Well, the summer movie season is officially over, and while box office earnings are way up, it seems like the quality of the films have actually gone way down.  But for every few badly-written movies (like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Transformers 2, and G.I. Joe–though some will say it’s not that bad), there was a diamond in the rough like District 9.  So why were so many movies so bad in the summer of ‘09, even if they did make a lot of money?  Hint: The Writers Strike!

Before the summer began, I wrote an article about how the 2007 Writers Strike might affect the summer 2009 movies.  I speculated that back in 2007, studios were nervous about how long the writers strike could last, leaving them with a possible lack of films for the fall/winter 2008 and all-important summer 2009 season (early May to late August 2009). To make sure they had big films lined up for Summer ‘09, the studios pushed to have their big-budget scripts quick-finished before the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) contracts were up in November 2007 and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in summer of 2008.

This week:

Revenge of The Fallen meets Dawn of the Dinosaurs; it’ll take 6 years to see the last Airbender; Adams looks on as Batman fights Marky Mark; George Clooney leaves Warner Bros; The Green Hornet is delayed and Tony Scott, Denzel Washington and Chris Pine are stoppable.

Short version: While Michael Mann’s Public Enemies is very good, it’s missing the spark that could have pushed it to “great.”

Screen Rant reviews Public Enemies

If you’re looking for a low key alternative to the summer blockbuster movie season, then you’ll welcome the Michael Mann-directed Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard. Having said that, don’t expect to be blown away by this surprisingly low-key film.

Johnny Depp recently spoke with Collider promoting his upcoming gangster flick, Public Enemies, where he also gave some new details on his upcoming projects Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, and the upcoming Dark Shadows adaptation. He also talked about his collaborations with director Tim Burton, and why they work well together. I know, wanted to hear about The Lone Ranger and his role as Tonto, too…

"It's nice to be able to come back here and say 'Thank you,' and this shindig is a way of doing it," said Johnny Depp..

Thursday, June 18, Johnny Depp and Co. walked the red carpet for Chicago’s premiere of Public Enemies. The notorious bank robber, John Dillinger, was shot less than 5 miles away at the Lincoln Park theater–nearly 75 years ago.

To promote Public Enemies, Universal is launching one of the first film marketing campaigns to incorporate Facebook Connect and Twitter. Though the gaming is a little light, the social aspect has the potential to be pretty effective.

Bank Raids brings out the 1930’s John Dillinger in everyone by feeding criminal ambition, recruiting gang members and robbing banks. Gameplay generally lasts 2 to 3 minutes – since luck doesn’t last forever – but aspiring thieves can save their progress and come back to finish the job.  Buy guns and cars to make bank jobs easier and increase your notoriety, but beware: the more notorious you get, the lower the chances of successfully pulling off the job.

A new featurette for Michael Mann’s upcoming Depression-era crime-drama, Public Enemies, debuted this week (inappropriately enough) during the 2009 MTV Movie Awards.

The featurette…um, features Public Enemies stars Christian Bale and Johnny Depp, as well as Mann himself, all discussing the era of The Great Depression and John Dillinger’s status as less of a criminal than a bonafide American celebrity. Most of the footage is lifted right from the Public Enemies trailer, but there are some new clips and the interviews with cast and director are pretty interesting.

Earlier this week, we finally got a chance to see some new promotional material for this summer’s hit gangster film, Public Enemies. Those items came in the form of three new character-centric posters that emphasized the stars of the film: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and Marion Cotillard.

Now, we have a pair of new clips that Trailer Addict exclusively debuted today for the Michael-Mann directed film. Check them out and see what you think:

We’ve been slacking off here a little bit recently when it comes to presenting and talking about newest posters that have been revealed online so it’s time to play catch-up.

Today we have a batch of posters that cover Public Enemies, Transformers 2, A Christmas Carol, Inglourious Basterds and Pandorum.

Public Enemies tells the story of “Robin Hood” bank robber, John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) who simultaneously became a hero to the recession laden American public while making himself public enemy number one. Eventually becoming the purveyor for the institution of the FBI by J. Edgar Hoover and it’s top agent, Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale).

And we have the second trailer for the up and coming Johnny Depp film for you right here.

The first official poster for this summer’s Public Enemies has been released and it’s almost exactly like a certain other famous poster from a certain other super successful movie.

Public Enemies (#7 on Screen Rant’s Most Anticipated Movies of 2009) is directed by Michael Mann and its massive cast includes Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Billy Crudup, Channing Tatum, Emilie de Ravin, Stephen Dorff, Marion Cotillard, Giovanni Ribisi and David Wenham.

Today we have a bunch of new promotional images for the film that came in at number seven on our most anticipated films of 2009 list: Public Enemies.

We had our first proper glimpse back at the start of the December but adding to that we have a set of six spanking news ones for your viewing pleasure below.

To celebrate the New Year Entertainment Weekly has a brand new gallery of fresh images for some of the most anticipated movies of this year. They include the highly anticipated Terminator Salvation (which made number 4 on Screen Rant’s most anticipated movies of 2009), Public Enemies (which made number 7 on our list), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (which made it to number 5 on our list) and Watchmen (which was lucky enough to top our list).

As 2008 approaches its end and we think back on all the big films of the year, we must take time to look forward at what is to come. That is exactly what we will do now – And I don’t use the term “we” lightly as I enlisted the help of the entire Screen Rant team to help me share with you our individual and collective thoughts of what movies to look forward to in 2009.

We began the tradition last year with the most anticipated movies of 2008, and here’s your bright, shiny 2009 version!

Empire Magazine has been the big provider of much of our news during our slow last week. In addition to a new picture of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine from the cover of an upcoming issue and the very first picture of Taylor Kitsch as Gambit, the first images of Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in costume were released for their upcoming film, Public Enemies.

A diligent photographer has snapped Depp as Dillinger driving a car on the set of Public Enemies. The crime thriller is being directed by cinematic god Michael Mann, the cast also includes recent Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Dorff and Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis the man trying to bring Dillinger down.

Apart from Depp, there’s a of picture of hoods hanging on to the side of a car carrying Tommy guns, in true gangster style.

Now does that not get your pulse racing, even a tiny bit?

For more pictures keep reading.

Christian Bale is one of the few actors at the minute who can do no wrong. The critics adore him, the internet fanboys love him and audiences are willing to show up to watch his films (well his mainstream ones, at least).

Since hitting the big time with Batman Begins, Bale has been much in demand as an actor; Entertainment Weekly conducted a great interview with the actor where he discusses his upcoming films: Michael Mann’s Public Enemies, the new Terminator 4 film (whatever it may end up being called), and his third stint as Batman (which I hope will be called Shadow Of The Bat).

Continue on to find out what he has to say about his future slate.

Christian Bale is in negotiations to join Johnny Depp in Michael Mann’s crime thriller Public Enemies. The film will tell the story of the FBI’s manhunt for John Dillinger, the charismatic criminal who was loved by many and loathed by the government. Dillinger was finally gunned down outside Chicago’s Biograph theater.

Johnny Depp will play the legendary gangster while Bale will play Melvin Purvis, the FBI agent tracking him down.