the buzz log

A 1934 Arraignment of the Dillinger Gang (Dillinger's No. 4)

Nothing better to start the hot days of July than with some Tommy gun action. Unfortunately, director Michael Mann's mediocrity streak may be continuing with "Public Enemies," which packs star power but no pow with critics. (Time, for instance, tosses in adjectives like "perfunctory," "wall-eyed," and "predictable.")

A misfire or not, the movie's already stirred up a Search homage of sorts for killer folk hero John Dillinger, AKA Public Enemy No. 1. The robber's exploits captured the fancy of 1930s reporters. 21st-century media is showing some aw-shucks enthusiasm for him as well.

The Beacon News sketches the farmboy's life before robbing banks, his notorious Indiana jailbreak, and a plastic surgery job that made the real Dillinger look far less pretty than acting alter-ego, Johnny Depp. Indy Star's going all out for its homeboy,, including an "interactive look into the man and the myth."

The Cleveland Plain Dealer's history doesn't romanticize Dillinger as much, but its bio includes a map of Dillinger landmarks. Not on that map: Dillinger's grave at Crown Hill Cemetery, which is on marker No. 4 because visitors keep chipping at the granite for souvenir pieces.

Less glorified is the South Carolina FBI agent that got Dillinger, among other high-profile criminal conquests. The State give some ink to Melvin Purvis, and even puts a question mark around his death in 1960. The Post & Courier, in a chat with the G-man's son and nephew, fingers a jealous J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI director, with ruining his star agent's life. Crime didn't pay during the Great Depression, but looks like justice didn't either.

Filed under: Movies, Crime

The reigning first lady of comedy cured the multiplex of "The Hangover" and got a box office personal best. Absence definitely made the hearts grow fonder for Sandra Bullock, who hasn't done a comedy in four years. But surely, in her absence, a barrel of funny ladies has filled the void?

Sort of, kind of, maybe. Overall, there's not a lot of starring or even secondary roles for comediennes in an otherwise powerful summer of comedy: As one young female Hollywood producer declares in a fascinating first-person article in The Wrap, "gender discrimination lives on."

Still, there are ladies out there representing (although the definition of comedienne has had to stretch a bit) and drawing buzz. Here, in a counterpart to the Funniest Men This Summer, are 10 of their better halves.

Top 10 Funnywomen This Summer Movie Season,
past 30 days based on Yahoo! searches

1. Amy Adams ("Night at the Museum: The Battle of the Smithsonian, May 14" and "Julie & Julia" Aug. 7). Her turn as Amelia Earhart made her the blockbuster sequel standout, and her upcoming turn opposite Meryl Streep is prompting fans to search the Oscar nominee's past body of work (especially "Psycho Beach Party," "Enchanted," "Talladega Nights")... plus Catwoman rumors.
2. Heather Graham ("The Hangover," June 5). The blonde really snagged audience attention way back with "Drugstore Cowboy" and "Boogie Nights." Her steady filmography's a mixed bag (but includes the underrated 2002 "The Guru"), but her 10 minutes of screen fame reminds fans why she's good for a laugh (and still "hot").
3. Sandra Bullock ("The Proposal," June 19). The guileless innocent, Bullock manages to outsmart everyone in the room while getting the guy in the end. With cred like "Speed" and "Demolition Man," she's beyond romantic comedies (which she despises anyhow). Paired with Ryan Reynolds, Bullock shows how screwball's done with the biggest opening weekend of her career.
4. Ashley Tisdale ("Aliens in the Attic," July 31) Can the drama snoot from "High School Musical" leave Disney behind? Her underaged legion of fans might just cross over to the family comedy, although Tisdale may find a comic nemesis in the redoubtable veteran Doris Roberts as the kung-fu grandmother.
5. Hayden Panettierre ("I Love You, Beth Cooper," July 10). A cheerleading superhero by primetime and a movie teen-comedy star by summer, Panettierre may finally break out big-time in this buzzy comedy based on a book by "Simpsons" writer Larry Doyle (who also does the screenplay).
6. Zooey Deschanel ("500 Days of Summer," July 17 limited release). The ethereal indie queen (with her share of elfin success) returns to the art circuit in an "unromantic comedy" Sundance breakout. At 29, she has snagged a Maui film festival award honoring artists "whose stunningly original and seamless performances" show "unique insight and wisdom." Expect a sleeper hit.
7. Olivia Wilde ("Year One," June 19). She is Megan Fox's girl crush...need we say more? Okay, okay: She's married to Italian royalty, made Maxim's Hot 100 #1 Stunner, and inspired Fox to say "She makes me want to strangle a mountain with my bare hands." She didn't have to be too funny as Princess of Sodom to score buzz—besides, per critical feedback on "Year One," nobody else really was anyhow.
8. Alexis Bledel ("Post Grad," August 21). Not so bad being typecast as the smart one. The "Gilmore Girls" alum sounds a recessionary note as a smart girl forced to move back into the family nest full of odd birds (one of them played by the inestimable Carol Burnett).
9. Anna Friel ("Land of the Lost," June 5). From the late (and lamented) critical TV sleeper "Pushing Daisies" to big-budget TV remake, the English lass scored a spot in a comedic tar pit with Will Ferrell and Danny McBride (and had to do kegel exercises to keep from breaking out in laughter). Expect more from Friel, who scored the lead in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" stage musical.
10. Betty White ("The Proposal," June 19). This summer brings back vets like Burnett and Roberts, but the 87-year-old actress reigns as this season's grande dame of comedy thanks to "naughty" persistence. Every epoch or so, she alternates between devious ("The Mary Tyler Moore Show") to delightful ("The Golden Girls"), and her latest escapades show she hasn't changed a bit.

Filed under: Movies, Comedians, Women