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Film Review: Shutter Island

It feels like about the tenth time DiCaprio has teamed up with Martin Scorsese, and it's easy enough to see why they like working together. Scorsese's films seem to work better with the kind of intensity DiCaprio can bring to a role. Shutter Island is however a bit different, in that it's about a couple of federal agents investigating an Insane Asylum that's rumored to be carrying out experiments on it's patients.

Set in the 50's, DiCaprio plays a Fed who is haunted by his experiences as a soldier in WW2, and damaged by memories of a woman who killed her three children. But as the film develops we realize that there's a lot more going on, and that the truth is a lot more awful than we thought. Of course there's a big gothic storm, and a big gothic building, and big gothic doctors with their big gothic needles in concert with a big gothic soundtrack. And thrown into the mix are the flashbacks DiCaprio keeps having about being part of the American division of troops that first reached the Dachau concentration camp near the end of WW2. There's other flashbacks concerning his deceased wife trying to help him out. Or, is she?

It's a strong film, very dark and, well, gothic and fundamental. Ben Kingsley is in good form as the slightly odd head doctor, and Mark Ruffalo does a good job playing the partner. But the key is the big twist ending, that I won't spoil. It's a good twist, one that I feel the film legitimately earns, and of course changes everything we've seen. But in that twist any hope for redemption or a happy ending is completely lost, leaving the audience on a bit of a downer. And with a twist of this nature, there is a plot hole or two in how things shake out, and at some points you get the feeling Scorsese is trying a little too hard. But for the most part the atmosphere and the actors make things hum along nicely. Three pills out of Five.



Film Review: 9

In what could best be described as Wall-E meets Terminator, 9 tells the tale of humanity, in fact all life on earth, being wiped out following a war against artificially intelligent machines. Long afterward, amid the rubble, an odd puppet-like device awakes and begins to explore his surroundings, with the number 9 stenciled onto his back. He is quickly discovered by similar characters, each numbered, and realizes the state the world is in. The machines are still functioning, hunting and destroying anything that moves, and what's worse is a strange small device that could hold the key to defeating the A.I once and for all has gone missing.

These puppet characters, each with their own distinctive personalities and attitudes are then dragged into a desperate struggle to find the device and evade the head A.I machine and it's minions. Ultimately the film is about life, war, sacrifice and spirit. Flawlessly animated, a lot of the visuals are totally stunning, while the characters are distinctive and very authentic.

If there is one flaw in this charming film it is that it feels a little bit rushed, as if we're always in a hurry to get to the next sequence. The action sequences are amazing, but just as important are the character moments and the specter of a wasted world, full of junk. The ultimate message is one of hope amid hopelessness and the ever present threat of dehumanization in the face of technology. That it uses these strange little mechanized puppets to so strongly tell such a human story is a remarkable feat. Four springs out of Five.



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