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Shutter Island - 17/2/2010 10:03:15 PM   
Empire Admin

 

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Post #: 1
Another Newman review, another spoiler - 17/2/2010 10:03:15 PM   
Driver 8

 

Posts: 107
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I know there's a thread about this in feedback already, but seriously. I will now actively have to check reviews for Mr. Newman's signature, for fear of spoilers (it's in the second paragraph, by the way, for those who wish to avoid it).

(The rating is an expression of dissatisfaction with the review, not the film)

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Post #: 2
RE: Another Newman review, another spoiler - 18/2/2010 12:03:10 AM   
horribleives

 

Posts: 4183
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From: The North
 That's exactly what I was gonna say, I've been avoiding his shockingly spoiler-tastic reviews some time now, especially since he gave away virtually the entire plot to Mega Shark Vs Giant Octopus.

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Post #: 3
Outstanding film. - 21/2/2010 7:43:22 PM   
Rich Empire

 

Posts: 898
Joined: 6/12/2005
From: London
 I saw Shutter Island last night. Great film, truly 5 stars.
In my opinion it's Scorsese's best modern film. I preferred it to The Departed (seeing as it wasn't a remake).
This should have been his Oscar "hand out" film.
The cast are brilliant, Leonardo Dicaprio is incredible as the lead, but the rest of the cast keep up the high quality of the film right the way through.
Some of the CG shots could have been completed better to be fair, but it doesn't take away any of the magic of this film.
Hard boiled and beautiful.
This is the Scorsese I know and love.
Go see it.
I can't wait to see it again.

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Post #: 4
pffft - 22/2/2010 7:54:10 PM   
7eke


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IDIOT

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Post #: 5
- 24/2/2010 10:36:40 PM   
TheGodfather


Posts: 5100
Joined: 21/10/2005
From: Sin City
 Saw it last saturday. this is my review:

And my long overdue piece on Shutter Island:

Shutter Island
US Marshals Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) go to the psychiatric institute Shutter Island to go research the missing of one of the patients. From the moment they arrive strange, unexplainable things happen. It goes from bad to worse and Daniels and Aule get resistance to do their job more and more. Does Daniels really start to see things that aren`t there? Does he go crazy himself, or is he imagining things?

After the release of the trailer we all thought: "the trailer gives away the whole film, after seeing the trailer we already know how to piece it together." It`s credit to Scorsese that that surely isn`t the case.
Shutter Island turns out to be an unpredictable film as they come. The line between reality and Daniels` thoughts is thin and crossed more than once. He plays with time, with the truth and with the audience.
You have to stay focussed at all time, it`s not a film that allows you to let you guard down. Scorsese asks, no forces his audience to pay attention because the smallest detail is of the biggest importance in cracking this mystery.
The story is great and smart and can be interpreted in many different ways. It`s all up to your own view as to how the outcome to the film is for you.
A true mindfuck.

Not only the story is strong, the art direction, the effects and the camera work are mouthwatering.
In the art direction is paid attention to everything, from costumes to the set designs and the attributes that are visable.
The effects are gorgeous. Especially the dream sequences from DiCaprio are beautiful.
Cinematgraphy is from the highest livel. The film is filled with great compositions, strange angles from wich is filmed and references to old films that Scorsese himself loves (the spiral stairs scene from Powell & Pressburger`s The

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Post #: 6
RE: - 7/3/2010 2:48:20 PM   
Kilo_T_Mortal


Posts: 13521
Joined: 30/9/2005
Powerful and disturbing, shutter island is a creepy, thoughtful sucess. De Caprio is fantastic as are the rest of what is probably one of the best casts assembled in recent memory. I thought Ruffalo a bit light weight but it's difficult to tell whether its his acting or the way Scorsese wants him to play it.

The film is hard to comment on as there are so many little details that I want to describe but are hard to as its a film best watched with very little knowledge of the plot before hand.

Go see it. Loved the ending.

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RE: - 7/3/2010 3:12:22 PM   
Deviation


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From: Enemies of Film HQ
quote:

ORIGINAL: TheGodfather
Powell & Pressburger`s The


I knew he would reference them or use them for an influence, I KNEW IT!


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quote:

ORIGINAL: Dpp1978
There are certainly times where calling a person a cunt is not only reasonable, it is a gross understatement.

quote:


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I really wish I could go down to see Privates

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Post #: 8
RE: Shutter Island - 8/3/2010 2:57:19 AM   
spamandham

 

Posts: 481
Joined: 27/11/2008
No particular critique of the ridiculously clichéd, predictable ending then? SI loses two stars for that alone. It's so obvious that a blind man can see it coming. From the moon. From fifty years ago.

2/5

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Post #: 9
My favourite Scorsese film - 8/3/2010 9:07:40 AM   
monkeyhumour

 

Posts: 254
Joined: 12/2/2006
Because it's his most surreal

Rich, Rewarding, Disturbing, Brilliant Cinema
The first truly great film of the new decade!
The cast are all exceptional. Williams, Kingsley, Ruffalo many other great ones
This is Leos finest hour :)

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Post #: 10
- 8/3/2010 10:39:21 AM   
Ross McMillan

 

Posts: 2
Joined: 9/5/2006
Pretty crap. Dicaprio´s performance was good though. It seems people have to say its good because its Scorsese, the same with Clint Eastwood these days

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Post #: 11
- 8/3/2010 10:39:22 AM   
Ross McMillan

 

Posts: 2
Joined: 9/5/2006
Pretty crap. Dicaprio´s performance was good though. It seems people have to say its good because its Scorsese, the same with Clint Eastwood these days

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Post #: 12
RE: - 9/3/2010 12:31:29 PM   
the sangypange


Posts: 864
Joined: 18/11/2006
From: plymouth
 really good, great performances all round,  especially Di Caprio and Ruffalo, seems like the director had a great time making this movie as the pace just zips along and keeps you engrossed throughout.
4.5/5 but this may change, honestly think over time that this movie will get more recognition than the Departed.


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Post #: 13
TV Spot trailers - 10/3/2010 10:24:28 PM   
stephenhinton


Posts: 18
Joined: 22/2/2009
As anyone seen the TV trailers at the start if them it says from the direct that brought you Taxi Driver, The Departed, Goodfellas and all the other great Scorsese films. It's like the studio are worried (and this happens quite a lot these days) that the film can't sell itself and are relying on the directors reputation. Also it has been delayed on numerous occasions, I am still looking forward to watching it though.

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Post #: 14
RE: TV Spot trailers - 12/3/2010 6:46:02 PM   
KnightofZyryab


Posts: 5767
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Compelling from start to finish, brilliantly crafted by Scorsese with a superb central performance from Di Caprio.

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Post #: 15
RE: Shutter Island - 12/3/2010 8:01:40 PM   
R W

 

Posts: 268
Joined: 23/6/2006
Director: Martin Scorsese
Screenwriter: Laeta Kalogridis
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Max von Sydow, Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson

Synopsis
Set in 1954, U.S. Marshals Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Ruffalo) is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island.

Review
When it comes to the body of work by Martin Scorsese, you know that some of his films star Robert De Niro and thus a beautiful friendship shined through twenty-plus years of cinema. With the De Niro/Scorsese collaboration ending with Casino, Scorsese would find a new pet in the future and that pet being Romeo himself as they have now done their fourth outing.

Based on the bestselling novel by Dennis Lehane, this is quite the departure for the two collaborators as they are entering the field of horror, although the director did somewhat tackled that genre with his unremarkable remake of Cape Fear. However, what Scorsese has done here is a detective story with psychological elements and atmospheric horror.

As being a detective story, the first half of the film is very talky as the narrative focuses on the two marshals visiting various locations within the island and interviewing the nurses, doctors and even the criminally insane. This might make the audience to lose their patience as it does drag, but if you stick with it the film goes into darker territories.

The triumph of Laeta Kalogridis’s screenplay is its focus on the protagonist, whose reasons of doing the investigation are personal and eventually he suffers both nightmares and hallucinations from the past, filled with death and vengeance. Teddy’s time on the island, which itself is a mystery, unleashes these visions and enters a journey of madness.

When I first saw the trailer to this, I was surprised by the images it provided as they seem unlike anything from a Scorsese picture. However, like many great Scorsese films, Shutter Island is a well-edited piece as well as providing a soundtrack from various artists, although in this case the music is very classical and could blend successfully with gothic horror.

Leo may look good with an opened shirt and a gun or just snogging the hell out of Kate Winslet but if you are looking for the complete opposite, this is where Leo loses it. DiCaprio as the supposed hero is somewhat unnerving as his actions are not heroic and somewhat mad, which makes this a strong and physically demanding role for the actor as he is at the top of his game.

Playing Teddy’s new partner, the forever fantastic Mark Ruffalo has fine chemistry with DiCaprio as someone who seems to have a greater understanding of what is going on and becomes a more confident character compare to his boss. As for Sir Ben Kingsley playing the head psychiatrist, he is clearly doing the performance of a B-movie villainous professor in which his intelligence is sinister and his smoking pipe is his signature.

Verdict
This is may not rank with the very best of his catalogue, but it shows that Scorsese is having fun as he’s playing with visuals and actors going into weird situations.

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Post #: 16
RE: Shutter Island - 12/3/2010 9:39:55 PM   
Wilbert


Posts: 9511
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From: Dublin: Ireland
 I enjoyed this well-enough but if I didn't know Scorsese had directed it, I'd have never guessed.

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Post #: 17
RE: Shutter Island - 12/3/2010 10:22:34 PM   
adambatman82

 

Posts: 11156
Joined: 15/12/2005
From: Sheffield
 Just got back from it and fully enjoyed it. Its a very different film from Scorsese, and one that reminded heavily of Hitchcock's Spellbound and Vertigo, by way of Fuller's Shock Corridor with a hint of Georges Franju too. And while I did predict the "true" story fairly early on, that didn't spoil anything for me.

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Post #: 18
RE: Shutter Island - 13/3/2010 7:03:04 AM   
demoncleaner


Posts: 2166
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Belfast
  
Cinema Heaven


Name one Master Director.


Name one that will choose to take on a plot-heavy script.


Name one.


Plot and Master Director are anathema toward one another.


Bergman does Da Vinci Code?


Kubrick does Platoon?

Scorsese is absolutely fearless. A Master without ego; without vanity. Scorsese can take on an "Aviator"...nursed by a no-mark straining hard-on of seriousness like Michael Mannn. Mr Scorsese will think nothing of stepping in and realising the inchoate dreams of a lesser director. To no acclaim.

He made the Departed because of his belief in an unsung script-writing hero called William Monahan.


Even when he wins the Oscar his friends who presented him the accolade will bemoan the notional idea that "Marty isn't making the films he wants to”.


I LOVE JOURNEYMAN SCORSESE


Journeyman Scorsese puts ALL to shame.


I love his lofty neglect of self-indulgence.


By Dennis Lehane's own admission Shutter Island is an embarrassment of pulpy nonsense. I warmed to Mr. Lehane when, in an Empire interview, he expressed his admiration of Scorsese and DiCaprio et al investing their utmost into a face-value, po-faced delivery of the material.


DiCaprio, is quite clearly, the best actor of our generation. (Should have been Norton, but what has he done?)


I grinned the whole way through Shutter Island. Its deliberate continuity errors, (defiance of that rule where you're not allowed to shoot in contrary opposite angles), it's egregious score that tells you BOM-BOM-BOM-BUH-BUM-BOM you're watching a HEAVILY stylised film. I loved every frame of it.   Anyone with an apetite for the gothic...look no further.  We're lucky Marty didn't go the whole-hog and do it in black-and-white with that twenties German expressionist shit. 

Verdict:

A pulpy, (possibly) tongue-in-cheek source novel becomes the new (quite serious) text book in American Gothic Cinema for the next 20 years or so.


5/5

< Message edited by demoncleaner -- 13/3/2010 7:31:59 AM >

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Post #: 19
RE: Shutter Island - 13/3/2010 10:28:38 AM   
TheEmpireStrikesJack


Posts: 275
Joined: 30/5/2009
A gripping, visceral experience. Truly turns a few genres on their heads someway through; second favourite Scorsese for me.

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Post #: 20
Brilliant - 13/3/2010 1:26:23 PM   
Bighousewill

 

Posts: 244
Joined: 5/12/2009
What a film highly recommended piece of cinema it really will leave you with your thoughts afterwards. I was so impressed I just sat there while the credits roled listening to the end credits song 'This Bitter Earth on the Nature of daylight. It really moved me I love that song now.

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Post #: 21
Brilliant - 13/3/2010 1:26:25 PM   
Bighousewill

 

Posts: 244
Joined: 5/12/2009
What a film highly recommended piece of cinema it really will leave you with your thoughts afterwards. I was so impressed I just sat there while the credits roled listening to the end credits song 'This Bitter Earth on the Nature of daylight. It really moved me I love that song now.

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Post #: 22
- 13/3/2010 8:44:30 PM   
Blue Ryan

 

Posts: 185
Joined: 31/7/2008
This is not the best film of all time. It wasn't trying to be. The thing is, is that this is probably one of the hardest films to rate because the tone changes every half an hour, so what you think your watching isnt what your actually watching. Although, when was the last time you ever had to watch a film right up until it's final line to understand what it is trying to say? A great film. Not Scorsese's or Decaprio's best but they are both on great form. Decaprio is incredible at playing it "close to his chest" and he is truly a great actor. Job well done

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Post #: 23
Sorry to be spoilerish.. - 13/3/2010 10:13:42 PM   
droo_face


Posts: 45
Joined: 6/7/2007
From: London UK
 But I am convinced the hallucination of the man by the fireplace was De Niro...I know it was another actor, but either they made him up to look and sound exactly like De Niro, or it actually was him and Scorsese is even fooling the audience outside of the film!

Other then that, loved it. Messed with my psyche as much as Leo's.

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Post #: 24
Best Thriller Ever!!! - 14/3/2010 2:17:04 AM   
LJFENNELL

 

Posts: 1
Joined: 7/3/2010
I know that its a bold statement to make but as far as I'm concerned it is!
It keeps you fully engaged from start to finish, amazing cinematography, epic storyline, it just always keeps you guessing!
Not really sure why Empire and some other reviewers only gave it 4 star?
I don't really want to say anything about the storyline, as if I do your experience just wont be the same!
Hardcore films fans you'll love it, if your just a casual watcher I'm sure you'll love it too but if your a bit slow with films I wouldn't watch it.
All I can really say is go into the cinema with a open mind and pay very close attention to the smallest of details!
Just watch it!!!

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Post #: 25
Shutter Island - 14/3/2010 2:52:10 AM   
WTOLLERFIELD

 

Posts: 1
Joined: 14/3/2010
An original, gritty piece of thoroughly enjoyable cinema- with many mind blowing twists and turns along the way! A nice entry to the genre taking it back to the (almost Hitchcock like) basics of thriller movies. The greatest film from the Scorsese/ DiCaprio partnership that could soon become the relationship that Scorsese and Robert DeNiro once had! The relationship in cinema that have created some of the greatest films seen to date (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, Casino). A must see movie!!!

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Post #: 26
- 14/3/2010 2:08:01 PM   
Ace Rothstein

 

Posts: 177
Joined: 8/4/2007
I really enjoyed this. Very distinctly made and beautifully shot but the film as with all of Scorsese's work is never style over substance and there are many things going on in the film. As a film about Mcarthyite America, the endemic corruption within insititutions towards those they are suppossed to serve as well as returning to more traditional Scorsese themes of guilt, masculinity and violence. But it also works well on the level of a very elaborate b- movie. The dialogue is knowingly of the period and style of other films in the 1950s and its this cine- literate sensibility which makes the film feel often very amusing amid all the intense.

It is such a shame the film it kind of missed the Oscar boat... by no means among Scorsese's greatest works, it nevertheless warrants awards recognition for its cinematography, performances and thematic depth in the guise of a B picture. It feels refreshing too to see a director tackle new territory (this could be considered a horror film in many places, certainly thematically) and crucially, Scorsese is having fun. There is a kind of great knowningness and playfulness to the film so it never feels dry or overly serious.

The cast also does stellar work. Dicaprio particularly develops upon his newly coined angry and emotionally violent persona which really begun in The Departed.But crucially, Di Caprio adds new layers and backstory to this, giving a performance that applies to the zeitgeist of the time, expertly convincing as someone who experienced the full blown horrors of WW2 and as a previously despondent and destructive alcoholic. With age, his characters only get more complex, powerful and evocative of the films that they dwell within. Other cast members such as Ben Kingsley seem to be having great fun- his dialogue and acting style expertly reflect Scorsese's playfuless, the character being invested with an obvious malevolence and somewhat endearing villianous nature familiar of classic villians of B- picture fi

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Post #: 27
RE: - 14/3/2010 3:11:41 PM   
demoncleaner


Posts: 2166
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Belfast
quote:

ORIGINAL: Ace Rothstein

I really enjoyed this. Very distinctly made and beautifully shot but the film as with all of Scorsese's work is never style over substance and there are many things going on in the film. As a film about Mcarthyite America, the endemic corruption within insititutions towards those they are suppossed to serve as well as returning to more traditional Scorsese themes of guilt, masculinity and violence. But it also works well on the level of a very elaborate b- movie. The dialogue is knowingly of the period and style of other films in the 1950s and its this cine- literate sensibility which makes the film feel often very amusing amid all the intense.

It is such a shame the film it kind of missed the Oscar boat... by no means among Scorsese's greatest works, it nevertheless warrants awards recognition for its cinematography, performances and thematic depth in the guise of a B picture. It feels refreshing too to see a director tackle new territory (this could be considered a horror film in many places, certainly thematically) and crucially, Scorsese is having fun. There is a kind of great knowningness and playfulness to the film so it never feels dry or overly serious.

The cast also does stellar work. Dicaprio particularly develops upon his newly coined angry and emotionally violent persona which really begun in The Departed.But crucially, Di Caprio adds new layers and backstory to this, giving a performance that applies to the zeitgeist of the time, expertly convincing as someone who experienced the full blown horrors of WW2 and as a previously despondent and destructive alcoholic. With age, his characters only get more complex, powerful and evocative of the films that they dwell within. Other cast members such as Ben Kingsley seem to be having great fun- his dialogue and acting style expertly reflect Scorsese's playfuless, the character being invested with an obvious malevolence and somewhat endearing villianous nature familiar of classic villians of B- picture fi


I get to say this once every 2 years...Great post

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Post #: 28
RE: Shutter Island - 14/3/2010 3:20:56 PM   
Deviation


Posts: 26908
Joined: 2/6/2006
From: Enemies of Film HQ
quote:

ORIGINAL: Wilbert

I enjoyed this well-enough but if I didn't know Scorsese had directed it, I'd have never guessed.


Kundun, the musical number in New York, New York and Last Temptation of the Christ came to mind while seeing the trailer. It's not even close to those?


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quote:

ORIGINAL: Dpp1978
There are certainly times where calling a person a cunt is not only reasonable, it is a gross understatement.

quote:


ORIGINAL: elab49
I really wish I could go down to see Privates

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Post #: 29
RE: - 14/3/2010 3:22:08 PM   
horribleives

 

Posts: 4183
Joined: 12/6/2009
From: The North
 Brilliant stuff. Scorsese's best since Casino.
Though having now seen the film and read Kim Newmans's review I'm flabbergasted that it got past the editor. What exactly is the point of telling everyone that there's a clue in the synopsis? If you know there's a twist and start looking for it it kind of fucks up the shock element when that twist eventually comes. Combine that with various other spoilers and I'd wager anyone watching the film with the review fresh in their mind would probably join the dots and work out what's going on fairly early on. Thank god I never read it. And Empire, I know he's considered seniority and that but someone, please, put a muzzle on Loose Lips Newman.

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