Shutter Island

This film was simultaneously exactly what I predicted and nothing like what I expected. Somehow I got it in my head that this movie was meant to scare me silly. It didn't. The suspense was good and suspenseful, but not scary one bit. Which is a good thing. It is possible though to predict what this movie is actually about from the trailers. I do want you to go see this movie and enjoy it, so I will not give anything away. The film does a great job of telling this story. It is clear by the way the narrative is told, what might be happening though. That is all I will say. There are still plenty of twists and interesting moments that one wouldn't predict. Those I liked.

Let's talk acting. Leo was superb, as always. He gives a very intense performance. It is very visceral and quite believable that this such man would behave in this such way in these such circumstances. This was certainly my fave role for Mark Ruffalo. He was pretty solid in 'The Brothers Bloom,' but he nailed this character quite well. Sir Ben was Sir Ben. There certainly was not an actor out of place. That is something that one can expect from Mr. Scorsese. The strongest performance, by far, was played by the most persistent bandage every made. I'm serious, this thing could not have been man-made. It held its own alongside Leo with great strength. You will never find a bandage that can withstand what this had to in real life, I can tell you that much. It was never given too much attention, but it was always there. Brilliant.

Martin did some very interesting things with reality and movie magic. I enjoyed the smoke entering the cigarette in one scene, and the magical glass of water in another. If you see this film, please pay attention to this glass of water. I would like to be sure I was not the crazy one when I saw the lady patient drink from an invisible glass and then set it down empty only for it to refill itself immediately. I have no idea how I am supposed to interpret this image. I cannot believe that it was a mistake. It must have meant something. There were other images like this. Maybe I am looking too closely.

I really enjoyed this movie. The suspense was fun and the acting was tops. There were some fantastical bits of unbelievability and hamming, but I suppose if I analyzed them more closely, I could explain them away with what I know now. Also, someday I will learn to always expect Nazis when I don't expect them at all.

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Solid western with solid acting. I admit I am not familiar with the previous adaptations of this story or with the original itself. So, maybe that is why I can like this version so much. Russell Crowe and Christian Bale are strong and their characters are even stronger. They had some pretty epic characters to work with and I think they filled them out pretty well. I can just always appreciate when a story is told well. This story is clearly written well and the movie conveys it perfectly. All the right things are left unsaid and anticipated and everything you need to know is made clear. I hate forced suspense and confusion in films that try to be aloof in their revelation of details. This suspenseful western does the story telling quite ideally. As far as acting, Crowe and Bale had some great support from Ben Foster (Russel from 'Six Feet Under') who makes a perfect bad guy, Logan Lerman who plays Bale's son, Peter Fonda, and Alan Tudyk who gets the one potential laugh out loud line in the film (well deservedly). Kevin Durand (LOST) and Luke Wilson also show up to lend their talents quite well. I was not really expecting much from this movie and I was very pleasantly surprised with how wrong I was. I think I really liked it. Maybe someday Alan will live to the end of a movie.

In Bruges

HOLY COW! How did I miss this film for sooo long?! All I can guess is that the marketing for this movie failed so utterly and completely. I saw plenty of trailers and ads for it, but was never compelled to view it. Even after its praise during awards season, I put off watching it. What a fool I was. This is most certainly an instant favorite in my life. I need to purchase it and show it to everyone that will sit and watch it with me. The writing is literally brilliant. That is a phrase I believe I tweeted numerous times while watching it last night, and it fits so well. I have not laughed out loud so much in a movie in a very long time. Brits just know how to make me laugh, end of story. Martin McDonagh is the British born Irish writer/director of this indie masterpiece. Colin Farrell wins the prize for my favorite performance from him to date. Brendan Gleeson was strong and warm and hilarious. Ralph Fiennes was spot on and genius. And the beautiful Clémence Poésy was so believable and majestic all at once. Some things I loved: the inn keeper, the bits about alcoves, the fairy-tale nature of Bruges, the racist dwarf, the fight with the Canadians, the liberal and appropriate usage of the 'f-word,' and the list goes on. Things that were not my favorite: the liberal and inappropriate usage of the 'r-word,' the heart breaking impetus for the entire plot, that may be it. I was certainly blown away by this film and will highly recommend it to you all. Please enjoy it! Someday I would love to visit Bruges.

P.S. I just found out that Martin McDonagh and I share a birthday!

Tropic Thunder

How much can really be said about this silly silly movie. Tom Cruise was hilarious. Robert Downey Jr. was brilliant. Jack Black was stupid funny. Ben Stiller was stupid. Matthew McConaughey was good. I laughed kinda in my head a few times. I didn't not like it. I thought the device of killing the director was pretty absurd. It was oddly not hilarious at points. I liked elements of it. I think it could be a movie I watch a few more times and enjoy more and more with every viewing. I call that the 'Zoolander' effect. I am not really sure what else to say about it. I have few words. Goofy sums it up. So maybe someday soon I will watch it again and love it more.

Inglourious Basterds

It is hard to compare Tarantino films to any other movies being made today. His newest creation, 'Inglourious Basterds,' is certainly in a league of its own with respect to other movies I have seen this year. I was certainly not expecting to see a film that tops 'District 9' so soon. IB combines some amazing acting (Brad Pitt is stellar, but Christoph Waltz dominates this film), a lot of clever dialogue, more suspense than I could handle, plot twists that left me breathless, classic stellar Taratino camera shots, just enough violence to keep my big bro interested, and lots and lots of bloody revenge (as The Bride would put it). This is a nearly three-hour film that everyone should make it to the theatre to see. I was on the edge of my seat for the last 30 minutes and was fully enraptured with how things were going down. The subject matter of the film, does still leave me a little bothered in my soul. I have to suspend a great deal of my personal beliefs and convictions in order to love watching this movie. I suppose the same way I need to suspend similar beliefs to love 'The Boondock Saints' as much as I do. In real life, I pretty much hate violence, killing, revenge, mutilation, etc, and I can't even get behind this stuff in the name of killing Nazis, but that does not make me enjoy this film any less. There were very few moments that I had to shield my eyes during, which surprised me. All in all, I loved and highly recommend this movie. I doubt it, but maybe someday Tarantino will make a film I don't just enjoy watching multiple times.