SHUTTER ISLAND

When I saw MYSTIC RIVER, another movie based on a Dennis Lehane novel, I couldn't understand the central conflict of the plot: we're supposed to be guessing whether Tim Robbins' character killed that girl or not? At the time, I honestly thought "What, these two detectives [Kevin Bacon and Laurence Fishburne] have never seen NYPD BLUE or LAW AND ORDER?" I could tell right off he didn't fit the profile, didn't have a motive, and what's more, why are they worried about his injured hand when the victim was shot from a distance, and didn't show any signs of contact with the killer? The movie didn't work for me.

Neither did SHUTTER ISLAND, well-made as it is. I don't even want to hint at the plot twist at the end, but I'll say this: most movie-going audiences, especially the younger crowd, will see this coming an hour away. For anyone who's seen MEMENTO, FIGHT CLUB, ANGEL HEART, DARK CITY, VANILLA SKY, IDENTITY, JACOB'S LADDER, THE MATRIX (kinda), or any other dozen less-successful takes on the whole you-can't-trust-your-narrator gambit, SHUTTER ISLAND will seem liked warmed leftovers. Which is unfortunate, since everything else about the movie is first-rate: performances, photography, set design, music--it all worked, but the story is a dud. I take no pleasure in saying that about a Martin Scorsese movie, and though I wasn't blown away by the direction, it doesn't stand out with his usual style, only passing hints.

Let me make two recommendations here. First, the kind of spooky atmosphere they achieved here brought to mind an overlooked movie from 1999, overshadowed by THE SIXTH SENSE that year. STIR OF ECHOES was a restrained supernatural thriller, with that same sense of mounting dread.

As for truly original mind-fuck movies, check out Marc Forster's STAY from 2005. That's as good a twist ending, to a disturbingly surreal movie, as any of the others I've already mentioned. If you haven't seen it, seek it out--and pay attention to the details.

Oscar Homework, 2010

So it's cram time, gotta see as many of the nominees before the ceremony on March 7th. Well, here goes:

THE HURT LOCKER

Very involving--gripping, for the most part--and yet curiously unmoving. While the whole cinema-verite style was immediate and jarring, I can honestly say that I didn't feel bombarded the way I do with most action movies. Kathryn Bigelow is one of the best action directors working today, and I hope she wins Best Director. But there's no over-reaching story or plot, we're just following this unit wondering if everyone will make it to the end of their tour of duty. It's nice that they weren't trying to layer on a lot of personal drama, but without that the characters--particularly the lead character--don't seem engaging. Vivid and immediate, but impersonal. Still a great visceral experience.

AVATAR

Everybody is complaining that the story is insipid and hippie-dippie. And it is, but it's in the service of a dazzling and imaginative fantasy. It's notable that of the nine Oscar nominations it has received, Best Screenplay isn't one of them, which is highly unusual. Not that I think it deserves to be, but nobody was criticizing UP for its story. Anyway, this is an exciting and inventive movie that people will be watching for years to come, and I think it deserves Best Picture.

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Pure Tarantino--and its greatest strength may be its greatest weakness. His genre movies all always about the movies as much as they are the genre itself: this World War II movie of his isn't about World War II, it's about World War II movies. Hell, the plot revolves around the screening of such a movie. There are some great scenes, and Christoph Waltz is the odds-on favorite to take Best Supporting Actor, but I don't think this one is likely to pick up many more, other than maybe Best Original Screenplay. I'll be laughing my ass off if this is the spoiler between AVATAR and HURT LOCKER, and Tarantino gets the Best Picture Oscar he should've gotten for PULP FICTION.

UP

This is the movie I probably have the fewest problems with, among all the contenders. It's a great kids movie, but works equally well for adults. The youngster doesn't outsmart or out-talk his elders, and not every other joke is some pop-culture reference.

UP IN THE AIR

Starts out strong, does OK, then ends weak. I like the characters, I like the set-up (I couldn't help thinking, a friendlier and less obstrusive Tyler Durden). But what's the point of this movie? To deconstruct the life and values of a man on the road? The reviews I've read all tout this movie as being a sign of our times, but I don't see that. FIGHT CLUB had a lot more to say about our cultural values.

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