Shutter Island (2010)

 

In 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is sent to investigate the disappearance of a murderess on Shutter Island, a hospital for the criminally insane.

     I waited so long for this movie to come out. I counted down the days, realized it wasn't released in October, and then counted more days till it finally came out this month. It was indeed a fascinating film.

    It's hard to describe it without spoilers, but I will say it is an excellent example of a true thriller- heavy on psychological thrills, a fair dash of blood and guts, insane people, all set during a wild rainstorm on a tiny island ringed in rock. 

    One of the reasons for its success in my mind is the acting. No one plays furrowed brow and blood-shoot eyes better than Leo, and his transformation from hard-business cop to wounded man shocked at the horror around him is beautiful. Kudos to you. The supporting characters are all excellent, too, Ben Kingsley is deliciously unnerving as the head doctor of the hospital, almost unnerving as all the mental patients who twitch and mutter or shriek. 

   I hated the soundtrack. It was awful. It was all blasting strings, foghorns, and no melody. I honestly wanted to cover my ears. The movie was best when it was silent and all you could hear was the drip of water from the flickering lights of a cell-like building. 

    It's a relatively long film, so get comfortable and pay attention. Luckily there are no boring moments. This is definitely a movie to savor.

The Others (2001)

A woman who lives in a darkened old house with her two photosensitive children becomes convinced that her family home is haunted.

    This is a masterpiece of thriller. Nearly everything about this movie is perfect in its subtle detail and ambiance. You doubt everything and everyone. Every dark corner is suspicious and every ray of light may reveal some mystery. Love it, love it.

    The first standout is the acting. Kidman is magnificent. It's incredible to watch her icy, uptight visage gradually crumble and melt with terror as everything she believes in crashes around her. Of the two child actors, my favorite was the little dark-haired boy with his pouting lips and mother-worship. The daughter is a stark contrast and I found her nasty tendencies hard to swallow. She serves her purpose well though, and her acting improves as the movie goes on. Irish actress Fionnula Flanagan with her bird-like eyes was perfect as Kidman's new servant. I've seen her in other movies. I wish she was in more, she's underrated. 

    The setting of the ancient family house occupied by children and a slowly unraveling woman reminded me of The Innocents and I loved the old-school thriller opening credits with the pencil illustrations and haunting violin score. The set-up of the rooms reminded me a play, with each old table or music box carefully set in its place to create the perfect scene. 

    There were only two things I disliked about this movie: 1) A rather random appearance of a character, though I do understand its purpose, it still seemed weird and 2) the gardener's acting, I thought he was terrible. Everything else...thriller perfection. 

Couples Retreat (2009)

At the urging of their friends, four couples go to a couples' retreat to experience all the fun and beauty of the tropics. However, when they arrive, they discover that the expectations of the island are a little different from what they all anticipated. 

    This was a very cute movie. It had a good balance of innuendo and heartfelt moments, and the antics weren't so unbelievable that it became a slapstick sex comedy. I liked that it was about couples and their marriages and not about finding love or something else cheesy; it was based on real life and real problems. 

    The island was too beautiful, the water too blue, the sun too bright, and the actor too sweat-free. It didn't look real at all, it looked like a green-screen projection. That bothered me. There weren't really any bugs or sand fleas or anything. 

   The acting was generally nicely subtle. Jason Bateman was my favorite.

   It was a fun movie. Lots of pretty women, Vince Vaughn-style humor, all that. Not bad. 

This Is It (2009)

Documentary footage of Michael Jackson's rehearsal for what would have been his last tour called "This Is it." 

    This was a very impressive documentary. It didn't depend on interviews with "experts," or with MJ's family or anything, it was just the man himself and those around him. The film has everything - intimate moments with MJ working with light designers, dancers, guitarists, (which included the very young, very talented Orianthi) singers, and more, full dress rehearsals, stripped down performances, backdrop films...everything. 

      It was incredible to see Michael only days before his death; he was like a boy on stage, flexible, energetic, happy...it was very bittersweet. He knew all his songs perfectly and was still so passionate about them. A highlight was definitely "Human Nature," MJ's vocals were crystalline and it's just a beautiful song.

   I was never a huge MJ fan, but after this, I can understand why so many people, young and old, simply adore him. 

The Wolfman (2010)

Drawn back to his childhood home by a letter, an actor is attacked by a mysterious and vicious creature, only to find himself transformed when the moon is full. 

     This movie has gotten pretty bad reviews, but I found it really entertaining. It wasn't innovative, but it wasn't supposed to be. The balance between classic monster movie flavor and modern flair was nearly perfect; the film had all the visual majesty of the latest technology and epic gothic score, but also straightforward gore, curses, and Victorian-style acting that the story required. 

     It was very gory, but unlike contemporary horror movies such as Saw and Saw 189, it wasn't "weird" gore. The wolfman comes on screen, probably slashes his claws across a guy's face and belly, maybe rips out a liver or two, but that's nothing unusual or unexpected. It had plenty of starts and jumps, which I love, it gets the blood pumping. 

    Hmm, I guess there's really nothing else to say. The acting served its purpose, Anthony Hopkins was his usual excellent self, channeling some sort of sinister Santa Claus as our hero's father, and Emily Blunt was a perfect Victorian beauty. The script was simple, it didn't try to be overtly supernatural, it was a monster movie through and through. 

Sunshine Cleaning (2008)

In order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school, a mom starts an unusual business -- a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service -- with her unreliable sister.

     This was not an easy movie. It was promoted as a sort of Little Miss Sunshine look-alike, but really, it was a lot more heartbreaking, less funny, and more complex. The levels in this movie are incredible; it's dealing with everything from healing from loss a loved one, inability to let go of the glory days, sibling tension...I love the title though, it really sums up the movie: cleaning. Whether it be a literal location such as a crime scene or an internal emotional scrubbing, that's what the film is about. I think a lot of viewers might have missed that or not appreciated it, because the movie wasn't perfect, it was promoted as a comedy when it really isn't. It's got some funny bits, sure, because life is funny. My favorite scene is where Emily Blunt runs after a kitten. I don't know, but that really made me smile. 

      The acting is all very natural. One character whose played by a 24 actress is kind of out of place, but she really just serves as a foil for Emily Blunt. The only actor I didn't like was Amy Adams' young son. He was not appealing to me AT ALL. All in all, an interesting movie, not funny enough to be watched regularly, but not my top pick for a drama movie night, either. 

The Lovely Bones (2009)

A story of a life and everything that comes after centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family - and her killer - from a place between earth and heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal. Based on the novel by Alice Sebold. 

     This was an interesting choice for Peter Jackson as audiences know him only for his quirky horror movies, the  dark crime drama Heavenly Creatures and of course, the epic and beloved Lord of the Rings trilogy. Because of his filmmaking past, there are several flaws with the movie which don't make it a bad film, but rather cripple its potential as an incredibly powerful, memorable endeavor. 

     One the flaws is Jackson's focus on visually striking but essentially meaningless CGI sequences of our heroine's experiences in the Between World. Instead of developing the characters who are still alive and grieving, our attention is shifted to ships in glass crashing unto mountains, golden forests, fields, and rapidly changing seasons. It's gorgeous to look at it, but it takes up valuable screen time. 

     Another problem I had with the movie was the relationship between our heroine Susie and her high school senior class. No time at all is spent developing their mutual attraction and so it plays out like every girl's fantasy; doe-eyed, British senior approaches much younger girl in school hallway, slips a love note into her binder, and almost kisses her. Unbelievable. The relationship extends beyond Susie's life on earth and continues to be unbelievable.

     Stanley Tucci was magnificent. His subtle ticks made his character oh-so-creepy, from his shifting eyes, closed-lip "yummy" laughter, and sudden violent outbursts. It's not a surprise that the majority of acclamations for the movie are for Tucci, but scenes with a grieving Mark Wahlberg convinced me of his acting ability and Ronan, though at times a bit gooey, is remarkable for a fifteen-year old actress. Despite these positive qualities, the movie as a whole just felt a bit flat for its potentially wrenching topic.