Blood Diamond (2006)

Capturing both the physical beauty and social ugliness that makes up the African continent, Blood Diamond is a traditional heavyweight drama. Its goal is not to entertain but to captivate and illuminate. Exposing the dark corners of the diamond trade that most people are ignorant to or choose not to acknowledge, this film ties big business, organized crime and human drama all into one.

When his village is destroyed by rebels, Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) is torn apart from his wife an children and forced to work in a rebel-owned diamond mine. When the Sierra Leonean Army attacks the rebels, Vandy escapes knowing the whereabouts of a massive pink diamond. Vandy crosses paths with Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), a Zimbabwean diamond smuggler with powerful connections. Their relationship is shaky at best and, with the help of an American journalist (Jennifer Connelly), they set out to retrieve the diamond before anyone else can as well as Vandy’s son, who has been forced to join the rebel army.

The above paragraph is actually a pretty poor description of the entire plot of this film. The three central characters are operating on a grander scale than I can put into one paragraph. Colonialism, capitalism, barbarism, and humanitarianism all interplay in Blood Diamond. With all that’s going on, the film can’t help but get bogged down in the intricate weaving of plot details. While the diamond is the focus from 30,000 feet, this film is more like a collection of smaller conflicts, internal and external.

While DiCaprio is the star of the film, Connelly is its conscience and Hounsou is its heart. The combination of DiCaprio’s hard-nosed determination, Connelly’s lectures about the evils of the diamond trade, and Hounsou’s intense emotional roller coaster, this film will leave you feeling mentally and physically exhausted. Is it rewarding though? Pre-credit text encourages audiences with the fact that a super-minority of diamonds come from such entities since conferences between the diamond powerhouses in the 1990s. That either leaves you feeling a little warmer inside or it enables you to distance yourself from the events of the film.

The one thing that bugs me throughout the film is DiCaprio’s accent. It’s bad enough that his youthful looks make it hard to believe him as a seasoned smuggler, but his never-consistent accent is distracting as all get-out. They needed someone of DiCaprio’s pedigree and popularity to anchor the film and secure audiences but, just as I have issues with Americans playing British roles, there’s just something off about having him play an African white man.

While it may be a little too much to take in at one time, Blood Diamond is a very good film. The locations look sharp and Hounsou’s performance is wonderful. One might think this film was intended as Oscar bait but I disagree. This was a film made by people who appreciate the true dramas of old. It won’t likely become one of your favorites, and you may not even feel the urge to watch it a second time, but one viewing is certainly worthwhile.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5

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

The Departed** (2006)

After finally seeing this film, I was surprised that it managed to win Best Picture at the Oscars. When I think of the Oscars I typically think of films like Gone With the Wind and Casablanca, or West Side Story and (sadly) Shakespeare in Love. Majestic in scope and in some cases artsy, these are the movies that seem to typify what is Oscar material.

The Departed, at first glance is anything but. This is such a guy movie it’s not even funny.

A tough, raw, intense police drama with a stellar cast (can any film with a Baldwin in it claim to have an all-star cast?) grabs you by the throat and won’t let go until it's done telling its story.

Okay, that’s a bit much. There are some slow scenes and it's not all action. In fact, there are some points where I found myself confused as to just what is going on. Fortunately, director Martin Scorsese straightens out this convoluted thriller come the final reel (and what a reel!).

This is a very smart film and treats its thinking viewers with a myriad of twists, turns and plenty of jolts along the way. I can almost guarantee that you will gasp and/or flinch at least once during this movie from all the drama. The Departed is simply a film that is very well put together. With this in mind, it really isn’t so surprising that it won Best Picture. It also helps that the Academy felt particularly bad this past year about neglecting Scorsese all this time.

The Departed certainly fits into the lexicon of Best Picture winners that are very well made, like Platoon, Rocky and The French Connection. Maybe it’s not quite the best picture of the year, but you’d have a tough time faulting the Academy for it.

And I guess that’s what The Departed boils down to- it may not be the greatest picture of the year, but it is one of the most complete in terms of its scope. The acting is brilliant and believable (notably only the third time I can honestly say that I enjoyed Leonardo DiCaprio's performance); Scorsese and his crew work their magic with editing, the soundtrack and score; and the story itself is very well written. But that can’t quite make up for two hugely important factors- 1) This film is a remake of film from Hong Kong called Infernal Affairs, and 2) while the film has many strengths, it doesn’t quite have the staying power that other Best Picture winners have had.

While I have never seen Infernal Affairs, and although this American version was rewritten and likely differs in ways from the original, it’s impossible to escape the stigma that a film is a remake. Instead of Hong Kong, we get Boston. A newly graduated policeman (Leonardo DiCaprio) is hired to infiltrate a notorious gangster’s (Jack Nicholson) criminal empire. Along the way there is denial, deception and death. Things are never quite what they seem, which is the film’s key strength, but it is a bit of a slight to the mind of the viewer to realize that the premise did not originate from the filmmakers presenting it. This isn’t the first time this story has been told, and we have to wonder, has it been done better?

Whatever the answer to that question is, The Departed is undeniably one of the best films of 2006. Whether it was intended to be commercially successful or just appreciable from a film lover's point of view is irrelevant. It was a huge hit, but I doubt it will be remembered as fondly as many of Scorsese’s other works. It is, to date, Scorsese’s highest rated film on my list, but hardly the most memorable.

In the pantheon of Oscar winners for Best Picture, I have a feeling that The Departed is more likely to fall by the wayside like The Last Emperor or The English Patient rather than engraining itself in minds and becoming a commonplace reference in our culture like Forrest Gump, Rain Man or Silence of the Lambs.

Good, but not quite great.

RATING: 3.75 out of 5