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Cop Out is the first film directed by Kevin Smith (Clerks, Mall Rats, Chasing Amy) that he has not written the script for. Gone are the overly long soliloquies and dialog heavy small films that have become Smith staples. It’s nice to see Smith branch out of his comfort zone and pay respect to the buddy cop genre of film. From the opening minutes  which jump from an interrogation scene laden with clichéd cop movie quotes being thrown out by Morgan while Willis names the film to the “bust gone bad” scene to the “police chief takes the badge and the gun while chewing them out scene” you know that this is a movie that is in on the joke.

The music screams Beverly Hills’ cop 2 and the music is pulled straight out of the 80’s. Everything about Cop Out is a loving tribute to the genre.

Morgan (who shows that he can be a star when he rained in just a little bit,) is hilarious as Hodges particularly when he is paired against the intentionally obnoxious small time thief Dave (scene stealer Sean William Scott).  Willis  (in one of his best roles in recent memory) plays off the stereotypes he has helped create and adds not only humor but some heart to the story; as the cop who just wants to be a good father and not look like a jerk compared to wealthy stepfather Roy(Jason Lee). Gone are the one line wise cracks of the rogue cop version of Willis and in its place is the unforced banter between partners that feels more natural and much funnier.

Paying homage to the buddy cop movies of the 80’s Smith hits every synthesized note. Grade-84

Timothy Olyphant stars as small town sheriff David Dutton who after gunning down a towns member during a baseball game begins the search to discover what is causing the changes in the local town folk. When the government quickly descends upon the town to contain the outbreak, David must save his wife (Radha Mitchell) while at the same time evade the military and the local “crazies”

Although the title might lend itself to some lowbrow straight to DVD zombie splatter fest, that couldn’t be further from the truth. This remake of the 1973 film of the same name is More psychological than in your face gore there is an excellent build up of tension amid the confusion of what is happening to the small town. Not knowing who has become infected or with what, while being hunted simultaneously by the military and the sick locals allows each scene to build upon the previous one without feeling like it’s just a set up for a cheap scare.

Olyphant is stellar as usual (for the life of me I cannot understand why he isn’t a bigger star) pulling off the role of the small town sheriff with the same swagger he brought to his role in “Deadwood”. The best part of the entire concept is that the water is polluted you don’t become infected by a bite and you never see who has drank the contaminated water.

Smarter than it needed to be the crazies is a movie that is much better than its title.

The inhabitants of a small Iowa farm town are suddenly turning Violent and insane after the water supply becomes contaminated when a government plane crashes.

Timothy Olyphant stars as small town sheriff David Dutton who after gunning down a towns member during a baseball game begins the search to discover what is causing the changes in the local town folk.  When the government quickly descends upon the town to contain the outbreak, David must save his wife (Radha Mitchell) while at the same time evade the military and the local “crazies”

Although the title might lend itself to some lowbrow straight to DVD zombie splatter fest, that couldn’t be further from the truth. This remake of the 1973 film of the same name is More psychological than in your face gore there is an excellent build up of tension amid the confusion of what is happening to the small town. Not knowing who has become infected or with what, while being hunted simultaneously by the military and the sick locals allows each scene to build upon the previous one without feeling like it’s just a set up for a cheap scare.

Olyphant is stellar as usual (for the life of me I cannot understand why he isn’t a bigger star) pulling off the role of the small town sheriff with the same swagger he brought to his role in “Deadwood”.  The best part of the entire concept is that the water is polluted you don’t become infected by a bite and you never see who has drank the contaminated water.

Smarter than it needed to be the crazies is a movie that is much better than its title. Grade-82

Set in 1954 Shutter Island is the story of US Marshall Teddy Daniels, (Leonardo DiCaprio) who travels to a remote island of the same name off the state of Massachusetts that houses the criminally insane. Teddy is there to investigate the disappearance of an inmate who has mysteriously vanished without a trace.

Teddy shows up with a lot of baggage, he is haunted in his dreams by the death of his wife and from participating in the liberation of a concentration camp in WWII. He is teamed up with a new partner Chuck Aule(Mark Ruffalo) who has a penchant to for referring to Teddy as Boss. Together the pair meets Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley) who runs the Hospital and believes that there are other ways to heal the mentally ill besides Lobotomies and Drugs while his head Doctor, Dr. Naehring (Max von Sydow) believes in those more conventional methods.

Teddy believes that there is more going on than anyone is willing to tell. With a hurricane approaching the island and no way to leave, Teddy searches for the truth of whether the island is strictly a hospital or if there is far more sinister work being done.

DiCaprio (in his 4th teaming with Scorsese) is excellent as usual with Teddy slowly building up agitation amongst the stories many twists and turns. The atmosphere of the film is fantastic harkening back to the era when Hitchcock was king.

The film is one that requires a lot out of the ending to make the story work especially given the lengthy amount of dialog and the two hour and eighteen minute running time; although you can see the ending coming a mile away it is the final twist that makes it worthwhile and elevates it, without this Shutter Island would just be an interesting moody ride.

The biggest problem with Shutter Island is the Scorsese pedigree it is forced to live up to. For some reason more than any other director, every film Marty puts out is over scrutinized and compared to his classic works. The people that don’t like this film are going to site his other films and say this doesn’t compare rather than strictly judge this film on its own merits. Grade-86

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