Skip to main content

The Rum Diary

Starring: Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, and Aaron Eckhart
Directed by: Bruce Robinson
Screenplay by: Bruce Robinson
Based on the novel by Hunter S. Thompson

    It's the 1960s and the guy who plays Jack Sparrow is still getting rather drunk.  But this time, Johnny Depp plays an American journalist.
    Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp) has just moved to Puerto Rico where he has taken a job at the San Juan Star newspaper, a newspaper that is well on its way to bankruptcy and will shortly go out of business.  So, in the mean time, he is working on covering a hotel development project on a remote island (whose name and location are never revealed) with a very wealthy American, Hal Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart).  And then there's Chenault (Amber Heard), who seems to be Sanderson's girlfriend and has no really important role.  She seems to be there simply for young teenage boys like me to stare at and drool over her beauty.
    I'll be honest.  There is little in the way of a discernible plot in this film.  It feels like we're watching a bunch of little vignettes that have something to do with each other, but the overall plot is somewhat hard to actually see.  There's little story and a whole lot of sometimes irrelevant details.  For example, there's one scene where Chenault invites Kemp to a carnival on another island.  There is absolutely no reason this scene should be in the film because there's nothing in the scene that even remotely furthers the development of the story.  It's just another chance to see Chenault.
    Another downside to the film I see is that Kemp, who is the main character, seems rather peripheral throughout much of the film.  In some scenes, he seems to be in the shot, awkwardly not saying anything or saying very little, while the conversation goes on without him.
    The worst part of the film is the cinematography.  Every once in a while (by that I mean a few times a year), there's a movie that makes me wonder if Hollywood still knows what a tripod is.  The Rum Diary happens to be the current film that does that.  I actually got a bit dizzy during some of the scenes.  I didn't realize that one of the points of the film was to make viewers feel drunk.
    The good part of the film is that it's funny.  Most of the humor consists of puns, not so much any slapstick humor or jokes.  However, it's only funny to a certain extent.  It's not the comedy I expected it to be.
    I think I expected a lot more from The Rum Diary than what I got out of it.  In short, there's not much of a story, it's not the funniest film in the world, and the one character who seems to be constantly drunk on a drink that is 470 proof (yes, this is actually possible in this film) alcohol annoys the living daylights out of me.  I expected non stop laughs, and I walked out of the theater wondering why I actually went to see it in the first place.
    The Rum Diary is only going to get C- proof drinks from me.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Hunger Games

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth Directed by: Gary Ross Screenplay by: Gary Ross and Suzanne Collins Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins      If reality television hasn't gone too far yet, then this show should definitely make it go too far.      In a futuristic nation called Panem, one boy and one girl are selected from each of the nation's twelve districts to represent them in an annual television event called the Hunger Games.  Of the 24 contestants, only one will survive in this televised fight to the death.      I like the concept of the story.  While this futuristic society seems somewhat simple, it does not seem all that well developed.  It is unknown how this society came into being, even though it is known how the Hunger Games began.      If this film were released last year, I would have hoped it would be nominated for best make-up.  Many of the characters look absolutely ridiculous and are way too flashy, but the make-up is v
2 comments
Read more

First Man

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, and Corey Stoll Directed by: Damien Chazelle Screenplay by: Josh Singer Based on the book by James R. Hansen      Yes, this is the same director who did La La Land from a few years ago.  But this is a true story this time, and not necessarily a feel good one.      Many of us know about Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.  First Man is not simply the story of the moon landing, but the story about Armstrong and what led him to be the first man in history to walk on the moon.  It's a story about making huge sacrifices for himself, and his family, in order to accomplish such a goal, as well as overcoming a great deal of grief.       The film focuses almost entirely on Neil (Ryan Gosling).  The film opens up on him as one of the premiere pilots in the military, piloting the X-15; a plane that was capable of flying over 100,000 feet altitude.  He is portrayed as
Post a Comment
Read more

Resident Evil: Afterlife

Starring Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter, and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson Resident Evil: Afterlife is a somewhat scary action thriller about a zombie dominated planet during present times. It's the fourth movie in the franchise. Alice (Jovovich) is the former head of security at the Umbrella Corporation, the company that created the T-Virus that accidentally escaped and turned everybody into zombies. She travels to Alaska to what she thinks is a small town called Arcadia, where there is supposedly a colony of survivors that are infection free. She is drawn by transmissions saying that they offer safety and security, food and shelter. When she arrives, nothing is there, but she picks up Claire Redfield (Larter) and travels to what once was Los Angeles where there is another colony of four survivors living atop a prison rooftop and surrounded by zombies. They find that the Arcadia is actually a ship just offshore. Can they make it to the ship? Milla Jovovich plays a very act
2 comments
Read more