The Rum Diary (2011)

If you have been living under a rock then you obviously wouldn't know that there is some controversy in Hollywood surrounding the lives of Johnny Depp (Mortdecai) and Amber Heard (Pineapple Express) as both are engulfed in a nasty case. So, I have decided that I was going to check out a film that both former lovers starred in together as I watched The Rum Diary which was released in 2011 and was written and directed by Bruce Robinson (How to Get Ahead in Advertising) and is based off of the Hunter S. Thompson novel. Depp stars as freelance writer Kemp who decides to take a job as a writer for a newspaper in Puerto Rico. The only problem is that things are not what they seem as he tries to navigate himself between the culture of the island and certain characters that inhabit the island. The film also stars Aaron Eckhart (Thank You For Smoking) as Sanderson,  Michael Rispoli (While You Were Sleeping) as Sala, Richard Jenkins (The Witches Of Eastwick) as Lotterman, Giovanni Ribisi (Gone In 60 Seconds) as Moberg, Amaury Nolasco (A Good Day To Die Young) as Segurra, Marshall Bell (Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead) as Donovan, Bill Smitrovich (The November Man) as Mr. Zimburger, Julian Holloway (Carry On Up the Khyber) as Wolsley, and Bruno Irizarry (Looking for Maria Sanchez) as Lazar.

One thing is definitely for sure and that this film was not as good as Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas which was a classic Thompson novel turned into a film. Johnny Depp was well Johnny Depp and that is you can definitely enjoy his performance in the film, but Eckhart deserves some of that credit as well. This was definitely not my favorite Amber Heard performance as her sexuality was more of the tool used for this film as they had that forbidden affair in the film and most of the time I was like God do it already and get it over with. One thing that I definitely loved about the film was the cinematography which was excellently shot with beautiful tones and some amazing shots of the island and the beach life which was amazing in this film. I think that honestly the sets, the cinematography, and the editing of the film were probably my favorite parts of the film besides the obvious performances I talked about above. I didn't think the story was as interesting as Fear and Loathing, but it definitely keeps you somewhat near the edge of your seat for most of the film. I was curious and the film has a 51% on Rotten Tomatoes which is just about probably where I am overall with the film which means that it may seem a little harsh, but this is not I have to rush to see this kind of film. Which means that I am going to give the film an C for a final grade.