And All I Wanted Was a Free Movie...

I love movies. I watch them, I analyze them, and I (subjectively) criticize them. Those of you who have been reading my site for a while know that my love for movies is great. For example, even during the summer of the bar (also known as last summer), I made it a point to see every single big summer release leading up to and including "The Dark Knight" in IMAX (ONE WEEK before the bar).

I can pretty much deconstruct my love of movies into two categories: 1) Great Spectacle and 2) Artistic Filmmaking. In fact, just by knowing the name of the director, I can usually discern which of the two categories a particular film might fall into. Michael Bay, the "auteur" of "Transformers"? Spectacle. I am only going to see "Transformers 2" for a chance to see an IMAX-sized Megan Fox...er... Optimus Prime (yeah, that's it) battle with Megatron. Ridley Scott? A toss-up. His brother, Tony Scott? Spectacle. Michael Mann? Well, here there is a bit of both. Mann started his career as a writer on "Hawaii Five-O", the quintessential cop procedural of the 1970s that had, as its main character, a tough as nails Dirty Harry-type cop with a brain named McGarrett (what a great detective name). He went on to create the quintessential cop show of the 1980s (the one that defined "gritty") in "Miami Vice" and "Crime Story." "Miami Vice", it should be noted, launched the career of Dick Wolf, the show runner for the later seasons of "Miami Vice". Most people now know Dick Wolf as the creator and mastermind behind the "Law & Order" franchise, but Mann gave Wolf his first start. Michael Mann left television and became an acclaimed feature director, starting out with "Manhunter", the original film adaptation of Thomas P. Harris's first Hannibal Lecter novel, "Red Dragon". He then went on to direct Daniel Day-Lewis in "The Last of the Mohicans" and really found his stride with one of the best crime films ever made (in my opinion), 1995's "Heat", based on the true story of Chicago thief extraordinaire, Neal McCauley. Transporting the story to Los Angeles was a stroke of genius, as the viewers were treated to AMAZING night visuals of LA. I grew to appreciate Mann's eye for photographing a city at night. His skills were on display more recently in the under appreciated "Collateral" and the similarly under appreciated "Miami Vice" motion picture. No one shoots a city at night like Michael Mann.

Obviously, I am a fan of the Mann. Last summer, I was excited to find that Mann was location shooting his next film here in Chicago, a film called "Public Enemies". It was the story of John Dillinger and the cop who tracked him down. Think "Heat" but in the Roaring 20s. Johnny Depp stars as John Dillinger and Christian Bale as the cop trying to stop him. Great stuff.

So this brings me to last Saturday. I was visiting a movie website that I frequent, and I noticed a contest for an advanced screening of "Public Enemies". The film is due to be released on July 1, but I could not pass up an opportunity to see the film...for FREE...2 weeks before that. I entered the contest. The contest required the entrant to write a 75 word paragraph describing their favorite movie gangster. This is what I wrote:

Favorite Movie Gangster: Sung Tse-Ho as played by Ti Lung in John Woo's "A Better Tomorrow"

Reason: Ho was my introduction to the antihero archetype of John Woo's HK gangster films. The character grows tremendously throughout the course of the first 2 "A Better Tomorrow" films and shows human traits of loyalty, remorse, and anger that lead to bloodly retribution when those close to him are threatened or killed. This showing of humanity in a gangster's guise allowed me to sympathize with the bad guys and root for Ho and Mark's success.

I won the tickets, and I was excited. And then I learned something else. Both Johnny Depp and Christian Bale are scheduled to attend the screening (what with it being the Chicago premiere and all). And, more important to me, is the fact that the Mann himself will be there. So while my friends squeal about Johnny Depp being in town, I am more excited by the chance to meet this most talented filmmaker.

And to think-when I entered the contest, all I wanted was a free movie...