You can tell that Shutter Island is heavily influenced by Alfred Hitchcock. You wouldn’t find any bright spots in the movie. It is dark and creepy, just what a film noir should be. It is about US Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo). They go to the mysterious island to investigate a prison break.

Right from the start, Shutter Island is dark and creepy. It started out as a probe on the escape but the movie is really about Teddy’s story and his quest to find the truth. Slowly, Teddy and the viewers are given subtle clues to the puzzle. And just like Teddy, the conclusion blindsides everyone.

Leonardo DiCaprio sure likes to fuck the minds of people watching his movies. Shutter Island and Inception assault people’s senses in a good way. His characters in the two movies can’t let go of their dead wife. In Shutter Island, Teddy’s wife Dolores is played by Michelle Williams.

People might say that I’m just hallucinating but I do think that Leonardo DiCaprio is a good actor. This is evident in Shutter Island. Ben Kingsley also gives out a remarkable performance as Doctor Cawley, the master of Shutter Island.

Shutter Island requires your full attention. It is a thriller that requires the viewer to think. Some people might need to watch it a second time to grasp all the pieces of the puzzle. This might turn off some movie watchers who like watching mindless horror movies.

Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio): Which would be worse – to live as a monster, or to die as a good man?

Shutter Island is a must-watch. This makes the book a must-read. It is a complex story that some people might not get. People could get lost in its intricacy. With that said, it is not for everyone. If you want a thought-provoking, gripping thriller, then go watch Shutter Island.

Mammoth perfectly illustrates how people tend to forget what their goal because they’re too busy with their daily routines.  Leo and Ellen were too occupied with work that Jackie became too attached with Nanny Gloria.  I guess this is a common occurrence around the world.

While in a business trip in Thailand, Leo felt the urge to escape the daily grind and went to the beach.  Though thoughts of Leonardo DiCaprio’s The Beach and Gael Garcia Bernal’s Y tu Mama Tambien came to mind, Leo’s experience was a rather tame one.  The only immoral thing he did was to have an affair with a Thai hooker named Cookie (Natthamonkarn Srinikornchot).

Ellen is too busy caring for other people’s kids that she doesn’t have time to spend with her daughter. And when she did had a day off from the hospital, her daughter and Nanny Gloria had other plans for the day.

Among the three, Gloria has the most tragic story. She had to go abroad to take care of other people’s kid while her two sons are growing up without a mother. It’s something she has to give up to give her sons a better future.

The difference between the rich and poor was clearly presented in Mammoth. Writer/director Lukas Moodysson did a good job to sell the story to his audience.  The characters were complex and yet you could relate to either one of them.  It’s a simple reminder that we should not take our jobs seriously and should take some time off to enjoy the company of our loved ones.

Mammoth takes an objective view on the perils of globalization.  Even extinct mammoths are unsafe from capitalists who make them into pens.  Moodysson painted a tragic picture that would open the viewers’ eyes into what’s really happening in most parts of the world today.  To end this on a lighter note, it was nice to see Filipino artists working on an International film.  One of these days, Filipino nannies will rule the world.