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.

Sherlock Holmes

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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.

Paranormal Activity

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Paranormal Activity is the latest installment into the horror-mockumentary school of film.  It’s received a whole lot of praise and has even been hailed as “the scariest movie of the year”.  It’s even got a neat marketing ploy – release it into about ten theatres at a time, based on the amount of people who click the “Demand It” button on the official site.

Paranormal Activity is about a young couple who move in together and are experiencing some weird/freaky stuff.  Where the film opens is when the boyfriend – Micah – purchases a video camera so as to document the weird happenings, for proof.  Girlfriend, Katie, is not amused.  It turns out, she’s been experiencing hauntings for almost her entire life.

The idea of the film was fantastic, and it was pretty fun.  The only problem is, it wasn’t scary.  At all.  At least, not to me (and about half the theatre).  Though, there was one girl who cried.

This film is fairly similar (in style) to The Blair Witch Project, minus the nausea-inducing shaky cam.  A definite plus, in my book.  However, Micah’s acting was so terrible that it was hard to believe anything that was coming from him.

The other problem with the film is that, after so many “night of terror” shots, it starts to get repetitive and boring.  This is a huge downfall, as it starts to make the film drag and you’re left wondering how much longer you’re going to have to see the same stuff repeated.

The ending of this one was pretty predictable, as well.  I’d be a “liar, liar, pants on fire” if I said that I was even remotely surprised.  I will say, though, that the gag at the end went a little too far in its trying to be super scary.  No one in my theatre was buying it.

All in all, it was an okay effort.

District 9

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District 9 is the newest sci-fi movie to hit theatres thus far.  It is about a population of aliens that get stranded on Earth – specifically in Johannesburg, S. Africa, and the government agency that deals with them.

Although this film is a sci-fi suspense/thriller about aliens invading Earth, the manner in which it’s written is almost believable, and you wouldn’t think it so much of a stretch – at least, not from a humanistic perspective.

MNU (Multi National United), a government agency put into action to handle the alien situation sends one of its best agents (and by best, I mean naive), Wikus Van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley) to handle the increasingly hostile situation between the citizens of Johannesburg – who want the aliens gone, and the citizens of District 9.  MNU’s plan is to ship the District 9 aliens off to a secluded camp-like area called District 10 – just outside of Nigeria.  Upon going into District 9 (with his camera crew and militia) to serve the aliens eviction notices, Wikus runs into trouble (naturally).

The film is shot in mockumentary style where we meet Wikus as he is preparing for his alien-eviction adventure and the people around him.  We watch as MNU schemes and plots its way through experimentation and arms confiscation; the citizens of Johannesburg exploit their new found alien neighbors; and the members of MNU attempt to explain and justify wrongs done by the corporation.  In the midst of all this, we meet the aliens – in particular, a father (Christopher Johnson) and his son who merely want to leave Earth and go back home.

This film was a good mish-mash of drama, action, comedy, sci-fi, and suspense all rolled into one.  Naturally, the film had its flaws, but it was well-scripted and well-acted, so it’s easy to forgive its flaws.  A good popcorn film, for sure.

Not for the weak-stomached who can’t handle people being blown up.