10 Monday, July 6, 2009 r The Michigan Daily -*michigandaily.com WILCO From Page 9 blush - when the "Penny Lane"-ish horn resounds in the coda of "Ever- lasting Everything," it's obvious that the resemblance to The Beatles is more than a coincidence. Knowing nods to the Fab Four run amok on the album, including the virtual remaking of George Harri- son's "My Sweet Lord" on "You Never Know," the Lennon-ized vocals of "Sonny Feeling" an'd how "Country Disappeared" fuses Abbey Road's "Golden Slumbers" and "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" so effortlessly Paul McCartney should share a writing credit. But despite all of the winks and clues, it's less likely that Tweedy and co. are making a move to usurp the Liverpudlians from their musical throne as they are simply admiring from up close. In true Beatles style, they're having a good laugh. Wilco (The Album) is not a grand artistic statement, nor does it try to be. Weighing this album against the rest of the Wilco catalog would be unfair - this is not Yankee Hotel Fox- trot 2. Here is a band willfully rest- ing on their laurels, choosing simple yet well-crafted songs, deft arrange- ments and a much-needed chuckle in favor of attempting to meet the impossible standards set by their fans or the ghosts of past releases. As arguably one of America's best live bands (those unconvinced should seek the newly-released live documentary "Ashes of American Flags") and creators of a handful of masterpiece albums, Tweedy and co. have little left to prove. And having already scaled the mountain of a long and varied career, can anyone really fault them for taking in the view? Playing cops and robbers By EMILY BOUDREAU DailyArts Writer In the early 1930s, the nation's greatest fear was not the depression, nor even fear itself, according to the Fed- eral Bureau of Investigation. America's greatestthreatwas *** a man named John Dillinger, or as the FBI called him, Pub- PublC lic Enemy Number One. Efg ja "Public Enemies" is direc- tor Michael Mann's ("Miami Universal Vice") attempt to capture the At Qaality16 characters of Dillinger (John- and Showcase ny Depp, "Sweeney Todd") and the man who dedicated his life to bringing him to justice, Melvin Pur- vis (Christian Bale, "Dark Knight"). But Mann gets a little too caught up in the action of the movie to fully grasp its central characters. While there are plenty of machine-gun fights, car chases and stake outs, the movie leaves the audience feeling empty. Gunfire and bank robberies are exciting, but at the same time, it's important to understand the men behind them. As far as criminals go, Dillinger wasn't such a bad guy, and he was able to outsmart the police force. While the movie does make a quick ref- erence to the fact that he let all the customers keep their money - even giving some of it back - itnever emphasizes the creativityhe showed during his robberies. This is surprising for a film about a man who once robbed a bank by pretending that he was filming a movie there. Not only does the movie miss its mark with Dillinger, but in the time dedicated to fight scenes, it loses the opportunity to develop the supporting characters who are also interest- ing historical figures. J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup, "Watchmen") comes off as just an angry man in the film. But in real life, he was a man obsessed with power and had a gift for F )<" - . COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL Actually a paparazzi shot of Depp on a typical Sunday drive. manipulating the media. Bale as Purvis is lit- tle more than a costume-less batman. Marion Cotillard ("A Good Year"), however, is par- ticularly good as Billie Frechette, Dillinger's girlfriend. It's only through her character that any sort of personal depth is added to Dillinger. Through their relationship, it's possible to see more of a human being and less of a calculating, gun-carryingmachine. Perhaps the flaws of the film are under- standable. At 140 minutes, "Public Enemies" is already a long movie, and it's difficult to estab- lish a subtle balance between fact and action. TheplotisnotparticularlysurprisingbutMann does manage to keep the audience wondering- not about what will happen (as the plot is fairly predictable), but how it will happen. Depp does a good job with Dillinger in the framework he has and manages to capture Dillinger's sense of humor and daring. This is apparent when he casually strolls into the Chicago Police Department's "John Dillinger Bureau" and asks for the score of the baseball game. Depp's Dillinger is humorous and daring, but a bit superficial. "Public Enemies" makes for a good summer movie because it's entertaining and not too heavy. While the film could have used more development, it's still enjoyable and its cast performs to the best of its ability given the limited script. (734) 996-9080 aacomedy.com 314 East Liberty, Downtown Ann Arbor Singlehandedly bringing the fedora back in fashion. COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL