MOVIE REVIEW | Shutter Island (2010)

“Which would be worse, to live as a monster, or to die as a good man?”

Martin Scorsese has never made a bad movie.  That’s the kind of Scorsese fan I am.  I truly believe that.  And even when I don’t necessarily love a Scorsese movie, like, say After Hours, or New York, New York, I blame myself, not Saint Marty.  Or, in the case of New York, New York, I blame his coke dealer.  But I firmly believe he’s one of the greatest film makers of all time.  I even love Gangs of New York.  Yeah, I said it.

Even when you ignore the hallowed classics, like Taxi Driver, or Raging Bull, or Goodfellas, the middle ground stuff by Scorsese standards, is still better than almost any other movie you’ll ever see.  So when I call Shutter Island middle ground, it’s only when using Scorsese as his own measuring stick.  Because in the big scheme of things, Shutter Island is first class horror, suspense, psychological thriller stuff.

MOVIE REVIEW | Transsiberian (2008)

“Kill off all my demons, Roy, and my angels might die, too.”

Woody Harrelson’s one of those actors who I’d say still holds movie star status, without starring in very many big movies. Sure, there’ was the box office success abomination Now You See Me. But more often than not, if Harrelson’s taking a starring role, it’s in smaller, off the radar stuff, like Rampart, or The Messenger, or, Transsiberian.

After some sort of charity work with their church group in China, Jessie (Emily Mortimer) and Roy (Woody Harrelson) board a train in Beijing, to take the seven day titular trip to Moscow. On day two, they meet cabin mates Carlos (Eduardo Noriega) and Abby (Kate Mara). A little more exotic and outgoing than Jessie and Roy, it’s obvious that Carlos and Abby might be involved in something just a little sinister.

MOVIE REVIEW | Hugo (2011)

“Maybe that’s why a broken machine always makes me a little sad, because it isn’t able to do what it was meant to do… Maybe it’s the same with people. If you lose your purpose… it’s like you’re broken.”

I love Martin Scorsese. He might be the greatest film maker living and working today. He’s definitely my favourite film maker living and working today, or ever. And while I liked Hugo when it came out a few years ago, I always felt like I didn’t give it enough attention at the time. It didn’t stick with me, and because I’m a super fan, I blamed myself, not the movie. Usually this blog is all about movies I’ve watched for the first time, but I’m making a rare exception here, because Scorsese is the best.

With a mother (presumably) killed in the Great War, young Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) lives with his clock making father (Jude Law) in 1920s Paris. But because kids can’t become heroes in movies without first becoming orphans, his dad dies in a museum fire and Hugo is left in the care of is drunkard uncle (Ray Winstone). Living within the walls of a grand railway station, Hugo does his uncle’s job of keeping the many clocks running, while his uncle abandons him to go drink.