Inception

Inception
Year: 2010
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Ken Watanbe, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine

In My Own Words
I would have been insanely disappointed if “Inception” had not lived up to my expectations. It’s not often I admit that about a film, or that I even let myself think like that. All I had to do was look at the components that made up this film in order to get excited. The combination of an intriguing storyline, one of the best directors going around at the moment and a stellar cast which includes many an award nominee, what wasn’t there to be excited about?! And....I was not disappointed. “Inception” is pure brilliance. So brilliant that I am afraid my review won’t do it justice. I left the cinema completely speechless and all I could so was hold up 9 fingers to my other half to indicate my rating out of 10.

Unlike many other movies, “Inception” is able to excel on all levels. Many wonderful films will be wonderful for either the acting or the cinematography, but not often does a film come along which excels in both. “Inception” does. Christopher Nolan has placed everything together perfectly and his knack for selecting his cast members is definitely commendable. Personally, I believe Leonardo DiCaprio and Marion Cotillard are two of the finest actors alive at the moment. DiCaprio seems to be getting better and better. In high school, I struggled to take DiCaprio seriously for his heart throb status from films such as “Romeo + Juliet” and “Titanic”. Don’t get me wrong, he was good in both and the movies weren’t bad, but it is hard for actors to be taken seriously when their posters are up in everything 14 year olds locker at school. However, “The Aviator”, “The Departed” and “Blood Diamond” each showed how far this man has come and how he is definitely one of the best actors of our time. And Marion Cotillard, she has the ambience on the screen that the stars of the Golden Hollywood age. Her Oscar winning role in “La Vie En Rose” made the world sit up and take notice of this French star and she has shown her quality continuingly since then in glowing roles in “Public Enemies” and “Nine”.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
“What's the most resilient parasite? An Idea.” In this quote, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Cobb is speaking about the implantation of ideas in the human mind, although it could well be “Inception” director, Christopher Nolan describing his journey with his new masterpiece. Nolan approached Warner Bros with the idea for “Inception” first back in 2002 without a script, but even without this, both he and Warner Bros knew what they had in their hands. From this idea grew the larger than life and mind-blowing “Inception” which has only just been released now in July 2010. It has well been worth the wait. Nolan could well be one of the best directors of our time. He pushes everything to the limit in this film and every little detail is sewn up tightly and with the greatest care. This film could well be the best of the year.

Cobb and his partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) are in the business of extracting information from the minds of others by exploring their subconscious in their dreams. It seems as though they have nearly come to the end of the road, when Cobb, who is still recovering from the death of his wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard) is approached by Saito (Ken Watanbe) with an offer he can’t refuse. Along with Arthur and the help of architectural genius, Ariadne (Ellen Page) they begin to try and plant an idea in the mind of Robert Fischer Jr. (Cillian Murphy), but little do they know the dark depths they are really exploring of not only Fischer’s mind, but of someone else’s mind that is far more dangerous.

Absolutely everything about “Inception” is amazing. The story is completely original and wonderfully written by Nolan. It is absolutely intriguing and extremely clever, with no stone been left unturned and no questions are left unanswered. Nolan completely captures the dream world and will make you remember things from your dreams that you normally do forget once you have woken up. The whole concept of extracting information from dreams and implanting ideas in people’s dreams is complete genius. The cinematography and special effects are definitely something to write home about and people will leave the cinema talking about their favourite sequences. “Inception” is one of those movies you will have to see at the cinema to get the most out of. The musical score is also perfectly suited to the movie and is able to capture the darkness of the situation at hand.

The acting is superb in “Inception”. The acting and the storyline are what differentiates ‘Inception” from all the other action and sci-fi blockbusters out there. The acting fleshes out the raw human emotion involved in the situations in the films and draws the viewer in even more. The star of the film is DiCaprio and he is back to his high calibre of acting. He draws on his past roles of both the tough talking detective and the sensitive husband and father and combines them both in this role with fantastic results. He is a mystery, but at the same time connects with the audience on many levels. Marion Cotillard is also superb. It is like she plays multiple roles in this film..the loving wife and mother, the unstable wife and mother, the seductress, the evil spirit and the list goes on. She is completely believable and an amazing character who has so much presence and control over the audience every time she appears on the screen. High praise definitely goes to Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page and Cillian Murphy. Each of these actors plays a role completely unlike any other role they have every done and pulls it off perfectly, which is rises another praise for Nolan. He cast these actors and pushes them to their limits in roles which they are not known for . Nolan is a director which actors relate to very well, hence why so many actors he has previously worked with keep re-appearing in his films. Many of his co-stars would have had to have been jealous of Gordon-Levitt however, he is part of some of the most awesome scenes in the movie which would have been a real treat to have taken part in.

“Inception” is not to be missed. This is definitely Nolan’s best film to date and he is worthy of every piece of praise that he receives for it. He could have well been responsible for the best film of the year and one can only hope that the academy remembers him come Oscar season next year. There are many awards he and his cast should win for this masterpiece and there is no reason they shouldn’t be remembered next year, as “Inception” is a film that will not be forgotten.
9.5/10

Shutter Island

Shutter Island
Year: 2010
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams

In My Own Words
“Shutter Island” is definitely one of my most anticipated films of the year. It was supposed to be released back in October 2009, and I was not impressed to hear that Scorsese’s new film had been pushed back 4 months. The reason I was so excited for it was that “Shutter Island” looked unlike anything Scorsese had ever done before. The genius director is no stranger to thrillers, but this was his first attempt at one that bordered on horror the way “Shutter Island” looked like it would be according to the trailer. I really wish that the film was released back in October, rather than been released now with the huge build up and very high expectations. Although the expectations would’ve been high regardless of the timing because of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio’s past record.

The expectations may have ruined it for me, but when I take away the expectations from my judgement, I still come to a similar conclusion about this film. I can’t help but think that original endings in Hollywood are completely going out the window. All I can really hope is that I can start seeing suspenseful thriller movies soon where I can’t guess the ending. Or is there really such thing as originality anymore? It’s a sad thought. I’m a big fan of receiving the unexpected in movies, whether I be disappointed by who dies and who doesn’t or what not, at least I feel like I haven’t seen the film 5 times before.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
The much anticipated latest Martin Scorsese film “Shutter Island” is to put it simply, a disappointment. The biggest disappointment about it being that it is one of those films, that there seems to be quite a few of these days, where the ending can easily be guessed at the beginning. “Shutter Island” by Dennis Lehane may be clever and surprising on paper, but as a screenplay, it is highly predictable. Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a US Marshall who has been assigned to a case on Shutter Island at Ashcliffe, a hospital for the clinically and criminally insane. He and his partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) are sent to investigate a mysterious disappearance of a woman from Ashcliffe. Even though Daniels did his research before he arrived on the island, he discovers more about the island than he thought he would and feels himself becoming part of the island.

During the film, “Shutter Island” can be absolutely intriguing. It is hard to explain how this film can be intriguing, yet unoriginal without giving too much of the story away. It is like many other films and their endings, just in a hospital for the mentally disturbed, which makes it interesting. The atmosphere of the locations does indeed make the film creepy and the patients and their stories are certainly disturbing. It can be put into the same category as films such as “Girl, Interrupted” and “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”, where it is so unsettling that you do not want to look away. The visuals of the film are gorgeous, especially that of the island itself, and the recreation of the asylum in the 1940’s is well done. However, it does seem at times that Scorsese tries a little too hard to create suspense and eeriness in his use of cinematography and sound.

DiCaprio gives a solid performance and does well as Teddy, as he always seems to do under the direction of Scorsese. Ruffalo also gives a good performance as Eddy’s partner. The two are definitely the stars of the film. Michelle Williams, who plays Teddy’s deceased wife, can only be described as flat and boring. She falls short of the expectations of the character she plays should have. Emily Mortimer and Jackie Earle Haley both deserve credit for their creepy roles as patients in the hospital.

Unfortunately, this all comes down to the realization that “Shutter Island” is unfortunately Scorsese’s worst film to date. Not because there was anything wrong with the way he made the film, but because it is highly predictable and very much like many other films that are out there. Scorsese is not normally known for fitting into film trends, but that is just what he has done here. Even if the director of “Shutter Island” was not Martin Scorsese, it would just be another film with the same ending, just better made than most.
6/10