Brought to you by OBS Staff member Katie

Here at Open Book Society we like to see things from every angle. Movie posters are what sells people’s opinions of a film and like a book cover it has to be appealing. Also like books, movie posters can look differently depending on where they are made. Whole campaigns revolve around films, everything from viral web content to poster’s for every character in the movie.

International

Two U.S. marshals, Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, are summoned to a remote and barren island off the coast of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island’s fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane.The film is based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane. Via Yahoo

Japan

To find the rest of the posters click HERE

While I didn’t see this movie, I’m hoping to once it comes out on DVD. It looked pretty good. I like the ones from Japan best.

Not anything truly supernatural this week…so instead I bring you the fun and intriguing world of psychological thrillers.

Shutter Island (Nationwide)

Psychological Thriller (R)

(From comingsoon.net) From Oscar®-winning director Martin Scorsese, “Shutter Island” is the story of two U.S. marshals, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), who are summoned to a remote and barren island off the cost of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island’s fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane.

The Ghost Writer (Limited, Nationwide March 5)

Thriller (PG-13)

(From comingsoon.net) When a successful British ghostwriter, The Ghost, agrees to complete the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang, his agent assures him it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. But the project seems doomed from the start—not least because his predecessor on the project, Lang’s long-term aide, died in an unfortunate accident.

The Ghost flies out to work on the project, in the middle of winter, to an oceanfront house on an island off the U.S. Eastern seaboard. But the day after he arrives, a former British cabinet minister accuses Lang of authorizing the illegal seizure of suspected terrorists and handing them over for torture by the CIA—a war crime. The controversy brings reporters and protesters swarming to the island mansion where Lang is staying with his wife, Ruth, and his personal assistant (and mistress), Amelia. As The Ghost works, he begins to uncover clues suggesting his predecessor may have stumbled on a dark secret linking Lang to the CIA—and that somehow this information is hidden in the manuscript he left behind. Was Lang in the service of the American intelligence agency while he was prime minister? And was The Ghost’s predecessor murdered because of the appalling truth he uncovered?

Resonating with topical themes, this atmospheric and suspenseful political thriller is a story of deceit and betrayal on every level— sexual, political and literary. In a world in which nothing, and no one, is as it seems, The Ghost quickly discovers that the past can be deadly—and that history is decided by whoever stays alive to write it.

I really love psychological thrillers. They are the few movies that actually surprise me now. I think it’s a matter of never knowing what is real and what isn’t that allows you to be surprised.

I’m not a huge fan of Martin Scorsese’s stuff, but I love Leonardo DiCaprio, so I will definitely be seeing Shutter Island. I also like Ewan McGregor so when The Ghost Writer is released nationally I will be seeing it.

Are you interesting in seeing any of these movies?

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Shutter Island: A Thriller Out Of Time?
by Damon Wise at Empire Online

It’s been interesting watching the reactions to Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island, from the trailer alone. People seem to forget that artists have a fractious relationship with their times, that sometimes their work arrives out of synch with public taste, and that sometimes their art takes chances that even their most loyal followers won’t accept. The irony, of course, is that nobody knows this better than Scorsese, who has conducted a personal journey through the film cultures of three very cine-literate countries (Italy and the US, with Britain on its way) and directed a milestone documentary (No Direction Home) about the musician, poet and electric folklorist Bob Dylan, himself no stranger to controversy and public questioning. Along the way, the song remains the same; sometimes a contemporary audience isn’t always sitting in the right seats to judge.

Well, the arguments over Shutter Island appear to be raging over Scorsese’s decision to embrace high melodrama: thrashing winds; crashing waves; thundering rain; a detective dressed like a tsunami-drenched Dana Andrews; an insane asylum right out of Dickens; a score with more threat and bombast than Bernard Herrmann’s original theme for Cape Fear…

Read More here.

Here’s Why Most Werewolf Movies Suck
by Scott Weinberg at Horror Squad

Werewolf of London (1935), The Wolf Man (1941), Curse of the Werewolf (1961). An American Werewolf in London, The Howling, and Wolfen all showed up in 1981. Later we got Ginger Snaps and Dog Soldiers. I’ve skipped over stuff like Silver Bullet, Bad Moon, and Underworld because even if you think they’re half-decent werewolf movies — you probably don’t think they’re fantastic werewolf movies. Hell, I only included the very dry Wolfen up top because it’s weird that three werewolf movies came out in 1981!

Clearly my assertion is that there aren’t really all that many GOOD werewolf movies. I will now take that assertion and stretch it like so much bubble gum … and there: I now have a specious piece of logic that says MOST werewolf movies are crap. (Wolf? Blood and Chocolate? I Was a Teenage Werewolf? Cursed? Don’t make me laugh. And the name of that witless “Paris” sequel will go unmentioned on this website.) Actually that’s not entirely accurate either because, really, we don’t really GET all that many werewolf movies these days. And I think I know why…

Read More here.

Will We See The Riddler, Robin And More In Dark Knight Sequel?
by Graeme McMillan at io9

Now that we know that Christopher Nolan’s third Batman movie is getting underway, rumors about the choice of villain and plot are beginning to trickle online. Surprisingly, they don’t seem entirely impossible…

According to an anonymous source to ComicBookMovie.com, the third movie will feature not only the Riddler as the main villain – figuring out Batman’s secret identity, in a move swiped from the comics – but also cameos from other villains within Arkham Asylum, as well as appearances by Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson and mentions of Lex Luthor and Metropolis, setting up a cross-continuity with any future Superman movie.

Ignoring the fact that Barbara Gordon would be too young to be Batgirl in the movie continuity, all of this seems potentially legit, especially considering that The Dark Knight featured villain cameos, Nolan is overseeing a Superman movie reboot and the non-powered-but-mentally-troubled Riddler seems a particularly strong choice for villain.

Read More here.

Penelope Cruz eyes ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ sequel
by Borys Kit at Heat Vision Blog

Penelope Cruz is in negotiations to join Johnny Depp and sail the seven seas in “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” the fourth installment of the movie series being directed by Rob Marshall.

Depp is reprising his popular role of Captain Jack Sparrow, and while plot details are buried deeper than Blackbeard’s treasure, it is known the tale revolves around the Fountain of Youth.

Cruz’s character details are also being kept secret, though she is to be Sparrow’s foil and equal in many ways.

Read More here.

If I liked horror movies, I’d go see Shutter Island, the plot actually sounds good. I just don’t like being scared. And I think the Riddler would be a better choice than Catwoman for the next Batman movie, but the way the characters are adapted for Nolan’s version anyone might work.

What do you think about the new Batman villain ideas? Are you looking forward to the new Pirates movie?

Last year, when Shutter Island released date was approaching, Martin Scorsese shared his top 11 horror films. You won’t find any film released past 1981 and this doesn’t surprise me.

1. The Haunting (Robert Wise, 1963)

2. Isle of the Dead (Mark Robson, 1945)

3. The Uninvited (Lewis Allen, 1944)

4. The Entity (Sidney J. Furie, 1981)

5. Dead of Night (Alberto Cavalcanti, 1945)

6. The Changeling (Peter Medak, 1980)

7. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)

8. The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973)

9. Night of the Demon (Jacques Tourneur, 1957)

10. The Innocents (Jack Clayton, 1961)

11. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

As you can see Isle of the Dead (1945) directed by Mark Robson is number two on his list. Interestingly enough if you read the brief synopsis  you can see Scorsese had Isle of the Dead in his head when he was preparing Shutter Island. Both concern two people who travel to an island and, for differently terrifying reasons, get stranded there for an uncomfortable few days.

If I have piqued your interest and you wish to see the film, you are in luck. Youtube has the film (in its entirety) . Here is part one:

We have to wait a little longer for Shutter Island, it expected to be released on March 12th.

You can tell a lot about a director’s choice in favorite films. I am happy he listed The Exorcist and The Shining, which are two of my top favorites. Speaking of The Shining, I still can’t understand why Stephen King hated how  Stanley Kubrick adapted his story.

What are your thoughts about Scorsese’s? Are you surprised at his choices for favorite horror film? Have you ever seen Isle of the Dead?

Source: irishtimes