Life Itself (8/10): A wonderful tribute to one of our generation's greatest film critics

“Look at a movie that a lot of people love and you'll find something profound no matter how silly the film may seem.”

Life Itself is a touching documentary directed by Steve James (Hoop Dreams and The Interrupters) about the life of the beloved film critic, Roger Ebert. The documentary is based on Ebert’s 2011 memoir of the same name, Life Itself, and it follows his journey as a young boy growing up in a small Illinois town, his education and early success as a print journalist, his struggle with alcoholism, his achievements at the Sun-Times as a film critic which garnered him a Pulitzer Prize, his marriage to Chaz, his collaboration with Siskel on their national televised show At the Movies with Siskel and Ebert, all the way to his long battle with cancer that claimed his life. You don’t have to know who Ebert was to be touched by the film because James does a fantastic job of capturing the key role he played in film criticism. On the one hand this documentary works as a memoir of a beloved man but it also works on its own as a solid research on the history of film criticism and how it has evolved from print to TV and now to the internet. The film never shies away from the criticism Ebert received for simplifying his reviews for the TV format and changing the way the game was played, but it does defend his passion for movies and the way he wanted to engage in a normal conversation with everyone about the importance of movies and how they impacted his life. His reviews helped many aspiring young directors to get noticed and there are some fascinating and touching testimonies from Martin Scorsese, Ramin Bahrani, Werner Herzog, and Ava DuVernay about how Ebert made a difference in their careers.

Personally, I was always interested in reading what Ebert had to say about the new films that were being released. When I watched a movie that I really liked, I wanted to know what Ebert thought about it. There were many films I would’ve never heard of if it weren’t for the positive reviews he gave some independent projects. Ebert was always my favorite critic once I began to feel passionate about movies as an art form and he introduced me to film criticism as well. If it weren’t for his TV show I probably wouldn’t have been interested in actually engaging in discussions about movies and how they influence our lives. I began watching him when he did the show with Richard Roeper (who unfortunaltey isn’t in this documentary), but I have watched many clips of his earlier show with Siskel. I don’t follow many celebrities on Twitter, but Ebert was one of the few I was always looking forward to reading. His dedication and love for film are beautifully captured in this documentary as he found refugee from his battle with cancer through watching and criticizing movies. The support he received from his loving wife is also very touching and Life Itself delivers several emotional moments. It is a documentary that every film lover should experience even if they don’t have a clue of who Ebert was. 

The highlights of Life Itself are without a doubt the scenes where Ebert and Siskel are together. These two rival critics had a huge ego and there is plenty of footage where you can actually see them fighting like two brothers would in real live. I am glad they decided to include those scenes because it does show the love hate relationship they and I think that was the ingredient that made the show so successful. The testimonies from Scorsese and DuVernay are also quite emotional because it showed what a great person Ebert was and how ahead of the curve he was in film criticism. The scenes where he is in the hospital are also solid and Ebert is not afraid of letting the audience see the effect that the cancer had on him. Despite it all he always kept an upbeat and humorous attitude towards life and the documentary does a good job at pointing out how much the movies and his family helped him through his battles. Life Itself is a great tribute to Ebert’s life and his film legacy. 

My Review: Raging Bull (9/10)

"The thing ain't the ring, it's the play. So give me a... stage where this bull here can rage and though I could fight I'd much rather recite... that's entertainment."

In 1976 Martin Scorsese teamed up with Robert De Niro and screenwriter Paul Schrader to deliver what in my opinion is one of his best films: Taxi Driver. That year that complex character study lost out on the Oscar to Stallone's Rocky. So what does Scorsese do next? He directs a real boxing movie with another memorable and complex character played by Robert De Niro making Rocky look like a cartoon character. Don't get me wrong, I loved Rocky, but Jake La Motta is a character that feels much more authentic. He's deeply flawed and unpleasant to be around with, but his violent temper is what made him such a successful boxer on the ring. It was actually Robert De Niro who approached Scorsese to make this film based on Jake La Motta's autobiographical book and despite hesitating to make a sports movie at first, he ended up directing what is considered by many to be the best boxing film of all time. The boxing scenes are violent and bloody, but what was most surprising for me was the way in which De Niro captured the rage and paranoia of his character off the ring. La Motta isn't a very sympathetic character and his anger and jealous outbursts led him to his ultimate downfall, but somehow there is still something redeeming about him and De Niro captured that essence perfectly in this Award winning performance. It's much more a character study than a boxing film, but Scorsese also explores Jake La Motta's bond with his brother Joey turning this into a sibling relationship study as well. Jake tries to channel his rage through boxing, but ultimately it defeats him outside of the ring destroying the relationships he has formed. Near the end there is a nice nod to Brando's On the Waterfront, which was a perfect touch by Scorsese who seems to always be in control of his craft and at the same time honoring other famous films. Raging Bull is an artistic film dealing with a difficult subject matter but it still is considered by many as the best film from the 80's. It's a near masterpiece in my opinion with another outstanding lead performance by De Niro, who was without a doubt the best actor at that time. 

Jake La Motta (Robert De Niro) is the raging bull who during the 40's dominated every rival inside the ring. No one could take hits like he did and despite losing a couple fights he took pride in the fact that he never went down.  Jake's brother, Joey (Joe Pesci) is his sparring partner and at the same time he manages his fights so they have a very close relationship. Joey has a few connections with the mob, but Jake refuses to deal with them and wants to get a chance at the title on his own. Joey also introduces him to a fifteen year old girl named Vickie (Cathy Moriarty), whom he later marries. As the years go by, Jake defeats his opponents but the title shot keeps eluding him since he refuses to work with the mob despite Joey's connection with Salvy Batts (Frank Vincent). While Jake's professional boxing career begins to take off, his personal life takes a blow when he allows his jealousy and paranoia to take over as he fears his wife is seeing other men. Despite channeling his rage in the ring, he also takes it out in his home on his wife and brother. What at first served as his inspiration for becoming a boxing champion escalated so much that it also became his downfall and ruin. Raging Bull centers on Jake's self destructive boxing journey and it is a very complex and emotional one. In the midst of it all there is still a redemptive quality to this antihero and he accepts his punishment through personal beatings in the ring.

I don't know if Scorsese would be around making movies today if it weren't for Raging Bull. Just like his lead character Jake, Scorsese was dealing with some personal demons of his own struggling with drug addiction. De Niro convinced him to make this film and somehow he channeled his addictions through his direction. Jake unsuccessfully channeled his rage in the ring, but Marty found redemption for both of them thanks to Raging Bull. The black and white cinematography is gorgeous and the performances were powerful. De Niro gives another physically demanding performance after his work in Taxi Driver and he once again is very impressive. Joe Pesci is also wonderful as he will later become a recurring actor in other Scorsese films. The chemistry between both actors in this film is really strong and they shine together on screen. The boxing scenes were really raw and violent. They are hard to watch at times, and an extreme close up of dripping blood from the rope in the ring really captured the violence that Scorsese was trying to transmit. Raging Bull is a fascinating film which explores the mind of a very emotionally disturbed man who we wouldn't want to be around with, but somehow Scorsese draws us into his mind and he absorbs us. 

My Review: Taxi Driver (10/10)

"You talking to me? Well I'm the only one here."

If you look up the word 'masterpiece' in the dictionary, Taxi Driver is its definition. Not only does it appeal subjectively to audiences but it is a complete film in all the technical aspects as well. It has a stunning cinematography capturing the dark and dirty streets of New York City, a gorgeous and eerie score that accompanies the action perfectly, some amazing camera angles and shots, perfect editing, and some of the greatest ever performances you will see in a film. Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver is a visually stunning film that happens to be one of the greatest character studies of all time. There have been hundreds of films focusing on characters suffering from some sort of traumatic experience from war, but none have captured that complex mental breakdown as well as De Niro's Travis Bickle. Much of the credit has to be given to screenwriter Paul Schrader who suffered a similar mental breakdown and dealt with it by writing this amazing and somewhat autobiographical script, but De Niro and Scorsese took it even further by doing the best work of their careers. There isn't a single scene in this film that feels out of place and De Niro plays every note perfectly. There isn't a better character study about a Vietnam war veteran than Travis Bickle who slowly descends into psychotic behavior as he isolates himself from the rest of society and decides he has to try to do something to clean the filthy streets of New York. 

Imagine a man who has served as a Marine in the Vietnam war only to come home and find that not only does the country he has served not appreciate him, but it has become a filthy and dirty place. That is such the case with Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) who is mentally unstable and suffering from insomnia. He decides that he might as well work as a taxi driver since he spends all night driving around anyway. We don't get any flashbacks about his experience in the war, but he is clearly disturbed by the deteriorated society he lives in. He finds it incredibly difficult to interact with anyone, but in the midst of all the filth and darkness there is one person who shines a ray of hope for him. The only redemptive quality for Travis in this city is Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), who works for the presidential nomination campaign of Senator Charles Palantine (Leonard Harris). He invites Betsy out for a cup of coffee and she accepts. They share some sort of bond, but he messes up when he invites her to the cinema and takes her to a porno movie (he's so disconnected with society that he thinks it's what normal couples do). That is where their relationship ends and he completely breaks down. He becomes fascinated with guns and decides he has to clean the streets of New York. One of the first steps he takes is trying to save a twelve year old prostitute named Iris (Jodie Foster) from her pimp and lover, Sport (Harvey Keitel), but his mind is clearly troubled and there seems to be nothing that will put it at ease.

Taxi Driver is my favorite Scorsese film so far and I can't believe it took me so long to watch it. I can see how this film clearly resonated at a time where American society was clearly disturbed after the events of Vietnam and the Watergate scandal, but the film has transcended the test of time and it continues to be a disturbing portrait of a mentally ill man dealing with isolation. It's a wonderful film that somehow speaks to audiences differently. It has all the qualities of an art house film but somehow it has found a mainstream audience (probably thanks to Robert De Niro's stunning performance). After having seen several clips of this film I always imagined it focused on this taxi driver following around Iris, but that was actually only a small part of the film. Jodie Foster is so great in those short but memorable scenes that she is in almost every highlight of Taxi Driver. The real star however is Robert De Niro who gives such a believable and natural performance of a troubled and complex man. Taxi Driver is one of the most powerful and groundbreaking films that I've seen and so much has been written about it already. It's a unique experience and one that everyone should go through!

My Review: Bringing Out the Dead (5/10)

"Saving someone's life is like falling in love. The best drug in the world. God has passed through you. Why deny it, that for a moment there, God was you?"

Bringing Out the Dead presents a dark and bleak view of New York City as we get to experience it through the main character's depressive perception. Working as an ambulance paramedic, Frank Pierce has always found purpose in his life in saving others, but after not being able to save a young girl and feeling haunted by her ghost he has lost his passion and begins to question his existence. The torment he is experiencing leads him to an identity crisis that impacts the way he (and therefore we the audience) sees the city. Martin Scorsese gets all the technical aspects of the film right, teaming up with his usual collaborators: the cinematography done by Robert Richardson and the editing by Thelma Schoonmaker, but somehow the story doesn't work as well. I understand what he was trying to do, but I just couldn't care for the characters in this film and it all felt a little too surreal for my taste. This is the first film from Scorsese that I've seen that hasn't worked for me, but I do have to give him credit for delivering on the technical aspects. There are also some great moments and some supporting performances that worked really well for me, but it only made me wish the film focused on those characters instead of on Frank. The unique way in which the city was portrayed through Frank's eyes as he's dealing with his personal demons and nightmares really never engaged me because I didn't care for his character. His partners on the other hand were much more engaging and I wish we could've seen it through their eyes instead. 

The screenplay was adapted by Paul Schrader from Joe Connelly's novel of the same name. This was Schrader and Scorsese's fourth and final collaboration together after having worked in Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Last Temptation of Christ. Bringing Out the Dead is perhaps most similar to Taxi Driver in tone, but it is a departure from most of his work considering its surreal and nightmarish tone. The film follows Frank Pierce (Nicolas Cage) as he drives across New York City in his ambulance during the night shifts. It's a two man ambulance team although his partners switch every night. Frank is completely burned out considering he hasn't been able to save anyone over the past few weeks and is eagerly awaiting to be fired. His partners don't seem to be experiencing the same problem as they all seem to deal with their demons in different ways. There's Larry (John Goodman) who is constantly thinking about food, Marcus (Ving Rhames) who is a religiously devoted man, and Tom (Tom Sizemore) who borderlines on psychotic behavior. They work for Mercy Hospital, which is always full of wacky characters and very crowded. Frank begins to fraternize with the daughter of one of the patients he brings in, her name is Mary (Patricia Arquette), and she seems to be the only good thing about his job now. Tormented by the ghosts of those he couldn't save, he searches for his salvation through trying to help Mary and saving both of them in the process. 

Despite not enjoying this film as much as I have other Scorsese movies, I have to admit that there were some incredibly entertaining scenes. Ving Rhames has an amazing scene along Nicolas Cage and one of the patients they are trying to save. It was hilarious. He was by far my favorite character in the film. Patricia Arquette was also pretty interesting, and Cliff Curtis also had a couple of great scenes as Cy. Those were the highlights for me in an exhilarating and fast paced film that failed to engage me with the main character played by Cage. Scorsese does manage to capture the chaos and darkness of the city in a very unique way and the technical brilliance of this film stand out above the story. It's a demented film, but it just wasn't my type of movie because the story was emotionally uninvolving. I will give it credit for the hilarious scenes, but I was let down by the lack of an engaging story.

My Review: The King of Comedy (8/10)

''Better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime.'' 

Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro successfully teamed up once again in what probably was their most different and unique collaboration together. It is a wonderful and unsettling film with a great performance from Robert De Niro. I feel sorry for younger audiences who have only seen his recent work, because they are missing out on one of the best actors during the 80's and 90's. Here, De Niro plays a mentally unstable  character who is obsessed with becoming famous. I don't know if our culture was so obsessed with celebrity and fame during the 80's as they are now, but The King of Comedy is very much prescient today and that is one of the reasons why it still speaks to its audience more than 30 years after its release. It isn't an easy watch, especially if you are expecting a Scorsese film like Goodfellas, but it is equally effective. The King of Comedy plays out as an edgy cultural satire and despite feeling unsettled by some of the characters motivations I still was engaged with the story. This is a unique dark comedy because it is much more restrained than others, and it isn't a comedy that will have you laughing throughout the movie, but it works in a creepy and unsettling way thanks to Scorsese's direction and De Niro's inspired performance.

This satire of our celebrity obsessed society was written by Paul D. Zimmerman and it stars Robert De Niro as an aspiring comedian who is obsessed with becoming famous. We first see Rupert Pupkin hanging around a crowd of fans outside a local TV studio where Jerry Langford's (Jerry Lewis) comedy show is taped. Jerry is greeted by his fans as he exits the show and heads for his limo, but an obsessed stalker named Masha (Sandra Bernhard) awaits for him hidden in his car. In the midst of all the turmoil, Rupert separates Jerry from Masha and the rest of the crowd. He then seizes his opportunity and ends up alone with Jerry in his limo distancing himself from the rest of the crowd who in his opinion are simply autograph hounds. Rupert then introduces himself and tells Jerry that he is an aspiring comedian and wants him to invite him to his show because he believes he has potential. In order to get rid of him Jerry politely gives him some advice and tells Rupert to send a tape of his jokes to his assistant, Cathy Long (Shelley Hack), but he recommends he start at the bottom and begin performing in small local shows. Rupert is so fixated with himself and his desire to become famous that he has a difficult time trying to separate what is real and what is fantasy. Back home he begins fantasizing about his conversation with Jerry, and now that he has gotten this far he won't stop until he gets his shot at fame.

Rupert isn't an easy character to root for considering he only cares about himself and can't take no for an answer. His presence unsettles everyone around him just like it does with us as we watch him invite himself to Jerry's country home or as he insists on meeting with him in his studio. Scorsese does a great job with this film creating this unsettling and disturbing atmosphere. Jerry Lewis gives a much more restrained performance and it is very different from the quirky roles we've seen him play before. In a way he's just playing himself and that is why he is so believable in his Johnny Carson like role. Sandra Bernhard's performance divided critics as some considered it to be over the top, but I thought she was great considering this is a satire of our culture's obsession with celebrities and fame. I thought the ending of this film was also perfect and very poignant. There are two ways you can read into the ending (since Rupert fantasizes so much it is hard to separate that from reality) but if it really played out the way it's presented at the end I thought it was a powerful critique of how we as a culture value success and fame over morality. It was a very satisfying ending and I really enjoyed this film.

My Review: The Wolf of Wall Street (9/10)

"My name is Jordan Belfort. The year I turned 26, I made 49 million dollars, which really pissed me off because it was three shy of a million a week."

How do you begin to write a review about a film that has so much things to comment on? The Wolf of Wall Street is an overblown energetic and hilarious film about these egocentric, greedy, immoral stockbrokers that we are supposed to hate, but ultimately end up rooting for because we have spent so much time laughing with them. These guys make Gordon Gekko from Wall Street look like a saint. Martin Scorsese is a genius; he can basically direct any movie he wants to and make it appealing. This is his follow up to Hugo (which was a brilliant family film) and he takes a 180 degree turn here with The Wolf of Wall Street and makes a comedy about these egocentric rich characters who have no moral boundaries, who spend their time getting high, objectifying women, and which should have been rated NC-17 because their excesses are constantly repeated over and over again on screen.  Many people criticize the fact that it's so long and overblown, but I think that's exactly the point Scorsese is trying to get across by repeating their excesses and debauchery. If there is one word I'd have to use to describe this film it'd be energetic. The film is so energetic and you get it through each one of the brilliant performances in the movie. This is a filthy dark comedy, but one that will stick with you and have you question yourself for having rooted for these characters. I understand the comparisons with Scorsese's Goodfellas in that the characters wrongful behavior is what we become attracted to and makes the film so edgy. I'm not supposed to root for these guys, they are the villains, they do terrible things, we are all their victims, but then why do we want them to get away with what they're doing? These are all questions that only begin to come up long after the credits have rolled and eventually you realize that these guys deserved far worse punishment and got away too easy (but wait that is what really happened with all these Wall Street stockbrokers that almost ruined the country), and that is why Scorsese is such a brilliant director because he is so subtle in getting his message across and does so in such an energetic and funny way.

The screenplay was adapted by Terence Winter from Jordan Belfort's autobiographical book about his rise to becoming a millionaire as a Long Island penny stockbroker. At age 22, Jordan (Leonardo DiCaprio) received early training from his boss Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey) and eventually gets a stockbroker license, but the company melts down on his first day and he's left in the streets again. His wife, Teresa (Cristin Milioti), recommends him a job at Investor Center, which happens to be a very unprofessional small establishment that only deals with penny stocks, but has incredibly high commissions. Jordan is a natural and pitches sales so well that he rises to the top easily again. One day a neighbor named Donnie (Jonah Hill) comes up to him and asks him how he makes so much money, which leads him to decide to get into stocks and work for him. The two find a garage and set up their own business bringing along some of their friends: Robbie (Brian Sacca), Alden (Henry Zebrowski), Chester (Kenneth Choi), Nicky (PJ Byrne), Toby (Ethan Suplee), and Brad (Jon Bernthal). Jordan teaches them how to pith the sales and over the years the company grows at a very high rate and even gets marketing from Forbes Magazine where Jordan is nicknamed as the Wolf of Wall Street. These guys don't care about their clients and will tell them anything just to make a sale, and do a bunch of illegal things along the way which eventually gets them into trouble with the law, specifically FBI Agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler) who begins to follow their every move. Along the way in the midst of all the parties, sex, and drugs, Jordan falls for the beautiful Naomi (Margot Robbie) and eventually divorces his wife and marries her. The film continues to follow Jordan's excesses as he becomes more and more addicted to drugs, the most powerful of all being money.

Scorsese makes several great statements in this film about the world of Wall Street, similar to what he did with the gangster world in Goodfellas. He doesn't shy away from their egocentric world portraying numerous scenes where the characters are getting high, having sex, and getting rich at expense of the rest of the world. He also makes it clear that money is the most dangerous and addictive drug of all, and these men don't know where to draw the line. There are several scenes that truly stood out for me like the scene where Mark teaches Jordan what the business is really about, or when Jordan and Donnie meet for the first time, or when Jordan meets with Agent Dunham in his yacht. In the midst of all the crazy debauchery, these small conversation scenes work so well giving the characters more depth. There are also hilarious scenes like the one where Jordan and Donnie suffer from a delayed drug side effect, mixed with some very dark scenes as well like when Jordan has a huge fight with Naomi portraying him at his lowest point. The performances in this film are also incredible, Leonardo DiCaprio gives his best and funniest performance to date, the scenes where he gives his employees pep talks are mesmerizing, Jonah Hill is also at his best and has some extremely funny and insane scenes, they both truly deserve Oscar nominations for their work here. Matthew McConaughey is no longer a surprise, he has been exceptional in his latest films, but he has a very small role here, Margot Robbie gives an outstanding performance in a world where females are completely objectified, Rob Reiner is funny as Jordan's father, and finally Kyle Chandler also stood out for me as the only character who seemed to be morally incorruptible. They all bring so much energy to this film making the three hours go by fast despite being overblown and repetitive.

My Review: Hugo (10/10)

¨Maybe that's why a broken machine always makes me a little sad, because it isn't able to do what it was meant to do... Maybe it's the same with people. If you lose your purpose... it's like you're broken. ¨

Hugo is a beautiful film that works really well as a love letter from Martin Scorsese to all movie buffs, especially those who are fascinated with its history and origins. Hugo is a family film, but Martin introduces a bit of history so that everyone can become familiar with how it began. It`s like a film history lesson made in a very entertaining way. There are several funny scenes that kids will enjoy (mostly the scenes with the inspector chasing after Hugo), while there are also several serious and beautiful moments which serve as a homage to film history. Hugo works as sort of a poem and it is just marvelous to look at and listen to. I loved every second of this movie and every scene was so rich in meaning and just beautiful to look at. The use of 3D in this movie is just spectacular and I think Scorsese has used it better than any other film to date (including Avatar). This is Scorsese’s first film in 18 years that gets a PG rating, it’s his first time working with 3D, and it also is the first time in twelve years that he`s worked without Leonardo Di Caprio. That is a lot of firsts for a film that is done in such a marvelous matter. This is one of the best films of the year and it deserves every single one of its five Oscar wins. The visuals, the sound, the story, and the cast are all excellent in this wonderful movie and it`s really worth the price of admission. By all means pay the extra fee to see this film in 3D because it is well worth it. Scorsese knows his film history lesson and he really pays a beautiful homage to those early films which he has worked so hard to make sure get restored and saved.

The story takes place in a train station in Paris where twelve year old Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) lives on his own hiding and running from the Station Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) while making sure all the clocks in the station work. Hugo is on his own because his father (Jude Law) who was a clock maker and worked at a Museum died in a fire. All Hugo has left is a broken automaton that he was trying to fix with his father. Hugo believes that this automata holds a message from his dead father, therefore he works endlessly to try to find the right pieces to fix it. Hugo survives by stealing from the different shoppers in the station. One day he is caught stealing by a toymaker named Georges (Ben Kingsley) who orders him to give him everything he has in his pockets. Georges takes a notepad that Hugo`s father had given him, so Hugo decides to follow the grumpy old man home in order to retrieve his notepad. This is where Hugo meets Georges`s goddaughter, Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz), who befriends Hugo and the two begin to have adventures together. Isabelle promises to get Hugo`s notepad back and helps him finding the missing pieces needed to fix the automaton. Isabelle also introduces Hugo to the world of literature, while Hugo teaches her about cinema. Together they discover the truth about Georges and decide it is about time he stops hiding from the past.

Hugo is based on Brian Selznick`s children book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and the screenplay was beautifully adapted by John Logan (who previously worked with Scorsese in The Aviator). Besides being a love letter to the origins of film, the movie also has a very powerful message about finding purpose and meaning in life. Like machines, people can be broken if they don`t know what their true purpose in life is. Every piece in a machine has a specific function that makes everything work, and in the same way every person has a purpose that allows life to continue functioning as planned. I really loved the performance from the two kids in this movie: Butterfield and Grace Moretz. They looked lovely together. Grace Moretz is my favorite young actress and she just has the screen presence and charisma that other actresses don’t have. Ben Kingsley was magnificent in his key role, and so was Christopher Lee. Sacha Baron Cohen was funny as always, and his character served as the comic relief because I imagine many kids getting bored if the film only focused on the Georges character. This is really a great family film and one you should see, especially if you are interesting in the history of films and how it all began. There are several scenes from early films, and I can`t imagine how any true film lover wouldn’t like this wonderful movie. It`s a masterpiece.

    

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My Review: Shutter Island (8/10)

¨Which would be worse, to live as a monster or to die as a good man? ¨

(8/10) Shutter Island has all the right ingredients for everyone to enjoy this movie. First of all, it is directed by Martin Scorsese, the guy who brought us such masterpieces as Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Gangs of New York, and The Departed. Martin Scorsese is one of the best directors and he is always trying different genres, being original, standing out, but with his classic trademark direction in every film. This time he brings us this dark suspense thriller that traps us from the very beginning and hooks our attention up to the very end. Shutter Island is based on Dennis Lehanes`s novel of the same name. His previous two novels, Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone have also been made into feature films, and are among my favorite movies, especially the first one. If those two names alone are not enough for you to want to go see this film, then perhaps this might convince you: Leonardo Di Caprio, Mark Ruffalo, and Ben Kingsley star in this thriller and give great performances. I did not have to see the trailer to know that I wanted to watch this film because I really admire each of the people involved in making Shutter Island. The weakest link perhaps is the screenplay writer Laeta Kalogridis who wrote Alexander and Pathfinder, two movies that bombed in the box office. The script does have its flaws, but the performances and the direction are what stand out in this dark thriller. The atmosphere and the mystery that Scorsese masterfully creates are worth the ticket price plus some really good performances from the lead characters make this a very enjoyable movie experience. This is not one of Scorsese`s best films, but that does not mean it is a bad movie either. Scorsese knows how to make movies and he does not fail with Shutter Island although he did take a huge risk with this film.

The movie is set in 1954 and like in all Lehane`s previous novels it takes place in Boston. U.S Marshall, Teddy Daniels (played brilliantly by Leonardo Di Caprio who seems to shine every time he works with Martin), has to investigate a mysterious disappearance that takes place in Shutter Island where an asylum for the criminally insane is located. Teddy is teamed up with Chuck (Mark Ruffalo), a Marshall from Seattle and together they have to solve the case in which a patient from the asylum named Rachel has gone missing. There they meet the psychiatrist in charge of the patients, Dr. Cawley (played by Ben Kingsley who absolutely nails his role once again) who seems to be hiding some crucial information in the case, as do most every other employees in the hospital. Dr. Cawley works alongside Dr. Naehring (Max von Sydow) who also seems very calm during the investigation. Teddy and Chuck begin to question nurses and patients but they can`t seem to figure out how Rachel has disappeared. During the investigation, Teddy has to battle with constant headaches and migraines as well with hurricane like weather, and he keeps on having visions of his dead wife, Dolores (Michelle Williams), telling him what he has to do. Torments of his troubled past begin to affect Teddy`s role in the investigation and as the plot thickens we discover that he wanted to be assigned to Shutter Island for other personal reasons because he believes some unethical treatments are taking place with the patients. This is where the puzzle begins to get more complicated for Teddy as he has to fight his own personal demons while trying to solve the case.

Emily Mortimer and Jackie Earle Haley also have small roles in this movie as patients from the asylum and do a great job. Much of the success of this film relies on the good performances from the entire cast. Leonardo Di Caprio and Ben Kingsley prove once again why they are such great actors as they make most out of a not too strong script. The story is interesting, but the script wasn`t able to fit all the pieces together as smoothly as I would have liked. Scorsese however is a master at his craft and really creates a mysterious and dark atmosphere so there are plenty of thrills and suspense spread out throughout Shutter Island. The twist at the end was kind of predictable, but it didn`t affect the outcome of the movie as it hooked my attention from the very beginning. Perhaps with a stronger ending I would have given it a higher grade, but it is a good film nonetheless. It is worth a watch because Scorsese and Di Caprio are back together again doing what they do best, even though this is not their best effort it is still better than most other thrillers that have come out recently.