Will the rain ever end? Since summertime comedies seem out of place this week, try a movie based on the early life of a monarch or a thriller marking the return of directing royalty.

The Young Victoria

(PG, Now Avail.)

It's been a recent trend that films have depicted the lives of monarchs in their youth, giving an actress in her twenties a chance to wear a corset and portray a woman living in extraordinary circumstances (Kirsten Dunst in "Marie Antoinette," Keira Knightley in "The Duchess"). Now it's Emily Blunt's turn and she is arguably the most talented actress to do so.

In 1837 as Princess Victoria (Blunt) approaches her eighteenth birthday, a not-so behind the scenes power struggle is taking place in regards to her right to the crown. Raised hidden away from the world by her overprotective mother, the Duchess of Kent (Miranda Richardson), Victoria faces constant pressure from her mother and Sir John Conroy (Mark Strong, "Sherlock Holmes") to sign a regency order in the event of the king's death. This would put the duchess on the throne if the king died prior to Victoria's birthday. Victoria's uncle, King William IV (Jim Broadbent) makes no secret of his deep disdain for the duchess and he manages to live just long enough to allow Victoria to reach the throne.

The screenplay by Julian Fellowes ("Gosford Park") is more interested in how Victoria dealt with life before and after her coronation. In the film's open we see how unique Victoria's childhood was. She seemed to have been aware from early on that her upbringing was decidedly different from that of other children. How this would affect her worldview is touched on, but I would have liked to have seen this more fully explored.

What works very well is the examination of Victoria's friendship and eventual marriage with Prince Albert (Rupert Friend) of Belgium. Presented in the film as being much more than a royal marriage for political reasons, we see that Victoria and Albert not only love each other, but complement each other personally, as well as in their royal duties. Blunt and Friend each give terrific performances that are so reserved for so much of the film, their emotional moments carry a much greater weight.

Director Jean-Marc Vallee seems to follow a pretty well-worn path in the look and feel of "The Young Victoria." British dramas in this period of history generally seem to project the same pace and tone, and Vallee doesn't particularly deviate. It almost seems as though there's a law mandating that all movies set in Europe between the 17th and 19th centuries include at least one shot of a character sadly peering out of a window while someone enters or exits a coach. I counted two here. Still, Vallee doesn't really take any notable missteps either.

As a piece of filmmaking "The Young Victoria" is accomplished, but plays it too safe. However, the performances of Blunt and Friend are strong enough to keep us interested and make us care about Victoria and Albert. 7/10.

Shutter Island

(R, Avail. Now)

While I don't feel it was for his most deserving film, I am glad that Martin Scorsese finally won his Oscar for "The Departed." Not because it was really a lifetime achievement award that said, "Sorry about 'Taxi Driver,' 'Raging Bull,' 'The King of Comedy,' (my personal favorite) and 'Goodfellas'." It is because now, with it out of the way, he can just go back to making movies without the pretense of trying to win an Academy Award.

While I enjoyed "Gangs of New York," "The Aviator," and "The Departed," there was a sense with all three that he was caring a little too much about a little golden statue. "Shutter Island" isn't going to win him any awards, but Scorsese has made one heck of an entertaining thriller.

U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner, Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) are investigating the disappearance of a woman named Rachel Solando from the Ashecliff Hospital for the criminally insane in 1954. As the head psychiatrist Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley) explains, "It is as though she had evaporated. Right through the walls."

From the very start, "Shutter Island" is brimming with a foreboding atmosphere. Scorsese seems to be having fun just spinning a yarn. The cinematography, costumes, dialogue, and music are all there to remind us we're watching a movie and to just surrender to the storytelling. He maintains this feel throughout its 138 minutes, which actually fly by.

Teddy and Chuck have a hard time believing that Rachel, a woman confined to Ashecliffe for drowning her three children, could have just disappeared as Cawley is claiming. The facility's location on a remote island and the brewing hurricane suggest that, even if Rachel had gotten out of her cell, it's unlikely she's still alive. The wild weather also keeps the marshals on Shutter Island even as they desperately want to escape, sensing a sinister plot.

As "Shutter Island" is a film full of surprises that unfold not as shocks but as logical progressions in its story, I won't say anything more about that. I will say though that Scorsese and screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis have adapted Dennis Lehane's novel into something thoroughly engrossing and entertaining. That said, "Shutter Island" is hardly a happy film. Flashbacks to Nazi death camps and the senseless murders of children figure heavily into it. Still, it's not quite as monumentally depressing as "Mystic River," also based on a Lehane novel.

Scorsese uses visual effects in ways that are not only striking, but also serve to tell the story--something James Cameron knew how to do when he made "Terminator 2," but recently forgot. The effects are a part of the emotional impact.

"Shutter Island" isn't Oscar bait but it's very much the movie I wanted it to be. I think most movie fans will feel the same way. 8/10.