[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

Sure, but when did Hollywood last produce an intelligent scewball comedy? Of course it can't be compared with The Wire but in its own way it's further illustrating how Hollywood's TV is continually out-doing its movie one.

Yeah i think tv is going through some kind of "golden age" at the moment, with a lot of talent from film going into cable shows-- not so much network tv. I'm always a couple of years behind because I don't get cable and I watch this stuff on DVD. e.g, i'm waiting for the DVD release of Treme, the latest David Simon project which currently shows on HBO, but I don't wanna pay $100/month just to watch it.

Screwball comedies ended in the 30s and the role of women has changed since then. I don't know what would be today's equivalent. That pothead movie with Ana Faris? No-- Looks like comedy is a "dude's genre" these days, in 'Merica at least. I can think of some comedies I've liked in the past 10 years, none would qualify as screwball anyway, but none of it stars a woman either. It's always goofy dudes getting into shit.

[SONIC GAIL]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

no, not THAT bad. had some very interesting moments, but frankly, I cannot take the 5'1" tall Leo DiCaprio seriously in anything.

my bro thinks he is a good actor, and he may be, but I think he is boring to watch.

i cant stand dicaprio...but he keeps ending up in some very good movies. havent seen this one yet and that is kinda why, i will break down and rent it though cause it does look interesting at least better than another night of watching cops

[SONIC GAIL]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

DiCaprio's problem isn't a lack of acting chops but a difficulty adapting physically to more adult roles. I thought he'd overcome it with The Departed (which I do think he's great in) but saw the awkwardness creep back in with Shutter Island. I do rate him as an actor but suspect that he'll have trouble finding really suitable roles.

the departed was great

[Rob Instigator]

I am sick of watching movies about gangsters or hitmen

I am sick of watching TV shows about doctors/lawyers/cops/etc.

I am sick of watching cable TV shows about lowlife criminals treated as if they were heroes, whether they are murderers, serial killers, drug dealers, whatever...

[SONIC GAIL]

ME TOOOOO

[Count Mecha]

I'm surprised there is so much Departed distaste here. I thought that movie was absolutely stellar. I'll be fair and admit I haven't seen Infernal Affairs yet, but still I thought it was a quality movie.

But Shutter Island was abysmal. I wanted to enjoy that movie alot. But ugh. Oh well, I hated Mystic River as well, so maybe I just don't like Dennis Lehane stories. I think Scorsese can still put out interesting movies. I enjoyed The Aviator, Gangs, and Departed. But his former greatness is well and past.

As for multi-character/plot quality movies. I dunno, I have pretty good memories of Gosford Park. Though I don't know if I'd call that one a masterpiece.

[ModCop]

I am really perplexed at all the hatred shown for Shutter Island, with even a guy saying that it was the worst movie he has seen in years?

Can any of you elaborate as to why exactly you disliked this film? I want to know what exactly about it has offended people.

When I went to see it I really enjoyed it, I thought it was intelligent, there was no attempt at an easy resolution of the plot. How many Hollywood movies are like that?

So what exactly is wrong with it?

[terminal pharmacy]

Originally Posted by ModCop

I am really perplexed at all the hatred shown for Shutter Island, with even a guy saying that it was the worst movie he has seen in years?

Can any of you elaborate as to why exactly you disliked this film? I want to know what exactly about it has offended people.

When I went to see it I really enjoyed it, I thought it was intelligent, there was no attempt at an easy resolution of the plot. How many Hollywood movies are like that?

So what exactly is wrong with it?

I enjoyed it too!

[terminal pharmacy]

to me the only truly bad film he has made is gangs of new york. I didn't really like the departed but mostly because the original is hard to top.

[viewtiful alan redux]

This and Gangs of New York were pure big budget 'highbrow' hollywood bullshit with esteemed names matched.
I disliked Gangs of New York more, but Shutter Island over all rubbed me the wrong way.
I don't know if it was Leonardo's acting, the lame you-see-it-coming-a-mile-away plot twist or the overly dramatic nature of the whole thing... but I just couldn't get behind it.

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by ModCop

I am really perplexed at all the hatred shown for Shutter Island, with even a guy saying that it was the worst movie he has seen in years? So what exactly is wrong with it?

My abiding memory of it is of DiCaprio spending most of the movie lighting matches in dark corridors in a role that should've gone to someone probably twice his age. It has no tension whatsoever and there are long spells where nothing seems to be happening at all.

Either way, every great filmmaker is allowed to make one real dud in their career, and Shutter Island is Scorsese's, the same as Godfather III is Coppola's. Fortunately they've both done enough good stuff for us to just pretend that both films simply never happened.

[ModCop]

I can't think of a more boring and dulling film to watch than Goodfella's. Perhaps its popularity lies in its nurturing particular get rich quick playing by your own rules fantasies that are particular to a certain type of American mindset. That's all well and good for the average prole I guess, it turned out well in the end for Ray Liotta's character, he settled down to a quiet surburban life as if the mafia scenes were all just a dream. Back to normality after having an adventure. Quite childish really, but I don't think the average American could have tolerated seeing the really ugly side to "business". They get this sanitised fantasy version and lap it up, proclaiming the director as a "genius" and a "visionary" because they appreciate someone who knows just how far they are prepared to look at reality. Taxi Driver I also found to be mediocre and much over hyped. The character is lonely and "alienated", even from himself, making it into a female murder mystery is a cop out. Gangs of New York is also forgettable.

Now back to Shutter Island, hopefully people can give me a more reasoned explanation of what their particular problem with it was.

[ModCop]

You bought the "it was just a plot twist" explanation? Yet throughout the film, in the parts someone else claims there is "nothing happening", there is a barrage of evidence that points towards the "insane" and "sane" theories. That you would actually buy the plot twist as the only possible explanation for what happened shows that you were not paying much attention.

My personal take was that it was the island itself conspiring to make him insane, and that he was acting towards the end. The ambiguity of it was what made it so masterful. This is what I appreciate in a film, a genuine push towards abstraction and into fantastically speculative territories.

Methinks some people cannot take a film that does not offer the simplistic plot resolution of the average cop show, or perhaps are too wired into that kind of faced paced style that they can't appreciate a slow and layered film that wants you to never be too sure of what is happening. The fun of a film like Shutter Island isn't simply going from A to B - he gets to the island, turns out he's mad, the end. The point is the experience of watching it, trying to piece together what's happening from the clues, those strange moments were you really don't know what's happening and all sorts of possibilities come into play. As for the remark on tension, if anything I think the film could have been even longer and slower.

[Skuj]

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

Yep, Shutter Island is one of the worst films I've ever seen. TONS of people in real life warned me not to watch it, or told me they couldn't get through it, but I was like, "Eh, it's Scorsese! It's gotta be good!" Nope. It was GARBAGE. Absolutely horrible. What was the point? I just don't understand how anyone involved in the production would honestly think that 2 1/2 hours of some asshole walking around a mental institution is compelling, in any way. It really has to be one of the most dull films I've ever witnessed. The biggest praise I've seen for this turd was people saying "Oh, it's not THAT bad." I mean, when that's the best compliment a film has going for it....... on the other hand, what did Ebert say? I'm sure he gave it 4 stars since he wrote a book on Scorsese's eyebrow hair or some bullshit.

Then again, what's the last good -- I'm talking really good -- ORIGINAL (so, not his Infernal Affairs remake) film he's even made? I have a soft spot for Bringing Out the Dead, though it really just reminds me of a poorer version of Taxi Driver, but in an ambulance. So, 1995's Casino would probably be the last really great original film he made -- and even that seems like a retread of Goodfellas at times.

10/10

Actually, I liked Departed. Shutter was no Departed.

[Skuj]

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

Yeah, he just needs to team up with DeNiro and Schrader (whose films "Hardcore" and "Light Sleeper" blow away nearly all of Scorsese's films anyway). One thing about Scorsese though... his favorite film of all time is Shuji Terayama's Pastoral: To Die in the Country, which is one of the most obscure films ever (I mean, it has like 30 votes on imdb last I looked) but really really is one of the best films I've ever seen. Dude has good taste. Or did like 30 years ago or whenever he made that statement. Too bad he doesn't use his vast fortune to actually, y'know, bring that film over here so people can watch it. Wouldn't it be awesome if it actually got, like, a legitimate release?.. Uh.. anyway... he's just some dude who can release a bunch of garbage and critics will eat his farts, free of charge, because they have respect for movies he made 30-40 years ago (wouldn't it be cool if we had more, y'know, HONEST film critics who weren't concerned with asskissing? I mean, this is not Japan, where everyone is polite and no one wants to hurt anyone's business -- they'll tear Saw 7 a new asshole because it made by some no-name, but if it's some darling like Scorsese, mum's the word until retroactively they will undoubtedly state "WHILE IT WASN'T ONE OF HIS BEST WORKS......."). He hasn't been relevant in a long time. I've watched, oh, 500 films in the past year, and I can safely say that Shutter Island was the worst. Hahaha.

On the other hand, I did watch Who's That Knocking at My Door? again recently, a film he made.. oh... 42 years ago.. and it's absolutely brilliant. Go check out that movie asap.

Fuckin love you Man.

[Skuj]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

Sure, but when did Hollywood last produce an intelligent scewball comedy?

Bringing Up Baby, I think.

[!@#$%!]

for whoever asked:

the reason i didn't like the departed was because i found it 100% predictable, as predictable as a law and order episode, it did nothing for me and i was bored watching a 90-minute cop show. ok vera farmiga was kinda hot but her character was a sick bitch, which made her less attractive. so no.

[Skuj]

Originally Posted by ModCop

I am really perplexed at all the hatred shown for Shutter Island, with even a guy saying that it was the worst movie he has seen in years?

Can any of you elaborate as to why exactly you disliked this film? I want to know what exactly about it has offended people.

When I went to see it I really enjoyed it, I thought it was intelligent, there was no attempt at an easy resolution of the plot. How many Hollywood movies are like that?

So what exactly is wrong with it?

Phoned in acting.....really shitty script......scenes upon scenes that just dragged......obvious allusions to "the catch" very early on......and a general dumbing down of everything he's done before. Never has he treated his audience like such morons.....muzak swelling whenever we are to be dictated how we should feel......fucking awful film on so many levels.

[FreshChops]

Originally Posted by Skuj

My wife forced me to watch Shutter Island. I am a good husband. I knew nothing about the film beforehand. When the credits rolled at the end, and I found out who directed this monumental mess, I was in shock. Then I cried.

I love your passion for "the cinema" Skuj

I haven't seen Shutter Island yet.... but despite all the criticism, it just kinda makes we wanna see it more. I don't expect anything special though, thanks to all the negative reviews.

[atsonicpark]

About the last mainstream Hollywood screwball comedy that was good = Freddy Got Fingered. Okay, it wasn't, er, TOO mainstream (it did make a shitload of money, though -- I, for one, saw it in theaters THREE times!), but it was just.. god... AMAZING. Genuinely funny, surreal as fuck, just one hilarious absurdity, with no gay jokes, fat jokes, drug jokes, etc. Truly the best comedy to come out of Hollywood since.. well.. I dunno... DUMB AND DUMBER?!