It has been a few weeks since I have written... I'd love to say it's because I lead such a thrill-a-minute life and I haven't had the time to write. The truth is- the last few movies just left me feeling... uninspired.
Thankfully- tonight's film broke the ho-hum routine.
The Rum Diary (Clearview Cinema- Hoboken) starring the amazing Johnny Depp, Aaron Eckhart, and Giovanni Ribbisi was an enjoyable experience. How can you go wrong with a line-up like that? All superb actors and the setting was certainly interesting- American journalists in Puerto Rico. Lots of panoramic scenes of beautiful beaches and luxury hotels juxtaposed with plenty of not-so-pretty environments of poverty and undernourished children. The premise- A newspaper who insists that the writers compromise their artistic integrity by ignoring the obvious suffering of the locals in favor of writing commercial fluff pieces that cater to rich American tourists. Giovanni Ribbisi was especially strong as a far gone alcoholic newspaper reporter. The older Giovanni gets- the more he becomes a chameleon in his work. He was brilliant and for the first half hour of the film I didn't even recognize him...
The only mild criticism I would give this film is that the pacing was....very.... slooooowwwwww.
Seriously- if I wanted to get up in the middle of the film- make a phone call- get a snack- visit the ladies room- and return- I wouldn't miss much. Lots of pregnant pauses. Normally- I'm not chatty during films- I'm not that person.. I like to become engrossed in the movie-going experience. But in this film I clearly annoyed my movie companion with some of my impromptu commentary. With all that silence- it was hard not to say something... But let me just say this- my commentary was relevant to the film. His commentary consisted of how the young lady in the cast- model-turned-actress Amber Heard is a "hotter version of Scarlett Johansson." Oye vey!- In my humble opinion Amber is certainly lovely and her acting was fine-But Scarlett Johansson is a much stronger actress who could have brought more dimension, more levels of emotion, and if you want to go the shallow route- much more sexiness to the part. Scarlett is all that an a bag o' chips! But I digress...
All in all- I'm glad I saw this film. It sends a clear message about how the media often chooses not to report on ugly truths and things that matter in favor of advertising dollars and income revenue. We as consumers pay far too much attention on gloss- with very little attention to substance.
That said- despite the pacing- I have nothing negative to say about this film. This is a quality film with an important message and I do encourage you to see it.
As for the "morsels" part of my commentary- my friend and I snacked on some "fun-size" Halloween candy.
And after seeing all the characters in the film indulge in Puerto Rican Rum- I decided to have a nice rum cocktail and ceasar salad with friends.. (Carpe Diem- Hoboken)
See you next time!
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