Film Filter: Off- Unlike the norm, I actually read this book before the movie. I have a theory that, if you read a book AFTER watching the movie, you'll never be disappointed because the book is almost always better. I broke my cardinal rule in this case, though, and it didn't really matter all that much because both were quite good.
Pros- Having Leonardo DiCaprio on board as a leading actor pretty much slates your movie as incapable of doing wrong...unless it's the Beach. But, Leo again does not fail to put forth yet another amazing performance in his Bahston accent as Federal marshall Teddy Daniels. Mark Ruffalo also does a perfect job as his simpleton sidekick, who seems to just be along for the ride.
The story line itself is a good one, but the movie does a good job of bringing it to life. The cinematography is pretty good, and the scenery is believable. The pacing of the story, like any book to movie transition, is a little choppy and leaves parts out. Again, the movie does a good job of seaming together the important parts so that the audience won't even notice the little gaps in the plot.
The music selection for the film is ever so simple, but it WORKS. I liked the low, minor string selections. The job of movie music in my mind, provided it's not thematic like Star Wars or other John Williams scores, is to be such a good fit that you hardly recognize it's there at all. Just like special effects, they should be there to enhance the film, but shouldn't be the forefront of it. Kudos, music team, kudos.
The ending. I can't give the movie credit for that, obviously, but I can give the movie credit for the things they did well to set up for the ending. Much like Inception, you really need to watch this movie twice to fully appreciate what has been done.
Cons- I will say that some of the flashback scenes become awkward at times. I can't really pinpoint why, but there's something about them that doesn't flow smoothly to me. Keeping in mind that they're either dreams or flashbacks, it's a very nitpicky statement because I'm sure the director deliberately affected the scenes to make them stand out as "not reality".
Wrap up- This is a fantastic movie to watch, but it's definitely an intellect's horror film. It's not the knid of movie to just pop in for a quick scare, but one you really have to pull apart and think about. Great cast, good dialogue, awesome carrying out of a well written story, and a great ending.
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