only was this film a cinematic disappointment, but it was a personal one. For two weeks I spent countless hours at this set, watching perfectionist Michael Mann shoot scenes over and over again, eating up the novelty of watching a major motion picture be made and hoping to catch a glimpse of Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, or Marion Cotillard. Unfortunately, those three talents couldn't save it.
I personally blame Michael Mann. I've only seen his later work, including Collateral and Miami Vice and unfortunately I haven't been very impressed. I don't know anything about types of film (not movies, but the actual film movies are shot on), but in all the Michael Mann projects I've seen, the film makes the movie seem like it's shot on a hand held camera. It looks very realistic and modern. While it looks cool and might work for some films, it didn't work for Public Enemies. This film takes place in the 1930's, using this more modern film is distracting. It looks too clean and too polished. This is a movie about slick gangsters, the film should look somewhat edgy.
In addition to its look, the script lacked imagination and depth. We got a high school biography look at John Dillinger and Melvin Purvis. The film almost entirely ignored how much the public revered Dillinger and treated him like a superhero. We didn't get much insight into these men and because of the lackluster script, the acting suffered. Depp, Bale and Cotillard are extraordinary and accomplished actors but their roles and interactions felt forced. Bale especially always seemed to have his mind on something else, like he wasn't one hundred percent focused on becoming Purvis.

I wish someone would erase these movies from our memories and do them over. So much potential, such disappointing outcomes.