Comment Archives: stories: Movies
Re: “The Rum Diary a hot mess”
The Rum Diary
A Buried Treasure
“The Rum Diary has been consistently underrated by the critics and under publicized by the studios. Audiences who have been fortunate enough to see it have loved it. I would like to point out a few of its beauties before it disappears from our screens.
Sometimes a film actor seems to rise above all others in his generation and symbolize the mood of a decade. For the 1950’s it was Marlon Brando, in the 60’s Jean Paul Belmondo held the crown, in the 80’s and 90’s Robert DeNiro seemed to most express the period. For this decade Johnny Depp has swept away all contenders. In his new film “The Rum Diary” playing a young American reporter, based on the character of Hunter S Thompson in Puerto Rico during the 1950’s, Depp delivers an iconic performance. His unique style of acting does not rely on dialogue but is based on the use of facial expressions. By simply raising an eyebrow (even when wearing dark glasses), lowering one corner of his mouth into the suggestion of a scowl or putting on a happy face when all around him is mayhem he is able to convey great depths of emotion, wit and humor. By watching his face the audience is able to read into his mind. Very few actors have ever reached this level of screen acting. One of them was Harpo Marx. Depp’s performance is perfectly matched by director Bruce Robinson’s own delicious brand of surrealist humor reminiscent of the Marx Brothers that he developed in his first feature “Withnail and I” in 1987.
The film swings wildly between hilarious comedy (a Fiat 500 driving down a flight of steps with Depp bouncing up and down on the lap of his burly photographer friend),
a suspenseful car chase, a fantastical voodoo sequence, erotic flirtations with the sylph like actress Amber Heard playing the girl friend of a man he despises and direct political statements on the exploitation of the indigenous population of Puerto Rico by unscrupulous agents of American Corporations like Union Carbide. A walk through a filthy garbage dump where homeless children live in the shells of abandoned cars is followed by a trip to an exotic island paradise that is about to be turned into a luxury tourist resort. The reporter is offered a share in the profits if he writes a series of favorable articles encouraging the development of the island.
“The Rum Diary” resembles “The Motorcyle Diaries” based on the memoirs of Che Guevera, in the way it shows the growing social conscience of a young writer searching to find his own voice. At the extreme end of self destructive alcoholism and cynical despair, is the character of Moburg, a burnt out reporter played with verve by Giovanni Risi in a manic performance which is the opposite of Johnny Depp’s understated acting style. Hunter S Thompson will eventually become this character when he reaches the stage of “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” but for now he is still an idealist. Driven by a magnificent central performance, “The Rum Diary” achieves greatness by employing all the techniques of modern cinema used to their maximum efficiency, both entertaining and educating the audience simultaneously.
Re: “Kevin Smith in Halifax”
I am SO EXCITED to see him tonight. It was all over twitter and facebook, so I guess if you're not into social media it would have been easy to miss it. Also due to glitches with their system it was almost impossible to get tickets - it involved almost 4 hours of calling and trying online before I got through.
Re: “Kevin Smith in Halifax”
Yeah I didn't know he was coming either, WTF?!
Re: “Kevin Smith in Halifax”
I didn't even know he was coming to Halifax and I live here! Now it's sold out and I am so disappointed. Was I in a coma? Where did it get publicized? I wanna swear but I won't.
Re: “The eight scariest video games ever”
Fatal Frame series is also pretty horrifying
Re: “The eight scariest video games ever”
Thanks for your comments everybody!
-Colin
Re: “The Ides of March”
Really enjoyed it. Practical lessons for anyone interested in politics. Starry eyed idealists will be quite disappointed.
Is it just a coincidence that all this Occupy nonsense started the same day the movie opened ?
Re: “The eight scariest video games ever”
Dead Rising 1 !! When you're in the tunnels at night...
Re: “The eight scariest video games ever”
@Colin
"Turok: Dianasour Hunter" for the N64 (Oldest)
"Fear" for the PC (Most Scary)
"Dead Island" for the PC (Most Recent)
Also on a note for Resident Evil. I would argue "Resident Evil 3: Nemesis" was the scariest of the series. With Code Veronica having the best gameplay of the series.
-James
Re: “The eight scariest video games ever”
Ravenholm in Half Life 2 was scary enough for me. Those frickin' fast zombies...
Re: “The eight scariest video games ever”
Do you guys have any other really scary video games I may have missed? Post them here.
-Colin
Re: “Video game tournaments in Halifax”
Just throwing this out there, Halophax did not "fold", the expanded and are now running out of toronto, as Phax Gaming and are nationally sponsored my Toshiba Canada, and are very successful, as they were when they were running as Halophax here in Halifax. I used to work with them, until i joined the military and had to unfourtunatly give up my passion....
Re: “Down The Road Again revisits classic Canadiana”
I always enjoyed the original and loved the SCTV parody, so I hope to give this one a go.
Re: “Sentimentality ruins The Big Year”
Sweet B'jesis, Molly. Are there any movies you DO like? Your reviews are a misery and I haven't read a single one where you LIKED the film you reviewed. I hope someday you'll see something you like. Otherwise maybe you should consider a career change.
Re: “The Maiden Danced to Death is clumsy”
What a beautiful film! This review sounds like its from a totally different movie! We loved it and would highly recommend it. Beautifully shot with great performances by the cast. Not a studio movie for sure, but that's what we liked about it. Subtle. Intense. Well crafted. Well done!
Re: “Video game tournaments in Halifax”
Hey great article. We've also started a video-game tournament hosting service in Halifax with all the popular games, Like us on Facebook and stay up to date on all the upcoming tournaments with big prizes for the winners!
http://www.facebook.com/Coliseum.Gaming
Moe Abuzayed
Coliseum Gaming - Halifax
Re: “Video game tournaments in Halifax”
Come find us over at http://www.maritimeknockouts.com, complete with a large event calendar. Doesn't matter what skill level, just come on out and play.
Re: “Real heart in Real Steel”
You know that creativity is a dry well when the entertainment industry has to make movies based on children's toys like Rock-Em Sock-Em Robots and Battleship.
I can't wait to see Kevin Costner's take on Tippy Teepee. He needs a hit.
Re: “Real heart in Real Steel”
I'm pleasantly surprised to hear that this could actually be a decent movie.
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Re: “Atkinson shines as Johnny English Reborn”
Johnny English Reborn Movie story is a noble human quality. It is a quality that makes a man to think for others. Johnny English Reborn movie story is the most valuable and powerful element of success in life. If we make a list of successful person. We will find that their success depends mainly upon this great virtue. I've not fallen for nothing I expect them to try and get the bitrate as low as possible but lovefilm seem to take it even lower than what could be classed as acceptable and add this to what could only be classed as the worst library ever netflix has to be better. Add movie showtimes to iGoogle