While I've been known to include repeat-viewings on occasion, I usually only "Irreview" films that are new to me. But, since I'm an avid James Bond fanatic, I can't help it...
The Crazies (2010)
Director: Breck Eisner
Writer(s): Scott Kosar, Ray Wright, George A. Romero (1973 screenplay)
Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson
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A remake of zombie-maestro George Romero's 70s cult-classic, this version is actually... not too bad. Though Romero is well-known for his social commentary, the commentary in remake seems a bit forced and, on more than one occasion, a bit cliché. But, as it's more subtle than in the original, the movie still works. Timothy Olyphant is great to watch, as usual, and Joe Anderson is a pleasant surprise (despite his character's cheesy resolution). Not altogether scary, it has its moments.
Verdict: Fans of the horror, zombie, and apocalyptic genres should SEE it. Nothing really noteworthy for anyone else.
Dr. No (1962)
Director: Terence Young
Writer(s): Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, Berkely Mather, Ian Fleming (novel)
Starring: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman
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The film that started it all. Ian Fleming's British super-spy flies onto the screen and an instant hit franchise is born (although Dr. No is, in fact, the second appearance of Bond on-screen). A bit rough around the edges, the stage is nevertheless set for over-the-top villains and the rebirth of the double entendre in pop culture. Harry Potter and Star Wars be damned, there is no film franchise like the Bond franchise. And I must credit Ursula Andress for setting the Bond-girl standard rather high. Many pubescent boys are quite thankful for that.
Verdict: SEE it. Of course, you know I'm going to list all of the Bond films as "SEE it," even the bad ones.
Edge of Darkness (2010)
Director: Martin Campbell
Writer(s): William Monahan, Andrew Bovell, Troy Kennedy-Martin (TV series)
Starring: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston
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I've never seen the BBC TV series this film is based on, but now I want to. Headlines surrounding Mel Gibson aside, this is a very, very good movie and he does an excellent job as a father trying to solve the mystery of who killed his daughter and why. With Ray Winstone and Danny Huston, the cast is about as good as anybody can ask for (Winstone, in particular, steals every second he's on the screen). It is high coincidence that this film is directed by one of the better Bond-film directors (cough, cough), but Martin Campbell continues to prove that he rocks at the action-thriller.
Verdict: SEE it.
From Russia With Love (1963)
Director: Terence Young
Writer(s): Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood (adaptation), Ian Fleming (novel)
Starring: Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Pedro Armendáriz, Lotte Lenya, Robert Shaw
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Though Dr. No kicked off the franchise, From Russia With Love is the Bond film that established the formula that every Bond film since has followed. Here we get the pre-title sequence, our first gadget (along with Desmond Llewelyn as Q), and our first theme song (not counting the actual Bond theme, of course). Even in light of the establishment of the uber-successful Bond-film formula, From Russia With Love manages to accomplish this while sticking close to its source material, which is something that few Bond films even bother attempting. The first great Bond movie, it remains one of the series' best.
Verdict: SEE it. Bond film. Must see all Bond films.
Inception (2010)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer(s): Christopher Nolan
Starring: Leonard DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe
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The Matrix meets James Bond, they're calling it. And, well, that's a close enough description as any. The plot is imaginative: corporate thieves are hired to steal secrets, but enter their target's dreams in order to do so. The cast is outstanding. The climax of the film is likely one of the best climaxes you'll ever see. Though the year's not over, Inception is 2010's best. I refuse to give anything away, because it simply must be seen to be believed. Wow.
Verdict: SEE it, SEE it, SEE it, SEE it. And if you find it hard to comprehend, SEE it until you get it!
Showing posts with label Inception. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inception. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Inception: A Perception
Few movies elicit a wow from my mouth, whether for technical or narrative spectacle. And even if one does, that doesn't necessarily mean I consider that film great. My wholeheartedly subjective list of great films is rather small, currently only at seven films. Avatar, which wowed me technically, was the last film I'd seen that threatened its way onto that list, but upon further viewings, in light of its fairly pedestrian story (though one, I maintain, holds up under scrutiny), it failed to do so.
Enter Christopher Nolan.
I have long been a fan of Nolan's, going way back to 2001, when I first saw Memento in a barracks room in South Korea. Though not quite a "wow" movie, that one certainly garnered a "holy shit." He followed it up with the "just okay" American remake of Insomnia, then stormed into the public consciousness as the guiding hand of the relaunched Batman franchise (of which both films are awesome). I enjoyed The Prestige, but while it was far superior to its competing magician film (The Illusionist), there was certainly nothing in it that screamed "great."
Enter Inception.
The plot, at its core, is relatively simple: there are secrets men hold that other men want to know. Really, that's it in a nutshell. But the "spies" hired to discover these secrets steal them by entering the dreams of their targets. And that's where everything goes haywire. I won't even try to explain it in detail, because I don't think I can. But Nolan... well, he proves his mastery in directing and - as the film's sole credited screenwriter - creating a seemingly convoluted story that is, in fact, so tightly woven there's not only no room for error, there's no noticeable error at all. Though he came close, he didn't do this with Memento. He certainly didn't do this with the Batman films (lots of comic book fans continuously poke holes in those plots). But he certainly has done it with Inception.
Initially, the story seems rushed. We're getting to the point so fast, we don't really know who the characters are by the time we get into the second act. In a normal film, I'd be highly irritated by this, but given Inception's extended run-time and the fact that Nolan does an extremely adept job at filling in the characters throughout Act 2, I quickly forgave its rapid-fire opening and jumped into the film.
Enter Act 3.
Hands down, the best third act of a film I've ever seen. Ever. Everything we've learned in the first two acts comes into play and we're given a spectacle of imagination, action, and resolution that one must describe as beautiful. Nolan also provided each of the protagonists with entirely separate (screen-wise) climaxes, and there is no doubt that upon reading the script, none of the actors had to think twice about accepting their roles. And if there is a poor sap out there that did, well, he or she is an idiot. Some of the promotional material for Inception labeled the film as "The Matrix meets James Bond," and while I'm hesitant to make such a direct comparison, it's definitely an apt one (although "The Matrix meets Mission: Impossible" is probably more accurate).
In the hands of lesser filmmakers, we could have been shown a tattered mess, with dangling plot-threads and continuity errors galore. In Nolan's hands, though, the dots are connected and the threads are tied. If any weren't, I didn't notice, and I'm a bit anal about plot-holes.
The casting is near-perfect, with every role played to perfection save for that of Ariadne's (portrayed by Ellen Page). Not sure why, but she stuck out like a sore thumb to me. Of course, there is a strong possibility that this was Nolan's intent, so my criticism of Page ends there. As far as the rest, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, and Cillian Murphy seemed destined for their roles. Even Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who at first seems a little odd, completely owns his character by the end of the film and one would be hard-pressed to imagine anyone else playing The Pointman. Cameos by Michael Caine, Lukas Haas, Tom Berenger, and Pete Postlethwaite aren't distracting in the least, and I'd be remiss by not mentioning the underutilized talent of Dileep Rao (used to great extent in Inception).
If I have one issue with the film, it's the attempt at an ambiguous ending. Nolan did such an excellent job setting and wrapping things up, audiences were already wondering what was real and what wasn't. He didn't have to hammer that point home. Granted, the final moments of the film are, no doubt, what will have everyone talking, but they were unnecessary. Everyone would've been talking anyway. Still, it wasn't as forcefully ambiguous as a lot of these so-called clever films tend to be, and it will take no enjoyment or wonder away from what you just saw.
Inception, my friends, is that good. Great, even. Wow.
Enter Christopher Nolan.
I have long been a fan of Nolan's, going way back to 2001, when I first saw Memento in a barracks room in South Korea. Though not quite a "wow" movie, that one certainly garnered a "holy shit." He followed it up with the "just okay" American remake of Insomnia, then stormed into the public consciousness as the guiding hand of the relaunched Batman franchise (of which both films are awesome). I enjoyed The Prestige, but while it was far superior to its competing magician film (The Illusionist), there was certainly nothing in it that screamed "great."
Enter Inception.
The plot, at its core, is relatively simple: there are secrets men hold that other men want to know. Really, that's it in a nutshell. But the "spies" hired to discover these secrets steal them by entering the dreams of their targets. And that's where everything goes haywire. I won't even try to explain it in detail, because I don't think I can. But Nolan... well, he proves his mastery in directing and - as the film's sole credited screenwriter - creating a seemingly convoluted story that is, in fact, so tightly woven there's not only no room for error, there's no noticeable error at all. Though he came close, he didn't do this with Memento. He certainly didn't do this with the Batman films (lots of comic book fans continuously poke holes in those plots). But he certainly has done it with Inception.
Initially, the story seems rushed. We're getting to the point so fast, we don't really know who the characters are by the time we get into the second act. In a normal film, I'd be highly irritated by this, but given Inception's extended run-time and the fact that Nolan does an extremely adept job at filling in the characters throughout Act 2, I quickly forgave its rapid-fire opening and jumped into the film.
Enter Act 3.
Hands down, the best third act of a film I've ever seen. Ever. Everything we've learned in the first two acts comes into play and we're given a spectacle of imagination, action, and resolution that one must describe as beautiful. Nolan also provided each of the protagonists with entirely separate (screen-wise) climaxes, and there is no doubt that upon reading the script, none of the actors had to think twice about accepting their roles. And if there is a poor sap out there that did, well, he or she is an idiot. Some of the promotional material for Inception labeled the film as "The Matrix meets James Bond," and while I'm hesitant to make such a direct comparison, it's definitely an apt one (although "The Matrix meets Mission: Impossible" is probably more accurate).
In the hands of lesser filmmakers, we could have been shown a tattered mess, with dangling plot-threads and continuity errors galore. In Nolan's hands, though, the dots are connected and the threads are tied. If any weren't, I didn't notice, and I'm a bit anal about plot-holes.
The casting is near-perfect, with every role played to perfection save for that of Ariadne's (portrayed by Ellen Page). Not sure why, but she stuck out like a sore thumb to me. Of course, there is a strong possibility that this was Nolan's intent, so my criticism of Page ends there. As far as the rest, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, and Cillian Murphy seemed destined for their roles. Even Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who at first seems a little odd, completely owns his character by the end of the film and one would be hard-pressed to imagine anyone else playing The Pointman. Cameos by Michael Caine, Lukas Haas, Tom Berenger, and Pete Postlethwaite aren't distracting in the least, and I'd be remiss by not mentioning the underutilized talent of Dileep Rao (used to great extent in Inception).
If I have one issue with the film, it's the attempt at an ambiguous ending. Nolan did such an excellent job setting and wrapping things up, audiences were already wondering what was real and what wasn't. He didn't have to hammer that point home. Granted, the final moments of the film are, no doubt, what will have everyone talking, but they were unnecessary. Everyone would've been talking anyway. Still, it wasn't as forcefully ambiguous as a lot of these so-called clever films tend to be, and it will take no enjoyment or wonder away from what you just saw.
Inception, my friends, is that good. Great, even. Wow.
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