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What: Shutter Island (the movie - 2009)
Rating: 6
Non-Quantifiable Rating: Good-looking, mildly creepy, super old-school and stuffed with cliches. Kind of like Bill Clinton.
I very rarely regret reading books (except that droning Faulkner in the 10th grade - sorry Mr. Podas). However, I reviewed the original book version of Shutter Island a while back and I wish I hadn't read it first, because it fully ruined the movie for me.
As you all know from the trailers, this is a period piece about the investigation of a maximum security mental institution in the 1950s. This is not Scorcese's best effort, but it's a better-than-average movie given the steaming pile of digested hot dogs clogging movie theaters these days. It is on the long side and the slow side (the latter of which is strange, given that it's a psychological thriller). However, it has Scorcese's signature slickness, mental twisting and visual appeal.
If you're a Scorcese fan, you'll probably like it. If you you think you would enjoy sitting in the dark trying to solve a Rubik's cube for a few hours, you'll probably love it. If you, like, totally wanted to see Valentine's Day instead and omigod, someone's DRAGGING you to this, like, stupid man flick, you'll definitely hate it.
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