Yup, this movie came out 8 years ago. But you know what, 8 years ago I was too scared to watch thrillers because I had only grown up on British dramas and contemporary Rom-Coms, so the fact that I decided to watch this movie now makes me brave and I need you to acknowledge that.

After the first 10 minutes of “Shutter Island” I thought it was pretty obvious that Leo was either going to turn into one of the crazies or already was one of them. Obviously, I didn’t know how any of that was going to happen, but the setting of – remote island, one way in/out, Mark Ruffalo (can’t be trusted), and insane people – basically made it so that the audience knew Leo was gonna get WEIRD.

I must say that the ultimate twist at the end (aka the explanation of Leo’s character) was much more elaborate than I had expected. Definitely made this a solid Thriller – not at the same level as “Vertigo”, which is one of my ultimate faves- but it still makes you think and play back the whole movie after you’re done.

I only have a short list of frustrations, so enjoy:

1) The World War II flashbacks were pretty unnecessary and basically just confirmed that Leo was “violent”….but did we really need all 500 flashbacks? No. we didn’t.

2) Did Michelle Williams really have to be THAT creepy? She drowned all 3 of her kids. DROWNED. ALL HER KIDS. Can’t that be enough?? Did she really need to then say all those super uncomfortable things, “Let’s all eat dinner together…. They’ll be our live dolls…. Let’s bathe them.” Just remembering how creepy she was makes me shiver. Ok, Hollywood, we get it. You’re super edgy with your disturbing psychopathic script – can we stop now?!

3) Mark Ruffalo is a terrible liar. You could read him like a book. He should really just stick to being a romantic lead underdog like in “13 Going on 30” and “Just Like Heaven”.

4) I think “Shutter Island” is a terrible title. I guess this comment is aimed more at the author of the book, Dennis Lehane, than at Hollywood. Dear Dennis, ‘Shutter Island’ does not sound scary or creepy or disturbing. If you are going to write a very gross book, it needs to have a title that informs the reader “hey, this is gonna get uncomfortable”. A couple suggestions: “Shiver Island”, “Grave Island”, “Cemeteria”, “Morbidom”, and/or “Deathland”. All of these are better than “Shutter Island” and I just came up with them today. Dennis – call me. I can help you.

Popcorn Rating: 3 popped corns and 1 kernel

Definitely a disturbing thriller. I might watch it one more time now that I know the whole plot twist, but quite honestly, imma fast forward all the Michelle Williams scenes. It’s too much.

Best

PFP