Shutter Island

Before I even set foot into the theatre to watch this one, I was worried. There had been a slew of bad reviews given to me by friends as well as a noted push back in release date from the creators of this film, which is never a good sign. However, in the opening credits, all of my concern was simply pushed away and I was engulfed in this interesting and suspenseful drama.

The film centers around Teddy Daniels, played by Leonardo Di Caprio, and his partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo), two U.S. Marshal's investigating the disappearance of murderess Rachel Solondo on Shutter Island, a fortress-like mental institution of the coasts of Massachusetts. From the moment they step onto the island, you know they are in trouble. Doctors are giving him medication, patients are telling him to run including one who has a massive breakdown in his arms. He spends the entire movie trying to figure out where the patient has gone, while trying to keep his sanity. Or so he thinks.

Martin Scorsese has interwoven with such wonder, two different stories and keeps the audience guessing throughout the film with the final unveiling of the truth incredibly shocking and disturbing. He casts an overall shadow from the moment this film begins and almost seems to be trying to integrate film noir of the 1950's with modern day technology. Granted, he is a director that has given us many exciting and different movies that don't always follow the expected blockbuster splendor, and this one comes off as less than perfect. Individual moments are wonderful, powerhouse cameos by Patricia Clarkson, and Michelle Williams, who plays Daniels' wife in flashbacks and dreams.

The movie itself never really takes off and left me wondering why a mental hospital would need a US marshall to come and find an escaped prisoner instead of letting the police or guards take over and find them. I spent an even bigger time wondering why or how everything tied together, instead of wondering where the escaped patient was. I'm not entirely sure that Scorsese himself knew which was meant to be the focus. the movie jumps around from location to location with choppy transition and little explanation that when it's all finally wrapped up in the end, very few questions are left, but the outcome is still a little bit underwhelming.

Di Caprio delivers a fantastic performance that just adds to his body of work and each time he takes the screen, we see an actor show is growing with every performance. However this one, I feel that he didn't get to truly develop all aspects of his character due to the director. Everyone in the film talks about his violent streak and yet we never see it. Perhaps we only see glimpses of it by choice as to keep us guessing all the way up to the end. But, Di Caprio brings to life all of the nuances of a man deeply grieving and balancing on the brink of insanity.

Thought the individual pieces of this movie are phenomenal, the overall sum doesn't really add up. The entire movie feels like something is missing. Yes, all of the answers pan out. Yes, the acting was incredible. Yes the direction had a point and a purpose. But, still something seemed to be lacking. Could it be that Scorsese might be losing steam? Or is he trying to hard to deliver something out of his normal approach and give in to the expectations of hollywood? I don't know, but Shutter Island didn't disappoint, but it didn't deliver either.

(500) Days of Summer

DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE!!! MAJOR SPOILER AT THE END OF THIS REVIEW!!!

Days of Summer brings a quirkiness to the screen that is most often left to movies with lesser scripts. However, this movie follows in the vein of movies such as High Fidelity or Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, yet it somehow masters the art of the indie flick.

We get it, it's a love story, it's a story about boy meets girl, boy falls in love and boy loses girl. But the whole time, the girl never really responds back to his needs. This type of love story, if I'm not mistaken, hasn't been seen. Ever. No one ever brings to the screen the romantic story from a male point of view. Unless they're making a really awful gay movie. This movie though captures perfectly, with a knockout performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, what a man goes through to capture love and make his life better.

Levitt stars as Tom, a greeting card writer who is seemingly content with his life until he meets Summer, a newly appointed assistant to his boss, expertly played by Zooey Deschanel. From the moment he meets her, he's taken with her beauty, and as you find out, so is everyone else. Through brave actions, he finds himself dating her, though she will only ever call themselves 'friends.' We've all been there. There is only one clear thing to do in that situation; run. And of course, he doesn't, because if he did, we wouldn't have a movie to watch.

The story goes back and forth, jumping from moments of happiness, to moments of sadness, to moments of triumph, to moments of sheer insanity, all at different points of the relationship. So, you have to pay close attention if you don't want to get lost. But it's been made very easy by new feature film director, Marc Webb, who's previous work is music videos. Personally, I think that aspect ties in a nice fun flare to a romantic flick. He found a wonderful way to weave the music into the film montage and bring out the true emotion of the movie. And, naturally, he found the perfect indie soundtrack to accompany the film.

Overall, this film is seemingly perfect. Deschanel and Levitt are both perfectly cast in their roles. I found it slightly unbelievable that the movie takes place over 500 days. That's roughly 1 year and 4 months. In that time span, he meets her, courts her, falls in love with her, loses her and she ends up married to someone else. When did she have time to do that unless she was cheating on him? Most likely the case. However, that was the least of my worries with such an impeccable film. Blended with cynicism and romance, this movie presents itself as 'something for everyone.'

Grammy's in a nut shell.

For anyone who hasn't heard already, Beyonce tagged a record breaking 6 grammy's at last nights ceremony, the most for a female in the history of the awards. Previously, the record was 5, held by herself, Alison Krauss, Lauren Hill, Amy Winehouse, and Norah Jones. After delivering a powerhouse performance she cleaned up winning Best Female Vocal Performance, Song of the Year, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best Contemporary R&B Album. Is there anyone better than her? I seriously doubt it.

Lady Gaga was a major upset of the evening only pulling in 2 awards for Best Dance/Electronic Album, and Best Dance Recording both of which were not aired during the telecast. However, the show opened with possibly the best performance of the evening with one Lady Gaga and Sir Elton John singing a slight medley of Gaga and John's music while each performer sat at back to back pianos; truly a highlight of the evening and a fantastic way to kick it off. Gaga also did not disappoint with her eccentric costume choices and changes through out the evening.

In quite the most annoying turn of the evening, was Taylor Swift's win of Album of the year. Am I the only person who doesn't get it? Oh wait, no, no one really does. Sure she's sweet, cute and wholesome, and most of the grammy voters probably hope their own daughters turn out to be more like Swift than someone like Gaga, I think they have all overlooked the true talent of people like Beyonce and Lady Gaga. Swift did look gorgeous in her blue sparkled Kaufman Franco gown, but that didn't help her pull off a duet with Stevie Nicks. Probably one of the worst performances of the evening, Nicks and Swift both sounded slightly tone deaf, and Taylor acted as though Nicks was granted a huge honor of singing with her. All in all, Swift picked up 4 awards, each more annoying than the first. Especially watching her act surprised each time her name was called. However, if anyone caught it, when Beyonce beat her for song of the year, she looked super angry. Perhaps Miss Sweet and Innocent isn't so nice after all?

Another notable performance was given by Pink. Artistic, beautiful, and one that got everyone wet, literally. After she stripped to basically nothing, She was hosted up in a silk, then dipped in water and spun over the audience. In a word, it was breathtaking. She is such a gifted and talented woman, and sadly, not a single grammy won for what is possibly her best album to date. Yet, I have to wonder, if it's ok for Pink to be basically naked at the grammy's and spreading her legs, yes, we saw it all, why is it not ok for Adam Lambert to kiss another guy at the AMA's?

Green day also delivered a wonderful number with the cast of American Idiot: the musical. Singing "21 Guns," they brought the audience to their feet. Later they took home an award for Best Rock Album.

Did anyone see when Kathy Griffin lost for best comedy album? I"m slightly disappointed that she didn't run up on stage, tackle Stephen Colbert, steal his grammy, then beat him with it and delivery a speech ranking with her "Suck it, Jesus," speech. However, though she didn't win, she most likely has grade A fodder for her next stand up show.

Btw, what was up with the Black Eyed Peas? Why did their dances look like robots and then some of them looked like they had giant lips around their heads. According to Mario Cantone, they looked like vagina's. yup, at the grammy's, vaginas. For real? What were they thinking? I don't like them much anyways, they don't sing live very well and they are just plain weird.

And in the final upset, for me, anyways, was hearing that Jamie Foxx won a grammy. I spent the whole show wondering why he was even there in the first place, then I found out that not only was he nominated, but he was nominated THREE times!!! What? What world have I found myself in where someone from Booty Call would not only win an oscar, but also a Grammy? What? I am done. Between Kanye West at the AMA's, Taylor Swift and Jamie foxx winning so much, I am done. There are no longer people with taste in the world. HAHA.