In Contention

Tag: Shutter Island

  • OFF THE CARPET: Once more into the breach

    So nine years ago yesterday I started a crappy, embarrassing little amateur site on Yahoo!’s now defunct Geocities platform and called it Oscar Central. It was a way to blow off steam in film school, maybe fold an offline hobby (Oscar-watching, predicting, obsessing) into an online community that seemed to already have healthy numbers. Plus, hey, it was the early years. I figured some low tech internet training was far from the worst thing I could be doing.

    That’s a long way of saying today kicks off my 10th season of Oscar coverage online, and in that decade, plenty has changed. One thing has remained the same, however, and that is a focused interest, both from myself and a growing readership, in the admittedly arbitrary and somewhat solipsistic process of awarding the “best” in filmed art and entertainment.

    To put it more succinctly: Here we go again.

    The 2010-2011 Oscar season takes its first real steps Wednesday as the 67th annual Venice Film Festival sets sail on the Lido. That opening night will see Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” get its toes wet as Fox Searchlight tests the season’s waters, perhaps with a worthy follow-up to the director’s 2008 awards title “The Wrestler,” perhaps not. Two days later the 37th annual Telluride Film Festival lifts its curtain in the mountains of Colorado, bringing any number of “surprise” bows (we all know what they’ll be but, again, I’ll respect the fest’s wishes in this space), before Toronto’s media circus fills in the cracks and brings us to mid-September and the fiery beginnings of Oscar’s 83rd barbecue.

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  • Where is my mind

    As that finicky final shot of “Inception” continues to prompt confusion and discussion in comment boards across the internet, it would appear that some people still aren’t done processing Leonardo DiCaprio’s first puzzle pic of 2010.

    Much has been made of the sizable overlap between Christopher Nolan’s summer blockbuster and Martin Scorsese’s winter genre exercise “Shutter Island” — not least in the respective characters played by the films’ mutual leading man — and this extends to ambiguous finales that, in both cases, cast doubt on said character’s state of consciousness.

    I must admit I wasn’t aware that the debate over the end of “Shutter Island” is quite so extensive; perhaps because I watched the film with Dennis Lehane’s novel — to which the film is letter-faithful for the first 99% of its running time — so fresh in my mind, I didn’t give the film’s minor digressions a second thought. (I wasn’t all that engaged anyway.)

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  • ‘Inception’: the dream is (too) real

    It seems almost mandatory to begin any discussion of “Inception” with an acknowledgement of its scale of ambition – both aesthetic and intellectual – not least when set against the sights of most other $200 million summer studio pictures.

    So yes, let’s acknowledge it. Christopher Nolan’s latest is an uncommonly heady and intricate tentpole blockbuster, taking on themes of memory, mortality and family that, in conventional Hollywood logic, don’t tend to mesh with noisy, rain-sodden car chases and 007-style explosions in remote Arctic fortresses. I saw it on Monday in pristine IMAX splendor, and took immense pleasure in watching something on that scale that demanded to be kept up with, puzzled out, mentally reassembled, and not merely looked at. And yes, in a season of few mainstream pleasures — and unsurprising ones at best – I’m glad it’s in theaters.

    But it’s easy to praise “Inception” for not being the film it was never intended to be in the first place. Certainly, we can pat Nolan on the back for having crafted an immeasurably brainier and more beautiful summer blockbuster than “Transformers 2,” or even “Iron Man 2,” but to me, it feels glib and condescending to do so: handling with kid gloves a work that asks to be judged by more rigorous standards.

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  • A toast to ambition

    It’s fascinating to me, the similarities between Leonardo DiCaprio’s two 2010 endeavors, Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” and Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” (which I will review in short time).  The themes and considerations in both have the same blood pumping through their veins.

    I’m talking about ideas of repressed trauma, avoidance of reality, the impact of children on a psychology, the kinds of things you don’t often see handled delicately, if at all, in blockbuster entertainment.  It’s a profound coincidence, really, one that further reveals an ambition in DiCaprio’s career choices that shouldn’t go without commendation.

    I think his work in “Shutter Island” is more powerful, more complete, more assured.  And despite ignorant jabs accusing the actor of being “stuck in a Scorsese rut” as of late, he and the 40-year veteran have managed to make each collaboration unique and fresh.  And by the way, he’s very much up to the task under Nolan’s helm as well.

    So mark this as an appreciation.  DiCaprio has always been a forward thinker, never content to rest on laurels or take an easy paycheck.  He doesn’t get enough credit for that.

  • More halfway-mark blues

    A few weeks ago, I commented upon the scarcity of viable awards contenders released in the last six months, coming to the unsurprising conclusion that there hasn’t been much to, well, comment upon. In the past few days, however, Variety’s Tim Gray and EW’s Dave Karger have revisited the subject … and haven’t come up with very much either.

    A common emerging sentiment is that, with such a meagre first-half slate, filling 10 slots on a Best Picture ballot could be a challenge for many voters – and could ultimately result in a decidedly weak nominee field, one with more “Blind Sides” than “District 9s.”

    Sasha Stone has challenged this by suggesting that, in what she (if not everyone else) believes will be “a great year for film,” the Academy may end up looking to arthouse or non-summer genre fare to fill the gaps – though, to take two of her listed alternatives, it has to be said that while most critics would be down with “Winter’s Bone” making the list, “Shutter Island” would be a much more contentious nominee.

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  • Combing through the first-half contenders

    With the year nearly at its midway point, the Hollywood Reporter’s Gregg Kilday has taken on the rather fruitless task of sussing out potential Oscar contenders from the last six months of releases. As you will no doubt be shocked to hear, he doesn’t find many — declaring “Toy Story 3” the year’s first viable Best Picture nominee (just as Pixar’s “Up” wound up as the earliest release on the 2009 slate).

    Not that this is a particularly new phenomenon. Bar the occasional “Crash,” “Erin Brockovich” or “The Silence of the Lambs” — films that tend to grow into their Oscar-contender status rather than have it thrust upon them — studios tend to save their prestige product for the year’s latter stages. Everyone and their pet lizard knows that.

    But as Kilday points out, considering last year’s expansion of the Best Picture field was a shameless grab for more blockbuster nominees, none of this year’s summer (or spring) behemoths up to now could be deemed credible contenders. (That he even bothers to consider the chances of “Alice in Wonderland” is cause for major shuddering.)

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Handicapping 2010 a year in advance

    Hilary Swank in Betty Anne WatersUncle.

    I told myself I wasn’t going to write this column this year, let alone make predictions, but some of you were just too cute in your emails and Twitter DMs asking for something akin to my annual year-in-advance take on the race, so I struck a balance: a column and contenders list, but no charts and no predictions.  Fair enough?

    The 2010 Oscar season looks, from afar, to be a muted affair.  Most of the films that look like competitors on paper have a distinctly “small” vibe.  Of course, no one knows when a film like “The Blind Side” will decide to come along and sweep the heartland and the Academy at large off its feet.  Maybe Tony Goldwyn’s “Betty Anne Waters” will play that role this year.  Maybe not.

    There are a considerable amount of actors and actresses with multiple performances on the way, more than usual, I’d say.  And most encouraging, the original screenplay field seems to be much more robust than the adaptations.

    Last year the big dogs looked to be “Amelia,” “Invictus” and “Nine,” and we all know how that turned out.  In fact, it happens with some frequency.  So why bother getting too deep into all of this now?  And to say nothing of the fact that, perhaps mercifully, nothing on the horizon appears to have that level of awards-baiting appeal.  No major filmmakers looking to cozy up to Oscar.  No big stars that seem overdue and are going for it with an obvious role.  None of that, really.

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: Win for ‘Shutter,’ new films stutter

    Cop Out*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Kevin Smith has never had a number one film at the box office and Martin Scorsese has ensured that he won’t buck the trend in 2010. “Shutter Island” is the top box office performer for the second weekend in a row, dropping 46% to $22.2 million. That puts it firmly in the could-have-been worse, could-have-been-better category and with $75.1 million in the bank so far, Paramount can consider their decision to move out of October justified, particularly since I don’t think the Oscars would have touched it with a 10-foot pole, but that’s just me.

    Smith’s “Cop Out” did manage an $18.6 million debut, handily becoming a career-high for its director. For Bruce Willis, on the other hand, it falls somewhere between “The Whole Nine Yards” and “The Kid,” amongst a bevy of forgettable titles. Reviews were scathing and drops should be harsh so it will be a close race with the $46 million of “Dogma” to the title of Smith’s biggest hit. If Warner Bros. was using this as an audition for a bigger franchise, I think Silent Bob has fluffed his chance. It should also be noted that the figure is inflated slightly by the extra seats Smith has to buy for himself when he went.

    Not too far off in third is “The Crazies,” which managed a $16.5 million debut from nearly 700 fewer screens than “Cop Out,” giving it the second-best per theater average in the top 10. Overture did a good job of raising awareness and interest amongst the target audience, which must not include me, because I never saw a single thing about it once, anywhere.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Hurt Locker’ BAFTA sweep, minor fracas

    Best Actress winner Carey Mulligan at the 2009 BAFTA Awards• “The Hurt Locker” continued its cruise through the precursors, taking six awards at the BAFTAS.

    • The pile of guild awards grew as the writers, costume designers and sound editors all picked their winners.

    • In our ongoing Oscar Guide series, we broke down the lead actress, documentary feature, documentary short, original score and original song races.

    • Off the Carpet took stock of a quiet season, mainly just counting down the days.

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  • FRIDAY FORECAST: ‘Cop’ and a laugh

    (from left) Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis in Cop Out*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    It’s the last full weekend before the Oscars. Have you seen all the nominees yet? I sure haven’t. In fact, there isn’t a single category where I’ve seen every film and can have an educated opinion. That’s not likely to change before the big day since I’ve been happy to put the 2009 movie-going year to bed for a while.

    There’s plenty of new joy to be found! Like “Cop Out,” the first big budget studio outing from Kevin Smith. Primarily known as the guy behind a bunch of movies your college roommate likes, he is notably absent from all press materials for the Bruce Willis/Tracy Morgan buddy flick.

    Willis typically can’t open straight-forward action films to very much, unless they have the words “Die” and “Hard” in them. Recent run-of-the-mill efforts include “Surrogates” ($15.2 million), “16 Blocks” ($13.8 million) and “Hostage” ($12.1 million).

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  • 2/22 Oscarweb Round-up

    Harvey Weinstein• Scott Feinberg talks at length with Harvey Weinstein, who had a busy week of Pied Pipering the Oscar bloggers last week. [And the Winner Is…]

    • Presumed costume design frotnrunner Sandy Powell sure is making the rounds.  She sits down with Paul Gaita to discuss the threads of “The Young Victoria.” [The Envelope]

    • David Poland disputes the “Shutter Island” bashing. [The Hot Blog]

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  • SUNDAY CENTS: Leonardo leads (Donatello does machines)

    Shutter Island*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio’s fourth collaboration together has provided the former with his biggest debut ever and the latter’s second only to “Titanic.” $40.2 million is the estimate, which puts it a fraction behind “Madea Goes to Jail” from this same weekend last year and means that unless word of mouth is particularly poisonous, it should squeak past the $100 million mark. To do so, it’ll have to perform more like an esteemed thriller than a typical horror film as “Friday the 13th” could only translate a $41.4 million February opening into a $68.9 million total last year.

    Second place goes to “Valentine’s Day,” which suffered a morale-damaging 69% dip from last weekend. The drop was never going to be kind due to the holiday last Monday but only “New Moon” and Ang Lee’s “Hulk” have dropped harder while playing on more than 3,500 screens. I guess audiences decided not to go back and watch it again for all the hidden nuances in the way Jamie Foxx says “Damn!” to something off-screen.

    “The Wolfman” also fell 69% to $9.8 million and fifth place, although that was a bit more expected. It will now be lucky to gross $71 million, which is what it would need to surpass “Teen Wolf.” Maybe if Anthony Hopkins’s character was a bit more like Rupert “Stiles” Stilinksi, Universal could be a little closer to recouping that $150 million budget. Maybe throw in Del Toro doing a handstand on a horse and carriage ride? Just thinking out loud.

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  • Tell us what you thought of ‘Shutter Island’

    (from left) Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio in Shutter Island

    It’s been a while since we did one of these, and it’ll make a nice distraction from the Oscar season.  Chad has already been pretty candid about what he thinks of Martin Scorsese’s latest, following on the heels of Guy’s review out of Berlin.  But what say you?  Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.

  • WEEKLY WRAP: Top shots, Berlin coverage and more

    Paranormal Activity• You asked for it, you eventually got it: our annual list of the Top 10 shots of the year, part one and part two.

    • In our ongoing Oscar Guide series, we dug into the supporting actor, foreign language film, art direction, makeup and sound editing races.

    • Guy’s Berlinale coverage continued, with “The Illusionist,” “The Kids Are All Right” and “Winter’s Bone” among the highlights.

    • We interviewed “The Cove” director Louie Psihoyos, as well as the creative minds behind “Coraline,” Neil Gaiman and Henry Selick.

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  • FRIDAY FORECAST: ‘Shutter’ to sink?

    (from left) Ben Kingsley and Leonardo DiCaprio in Shutter Island*All historical figures cited are adjusted to today’s dollars.

    It’s been a long time coming but “Shutter Island” finally hits screens this weekend, with no competition in sight. That’s right, Scorsese gets the weekend all to himself and his genre exercise, which is opening on just under 3,000 screens. The man is viewed as something of a deity, particularly on sites like this, and his fanbase clearly spans over more than one generation. At age 60, his career took a turn towards the populist and there seems to be no looking back. “Shutter Island” should be able to straddle the line between snobs and laymen, men and women and teens and adults. Sounds like a winning combination.

    “The Departed” opened to $31 million in 2006 and is Scorsese’s highest grossing film, along with the reason he has an Oscar on his mantle. Picking up a lifetime achievement gong at the Golden Globes last month is just another reason why his profile has never been higher across the country. His last attempt at this type of film was 1991’s “Cape Fear,” which opened with $18.5 million en route to a $143.6 million finish, and that’s certainly not out of reach here, although I’d say it’s unlikely. I’ll say $33 million for the weekend and then it’ll need strong word of mouth to hit $100 million.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Festival coverage, celebrating The Dude and more

    Jeff Bridges in The Big Lebowski• This week’s installments of the Oscar Guide covered the animated feature, sound mixing, lead actor, live action short and film editing categories.

    • Kris toasted the career of Jeff bridges with his list of the actor’s top 10 performances (off-site).

    • We caught up with “Red Riding: 1974” director Julian Jarrold as well as “A Prophet” helmer Jacques Audiard.

    • Elsewhere, we spotlighted the crafts of “Bright Star” in our weekly Tech Support Interview series.

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  • REVIEW: “Shutter Island” (**1/2)

    Shutter Island

    Berlin International Film Festival

    (EDIT: Star rating adjusted upon consideration.)

    To filch an aphorism from Mike Skinner, “Shutter Island” represents of continuation of Martin Scorsese’s decade-long quest to find the hardest way to make an easy living.

    If that sounds like a jab, it’s not. Since the self-amusing personal statements of “Kundun” and “Bringing Out the Dead” perplexed far more than they pleased, Scorsese has weaved over to the middle of the road, flirting with broad Oscar-bait and crowdpleasers (successfully marrying the two in “The Departed”) while playfully maintaining an auteur’s consistency of theme and aesthetic.

    It’s a tricky game to play, and when the elements align, it can work to smashing effect — as in “The Departed,” a nifty pop movie-movie winkingly intended as the prototypical “Scorsese film” that casual cinemagoers attributed to him, but that he’d never actually made.

    When they don’t, however, you get “Shutter Island,” a film awash with beauty and trademark stylistic flourishes, attached to a narrative that he never seems all that into. A near letter-faithful adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s pulpy source novel, itself something of a genre lark for the author, it surprises principally by offering more intrigue as a Scorsese picture than as an entertainment. As an artistic investigation of B-movie construction, it has all the impeccable craft, and a measure of the cinephile intelligence, of “The Departed” or “Cape Fear”; but a lot of the fun is missing.

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  • BERLIN: Arrivals and complications

    Shahrukh Khan in My Name is KhanOkay, so that was a long silence. I apologize. But in addition to the usual trials of settling in, my first day at the Berlinale threw up some added obstacles that made for a day that was curiously both hectic and thin on matters worth reporting.

    Frankly, one needs an entire day just to process the festival’s labyrinthine programme, with its convoluted bylaws of which films in which strands can be viewed by which press at what time. In what is surely the only time Nancy Meyers will prompt my conversation at the Berlinale, it’s complicated.

    By the time I had managed to get my proverbial shit together, a night on the tiles in the company of the Telegraph’s Tim Robey was a far more inviting option than finding a free spot on the carpet of the festival’s wi-fi lounge. (A tourist’s hat tip to the rather awesome Stagger Lee cocktail lounge near Nollendorfplatz.) So here we are — a little better organized this morning, if a lot worse for wear.

    I have just come out of the press screening of “Shutter Island” — to which I shall dedicate a full review later today — and have a little under an hour the squeeze in a precis of yesterday’s activity before heading into Thomas Vinterberg’s “Submarino” this afternoon.

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