The rum diary (2011)

[Johann]

Hunter S. Thompson's first novel has been made into a film (finally! It's seeing the light of day!)
Bruce Robinson directs.
Johnny Depp plays Paul Kemp.
It's slated for release this October and I can't wait.
Been patiently awaiting this bad boy for a LONG time. I hope it delivers a taste of Gonzo...
As soon as a trailer is available I'll link to it.



You're missed, Hunter.
Many many people still think of you often.

[Johann]

I'm seeing this soon and will post about it.

Reviews have got me excited about this years-in-the-making film. I think it's safe to say that I'll be praising it up and down.
Because I know that Johnny wouldn't release it unless it lived up to the Good Doctor's book and vision.
Depp's involvement means Gonzo verismilitude.

[Johann]

The thing is, this film is not meant to be anything like Gilliam's Fear & Loathing or Alex Gibney's Gonzo.
It's fiction.
It's a novel.
Sure Paul Kemp is HST in many ways, but this is a novel that as you say sat around collecting dust for years.
It is definitely a lesser written work in Thompson's career.

The reviews I've read emphasize the beauty of the cinematography and how Depp gives it some Gonzo flavor. (As I would certainly hope and expect!)
One reviewer here in Ottawa said it's dream-like but only gave it 2 stars.
Can't wait to see it myself.
If Johnny was plastered on rum for the Premiere, you can bet I will be nipping into some myself when I go see it.
You need some rum in your veins to properly assess this one I think.

[Johann]

Here's the official trailer. (I know I'll love this movie)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YUx36yLLug

[tabuno]

The slice of life experience of a journalist for a moment in Puerto Rico in the sixties was slow, teetering on boring, if one expected actions, thrills, and the "continous" fast-paced American mainstream movies of today. Instead perhaps, this narrative, pictorial immersing version of a journalist is better viewed or sensed in the manner of a patience developed from smoking pot. This more balanced and informative and visceral look at both the politics, the human elements, of chance meetings (such as in Lost in Translation,2003) resembled in some ways a carefully edited drama reflective of China Town (1974) and a more sedate, less dramatic version of The Year of Living Dangerously (1982). Unlike The Year of the Dragon (1985), Rum Diary uses more of the mundane appearing photography shots that have more substance under the surface and a more restrained, less overly dramatic approach to allow the audience the opportunity to notice the details, to feel the various images wash over the brain that eventually end up as a consistent totality of greed, integrity, sensuality, and human development. Johnny Depp brings is own sense of charm and humor in a more quiet but befuddled demeanor, without brash grandiosity. The movie is a difficult fusion of drama, comedy, and dialogue that is uneasy, but apparently successfully bound together into a intelligent whole. Within this movie is a matured sense of a script, plot, narrative, and message along with the experience of a poor, corrupt country.

[Johann]

Thanks tabuno- glad you got to see it.

I haven't seen it- the day I went to go see it was the day it was pulled from theatres- it never went to the second run (cheapie) theatres and I was kicking myself. I waited 2 weeks to check it out and it was GONZO. (pardon the pun)
I guess it was a box-office flop.

The thing to remember about this film is not whether critics or the public like it.
Would Hunter S. Thompson approve?
And the answer is an unabashed YES.
Johnny said in an interview that Hunter would've knocked it at first, taking Johnny "off his feet" (his words) but then he would've given it a thumbs up.
I've only seen the trailer and I know that it hit the nail on the head. Because Johnny & Bruce Robinson made sure of it.