Inception

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I first saw a trailer for Christopher Nolan’s latest one year ago.  From the moment that I saw the trailer (which, admittedly, didn’t show much of anything), I knew that I just had to see this movie.  I eagerly awaited for the year to pass so that I could see it, and knew that I was going to view it on the day that it opened.

While I am a huge fan of Nolan’s work (I’ve been hooked ever since 2000′s Guy Pearce fronted Memento), I would hesitate to call myself a “fanboy/fangirl” of his.  Nolan’s track record speaks for itself.

Inception stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Cobb, a deeply troubled and complex man who is a corporate spy with the job of gathering/”extracting” (or stealing, if you will) information from the subconscious of powerful people.  He is [self] proclaimed as being the best at what he does.  However, Cobb does not work alone.

He has a partner named Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who is in charge of searching the background of the people whose subconscious Cobb will enter.  If there is a security risk, Arthur knows about it and together, he and Cobb battle to get their goods.

Where the story begins is in the middle of a job that Cobb is doing on a very powerful businessman named Saito (Ken Watanabe).  Saito is so impressed with Cobb that he ropes him into doing a big, nearly impossible job called, (you may have guessed it) inception.

What inception is, is to plant an idea into the subconscious mind of someone and have them believe that they came to the idea naturally.  Who Saito wants Cobb to “incept” is the son of a very powerful business tycoon who is soon to have an untouchable monopoly, named Fischer (Cillian Murphy).  In the natural progression of things, there is a lot of arguing back and forth over whether it can be done and the risks involved.

Naturally, they agree to it.

Cobb then formulates a very powerful team of “inceptors” and they hatch a plan for how to make the scheme work, successfully.  There is a lot of emotional extortion involved, as well as some devious three-part, lucid dream scheming.  No stone is left unturned.

Inception is a beautifully choreographed film of epic proportions.  The dream world is breathtaking, and at times you’re not really sure if the world you’re in actually exists.  It is a visually stunning mix of real stunts and real moving sets seamlessly blended with CGI-effects.  In fact, the CGI is so impeccable, that you never feel as though you’re in some cartoony space.

It takes a while to get into the characterization of the people – presumably because the filmmakers first want the viewers to get accustomed to the world of dreams.  The pacing is such that one never feels rushed or forced into grasping concepts and motivations, and is very deliberate.  Ultimately, you find yourself vested in every character, and wanting the job to succeed.

Christopher Nolan orchestrates a beautiful and virtually flawless script that does very well to depict the world of lucid dreams.  In fact, Nolan’s script and visuals work so well that the entire audience was captivated into silence for the full 148 minute run-time.  It is definitely a must-see, groundbreaking film that will be talked about for a very long time.

Alice In Wonderland

Courtesy of okmovietrailers.com

I am going to admit that I wasn’t terribly thrilled about Tim Burton taking on Alice In Wonderland.  I have always been a fan of the Lewis Carroll books, and I immensely enjoy the original Disney rendition.  I will even admit that at first glance, it is a pairing that makes complete sense.  Wonderland is a kooky place full of wacky and fun characters; and historically, Tim Burton was the go-to guy for kooky, fun and lovable characters (see: Vincent).  In the past ten years, however, Burton has become formulaic and his film-making a bit tired.  It could be that I was a kid when Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, and Vincent came out, thus rendering me used to Burton’s film style; it could be that Burton has become a one trick pony; or, it could simply be that I am an adult now, and it takes a lot more to impress me.  Either way, I saw this as a “more of the same” opportunity for Burton.

I did not let my initial misgivings taint my movie-going experience.  In fact, I went in fully prepared to be proven wrong.  I was curious to see how the back story of Alice re-visiting Wonderland would play out.  I also was curious (“curiouser and curiouser”) to see the possible motivation behind CGI-ing some of the main characters (i.e. Helena Bonham Carter’s bulbous head).  The final thing that I was looking forward to was Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts.

The plot of Burton’s Alice In Wonderland is as follows: Alice, now 19, is set to be engaged to a Lord whom she has minimal interest in.  While Alice is living her life in the real world, Wonderland is having some turmoil of its own.  The Red Queen, having stolen the throne from the White Queen, has turned Wonderland on its head, and is torturing the creatures of Wonderland.   The creatures have banded together to search for the “Real Alice” to come and fight the Red Queen’s Jabberwocky and return the throne to the White Queen.  After searching far and wide, they have finally found her… Or have they?

I was pleased with Mia Wasikowska as Alice.  I enjoyed her very much in the HBO series In Treatment and was excited to see that she did a great job playing a sweet girl.  She did so with a bit of spunk, as well, and turned Alice into a bit of a heroine that little girls could surely look up to.  That was a very nice addition to the story.

Helena Bonham Carter was decent as the Red Queen, but not spectacular.  I find that it’s difficult to be Wowed by her when she’s doing so much of the same.   Another performance that I was not impressed by was Anne Hathaway as the White Queen.  Watching her made me uncomfortable, in fact.  She seemed to be stuck on stealing Billie Burke’s performance as Glinda, the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz; and her arms seemed to be stuck in one position for the entire film.  I also didn’t quite understand the choices behind her costuming.

Crispin Glover was good as the Knave (the Red Queen’s henchman, essentially).  At first, I thought he was going to ham/weird it up a bit, but he toned it down quite nicely.  He had an air of understated creepiness, and played villain very nicely.  His part was also bigger than I thought it would be, which was also nice.

Finally, there’s Johnny Depp’s performance as the Mad Hatter.  I saved his performance for last because I had the most issue with it.  I have actually been having issues with a few of Depp’s performances lately.  I don’t know what it is, but it seems that ever since his first Pirates of the Caribbean film, he’s simply been coasting.  His accent as the Hatter was Jack Sparrow with the occasional slip into Scottish, and his performance was a bit too crazy.  It was almost as if Depp came unhinged on the set and they managed to capture it all on film.

In addition to J. Depp’s batshit crazy Mad Hatter, there was a very uncomfortable sexual tension undertone between the Hatter and Alice written in.  It was super uncomfortable to watch because, although Alice is 19 when she re-visits Wonderland, we’re still viewing her almost as a child.   And because Johnny Depp was the biggest star in the film, this story arc managed to put the Hatter into the film much more than he originally should have been.

In all, the story was well written.  The additional storyline was not overdone nor did it seem unnecessary.  That said, the execution was fairly lame.  The Danny Elfman music score was pretty much the same as in Burton’s other films, and some of the acting left more to be desired.  The costume design was also fairly uninspired (as well as being uninspiring) – though, I was able to pick out all of the pieces we’ll wind up seeing being recreated.

Visually, the film was okay.  There were a couple of shots that were neat, but they were few and far between.  In fact, I find it fairly difficult to be wowed by a slew of computer graphics.  This is another reason I find Tim Burton’s films to be tired.  If he ever bothered having actual set design and didn’t  rely heavily on computer graphics and CGI, I would probably not be as bored when watching his films.

This film, while it very much wanted to impress, was plain boring.  It relied too much on gimmicks such as 3D, IMAX and technology, instead of showcasing what filmmakers are actually capable of.  The acting, for the most part, felt either too forced or too flat.  The costume and musical scores felt very uninspired, and we were left with a mediocre film that was attempting to disguise itself as great.

Perhaps Burton’s next venture will present a change of pace.

The Book of Eli

courtesy of www.overone.biz

Yesterday, I decided to have a “Tom Waits double feature”.    The first movie of the two was the Hughes Brothers’ The Book of Eli.  I remember first seeing the trailer at my viewing of Zombieland, and thinking, “this just looks like ‘I Am Legend’ but with more people.” Boy was I off.

Denzel Washington stars as Eli, a lone wanderer going to an undisclosed location (“West.”) in post-apocalyptic California.  Along the way, he has the occasional fight, kills a cat, eats it, feeds a bit to a mouse, and listens to his iPod.  He’s gruff, he’s tough.  He’s a loner.

While on his path, he comes to a post-apocalyptic town that resembles a town from a western, except where there would be a saloon, you see a faded “J. Crew” (there’s product placement all over this sucker).  While in town, he visits the local electrician (Tom Waits) to get his battery pack re-charged (can’t listen to that iPod without it!).  While waiting for the charging to be complete, he wanders over to the bar for some liquid refreshment – water (“that’s the good stuff”).

You see, in post-apocalyptic California (possibly the world), it’s extremely dry, hasn’t rained in decades, the water is scarce and there’s no soap.  This is the driving force behind the insanity of so many.  Though, I guess I’d be pretty loony myself, if I had to be dehydrated and stinky all the time… but, I digress.

So Eli walks into a bar, asks for some water; bartender says, “it’ll cost ya!”  And boy, does it!  It turns out, J. Crew town is run by a man named Carnegie (Gary Oldman).  He’s old, loves his books, and is searching for the right one (the bible) that’ll give him world domination.  It just so happens that Eli is the one who is in possession of that book (the bible).

There’s a large bar fight, Carnegie attempts to recruit Eli, Eli declines and wanders off to continue his mission.  Oh, also along the way, a young woman named Solara (Mila Kunis) decides that she wants to tag along with him.  You see, she and her mother, Claudia (Jennifer Beals) are Carnegie’s “kept” women, and Eli can provide safety and get her out of that mess.

There are more hijinks – Solara gets knocked around and nearly raped, Eli saves her; Solara and Eli run into some cannibals, a fight breaks out; Carnegie’s men track Eli, Solara gets in the middle of it.  Carnegie gets Eli’s book (the bible); Eli and Solara come to their destination.

Ending is left open for a sequel (The Book of Eli 2: The Wrath of Solara).

It was a choppy, poorly written mess with a single agenda: propagate Christianity.  You see, the new world is without religion, and is full of people who can’t read.  The only ones who are literate are the ones who hung around from the old world.  All along the way, Eli prays (before meals, after kills, before bed, upon waking, etc etc etc) and Solara wants to know what the deal is.  Eli also gives a lovely little speech about being so engrossed in protecting the bible, that he forgets to act like a Christian.

Carnegie wants the bible because he knows that people “need something to follow” and will come all over for the words that are “in that book!”.  Therefore, if he has possession of the book, he’s pretty much guaranteed world domination.  He’ll run a number of towns, open a few churches, et voila!

I give Denzel, Gary, Tom, and even Jennifer credit.  They tried hard to put powerhouse performances behind their poorly written characters.  Mila Kunis, well… she was there.  In the end, the film wasn’t terribly engaging and felt much too preachy.  The characters weren’t properly characterized and were as desolate as the backdrop in which they lived.

Sherlock Holmes

Courtesy of www.torrentfive.com

In my typical Christmas tradition, yesterday, I treated myself to a double-feature at the expensive theatre (with the $12.25 popcorn/Coke combo).  One of the two films I saw was Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law (as Watson).  I’ve been a decent fan of Holmes since I was a kid – as far as watching the old Sherlock Holmes movies.  I can’t say that I thought the film looked spectacular, but I figure it’d be entertaining.

In this particular episode of Sherlock Holmes’ adventures, he and Watson solve the case of a brutal serial murderer who is plaguing London, and Watson oversees the man’s hanging – pronouncing him officially dead.  After months of inactivity, Holmes finally gets an intriguing case when his arch-nemesis/love interest, Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) asks him to find a missing person.  Upon finding him, they also find that the previously deceased killer has returned from the dead.

The plot thickens.

We watch as Holmes and Watson adventure all over London’s less-than-glamorous streets and waterways, see some occult action, and get some one-liners here and there.  In all, not a bad time at the movies.

While Holmes may have plot holes, far-fetched storylines, and some cheese, it serves its purpose as mindless entertainment for the holiday season.  Robert Downey Jr. is marvelous (as usual) as Holmes, and Jude Law and Rachel McAdams play off him nicely.  Eddie Marsan does a decent job as head inspector of the Scotland Yard who frequently bumps heads with Holmes.

As a fan of the Victorian era, the most riveting part of the movie were the sets, the costumes, and the props.  They were absolutely magnificent and breathtaking.  It’s always fun to see Victorian London in action because it’s absolutely alive in a way that no other place can match.  The street vendors, the underbelly, the grime and muck contrasted by the well-polished, corseted and waist-coated aristocratic women and men travelling through the streets either on foot or by horse-drawn carriage – it’s a thing of beauty.  The London that Holmes and Watson travel through is a steampunk fan’s Wonderland.

Another component to the film was Guy Ritchie’s directorial touch.  There were small pieces of cinematography that were notably Ritchie’s handiwork.  This was possibly most notable during Holmes’ bare-knuckle brawl.  The deliberate slowing and punctuated movement as Holmes analyzed his next moves, immediately followed up by sped-up action (a-la Snatch) tends to be Ritchie’s signature.

In all, while it’s not the most genius film ever made, Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes definitely doesn’t disappoint in entertainment value.  I felt that I got my money’s worth, as it matched my expectations perfectly.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

G.I. Joe… where do I begin?

I am a child of the 80′s who grew up with the G.I. Joe cartoon.  I remember it being cheesy Americana at its best.  I initially wasn’t going to see this film, but then I saw that it had Christopher Eccleston playing Destro, so I had to.  Needless to say, I wasn’t expecting very much.

What I got was far worse than even my lowest expectation – and that’s bad.  Real bad.  To begin, I will discuss the plot – which was weak, at best.

The film opens in mid-1600′s France with a Scottish rogue being arrested for some sort of crime which involves swindling money.  Before being iron masked (yes, like the DiCaprio fronted ‘Man in the Iron Mask’), he threatens revenge on behalf of his clan – McCullen.  Fast forward to “the not so distant future” where a future McCullen (Christopher Eccleston) is selling some sort of bio-meets-nuclear weapon to NATO.  NATO enlists the army to transport the weapon to its base, only a problem occurs (naturally) and the recruits are attacked.

In steps G.I. Joe to rescue the men as well as the very sensitive and dangerous weaponry.  This results in the two survivors – Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) becoming members of G.I. Joe.

There are lots of of explosions, plot holes, and pointless back stories to follow.  This coupled with the terrible acting and writing just make for a bad time all around.

Should have definitely been straight to video.