Skip to main content

Shutter Island!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm glad that Martin Scorsese finally won the Oscars for best director and film with The Departed a few years ago. Now that he's accomplished that, there's no more of those Oscar-baiting movies. With Shutter Island it seems like he's done making movies to entertain the Academy audience, and rather, he's making the movies that he wants to make.

Based on the novel of the same name, the story follows Teddy, a US Marshal, and his partner Chuck as they investigate the disappearance of a criminal patient held at a remote psychiatric facility called Shutter Island. As they continue their investigation on the island, they find that there's a shroud of mystery surrounding all the staff members and doctors working on the island. Teddy uncovers what he believes is a giant conspiracy perpetrated by one of the head doctors... but oh, there are twists along the way.

I had a good time with this movie. It's a much smaller scale story than any of Scorsese's latest fares, probably since Bringing Out the Dead, which really added to my enjoyment. Also, in writing the above description, I'm trying to be generous as there are a number of twists that are thrown at you and it would take away the fun if I delved into it. The ads they play on TV claim that the twists in this movie are some of the most shocking in recent cinematic history. I don't know if I'd buy that unless by 'recent' they mean 'this week'. What they throw at you is quite predictable but I guess every now and then, these kinds of endings couldn't hurt.
The only real problem I had with the movie was how they carried out the ending, rather than the idea of the ending itself. I thought that there was way too much exposition at the end and it was like the characters were reading a book to me. I'm sure there could have been a more creative way to show us the twist reveals.

I think what I enjoyed most were some of the technical aspects with the movie. I loved the way the movie was shot and the musical scored intertwined throughout it. These two aspects alone helped in creating a creepy atmosphere letting us know that something was afoot on the island.

Leo Dicaprio and Mark Ruffalo with NORM "SON OF A" GUNDERSON from Fargo. Mark out!

Dicaprio is an actor who's really grown on me lately. I've enjoyed just about all of his movies and I find that he's continually getting better and better. I read the feature article about him in this month's issue of Esquire and it's fascinating reading the way he constantly challenges himself with each movie by finding new lessons to learn to fine tune his craft. This summer comes Inception with Leo in the lead role being directed by Christopher Nolan. I can't wait. But until then, Shutter Island should tide you over. Later geeks.

"Which would be worse, to live as a monster or to die as a good man?"
-Leonardo Dicaprio; Shutter Island


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE ARTIST!!!!!!!

The Artist is director Michael Hazanavicius ode to the silent films of yesteryear. Not only focus on a silent movie actor and movie making, but it in itself is also a silent movie. The movie follows a silent movie actor named George Valentin through the rise and fall of his career. At the start of the film, we see George as this superstar celebrity; he loves the glitz and glamour of being a famous actor and soaks in all the attention he can get. He loves having his photos taken and being adorned on the front pages of newspapers. He is THAT kind of celebrity. At the premiere event of his latest movie, he bumps into one Peppy Miller – a young woman with big ambitions and dreams in Hollywoodland. The lives of the two intersect and an attraction immediately blossoms. The romance could only go so far as Valentin is a (happily?) married man. George’s superstardom reaches its height at a precarious time. And as the 1920s are ushered out, so are silent movies. The new decade brings w...
1 comment
Read more

DTV Madness: Jack Brooks - M.S. and Gingerdead Man 2

Okay, honestly, I think this will be the last DTV post for a while. One man can only take so much shit. I'm only human, I have feelings too. These two movies pushed my limit. I'm going to be in DTV-detox for the next month or so. Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer I thought that with a title like this, it couldn't fail. I thought that with a poster like they had, it couldn't fail. Then I realized something... I failed. I failed in thinking that this movie had any hope. I was expecting some fun horror, mixed with comedy in sort of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer kind of fashion with a bumbling hero and smart quips. I mean, with a title like Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer , was I wrong in expecting a variety of monsters get slayed as the title suggests? It didn't help much that the monsters looked uber cheesy. They looked like something right out of a Power Rangers episode. But to their credit, at least they stuck with practical make-up and effects rather than CG. The mo...
6 comments
Read more

Finally, the Xbox 360!!

So as I mentioned in a previous post, I received an Xbox 360 for Christmas from my dad. A great present it was! I've had 3 weeks to enjoy it so I guess I can give you my impressions of it now. First the controller. In truth, I haven't felt a controller this comfortable in my gaming life before. As a child who grew up on the 8-bit generation, with just a directional pad and 2 buttons, there was quite a learning curve getting used to using two analog sticks at the same time. You might say, "Hey Lam, how bout the PS2? You have that machine, and that has analog sticks". True, but of the twenty or so games I have for that, all of them used either only 1 analog stick, or allowed the option to switch on to the directional pad. Using 2 sticks at the same time was at first just uncomfortable. This made for all sorts of trouble as I was playing Gears of War . Luckily for me, I had computer controlled teammates that watched my back. I love the Media Center capabilities...
6 comments
Read more