The Movie Diary

So, this weekend I watched a couple of movies (as always). I actually watch an average of one movie a day. I really love the art of film and am really hooked on killer dialogue, intricate plotting, and great character development.

Shutter Island, which we have been waiting to see for months, has almost NONE of that.  Leonardo DeCaprio is a terrific actor, but he had a really obvious story in this one. I mean, it was so easy to figure out the plot from early on that it made the movie rather boring. It wasn’t frightening. It was sad.

The dialogue was eh… just eh…

But it was all about character. I just don’t think they presented any of them well enough to make it less boring. I couldn’t wait to leave the theater and that’s not usually how I react to a Scorsese film.  I mean, I love him in the gansta genre, but this just wasn’t up to par. I’m sure others will disagree with me, but let’s match I.Q.s, OK?  The plot was so frickin’ obvious that it pissed me off.

On the other hand, I watched a movie on HBO yesterday morning that was pretty terrific! It’s one of those pleasant surprises that you don’t expect. In fact, I never watch films on Sunday morning, and really hadn’t planned to take a couple of hours out of my morning, but hey…

Have you seen The Taking of Pelham 123? It’s great! I thought the old version was a good film, but Denzel Washington is just a great actor. I don’t think I’ve seen him in a film I hated. He really made his part in this film too, and the character could have been mundane. Nope. Denzel made it interesting.

Travolta was great, too. You couldn’t always say that about him, but he’s certainly grown as an actor over the years. His performance was smart, even a bit funny, in what could otherwise have been a very intense, violent film. He made interaction with all the characters, but especially Garber, interesting to see.

The dialogue wasn’t scintillating, as it was in a film like Dangerous Liaisons, for example, but it worked for the type of film it is. And there were total plot holes. A kid on the subway train has a computer that he links to video chat with his girlfriend. He’s in a subway tunnel and they admit there’s no cell phone signal. So, how in hell did he get on Wi-Fi? Maybe the subway system in NY has that? I wouldn’t know since I’ve never been on a NY subway, but it’s always possible.

The characters are really what made it the film — even the supporting cast was very good, and the story was not predictable. Even though I’d seen the old version, it kept me in my chair until the end. So, I ended up losing a chunk of time out of my day, but know what?

It was totally worth it.

Check that film out, and leave Shutter Island behind. Catch it on HBO. It’s not worth the ticket.

Shutter Island gets 1 star to Pelham’s 4.