You should have saved me. You should have saved all of us.

Watching Shutter Island again. Spoilers follow at some point I'm sure. I've seen this movie a good number of times. It's a comfort movie. Visually, it's so rewarding to watch. That is probably the number one reason I watch it as much as I do. A lot of the films that I consider comfort movies are visually striking and have a unique vision, have a distinct look, which obviously has to do with the director, so it doesn't surprise me then that these films come from some of my favorite directors.



The flashbacks in Shutter Island are just stunning. Whenever the scenes in DiCaprio's apartment come on I have to just sit and watch. The colors are bright and vibrant, the ash snowing down in the room commands catches my attention, the music is emotional and engaging (not to mention the rest of the soundtrack and score...just so fucking great), and a handful of dreamlike qualities catapult this scene to probably my favorite moment in the film. I love the way, when the apartment is on fire behind him, that some of the fire is burning normally and some is running in reverse. Small things like that add so much I feel. It's like someone who has their eyebrows shaved off, you can tell something is off, but can't necessarily put your finger on it.

The WWII flashbacks are pretty to look at as well. The colors seem a bit muted, yet still brighter and the action seemed like a refreshing pause from the drama back at Ashecliff. Maybe that's because I'm a fan of films about WWII or because it was more interesting to me than a missing patient, but either way, it was a welcomed back story to the film. That being said, the film's "twist" ending was pretty damn predictable as soon as it was set up. Almost everyone I've talked to about this film says something along the lines of "Yeah, I've seen it. It was so predictable", and yeah, that twist was. Sitting in the theater, at the reveal, I was pretty let down...up until the last scene with DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo on the stoop. DiCaprio's last line in the film's final moments is what turned me around. It put everything we just witnessed on its head and asks us to view it in a completely different light.



Overall, it's because of all these reasons that I can watch this film over and over and not get tired of it. It can be on in the background or I can sit and focus and get sucked in just like the first time I saw it. It's not necessarily a movie I'd recommend to everyone, not because I don't think they'd like it or enjoy it, but because I don't think it's anything that hasn't been seen before or is particularly special. It's just something I saw at the right time and it clicked with me.

The following movies have saved my sanity a number of times. Not specifically because of their story or any one thing, but the movie as a whole. Whether it be the mood, the tone, the over abundance of dialogue to keep my mind occupied and away from my own internal thoughts, or a combination of any of these, I have watched (or not watched and fallen asleep to) these films more than any other (with a few exceptions I'm sure).

Top 10 comfort movies (in no order):
10. Shutter Island
9. The Prestige
8. Goonies
7. The Breakfast Club
6. E.T.
5. Sunshine
4. The Social Network
3. 25th Hour
2. Point Break
1. The Departed