Shutter Island (Scorsese, USA, 2010)

“Scor-hazy”

The highly-anticipated and oft-delayed release of Martin Scorsese’s latest film, following in the footsteps of Oscar-winner “The Departed” of 2006, couldn’t come too quickly for this reviewer. Scorsese’s work is often described as being a nearly perfect fusion of cinematographic beauty and gripping narrative, citing many to herald him as one of, if not the greatest filmmaker of his generation. So it’s understandable that the millions of people who will see this film (and rest assured, they should) will be expecting cinematic brilliance. Unfortunately, Scorsese doesn’t quite deliver with Shutter Island. The psychological thriller follows U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) as they investigate the disappearance of a female patient from the Ashecliffe Mental Facility for the Criminally Insane on Shutter Island, nestled just beyond the horizon from the bay of Boston, run by the illusive, gentlemanly yet darkly sinister Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley) and medicine chief Dr. Naehring (Max von Sydow), set against the backdrop of the apocalyptic devastation of the 1954 Massachusetts hurricane. Based on the Dennis Lehane novel, and adapted by Laeta Kalogridis, the film reveals itself to be quite different to how it may be perceived going in by the audience. What could be seen from the outset as a 21st century “whodunnit” conspiracy mystery is soon unveiled as being a movie that is by no means light viewing. Daniels is revealed immediately to be a psychologically damaged person in his own right, stemming from his experiences during the liberation of a concentration camp and the death of his wife Dolores (Michelle Williams).

The cast is exceptional, and the story itself is certainly gripping, as is the developing complexity of Daniels, speaking highly of Scorsese’s tremendous ability to extract the most out of his characters and, therefore, his actors. DiCaprio’s role is notably strong, as is the brief appearance of Jackie Earle Haley (Arguably best known for his role as Rorschach in Watchmen). The potential of the sum of the parts of Shutter Island is sadly underscored, however, by a number of nagging issues. Every now and again, notably in the opening scenes, the audience is treated to a five minute run of backstory-explaining dialogue which doesn’t flow, but rather staggers quite unnaturally, frankly smacking of “Oh hai, exposition!”, while being overladen with numerous deus ex machina moments. Furthermore, the development of the story is festooned with clichés, yet given the strength of the direction coupled with at times astonishing visual majesty (Scorsese’s use of stairways is especially commendable), this can be forgiven, as can the relatively predictable story-arc. Regarding the cinematography, much like the remainder of the film, it is let down by comparatively lackluster editing. The bellowing score echoes that of There Will Be Blood in its jarring, uncomfortable exclamations that litter the opening scenes and sets you up for an altogether sinister, psychologically fraught experience.

While somewhat flawed in its attempt to balance both the depth of the story with its celluloidal execution, Shutter Island is certainly one of the strongest films of the moment; engaging, emotionally charged and worth multiple viewings, if nothing else but to untangle the weaving narrative. While it doesn’t rank amongst Scorsese’s best work, it definitely stands out as one of the strongest films of the year so far. Yet one can’t help thinking it could have been just that little bit better.

Toy Story (Lasseter, USA, 1995)

Toy Story (1995)

Director: John Lasseter

Studio: Pixar Animation Studios / Disney

Re-Release: October 2nd 2009

“Still infinitely phenomenal”

Almost 15 years after its initial cinema release, Pixar’s first film “Toy Story” vaults back onto screens in 3d, a mere week before the release of Pixar’s tenth film, the superb “Up”. From George Lucas’ pet division at Lucasfilm to the company which, upon stock market floatation, made Apple’s Steve Jobs a billionaire, and which has taken in over $2.4 billion in ticket sales over the years. Spearheaded by a former animator on “The Fox and the Hound”, let go by Disney for his radical ideas, “Toy Story” director John Lasseter now runs the entire Disney creative division. Such an astounding rise for both Lasseter and Pixar is not entirely down to the advent of computer animation, but rather it’s Pixar’s philosophy that “the story is king” that ensures that the experimental studio can deliver gem after gem.

For those of you have never seen Toy Story, Sheriff Woody Pride (Tom Hanks), a cowboy doll, is left reeling at the arrival of owner Andy’s birthday present, Space Ranger toy “Buzz Lightyear” (Tim Allen), who believes he is, in fact, a real space ranger. The film chronicles Woody’s jealousy toward Andy’s new favourite toy, ultimately telling a highly moralistic story of devout friendship. With a cast of superbly entertaining supporting characters coupeld with a highly memorable score from Randy Newman, Toy Story truly is one of the greatest films of the 1990s. It’s re-release in 3d provides the perfect excuse to go and see the film once again, or indeed for the first time.

However, 3D, as a device, is still, much like computer animation was prior to Toy Story’s debut, considered a gimmick. Then again, many in the audience of The Jazz Singer, arguably the first “talkie” to herald the mainstream transition from silent to sound cinema in 1927, thought it’s “gimmick” would never catch on. While 3D has yet to really prove itself outside being a vehicle for cult pulp horror franchises, Disney seem to denote it as the “next big thing” in cinema, despite 3d cinema having it’s experimental origins in 1915. However, it has yet to fully win over it’s audience in the manner that Toy Story did in 1995. Toy Story’s success spearheaded a revoltion in animation which  has seen traditional animation fall completely by the wayside in mainstream demand. This ultimately lead to the box office failures of films such as Disney’s own “Brother Bear” and “The Incredibles” director Brad Bird’s wonderful “The Iron Giant”. While Pixar has arguably never made a bad film (Hey, Cars had Jeremy Clarkson AND Michael Schumacher, ok!?), the same cannot be said for other studios in the market, and for every WALL-E, there’s a “Flushed Away”.

The 3d is entriely superfluous and is secondary to the absolute masterclass in storytelling that Toy Story, irrespective of it’s age, always will be. Much in the same manner as Coraline, the 3d aspect is completely non-essential with such a strong foundation in story and character. You will most likey never have the chance to see Toy Story in the cinema again, therefore you owe it to yourself to go and relive your childhood.  Toy Story truly stands up to multiple viewings and, regardless of 3d, the  cinema is the best place to experience true cinematic greatness. I assure you, this is truly lightyears away from being “just a kids film”.