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Review: Shutter Island (2010)

March 10th 2010 04:31


Shutter Island (2010, Scorsese)
Written March 9, 2010

Shutter Island, based upon the titular novel by Dennis Lehane and directed by Martin
Scorsese is actually a rather deep, haunting psychological drama masking itself as a suspense thriller. To fully explain that sentence would require a spoiler of all the film’s (and book’s for that matter) secrets. Thus, this review will be cryptic at best. Shutter Island plays itself out as a crime thriller, as two Boston Marshals travel to an ominous island in 1956 to investigate the disappearance of a psychiatric patient but moreover the shady doings of the asylum itself. Leonardo DiCaprio gives one of his most captivating performances to date as Teddy Daniels, a man with a mysterious past and even more mysterious headaches and memories. His partner is Chuck, played by Mark Ruffalo. Daniels has only just met Chuck but trusts him implicitly; at least at first. The interactions between DiCaprio and Ruffalo are intriguing and among the film’s best moments. Another highlight is the remembered and imagined interactions between Ted and his deceased wife, Dolores (Michelle Williams).


Shutter Island, however, does have flaws. Specifically, it hits a lull in the second act and it takes a while for it to climb back out. Scorsese’s directing is uncharacteristically heavy handed and showy. Scorsese has always been stylized but he’s rarely in your face. Instead of letting the events unfold, he resorts to overcompensation with close-ups and camera techniques attempting to instill constant paranoia and suspense. This utterly fails. It’s as if Scorsese felt he needed to keep viewers on the edge of their seat every single second when this wasn’t exactly that kind of film—it’s not that kind of story, even. This film needed room to breathe and for large parts it was not afforded that luxury. Moreover, the music (which apparently is not a score but a selection of contemporary instrumental pieces by) belongs in a different film. If the film was re-cut and replaced with different (or even no) music it might have worked on nearly every level. Instead, the existing music lends to the film’s overcompensation and need to instill unbridled suspense and tension. And we’re never as tense as the music or the film wants; but what Shutter Island doesn’t seem to understand is we never needed to be – it is still interesting and intriguing without the gimmicks. The film is carried by incredible performances and some wonderful moments. The flaws mentioned herein are, in the long run, minor and do not diminish the film on an overall level. You’ll leave the theater feeling rather satisfied and honestly, that’s all you need. Scorsese doesn’t need to make a masterpiece every time his hand touches a camera. For someone of his caliber, it’s fine to simply entertain once and a while. He ultimately delivers this with Shutter Island, but not without a lot of help from his friends.

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Reactions to the 82nd Annual Academy Awards

For the most part, the Academy Awards this year were entertaining as well as satisfying. The triumph of The Hurt Locker over Avatar for Best Picture was so incredibly refreshing and completely deserving. Kathryn Bigelow’s win was also well-deserved, although I do agree that it was sadly becoming more about “a woman” winning rather than “Kathryn Bigelow” winning. At least this milestone has been accomplished and the next time a woman is nominated or even wins, we will not have to endure “I am Woman” being played as the recipient takes the stage *exaggerated eye roll*.

The evening in general solidified quite a few things, among which: NPH has become the industry’s most reliable go-to guy for musical/comedic entertainment and Robert Downey Jr. is incredible (as we all know) and must be cast in as many comedies as humanly possible. On a personal note, the evening also solidified my complete love for Colin Farrell; his anecdote to Jeremy Renner was filled with genuine joy and respect. As hosts, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin got the job done but not without moments of awkwardness. Also, the opening bit dragged a little after a while (there were some awesome gems within it though).

Last year’s show was the first after the revamp in structure and it was so satisfying because it was a tribute to filmmaking. Sadly, this year, we lost that magical feel of cinema and idealistic wonder and returned to self-congratulatory narcissism. Thrown in we did get a few montage segments one of which being a wonderful John Hughes tribute. Discarded were the performances for best song (thank god, as the best song nominees almost universally always suck. Why is this such a hard category to nominate 5 great things?) and in its place was a montage of interpretative dancers set to the 5 nominated scores. It was nice to hear the scores but at the same time, the segment did drag. The evening held a few surprises, including Avatar for Cinematography and the biggest upset of the night; Precious for Adapted Screenplay. I wonder if Jason Reitman is still in shock? All the acting categories played out according to plan. Both sound awards went to The Hurt Locker, which was a bit unexpected. The Hurt Locker walked away with 6 awards to Avatar’s 3. There were a few memorable speeches, as well as dresses and now it’s over and we get to start it all up again in the fall. Before you know it, award season will be around the corner again, as if it never left.

My final tally was a sad 16/24.

Here's a list of my original predictions, with the winners in bold

82nd Annual Academy Awards


Best Adapted Screenplay

Think: Up in the Air – Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
Should: In the Loop - Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
Won: Precious

Best Original Screenplay

Think: The Hurt Locker - Mark Boal
Should: Joel and Ethan Coen - A Serious Man
Won: Hurt Locker

Best Supporting Actress

Think: Mo’Nique – Precious
Should: Mo’Nique – Precious
Won: Mo’Nique - Precious

Best Supporting Actor

Think: Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds
Should: Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds
Won: Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds


Best Actress:

Think: Meryl Streep – Julie and Julia
Should: Carey Mulligan – An Education
Won: Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side

Best Actor

Think: Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart
Should: Colin Firth – A Single Man
Won: Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart

Best Director

Think: Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
Should: Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
Won: Kathyrn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker

Best Picture

Think: The Hurt Locker
Should: The Hurt Locker
Won: The Hurt Locker

Best Make-up

Think: Star Trek
Should: Star Trek
Won: Star Trek

Best Song

Think: The Weary Kind – Crazy Heart
Should: The Weary Kind – Crazy Heart (though I just don’t care)
Won: The Weary Kind – Crazy Heart

Best Score

Think: James Horner – Avatar
Should: Alexandre Desplat - Fantastic Mr. Fox
Won: Up

Best Editing

Think: The Hurt Locker
Should: The Hurt Locker
Won: The Hurt Locker

Best Visual Effect

Think: Avatar
Should: Avatar
Won: Avatar

Best Live Action Short

Think: The Door
Won: The New Tenants

Best Animated Short

Think: A Matter of Loaf and Death
Won: Logorama

Best Animated Film

Think: Up
Should: Up
Won: Up

Best Documentary Short

Think: China’s Unnatural Disaster
Won: Music by Prudence

Best Documentary Feature

Think: The Cove
Won: The Cove

Best Sound Editing

Think: Avatar
Should: Up
Won: The Hurt Locker

Best Sound Mixing

Think: The Hurt Locker
Should: The Hurt Locker
Won: The Hurt Locker

Best Foreign Language

Think: El Secreto de Sus Ojos
Won: El Secreto de Sus Ojos

Best Costume Design

Think: The Young Victoria – Sandy Powell
Should: Bright Star – Janet Patterson
Won: The Young Victoria

Best Cinematography

Think: The White Ribbon
Should: Inglourious Basterds (have not seen The White Ribbon)
Won: Avatar

Best Art Direction

Think: Avatar
Should: Avatar
Won: Avatar

Final Tallies

Hurt Locker – 5 (won 6)
Avatar – 4 (won 3)
Inglourious Basterds – 1
Crazy Heart – 2
Up – 1
Star Trek – 1
Up in the Air – 1
Precious – 1 (won 2)
The Young Victoria – 1


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Review: Crazy Heart (2009)

March 10th 2010 03:00



Crazy Heart (2009, Cooper)
Written March 9, 2010

It’s difficult to watch Crazy Heart and not compare it to something else. Take 2009’s Trucker, for example. Both films are character studies of broken human beings who begin to change due to certain events and circumstances. Another unavoidable comparison is 2008’s The Wrestler. Both contain aging, washed-up men who were once at the top of their craft and now struggle for work and attention. Both men encounter women who begin to give their life meaning. Both men have drinking problems. Both men are in poor health. Both men are estranged from their children. I could go on, but you get my point: Crazy Heart is not an original concept. However, it works on nearly level to the point that we don’t care. This is something Trucker could not do; the audience is too acutely aware of the familiarity of the story and the events occurring within were not complex enough to be entirely engaging. Crazy Heart, on the other hand, is well-executed and highly entertaining (any movie that makes country music interesting is always a success to me. Nashville, anyone?)

Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges in his Oscar winning role), is a washed-up 57-year-old country music star who plays gigs at bowling alleys and dive bars with randomly assigned pick-up bands and travels in his old jeep. We learn pieces of Bad’s past sporadically. For example, he used to be in a band with country music superstar Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell). In fact, he gave Tommy his start but he doesn’t like to talk about him much. Bad meets a local reporter at a gig in Santa Fe and begins to see her. Her name is Jane (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and she has a 4-year-old son. Later, we learn Bad abandoned his own son at age 4. This is a rather pivotal piece of information; no doubt Bad truly does care about Jane but the way he takes to her son lends to the idea that he’s trying to do right by a mirror image of someone he walked out on years prior. In a great scene, Bad calls his now 28-year-old son in an attempt to reconnect.

The best thing about Crazy Heart is the conscious choice writer/director Scott Cooper did not make with regard to the relationship between Bad and Tommy. Cooper could have easily made Tommy the evil young prodigy who milked his mentor for fame and left him when he felt he was too good for him. The film subsequently could have morphed into Bad’s desire to overcome adversity and fate and reclaim his place at the top. In other words: an incredibly contrived, boring, predictable tale. Cooper didn’t. Instead, he created a wonderful, caring character in Tommy Sweet. We watch Tommy as he sits with Bad at a bar. A fan approaches Tommy for an autograph. Tommy obliges but not before stating that Bad’s autograph is the one the guy should be asking for. On numerous occasions, Tommy tells his audience and his fans that Bad Blake taught him everything he knows and would be nowhere without him. Tommy cares about Blake, respects him, and has no ego to speak of. This is perhaps one of the most refreshing decisions that could have been made in a film such as this and Cooper delivers tenfold.

Bridges gives a rich, multi-layered performance. Again, it’s nothing groundbreaking; especially not after Mickey Rourke’s last year, but it is certainly emotional and dedicated. Gyllenhaal’s performance was a standout in the film. She took what could have been a contrived, throw away role and made it into something entirely her own. The film does focuses on Jane’s own relationship issues and her struggle to be with someone like Blake but it is Gyllenhaal’s delivery of these scenes and her palpable emotions that turn her character into something truly great.

Because of all the things Crazy Heart does not do, and because of how much it does well, Crazy Heart is a cut above average the redemption character dramas. It never reaches the quality of The Wrestler, but it is still an appealing world to visit for a couple of hours.
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Academy Award Predictions

March 7th 2010 02:53



So, it’s all led up to this. The general consensus is that Avatar has picked up late heat and The Hurt Locker may be burned by the recent controversies. Nevertheless, most are still predicting The Hurt Locker to take home the big prize. Another reason Avatar could win, however, is that every single showrunner for this year’s Academy Awards is either a former or current Fox Studios big wig. Hmmm.. still, I’m picking The Hurt Locker although I don’t think it is at all set in stone. The consensus is also that this is the most predictable year. Yet, there’s always upsets no matter what anyone says. For that reason, I’m going out on a limb for some things, particularly in the never safe technical categories. I’m also going with Meryl Streep. It felt right when I picked it, but now it feels wrong again. I don’t change my predictions after I make them, however, nor do I do alternates. So, take a look and feel free to share your own predictions. I’m shooing for at least 18/24.. here’s hoping!

82nd Annual Academy Award Predictions


Best Adapted Screenplay

Think: Up in the Air – Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
Should: In the Loop - Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche

Best Original Screenplay

Think: The Hurt Locker - Mark Boal
Should: Joel and Ethan Coen - A Serious Man

Best Supporting Actress

Think: Mo’Nique – Precious
Should: Mo’Nique – Precious

Best Supporting Actor

Think: Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds
Should: Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds

Best Actress

Think: Meryl Streep – Julie and Julia
Should: Carey Mulligan – An Education

Best Actor

Think: Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart
Should: Colin Firth – A Single Man

Best Director

Think: Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
Should: Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker

Best Picture

Think: The Hurt Locker
Should: The Hurt Locker

Best Make-up

Think: Star Trek
Should: Star Trek

Best Song

Think: The Weary Kind – Crazy Heart
Should: The Weary Kind – Crazy Heart (though I just don’t care)

Best Score

Think: James Horner – Avatar
Should: Alexandre Desplat - Fantastic Mr. Fox

Best Editing

Think: The Hurt Locker
Should: The Hurt Locker

Best Visual Effect

Think: Avatar
Should: Avatar

Best Live Action Short

Think: The Door

Best Animated Short

Think: A Matter of Loaf and Death

Best Animated Film

Think: Up
Should: Up

Best Documentary Short

Think: China’s Unnatural Disaster

Best Documentary Feature

Think: The Cove

Best Sound Editing

Think: Avatar
Should: Up

Best Sound Mixing

Think: The Hurt Locker
Should: The Hurt Locker

Best Foreign Language

Think: El Secreto de Ojos

Best Costume Design

Think: The Young Victoria – Sandy Powell
Should: Bright Star – Janet Patterson

Best Cinematography

Think: The White Ribbon
Should: Inglourious Basterds (have not seen The White Ribbon)

Best Art Direction

Think: Avatar
Should: Avatar

Final Award Tallies

Hurt Locker – 5
Avatar – 4
Inglourious Basterds – 2
Crazy Heart – 2
Up – 1
Star Trek – 1
Up in the Air – 1
Precious – 1
The Young Victoria – 1


No Guts No Glory Picks

Woody Harleson wins Best Supporting Actor
In the Loop wins for Adapted Screenplay
Up in the Air wins Best Picture
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Review: Trucker (2009, Mottern)

March 5th 2010 02:53

Trucker (2009, Mottern)

[ Click here to read more ]
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Review: Whip It (Barrymore, 2009)

March 3rd 2010 01:03


Whip It (Barrymore, 2009)
[ Click here to read more ]
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Review: The Invention of Lying (2009)

February 27th 2010 01:01


The Invention of Lying (Gervais & Robinson, 2009)
[ Click here to read more ]
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Top 10 Favorite Trailers of the Decade

February 20th 2010 00:43
Top 10 Favorite Film Trailers of the 2000-2009

One film on here I don't even like but that's what's so interesting about trailers. They can make a good film look bad, a bad film look good, or be an accurate portrayal of what will transpire. I wanted to embed these but that didn't work. What are some of your favorite trailers from the past decade


[ Click here to read more ]
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top 10 Screen Kisses of the Decade

February 19th 2010 23:54
Top 10 Screen Kisses from 2000-2009


[ Click here to read more ]
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Some Oscars Thoughts

February 18th 2010 00:41
The race seems to be shaping up to be rather predictable but then again we must remember the shockers that always arise. That said, Supporting Actress and Actor are completely locked up (Mo'nique and Waltz). Sandra Bullock appears to be the lock for Actress and Jeff Bridges for Actor. Bigelow hands down must win for Director. But here's the rub... best picture. This is a preferential voting system. Which means one film must get greater than 50% of the vote to win best picture (3,001 votes). The ballots are then redistributed if there is no winner with the fewest number one votes thrown out and the redistributed with the number two choices. Still if there is no winner again the film with the fewest number of #1 votes are tossed out and the ballots are redistributed with #2 votes. Because of this part of me really really feels like Inglourious Basterds can win. Or even Up. I mean really, they have huge shots. At this point, I don't feel like Avatar even has a chance. With this voting system it's hard to believe that the voters would rank the film above the ones I've named, as well as The Hurt Locker. The problem I have with picking The Hurt Locker right now is I still feel it's too small for the Academy. But hey, Shakespeare in Love won, right? In my mind it's a 4 way race between Inglourious Basterds, The Hurt Locker, Avatar, and Up. Honestly I have no idea how my predictions will go down and I probably will not do them until the weekend of the Academy Awards. What are everyone elses thoughts on the main categories? Are you as perplexed by the voting system as I am? Everytime I read it I try to grasp it a little bit more. It's starting to make a bit more sense. For a good article about it, and why the Inglourious Basterds thing makes sense, go here Really Long Link

The blog might be slow for film reviews until the Olympics end but I'll try to post some of my older lists here and there. Still have so many decade lists to do.
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