Grade Scale
- A+: Never say never
- A: A masterpiece
- A-: A near-masterpiece
- B+: Very good movie
- B: Good movie but some minor flaws
- B-: Pretty good but some flaws
- C+: Slightly above average
- C: Average
- C-: Mediocre
- D: Bad movie!!!
- F: Atrocious, avoid at all cost!
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|  By Castor | 
 “Is it better to live like a monster, or die a good man?”
Directed by Martin Scorsese, Shutter Island is a psychological thriller based on Dennis Lehane novel of the same name. Despite its relatively commonplace premise of reality vs. illusion inside a mental institution, this is a beautifully crafted film with multiple layers of depth that don’t become apparent until the final twist which we all know is coming. The fun is in trying to figure out what the final twist is and witnessing how the characters get there.
The story is set in 1954 in Boston. US Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner Chuck Aute (Mark Ruffalo) arrive on Shutter Island, home to a psychiatric penitentiary, to investigate the disappearance of Rachel Solando (Emily Mortimer), a dangerous woman who drowned her three children. Oddly, when the two federal agents start asking questions, they often get unhelpful and evasive answers. Teddy believes there is something deeply wrong taking place on the island and sets out to find out. However, he soon starts to question his own sanity…
Scorsese depiction of Shutter Island is Gothic and gloomy and cinematographer Robert Richardson excelled in creating a moody and atmospheric feeling that went a long way toward immersing the viewer. Teddy’s flashback and hallucinations in particular are stunning visuals. Scorsese masterful direction impregnates the movie with an Hitchcockian and mysteriously chilling sublayer but he never uses cheap thrills or loud sounds that have become staples of the horror genre. Numerous clues are left behind that point to the fact that what we are seeing has a double meaning but these don’t become clear until the ending. Why did Chuck, a federal agent, seem unfamiliar with his own firearm? Why are the guards so on edge when in the presence of Teddy? Those are some of the little nagging questions you will try to elucidate as the movie unfolds.
The movie’s main highlight is the incredibly deep cast. Leonardo DiCaprio gives a mesmerizing performance in a tormented and complex role. He is convincing from beginning to end and his emphasis on facial and bodily expressions helps the viewer empathize with his character’s intense inner emotions. DiCaprio continues to mature from the boyish heartthrob he once was to one of the most complete lead thespian in Hollywood. Mark Ruffalo continues his string of excellent turns as a character actor and walks a fine line between patronizing and probing Teddy. One of the deepest and most terrific supporting cast you will see in a movie includes the likes of Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer, Elias Koteas, Jackie Earle Haley and Ben Kingsley. The beauty of Scorsese films is that he finds a way to highlight often thankless and small supporting roles into memorable appearances and everyone here shines in his/her respective scene.
An atmospheric, unsettling and Hitchcock-like thriller, Shutter Island is a well-acted, well-crafted, and intellectually engaging near-masterpiece.
A-
Notes: Rated R for disturbing violent content, language and some nudity. 138 minutes.
VN:F [1.8.4_1055] Rating: 9.0/10 (4 votes cast)
| By Castor |
 Directed by Michel Gondry, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of my favorite romantic movie of all-time. Starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet as the two main characters, the highly acclaimed script was written by Charlie Kaufman, Gondry and Pierre Bismuth.
The movie has a non-linear plot line which may initially appear as confusing but to summarize it, Joel Barish (Carrey) is emotionally withdrawn and depressed after the failure of a recent relationship with the free-spirited Clementine Kruczynski (Winslet). One day, he visits her at her workplace and is stunned to see that she has no idea who he is. After some investigation, he realize that she underwent a medical procedure to erase all her memories of their painfully failed relationship. Deeply hurt by her action, Joel decides to undergo the same procedure. Most of the film takes place in Joel’s mind as he laying unconscious during the operation. Upon seeing happier memories of the relationship, he remembers why he loved Clementine, he changes his mind and fights to retain at least some of the memories, trying to find places in his memory where he can hide Clementine until the procedure is over.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of those movies that has to be experienced rather than explained. Gondry uses some really creative visual devices that are nothing short of brilliant to make us believe we really are in Joel’s mind. You will see the picture and sound quality degrade or be distorted as some of Joel’s memories are erased. You will see object in the background disappear or fade away, faces going blank (literally) etc… That may be cool to look at but it also immerses the viewer into this dream-like atmosphere.
Jim Carrey gives the most restrained and powerful performance of his lifetime and it is disappointing that he got little respect for it. This is not the gag-happy physical comedy you are used to, this is real dramatic acting. Joel is withdrawn and depressed and the only thing that keeps him hanging on are those memories of this relationship, no matter how painful. Kate Winslet also gives a superb Oscar-nominated performance as the free-spirited and short-tempered Clementine. She doesn’t have an easy role, playing an unhinged character who has to look psychologically troubled, and yet remain desirable for the main character. Winslet succeeds on all counts, infusing Clementine with a chaotic liveliness which is the complete opposite of Carrey’s shell shocked character. Life with her would drive Joel to self-destruction but he simply can’t fathom of life without her. The supporting cast is nothing short of sensational and is highlighted by Tom Wilkinson, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood and Kirsten Dunst. They provide a subplot in reality that I felt was unneeded but it was fairly well accomplished so no harm done.
In all, I absolutely loved this movie. Most romance-type films depict the perfect couple who lives happily thereafter but in real life, just about every relationship has issues that have to be worked around and it’s nice to see a movie about a flawed relationship, about two people who might have loved each other but still may end up going their separate way. The ending is open-ended and it’s up to the viewer to decide what ultimately would have happened.
A twisted, winding and yet extremely well-told film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an unforgettable movie that is a profound meditation on the meaning and consequences of love.
A
Notes: Rated R for language, some drug and sexual content. 108 minutes.
VN:F [1.8.4_1055] Rating: 9.0/10 (13 votes cast)
| By Castor |
Cache (US: Hidden) is a critically acclaimed mystery thriller directed by Austrian director Michael Haneke and starring French actors Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche. Georges Laurent (Auteuil) is a successful TV host of a book-club type show while his wife Anne (Binoche) works for a book publisher. They have a 12-yr old son and seemingly happily live in a cozy book-lined upscale apartment. The obviously well-to-do family starts receiving sinister videotapes of themselves and are perplexed by the meaning of those. Someone is watching them and they don’t know why. The threat slowly grows as the Laurent go through their daily lives. One day, the family starts receiving disturbing drawings of blood coming out a child’s mouth.
Haneke builds up the suspense patiently and methodically. The Laurent continue to live their life but it progressively starts to take a toll on them. Georges and Anne starts having fights because she thinks he knows something that she doesn’t know. He has a hunch about who is sending those tapes and doesn’t want to tell her. The viewer knows as little as the couple itself so we become detectives trying to solve this creepy riddle. Even as the plot unfolds it never becomes clear who is actually tormenting the Laurent. The film is ultimately a subtle political commentary on responsibility (here France toward Algeria) for past and present action. Let’s just say that Laurent did something bad to someone else when he was only a 6-yr old kid and willfully let himself off the hook because he was so young after all. However, this is now coming back to haunt him decades later.
Haneke intentionally leaves the ending open-ended and highly open for interpretation with many questions left unanswered. Some viewers will not mind, I personally felt I needed to know who sent those tapes but only because of that uncomfortable feeling of personal violation and not knowing who did it.
The cast performs on a high level. Daniel Auteuil slowly evolves from a smug and slightly blazed character at the start of the movie to a more introspective character who can lose his temper quickly. Juliette Binoche gave a strong performance as well in a supporting role. The movie features no musical score which gives it a quiet and sinister atmosphere.
A disturbing, unsettling and haunting psychological thriller that plays it close to the vest. Highly recommended especially if you like Hitchcock.
B+
Notes: R-rated for strong violence, 117 minutes
VN:F [1.8.4_1055] Rating: 9.3/10 (3 votes cast)
| By Castor |
 Directed by Academy Award nominee David Finch, the hauntingly creepy Mulholland Dr. is a dark psychological thriller/mystery which catapulted Naomi Watts to stardom. I waited a long time to watch this movie which most people would deem as not making sense whatsoever. What I love about this movie is that it is completely open for interpretation: There is about as many interpretations/theories about the movie as there is people. Punctuated by very macabre sequences and erotic scenes of lesbian intimacy, the film is full of cryptic dialogues and seemingly unrelated sequences. The fact that the movie was initially shot to be broadcast as a TV series for ABC probably added to the disconnected and confusing feel of the movie. I really don’t blame ABC for backing off this project, there was no way this would ever make it to your average prime-time national TV slot.
The movie starts with a stunning dark-haired woman (Laura Elena Harring) escaping from a murder attempt on Mulholland Dr. when the limo she is in is hit by another car. Apparently shaken and confused, she walks toward Los Angeles and hides inside a house which an older red-haired woman just vacated moments earlier. Starry-eyed and perky aspiring actress Betty Elms (Watts) just arrived in LA from a small town in Ontario and enters the apartment, finding the dark-haired woman, who calls herself Rita, confused and suffering from amnesia. Blonde-haired Betty agrees to help Rita find out her real identity and the two women are soon intertwined in a twisted mystery that will challenge the very notion of fantasy and reality as well as obscure the space and time continuum of the movie. Several seemingly unrelated parallel stories also interject the main plot of the movie among which one in particular is unspeakably terrifying and really FREAKED me out (I won’t even say anything, just that’s it’s there). This is all I’m going to say about the plot of the movie. Not only would it spoil the movie, but it would be nearly impossible for me to explain what I saw, it’s a personal experience that one only gets by seeing the movie.
Mulholland Dr. has a non-linear narrative order which is itself open for interpretation. Simply put, the movie is like a dream put on film. Every single detail in the movie from objects that appear on the screen to what the characters say are little pieces of the puzzle that can be used at some point in the movie. As Mulholland Dr. makes less and less sense, it becomes more and more engaging and exhilarating. What in the movie is real and what is fantasy? There is no definite answer of course but it is fun to try to make sense of it all. The movie is not all dark and creepy and features an hilarious cameo by Billy Ray Cyrus for example. Naomi Watts gives a strikingly amazing performance as Betty/Diane. She shows excellent control inhabiting Betty and Diane, two distinct and completely different characters, to great effect. Better than that, she purposely plays below her capacities (a Lynch staple) only to explode when you least expect it: For the first half of the movie, she is mechanical, a bit forced and apparently gives a sub-par performance. Then comes the audition scene which is a blueprint of great acting as she takes horribly banal material and turns it into a fantastic scene. Then, in an instant, it is all gone: She is Betty again. That single scene is an incredible showcase of acting talent and I was completely blown away. Laura Elena Harring is strikingly beautiful (she is a former Miss USA after all) and does a solid job as Rita/Camilla. The two actresses have great chemistry together and there is serious sexual tension between the two especially once they get romantically involved. The movie is beautifully shot with a retro-like recreation of Hollywood as a nightmarish place to be in , a place which according to Finch, attracts naive and innocent people with dreams of fame and wealth and spits them out as disillusioned people who were the coy of a town with a beautiful facade but an ugly back-alley. Finch masterfully creates a dark and oppressing atmosphere where you expect something creepy and macabre to hit the screen at any moment. As the tone of the movie changes in the last third of the movie, the warm and fuzzy locations leaves place to stark and cold sets. Angelo Badalementi’s musical score is haunting and highly effective.
 My interpretation (Spoiler Alert):
Ok, theories and sub-theories abound and mine isn’t better than anyone else’s. Never-ending mobius-strip, parallel universes, fantasy, reality, split-personalities and what not, my theory is the most traditional and widely accepted one. To me, the entire first two thirds minutes of the movie are a dream by Diane Selwyn, a struggling actress who came from a small town in Ontario, Canada. Diane being the present and real person while Betty is Diane’s version of herself in the dream when she first arrived in LA as a naive aspiring actress. In my opinion, Betty and Rita/Camilla met early in their careers but Rita/Camilla went on to become a successful actress while Betty/Diane did not which would explain her disillusions toward the end of the movie. Diane blames the way Hollywood works for her failure and believes she would have gotten a big role instead of Camilla if not for some behind-the-scene conspiracy. I believe the lesbian relationship between Diane and Camilla is real and because Diane can’t take the humiliation at the party from seeing Camilla in the arms of the director, so she decides to pay a hitman to have Camilla killed. Before the end, she has horrible remorse and dreams of what could have been. The thing is this interpretation could be reversed, with the beginning as reality and the ending as a nightmare. That’s the beauty of this movie. There is literally dozens and dozens of potential interpretations to suit your taste!
Weirdest and most complex movie I have seen in a long time. Mulholland Drive is a very artsy and surreal movie from the wildly twisted vision of David Finch which is best seen at night and in the dark (like every Finch movie!). It blew my mind away but requires multiple watches to build a coherent interpretation of this movie. Just like dreams and nightmares though, there is no real explanation or end destination for the movie. Definitely not for everyone! If you need everything to be clearly laid out for you, this movie is not for you!
A
Note: R-rated for (hot) sexual content, some violence and disturbing sights
VN:F [1.8.4_1055] Rating: 9.0/10 (4 votes cast)
| By Castor |
One Hour Photo is a psychological thriller directed by Mark Romanek and starring Robin Williams as “Sy” Parrish in a role that is very unlike your usual Robin William’s fare. Sy has been running the one-hour photo lab at SavMart for the last 10 years and is very attentive and meticulous that “his” customers receive the best service possible… and he should because he has nothing else going on in his life: No companionship, no kids, no friends, nothing at all. Sy knows most of his customers but none interest him more than the well-to-do Yorkins which he believes is the perfect family and whose life he lives vicariously through the picture he has developed for them over the years. There is picture-perfect mother and wife Nina (beautiful Connie Nielsen), husband Will (Michael Vartan) and son Jake (Dylan Smith). There would be nothing wrong being a little envious but Sy is downright obsessed, keeping copies of all their pictures which he pasted onto a wall in his apartment. Sy thinks he know them so much that he vicariously thinks of himself as Uncle Sy and begins to stalk the family without noticing. His attempt to befriend the Yorkins are gently rebuffed but everything starts to go downhill when he is fired from his job and he discovers that the Yorkins’ life is not so idyllic after all.
You think this is creepy? Well just watch the movie because it is uncomfortably creepy at times as the director has the viewer become Sy’s accomplice. Nevertheless, the movie does a good job threading that line without going into the macabre and there is something about Sy that make you almost sympathize with him. That same feeling of sadness and melancholy that you get when you meet someone who has nothing to look up to in life. This is how powerful Robin Williams is in this movie which is, I believe one of his best performance of his career. Sy is a fully developed character with complex motives, matching bland attire and inner voice-over. The supporting cast is solid but the Yorkins family is underdeveloped which hurts the movie as a whole. We don’t get any background on why they would be dysfunctional in the first place and there is no good explanation for Nina’s and Will’s behavior. Nielsen and Vartan do a nice job of cautiously but gently rebuffing Williams creepy kindness but that’s pretty much all they are asked to do. Nina gets the most screentime of the Yorkins family but yet, Sy goes after Will who is apparently a douchebag anyway. It would have helped to develop their characters much further so the audience can feel more apprehensive for them or have Sy go after the wife or the kid instead of the adulterous husband. The cinematography is solid, contrasting Sy’s bland surrounding (the SavMart, his apartment, even his car) with the colorful pictures of the Yorkins’ family while the musical score is your average thriller-type fare. The main problem of the movie is the ending which is a bit rushed after the relatively slow building of the first 70 minutes as well as unrealistic and just not so thrilling. We also know right away that Sy is an obsessed creep so the first 30 or 40 minutes feel like they were wasted as the characters barely develop beyond what we already expect, it may have worked better if he was a little less obvious especially at the beginning of the movie.
Enjoyable creepy movie solidified by a great performance by Robin Williams. Disappointing ending and lightly written roles make this movie merely good.
B-
VN:F [1.8.4_1055] Rating: 7.0/10 (2 votes cast)
| By Castor |
 Adapted from the highly acclaimed play of the same name, Doubt is a drama powered by four Oscar-nominated performances and directed by John Patrick Shanley.
It’s 1964, the Bronx, a time of cultural upheaval. Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a charismatic, cheerful, and progressive-minded priest who desires to move beyond the traditional ways of the Catholic church. Opposing him is Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep), the strict and vindictive principal of the parish’s school who takes an immediate dislike for the free-wheeling new priest. When younger nun Sister James (Amy Adams) reports to her that Donald, the school’s only African-American boy (Joseph Foster II), came back shaken from a private meeting with Father Flynn (uh…). Sister Aloysius sets off on a quest to determine the truth and run Father Flynn out of town. But what happened exactly? Did anything even happen?
There is no real clear answer as to whether he did anything wrong. The movie lets the viewer make his/her own conclusion. Although the movie is rich in dialogues, Shanley did a great job of never overextending into never-ending talking. Doubt almost borders on a psychological thriller, it is that intense. The movie keeps the viewer on the edge of his seat, waiting for the slightest detail that might reveal him the truth.
The main driver of the plot is the confrontation of the titans. Father Flynn vs Sister Aloysius. Hoffman vs Streep. Those two match each other punch for punch and they deliver as expected. Meryl Streep gives a steely performance as the overbearing and uptight nun. She runs the school like a jail, expecting the utmost discipline from everyone around her. The arrival of Father Flynn rubbed her the wrong way from the get-go. He writes with a ballpoint pen, needs three lumps of sugar in his cup of tea, and doesn’t cut his nail. All of those major red flags in Sister Aloysius’ judgemental eyes. Philip Seymour Hoffman display his great acting chops, keeping the viewer guessing whether he really did anything wrong. He truly believes he did nothing wrong which make us, the viewers also believe he is innocent. There is also superb work from two great supporting actresses. Amy Adams plays her usual innocent, sweet and hopeful type of character but heck, she does it so well so I won’t complain for now. Sister James is hopelessly good-hearted and only wants to see the good in people and yet she is the one that provide the spark that sets off the powder keg. Viola Davis has only one scene as the mother of the potentially molested Donald, a dialogue with Meryl Streep’s character, but it is both an incredibly powerful and moving scene as well as a restrained performance. Very unique combination.
More of a good theater play put on film than a movie, Doubt features four incredible performances that no real movie aficionado would want to miss.
B+
VN:F [1.8.4_1055] Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)
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“Is it better to live like a monster, or die a good man?”
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