Shutter Island Review

For years director Martin Scorsese has been making great films, from Mean Streets to Taxi Driver to The departed. He is considered by most to be one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.

However you don’t need to see any of his previous films in order to appreciate Shutter Island because it isn’t like anything he has ever done before. It’s a lot darker, psychological and messes with the mind.

And like with his other films Scorsese doesn’t disappoint with this one either.

The year is 1954. Leonardo Dicaprio plays Teddy Daniels a U.S federal marshal with a troubled past. 

Along with his partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo Blindness, Rumor has it), they ferry onto a small island off the coast of Boston where there is a mental hospital for the criminally insane called Ashecliffe.

Ruffalo and Dicaprio are a perfect match. Ruffalo plays a good sidekick who is still learning the ropes and Dicaprio plays a convincing leader.

They are there to find a very dangerous patient named Rachael Solando who has escaped from her cell. When they first arrive they are greeted by stereotypical mental patients and Ashecliff’s main doctor, Dr. Cawly (Ben Kingsley, Gandhi), who gives a creepy and witty performance. In his eyes everyone is a potential patient.

It started out for the pair as a simple investigation to find an escaped mental patient but soon Teddy begins to wonder if he’s been brought here as a part of some twisted plot orchestrated by the doctors.

At first glance this film looks like a typical horror/crime movie but it is definitely not. It sets up like that but then goes in a completely different direction.

Once you may think you know what’s going to happen next you are completely tricked and it makes you doubt any predictions you might have about the outcome of the film. By the time it reaches the end and the final biggest twist is revealed your head is already spinning from the other events that preceded it.

Another strong point in Shutter Island is the stunning cinematography done by Robert Richardson but that is to be expected in a Scorsese picture. In addition to the very weird and disturbing dream sequences that Teddy has towards the beginning (which brings back memories of The Shining) there were also some fantastic camera angles.

 For example Teddy is standing on a cliff looking for Chuck. When he sees a cigarette on the edge and the camera goes right up in his face as he picks it up.

Leonardo Dicaprio has been the star of three of Scorseses previous films including Gangs of New York, The Aviator and The Departed. In this film he gave a better performance than he did in The Aviator or Gangs of New York. He brought a lot of emotion and depth to the part. 

Through flash backs we find out he is a World War 11 veteran who is haunted by memories of clearing out a concentration camp. We also find out he lost his beloved wife Dolores (Michelle Williams) in an apartment fire.

He was quick to fight but would also break down and be at the mercy of hallucinations of his dead wife.

Another superb performance is given by Jackie Earl Haley (Watchmen) who plays Noyce another patient. His informative conversation with Teddy tells us that things aren’t the way they seem at Ashecliffe, or in Noyce’s words “you’re a rat in a maze.”

He too brings a lot of depth and emotion to the role. On the outside he seems like just another crazy patient but you find out he is being kept here against his will and absolutely hates it there. It’s a short part but it’s first-rate acting.

Besides a few minor problems like some scenes moving too slowly Shutter Island is a success. It’s exciting and suspenseful but very creepy and eerie at the same time. It takes you for a ride and keeps you guessing.

Most importantly it does what few films have done; it makes an impact on you. It stays with you well after it’s over and it makes you think about your own sanity; of what’s real and what’s not.

It may not be Scorsese’s greatest cinematic achievement but any movie buff would not dream of missing it.

Our family wedding Review

Nick Famuyius’s newest film Our Family Wedding may fool you.

At first it appears to be a comedy about the long and stressful journey a couple takes to get to that joyous moment of saying “ I do.” Towards the middle of the film, however, it takes an interesting and serious turn.

 And The journey is especially long and stressful for this couple because one family is Hispanic and the other is black--and they absolutely hate each other.

America Ferreira plays Lucia Ramirez, who plans on getting married to the man of her dreams Marcus Boyd (played by Lance Gross).  The problem is that Lucia hasn’t told her strict parents about him or the fact that she’s dropped out of law school. Oh boy! And Marcus has yet to tell his womanizing father.

Once everybody’s had the news broken to them, the two families are forced to spend time together to try to plan the wedding. The two dads (played by Forest Whitaker and Carlos Mencia) go head-to-head finding every reason to hate each other, while everybody else sits on the sidelines trying to calm them down.

The first half of this film is complete chaos. Just about every scene involving the two families starts with one father hurling insults or racial slurs about the other one, and everything escalates from there. Then it cuts to the next scene, and the conflict repeats. These confrontations were kind of funny at first but they got really annoying and repetitive.

Also there were a lot of unnecessary scenes that were obviously put in just to get some cheap laughs, like when Mencia is trying to figure out how to use Whitaker’s fancy New-Age sink but ends up making a big mess. Or later when a goat eats Viagra and creates a ruckus.

 And of course the movie had that pivotal moment in which the families turn on themselves. The bride’s-to-be parents, Miguel and Sonia, get into a fight. Then engaged couple themselves get in a fight and break up and the groom’s-to-be womanizing father loses the one woman who he actually likes, his long-time lawyer Angela (Regina King).

 However after this sequence of events, the film finally settled down and got right to the point, which was the issue of interracial relationships. This issue they addressed in a serious, not comical, way. Like when Lucia and her dad talk about whether Marcus is right for her or not and when Marcus and his dad have the same conversation. That actually made the rest of the film more enjoyable.

 The cast was the main thing that kept me watching. Both fathers, Mencia and Whitaker, were rude and selfish jerks to begin with but then turned into respectful and supportive fathers. You understood why acted the way they did in the beginning.

America Ferreira and Lance Gross (the betrothed couple) were a perfect match. Sure, they had their problems but most of the time they kept a positive attitude when they were caught in the crossfire of their parents’ bickering. They’re the heart and soul of the film and remind us why we bothered to see this movie.

After all the serious stuff and everyone makes up with one another, the film then returns to its goofy and upbeat self, a few last minute jokes are slipped in and well… you know the rest. 

Our family wedding may not have the same depth or ground-breaking effect that Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner had, but overall it’s a feel-good movie supported by a fantastic cast.