Review: Shutter Island

This is truly the year of stalled movies. I have seen the trailer for this movie for about 10 months now. The release date for this movie has been pushed back at least twice by now. Anyway let's get down to business....

Shutter Island is the newest film by acclaimed director Martin Scorsese. It takes place on a post WWII pacific northwest island. The story is centered around federal marshal Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio). He has been called to the island because a patient has escaped from the mental institution located there. Accompanying him is his new partner Chuck Aule(Mark Ruffalo). From the moment they arrive on the island there is an air of deception and distrust. As they dive deeper into investigating the disappearance of this patient we become intimately acquainted with the past of Daniels. We learn the true reasons of why he is on the island and what he hopes and thinks he will accomplish while he is there....

Shutter Island is a suspenseful drama of the highest caliber. I've glanced at some reviews that call it drawn out and boring, but I don't feel that way. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I never felt bored. The movie gives you a real good look into a 1950s mental institution. The acting is some of the best that I have seen in the past couple of months. All of the actors performed their parts well. The story took twists and turns, but was never confusing.

Overall, Shutter Island has been the best movie that I have seen this year. My only real complaint was some of the editing that was done. There were instances where the footage was edited in a choppy way. It was clearly not a clever trick to enhance the movie. But, let me say now that if you dare, you should...

GO NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(On a side note my co-workers were speculating about how the movie would turn out. I told them how I thought the movie would turn out and they hoped that it wouldn't. It turns out that I was .....................................)

Review ~ Valentine's Day

Truthfully, I really wanted to see this movie, but I went in prepared that it might turn out like last year's romantic comedy fiasco, He's Just Not That Into You. It had some of the same ingredients: an all-star cast, romance, comedy, a lot of hype, and a huge promotional blitz. The movie begins on, what else, Valentine's Day, the main day in the life of love. It shows different couples and singles in the different stages of their romances, or lack thereof. Then the drama ensues!

It is easy for a movie of this magnitude to get lost in the cast, with the script thrown in as an afterthought. The writers of this movie did a great job at making sure the storyline flowed, and I must say, the best lines were given to Taylor Swift. (Check out her scenes with Taylor Lautner, they were my absolute favorite!) The ensemble cast was great, including Julia Roberts, George Lopez, Jamie Foxx, Ashton Kutcher, Anne Hathaway, Dane Cook, Patrick Dempsey, Jessica Alba, Shirley Maclaine, Queen Latifah, Topher Grace, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Garner and I could go on and on. I laughed a lot during this movie, and was completely captivated by it. I know, I know, I love mostly all chick flicks, but I must say, this is one the best movies by far. So go ahead, give a great ode to love and.......

....... GO NOW!!!!!!!!!!

Review - Wolfman

After much delay (note the date on the poster), The Wolfman has finally made its way to theaters. It stars Benicio Del Toro as Lawrence Talbot/Wolfman, Emily Blunt as Lawrence's love interest Gwen Conliffe, and Sir Anthony Hopkins as Lawrence's father Sir John Talbot. Based on the original 1941 movie of the same title, The Wolfman follows the tragedy of Lawrence becoming a werewolf and committing unspeakable actions. All this takes place against the backdrop of Victorian era England (London and elsewhere).

I really was impressed with the acting in the movie. Although it does feature a great deal of special effects and CGI, the acting by all players was good and believable. I was happy that the transformation scenes were long and drawn out. Lately there's been too many movies involving werewolves were the transformations just happen out of nowhere. The change scenes here were more reminiscent of An American Werewolf In London. They seemed very painful and horrifying. (It should be noted that both movies share the same award winning effects man, Rick Baker).

Another thing that I really liked in the new Wolfman was the discussion of Lycanthropy as a mental illness. They incorporated the use of an asylum which added to the already dark atmosphere. There's also a clever Jack The Ripper connection.

The only thing I think they could have done better on is the development of the relationship between Lawrence and Gwen. It did cause the movie not to reach its full potential at the conclusion. That being said the new Wolfman could be just a little bit better. It is good. But it doesn't quite fit into the elite group of werewolf movies (American Werewolf In London, The Howling, The Wolfman '41, and Silver Bullet). But it is good and you should definitely RENT IT.

Review ~ When In Rome

You know the saying...when in Rome.....do as they do! Kristen Bell stars as a single art curator, who is known for her bad luck in the love department. While attending her sister's impulsive wedding, in where else, Rome, she wanders to a love fountain. Instead of tossing a coin in, she decides to take a few for good measure. Here is where the wonderful drama that rom-com's (romantic comedies) are made of, begins.

Now, while we all know that romantic comedies can be somewhat predictable, sometimes it's nice to know that we can depend on that. While Jon Heder, Dax Shepard and Danny DeVito make for unusual love interests, it is Josh Duhamel that provides the films eye candy. There are a some ups (be on the lookout for the yellow car), and downs (predictable romantic comedy). It was at times what I consider stupid funny. However, I must say that I enjoyed the movie. Overall.......

GO NOW!!!!!!!!!!!