I’ve been curious about Johnny Depp’s “The Rum Diaries” for a while. I’m a fan of his work and like to keep an eye out for projects that he’s either really passionate about, or involves Tim Burton. This one is the former and a pretty interesting one at that.
Idunno. I haven’t seen Johnny Depp in a “regular” role since the Tourist which didn’t really vibe with me particularly, and Public Enemies and it’s a little jarring at first to see him on the screen without some explosions, pirates, or at least any noticeable face makeup. It doesn’t look like a bad movie but it doesn’t neccesarily give me the impression that it’s an Oscar contender either. I’m not quite sure what to make of it but since I’m not easily dismissing it I think I’ll try to remember to watch this once it hits DVD or cable. What do you guys think? Is this movie “doing it” for anyone?
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I’m getting a “Fear and Loathing” vibe from that trailer (and didn’t know both that and this film were based on Hunter S. Thompson books until someone mentioned it in the comments here). And now knowing that I’ll be on the look out for this.
However I don’t this will be on the Oscar radar. As Logic Trap says about the demographic for Oscar contenders being very specific I get the feeling this might end up being one of those great films that doesn’t get an Oscar nomination because it doesn’t fit that demographic and I don’t think its going to be one of those black sheep films that get the Oscar nod despit it not being in that demographic.
I haven’t read the novel, but based on the trailer, it seems like there will be enough of a twist to keep Depp’s character from being TOO “normal.” It looks like something to definitely check out.
I saw the trailer for this film a couple weeks back and I got really excited to see Depp NOT in a pirate costume or heavy makeup. His popularity of late has been about his character in Pirates and not so much on his more “Serious” work like Fear and Loathing (I still liked him with Antonio Bandaras in Once Upon A Time in Mexico) His passion for Hunter S.’s work really shows on the screen.
Oscar contenders tend to pan to a specific demographic. Every year there are dozens of amazing films that are looked over for Oscar noms, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not good films.
I would see this one in the theatre, if only to see the part (2:06 in the trailer) where Depp and the other character are riding in the beat up old car…”try and look normal…” that moment made this trailer….
I think you should read the book and then make an assumption. One of my favorite Johnny Depp films was his other Hunter S. Thompson piece, Fear and Loathing. Johnny Depp was a good friend of Hunter S. Thompson and he put his heart into Fear and Loathing. I think you will definitely see a great performance from Johnny Depp, I only hope that the director didn’t bring a lot of humor into the movie because the humor was light and not so slapstick.
Agreed. I would suggest reading the book. Also, I’ve read the Johnny Depp was one of the reasons this book was published after sitting around Hunter S. Thompson’s house since the ’60s. Depp wanted this role badly.