Shutter Island

First of all, before I saw this film(oh yes, I saw two films back to back), I went to see "Valentines Day"(worst movie in the last year or two)with people in my class so after that cheesy love fest, this film seemed like a godly piece of art. In "Valentine's Day" you don't have to think at all but you better turn your brain and attention span way up for this film you're about to read about. Martin Scorsese's new dramatic thriller has twists, turns, and moments that will have you saying, "What the heck?!" Headed by the brilliant performance of Leonardo DiCaprio and a strong effort from Ben Kingsly, get ready for the psychological thriller that is "Shutter Island."

U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels(DiCaprio) accompanied by his partner Chuck Aule(Mark Ruffalo) are being sent to Shutter Island, an institution/prison for the worst of the worst that are criminally insane. The two are being sent there to help in the search for a missing prisoner named Rachel Solando who is considered a danger to be on the loose. On the island, they are forced to give up their weapons, a dangerous hurricane is preventing them from leaving when they please, and the director of Shutter Island, Dr. John Cawley(Ben Kingsley), is being far from helpful in the investigation. Teddy Daniels is also aware that a man named Andrew Laeddis, who burned down a building causing Teddy's wife to die, is being held on the island and Teddy is intent on finding him to settle unfinished business. With patients not acting as usual, rumors of human experimentation being thrown around, and the chances of the U.S. Marshals getting off the eerie island grow smaller and smaller, Teddy will struggle to hold on to his own sanity as he tries to unravel the secrets of Shutter Island.

Now the first thing I have to say is...FALSE ADVERTISING!! Some may feel disinclined to seeing "Shutter Island" because in the trailers, they make it seem like a horror film. I assure you this film is in NO way a horror film. In fact, in my opinion, it barely passes as a thriller. It is more like a very suspenseful drama with dark themes and at times disturbing images. I would say that there is one scene that would be classified as scary and besides that the rest of the film just has a dark eerie feel. Patients act weird and can sometimes come across as scary, there are disturbing flashbacks that Teddy has, and then there are visions that aren't as much scary as much as they are crazy and eerie.

Now almost everyone loves a good mystery film because you can expect a good, surprising ending and that is the case with "Shutter Island." The film had an incredible ending and not only was the end great but the whole film kept you guessing with many theories you might have had. If anyone watches the ABC show, "Lost"(my favorite) they would know that at many times in every episode, there are several cases where you find yourself saying "What?!", "Whoa", or "This is insane" and I was reminded of those times all through "Shutter Island." The film kept me guessing the entire time.

One of the best things about this film was the acting. Of course great acting is to be expected when you see that Leonardo DiCaprio is at the lead. He portrayed his character brilliantly as a man that is struggling to hold on to his sanity on an island that he can't seem to escape. Mark Ruffalo gives a good performance as Teddy's amature partner that is willing to do whatever Teddy needs or wants. Ben Kingsly had probably the best performance behind DiCaprio as he plays the head doctor who cares and listens to his patients and longs to heal them.

After the film I talked to someone else who had seen it with me and he told me his thoughts on the message of the film and after thinking on it, what he had to say made me enjoy the film even more. All people live with some kind of despair and agony that they can't be rid of just like the inmates of Shutter Island. As people in despair, we need someone, like Ben Kingsley's character, to help us and listen to us and save us from our despair. We all need a savior.

"Shutter Island" is a great film with great acting and enough suspense to fill several thriller movies. You will never stop guessing and never stop enjoying the twists and turns and in the end...well, you'll just have to see it. I give it 3 stars out of 4.

"Shutter Island" has a running time of two hours and eighteen minutes and is rated R for some disturbing violent content, langauge and some nudity.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Theif

Over the many years there have been numerous books, films, games, etc. pertaining to Greek mythology but none of them have been quite like this. In "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," we see how the Greek gods and monsters look and act like in the 21st century. Based on Rick Riordan's best selling series, "Percy Jackson" is an action packed tale that will surely be the start of an exciting new series.

In "Percy Jackson" we are introduced to Poseidon(Kevin McKidd) and Zeus(Sean Bean) who are arguing with each other on top of the Empire State Building. Zeus's lightning bolt(the most powerful weapon on Earth) has been stolen and Zeus suspects Poseidon's son, Percy Jackson(Logan Lerman) who is known as a demi-god which means half god half mortal. Because of this, numerous creatures(not all of them being good) try to hunt down Percy to get back the bolt because if it is not returned to Zeus, a war will break out between gods and Earth would fall apart as the gods wreaked havoc among each other.

As Percy is hunted, a centaur named Chiron(Peirce Brosnan) takes him away to Camp Half Blood to train with other demi-gods so that he will be able to stand up against the dangerous creatures that hunt him. Unfortunately, right before they enter the camp, Percy's mother is captured by a minion of Hades(Steve Coogan) and Percy becomes less intent of clearing his name with Zues and more intent on rescuing his mother. Now Percy, his friend Grover, and the daughter of Athena, Annabeth, embark on a quest across the U.S. to save Percy's mother and to clear his name with Zeus.

Wondering what the gods look like in modern day New York? Well, when they're on Mount Olympus, the gods actually look exactly the same as they would in any other tale (with the exception of Hades in the Underworld.) It's when they come out into New York that we see them transform from their togas into trench coats and pants(this is a cool effect/idea.) Besides gods, there were many mythical creatures that appear in the film. Examples are minotaurs, centaurs, and even the classic Greek antagonist Medusa(Uma Thurman). While Uma Thurman's Medusa has been modernized with the nice coat and sunglasses, the other creatures like Pierce Brosnan's centaur character still seem stuck in ancient times. These different creatures that are seen throughout the film give it a "Chronicles of Narnia" feel.

Now in the series that "Percy Jackson" is based on, Percy is just going into sixth grade; however, in the film, it is clear that he is at least in 10th or 11th grade(though it is not specified; the actor that plays Percy is 17). While I agree that this was probably a necessary decision to make, it also allowed for a darker more mature film. Unfortunately, even though the film was marketed to kids, it was indeed dark and it even had strong sensual themes at times. Some creatures (primarily Hades and Medusa) will most likely frighten a young child whose parents probably don't expect that kind of eerie feel to be in the film. Other things like the Underworld (in which skulls, fire, and destruction fill the atmosphere) are are very intense scenes. "Percy Jackson" also has very sensual/adult themes in select scenes. Near the beginning, Percy's friend comes across a group of girls and he tells Percy that he must go show them love because everyone knows where that leads...WHAT! You're marketing this film to children and this is what they are seeing and learning about the hero's of the film? As if that's not enough, he's seen several other times throughout the film with groups of women. Now the kids already are seeing the hero being some careless ladies man but oh no, he also is being hit on by Hades's wife where it is implied that they are about to "hook up" with each other showing the kids adultery and more sensual themes that are unnecessary. Overall, the idea of marketing this as a kid's movie...not the best idea. In fact I think it would have been better to intensify the film and go with the PG-13 approach, marketing it to teens and adults.

The other slightly disappointing factor about the film is that though the film is based around modern day Greek mythology, the actual gods didn't receive that much screen time. This was unfortunate because some of the gods/and the centaur, Chrion, were played by the better and more experienced actors(Sean Bean, Steve Coogan, Pierce Brosnan). I would have enjoyed the film more if I would have gotten to see Zeus, Poseidon, etc. in action with their powers. The only "god smack down" was in the end of the film and that was fought between two demi-gods.

Upsides to the film...good acting, good action and adventure, creative visual scenery, and overall a good start to what will hopefully be a popular franchise. I enjoyed "Percy Jackson" a great deal and it was much better than I was expecting it to be. But for future reference, 20th Century Fox, if you want to make a kids film, don't film it with adulterous wives, fire demons, and a snake covered, decapitated head being carried around half the film. Despite, the not so smart marketing decisions, "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" still deserves a two and a half stars out of four.

"Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lighting Thief" has a running time of two hours, and is rated PG for action violence and peril, some scary images and suggestive material, and mild language.

I'm Still Here

I'm sorry that I haven't been able to update the blog with new news, reviews, etc. in some time but please remember that I am in school, sports, and other activities that take away from my free time. This past week has been packed with basketball as our team has fought our way into the District Championship(TONIGHT!!) and so I haven't had many spare moments to update the blog. However, this week I promise to have several new updates including two film reviews, a general news update, and some awesome pictures of the upcoming Harry Potter world that is opening at Islands of Adventure this spring. Sorry again for the absence of the past two weeks.

The other blog

If anyone stumbles across the V is for Venting blog...this was an attempted creation of my mother who accidentally created it under my account and name. The blog has NO connection to me or this blog.