I hate Inception.
I love Christopher Nolan's work, I love the amazing cast he put together and the phenomenal job they do. I love the cinematography, the lighting, the special effects. I love the haunting score from Hans Zimmer that will make your pulse race; yet I hate Inception.
"Have you ever had a dream ... that you were so sure was real?"
We've all had those dreams. The dreams we swear were real. This is why I hate Inception. The film feeds on this common experience. It poses a question that evokes a feeling of fear. It creeps up on you... penetrating your mind until it has a firm grip and then does not let you go.
Fear. We have MORE than enough of it these days.
You see, one of my worst fears in life is not being able to distinguish dream state from reality. Whether it be falling asleep and never waking... being in a coma I'll never escape from... or being asleep and not knowing it. Philosophers have struggled with the question: "is life an illusion?" since ancient times and Christopher Nolan has brought the common fear inducing question to the screen in a way that has never been done before.
Fear is a powerful thing. The nature of this film is incredibly frightening. Not to mention the use of self directed violence as a solution. The alarming idea makes me strongly disagree with the rating of PG. Self directed violence is never a solution. Period.
While I love Nolan's work and the way he puts together films, this one is too well put together. It leaves me with a sense of unease. Christopher Nolan's Inception is a heavy movie that is not for the faint of heart.
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]]>"How many guys can relate to a movie like this?"
She's out of My League puts a mild mannered hockey geek next to a "hottie" and hopes that the answer to this question is: "a lot." In the same romantic comedy form as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Knocked Up; She's Out of My League paints a funny picture of 'normal' people facing normal problems and it succeeds.
Plot points do not drive this movie engine. While the story is fairly interesting, it isn't anything crazy original because hollywood has shown us the little guy getting the pretty girl before. That being said, the cast uses comedy to drive the film and it works.
There are a couple really hilarious moments. The humor level seems to go up and down, but really lends itself to the story of our not-so-young-anymore airport security officer. Jay Baruchel's character has a lot of hilarious moments with his friends. Krysten Ritter, who plays a best friend to the love interest in the movie, also has a one liner that might make you laugh out loud.
I'm a big fan of Jay Baruchel, and this movie continues to make me a fan. Baruchel really has his emotional and comedic timing down pat and holds strong in this movie. He easily slips into the lovable nerd role, and gets to show off a little bit of his Canadian roots with a whole scene shot at a Pittsburgh Penguins game. If you weren't a fan of Jay Baruchel before this film, you just might just change your mind.
For a fun DVD rental, you can't go wrong with She's Out of My League. It's nothing revolutionary in the Romantic Comedy genre but it's sure to make you laugh.
3.5/5
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Science and Action. On the rare occasion when the two meet, it's either: bad science with great action (read: Michael Bay Movies) or good science with boring action (documentaries anyone?). But when beautiful minds collide, we are blessed with a perfect combination. Atomic Robo brings us fun and enjoyable action science in comic book form.
I'm going to start at the beginning of the Atomic Robo saga, (the series is now on Volume 4) because it's where I first fell in love with this comic booky goodness. Volume 1 is a brilliant introduction to a Robot with "automatic intelligence". The cool thing is that we start our journey with Robo a good 15 years after his creation and read our way through Lost like flashbacks.
The writing and the art compliment each other and make the bright world of Atomic Robo shine. Thanks to the witty writing, humor is never far to be found in this series. I recommend the 4th issue featuring Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking for a good laugh. As for the art: it began a bit stiff but has become better and better since the artists found their stride in the third issue.
The overall story of Volume 1 isn't my favorite of the series... not because this particular volume is in any way bad; in fact, volume 1 really helps you get a feel for Robo's world. The majority of it is set on earth where we meet characters that are central to future stories and Atomic Robo's arch-nemesis (*dun dun dun*).
I may be gushing, but this comic is really something I've grown attached to and has brought me back to comic books. I found Atomic Robo at a Free Comic Book Day event here in Edmonton and have never looked back. It's a gem in the indie comic book genre and if you are at all into comics, science, science fiction or pop culture, you owe it to yourself to at least check this comic out.
5/5
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Murder, revenge and mystery are all wonderful starting points for any story. A slow pace, drawn out scene, or an abrupt finale are horrible ways to end a story too. The Swedish film, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is guilty of all of the above. Going into this film completely blind to it's marketing or even story, I left the film wanting more content in less time.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at it's core is really quite an interesting story. And why shouldn't it be? Based on a worldwide bestselling book the film has great groundwork laid out for it. The actors are all unknowns (at least in Canada) and the film is set on a beautiful island.
Regrettably, none of the things mentioned above seem to be taken advantage of by the filmmaker. I hear that the film's story is pretty close to the books. The movie is rather drawn out (perhaps for effect) but I found it quite slow with an abrupt finale. The film could have easily been rated R, with some graphic and unnecessarily long scenes. More editing could have done this film wonders.
I was prepared to like this film. I had zero expectations coming into it and I had no idea that it is a book series. Sadly the negatives really outweigh the positives of this film for me, and I'd probably have a tough time recommending this foreign film to anyone. Emo kids, foreign film enthusiasts or people who love the books may enjoy this movie, but none of those people are me. I'm just a guy who likes to watch movies and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will not be one I will ever watch again.
1/5
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My stomach hurts. My eyes are still welling up a little. These aren't feelings I expect to be overwhelmed with when I came out of a Robert Pattinson movie. I'm not a huge Twilight fan by any means, and this movie has really been marketed to the Twi-hard Pattinson lovers. Which is unfortunate, because underneath that marketing, there is actually a really good movie.
I say "really" good, and what I mean is just good. You see I'm all for the sappy, heart wrenching, make-you-feel-something movies. My wife hates this, when we go to the movies she wants to be entertained, not sobbing. So when I told her we could "go see a nice chick flick with that dude from Twilight and that chick from Lost" she was pretty game. Then the movie started and it was sad right off the bat. Whap! A punch right in the shoulder, "you said this movie was a chick flick!" Luckily though, the story, characters and realism of the movie pulled through for me.
The story is really about college love, how we all did stupid things when we were younger, how we all wanted to be a rebel without a cause and how all our parents are people too. Not easy subjects to tackle, but Remember Me does it all inside a nice emo-less story. Love holds strong in the movie, and family (though a broken family) holds tough by the end. I can't make many complaints about the story, I thougt it was the best part of the movie.
Remember Me has heart. The preformances aren't amazing, Emilie de Ravin does a fair job. Robert Pattinson and Pierce Brosnan do a great job at being angry at each other. Pierce Brosnan also plays a great rich-ass. But overall the movie is about real people and real problems. The movie pulls back the bow strings of it's character driven bow and nails you with a gut wrenching arrow straight into the heart at the ending. I didn't think it was going to happen, I had my doubts about Mr. Pattinson, but no longer. The heart of this movie snuck up on me and convinced me.
4/5
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March 7th is fast approaching us, and with that comes the handing out of little golden statuettes. This year The Academy has a few tricks up it's sleeves with double the hosts and double the best picture nominees. There are a multitude of categories at the ceremony, but I'm going to focus on only a few. I'll weigh in on what talkies I think deserves the gold men. I'll also let you know which ones I predict are going to win. Because who I want to win and who I think will win are usually different (but not always). First up is a fun one, the Animated Feature category:
Animated |
I think this pick is an easy one. Very clearly Up deserves and should receive the animated feature award. There has been nothing but rave reviews for Coraline. The Fantastic Mr. Fox shares some critical success (though I personally dio not care for it that much). The emotional puppeteers at Pixar have done it again. I wouldn't want to jinx it and say that surely a movie nominated for Best Picture and Animated Film should win; but honestly, anyone who sees Up knows how well it played with our heartstrings. Hands down Up will take this category, and if it doesn't... I'd like an explanation why.
Actress in a Supporting Role |
This list of ladies is a tricky one for me. Amongst the set of actresses chosen for the Best Supporting category, I have only seen two out of the 5 perform. Unfortunately I can only take a wild stab at who I think will take home the gold. I liked Maggie Gyllenhaal since her stint in Donnie Darko but after taking a look at what a lot of the critics are saying, I believe Mo'Nique is probably going home with this one.
Actor in a |
Now for those Supporting Men chasing after that Golden Guy. Let's go down the list, shall we? There is Mr. Damon, who worked with both Mr. Eastwood and Mr. Freeman (combined the three actors have a total of 6 Oscars). Then there's Woody with his knock out performance. The amazing Christopher Plummer, who I love in Doctor Parnassus and the always great Stanely Tucci. There is another though, who could it be? Bingo! It's Christoph Waltz. If this man does not walk away with the gold, The Academy ded not watch the same performance I did.
Actress in a |
Sandy, Sandy, Sandy... Everyone seems to think because you pulled off a southern drawl that you did an amazing job. I (maybe not so) politely disagree. Though I do love a fair amount of your comedic work, I think the wonderful up and coming Gabourey Sidibe deserves the award. Lets be honest, the acadmey loves Meryl. So if anyone is to place their bet on who is going to win, I'd bet on Mrs. Streep. Sincerely, Jay.
Actor in a |
Quite the brawl in the Leading Role ring; The Dude, Mr. Ocean, Mr. Darcy, God, and Hawkeye(?). Mr. Ocean (aka George Clooney) puts in a few good punches with his critically favored performance in Up in the Air. Morgan "God" Freeman, is born to play the great Nelson Mandela. It feels like Morgan is just way too comfortable in that role for my liking. I haven't had the chance to see A Single Man but Colin Firth deserves his spot on the list too. It comes down to Jeremy Renner and Jeff Bridges. I feel like both actors carry their films wonderfully and respectfully. My personal vote is for Hawkeye to go home with the gold. But my gut (and Entertainment Weekly) thinks that The Dude will go home with the title belt.
Directing |
The Directing category is a tough one to judge for a number of reasons. If someone's stamp, is all over a picture and you can tell, does that mean they've done a good job at directing a film? or not? Or perhaps the movie is poorly written in some people's eyes, but the film itself is visually stunning and helps shed new light on a new technology, does that mean the director did a good job? Or what if is just a tad bit political or deals with the issues of today, does a director get credit for that? I don't know, but my vote, if it counted, goes to Kathryn Bigelow for her work on The Hurt Locker. And my guess as to who is going to win, is none other then her husband James Cameron for bringing us Avatar. Avatar has to come away with at least the Best Director or the Best Picture.
Best Picture |
Or maybe Avatar could get away with getting both? I hope not. With so many options to choose from, and Avatar being a Sci-Fi film (sorry District 9, that means you too), I don't think it's going to walk away with a gold man. Instead, my prediction is that The Hurt Locker will get the credit it deserves and strike gold. I would love to seen Inglorious Basterds take this one home, but I don't think the Academy will back up a movie like this one. I've heard a couple whispers that Up could sneak in and snatch the Best Picture, but I highly doubt that. The award should go to The Hurt Locker.
Those are my thoughts and I'm sticking to them. Thanks for reading and check out for yourself who wins on Sunday March 7th at 8:00 pm EST.
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So we're already a healthy week into 2010 and a lot (if not all) of the critics have weighed in with what they all felt were the best films of the past year. Well I may be more then fashionably late to the party but I thought I'd throw my top 5 into the ring.
5. Ink - Impeccably independent, I had heard nothing but hype for this film. Thinking there was no way a movie made for such a small budget with no publisher could ever live up to that kind of praise. Boy was I wrong. captures the imagination and drives home some emotional beats in a great way. I can't stop recommending this film, and that's way it's beat out great films like District 9.
4. I Love You, Man - Emotionally driven, and truthfully comedic I Love You, Man struck a chord with me. I've seen this film 4 or 5 times since seeing it in the theatre earlier this year, and it seems to be getting better and better with each viewing. If you haven't seen this comedic gold that came out of the mountain of 2009, you should.
3. Star Trek - As Kevin Smith said in late 2008 "The stars absolutely trek in this film. It is fantastic." My sentiments exactly Mr. Smith.
2. The Hurt Locker - Intense through the entire movie, Kathryn Bigelow sets an amazing tone through this entire movie. Make no mistake, this film is not about the politics of the War, it's about the people living through it day-to-day, specifically a bomb squad. I love this film, and I can't wait until it comes out on DVD.
1. Inglorious Basterds - Also an intense film, but from a radically different angle then The Hurt Locker. Quentin Tarantino builds his scenes, his characters and their encounters with the intensity of wars past. Those looking for just an action film with nothing more than "Nazi killing" will come away with so much more. A brave cinematic caper film, Tarantino nails the hammer right on the head with this one.
In my opinion, 2009 was a great year. While these 5 films felt pretty easy to come up with me, originally I was going to do a top 10, but due to an ever rotating bottom 5 I had to pass. Films like The Hangover, Moon, The Brothers Bloom and the already mentioned District 9, helped make this year wonderful but made it hard to draw up a numbered list. But maybe that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Happy belated New Year everyone.
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