The Rum Diary (2011)

This movie can be summed up in one word: boring. There's no story line, no jokes, no drama, no excitement, the dialogues are shale, bordering, to the ridicule. The characters are shallow and predictable, clichés all along.

Depp is at his lowest, he seems like bored by himself. I've never seen him acting so lousy, he seems to have totally lost it. As for Amer Heard, the less screen time she gets the better. It's beyond me why she has been cast in the first place. It's obvious her talent lies with another movie genre with a more visual focus and very little dialogues.

A most disappointing experience. So spare yourself this disappointment and employ your time with a more useful endeavor. For example reading the book.

Fmovies: I have read the book and this movie holds true to the voice that Thompson writes with - this is what makes the movie works. Depp's role, unsurprisingly, mimics his portrayal of Hunter in Fear and Loathing (only with less drugs, not counting alcohol).

The movie can, realistically, be summed up in one "revelation" Depp's character has with a rather unusual counterpart. Throughout the film we see examples of the opulent lifestyle of few and downtrodden livings of the many.

What Depp confides with his "friend", allows us to use what we have learned up to that point in the movie and chew on for the remainder of the movie, is this - the banks hold the wealth while leaving us (and the starving children) to stare at empty brass plates hanging on their front doors. Whether you agree with it or not, this is not a stretch to compare with the "occupy" movement settling into America and around Europe today.

This movie is good. Much like the original book, this movie doesn't try to entertain the viewer; it allows the viewer to sit back and follow along as one man experiences a lifetime of ups and downs in a matter of weeks. And be prepared to go out for a drink afterward, you'll need it.

Plot Summary Now if your the sort of person that needs a definitive story line and thick plot to enjoy a film then this probably isn't for you. Its more a 'fly on the wall' view of a young journalists struggles in a failing newspaper. Paul Kemp(Depp) is a young man trying to make his way in a new place, making new friends and enemy's along the way.

What I thought of it I wasn't sure what I would think of this film, I new it has some great actors, such as Johnny Depp and Giovanni Ribisi, but the concept of the film was a strange one. I was pleasantly surprised, the director Bruce Robinson has done a great job with this film, which was always going to be a very tough job being adapted from a novel by Hunter S Thompson and technically having next to no strong plot.

The film itself is stunning, the locations are amazing and well shot, and the editing style and shots work brilliantly with the type of film and more importantly with Johnny Depp, who has a massive screen presence in everything he does, including 'The Rum Diary'.

This film has everything I want to see in a good movie, strong characters, great sets and brilliant comedy, along with meaning. It really makes you think about society and life nowadays and how primarily, nothing has changed in the way the world goes round and the sort of corruption and manipulation that still goes on today all around us, as it did back in the fifties, only less obviously.

On a lighter note, this film is hilarious and great to watch more than once, there is something rather satisfying about watch a man drink huge amounts of high octane rum and have to deal with the consequences the next morning, something that makes you happy its not only you.

Summary In all I thought this was a very enjoyable film for anyone to watch and have a good laugh at while loving everything about the characters. The acting is scintillating and exciting.

I highly recommend this film to all, one to watch ..... 7/10 Stars*

The Rum Diary fmovies. The film begins with main character Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp) waking up in a luxurious hotel room in Puerto Rico after a heavy night of drinking. After chomping down a few aspirin, Kemp stumbles into the editors office of the San Juan Star and is given a dead end writing job. After a few chance encounters, Kemp becomes the center of intrigue and corruption while consuming copious amounts of alcohol.

"The Rum Diary" was originally a novella from the twisted mind of Hunter S. Thompson an eccentric journalist and novelist who in addition to smoking, snorting, injecting, drinking every drug, alcohol and carcinogen known to man, managed to change the face of journalism by calling it as he sees it. His writing can repel and enchant with equal measure and has a breakneck spontaneity which is rivaled by its frazzled incoherency.

Incoherency would be the best word to describe this film. The story lacks any kind of focus jumping from a love story, a corrupt land deal, drunken antics, workplace politics and racial tensions. Watching "The Rum Diary" was like talking to a drunk grad student; little flashes of genius may linger but after what seems like four hours you realize you're talking to a drunken idiot and looking for the door.

Thompson's other work adapted to screen shares a similar inconsistency but say what you will about "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" at least it was interesting. Director Bruce Robinson seems unsure behind the camera trying desperately to balance themes and while Terry Gilliam threw spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks, Robinson compensates by drawing out its screen time and keeping the camera-work and editing as dull and uninspiring as possible.

The films only saving grace is the inclusion of Giovanni Ribisi as a cirrhosis addled, syphilitic cohort who takes LSD while listening to records of Nazi propaganda. His arguments with the Star's head editor (Richard Jenkins) provide some of the few precious moments of humor.

The epilogue appears while Johnny Depp sails into the horizon explaining that while its the end of the story "...its the beginning of another." I would have liked to have seen the other story. At least by then the sardonic wit of Thompson was finally present.

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The Rum Diary is a drama conjoined with elements of playful humour, based on the self entitled novel by Hunter S. Thompson. The film boasts one of the most critically acclaimed actors Johnny Depp, who is joined by other noticeable stars such as Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight), Giovanni Ribisi (Gone In 60 Seconds) and upcoming beauty Amber Heard. Depp himself is familiar with Thompson when incorporating his novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas onto the big screen in 1998. With this in mind we were certain to expect elements of surrealism with maybe the odd drug usage now and then. The story is set in the 1950's and follows Depp through the character of Paul Kemp who moves to Puerto Rico as a journalist who is in search of work, a good story and possibly something more. With his new job comes new friendships, utter absurdity, vast amounts of alcohol all topped off with a blonde bombshell.

The Rum Diary displays beautiful visual strategies in stages throughout the narrative. Being based on the island of Puerto Rico the camera work certainly fetishises the beauty of the island in the same way in which beauty Chenault (Amber herd) is captured. Her blonde hair and blue eyes offer the same satisfaction as long stretching beaches and deep blue oceans. The visual strategies are very creative and often juggle between states of mind that Kemp and others alike are under. This being most apparent in a scene between Kemp and co-worker Sala, when experiencing an unknown drug, which is taken as eye drops. Similar visuals between this scene and ones in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas can be matched, and anyone who is familiar to this film knows that experiences of intoxication are to be had. The hazy and slow motion camera work have been closely thought out to create these effects over us, the audience, as we are able to be a part of these actions.

One thing that I have been highly impressed with is the script itself; people have mentioned that The Rum Diary has not lived up to expectations and could have been better. However, this is not my personal opinion and I will offer a different outlook on the matter. My expectations of the film were not high due to these reviews but I am an individual who likes to make my own assumptions. The storyline offered, in my opinion, intriguing characters that all offer special characteristics in the narrative. They have been well thought of and are strong and understood rather than being weak or pointless. Moberg, played by Giovanni Ribisi, is a violent, black mailing, alcoholic who works in the newspaper with Kemp and Sala but rarely shows up to work and on the odd occasion he does he is drunk. The character is built to represent the pointlessness of the newspaper and seems to have worked out what Kemp has yet to learn already. His far fetched logic and actions all add up to a comic effect in the story which present light relief to a dramatic storyline. Scenes involving Voodoo witches and Nazi uniforms add to the surreal yet humorous conventions The Rum Diary offers.

As I mentioned, my expectations of The Rum Diary weren't at all particularly high but because of this aspect I think I enjoyed the spectacle more and was pleasantly surprised. The storyline keeps on going and I was never left with the feeling of it dragging on but left wanting more, which the film could have easily done without becoming numb. The characters are entertaining as well as fresh and the surreal aspects certainly are not typical in everyday Hollywood blockbusters. The film is defiantly worth watching in term

It's important to remember why this movie was made. It is for Hunter S. Thompson. That was really Johnny Depp's main focus. His goal is never to make the number one movie. He doesn't want to be a box office star. He wants to make movies that mean something to him and that is exactly what he did with The Rum Diary.

With that said, he made a beautiful film for his late friend. He played Hunter S. Thompson so wonderfully and stayed true to his character. Johnny honored his friend in the best way that he could, and did a phenomenal job in my opinion.

Aside from the film's purpose, if I had gone to see this with no knowledge of it's back story, I still would have enjoyed it. It was funnier than I was expecting and there was romance throughout. I was definitely interested the entire two hours. It is worth the price of a ticket because as usual, Johnny Depp delivered.