Inception (2010)

Ladies and gentlemen, class is in session! For the next two and a half hours, Christopher Nolan will be your teacher. Turn on your thinking caps and watch closely. For those of you in Hollywood, please take notes- creative and original thoughts are not dead in the industry after all! Inception is not just a triumph in modern filmmaking but also a masterpiece for storytelling and pushing the envelope.

Dominick Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) are ‘extractors.’ They use special technology to enter the minds of others through dreams in order to steal secrets. This corporate espionage is profitable but dangerous work. After failing an assignment, one of their targets (Ken Watanabe) turns the tables on them with a job offer. Not only does he offer a hefty sum of money, he also tells Cobb he can use his connections to clear his name of all charges in relation to his wife’s death, allowing the extractor to finally return to the US and be with his children.

There’s just one catch- instead of stealing a secret, Cobb must plant an idea in the mind of corporate rival Robert Fisher, Jr. (Cillian Murphy). This is an infinitely more delicate and dangerous assignment but Cobb will do anything to return to his children. Assembling a specialized team (including the acting talents of Ellen Page, Tom Hardy and Dileep Rao), Cobb constructs an intricate plot three dream layers deep. Time is limited and the team is being hunted by agents of Fisher’s subconscious defenses, leaving no room for error whatsoever.

To call this film intricate is an understatement. Wrapping your mind around the rules of dream-sharing and extraction comes easy enough but director Christopher Nolan invites you to go even deeper. The multi-layer plan is harrowing and you have to stay sharp in order to keep track of which level you’re watching, as action on all dream levels is intercut. If you’re not prepared to think as much as you observe while taking this gem in, it’s very easy to get lost. Perhaps this is why I am especially fond of this film.

Trying to make a popular thinking man’s film is a tall task. Most of what Hollywood produces anymore is sophomoric at best in an attempt to hit as wide an audience as possible. It’s almost a case of the chicken and the egg. Which came first: Hollywood’s shameless cranking out of easy-to-digest films for broad audience appeal or a broad demand from audiences for easy-to-digest cinema? Either way, Hollywood has been coasting for far too long and the few visionaries willing to make films with deep thought attached are slowly waking people up to this truth.

Christopher Nolan has been nudging his viewers towards more than just simply watching movies. Most of his films to date involve some interesting philosophical or intellectual discussion within the film, causing you to think with the characters and for yourself. But does Nolan stop there? No. The questions he poses in his films and the issues and scenarios he raises will keep you thinking long after the movie is over. Here is a director capable of getting his audience to enter into discussion after the credits roll and then segue that discussion from the film to the concepts within the film. How many other directors are able to get you talking about heady issues like dreams, perspective and the subconscious?

The technology behind dream sharing is utter science-fiction but it’s presented in such a matter-of-fact way that it’s never an issue. It’s usually hard to sell a lone element of sci-fi in a film but it is handled brilliantly here. Unlike The Matrix, where a whole world of technology needed constructing and explanation to sell the idea, Inception slips this vital technology right under our noses. We just breathe it in and immediately believe it. Perhaps it’s because we know it’s all about dreams. Perhaps not. Whatever the reason, Nolan’s ability to sell us on his world is critical and the fact that virtually no one complained about it makes him a master magician.

This film rolled around for years in Nolan’s mind and his passion for the story really comes through. He wisely adds an element of subconscious mystery and emotional torment to Cobb that prevents the film from being little more than a heist film with a twist. Leonardo DiCaprio rises to the occasion and delivers one of the best performances of his career. The rest of the cast performs just as admirably and they really exceed expectations. DiCaprio is the biggest star in the film but he never overpowers the rest of the players. Ellen Page shows that she can play more than just quirky youthful roles and Joseph Gordon-Levitt proves that his best acting days are not in his past.

Another display of great filmmaking is how few special effects are used during the film. Despite the bizarre nature of dreams, Nolan keeps everything very realistic within the dream world. This keeps you immersed in the action and fully invested in the characters. They’re not jumping between buildings or traveling at superhuman speeds. Nolan’s rules for dream behavior require a realistic approach. Watch the fight scene in the rotating hallway knowing that there was no CGI involved and you will be awestruck.

Action, suspense, emotion, intelligence- it’s all here. I did initially dock the film a bit for what seemed like a few poor effects shots in the subconscious limbo world but a second viewing may see those points given back. Inception is a film worthy of a second viewing. Heck, it’s worth an unlimited number of viewings. This is an instant classic and already the leading candidate for best film of this new decade. Christopher Nolan singlehandedly gives moviegoers hope that Hollywood can still make movies that move us. Let’s just hope that Hollywood is sharing the same dream.

RATING: 4.25 out of 5

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010)

I’m starting this review off with a disclaimer: this is going to be an incomplete review. The reason? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is an incomplete film. Unlike the first six Potter flicks, Hallows Part 1 is an unfinished story. After seeing Part 2 in July 2011, I will be able to give you a true assessment of the last and most ambitious installment to one of the biggest franchises of all time. Until then, please accept these reflections of the first half of the tale…

In the wizarding world, adulthood comes at age 17. Harry has been on the fast-track to maturity his whole life, but the cutesy fun and enchantment of Hogwarts is behind him now. Lord Voldemort’s strength and influence are growing beyond measure. After a daring escape from his aunt and uncle’s house, Harry teams up with his pals Ron and Hermione on a secret mission to locate and destroy Voldemort’s remaining horcruxes, artifacts that contain pieces of his soul.

The road is long, dangerous, and pushes the teenagers to their limits. Relationships must be mended, obstacles overcome, enemies defeated. In many ways, this is the Harry Potter film I have been waiting for. No more silly school scenes with ghosts romping through the hallways; no more lessons from alliteratively-named professors involving absurd-sounding spells; and no more help for Harry. The young wizard and his friends are out of their element and totally clueless about what to do. Harry has done a good job relying on instinct and improvising over the years but reality hits him now like a cold brick in the face.

Hallows Part 1 is interesting because there are stretches of time that are slow and sprawling while other parts all but suffer from information overload. It’s an intriguing balance because the film never feels as long as it really is. This is good because the audience doesn’t get restless, but bad because, when the credits roll, we’re still capable of taking in more. It doesn’t help that the cutoff point is also unsatisfying.

Having read the book, I had a few ideas of how the film could be split with momentum to bridge the gap. No matter where the filmmakers decided to make the cut, Part 1 was always destined to feel incomplete but I think they got it wrong here. Harry’s progress is limited at best and we fade to black with a tragedy for Potter & company but a triumph for Voldemort. It’s a pessimistic and deflating way to say ‘come back next summer for the conclusion!’ Maybe I was foolishly hoping for a Lord of the Rings kind of ending because those films found a more organic jumping point than strict adherence to the books would have dictated.

Staying true to the book is a noble task, even though a myriad of minor details and set pieces are either rushed over or changed, but it may also hurt Hallows in the long run. There is no self-contained story arc within the first half of this tale. Discovering the truth behind the Deathly Hallows is the closest thing we get but that only develops in the second half of this film. Despite a minor victory or two along the way, nothing is resolved and we leave Harry just as clueless as when the film began.

There is also a problem of perception for the audience to work past. Fans of the book series, especially those who read the book shortly before taking in the film, will be dissatisfied by some of the little changes. Comparing a movie to its source book is inevitable but it’s also wrong to do. Film and the written word are two entirely different beasts. Even I have to admit that, all along, I have been basing my ratings for the Harry Potter movies partly as adaptations of the books.

This is unacceptable as a movie lover because books are almost always better because they allow you to create your own artistic vision for the story. When watching (and in my case, reviewing) a movie, you should only be concerned with whether or not the film functions properly and tells a good story; don’t let the details they leave out from the book affect your opinion of the movie. How good was the story the movie told? That’s all that matters.

As far as movies go, Hallows Part 1 does pretty well. Most of the visual effects look sharp and the use of more handheld cameras really pays off in capturing the gritty reality of Harry’s new life in hiding. The locations selected for Harry’s cross-country trek are beautiful and haunting in their isolation. Finally, the young stars of the series carry themselves differently this time. They’re clearly up for the challenge of making a more adult Harry Potter film.

More adult it certainly is! With a little more salty language and a surprising scene involving some supernatural sensuality, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 is not for anyone under the age of 15 (at least that’s my opinion). It’s a pretty bold departure from the tone and style of previous installments but it’s the right move. After a little bit of stalling and a fair amount of set up between Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince, we finally come to the meat and potatoes. We have to wait until next July for the rest of the main course, but at least it is finally here.

I don’t know if I will re-watch every Harry Potter film before seeing Deathly Hallows Part 2, but at some point I will definitely need to re-evaluate them all. This way I can be sure that my ratings for each film reflect their accomplishments as films and not as adaptations. I’m reserving too much judgment on Hallows just yet because the story isn’t finished. I did dock it a quarter-point though for not explaining the existence of the mirror fragment Harry gazes at throughout the film. I know where it’s from (and so will anyone who has read the books) but this was the first appearance of it in any of the films.

I will probably grade Part 2 as a stand-alone component as well and then write up a true review for both halves combined. One consistent review for one consistent storytelling and filmmaking vision only seems right. Until then, you better believe I will be eagerly awaiting the final chapter.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5