Shutter Island (2010)

Expectations are a funny thing. I had very high expectations for Crazy Heart and the film delivered on every level. I also had high expectations for Shutter Island mainly based on the reputation of brilliant director Martin Scorsese and his muse Leonardo DiCaprio. After all, The Departed was one of the best movies of all time.

However, there were a few factors that were keeping my expectations in check.

1)  This movie was originally supposed to be released last October. The reigning theory is that when a movie has sat on the shelf and missed a release date, something about the movie isn’t right.

2)   Dennis Lehane novels are straight-up thrillers like John Grisham or Dan Brown novels. They are not books that are made into Academy Award winning movies (with the exception of Mystic River – which I still don’t understand).

So, I should not have hoped for a repeat of The Departed and when I first left the theatre, I felt let down. After all, I knew the premise of the movie (having read the book) even before I set foot in the theatre and I knew how the book ended, so I shouldn’t have been surprised by my disappointment. But I was.

I won’t give too much away, because I’m not a fan of the spoiler. But the story takes place in 1954, when U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) is investigating the disappearance of a murderess that escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island.

Now that 24 hours have passed and I’ve reviewed the picture again in my mind – the film did deliver as a solid psychological thriller almost to the very end. The acting is fine – DiCaprio’s Boston accent is as spot on as it was in The Departed. The rest of the supporting cast, including Michelle Williams and Mark Ruffalo, does a great job of developing the story. The movie is well written. The costumes are very representative of the time and the set-design is great (the Island is creepy and there is no way I’d spend the night in that hospital). My only disappointment is that the movie veered too much away from the book at the end (the book’s ending is much, much better) and left me wanting.

I do have one other comment to make in regard to the marketing of this picture. The preview gives too much away regarding the story – if you have no experience with the book. And I think the movie is positioned incorrectly to the viewing audience – the preview doesn’t position it as a psychological thriller – with more dialogue and less action. Instead it has been positioned to be scarier than it really is (i.e. more action) – and therefore, there were a number of people in my viewing audience that didn’t have the attention span to sit through a 2:40 film. 

I have to say – that really drives me crazy. If people can’t stop talking or texting then they shouldn’t go to the movies. It ruins if for everyone else – and I didn’t pay my hard earned money to listen to someone else’s running commentary. OK – I’m getting off the soapbox. Enough said.

End.

 

Up In The Air (2009)

So the final movie I viewed over the holiday season was Up In The Air. I wanted to see this movie because I’m a George Clooney fan. I’ve been a fan for quite awhile, since he was on a little show called “E/R” (the comedy – not the drama) that also starred Jason Alexander, Elliot Gould and Mary McDonnell and aired back in 1984-1985. 

This was a solid dramatic film with a good story. It is particularly poignant given the current recession. The film actually shot everyday, regular people that had been “let-go” from their place of employment due to the recession and that surely made me stop and think about what was happening in the real world, outside the comfy theatre.

However, the story itself really centers on Clooney’s Ryan Bingham and his inability to make a lasting, emotional connection with someone. The man really is married to his job. He meets people at one of their most vulnerable points in life – when they are being fired – and by him, no less. He recognizes the pain and suffering they are going through while never showing any emotion. His job has left him emotionally unavailable to everyone around him – his family, his coworkers, even the gal next door.

And he has a ridiculous goal to become one of only six other individuals that have flown over 10,000 miles. This childish goal only aids in stunting his emotional growth. (Of course, this is also where Sam Elliot fits into the story – and I love to listen to Sam talk, so…I’ll let it slide).

I think that this picture definitely has some Academy Award potential, but I’m not sure that I agree with critics that all three main characters are in the running. George and Vera Farmiga are solid, but Anna Kendrick steals the show. As recent graduate Natalie, she is the perfect counter to Ryan.

I don’t want to say much more, because I don’t want to give away any significant plot points as to whether Ryan makes a connection (whether it be with a person or another flight to reach his mileage goal). I’ll leave that for your own discovery.

Trailers can be viewed by scrolling down to the end of this page.

Academy Award Winners

Shortly after my last blog (with my rant about the writers' strike), the strike ended. Therefore, I thought I'd quickly recap my thoughts on last Sunday's Academy Awards. I wholeheartedly agreed with "No Country for Old Men" taking the Best Picture award. This movie is absolutely fantastic with some great performances. I also believed that Daniel Day-Lewis deserved Best Actor. I was secretly excited to see Marion Cotillard win Best Actress for "La Vie en Rose".

However, the award I was most thrilled about was Best Song. "Falling Slowly" from the "Once" soundtrack won. And the acceptance speech from Marketa Irglova was the most inspiring speech of the evening.

Now that the strike is over and everyone is back to work, I am once again in love with movies. You can expect to hear a lot more from me in the coming months. I've got lots of movies I want to review!

End.