{"id":3819,"date":"2012-02-08T08:34:44","date_gmt":"2012-02-08T16:34:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=3819"},"modified":"2021-05-28T16:46:56","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T23:46:56","slug":"review-rumdiary-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2012\/02\/review-rumdiary-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rum Diary Blu-ray Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Rum Diary<\/em><\/strong> is the kind of film that doesn\u2019t linger after it\u2019s over. It\u2019s not bad enough to mock or good enough to recommend, it kind of is just… there. Depp delivers another good performance but even he can\u2019t save an undercooked screenplay.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>
\nThe Rum Diary(2011)<\/strong><\/p>\n


\nREVIEW NAVIGATION<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe Movie<\/a> | Special Features<\/a> | Video Quality<\/a> | Audio Quality<\/a> | Overall<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Comedy, Drama
\nSony | R \u2013 120 min. \u2013 $35.99 | February 14, 2012<\/p>\n

MOVIE INFO:<\/span>
\nDirected by: <\/strong>Bruce Robinson
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Hunter S. Thompson (novel); Bruce Robinson (screenplay)
\nCast: <\/strong>Johnny Depp, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Rispoli, Amber Heard, Richard Jenkins, Giovanni Ribisi<\/p>\n

Theatrical Release Date: <\/strong>October 28, 2011<\/p>\n

DISC INFO:<\/span>
\nFeatures: <\/strong>Featurettes, BD-Live
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>1<\/p>\n

Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 1.85
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH, English, Spanish
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/p>\n

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THE MOVIE<\/strong> \u2013 2.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I know very little about author Hunter S. Thompson save the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas<\/em> feature film adaptation, so I might be the wrong person to review the pseudo prequel (very loosely, of course), The Rum Diary<\/em><\/strong>. On the other hand, hopefully I can give the perspective of somebody from the outside looking in since I can\u2019t be the only one who\u2019s never read one of Thompson\u2019s books…<\/p>\n

The story opens with a soaring view of Puerto Rico as a plane flies around pulling a banner, this sequence takes us through most of the credit sequence where we meet our protagonist, Paul Kemp (JOHNNY DEPP), a freelance reporter who apparently the night before went on a bit of a binge in his hotel room. Eyes bloodshot and experiencing a massive hangover, he manages to go to his new job at The San Juan Star, a rundown newspaper that is on the verge of collapse. The paper\u2019s editor is Edward Lotterman (RICHARD JENKINS), a straight shooter of sorts but somebody who really has little control. On his first day he is befriended by fellow reporters Bob Sala (MICHAEL RISPOLI) and the offbeat Moberg (GIOVANNI RIBISI).<\/p>\n

As he gets adjusted to his new job and the Puerto Rican culture, he\u2019s approached by businessman Hal Sanderson (AARON ECKHART) who proposes that Paul write what Hal and his associates want for a nice kickback. Of course Kemp is hardly the person to go along with this, but his fascination with Sanderson\u2019s fianc\u00e9e Chenault (AMBER HEARD) keeps him around. Things get a bit more complicated after being out with Sala, they get in a confrontation with the locals which leads to an assault on a police officer. They\u2019re put in front of a judge but Sanderson comes in to bail them out; now not only does Kemp owe Sanderson, but he\u2019s basically in love with the fianc\u00e9e.<\/p>\n

But Kemp is not the kind of person to take this sitting down. After several sips of rum he and his buds fight back against the \u201cbastards\u201d in the hopes of making a difference and Kemp in particular to find his voice.<\/p>\n

Even a week after seeing The Rum Diary<\/em><\/strong>, I\u2019m still not sure what to make of this film. It certainly has some zany moments but I can\u2019t quite say it\u2019s a compelling movie. Sure, Kemp is a compelling character but that hardly makes the movie itself very interesting. I also had a problem with the antagonist played by Eckhart. He\u2019s just a generic asshole\/douchebag businessman. Don\u2019t get me wrong, Eckhart is fine in the role but he\u2019s not really given a whole lot to work with. Similarly, and even more woefully, Amber Heard has a few good scenes with Depp but it doesn\u2019t amount to much and again, it\u2019s more about the screenplay than Heard.<\/p>\n

The biggest draw to the film is, of course, Johnny Depp. He slinks back into the role well enough albeit there seems to be more of a Jack Sparrow in Kemp thanks in large part to the rum and a bit of a winking to the camera. Depp is a versatile actor and one of the few who can overcome poor\/outrageous scripts (see: The Ninth Gate<\/em> or any of the Pirates of the Caribbean<\/em> sequels). With The Rum Diary<\/em><\/strong> you can clearly see the passion he brings to not only the role but to the picture as a whole serving as a producer.<\/p>\n

The most interesting about this project, though, comes behind the camera. Coming out of a 19 year hiatus\/retirement, Depp and others asked Bruce Robinson to helm the picture (his last was 1992\u2019s Jennifer 8<\/em>, an underrated crime-drama if memory serves) and while I liked the style \u2013 thanks to Dariusz Wolski\u2019s cinematography; fifth on a Depp movie \u2013 there was an energy that seemed to be missing.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t say The Rum Diary <\/em><\/strong>is uneven yet at the same time it never quite comes together. The acting is fine but the characters, except for Johnny Depp\u2019s Kemp, are at best thin. The plot is well defined but I honestly couldn\u2019t care less about the outcome. However, the movie looks good utilizing both the beauty and underbelly of the region and Depp\u2019s performance, along with Giovanni Ribisi, does at least makes this worthwhile and not a complete waste of time or an utter mess. Something it might\u2019ve been missing is, perhaps, a voice.<\/p>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 3.25\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A Voice of Ink and Rage: Inside the Rum Diary<\/em> (12:39; HD)<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 This featurette provides insights to the movie from producer\/star Johnny Depp on bringing Thompson\u2019s work onto the screen first getting Bruce Robinson to direct. The featurette also has interviews with others in the cast and crew including Robinson, Amber Heard, Michael Rispoli, etc.<\/p>\n

The Rum Diary<\/span><\/em><\/strong> Back-Story (45:56; HD)<\/span><\/strong> is the crown jewel of this release, well, it\u2019s the second of only two features, that gives an extensive documentary on Hunter S. Thompson, including a 1998 interview with Thompson himself, on \u201cThe Rum Diary\u201d and how it came about.<\/p>\n

BD-Live<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 Portal to check out other Sony projects. ** Blu-ray Exclusive **<\/strong><\/p>\n

Previews<\/strong> \u2013 London Boulevard<\/em>, In the Land of Blood & Honey<\/em>, Drive<\/em>, Tonight You\u2019re Mine<\/em>, Retreat<\/em><\/p>\n

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VIDEO \u2013 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Sony releases The Rum Diary<\/em><\/strong> onto Blu-ray in its original 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a nice looking 1080p high-def transfer. The HD transfer takes full advantage of the bright Puerto Rican colors which look absolutely amazing and retains some natural film grain and noise. The detail level is also quite good and sharp throughout while skin tones seem natural.
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AUDIO \u2013 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is good with clear dialogue levels and a well balanced soundtrack. The audio excels with Christopher Young\u2019s score but beyond that it\u2019s merely above average. The rear channels get a little use during the 2 or 3 more action-packed scenes otherwise the center and front speakers provide the most impact.<\/p>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 3.25\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Rum Diary<\/em><\/strong> is the kind of film that doesn\u2019t linger after it\u2019s over. It\u2019s not bad enough to mock or good enough to recommend, it kind of is just… there. Depp delivers another good performance but even he can\u2019t save an undercooked screenplay. With regards to the Blu-ray, it offers up nice video and audio transfers and even though the features are limited, the 45-minute documentary on Hunter S. Thompson is a treat.<\/p>\n

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The Movieman<\/em>
\nPublished: <\/strong>02\/08\/2012<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Rum Diary is the kind of film that doesn\u2019t linger after it\u2019s over. It\u2019s not bad enough to mock or good enough to recommend, it kind of is just… there. Depp delivers another good performance but even he can\u2019t save an undercooked screenplay.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[156,1287,1341,256,1340,645,1339],"class_list":["post-3819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blurayreviews","tag-amber-heard","tag-giovanni-ribisi","tag-hunter-s-thompson","tag-johnny-depp","tag-michael-rispoli","tag-richard-jenkins","tag-rum-diary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3819"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26139,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3819\/revisions\/26139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}