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“Shutter Island” (2010) directed by Martin Scorsese; starring Leonard DiCaprio / Z-View

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Shutter Island (2010)

Director:  Martin Scorsese

Screenplay: Laeta Kalogridis; based on SHUTTER ISLAND by Dennis Lehane

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Max von Sydow, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson, Ted Levine, John Carroll Lynch, Elias Koteas, Robin Bartlett, Nellie Sciutto, Joseph Sikora, Curtiss Cook, Joseph McKenna and Jackie Earle Haley.

Tagline: Someone is missing.

The Plot…

1954.

US Marshall Edward “Teddy” Daniels (DiCaprio) is sent to the Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane.  Only the most violent and mentally ill patients are housed there.  The Ashecliffe Hospital sits on Shutter Island, located just outside of Boston Harbor.  The island rests high above sea level, with sheer cliffs on all sides. The only way in or out is through a number of secured gates attached to the only pier.

Just before departing for Shutter Island Marshall Daniels meets his new partner Officer Chuck Aule (Ruffalo).  Daniels and Aule arrive on Shutter Island just ahead of a hurricane that is rapidly approaching.  Daniels brings Aule up to speed.  They are there to find a missing patient named Rachel Solando.  Solando was there because she drowned her three children.  How she could have gotten off the island is a mystery.  The fact that she cannot be found on the small island seems impossible.  Daniels and Aule are there to resolve the case.

Daniels tells Aule that he asked for the case.  Daniels goes on to say that another of the insane criminals housed on Shutter Island is arsonist Andrew Laeddis.  One of Laeddis’ victims was Daniels wife who died in one of Laeddis’ fires.

As Daniels and Aule speak with the doctors and police officers on staff, Daniels begins to feel that things are not as they seem.  The patient interviews add to Daniels’ concerns.  When Daniels speaks to patient George Noyce privately, Noce informs him that the doctors are lying to him.  Noyce goes on to say that patients are subjected to horrible experiments.  Some are even lobotomized before they can speak out.

With this new knowledge, Daniels plans to leave the island and come back with support.  The only problem is the hurricane keeping all boats away.  Daniels and Officer Aule had been separated.  When Daniels asks about Aule, he is told that he had no partner.

Daniels realizes he’s trapped on the island and nothing is as it seemed. Daniels is outnumbered and outgunned. He’s got to find a way to survive and escape… from a place where escape is impossible.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

Shutter Island is based on Dennis Lehane’s book of the same name.  Both the novel and the movie get my highest recommendation.

Shutter Island is an anagram for Truths and Lies.  As Daniels gets deeper and deeper into the mystery, the weather gets worse and the skies darker.  The storm passes and the skies clear, once the mystery is solved.  Unfortunately sunny skies may not mean a happy ending.

There are subtle clues throughout the movie as to what is actually going on.  I won’t give them away, because discovering them as you watch the film is part of the fun.  There’s even more enjoyment watching the film again and seeing how everything is right before our eyes.

Shutter Island (2010) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Shutter Island” Trailer 2

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I’ve been singing the praises of Dennis Lehanne’s novel, Shutter Island for years. Publisher’s Weekly said it best: Shutter Island “carries an ending so shocking yet so faithful to what has come before, that it will go down as one of the most aesthetically right resolutions ever written.”

With Martin Scorsese directing a cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, and Ben Kingsley, each step closer to the premiere has me thinking that the movie will live up to the book’s excellence.  This new trailer is even more evidence that we’re going to be in for a great couple of hours.

Shutter Island & More

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  • Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane is one of the best novels I’ve read this year. Publisher’s Weekly said it best: Shutter Island “carries an ending so shocking yet so faithful to what has come before, that it will go down as one of the most aesthetically right resolutions ever written.”
  • Gregory Hines, the award-winning tap-dancing actor who starred on Broadway and film died yesterday at the age of 57. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends, and fans.
  • German producers who backed Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” said there could be another sequel even if he succeeds in becoming Governor of California. Does this sound like a good idea to anyone?
  • After a six year absence, James Cameron has signed on to helm a film about the extreme sport of free diving. Does this sound like a good idea to anyone?
  • Britney Spears is in talks to executive produce [but not host] her very own syndicated talk show. Does this sound like a good idea to anyone?
  • Quote of the Day: “Anybody can win unless there happens to be a second entry.” – George Adel

The 50 Best Movies of the 21st Century (so far)

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Six film critics at The Hollywood Reporter came up with their list of The 50 Best Films of the 21st Century (So Far).  Of the 50 from their list, here’s what I’ve seen and how I’d rate them…

The Hollywood Reporter

Craig
49 ‘Black Panther’ (2018) 43 ‘Grizzly Man’ (2005)
43 ‘Grizzly Man’ (2005) 41 ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006)
41 ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006) 40 ‘Summer of Soul’ (2021)
40 ‘Summer of Soul’ (2021) 38 ‘Children of Men’ (2006)
39 ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ (2016) 05 ‘Mulholland Drive’ (2001)
38 ‘Children of Men’ (2006) 39 ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ (2016)
15 ‘The Power of the Dog’ (2021) 04 ‘Zodiac’ (2007)
10 ‘Get Out’ (2017) 15 ‘The Power of the Dog’ (2021)
05 ‘Mulholland Drive’ (2001) 10 ‘Get Out’ (2017)
04 ‘Zodiac’ (2007) 49 ‘Black Panther’ (2018)

The Hollywood Reporter article got me thinking.  I decided to list my Top 50 movies for the 21st century.  It was harder than expected.  They are listed in alpha order after giving the top spots (again in alpha order to the Sly Stallone films that I included).  Any surprises?  Any great films that I missed?  Take a look and let me know.

Craig’s Top 50 for the 21st Century (So Far)
*** Creed (2015) Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
*** Expendables, The (2010) Man on Fire (2004)
*** Get Carter (2000) Meet the Parents (2000)
*** Rambo (2008) Mist, The (2006)
*** Rocky Balboa (2006) No Country for Old Men (2007)
28 Days Later… (2002) No Sudden Move (2021)
300 (2006) Open Range (2003)
Apocalypto (2006) Patriot, The (2000)
Army of the Dead (2021) Pitch Black (2000)
Atomic Blonde (2017) Predators (2010)
Bad Boys II (2003) Reign of Fire (2002)
Baby Driver (2016) RRR (2022)
Babylon A.D. (2007) Rundown, The (2003)
Black Panther (2018) Shutter Island (2010)
Blade II (2002) Sicario (2016)
Bone Tomahawk (2015) Sin City (2005)
Dawn of the Dead (2004) Stepbrothers (2008)
Extraction (2020) Taken (2008)
Faster (2010) Top Gun: Maverick (2023)
Frailty (2001) Town, The (2010)
Get Out (2017) Train to Buscan (2016)
Gladiator (2000) Training Day (2001)
Hotel Artemis (2018) True Grit (2010)
John Wick (2014) / John Wick 2 (2017) /John Wick 3 (2019) Way of the Gun (2000)
Lockout (2012) World War Z (2013)

Michael Bay’s “Ambulance” – The Second Trailer is Here!

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Whoo-hooo!  Hold on for Michael Bay’s Ambulance – the second trailer is here!  Count me in for the ride!

Over one day across the streets of L.A., three lives will change forever.

In this breakneck thriller from director-producer Michael Bay, decorated veteran Will Sharp (Emmy winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Candyman, The Matrix Resurrections), desperate for money to cover his wife’s medical bills, asks for help from the one person he knows he shouldn’t—his adoptive brother Danny (Oscar® nominee Jake Gyllenhaal, Zodiac, Spider-Man: Far From Home). A charismatic career criminal, Danny instead offers him a score: the biggest bank heist in Los Angeles history: $32 million. With his wife’s survival on the line, Will can’t say no.

But when their getaway goes spectacularly wrong, the desperate brothers hijack an ambulance with a wounded cop clinging to life and ace EMT Cam Thompson (Eiza González, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Baby Driver) onboard. In a high-speed pursuit that never stops, Will and Danny must evade a massive, city-wide law enforcement response, keep their hostages alive, and somehow try not to kill each other, all while executing the most insane escape L.A. has ever seen.

Ambulance is produced by Michael Bay, p.g.a., Bradley J. Fischer, p.g.a. (Zodiac, Shutter Island) for New Republic Pictures, James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, 2022’s Scream) and William Sherak (Ready or Not, 2022’s Scream) for Project X, and Oscar® nominee Ian Bryce (Transformers franchise, Saving Private Ryan).

The screenplay is by Chris Fedak (Prodigal Son, Chuck), based on the original story and screenplay for the 2005 Danish thriller Ambulance by Laurits Munch-Petersen and Lars Andreas Pedersen.

“Ambulance” – The Trailer is Here!

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Michael Bay is back and it looks like he has a winner!  After seeing the trailer for Ambulance sign me up for a ride!

Over one day across the streets of L.A., three lives will change forever.

In this breakneck thriller from director-producer Michael Bay, decorated veteran Will Sharp (Emmy winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Candyman, The Matrix Resurrections), desperate for money to cover his wife’s medical bills, asks for help from the one person he knows he shouldn’t—his adoptive brother Danny (Oscar® nominee Jake Gyllenhaal, Zodiac, Spider-Man: Far From Home). A charismatic career criminal, Danny instead offers him a score: the biggest bank heist in Los Angeles history: $32 million. With his wife’s survival on the line, Will can’t say no.

But when their getaway goes spectacularly wrong, the desperate brothers hijack an ambulance with a wounded cop clinging to life and ace EMT Cam Thompson (Eiza González, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Baby Driver) onboard. In a high-speed pursuit that never stops, Will and Danny must evade a massive, city-wide law enforcement response, keep their hostages alive, and somehow try not to kill each other, all while executing the most insane escape L.A. has ever seen.

Ambulance is produced by Michael Bay, p.g.a., Bradley J. Fischer, p.g.a. (Zodiac, Shutter Island) for New Republic Pictures, James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, 2022’s Scream) and William Sherak (Ready or Not, 2022’s Scream) for Project X, and Oscar® nominee Ian Bryce (Transformers franchise, Saving Private Ryan).

The screenplay is by Chris Fedak (Prodigal Son, Chuck), based on the original story and screenplay for the 2005 Danish thriller Ambulancen by Laurits Munch-Petersen and Lars Andreas Pedersen.

The Best Twist Endings in Movie History

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Tim Grierson and Will Leitch at Syfy.com tried to answer the question of what were The Best Twist Endings in Movie History.  They picked the following their top five:

5.  Life (2017)
4. The Others (2001)
3.   Planet of the Apes (1968)
2.  Fight Club (1999)
1.  The Sixth Sense (1999)

Their list isn’t bad but I would have included a few which didn’t make their cut.  Here are my top 5:

5.  Psycho (1960)
4.   Primal Fear (1996)
3.  Shutter Island (2010)
2.  The Usual Suspects (1995)
1.  Planet of the Apes (1968)

The 25 Best Twist Endings in Movies We Never Saw Coming

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Gem Seddon and GamesRadar present The 25 Best Twist Endings in Movies We Never Saw Coming.  Here are three of my favorites with some commentary at the end… Beware of spoilers!

16. Shutter Island (2010)
The movie: US Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) is despatched along with his partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) to Ashcliffe, an isolated psychiatric facility on Shutter Island. The pair are tasked with investigating a murderer who has seemingly vanished without a trace from within its walls…

What’s the twist? Surprise! Teddy’s not an agent – he’s actually Andrew Laeddis – a convicted killer who murdered his wife after she murdered their three children. Yeah, not a happy twist, this one.

14. Primal Fear (1996)
The movie: In the dock for a grisly murder, altar boy Aaron Stampler (Edward Norton in his first-ever role) pleads diminished responsibility on account of his split personality, a condition that causes him to veer between stammering innocent and twisted killer. That’s alright though, he’s got defense attorney Martin Vail (Richard Gere) to help him achieve justice…

What’s the twist? Once his lawyer has got him off the hook, Stampler reveals that the innocent side of his personality was mere performance. There is no “Roy”: he’s a killer to the core.

9. Planet Of The Apes (1968)
The movie: Having crash-landed on a foreign planet, gruff astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston) and his crew discover a strange society in which a group of apes has evolved into humanoid creatures with the power of speech.

What’s the twist? This strange planet is none other than Earth itself, turned into a post-apocalyptic nightmare by the greed and foolishness of mankind. The half-submerged Statue of Liberty in the last shot is what tips him off. Since then that iconic shot has made its way onto the DVD cover, so not much of a twist anymore…

Gem’s list is a good one.  There were several on it that didn’t make my list that I absolutely loved. Here’s why a few of them didn’t make my top three and why one did:

  • The Usual Suspects didn’t make my top three because it’s #1 on Gem’s list and I figured everyone knows about it.
  • The Sixth Sense is in the same ballpark as The Usual Suspects, but another reason I didn’t pick it is because I figured out the twist very early in the movie.  It was cool watching it all play out and to see I was right.
  • Se7en is a favorite of mine.  The ending was as shocking as some of the others but I love the brilliance of it.
  • Psycho is like the grandfather of twist endings.  Most everyone knows the twist before they see Psycho because of its fame.
  • I’m not a big Star Wars fan so I wasn’t shocked to find out who the baby’s daddy was.
  • I was 9 or 10 years old when I saw Planet of the Apes on its initial release.  I love the movie and the ending shocked this kid!

The Best Twist Endings in Movies that We Never Saw Coming

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Gem Seddon and GamesRadar present The Best Twist Endings in Movies that We Never Saw Coming.  The list is a great one and it was hard to just come up with three for my favorites.  Beware of spoilers!

14. Primal Fear (1996)

The movie: In the dock for a grisly murder, altar boy Aaron Stampler (Edward Norton in his first-ever role) pleads diminished responsibility on account of his split personality, a condition that causes him to veer between stammering innocent and twisted killer. That’s alright though, he’s got defense attorney Martin Vail (Richard Gere) to help him achieve justice…

What’s the twist? Once his lawyer has got him off the hook, Stampler reveals that the innocent side of his personality was mere performance. There is no “Roy”: he’s a killer to the core.

_____

 

16. Shutter Island (2010)

The movie: US Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) is despatched along with his partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) to Ashcliffe, an isolated psychiatric facility on Shutter Island. The pair are tasked with investigating a murderer who has seemingly vanished without a trace from within its walls…

What’s the twist? Surprise! Teddy’s not an agent – he’s actually Andrew Laeddis – a convicted killer who murdered his wife after she murdered their three children. Yeah, not a happy twist, this one.

_____

3. Se7en (1995)

The movie: Having worked his way through five of the seven deadly sins, serial killer John Doe (Kevin Spacey) inexplicably turns himself in to detectives Mills (Brad Pitt) and Somerset (Morgan Freeman), promising to show them where the last two bodies are hidden. As the trio reach the wasteland Doe has led them to, a delivery van arrives to bring them a package.

What’s the twist? The package contains the severed head of Detective Mills’ wife. Consumed by jealousy of the investigator’s happy home life, Doe becomes envy and kills Tracy. Mills then becomes wrath, shoots Doe in the head, and completes the madman’s sick master plan.

SZ, Lehane & More

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  • Thanks to Garth at Dark Horizons and ABKing for the tip of their hats to StalloneZone for the Sly item that appears there today! Ya gotta love that!
  • Has anybody here read Mystic River by Dennis Lehane? I’ve been tempted to pick it up [along with Lehane’s Shutter Island]. Now that the official movie site has opened, I’m more tempted than ever!
  • Jennifer Aniston is the number-one celebrity on this year’s Forbes magazine Celebrity 100 which is based on earnings and media exposure. Anyone else surprised by this?
  • Nick Nolte has made the news by saying he wasn’t using drugs during “The Hulk” shoot. It’s pretty bad when it is news that an actor is NOT using drugs!
  • Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown are set to star in “Beffy and Charlie” as musicians who are also gangsters. The film will be full of singing, robbing, and stealing. I’ll bet the theater will be empty though.
  • Mick Jagger had this to say about Justin Timberlake, “I’ve watched Justin, but every single move he does is stolen.” Hmmm… maybe Justin can get a part in “Beffy and Charlie.”
  • Kelly Clarkson isn’t afraid of “The Hulk.” Seems her movie opens the same day as the big green guy’s movie. Oh… for a minute I thought she was talking about Rueben.
  • According to this report the latest trend among teens and 20-somethings who indulge in so-called extreme body modification, is having one’s tongue cut down the middle so that it forks like a snake’s. And some people used to think that tatoos were extreme.