Christopher Nolan’s latest film lives up to the expectations of his previous films. Inception is in the same vein as Memento (2000) and The Prestige (2006). While all three of these films have action sequences, the majority of the action takes place in your mind. Christopher Nolan takes us deep into the world of dreams with Inception.
A team of thieves, who steal information locked in the darkest recesses of the mind, are offered the job of a lifetime, with a reward to match. Cobb, played by Leonardo DiCaprio (Shutter Island), is the mastermind of the dream world. Cobb is trying desperately to get back home to his children, and is offered the chance with a new job, inception. Instead of stealing ideas from unsuspecting dreamers, his team will plant an idea.
Joining Leonardo DiCaprio; Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer) as Arthur, Ellen Page (Whip It) as Ariadne, and Cillian Murphey (The Dark Knight) as Robert Fischer, the mark. The acting in this film is top-notch. Leonardo DiCaprio is excellent as the tortured hero, and Ellen Page shows she can do something Michael Cera can’t, which is play somebody older than a high schooler. Ellen Page does a terrific job balancing out Leonardo DiCaprio’s character. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is his usual role, the logical and somewhat uptight, straight man. It was nice to see Cillian Murphey as something other than the villain.
The lush visuals of Inception fit perfectly with the elaborate plot. Not only has Christopher Nolan created an alternate world, but he has created such depth that it is easy to go for a swim. It is easy to accept the premise that other people can join in on your dream, but when they start adding dreams within dreams everything starts getting complicated. Luckily, unlike most films, you never feel that this film is trying too hard to be something it’s not. Inception is complicated, but in a way that can be followed. The editing of Inception really illustrates how important a fraction of a second is. If the last scene was cut one second earlier or one second later, it would lose its meaning. If you like a film that spells everything out for you, skip this one. If you like a film that lets you make up your own mind, you will love Inception.
Rating: 10/10
Showing posts with label Christopher Nolan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christopher Nolan. Show all posts
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
Does the follow up to Batman Begins (Christopher Nolan, 2005) live up to the hype and expectations? It has more action, more bad guys, and runs twelve minutes longer. However, these attributes do not necessarily mean it is better than Batman Begins.
As alluded to in the previous film, the Joker is plaguing Gotham. Batman has to work with Gordon and a lawyer, Harvey Dent to put a stop to the Joker’s humorous, yet destructive antics. The scope of this film is far wider than Batman Begins. The Dark Knight focuses more on the interplay between heroes and villains, heroes and society, and villains and society than on the personal struggles of Bruce Wayne.
Christian Bale (Public Enemies) reprises his role and Batman, and does an excellent job. He is outshined by Heath Ledger (The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus) as the Joker. Ledger’s performance is truly amazing. He captures the hatred, cynicism, mania, and generally unbalanced emotions of the Joker. Unfortunately for this film, Katie Holmes (Batman Begins) did not portray Rachel Dawes. Dawes was instead played by Maggie Gyllenhaal (Stranger Than Fiction). For some reason, the makeup department decided against doing anything to Maggie Gyllenhaal and as a result, she looked like a moose would if you shaved its face. Aaron Eckhart’s (Meet Bill) Harvey Dent was good, but nothing to write home about. Michael Cain (The Prestige) and Morgan Freeman (The Bucket List) were great in their roles.
The Dark Knight offers up many positives, but there are some serious flaws that drag the movie down. This film suffers from having an ensemble cast trying to make a lone hero film. For the way this script was written, there are too many major characters. There were quite a few villains in Batman Begins, but they were all part of the same organization. In The Dark Knight, there are two distinct main villains, which diminishes the Joker’s screen presence. There are also four or more good guys that are explored.
Besides the rampant use of characters and the fact that Maggie Gyllenhaal not being pretty enough to be Batman’s girlfriend, The Dark Knight is an enjoyable film and continues the Batman series with vigor. I just hope that this franchise does not suffer from the X-Men Syndrome of having too many big stars for any studio to be able to fund.
Rating: 8/10
© Nate Phillipps 2008
As alluded to in the previous film, the Joker is plaguing Gotham. Batman has to work with Gordon and a lawyer, Harvey Dent to put a stop to the Joker’s humorous, yet destructive antics. The scope of this film is far wider than Batman Begins. The Dark Knight focuses more on the interplay between heroes and villains, heroes and society, and villains and society than on the personal struggles of Bruce Wayne.
Christian Bale (Public Enemies) reprises his role and Batman, and does an excellent job. He is outshined by Heath Ledger (The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus) as the Joker. Ledger’s performance is truly amazing. He captures the hatred, cynicism, mania, and generally unbalanced emotions of the Joker. Unfortunately for this film, Katie Holmes (Batman Begins) did not portray Rachel Dawes. Dawes was instead played by Maggie Gyllenhaal (Stranger Than Fiction). For some reason, the makeup department decided against doing anything to Maggie Gyllenhaal and as a result, she looked like a moose would if you shaved its face. Aaron Eckhart’s (Meet Bill) Harvey Dent was good, but nothing to write home about. Michael Cain (The Prestige) and Morgan Freeman (The Bucket List) were great in their roles.
The Dark Knight offers up many positives, but there are some serious flaws that drag the movie down. This film suffers from having an ensemble cast trying to make a lone hero film. For the way this script was written, there are too many major characters. There were quite a few villains in Batman Begins, but they were all part of the same organization. In The Dark Knight, there are two distinct main villains, which diminishes the Joker’s screen presence. There are also four or more good guys that are explored.
Besides the rampant use of characters and the fact that Maggie Gyllenhaal not being pretty enough to be Batman’s girlfriend, The Dark Knight is an enjoyable film and continues the Batman series with vigor. I just hope that this franchise does not suffer from the X-Men Syndrome of having too many big stars for any studio to be able to fund.
Rating: 8/10
© Nate Phillipps 2008
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