Weekend Movie Forecast: Shutter Island Vs. The Ghost Writer

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Shutter Island isn't a bad film, but it's not necessarily a good one either. Considering who directed it (Scorsese), and the amount of talent he had at his disposal, the one thing that is certain is that the film's a disappointment. From the first notes of Robbie Robertson's interesting score over the Paramount logo you get a sense of the potential that the film had to be great, but as things progress the convoluted structure and the many missteps start to pile up, choking most of the interesting scenes and turning them into genre fodder.Leonardo DiCaprio plays U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels who, along with his partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), are summoned to Shutter Island off the coast of Boston in order to investigate the implausible disappearance of a murderess patient from her locked room in the impenetrable Ashecliffe Hospital. After many cryptic warnings from the local crazies, Daniels begins to suspect that something else is going on and he won't stop till he finds out what.It's obvious that Scorsese was going for a lot with this movie (as is evident in the rampant movie allusions, historical footnotes, and stylistic choices) but it never fleshes out. For example, Scorsese and his crew went through great pains in accurately depicting mental institutions and their treatment of the mentally ill in 1954, but because Scorsese also wanted to give it an aesthetically gothic look, the accuracy ends up being trumped by style and expressionism (not to mention all the CG clouds, and digitally altered color), and because it's a thriller rooted in B-movie cliches, the poor treatment of patients seems to be about building suspense more than making any political or social statement.Scorsese constantly hints at something much more interesting than the Gothic thriller mold he ends up settling into. The film touches on Cold War fears, pharmaceutical vs. psycho-surgical treatment, the effects of P.T.S.D., alcoholism, and one of Scorsese's often explored obsessions: violence. If anything, these glimmers of depth only make the film more disappointing, because they highlight Scorsese's bold ambitions and his ultimate failure in realizing them.

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Some people can "get you bumped off from the inside." With the release of The Ghost Writer it appears Polanski can finish a film and get it released from the inside, and apparently a good one to boot. The film follows a gifted author (Ewan McGregor) who is hired to ghostwrite the memoir of a controversial former British Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan) and ends up being targeted once he uncovers secrets from the PM's past.Reviews have been generally positive, with Scott Tobias from <a href="http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-ghost-writer,38344/">The A.V. Club</a> declaring: "The Ghost Writer may not go down as one of Polanskiâs masterpieces, but if it does end up being his swan song, itâs the ideal denouement to a life and career of unsettling resonance."With much of the action confined to the dark spaces of Brosnanâs island compound, The Ghost Writer has the suffocating scale of a chamber piece, one Polanski could pull off in his sleep. Yet in its entertaining mix of the topical and the personal, the film is a vital record of the times, both for its maker and the world from his window."

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Alexis Bledel stars in Julio DePietro's romantic dramedy The Good Guy, which opens today. Bledel plays an ambitious, successful, Manhattanite (where are all the lazy Manhattanite movies?) Beth, who falls for sexy, young Wall Street hot-shot Tommy. Then (spoiler?) she falls for his sensitive and handsome co-worker Daniel. Could this be why the rest of the country hates us?David Fear from <a href="http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/film/82968/the-good-guy-film-review">Time Out New York</a> says: "Though filmmaker Julio DePietro isnât praising the typical XY-chromosomed prick, he canât be accused of burying the movieâs entitled males, either; these lifetime Maxim subscribers speak in a smarmy Mametesque manner that suggests the writer-director is almost as charmed by alpha-male assholes as he is by his own alledgedly âshockingâ dialogue."Such passÃ© testosterone worship might have been passable if the filmmaking werenât so amateurishâevery emotional exchange is accompanied by insipid, high-volume pop songsâand the filmâs self-satisfied chest-thumping didnât extend to its creator as well."

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Oh Parker Posey, what happened? After the nearly Poseyless aughts, you return to us in Happy Tears? From the director of Teeth (Mitchell Lichtenstein)? Son of Roy? Well, that settles the nature vs. nurture debate. These tears are anything but happy, Parker. One sentence summary: Jayne and Laura are about to take on the first man they just might not be able to handle: their elderly, irascible father. (!?).Melissa Anderson from <a href="http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-02-16/film/mitchell-lichtenstein-continues-bad-filmmaking-with-happy-tears/">The Voice</a> waxes rhapsodic: "Continuing both his bad filmmaking and obsession with lethal orifices, Mitchell Lichtenstein follows up Teeth, his clumsy debut about a dismembering vagina, with a voluminous explosion of poop."Other than the guest-starring appearance of Cy Twombly canvases, nothing distinguishes this poor relation of The Savages from all the other emotionally fraudulent Amerindies about familial dysfunction and reconciliation."

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Let down that Avatar didn't end with an epic, life-affirming ballad by a certain Canadian Diva chantress temptress? Well brace yourself for death-by-Dion, because opening tonight is the Citizen Kane of Celinema: Celine: Through the Eyes of the World. And what a world it is through the eyes of the Dion.Reviews have been...well, it's a Celine Dion concert doc, so take it from there. Sam Adams from <a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-celine19-2010feb19,0,7766727.story">The L.A. Times</a> says: "Dion, we learn, is a closet cut-up who likes pulling funny faces, is kind to her dancers, and loves to spend time with her husband/manager RenÃ© Angelil and their son, RenÃ©-Charles. Strained vocal chords provide a few moments of suspense toward the end of the film but, for the most part, the pressing crises involve whether Dion will pick a new dress to be part of her stage wardrobe."

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This weekend at <a href="http://www.cinemavillage.com/chc/cv/">Cinema Village</a> is Cindy Kleine's documentary Phyllis and Harold. Kleine, over the course of 12 years, examines her parent's disastrous marriage of 59 years through a series of interviews, home movies and animated segments. The movie would never be shown as long as Kleine's father Harold was alive, so we guess the old man must of passed on, because it opens tonight.Critical reception is somewhere between lukewarm and "meh," with Jeannette Catsoulis from <a href="http://movies.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/movies/19phyllis.html?ref=movies">The Times</a> opining: "The problem with these my-family-was-messed-up-and-I need-to-share projects is that they require an audience of complete strangers to give a damn. And while we sometimes do, itâs usually because the material is inherently compelling (Tarnation) or the filmmaking uncovers truths beyond the template of family therapy (51 Birch Street). Sadly, Phyllis and Harold fulfills neither requirement."

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Ever watch the Oscars and, as they subliminally show clips from the best short film categories, think to yourself that some of them looked cool, and perhaps you'd like to see them? Now's your chance. Shorts International and Magnolia Pictures proudly present at the <a href="http://www.ifccenter.com/films/2010-academy-award-nominated-animated-short-films/">IFC Center</a> both the live-action and animated Best Short nominees. Come and afterward amaze your friends with your knowledge of this years nominees in two of the most undeservedly, underrated categories and then sweep the office Oscar pool with your newly acquired erudition!

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For those who think The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity are clever and original films, prepare for your head to explode. This weekend at midnight the <a href="http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Films/films_frameset.asp?id=29126">Landmark Sunshine Theatre</a> screens the notoriously gory cult-classic Cannibal Holocaust. Arguably the first film (made in 1979) to use the "found footage" gimmick, the movie has been banned almost everywhere because of its legendary gore and is rarely shown in all its uncut, uncensored glory. Plot: Four documentary filmmakers go to South America to film a documentary on cannibals and are never found. Six months later, a search team goes and finds the footage that will be unleashed tonight and tomorrow at midnight.

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This weekend at the <a href="http://www.ifccenter.com/">IFC Center</a>, Waverly Midnights presents Paul Verhoeven's massively underrated, satirical, action-fueled juggernaut Starship Troopers. Forget Avatar, this film probably destroys on the big screen. J. Hoberman from the <a href="http://www.ifccenter.com/films/starship-troopers/">Village Voice</a> says: "The most intense sci-fi combat film since James Cameron's Aliens... sensationally animated, artfully corpse-splattered."

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Back at the <a href="http://www.filmforum.org/films/redshoes.html">Film Forum</a> by popular demand is Powell and Pressburger's masterpiece The Red Shoes. For those scared off by the less than stellar reviews for Shutter Island, you can opt to see Scorcese's permanent editor Thelma Schoonmaker discuss her late husband's (Michael Powell) film at the 7:00 p.m. screening tonight instead. Just listen to what Marty has to say about the film: "Truly one of the most beautiful Technicolor films ever made."

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Weekend Movie Forecast: <em>Shutter Island</em> Vs. <em>The Ghost Writer</em>