Shutter Island: Hitchcock-inspired, Moeller-approved
by: R.J. Moeller
My favorite director is Alfred Hitchcock. No one told a story on the silver screen quite like "old Hitch." I especially love Vertigo, North By Northwest, and Notorious. Hitchcock mastered the psychological thriller, loved setting his stories amidst grandiose backdrops and landscapes, always paid great attention to detail, and usually crafted tales about characters who get caught up in things beyond their control.
Martin Scorsese is a legendary director in his own right, and although I am not very fond of his obsession with making ultra-violent films, his latest effort Shutter Island, is an effective homage to the greatness of Hitchcock.
As your eyes could tell you from the trailer, Leonardo DiCaprio stars in Shutter Island and does a fantastic job.
It's 1954 (the year Hitch's classic Rear Window was released), and U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels (Leo) has been called to investigate the disappearance of an inmate at an island mental hospital for the criminally insane called Ashecliff off the coast of Massachusetts. Teddy's got his new partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) along for the investigation, but upon arrival, it becomes apparent to the characters (and audience) that something is not quite right on Shutter Island.
The prison guards are abnormally fidgety, the Marshals are both asked to turn over their firearms (something no federal agent typically has to do), and there is absolutely no trace of the woman who allegedly escaped. The man running things on Shutter Island is Dr. John Cawley, played exquisitely by Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley, who seems to be thoroughly disinterested in actually helping Teddy and Chuck piece the clues together.
Due to forces beyond their control (a hurricane-like storm that hits the island), the two detectives are stranded overnight and we begin to learn more about Teddy's back-story and what really brought him to the island.
Before becoming a Marshal, Teddy was a soldier in WWII and was personally there for the liberation of the concentration camp at Dachau. He is plagued by the senseless death and destruction he witnessed in Europe. To compound his own emotional health issues, Teddy is a grieving widower. His wife, he claims, was killed in a fire that ravaged the apartment building the two of them had lived in back in Boston.
We learn Teddy requested the assignment to Shutter Island because he believes two key things: First, that the man who started the fire that killed his wife is imprisoned somewhere on the island. And second, that Nazi-like medical and psychological tests are being conducted on the criminally insane housed there. He wants to both confront the killer of his beloved deceased, and gather evidence against the doctors he believes are torturing the patients.
Twists and turns in the story abound from there.
I don't want to give away much more about the plot of Shutter Island. It's a compelling script with superb acting performances turned in by almost every major and minor character. The music was disturbing and perfectly set the mood for the entire film (another Hitchcock special). The psychological twists and turns absolutely keep you on your toes, and as soon as the credits role you will likely feel compelled to start your own group therapy session in hopes of figuring out what exactly just happened over the previous two hours and seventeen minutes.
Shutter Island is rated R for language and intense scenes of death (mostly from shots of concentration camp victims). Do not take your grandma to this movie.
While not an "instant classic" or "must see", if you like great acting, Hitchcock-like storytelling and maintaining an uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach for more than two hours, go see Shutter Island (and let me know what you thought of it if you already have).
Oscar’s Big Day
The nominees for the 82nd Oscar's were announced today, and not much changed from the Golden Globe nominations. One nice addition this year is that in the "Best Picture of the Year" category, they actually included movies that people have seen.
1. Best Picture: "Avatar," "The Blind Side," "District 9," "An Education," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," "A Serious Man," "Up," "Up in the Air."
Never one to miss an opportunity to put his hair-plugs in his mouth, here's Vice President Joe Biden's take on the Oscar's:
I absolutely loved District 9, and am rooting for Quentin Tarentino's WWII epic Inglourious, but I'm guessing that The Hurt Locker will win.
Why do I guess this? Because the Academy cannot resis making a political statement and this movie (which I've seen and enjoyed) shows soldiers suffering emotional trauma in (and after getting home from) Iraq.
All I know is if Avatar wins the Best Motion Picture of 2009, I will never pay attention to the Oscars again. I get it...the movie looked cool. The script was abysmal and the dialogue beyond cheesy. Plus Ana Lucia from LOST was in it, and I dislike that actress (Michelle Rodriguez) more than I dislike shoveling heavy snow.
Avatar: Imperialistic capitalists ruin everything
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before? A guy walks into a movie theater to see the most expensive movie ever made…
Ok, so I don’t have a witty joke to share here, but I do have some words of advice for you before you see the newly released James Cameron epic Avatar. (For more in-depth reviews, click here.)
First, leave all of your positive feelings about free market capitalism and American exceptionalism at the door.
Forget the fact that the dazzling movie you will be seeing is made with technology made possible by the competitive, productive, liberty-soaked forces of the same free market enterprise that James Cameron will be caricaturing, distorting, and criticizing. Also try and forget that only in a society fueled and funded by free market capitalism can people afford movie tickets north of $10 to watch capitalism disparaged at every animated turn.
The bad guys in Avatar are of course the soul-less, penny-pinching stooges of some intergalactic corporation named RDA. The list of stooges includes mercenary soldiers who, I'm sure purely by coincidence, throughout the movie employ Bush/Cheney-like terminology and strategy. These Blackwater wannabe's work for RDA partly for the paycheck, but mostly for the chance to murder the indigenous population of the planet they’re working on.
That planet is named Pandora, the indigenous people are the Na'vi, and the highly-prized natural resource the evil corporation is on Pandora to drill for (unobtainium) just happens to be right under the Na'vi’s ancestral home.
Second, don’t learn anything about the history of the United States above what you were taught in public school history and English classes before venturing off to the enchanted world of Avatar.
In fact, you’d do well to first go rent and watch both Pocahontas and Fern Gully as refresher courses of all the “facts” you accumulated in K-12th regarding the historical and sociological narratives of Native Americans over the past 400 years. Just remember that all people who have “lived off the land”, worshiped a pantheon of pantheistic gods, and used inferior technology and weaponry than their enemies were not only more interesting than you and your civilization – they were probably better human beings as well.
Third, repeat to yourself (at least 30 times before entering the theater), “Style over substance. Style over substance.” This will be super easy to remember, because it was this type of thinking that gave us our current Commander-in-Chief.
Fourth, in order to prepare for the awkwardness of cliché-ridden dialogue throughout the entire movie, ask your friend who is breaking up with his or her significant other to let you sit in on their “calling it quits” conversation. Building up good wincing muscle endurance would be ideal prior to subjecting yourself to a script that not even Al Gore could get the world to believe was worth saving.
Lastly, and with all of that said, Avatar is a visually stunning film. Some of the battle scenes are unlike almost anything I’ve ever seen. For all of its many plot and thematic faults, by the end of the movie I was entertained and pretty happy I saw it. There is minimal cursing, one brief scene of sensuality, and most of the violence was, in my mind at least, negated by the fact that the people engaging in it are 8’ tall blue dudes (and dudettes).
Warning: I did not get to see Avatar on IMAX, but have heard that it really makes it worth the 2 hours and 40 minutes to invest (at least) $12 for the bigger screen and sound.
Let the rest of us know what you thought of Avatar by clicking “Comments” below and sharing your take on it.
The Road: Dark, Disturbing, Powerful
by: R.J. Moeller
Over the Thanksgiving weekend I went with a few close friends to see The Road, the newly-released thriller from the same writer who brought us No Country For Old Men and starring Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings). Before I give some of my thoughts on the film, here is the trailer:
As Wikipedia recounts:
“The Road follows the premise from the book of the same name. An unnamed father (Mortensen) and his young son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) struggle to survive after an unspecified apocalypse and make their way toward the coast for possible food, shelter, safety, or to potentially find other survivors of the cataclysmic events. Along the way, they encounter grave struggles and hardships across the barren landscapes, with scarce shelter and resources available to them, and having to avoid bands of cannibals and other desperate gangs looking to pillage valuables and food.”
Now that may be the film’s synopsis, but the emotional reality of this story is something vastly different.
The heart of this movie is the relationship between Mortensen, who gives possibly his best acting performance to-date, and his son. His wife, and the boy’s mother, (Charlize Theron) is seen only through flash-backs and we come to learn that she committed suicide a few years before we pick up the tale. He is a broken man after losing his wife, but the contrast between his refusal to lose hope, and the hopelessness that engulfs the planet (and engulfed his wife) is stark and powerful.
The boy, his son, has literally and figuratively become his reason for getting out of bed each morning in this gloomy, depressing, dangerous world he finds himself in. The father continually reminds his son to never “lose the fire” inside of him, and sees in his son’s eyes the potential for mankind’s survival and redemption.
The violence in The Road is frequent, exciting and often disturbing. This isn’t some mindlessly bloody “Slasher” flick, but many of the humans left have in fact become cannibals and the director gives us more than just a passing glimpse of what eating other people would entail. But even here, amidst the harvesting of human organs and char-broiled carcasses, there is something deeper going on. The father and his son are one of the few “good people” who refuse to eat human flesh, and another stark contrast is made between the humanity of these two and the animal-like brutality of those who have succumbed to the disgusting practice. 
This also moves the story forward in an important way because one of the looming dilemmas throughout the film is how and where the two of them will find food that never previously had a Social Security number.
There is only so much I can say without spoiling specific, key plot points, but I desperately want to communicate two important things about The Road. First, this is not a family-friendly movie in any sense of the term. There is no nudity or sensuality, minimal cursing, and no senseless drug use or coarse humor. However, as I’ve stated already, the violent and graphic scenes of human carnage are difficult to watch. The Road is for mature, adult audiences who are interested in a provocative look at what humans can be reduced to when hope has been lost.
The second, and final, thing I will say about this film is that if you do end up seeing it, watch it with more than just your eyes. Listen to it with more than just your ears. Think about the significant themes presented. Contemplate the profound “life questions” that confront you. Ask yourself why it is that this father, someone who has suffered so much, and refuses to acknowledge God (or any Higher Power), still fights to hold on to his humanity? What does the word "humanity" mean to you? Does he sacrifice for his son simply because he needs a “task” to complete to keep him going, or does he (and do you) actually know there must be a point to life, to our existence?
Many will see The Road and dismiss it for not being the mile-a-minute stimulant that something like The Bourne Identity was, or the laugh-a-minute over-indulgent comedy something like The Hangover was, but for those who appreciate Hitchcock-like thrills and Dostoyevsky-like psychology, The Road will not disappoint.
Good Movies Galore
Recently I made a list of 5 movies I consider "must-see's" and posted it here on AVITW. The nice people at a fantastic website called OnlyGoodMovies.com spotted my brief list, linked to it, and turned me on to their own various "must see" lists and movie reviews.
One big highlight from Only Good Movies was their "75 War Movies to See Before You Die" list. Check it out!
Spoiler alert: Their #1 is Patton
The Five Movies You Need To See Before You Die
I was raised by my dad to love and appreciate great pieces of cinematic history. I've often felt like I was born in the wrong generation in regards to the type of movies, music, and literature I prefer. But trust me when I say that the movies I've listed here below are worth the time of any person at any time and of any age. I saw all of these movies before the age of 12, and dozens of times since.
These are classics that actually had story and plot-lines, fantastic acting, thrilling musical scores, and cinematography that didn't require "green screens" or CGI effects.
I've not listed them in any particular order, but I will start things off with my favorite movie of all time first:
1. Ben-Hur (1959) Starring the incomparable Charlton Heston
2. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Based on the autobiography of legendary British soldier T.E. Lawrence who helped lead the Arab Revolt against the Turks during WWI
3. Doctor Zhivago (1965) Epic and exciting tale of the Russian Communist Revolution, told through the eyes of a mild-mannered doctor and the women he loved. Based on the Nobel prize winning novel of the same name.
4. Patton (1970) The definitive film on the definitive American general of the last 100 years. This movie won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Actor (George C. Scott)
5. The Bridge Over the River Kwai (1957) British soldiers sent to blow up a bridge built by British soldiers held captive in a Japanese POW camp during WWII
Watch these films and you'll be a better person.
You MUST See This Movie
Yesterday my brother and my friend and I went to see The Stoning of Soraya M. It was a powerful film from the same producers of Passion of the Christ. The story is of a woman in Iran more than a decade ago who is executed for nothing more than a rumor. It deals with the harsh treatment of women in countries ruled by Sharia Law.
This is honestly one of the most important movies you'll ever see. In case you needed an extra motivation to spend the time and money on Soraya M, just know that the government in Iran has condemned this film.
Dennis Prager wrote an exceptional column on the film and the reasons why we need to support it.
An excerpt:
How many politically incorrect movies has Hollywood made in the last generation? How many films, for instance, have depicted communist evil? Given that Communism murdered more than 100 million innocents -- in peacetime! -- and enslaved about 1 billion more, one would think that Hollywood would have made a fair number of movies depicting the horrors of communism. But aside from "Dr. Zhivago" and "The Killing Fields," I cannot think of any. There are, of course, innumerable films depicting Nazi evil -- as well there should be -- but it takes no courage to make films depicting Nazis as evil.Likewise, given Sept. 11, the slaughter of innocents around the world, and the atrocities within the Muslim world committed by “Islamists,” “Islamic fundamentalists,” “jihadists,” “Muslim radicals” “Islamofascists” -- or whatever other term one prefers -- one would think that Hollywood would have made many films on this subject. But it hasn't.
Yet, now, released as if by Providence the week after the fraudulent elections in Iran and the suppression and murder of Iranian dissidents, is a film about the nature of the radical Muslims who govern Iran. Titled "The Stoning of Soraya M.," the film depicts events based on the true story of a woman stoned to death in a rural village in Iran in 1986 for allegedly committing adultery.
If you want to understand the type of people who run Iran, see this film. If you want to understand why men and women risk their lives to demonstrate against the fascist theocracy that rules Iran, see this film.
In A Perpetual "State of Play"
Movie Review by: R.J. Moeller
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before? Powerful forces (i.e. an evil corporation) with connections at the highest level of government is embroiled in a scandal that involves , double agents, and rough-neck reporters with hearts-of-gold who have to put it all on the line so the truth can get out. Sound familiar?
If so, then you’ve either already seen State of Play , the new Russell Crowe-Ben Affleck political thriller, or you’ve seen almost any other film in this genre made since the Robert Redford-Dustin Hoffman political thriller All The President’s Men in 1976.
Without attempting to break much new ground in the realm of conspiracy tales, State of
Crowe plays the shaggy-haired reporter whose best friend and college roommate, Affleck, is a Congressman investigating a paramilitary corporation (think: Blackwater) that stands to make upwards of $40 billion in homeland security government contracts. Affleck’s character is having an affair with a - ed on his staff who is shockingly ed, and old-school investigative reporter Crowe, who once had an affair of his own with Affleck’s wife, suspects there’s been foul play on behalf of the Corp being investigated.
Chaos ensues.
There are leads to follow, old wounds to mend, and a looming newspaper -line to meet for Crowe and his femme reporter sidekick played by the painfully gorgeous Rachel McAdams. As the dynamic duo of Crowe and McAdams begin to peel away the layers of the complicated story, the writer and director take literally every opportunity possible to remind us how dangerous and icky those private corporations are, and how much safer the federal government running things always is.
RJ: Hey Hollywood, can you possibly keep saying the same distorted negative things about the military, free enterprise, and Republicans in every third movie produced in the last 30 years?
Hollwood: Yes We Can!
Oh, and there are numerous shots at non-newspaper sources of information (websites, blogs, cable news networks, on-line magazines, etc.), including a clearly out-of-place and forced dialogue between Crowe and Affleck during the film’s climactic finish in which Crowe poignantly reminds us that newspapers are where people really interested in the truth still get it.
Ahhh! We're the New York Times! The
Sorry, back to the movie.
The action/violence in State of Play comes in spurts, and is mostly of the cat-and-mouse variety, but each of these scenes do add some real excitement. Jason Bateman of Arrested Development fame and Academy Award winner Helen Miren (The Queen) are two nice additions as side characters, and overall the casting and acting were spot-on.
There is no , a handful of profanities, and some “adult” conversations about the various romantic affairs involving the main characters. The PG-13 rating is more than fair.
The only real warning I will offer is that if you suffer from what is commonly known as “Disingenuous Support of Our Troops-itis”, then you might want to bring a copy of General Patton’s War As I Knew It autobiography, or a downloaded version of John Wayne’s performance in The Longest Day on your iPod to help the spell of rage you might experience during specific scenes in this film pass.
For those of you who suffer from this affliction, you’ll know what I’m talking about when you see it. For the rest of you, enjoy the movie and be grateful you can still derive full pleasure from entertainment that subtly (and sometimes not-so-subtly) seeks to undermine your traditional, conservative worldview.
I mean it, I’m jealous. I can’t watch a Fruit Loops commercial without reading politics in to it.
While I grant State of
State of Play: Good acting. Cool idea. But in the end, a story that falls short of being great.
Enough said.
RJ’s Fool-proof Rating System:
“New Theater, Opening Night” (Charlton Heston would have Fandango-ed this one already)
“New Theater” (Worth your time and $10)
“Cheap Theater” (No rush, but better seen on a screen bigger than the one you got at home)
“Rental-worthy” (For when the movie you wanted at Blockbuster is all checked out)
“Bad” (Someone should offer a public apology for the distribution of this film)
Movie Review: Adventureland
A new feature at A Voice in the Wilderness will be movie reviews. Sometimes I'll just link to the review of a film by a trained professional that I appreciated, and sometimes I'll review the film in question myself.
To start things off, here is Michael Long's less-than-favorable review of the newly released Adventureland that opened this past Friday, April 3rd. Long writes for many different publications and websites, including National Review.
Here's an excerpt from his column:
"Miramax is marketing Adventureland using the ol’ bait-’n’-switch. Check out the poster: In big letters, right next to the title, are the magic words, “From the director of Superbad” — as in the sweet and funny but extra-raunchy Superbad, one of the most successful comedies of the last decade. As in the second-biggest money-maker (behind Knocked Up, ahead of The 40-Year-Old Virgin) from the Judd Apatow mafia.So you’d assume Adventureland is a nasty comedy with a soft center. It’s not. At least, not often enough. Adventureland is all soft stuff, meaningless soft stuff at that, with only a little comedy sprinkled in — like a Dairy Queen Blizzard where they short you on cookie dough."
What is “Mere Conservatism”?
The basic ideas, ideals, and values that generally define and characterize the central tenets of what today might be termed "modern conservative thought."
We believe that a proper understanding of history, economics, and theology leads to certain conclusions. Many of these are the same conclusions our Founding Fathers arrived at in constructing a "more perfect union."
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