Inception!

I've said it so many times before, and now I'll say it again. Christopher Nolan is one hell of a genius. And with each new film, he just keeps getting better and better. Seriously, one has to be smoking some truly exceptional sh*t to be able to imagine the world that he has created this time around. Some may nitpick and say Inception isn't entirely original, and I have to agree that some of the ideas seen here are rather derivative from past movies. But taken in its entirety, I would still say that this is a movie that's unlike any other. Those action set pieces elicit enough excitement that even the most jaded moviegoer would probably be amused, if not totally impressed. The story is multi layered and mind bending, and like most of the other Nolan films this movie entails repeat viewings for us to completely understand all of its nuances. Naysayers can nitpick all they want, but I would still say that Inception is the best movie I have seen so far this year.

Memento

Yeah, after months of searching, I finally got to see Memento. How? I downloaded an illegal copy through some file sharing program. Don't blame me! I've tried so hard to do it legally. I've been searching for an original copy for months, to no avail. So when I did a random search in the internet, and it popped up--- all 750 megabytes of it--- i proceeded to download it.

So what can I say about the movie? Apparently, it's actually Christopher Nolan's second movie. His first movie was Following, a relatively unknown movie shot on a shoestring budget. Critics say it was good, even more so considering the budget it had. It was mostly shown on film festivals, and producers took notice and they proceeded to give him funding for his next film. The Following was shown on more screen after Memento. The film's posters actually show the words "from the director of Memento" in huge letters, even though the film was made earlier.

So, were my huge expectations met? I say "Hell Yeah!". You can say I'm biased because I've already read all those positive reviews the movie had. After I've seen the movie, I say it deserved all the praise it got. That was a complete mind f*ck. If you don't pay attention, you'll get lost. See, the movie basically starts at the end, showing clips lasting for about 10-15 minutes each, moving towards the very beginning. The excitement doesn't lie in seeing how it turns out, but in filling out the blanks, finding out how things happened. The movie has a lot of twists--- just when you thought you've had it all figured out, the next scene shows that all your assumptions were wrong. Those few negative reviews said that the way they edited the movie was just a gimmickto make a very simple story look complicated. True enough, when viewed in reverse, the movie's plot really seems simple. But they're completely missing the point. The way it was edited completely fits the movie, it further immerses the audience to the point of view of the main actor. He has this condition wherein he can't form new thoughts--- everything that happens, he'll forget in a few minutes, so he has to take pictures, write stuff down. We can see how things happen before his very eyes. We can even relate to the character, trying hard to remember every detail, because once we don't pay attention and forget the previous events, we get lost. Like the character, the audience is put into some sort of struggle with memory. And there's so much to see, so many clues to watch out for, that the second viewing is even more pleasurable.

It's hard to believe such a film can be made early in a director's career. The future looks very promising indeed.

Oh yeah, here's a site where a critic discusses everything about Memento. It's best read after seeing the movie. :)

The Prestige

I've just said something blasphemous. Followed by a word that some would view as cursing. or cussing. or whatever. then my next statement was---

"Christopher Nolan is a god".

Enough said.



That was my initial reaction after watching The Prestige. In the movie, A prestige is the third and final act of a magic trick, the one when you shake your head in disbelief, and applaud accordingly. That was how I felt, I wanted to clap my hands inside the movie theater. It's been so long since i've watched a movie this good. Yeah, I've watched The Departed last week and it's a great movie also, but in my opinion--- it doesn't compare to this. I don't care if that movie had more great reviews.

Come to think of it, that was the same feeling I felt after watching Batman Begins more than a year ago. I've become a fan of Mr. Nolan even before I've seen this movie. The trailer alone got me excited when I first saw it last July. It occured to me that I may be a bit biased--- but a lot of people also thought the movie was great. Plus with my high expectations, I would've been really disappointed if it didn't deliver. And I was far from being disappointed. The acting was superb. I don't know what those negative reviews were about. I don't know what they were looking for. Maybe they just didn't understand the movie. Maybe the non linear flow of the story confused them. They complained about wasting such good lead actors. I thought they were superb. What further depth in characterization did they want? yeah, i guess some scenes need further exploration and development, but then they'd have to increase the screen time, which would sacrifice the effect of such cinematic "sleight of hand". I thought the pacing was perfect, to keep the audiences guessing. Some of those twists and turns may be familiar, but those were clever nevertheless. The supporting cast were great also. Other critics were rapping about how they wasted Scarlett Johansson's talent also. I say they shouldn't expct much, she's in a supporting role after all. And with the role given to her, i would say she also delivered. Even while I'm typing this, I want to watch the movie again!

Christopher Nolan never fails to deliver. Insomnia. then Batman Begins. And now The Prestige. Now if only I could find that elusive copy of Memento, his directorial debut that I still haven't watched, I would be one very happy fanboy. :)

The Dark Knight will surely be phenomenal.

A Big Joke?

Various websites have reported that Heath Ledger has been cast as the Joker in the upcoming Batman Begins sequel. Even though those websites are legitimate, I'm hoping it's jus a rumor. I have nothing against Heath Ledger, but it's one very odd casting choice. It's one thing that he looks nothing like the Joker--- tons of make-up and special effects can take care of that. People have been saying the same thing about Christian Bale as Batman, and look how great he turned out. And if they plan to do a Joker Origin story as the main plot, when he was still a normal person, it could work. But my main issue is about his acting ability, which has been choppy at best. I can't think of a single movie where he proved himself to be a great actor, but I can think of a few movies where he was not. He's remembered for Brokeback Mountain, but is he remembered for that movie because of great acting or for something else? In contrast to the stellar cast of the first movie, wherein there were mostly thespians, consistently good actors, he seems out of place. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson... Ok, Katie Holmes was that one loose end.But knowing how great the first movie turned out, and how Christopher Nolan has never missed a shot before, I'm still optimistic. Let's just wait and see how this turns out... hopefully is doesn't turn out bad.

I mean, How bad could it possibly turn out? Unlikely just for one odd casting choice. I'll probably be one of those first in line when the movie comes out. I'm still burning with anticipation. But the minute I hear the Joker say "I wish I knew how to quit you, Batman...", I'm getting out of the movie theater.