Johnny Depp is the epitome of cool. But that probably goes without saying. Luckily for us, he uses his "cool factor" to the fullest for his role as John Dillinger, who is also all charm and confidence. If you thought you loved Jack Sparrow, wait 'til you see Depp as Dillinger, the unlikely Robin Hood during the Great Depression when people couldn't care less about the banks he robs.

What is really fantastic about this film is the cat and mouse game between Dillinger and FBI Special Agent Melvin Purvis (Bale), who is assigned to hunt down Dillinger. Every time Purvis closes in on Dillinger, Dillinger is one step ahead. You'll be entertained every time as just when you think the good guy has captured the bad guy, the game begins all over again.

In addition to Depp and Bale, Public Enemies has a star-studded cast overall, including Billy Crudup who captures young Edgar Hoover's stubborn personality perfectly, and Marion Cotillard who gives a great supporting performance as the girlfriend who's willing to risk everything for a man she barely knows.

Public Enemies is a must-see on this semester's programme. It will have you hooked from start to finish. And you won't see a more exciting gunfight and shoot out this semester. So dust off your gangster hat, you won't be disappointed!

I saw this movie when it was first released (well, yes, I was very young at the time), and I thought it was great ((ndash)) after all it has a good story line and starred Paul Newman and Robert Redford (Not only good looking but they can also act!).

The action may be tame by modern standards but I think this film has stood the test of time. So do almost 57,000 IMDb fans ((ndash)) the number of people who voted for its 8.4/10 rating.

So, OK, what's it all about?

Take a plot which becomes more and more convoluted, as the two "heroes" of the film, Johnny Hooker (Redford), Gondorff (Newman) plot to cheat mobster Lonnegan (Shaw) of a large sum of money. Hooker and Gondorff and their associates concoct more and more elaborate schemes to bolster up the deceit they weave to conduct their elaborate fraud (the 'long con').

The lives of the two are made more complicated by the arrival from Illinois of a policeman hoping to arrest Hooker; by the involvement of the FBI who are after Gondorff; and by the appearance of a professional assassin who has been hired by Lonnegan to kill Hooker (there's a neat twist to the plot here).

This great movie won 7 Oscars (including one for the brilliant soundtrack), 9 more film awards, and was nominated for another 6.