Ya hace algunos años que me había alejado en mis lecturas, de la novela negra, pero tuvo su momento, y los clásicos, Hammett, Chandler, M. Cain, Jim Thompson, Sciascia, Simenon, o Patricia Highsmith, me hicieron disfrutar con las historias que sus creativas mentes habían concebido.

He observado con escepticismo el giro que las editoriales han dado para alejar a los devoradores de bestsellers, de la literatura que se ha estado consumiendo estos últimos años (que marcó “El código Da Vinci”), conduciéndolos hacia la novela negra (con la trilogía de Stieg Larsson a la cabeza). Y seguía sin intención inmediata de volver a introducirme en el género (no me gusta que me dirijan en la elección de lo que leo), pero, visto el retraso con el que se iba a estrenar una película que ha despertado en mí gran interés, si que me planteé comprar un libro que pertenece a la novela negra. Me refiero a “Shutter Island”, de Dennis Lehane, que Martin Scorsese ha llevado al cine, y que se estrenará en Estados Unidos el 19 de febrero próximo.

Con “Shutter Island” me ha ocurrido exactamente lo mismo que con “The road”, llevada al cine por John Hillcoat, sobre la novela de Cormac McCarthy, y pendiente todavía de estreno. En ambos casos, tener que esperar su llegada a la pantalla, me ha “obligado” a leer antes la novela.

Pero en realidad, no es de “Shutter Island”, ni de “The road” de las que voy a hablar en este post, como ya habréis podido imaginar por su encabezamiento, pero como una cosa lleva a la otra…

Como llevar en mente comprar “Shutter Island”, me llevó a comprar antes “Mystic River”.

Y fue casual.

Aunque conocía la noticia de que una editorial había lanzado una nueva colección de libros de bolsillo dedicados a la novela policíaca para la venta en kioscos, no me había despertado ni el interés de conocer los títulos que la componían. Pero hace unas semanas, recargando la tarjeta del bus en uno de esos kioscos, reparé en la entrega que se había puesto a la venta aquellos días. Era “Mystic River”, la novela de Lehane en la que se basó Clint Eastwood en 2003, para realizar una de sus mejores películas.

El recuerdo de la magistral película de Eastwood, mi decisión de leer “Shutter Island”, y, todo hay que decirlo, su asequible precio (4,95€), me decidió a comprarla.

Estaba acabando por entonces “Nocturna”, la novela de Guillermo del Toro y Chuck Hogan (si esto fuera un foro literario, le dedicaría un capítulo aparte, y no muy favorable -pero podéis pinchar en el título y leer una reseña que coincide plenamente con lo que yo diría de ella), y a los pocos días, pasando por alto otros libros que esperaban su turno de ser leídos, comencé su lectura. Aunque, confieso, con ciertas reservas, porque en ningún momento pensé que la novela pudiera ser tan plena como la película. Y me equivoqué.

Sin quitarle ningún mérito a Eastwood, que supo aprovechar al máximo el magnífico material que contiene la novela, el libro sirve en bandeja para su adaptación al cine, una coherente e interesante historia, bien redactada, con unos personajes que derrochan autenticidad y un dominio de los diálogos que la convierte en notable.

Son precisamente los diálogos (y en la novela hay muchos), uno de valores que más he apreciado en esa pequeña joya que es “Mystic River”, y los que al igual que yo, seáis aficionados a la lectura, sabéis a lo que me refiero, pues cuantas veces, un libro que te ha contado una buena historia, te ha dejado un mal sabor de boca porque en la de los personajes han aparecido frases que piensas nadie hubiera dicho de esa forma en la vida real.

Cuando hablamos, sobre todo la gente corriente (que somos los más), no preparamos las frases para que suenen bien, ni introducimos palabras de adorno en ellas. Todo es espontáneo, y salen de nuestra mente comentarios, preguntas o contestaciones que no suelen tener una segunda oportunidad de ser rectificadas como cuando escribimos. Y ese es el fallo de muchos escritores. Por mejorar la forma, abandonan el realismo, lo natural de los diálogos. Y Lehane lo domina. Jimmy Markum, Dave Boyle, Sean Devine (los protagonistas), y todos los personajes que aparecen en la novela e interactúan con ellos, se expresan como lo haríamos cualquiera de nosotros en sus circunstancias.

“Mystic River”, la novela, no es tan sólo una buena historia del género negro o policiaco. Su profundidad en el tratamiento de sus personajes, de sus sentimientos y reacciones, la convierten en algo más.

Si habéis leído este post desde su principio, sabéis que este libro ha sido mi primer contacto con Dennis Lehane, pero… ahora estoy por la mitad de “Shutter Island”.

No voy a hablar de ella hasta que no vea la película de Scorsese, aunque sí quiero comentar una opinión compartida con una amiga tan aficionada y veterana en la lectura como yo. Es nuestra opinión, y discutible, pero nos hemos confirmado con el tiempo, en la idea de que en la producción literaria de un autor (hablamos de los buenos), siempre hay una novela que sobresale sobre las otras. Un libro “redondo”, al que prácticamente no puedes encontrar ningún defecto. En el resto de sus escritos, anteriores o posteriores, volverás a encontrar muchos de los valores de esa gran obra, pero nunca la igualan, y menos, la superan. Creo que “Mystic River” es la obra “redonda” de Lehane.

LA PELÍCULA DE CLINT EASTWOOD

No es mucho lo que puede añadir mi opinión personal a un film aclamado en su momento como uno de los mejores realizados por Eastwood, nominado a seis Oscar en la edición de 2003, y ganador de dos (Mejor Actor, Sean Penn y Mejor Actor de Reparto, Tim Robbins), pero quiero alabar su trabajo.

La película arranca, como en la novela, una tarde de verano, en la que Jimmy Markum, Dave Boyle y Sean Devine, tres niños de once años, juegan en las calles del barrio obrero East Buckingham, situado a las orillas del río Mystic. Una pelea por un desacuerdo entre ellos, ocasiona que un hombre que se identifica como policía, salga de un coche, y obligue a Dave a acompañarle, ante la mirada impotente de sus amigos. Dave aparece unos días más tarde. Ha conseguido escapar del hombre y de su compañero, pero todo el mundo sabe que ha sido víctima de abusos sexuales. La mala conciencia de Jimmy y Sean, que no hicieron nada para evitar que Dave subiera al coche, hace también que su amistad acabe diluyéndose. Veinticinco años más tarde, la vida de cada uno de ellos, ha seguido un rumbo diferente: Jimmy (Sean Penn), que se inició en la delincuencia y pasó un tiempo en la cárcel, se casó muy joven, tuvo una hija a los 17 años y está casado en segundas nupcias, porque su primera mujer murió tempranamente de cáncer, regenta ahora un pequeño supermercado en el mismo barrio que le vio nacer. Sean (Kevin Bacon), en cambio, es policía y abandonó el barrio al casarse, pero su mujer le ha dejado. Dave (Tim Robbins) no ha dejado el barrio, se ha casado y tiene un hijo, pero aunque aparentemente es un hombre normal, lo ocurrido en el pasado continúa atormentándole. Un día, la hija Jimmy de 19 años, desaparece, y su cuerpo sin vida es encontrado a las pocas horas en un parque. Esto motiva que las vidas de los tres vuelvan a cruzarse, pues Sean, junto a su compañero Whitey (Laurence Fishburne) es el encargado de investigar el asesinato, en el cual llega a relacionarse a Dave por una serie de circunstancias que lo convierten en sospechoso. Jimmy, por su parte, inicia una investigación paralela a la de la policía, porque quiere vengar la muerte de su hija…

Muy poco altera Eastwood, el desarrollo de la novela, y a los principales personajes en su película (Whitey, que es un hombre blanco en el libro, y su personaje está más elaborado, sería una de esas mínimas alteraciones), y pone con magistral acierto, escenario y rostros, para contar la trama, en la que los diálogos, tanto exteriores como interiores, al igual que en la novela de Lehane, son los protagonistas.

Y se ve su mano al dirigir a los tres actores principales, sacando lo mejor de cada uno de ellos. El comedimiento de Sean Penn (excelente actor, pero que si no es bien dirigido tiene tendencia a los tic y al histrionismo), aún en la escena más desgarradora de la película, sus expresiones, con las que nos cuenta su tortura interior… La aparente apatía del personaje de Tim Robbins, pero que con su mirada y movimientos, nos dice que algo está ocurriendo dentro de su cabeza… Y la corrección de Bacon, en la que yo diría, la mejor de sus interpretaciones…

Si los tres actores principales nos ofrecen magníficas actuaciones, no quedan atrás las de Marcia Gay Harden (que da vida a Celeste Boyle, la esposa de Dave), y Laura Linney (la esposa de Jimmy Markum), personajes secundarios, pero importantes en el desarrollo de la historia.

Magistral es también el tratamiento que ha dado Eastwood a la violencia contenida que subyace a lo largo de todo el film, y que en algunas secuencias llega a sobrecogernos. Arropado todo, por una adecuada banda sonora compuesta por él mismo.

Y mucho más podría extenderme comentando la película, pero no quiero repetir lo que otros ya dijeron cuando se estrenó.

Lo que sí quiero, es recomendar la novela a los que no la hayáis leído, pues sea o no, vuestro género favorito, sé que os satisfará su lectura. Igualmente recomiendo el film. He vuelto a verlo después de leer el libro, y me he confirmado en la idea de que es una gran película.

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Para ver la ficha de la película, pincha aquí

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Swanson 

Nothing like vacation to catch up on some pleasure reading.  That and I’ve finished my books for Narrative&Interp and only have one left to read for London – oh, and there’s my Presidency biography.  So, when packing my bags to come home for Thanksgiving, I threw in a couple of the novels that have been looking pretty in the First Book Box (long story).

On the train home, it was a gray day and I was in the mood for something gripping, something twisty, and something I could burn off maybe even by the time I got home.  While that last bit didn’t happen (I’d been up til 3am painting a kitchen, so I was a little tired when I woke up at 9 to get to South Station for my 11am train), I still finished the book within the day – in short, it was exactly what I was looking for.  I’ve been interested in reading this book for a while now.  The (vaguely) Boston setting and the upcoming (though unfortunately delayed) Scorsese/DiCaprio film were big selling points – also, people’ve been saying I should read Dennis Lehane.  So, again, we’ve got a perfect storm combination here.

This is one of those books where I’ll try to avoid spoilers until the last paragraph – its just TOO good of a twist and since the movie is coming soon, I don’t want to spoil the plot for any non-readers.  It starts off “innocently” enough: two Federal Marshals called to an asylum for the criminally insane that’s located out in Boston Harbor.  I think, as a freshman, our Welcome Cruise probably went right past the islands where Ashecliffe was supposedly located.  Anyway, a hurricane is bearing down on the island and when it hits, everything (not surprisingly) goes to shit.  The main character, Teddy Daniels, is perfect for DiCaprio (I’m sorry to keep referencing the movie, but this part really suits him – I pictured him the whole time).  He was likeable and you were rooting for him – especially as shit started to swing against him.

The novel is very atmospheric.  The secrecy that shrouds the island and the plot seems to seep out of the book and surround the reader.  I like books like that.  I found myself having a devil of a time putting this book down, even as my eyes were drooping shut (always the sign of a great read) and the minute I’d wake up again, I’d jump back a page and dive in again.  The novel felt very 1950s and while the hints surrounding the “experiments” on the island have a bit of that early anti-Communist paranoia about them, none of this is very distracting.  To be honest, the novel reminded me most of some of those great Gothic novels of the late 19th/early 20th Century.  Stuff like The Haunting of Hill House or even We Have Always Lived in the Castle.  That sense of creepiness that raises the hackles on the back of your neck for the entire time you are reading it.

Alright, SPOILER ALERT

So the twist.  I didn’t see it coming, to be totally honest.  I mean, I’m pretty good at picking up on things (even if its only a few pages before the reveal).  The fact that Teddy was, in fact, Laeddis (or viceversa?  it was all a little – purposefully – confusing) and that he was a patient… WOW.  It was out of left freaking field.  That the doctors themselves would set up the entire charade in order to try and “cure” him – that, too, was stunning.  Again, that ’50s sensibility just is so alien to us today.  This was a masterful twist and the fact that, at the end of the novel, I had to go back to the prologue in order to figure out for sure who was telling the truth (Teddy or the doctors)… it was quite well done.  Bravo.

To Sum Up: an awesome Gothic mystery, full of interesting characters and mystery.  Read it, read it, read it – it’ll take you maybe a day (because you can’t put it down) and while you might be a little unnerved by the end… it’s well worth it.

Yes yes, I have been somewhat neglectative (is that even a word? Spellcheck says no…) of Stella Was A Diver of recent times. I’m sorry. I have many a-project on the go in work life , in regular life and all forms of life betwixt.

If you hop on over to my new photo blog one photo each day you will see that, in an attempt to get back into doing photography, I am documenting my entire life by taking one photo each day.

I am now also writing all about social media goodness and creativeness on a new collaborative project. That link will follow when there’s a bit more content and stylings sorted.

On the weekend, I “did some culture” and visited the National Portrait Gallery to see, as I do every year, the Photographic Portrait Prize. There’s some amazing photography there, go see it while you can. Some of my favourites below…

(note that the colours and prints are much more incredible “in real life”)

I also made it to The Photographers Gallery, happily settled in its new backstreet Soho home. What a lovely venue. Slightly depressing exhibition subject matter at the moment, however.

Tomorrow, I am very much looking forward to going to see Shutter Island (hooray for having film clients!), there’s some trailerlove for you below. Looks good, no? AND I intend to check out Damien Hirst’s new exhibition at White Cube Hoxton soon. Seeing as I can see it from my desk I think “why not?!”

Alternando su reciente faceta de documentalista con la de productor de cine y realizador de TV, el maestro del costumbrismo contémporaneo, el futuro ganador del Cecil B. DeMille en los próximos Golden Globes, el gran Martin Scorsese, se prepara para una grata sorpresa. Y la sorpresa es su regreso al género del terror y el suspenso.

Para los que no recuerden Cape Fear y su magnífico DeNiro, Martin Scorsese en 1991 adaptó la novela de John D. MacDonald y junto a él, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange y la jovencita Juliette Lewis armaron lo que para mi es un claro ejemplo de suspenso donde el cruento enfrentamiento entre DeNiro y su abogado defensor, Nolte, nos dejó petrificados en nuestras sillas. Para ese entonces Juliette Lewis caracterizaba a una jovencita casi de la misma edad mía; en ese entonces no concebía muy bien la diferencia de edades y pues me parecía un acto de seducción medianamente normal. Vista uno o dos veces después, el acto pedófilo se hizo más evidente y alimentó mi morbo en esta peli en particular. No hay cabida para ser tan macabro como lo fue DeNiro y tan genialmente malvado como Scorsese para lograr esta factura. La maldición de Scorsese, y de paso la de DeNiro, era la de arrasar en nominaciones y no ganar absolutamente nada (una gran injusticia con este par de monstruos), esta no fue la excepción. Qué buen guión, qué buena factura, qué actuaciones, etc… Y nada. Al final la revelación de Lewis y su virginal papel, le conllevaron dos premios y una nominación a nivel independiente.

Scorsese se prepara para un nuevo atardecer, de la mano de un reparto sencillamente impresionante, de Robert Richardson veterano de mil batallas en cinematografía al lado de Oliver Stone, el mismo Scorsese y recientemente visto en los basterdos de Tarantino, y de Thelma Shoonmaker editora que no sólo es una ganadora impresionante de óscares sino casi la mano derecha de Scorsese en todo su portafolio de largometrajes.

Apunta a ser escalofriante, impresionante, tenebrosa, ojalá muy gore y de una factura impecable. Que se lleve sus buenos premios y que Scorsese como es caballero repita Oscar como es debido.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Teddy Daniels)
Mark Ruffalo (Chuck Aule)
Ben Kingsley (Dr. John Cawley)
Michelle Williams (Dolores Chanal)
Max von Sydow (Dr. Jeremiah Naehring)
Jackie Earle Haley (George Noyce)
Elias Koteas (Andrew Laeddis)
John Carroll Lynch (Deputado Warden McPherson)

*No encontré el papel de Patricia Clarkson en IMDb y no lo he podido encontrar en ningún otro lado :-S

Insane men deny that they are insane.

Bob denies he is insane.

Ergo — Bob is insane.

-Dennis Lehane, Shutter Island

I finished reading this a few days ago.  It only took me 5 days which is a new record.

I’m not a follower of Dennis Lehane.  This is actually my first book of his. Previously I’ve only known of his work through the movie adaptations of Mystic River (great drama, but how I hated the ending) and Gone, Baby Gone (Ben Affleck did a superb job directing and his brother acting in it).  So as soon as the trailer for Marty S (fourth go-round with Leo DiCaprio) adaptation of Shutter Island hit, I made a point of reading the book beforehand.  I almost didn’t make it because the movie was supposed to come out this past September and I thought I would run out of time, but as infuriating as it was when it was pushed to February, I was glad I had now the chance to get to it.

Though I’m not going to spoil any plot details here, I have to say that I figure out the story’s secret pretty quickly, in fact, Mr. Lehane sort of gives it away himself on the first 4 pages of the book, which I thought was a sort of unconscious sabotage to his own story.  It isn’t implicit, but if you’re a reader worth your salt, you’ll catch it.  Even the back summary hints at it. Seriously.

If you’ve seen the trailer of the movie or know some of the details then you know it concerns two marshals arriving at Shutter Island: a mental institution for the criminally insane, to investigate the missing of one of the patients/inmates.  How this patient managed to escape when technically it all points to it being impossible is the central mystery of the story.  Of course that’s really only half the story.  There’s a hurricane approaching, there are rumors of scientific experiments being done and tested on the patients that violate several laws, and there’s also the ulterior motives that have brought our main character Teddy Daniels to the island.

Except for the fact that he hints at the secret way too early, Mr. Lehane does a very good job of keeping the story moving at a very fast pace yet it flows very smoothly, and he keeps building anticipation and intrigue by two notches every handful of pages until it all comes to a head, though by then the secret is quite obvious and you’re just eager to see how it all ends.

Through out the novel, I couldn’t stop hearing or visualizing in my head Leo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo as the marshals, thanks to the trailer of the movie.  Am I more or less excited to see the film now that I’ve read the book? Definitely more. By the trailer I can tell that some stuff have been altered from the book but it all seems pretty faithful for the most part.

In closing, the novel is fun; it is definitely a good read though nothing life-changing or unforgettable. Just a very good, entertaining thriller.  I would definitely recommend to read the book before the movie for I think it would make the movie work much better.  Grade: B+

It has been a very long time since I’ve finished a book with a twist as shocking as the one Dennis Lehane throws at his readers in Shutter Island.  I’d like to say that I picked up clues on the twist here and there in the novel, but I assure you that there is no time to do so.  You will be so wrapped up in this psychological thriller and so sympathetic to the main character, Teddy Daniels, that any possible clues will go right over your head.  I’m not even positive that a twist is the correct word for this.  Truthfully, I think readers begin to fool themselves right along with Teddy and the shock back to reality is so suprising that you will want to call it a twist so you don’t feel too lead astray by your own mind. 

Shutter Island is set in the mid 1950’s where we find two U.S. Marshals, Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, who have taken an assignment at Ashcliffe Hospital located on a small island off the coast of Massachusetts.  Now I don’t know about you, but any time there is a hospital located on an island it’s pretty easy to guess that it’s not a hospital for happy children and their pet unicorns.  In this case it’s a hospital for the criminally insane and Teddy and Chuck have been given the lucky assignment to investigate the disappearance of one of the patients.  The plot moves along very quickly and soon enough readers are wondering, along with Chuck and Teddy, how exactly a criminally insane patient disappears from their locked cell past a myriad of guards and obstacles.  When we start to get hints of the hospital’s administration using the patients for radical experimental surgery, readers will know that there is an inside job to uncover.  And that uncovering is not going to go smoothly. 

Lehane wrote this book back in 2003 but the past few years have created additional publicity due to Martin Scorsese showing interest in making a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio.  After a few setbacks, the movie is currently slated to debut in February of 2010.  Here is the latest trailer for your viewing pleasure:

Martin Scorsese

By Gregg Kilday – HollywoodReporter.com

The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. will bestow its highest honor, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, on Martin Scorsese at the 67th annual Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 17.

The award recognizes “outstanding contribution to the entertainment field”; the most recent recipients have been Steven Spielberg, Warren Beatty, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Williams and Michael Douglas.

Scorsese presented the award to Spielberg at the Golden Globes broadcast in January.

An Oscar winner for directing “The Departed,” Scorsese also has picked up two Golden Globes — for directing “Departed” and “Gangs of New York” — and has five additional Globe noms.

His next film, “Shutter Island,” will be released Feb. 19 by Paramount.

NBC will be broadcast the Globes from the Beverly Hilton; Ricky Gervais is the host.

Nominations will be announced Dec. 15.

Amazon Specials!

Disclaimer: This is a relatively long list of a strange combination of shitty movies and would-be blockbusters. If you don’t like movies much, you should probably go watch Hedgehog videos on Youtube or something. If you choose this course of action, type in ‘Shming Swimming.’ Real cute.

Shutter Island. Leo DiCaprio is still amazing, no matter what you say.

The Road; I’ll see anything with Viggo, and who doesn’t dig the apocalypse theme?

The Princess & the Frog. I think this might be the first classically animated Disney movie in a long time, and she’s definitely the first black princess. Cool. Obama, then Disney.

Fantastic Mr. Fox. The voice of George Clooney + Roald Dahl’s classic = yes.

The Men Who Stare at Goats. This is intriguing.

I admit it, I’m seeing New Moon with my sister.

I’m iffy on Brothers, but it has a sexy trio cast in it, so why not?

2012, blargh, will create mass panic.

Me and Orson Wells. I can only guess what this is about. Har har.

Sherlock Holmes.

Legion.

The Blind Side, if I’m feeling sentimental.

The Wolfman! I have no idea, this’ll probably suck, but I waste a lot of money on shitty movies as is, so it can’t hurt.

Alice in Wonderland; let’s see how screwed up they can make it this time.

Iron Man 2!

A Nightmare on Elm Street.

And I’m pretty sure they’re making… another Shrek movie, and something based on Prince of Persia. Uh, like the game.

Clearly I have too much time on my hands.

In that note, below are some movies to watch.

The Road (2009)

Director: John Hillcoat
Writers: Cormac McCarthy (novel) Joe Penhall (adaptation)
Release Date: 25 November 2009 (USA)
Genre: Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Plot: A post-apocalyptic tale of a man and his son trying to survive by any means possible.

Cast
Charlize Theron -Wife
Viggo Mortensen -The Man
Guy Pearce -The Veteran
Robert Duvall -Old Man

The Lovely Bones (2009)

Director: Peter Jackson
Writers (WGA): Fran Walsh (screenplay) &  Philippa Boyens (screenplay)
Release Date: 15 January 2010 (USA)
Genre: Crime | Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Thriller more
Plot: Centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.

Cast
Mark Wahlberg -Jack Salmon
Rachel Weisz -Abigail Salmon
Susan Sarandon -Grandma Lynn
Stanley Tucci -George Harvey
Saoirse Ronan -Susie Salmon
Michael Imperioli -Len Fenerman

Tell-Tale (2009)

Director: Michael Cuesta
Writers (WGA): Dave Callaham (screenplay) Edgar Allan Poe (short story “The Tell-Tale Heart”)
Genre: Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Plot: A man’s newly transplanted heart leads him on a dangerous journey to find out who murdered its donor.

Cast
Josh Lucas -Terry
Lena Headey -Elizabeth
Brian Cox -Van Doren

I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)

Directors: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa
Writers (WGA): John Requa (written by) & Glenn Ficarra (written by)
Release Date: 12 February 2010 (USA)
Genre: Comedy | Drama
Plot: Steven Russell is happily married to Debbie, and a member of the local police force when a car accident provokes a dramatic reassessment of his life…

Cast
Jim Carrey -Steven Russell
Ewan McGregor -Phillip Morris
Leslie Mann -Debbie

Shutter Island (2010)

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers (WGA): Laeta Kalogridis (screenplay) Dennis Lehane (novel)
Release Date: 19 February 2010 (USA)
Genre: Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller
Plot: Drama is set in 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island.

Cast
Leonardo DiCaprio -Teddy Daniels
Mark Ruffalo -Chuck Aule
Ben Kingsley -Dr. John Cawley
Emily Mortimer -Rachel Solando
Michelle Williams -Dolores Chanal
Max von Sydow -Dr. Jeremiah Naehring
Jackie Earle Haley -George Noyce

Daybreakers (2010)

Directors: Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig
Writers: Michael Spierig (writer) Peter Spierig (writer)
Release Date: 8 January 2010 (USA)
Genre: Action | Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller more
Plot: In the year 2019, a plague has transformed most every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher works with a covert band of vamps on a way to save humankind.

Cast
Willem Dafoe -Elvis
Isabel Lucas -Alison Bromley
Ethan Hawke -Edward
Sam Neill -Charles Bromley

Source: http://www.imdb.com/

Shutter Island is a mystery/thriller 2003 novel by Dennis Lehane. It starts off in 1949 with US Marshalls Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule heading to Ashecliffe, a mental hospital, to investiagate the disappearance of Rachel Solando, a patient. Everything is  not as it seems at Ashecliffe starting with the staff who doesn’t seem too be interesting in finding Rachel or discovering why Rachel aludes to a 67 patient when there is only 66 patients.

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Spoiler Alert

The US Marshall Teddy and Chuck head to Shutter Island to investigate the disappearance of murderess Rachel Solando who left behind a piece of paper indicating there is a 67 patient in the island.The search for Rachel quickly turns into a search for Patient 67 whom everyone claims is a figment of Rachel’s mind. In the search, Teddy reveals he came to island to find Andrew Laeddis the man who set the fire that kill hiw wife. Laeddis could be patient 67 or Teddy could be the patient since Dr.Crowley, the head doctor, has begun to screw around with Teddy’s mind. In the aftermath, Teddy begins to suspect Chuck isn’t who he is but once Chuck disappears, Teddy is resolve in finding him. Unfortunately, everyone claims Teddy came alone to the island so Teddy know they are trying to keep him int he island. Teddy tries to escape the island but ends up meeting with Dr.Crowley who simply states he has been at Ashecliffe for two years and he is Patient 67. Teddy doesn’t belive it and aks for Chuck who turns out to be a doctor at the hospital. Everything is reveal; Teddy is Andrew Laeddis and Rachel Solando is Dolores, his dead wife, who murdered their three children. Teddy killed his wife because he couldn’t believe she killed the childrewn and then lost his own mind in the process.  Andrew created Teddy to deal with the situation and was sent to Ashecliffe. The entire point of the last four days was to get Andrew to remember he was Andrew, not Teddy.

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My Take:

I bought Shutter Island because I like Leonardo DiCaprio and the movie was directed by Martin Scorsese. Plus, I love Msytic River. This book is insane as the patients there. Honestly, I was not expeting Teddy to be Andrew Laeddis and that his wife was the one who murdered their children. Halfway through the book, I suspect Chuck was playing along with Dr.Crowley and they both wanted to keep him on the island. Once Chuck disappears, you know the people want to keep Teddy there. When Dr.Crowley begins to reveal Teddy’s past and the part he play in the past four days, I thought foul play and they really are playing with his mind.  Chuck turns out to be  a doctor in the hospital who played along with Teddy’s delusions and you can feel the hurt in Teddy when he states that he was risking his life to find him. That’s painful and a complete betrayal. When Teddy remembers the truth and knows what Dr.Crowley said is true, its shocking and turns everythings around. I love this book.

Shutter Island is a 2003 novel written by Dennis Lehane. A film adaptation of the novel directed by Martin Scorsese was scheduled for release in October 2009 but was pushed back until February 2010.

The story takes place in 1954 on Shutter Island, home to a psychiatric hospital called Ashecliffe. U.S. Deputy Marshals Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule investigate the disappearance of a patient, Rachel Solando, who had committed multiple murders. The deputy marshals search the island for the patient as a hurricane bears down on them, and they find that the hospital has practiced sinister measures during its existence.

I’ve finished the rough draft of my third book recently, giving me 3 rough manuscripts total. Though there’s still a lot of work to be done, I feel I’ve accomlished something huge. With all of that, I still managed to squeeze in some reading.

I’ve felt some need for inspiration to finish my last MS, so I’ve gone back and reread First Person Plural, and for fiction I read Shutter Island by Lehane.

I’ve been a Dennis Lehane fan for quite some time. I was hooked after Mystic River and have read everything but Shutter Island. And now I’m wondering why. It’s such a good book with raw emotion, and though Mysic River remains my fave, Shutter Island is right up there.

From Overture Films Press Release

On behalf of Overture Films, we are excited to announce that principal photography began today on LET ME IN, writer/director Matt Reeves’ adaptation of Let the Right One In, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Reeves (Cloverfield) and young stars Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road) and Chloe Moretz ((500) Days of Summer) were among those on-set as filming commenced on the Hammer Films production at Albuquerque Studios. Filming will also take place in various other locations in New Mexico before returning to Albuquerque to wrap in January.

In the haunting and provocative LET ME IN, an alienated 12-year-old boy (Smit-McPhee) befriends a mysterious young newcomer (Moretz) in his small New Mexico town and discovers an unconventional path to adulthood. The film is based on the bestselling vampire novel, Lat den Ratte Komma In, by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist, and is an English-language remake of the highly acclaimed Swedish film of the same name.

Cara Buono

The filmmakers note that while the new film will pay respect to the original Swedish version, they intend to forge a unique identity for LET ME IN, placing it firmly in an American context.

“This project is very personal to Matt as it is to the many passionate fans of the original story,” said Simon Oakes, President and CEO of Hammer Films. “The brilliance of that story deserves to be seen by audiences on a wide scale and we are excited that the pieces are in place to make that a reality.”

Updates to the cast list include Elias Koteas (Shutter Island) as the policeman, Cara Buono (“The Sopranos”) as Owen’s mother and Sasha Barrese (The Hangover) as “Virginia.” It was previously announced that Smit-McPhee and Moretz would play the leads “Owen” and “Abby” respectively and Oscar®-nominee Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) would play the guardian of “Abby”.

   Hammer Films acquired the remake rights to Let the Right One In at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival where the film took home the Founders Award® for Best Narrative Feature. The production is scheduled for a 2010 release in the U.S. by Overture Films. Exclusive Film Distribution is handling worldwide sales and distribution of the film.

Producing the film are Hammer’s Oakes, Guy East and Nigel Sinclair, along with Oscar®-winner Donna Gigliotti (Shakespeare in Love). Hammer’s Alex Brunner and Tobin Armbrust will executive produce along with John Ptak, Philip Elway and Fredrik Malmberg. Overture’s Robert Kessel, EVP Production & Acquisitions, will oversee production for the studio. Swedish producers John Nordling and Carl Molinder, who produced the original film, are also involved as producers on this remake.

Sasha Barrese

LET ME IN is the first film in a two-picture co-production, financing and distribution agreement between Overture Films and Exclusive Media Group, the parent company of Hammer Films and Spitfire Pictures.

Be sure to visit LET ME IN on Facebook and Twitter:

www.twitter.com/letmeinthemovie
www.facebook.com/letmein

ABOUT HAMMER

Hammer is the legendary British film brand, which was originally launched in 1934 and delivered a hugely successful run of films in the 1950s including Gothic classics “Dracula” and “The Curse of Frankenstein” and Sci-Fi picture “The Quatermass Xperiment.” Hammer’s reputation became branded worldwide as ‘Hammer House of Horror.’ In the 1960s Hammer struck distribution deals with Universal, Warner Brothers, Fox and Columbia. Hammer went on to produce a huge volume of films which included such titles as “The Plague of the Zombies,” “The Nanny,” “Quatermass and the Pit,” “The Devil Rides Out” and “One Million Years B.C.”

Not in production since the 1980s, the company’s brand is now being aggressively reinvigorated by Exclusive Media Group through new investment in the development and production of film, television and digital-platform content.

Hammer’s return to horror was heralded by interactive web serial “Beyond the Rave,” which was broadcast by MySpace in 13 territories in 2008. Today, Hammer has an active development slate totaling more than 25 projects across diverse genres sourced out of both Europe and the United States. Hammer recently wrapped production on “The Resident,” which stars two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hammer legend Sir Christopher Lee and is directed by Antti Jokinen.

ABOUT EXCLUSIVE MEDIA GROUP (EMG)

Formed by strategic investment group Cyrte Investments in May 2008, Exclusive Media Group (EMG) (www.exclusivemedia.com) is the parent company of Spitfire Pictures and the legendary British studio, Hammer, which now has a combined share holder equity and bank facility in excess of $100 million. The company is run by Nigel Sinclair, Guy East and Simon Oakes, with Sinclair and Oakes serving as co-chairmen and co-CEOs (out of Los Angeles and London respectively). East is president of EMG and chairman of Exclusive Film Distribution (EFD).

Under EMG, Spitfire and Hammer operate as two separate production entities with offices both in London and Los Angeles. EMG aims to produce 6-8 films per year and to acquire additional pictures for worldwide distribution through EFD, its London based subsidiary responsible for worldwide sales and distribution. The group also develops projects for television and digital platforms.

EMG has over 300 titles in the combined Hammer and Spitfire libraries and pursues an aggressive library acquisition policy. The Hammer library is noted for its remake potential and the company is in discussions with A-list writers and directors to revive and re-imagine some of its highly touted titles.

Cyrte Investments is part of Delta Lloyd Asset Management, one of the Netherlands major asset managers, which in turn is majority-owned by London Stock Exchange listed Aviva plc, one of the world’s largest insurance companies.

ABOUT OVERTURE FILMS

Overture Films (www.overturefilms.net) develops, produces, acquires, and distributes feature length, theatrical motion pictures worldwide. The studio is a wholly owned unit of Starz Media, a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation attributed to the Liberty Capital Group. Its affiliated companies, Anchor Bay Entertainment and Starz Entertainment, make the films available domestically to viewers via home video, premium television, Internet and other outlets.

Amazon Specials!

Shutter Island è un film statunitense diretto da Martin Scorsese con Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer e Max von Sydow.

Leggi altre notizie su: | Drammatico | Thriller | Martin Scorsese | Leonardo DiCaprio | Mark Ruffalo | Ben Kingsley

This movie looks excellent.  I am not usually a fan of Hollywood films but I will see this one.  Mark Ruffalo is a new favorite of mine (well, new since 2003,) and Leonardo Dicaprio is a fine actor.  The pair play U.S. Marshalls investigating the disappearance of a patient from a remote island hospital for the criminally insane.  Also starring the legendary Sir Ben Kingsley, Max Von Sydow, Patricia Clarkson and Michelle Williams.  Based on a novel by Dennis Lehane (Gone Baby Gone, Mystic River,) and directed by Martin Scorsese.  Due in theaters February, 2010.

I can’t believe it’s been over a month since I’ve posted.  I actually started this blog when I was going through a bit of an I don’t feel like reading phase and I think I may have overwhelmed myself with all the excitement of literary blogs/challenges/etc.  I didn’t really plan to not post AT ALL during October but it just kind of happened and I allowed myself to get swept up into work and forget about the things I enjoy doing.  About a week ago I got fed up with myself and forced myself to open up a new book.  And what do you know…I got totally lost in the book and remembered how important it was to make time for myself and to enjoy reading again.  Since that day a week ago I have finished two books and am almost finished with a third and it feels so good!

The two books I have finished are Murder, She Wrote: Panning for Murder and Shutter Island.  I credit the Murder, She Wrote book for getting me back in the swing of things as it was a light, easy, no-pressure book.  However, Shutter Island was SO good and it’s really the thing that motivated me to keep up with my books-to-read pile.  It had the craziest twist that made my jaw drop.  I finished the book and still wasn’t sure I believed it!  I’ll be doing reviews on both very soon.

Right now I am knee-deep in Things Worth Remembering which I won in a book giveaway sponsored by Callapidder Days and I will probably finish it tonight.  I must admit that when I first read the description I thought it was going to be too…flowery for me.  It’s a mother-daughter type story and I was afraid it was going to end up being full-on sappy.  But I gave it a try last night and could NOT put it down.  I’ve been thinking about it all day and can’t wait to snuggle into bed tonight to finish it.  I’m also already planning on passing it along to my mom who I think will also enjoy it.

So that’s a quick update from me.  I’m sorry I disappeared for a bit but I think my disappearance was just what the doctor ordered to get me back into reading.  Hope everyone in the blog world is doing well!

Download Trailer

Release Date: February 19, 2010

Genre:Drama
Director:Martin Scorsese
Cast:Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson, Max von Sydow

From Oscar®-winning director Martin Scorsese, “Shutter Island” is the story of two U.S. marshals, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), who are summoned to a remote and barren island off the coast of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island’s fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane.

By Tatiani Siegel – Variety.com

DreamWorks has tapped scribe Laeta Kalogridis to adapt  the Japanese manga property “Ghost in the Shell.”

DreamWorks is making the futuristic police thriller as a 3D live-action film.

Avi Arad, Ari Arad and Steven Paul of Seaside Entertainment are attached to produce and originally brought the project to DreamWorks.

Created by Masamune Shirow, “Ghost in the Shell” was first published in 1989. It went on to generate two more manga editions, three anime film adaptations and an anime TV series. The second anime film, “Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence,” was released in the U.S. by DreamWorks in 2004.

Jamie Moss was the original writer hired when DreamWorks bought the property last year.

Kalogridis wrote and exec produced Martin Scorsese’s upcoming thriller “Shutter Island,” which stars Leonardo DiCaprio.

Amazon Specials!

Mas o menos lejano o cercano su estreno, según lo miremos (19 de febrero en USA, como ya comenté en otra entrada, y seguimos sin fecha para España), nos llega el tercer trailer de “Shutter Island”, que va añadiendo elementos inquietantes a los ya vistos, para que nos hagamos nuestra propia composición de imagen de lo que podemos esperar del nuevo trabajo de Martin Scorsese.

Atractivos parece que no le faltan al guión, de la dirección, no desconfiamos, y, posiblemente, cuente también con excelentes interpretaciones.

La impaciencia por su estreno nos va a corroer, y más si seguimos sin saber para cuando la veremos en nuestras pantallas.

Os dejo con el trailer, y me contáis.

Más información sobre la película, y trailers anteriores, pinchando en los enlaces de abajo

“Shutter Island” – Se atrasa su estreno en USA – Nuevo trailer

“Shutter Island” – Póster de la película de Scorsese, protagonizada por Leonardo Di Caprio

“Shutter Island” – Trailer oficial de lo último de Scorsese

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Visto en:  Spike

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Swanson:  

Já está rolando na internet alguns trailers de “Ilha do Medo”, novo longa do diretor Martin Scorsese. Veja um deles:

“Ilha do Medo” é um terror psicológico estrelado por Leonardo DiCaprio. Se depender de Scorsese, DiCaprio nunca vai ficar desempregado: é o quarto filme no qual o diretor e o ator trabalham juntos. O enredo do filme gira em torno de uma assassina que foge e desaparece de um hospital psiquiátrico. A ilha de Shutter Island, onde se localiza o hospital, se torna o maior pesadelo dos dos agentes federais que investigam o caso (DiCaprio e Mark Ruffalo).

Veja algumas fotos:

O filme, da Parmount Pictures, tem lançamento previsto para 05 de março no Brasil.

I’m still not fully on board with Leo in a horror, because I’m still jaded about Secret Window, Johnny Depp’s half-ass return to “horror”, so can Leo pulls this off? We shall see , I guess. Yes, I know Johnny and Leo have nothing to do with each other, but it’s the way mind works. Anyway to refresh the noggin, here’s the story:

It’s 1954, and up-and-coming U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston’s Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. He’s been pushing for an assignment on the island for personal reasons, but before long he wonders whether he hasn’t been brought there as part of a twisted plot by hospital doctors whose radical treatments range from unethical to illegal to downright sinister. Teddy’s shrewd investigating skills soon provide a promising lead, but the hospital refuses him access to records he suspects would break the case wide open. As a hurricane cuts off communication with the mainland, more dangerous criminals “escape” in the confusion, and the puzzling, improbable clues multiply, Teddy begins to doubt everything – his memory, his partner, even his own sanity.