Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio in Shutter Island.By Hap ErsteinIf you accept the premise that all moviemaking is viewer manipulation and you are willing to put yourself in the hands of a master manipulator like Martin Scorsese, then there is plenty to enjoy watching the loopy, melodramatic Shutter Island.On the other hand, if you insist on clarity and loose ends neatly … [Read more...]
Film review: Inert ‘Victoria’ a bloodless non-drama
Emily Blunt and Rupert Friend in The Young Victoria.By John ThomasonMartin Scorsese clearly has enough of a soft spot for arch period pieces that he offered to gamely produce Jean-Marc Valee’s The Young Victoria. But his masterful guidance is generally absent from this inert account of the years surrounding Queen Victoria’s coronation.Before going further, I have to admit a … [Read more...]