Shutter Island.

It probably wasn't the best idea to watch this film in my current state of mind. The film is infinitely depressing, but that doesn't mean it's bad.


Mini-review:


Edward 'Ted' Daniels is a US Marshall assigned to investigate the whereabouts of a missing prisoner on Shutter Island, a mental asylum housing the most dangerous and damaged people in the United States. Daniels, however, has arrived at the asylum with some ulterior motives in mind, and finds himself in the middle of a psychological conflict which even he cannot fathom.


Shutter Island is a psychological thriller, intense to every last second. I haven't seen any other Scorsese films (well, not that I know of anyway) so I can't really compare it to anything, but I can say that some of the images in the film are eerily beautiful while greatly capturing the grim aura of the film's story. 


Be clear on this: watch this film, and you will not feel good afterwards. You may be mind-blown, but the chances are you will feel depressed. The film is very, very down-putting, but it is still extremely good. The acting is for the most part convincing, the cinematography is perfect with every shot, and the story twists and turns rivetingly although it ends up on somewhat predictable ground. 


The aforementioned ending doesn't bring down the film in any way. Although you might hope it would stray a little, Scorsese probably wouldn't be right in changing someone else's story (the film is based on a novel), and the 2 hours 15 minutes running time that leads up to it is one hundred percent thrilling.


Definitely a recommended watch, but be prepared, it is saddening, and it's a movie where you really have to think, one where the details count. 

Sick.

These potatoes are cold. The broccoli is soggy. The roast lamb oozes with toxic oils ready to ravage my body. The house is unwelcoming. The sky instills claustrophobia. I cannot take any more. I cannot take any more lies. I cannot take any more shit. I refuse to take any more. 


You think you know when someone that's lied multiple times is finally telling the truth. You are wrong. 

I await

Yet more bad news, which is getting tediously frequent. 

The Lost Generation.

So my English Language teacher showed us this video in class to display uses of intonation and pitch, and word order in syntax.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA


Mindblown.

Wrong.

Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong. You know it.

Daybreakers.

So I saw Daybreakers on the weekend. Here's a mini-review:


Ah, what a relief it is to finally see a real vampire movie, where the pale bastards get ashed by sunlight instead of sparkling, where there's no pretentious teenage girl (hold that thought - there is a pretentious teenage girl in the film, but that doesn't make her a bad, nor annoying character) aching for her emotionless dredge of a boyfriend. The relief I feel to see vampires dying by a stake through the heart again is staggering. 


In a nutshell, Daybreakers' story is set in 2019, where the world has been overrun by vampires and just about all of Earth's populace is now a blood-sucker. The existence of the human race is dwindling, with only 5% of its original population remaining, which is currently being hunted and/or farmed for blood. Edward Dalton (played by Ethan Hawke) is a 'vegetarian' vampire hematologist in charge of a project being conducted in order to find a blood substitute for the vampire race to continue its existence.


Naturally, through a sequence of coincidental events Edward stumbles across a group of humans who think they've discovered a cure to vampirism. You get the picture; just a note: the film is not predictable. 


Daybreakers is great, especially for a January release film. There's lots of blood, there's characters that you'll grow to like and hate (Willem Dafoe is particularly impressive, and Sam Neill chips in with a bloodcurdling performance reminiscent of Jack Nicholson's Joker), and the story is original, not an adaptation, not a remake, not a sequel!


The only part where the movie goes awry is the fact that the ending is so abrupt. It almost feels like the film is missing a fourth act, and just when you're expecting an epic finale, it cuts off on you, giving you that feeling you get when you turn around to grab that last slice of cake, only to discover that it was eaten by that fat guy standing next to you. 


Either way, Daybreakers is a riveting, intense ride which will provide a sigh of relief for all true vampire fans everywhere. Definitely a recommended watch-BAT.