Movie review: "Shutter Island"

I did a stupid thing. I watched the last fifteen minutes of "Shutter Island" trough sleep. I wasn't actually sleeping, but I wasn't really awake. I was conscious enough to know what is going on, but not enough to fully appreciate it. It was not because of the movie (on the contrary, movie is very good), but I was lying under blanket with my girlfriend, it was very cozy and warm and I was sleepy. Those who watched the movie will understand how stupid my falling asleep was, and you who didn't will just have to take my word about it being a very stupid idea.

Although I don't plan to reveal any spoilers, conception of this movie is such, that less you know, the movie will be better. So think twice before reading this review.

Now, back to the movie... The movie starts with Teddy Daniels, US Marshall, meeting his new partner on a ferry to Shutter Island. Two of them are going there to investigate disappearance of a woman, patient of mental institution for violent criminals. This institution is actually the only building on the island and the ferry is only way from it. Immediately after arriving, they will start to suspect something is amiss: guards on the edge, cowed patients, sneaky doctors... But even their wildest imaginations will be far from the truth!

"Shutter Island" is very disturbing movie: atmosphere is dark and stormy and all people are very nervous. Especially patients, who look like they are in fear; some of them are deformed or show signs of physical abuse. Events in movie are taking place in fifties and scenes from WWII are very often, showing Teddy's coming to Dachau concentration camp. All this serves to make viewer a bit uncomfortable (it was a bit inappropriate to watch this movie from bed). Combine that with pictures of lobotomy, electro-shocks....

Cast is good; Teddy is played by Leonardo DiCaprio; movie also stars Ben Kingsley and Max von Sydow. Somewhere at the middle of the movie you start guessing what is going on. I had two theories, my girlfriend also two different ones; in the end, we were both very, very off. It is just this kind of the movie.

I liked this movie very much, but it is not for everybody. It is a serious and violent movie dealing with psychology, and it asks concentration from viewer.

The Shawshank Redemption - movie review

After few months, I have watched a movie for once. I like watching movies, but I like books, anime and manga more, so movies get their turn mostly when I'm at someone's house. "The Shawshank Redemption" is a movie that I planned to watch for a long time. I'm not sure is this a world-wide opinion, but this movies has something like a cult-movie status in my country, at least among people of my generation (20-30). Since I somehow missed it on TV in all these years (and it was broadcasted quite often), I already got a "You didn't watch it?!?!?" reaction few times. So I decided to rectify it.

There were some facts that I knew about the movie beforehand: that it was based on a novel by Stephen King and that it's taking place in a prison. So I expected something in line with "The Green Mile": a group of people in prison, brought together by some character with mystic powers.

After watching it, I see that I was half right. This is a movie about the two decades of life in a prison. Main character is Andrew Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins), a young and successful banker sentenced for life in the prison for double murder of his wife and her lover. In the prison, he befriends Red (played by Morgan Freeman) and some other inmates. He has it tough in the beginning, but he is an intelligent and stubborn person so he is able to overcome it. Later, using his knack for making money, he is able to ensure a better life for himself and his friends. Ending was really surprising for me.

It is a very good movie, but I didn't find it as great as I expected. There were few very touching moments in the movie and I rooted for main characters during the whole movie, but it's not a movie to left me wondering and contemplating about it for days after watching. If I watched this 10 or 15 years ago, I presume I would be much more impressed. However, I already watched "The Green Mile" and "The Last Castle", so, for me, this is just another movie about man in prison, making friends there. It is still a good movie, with good characters, capable of surprising with some unexpected plot twist.

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I've been reading "20th Century Boys" manga for last week or so. I have one more volume to read, so I will be posting a review about it very soon.