Shutter Island

[Donuthole]

The one good thing about Paranormal Activity was that it showed the trailer for Shutter Island. I'm not a Dicaprio fan, nor am I a hater, but this show looks good.

Here's hoping it's more "The Departed" than "Gangs of New York."

[MarkGrace]

I have a great deal of interest in this one as well.

[I.J. Reilly]

Looks cool. Definitely one the wife will not be seeing with me.

[Surfah]

Really? I've seen the trailer and I am not interested at all. In fact I think it looks stupid.

[Green Lantern]

Really? I've seen the trailer and I am not interested at all. In fact I think it looks stupid.

I think the pedigree for this one is a stronger draw than the trailer. A Scorsese movie based on a Dennis Lehane novel with actors like DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo and Jackie Earle Haley has a high likelihood of being at least interesting, even if the trailer sucks.

[Non Sequitur]

I read the book a long time ago, because I had enjoyed Mystic River so much. The book wasn't nearly as good as I had hoped. Not by a long shot. That said, if Scorcese is doing it, it will likely be very good.

[Katy Lied]

I wondered why the reviews of this movie were aggravatingly vague, concentrating on Dicaprio's performance, but when I tried to write a review here, I realized how difficult it is. Everything that bothered me about the technological shooting or interpretation is seen in hindsight as necessary to the plot. Thus, here I am, getting vague.

Mark Ruffalo was splendid here. He gets better every year, both in looks and in acting ability. I liked his sidekick portrayal, all lazy charm with intermittant earnestness and genuine concern. I liked his performance better than DiCaprios, and although his role was smaller, it was also meatier.


The movie features lots of use of glass blocks. I thought that was an anachronism but looked it up, and they've been around since the 17th century.

I don't know much about the historic development of psychological movements, but I thought that the treatment of psychosis using drugs rather than surgery or other methods happened later on, in the late 50s, but the movie was correct. I also had not realized that lobotomies were used as early as 1940 but darned if the movie didn't get that correct as well.

Spoiler for The rest of this is in spoiler mode::

Right away I was irritated by the lack of realism on the ferry. Dicaprio and Ruffalo were curiously flat against the background, and the ferry did not pitch or yaw or bob naturally like a boat. Scorsese is usually meticulous about realistic touches like this, and I was shocked by his shoddy work. Later on, it's clear why the ferry seems so non-realistic, that's where DiCaprio's reality meets his fiction. I suspect that his "backstory" began on the dock, and that he wasn't really on the ferry at all.

Another thing that didnt work was the whole messy red commie scare subplot, mixed with the LSD experimentation on unsuspecting victims subplot. It was never clearly explained. Later on, though, I can see that to a fevered psycho mind, all the individual facts could get mixed up.

They never explained the cut to DiCaprio's forehead. I'm thinking he got it in his fight with George Noyes a few weeks before, where he roughed up Noyes for calling him Laedis. He had it from the beginning of the movie.

The people I saw it with were divided on whether DiCap was really a marshall investigating the hospital, or an inmate. I couldn't believe they didn't interpret it the way I did, that he was an inmate. There are so many clues. Oh well, I like the Young Goodman Brown affect.

[MarkGrace]

So how was it in general without spoilers? Liked? Disliked?

I was surprised by how good the initial reviews were (given all the delays -- never a good soon), but they seemed to temper out a bit as more poured in.

Definitely going to see this one in the theater.

[Commando]

I watched Paranormal Activity last night, too. Straight retarded. I don't see why there was hype for this turd. Not scary, bad writing, $15 budget for the capsul of fake blood and thread to move the blankets and door.

The Shutter Island trailer looked like a masterpiece compared to PA. I liked the Departed, too, and am very interested in this one.

[Katy Lied]

This movie was suspenseful in places, but I think that Scorsese sacrificed suspense for verity. Not as scary as you might think though. I realize I'm being maddeningly vague. In general, it was enjoyable, though.

Spoiler for Why its not that scary. BIG SPOILER:

What I find very scary is the existence and depiction of pure evil. There is none of that in this movie, and even DiCaprio's realization of his true nature toward the end is nothing like Mickey Rourke's realization of his own pure evil in Angel Heart, truly a scary movie.

[scottie]

Saw it last night and enjoyed it, worth the price of the ticket IMO.

[frank ryan]

I saw it and was disappointed. The movie kept me entertained, the acting was superb but in the end I felt cheated.

[Donuthole]

I saw it and was disappointed. The movie kept me entertained, the acting was superb but in the end I felt cheated.

I thought the end was awesome. And not just the twist, but the subtle twist on the twist that has kept me thinking about it on and off since I saw it Friday.

[scottie]

I thought the end was awesome. And not just the twist, but the subtle twist on the twist that has kept me thinking about it on and off since I saw it Friday.

Same here. What was the rule of 4?

[falafel]

Same here. What was the rule of 4?

Oh yeah. I didn't get that part.

Spoiler for more spoiler:

And did he leave himself that message? That must have been his room it was found in. No wait, he must have been in Ward C.