Shutter Island

When the previews for Shutter Island first started coming out, I knew it was a movie that was instantly going to land on my must-see list.  But try as I might, I couldn't convince Dean to go see it with me, and because I dragged my feet and waited too long, before I knew it the movie was gone from the theatres.  So I did what I probably should have done in the first place: I read the book. 

If I didn't actually have to go to work in the morning I probably could have finished this book in a couple sittings.  And not because the length is super short, but because the book is so good and so suspenseful that it's hard to find a good place to stop.  Let me quickly set the scene.  The year is 1954 and Teddy Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule, have been sent to Ashcliffe Hospital to investigate the disappearance of one of the inmates.  While the two are working their way through a seemingly impossible case, a massive storm hits the island and Teddy and Chuck are separated.  Fearing that he has been fed psychotropic drugs and convinced that radical brain surgery is taking place somewhere on the island, Teddy tries to hold on to his sanity when it seems like everyone else around him has lost theirs.

I'm not going to be able to reveal too many details, because I don't want to reveal too much about the book's ending.  I will say that I have been waiting to read a book like this for a long time.  I'm a sucker for the mystery genre, and an even bigger sucker for a few good plot twists and a surprise ending.  This book delivered all that and more.  The character development throughout was done very subtley with conversations between the characters, and also plenty of inner-thought monologue from Teddy.  I found the characters to be instantly likeable, and pleasant enough to follow for 200 pages or so.  

My one gripe is hardly a gripe at all, just something minor that caught me off guard.  The book ends very suddenly.  It's almost like the author was in the middle of building up another scene, and then just decided enough was enough.  Don't get me wrong, the ending works, but I wasn't quite ready for it when it happened.  Plus this is one of those books that has a preview section at the end with sample pages from the author's next book, so I wasn't prepared to reach a conclusion when I still had pages left to turn.  It's a mental thing..... 

This just goes to prove my point that any movie which started out as a book should always be enjoyed in its natural form, in other words don't be lazy.....read the book.  The movies are usually still enjoyable, and sometimes you get lucky and will stumble across a great adaptation, but the book is still where the real magic happens.  That being said, I cannot fairly compare the movie and book version of Shutter Island because I have not yet seen the movie, but I'm glad I got to experience the written form of the story first.  So maybe everything does happen for a reason.  

American Idol Wish List

For the past couple years I have been a consistent viewer of American Idol.  The show is alright.....I could do without the beginning weeks of tryouts where they highlight some of the worst and most ridiculous fame seekers to grace this earth, but all that aside, I still get into the show when the competition heats up.

If you watch the show, you can't help but notice some very distinct patters in both the judges and the contestants.  Doesn't matter the season or the situation, some of these things are so predictable it will drive you insane.  Below is a list of some things I hope to one day see/hear on American Idol.  You know, just to shake things up.

1.  I want to see Randy Jackson make it through an entire episode without using the words "dog" and "hot" in his critique.

2.  When a contestant has a really bad performance and gets ripped a new one by the judges, I would like just once for them to acknowledge that, yes, they kind of did really suck, not offer a bunch of excuses or try to explain how they think they actually did alright.

3.  For any and all contestants to quit telling us they "really had fun" during their performances.  No one cares if you're having fun.  You are on this show to win and kick some ass, not because you were feeling kind of bored and thought you would try this American Idol thing to see how much fun it was.

4.  Somewhat along the same lines as #3, I would really appreciate it if the audience wouldn't boo Simon or any of the judges when they tell contestants that they didn't have a good performance.  The truth hurts, and the judges are not there to pump up people's self-esteem. 

5.  Everytime one of the contestants doesn't do well, the judges (not all, but most), will try to pump them up by saying that they look great and that they are such awesome people.  Honestly, I think that is more crushing than getting a bad review about their singing.  This isn't a modeling competition people.  Review the singing and let the hair and wardrobe people worry about how the contestants look.   

6.  To see the contestants actually sing the group song at the beginning of the show....not lip synch.

7.  Maybe Ryan Seacrest could go on vacation for all of next season and we could find a guest judge to fill in.  Ryan has been especially obnoxious this season and I'm not sure how I am going to stand him until the finale.