The Rum Diary (2011):

Starring:

Johnny Depp - Paul Kemp

Aaron Eckhart - Sanderson

Michael Rispoli - Sala

Amber Heard - Chenault

Giovanni Ribisi - Moburg

Richard Jenkins - Lotterman

Amaury Nolasco - Segurra

Director:

Bruce Robinson (Jennifer Eight)

Rotten Tomatoes: 50%

Flixster: 38%

Synopsis:

"The Rum Diary" tells the increasingly unhinged story of itinerant journalist Paul Kemp. Tiring of the noise and madness of New York and the crushing conventions of late Eisenhower-era America, Kemp travels to the pristine island of Puerto Rico to write for a local newspaper, The San Juan Star, run by downtrodden editor Lotterman. Adopting the rum-soaked life of the island, Paul soon becomes obsessed with Chenault, the wildly attractive Connecticut-born fiancée of Sanderson. When Kemp is recruited by Sanderson to write favorably about his latest unsavory scheme, the journalist is presented with a choice: to use his words for the corrupt businessmen's financial benefit, or use them to take the bastards down.

Review:

You know, for me Johnny Depp is really hit or miss. Sometimes he is incredibly good, but other times he's just playing the same character with his same stupid accents that he always seems to have. This wasn't his best performance, but it may not be one of his worst, just one of his most uninteresting. Not quite "The Tourist" but it's close. For most of the film, I was honestly not interested in anything that was happening. It had poor attempts at being funny, most of it was annoying & some was just grasping at straws. Giovanni Ribisi was so incredibly all over the place in his role that it made him seem insane & incoherently annoying. Michael Rispoli & Richard Jenkins are both very good in their supporting roles, both adding just enough comedy to make it not terrible. Aaron Eckhart wasn't anything special, he is starting to fall into the group of actors who play the same style of character & acting in every film he's in. But lets get to the saving grace here. Amber Heard is so fucking incredibly sexy in every sense of the word. Between her beautiful face, luscious lips & super sexy body. You get quite a few nude silhouettes of her as well, some from far away & some up close & personal. Just so unbelievably attractive!!!! She is worth seeing the movie. The movie was really all over the place & sometimes trying a little too hard to be Fear & Loathing. Overall, it's a good movie to play in the back ground & then just take quick peeks when Amber Heard is on screen.

45%

Lead Acting: 8/15
Supporting Cast: 8/15
Plot: 2/10
Compared To The Genre: 6/10
Cinematography: 8/20
Intrigue: 8/20
Extra: 5/10