Movie Review: Inception - What dreams may come

Butterflies would be the only way to describe how I felt before, during and after watching Christopher Nolan's Inception (2010). It really isn't too often when you watch a film and immediately want to watch it again because there is so much more to understand. He's now past the hat-trick, leaving me in this state on four straight occasions, constantly asking myself; did I miss anything, did I get it? The movie going experience has always been enhanced two folds when he is handling things; camera work that leaves you with goose bumps as much as it leaves you dizzy, intricate plot structures and scripts drenched in ambiguously subjective themes, just enough magic realism to make his movies seem real, settings of epic proportions matched by equally epic production outfits. To say he's the entire cinematic package (and more) would be painfully cliche and yet completely appropriate.

When The Dark Knight (2008) got released, it became Heath Ledger's Dark Knight... I cannot disagree with this because Ledger's Joker well and truly owned the movie - yet it was sad that Nolan's credit got lost - he was after all responsible for taking Batman (and the Joker) where he did. With Inception however, the stellar cast matched by their stellar performance is completely and utterly secondary. The real winner of this movie is Christopher Nolan and his vision - take into consideration this is a script he has worked on for over a decade. Throw in heavy themes dealing with the mind and it's functions, the power of dreams and the effect it has on life decisions; throw in corporate espionage, the demons of a widower, deep seeded daddy issues and what you have is without a doubt a contemporary, psychological, action packed classic. 

In so little words, Inception is a visual embodiment of the human subconscious and the effect when you have a sneaky group of colourful characters who are able to immerse themselves into it. It takes lucid to a whole new level, where the protagonist and his team, control and manipulate their counterpart's psyche through the medium of dreams. The process revolves around the notion of planting a simple yet life altering idea in one's being, resulting in a complete change in the way one will live out his or her life. 

From the perspective of creating a movie, the concept is vast and infinite. When you are thrust into the dream world setting that our lead characters put themselves in, you are given a visual extravaganza that is literally breathtaking - not so much surprise as you are dumbfounded with what is being shown to you. Paradoxical labyrinth architecture that embodies infinity and the dream world (you're climbing up and yet being led below) is the star of this movie, it's what will stop you from blinking, it's what will keep playing in your mind, it's what will blow you away. From an imagery perspective, this isn't just clever, it's bloody genius. Taking the setting and dialogue into consideration, it's remarkable the way in which Nolan is able to connect his viewers to their own dreams and subconscious aspirations - you can't help but feel an affinity because a lot of what is discussed and what we see is an explanation to questions we constantly ask ourselves when we awake from slumber. 

One can imagine Hollywood actors literally wetting themselves with anticipation at the thought of working with Christopher Nolan - which is why the casting in this movie is ridiculously strong. I've had my say about Leo in my Shutter Island (2010) review from last month and yet again he delivers. Here he is a little more restrained. Compared to his past roles, his character Dom Cobb is subtle and the intensity is within - it really works given the context of the movie. Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt played the controlling roles well, they made for relieving and didactic elements in this highly charged movie... the former coming of age and the latter really leaving his mark as a heavy weight. The Scarecrow, Cillian Murphy gives an understated performance as the team's target - you couldn't fake his inner battles with his father. Marion Cotillard was haunting as the deceased Mal Cobb and nailed the femme fatale role... she was powerful. Watanabe was a bit dopey and I felt a bit of a weak link compared to the other supporting roles. He was a bit flat - his character in this is just as important as his character in Last Samurai (2003), thought he should have done more with it. A big oi oi, must go to our Desi brother Dileep Rao who stars as 'The Chemist' Yusuf, who is responsible for inducing the characters into sleep for the mission - he along with Tom Hardy who plays 'The Forger' Eames, were effective in bringing in the humour and gluing the chemistry between Cobb's team of mind manipulators.

Inception is a culmination of an outstanding script, brilliant directing, powerful acting and awe inspiring visual effects. Step aside James Cameron, Christopher Nolan is here and even Kubrick would be impressed. Watching his movies is like reading a Dostoevsky novel; a dense, complex story telling process where a tragic anti-hero's obsessions are morphed into his surroundings; matched, visualized and created in a medium rooted by the author's obsession with detailing in imagery, dialogue and character development. He has essentially achieved a form of art where the visual medium carries the same weight of meaning that only a book could achieve.

With Nolan, the viewer is no longer a spectator but a participant - there's always a strong sense that everything is up for interpretation; are you a good or bad person, an optimist or a pessimist, a believer or a non-believer, these are usually the questions you ask yourself when the credits start rolling up at the end. Essentially, it's your own answers that determines the eventual outcome of the movie and when that happens, it's nothing short of magic. 

Watch.Inception.NOW. You're late already. Five movie reviews in and I've hit 9/10. Watching it on Monday again, might have to notch it up to 9.5. A massive kudos to the distributors in India, technically we were one of the few nations to catch this movie FIRST. :) Epic release date for India. haha. IN YOUR FACE AUSSIES! Will this lead to a Matrix type trilogy/franchise? We can only hope so.

Movie Review: Shutter Island - Scorsese's homage to Alfred Hitchcock

Got to watch a movie that isn’t made for children in the year 2010; yes, I’m referring to Iron Man 2, Shrek 4 and Prince of Persia (How To Train A Dragon was thoroughly enjoyable). Utter nonsense made with only $$$ in mind. I can see the gaming fan boys coming for my throat, so I'll say Prince of Persia (though I did find my friend's criticism about Jake Gyllenhaal being the whitest actor in Hollywood and yet still playing the role of a Brit-Persian quite hilarious) wasn't that bad. Anyways, you can imagine how excited I was to finally watch a movie with substance, a movie definitely worth talking/blogging about! - SG

Based on the psychological thriller novel by Dennis Lehane, Shutter Island (2010) is directed by Martin Scorsese with the customary lead role played by Leonardo DiCaprio and stand out supporting roles from Mark Ruffalo and the Sexy Beast (2000), Ben Kingsley. Thankfully, Kingsley redeemed himself with flying colours in this movie, after the atrocity that was his performance in Prince of Persia. He hasn’t sold out just yet.

Viewing Shutter Island, I think it’s blatantly obvious to see the movie is conveying comprehensive reverence to the legendary director, Alfred Hitchcock. The post-WWII based timeline, the setting of an asylum for the criminally insane, the theme of schizophrenia and it’s origins, combed with the mystery of a missing femme fatale patient - it’s all very 1950s noir.  Even the manner in which the actors deliver their lines is classical – it’s almost like we’re watching a play on stage. There are several nods to the great English director; acute, uncomfortable focus on details both in characters and setting (Shutter Island can be just as claustrophobic as Rear Window (1954)), the awkward choppy editing and use of dream sequences depicting psychosis, and more than anything else, the extremely sinister use of a very creepy background score. If the cliff scene and lighthouse scene at the end of Shutter Island don’t take you back to Hitchcock’s classic Vertigo (1958), I don’t know what will. Given Martin Scorsese’s reputation for being the leading voice in film history, there is no doubt this is reminiscent of old school film noir psychological thrillers, based around the style of Mr. Hitchcock. It is a perfect homage to a bygone era in cinema, in which psychological thrillers were touching on a subject that was still relatively unknown and was yet portrayed exceptionally creatively and to be fair, accurately.

In Pic: Shutter Island's inspiration - Alfred Hitchcock

Without sounding like a pretentious twat – I think this movie will be more appreciated by purists who are well versed with film history than those who enjoy a good mystery with jaw dropping plot twists. From the get go, this movie is painfully predictable, what you think is essentially what’s going to happen, barring a few inconsequential surprises. My brother who watched it before me, warned, “The ending will be the cause of quite a few debates…” I asked him “Was it good?” He was quick to answer, “Yes, as obvious as it was.” When I read The Wall Street Journal's critic John Anderson’s suggestion for the viewing of this film, I felt a little vindicated about my belief in the film’s quality; "Shutter Island requires multiple viewings to be fully realized as a work of art. Its process is more important than its story, its structure more important than the almost perfunctory plot twists it perpetrates. It’s a thriller, a crime story and a tortured psychological parable about collective guilt." Essentially, if you watch it appreciating the techniques in which the story is told – Shutter Island's story becomes secondary. The real highlight of this movie is the vivid imagery relating not only to the main character's life and struggles but also the demons he's fighting. The rats from the cliff and the haunting imagery of the holocaust and infanticide are going to stay with you for a while. The answers may be obvious but they're by no means spelt out for you.  

I have harped on about how this movie pays homage to 1950s psychological thrillers – what made those movies special, during those times topics like schizophrenia and psychosis were still obscure and unfamiliar… which made the movies quite scary. People are truly afraid of what they don't understand. Take Psycho (1960) for example, as legendary as the shower scene was, the movie was really frightening because Norman Bates was the first character to depict schizophrenics and the violent obsessive behavior many of them are prone towards. In 2010, we’re all fairly well versed about psychosis and the criminally insane (thanks to classics like Psycho and The Collector (1965), as well as your abundance of contemporary movies centered around serial killers such as Silence of the Lambs (1992) and Seven (1995)) – which makes Shutter Island’s plot a tad foreseeable. Having said of all of this, I do think the plot was beautifully tragic – Teddy Daniels’ final philosophical words to Mark Ruffalo’s character did well to bring the whole story together.

All the personal jealousy aside, it’s high time Leo wins himself an Oscar, especially for his performance playing the role of the grief stricken WWII veteran, Teddy Daniels in Shutter Island. He takes intensity to another level in the role – brooding, resentful and doomed. We may have lost him during the Titanic times (I was in high school, so it’s forgivable) – but we just cannot deny he is currently Hollywood’s finest actor. Just can’t remember a time I haven’t enjoyed one of his movies. In Blood Diamond (2006) he redefined the adventure hero by making himself an adventure anti-hero. He was outstanding in The Departed (2006), giving Donny Brasco (1997) a run for his money as the most cursed undercover police officer. He gave a really underrated performance in Revolutionary Road (2008) with Kate Winslet and it completely undid any preconceived notions I had about him thanks to Titanic (1997) and The Beach (2000). To be Martin Scorsese’s go to lead and to be releasing a movie with Christopher Nolan (Inception (2010)) in the same year is something very special. Can we start categorizing him with the likes of Sean Penn, Johnny Depp, Tom Hanks? I don’t think it would be far off to say in time he’ll be bigger than Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and even Jack Nicholson.

    In Pic: Leonardo DiCaprio as Edward 'Teddy' Daniels

We’ve seen Scorcese do his fair share of mafia movies: Goodfellas (1990), Casino (1995) and The Departed. He’s made epic biopics: Raging Bull (1980) and The Aviator (2004). We’ve also seen his versatility in his powerful documentaries inspired by the world’s greatest musicians: Shine a Light (2008) and No Direction Home (2005). In Shutter Island, we have the best of everything that is Scorcese with a little twist, he isn’t telling us how great he is, he’s telling us how great Alfred Hitchcock was. There are also a few instances where I see inspirations from the psychological classic Persona (1966) in this movie. Intelligent yet quirky editing techniques, a keen eye for lush rich cinematography matched with a sharp understanding of imagery and colour contrasts, a reliance on actors who are passionate to the point of being obsessively ‘mode’ and of course, monumental settings spurred from larger than life production. Add a plot line that deals with very dark yet classic themes ranging from the holocaust, infanticide, dementia, treatment of the insane, and you have a true culmination of Hitchcock-Scorcese cinema. In so little words, the tension is so high with all these components coming together; as you float through the misty opening scene only to be dragged right down through the black ominous gates of Ashecliffe Hospital, you can’t help but think Shutter Island is going to be one hell of a mind fuck. And oh boy is it a mind fuck.

In Pic: Martin Scorsese - cinema's living legend

I'm easily swayed thanks to the garbage that's been released in cinemas recently, so to finally watch a movie with real depth and which keeps you thinking is refreshing. Scorsese proves (yet again) why he's an absolute legend. What do you think, is he the greatest filmmaker in American history?  I'm beginning to think so. 8/10.  Bring on Ridley Scott's Robin Hood and Christopher Nolan's Inception!