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Web of deceit in Scorsese's Shutter Island
Mystery thriller for DiCaprio to solve.
ONE of them is nearly twice the other's age, but over the past ten years they have become a highly successful film-making duo.
Director Martin Scorsese, 67, and 35-year-old actor Leonardo DiCaprio first joined forces for Gangs Of New York and got on so well that they teamed up again for The Aviator and The Departed.
Their fourth collaboration, SHUTTER ISLAND (15: Paramount), finds DiCaprio playing a federal marshal probing the mysterious disappearance of an inmate at an isolated hospital for the criminally insane. As the investigation develops, he uncovers an intricate web of deception where nothing is as it seems.
This 1950s-set puzzle movie has a psychodrama twist that some may see coming early on, but there's still fun to be had as Scorsese weaves his operatic thrills in the gothic surroundings.
His vivid imagination draws on the creepiness of '40s horror movies and the dark glamour of '50s melodramas, packaging them up with consummate skill.
With a running time of well over two hours, it may be overlong and overly explained, yet as an exercise in pure style over cliched content, Shutter Island casts an impressive and gripping spell.
The supporting cast features Mark Ruffalo, Sir Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams and Emily Mortimer.
> Expect a barrage of spectacle from CLASH OF THE TITANS (12: Warner), director Louis Leterrier's bigger budget mythological adventure following hot on the heels of Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief.
The original, made nearly 30 years ago, is best remembered for the work of stop-motion maestro Ray Harryhausen and his influence is still present in this remake, a Greco-Hollywood tale of infighting between the gods that threatens the future of humanity.
Avatar's Sam Worthington builds on his action-man credentials as Perseus, the demi-god in denial who must kill the fearsome Kraken to save Andromeda and gain revenge on Hades (Ralph Fiennes), who murdered his family.
Perseus's (mostly) human allies are a likeable bunch who bring a little humour to the film, while his Olympian foes are led by Fiennes and Liam Neeson as Zeus.
Although some scenes have an unfortunate Life Of Brian feel, the movie takes pains to squeeze a little character into the action, which features an opening harpy attack, giant scorpions and the final face-off with the Kraken.
> Robert Pattinson, Twilight's vampire heart-throb, reprises his mean and moody act in REMEMBER ME (12: E1 Entertainment) playing Tyler Hawkins, an angry young man rebelling against his wealthy father (Pierce Brosnan) in the wake of his brother's suicide.
Ally (Emilie de Ravin) is the girl who might save Tyler from himself, except that she's also dealing with a stifling parent (Chris Cooper) as well as the trauma of witnessing her mother's murder when a child.
Instead of lightening their respective loads, the pair seem to drag each other down into a self-indulgent whirl of despair, which doesn't make for fun viewing.
Tyler's evolving relationship with dad and his little sister is more subtly handled and Brosnan's performance is intriguing as he reveals emotional depth behind a smug veneer. Alas, the story comes to a numbing halt with a finale that's shamelessly manipulative and distasteful.
> The problem with THE BOUNTY HUNTER (12: Sony), a knockabout comedy from the director who made Hitch, is that it tries to tick too many boxes.
It can't make up its mind whether it's a thriller, romance or a farce and tends to rely on the radiant star power of Jennifer Aniston to distract viewers from its shortcomings.
Cop-turned-bounty hunter Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler) is assigned to track down his bail-jumping reporter ex-wife Nicole (Aniston), only to get sucked into a story she's working on about police covering up a murder.
The blend of rom-com and road movie is an awkward match as the couple bicker their way across New Jersey, pursued by crooked detectives, who fear feisty Nicole is getting too close to the truth, and the bumbling bookies to whom Milo owes thousands of dollars. Aniston is charmingly spiky throughout, but Butler has little in the way of comic timing.
TOP TEN: 1.Shutter Island; 2.Invictus; 3.Green Zone; 4.Youth In Revolt; 5. The Crazies; 6.Sherlock Holmes; 7.The Lovely Bones; 8.The Book Of Eli; 9.Edge Of Darkness; 10.Alice In Wonderland.
Chart supplied by Blockbuster
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Weather for Leighton Buzzard
Tuesday 22 May 2012
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