Inception - A
I am a big fan of Christopher Nolan... from the Batman Movies to The Prestige to Memento, there is no denying the talent of this director. The commonality found in all of his movies is the strength of the script. When a director, as Nolan does, can couple a strong story with an incredible talent for craft and detail, the finished project will be sure to impress. That is what Nolan has done here; putting together a wonderful ensemble cast, a tight yet wonderfully told story and a beautifully made piece of visual art to create one of the best movies of the year, and possibly cracking the top 10 of the decade.
How much more of a universal concept can a storyteller use but that of a dream. We all have them, whether we remember them or not. In Inception, we are introduced to a world where technology exists to enter people's dreams. Cobb (Leo Dicaprio) is an extractor capable of entering a person's dream and obtaining valuable secrets from it. He's coveted for his ability, but because of the consequences of what he has done in his line of work he is doomed to live a nomadic life outside of the US, away from the children that he loves. To win back the life he once had and now desperately wants, he must perform the impossible by entering a dream... within a dream... within a dream... within a dream. Sound complicated? It is. His mission: Plant an idea in the head of Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy) a soon-to-be CEO, telling him to dissolve his conglomerate utilities company. The problem, it's near-impossible to plant an idea in someone's head without them realizing it's not their own. Problems arise when Cobb's own dream world (in which he has been experimenting with for many years) blurs it's way into the other's dreams, causing the whole operation to be put in jeopardy.
Three words to describe this movie - Execution... Execution... Execution. This movie executes like none other so far this year. The dream worlds created by Nolan and his staff are hauntingly similar to those I have had each and every night. A neverending cityscape, a vast tundra wasteland with an evil fortress, anti-gravity, matrix-style fights, guns espionage... all of this I have dreamed of in the past. After watching this movie the second time in theaters I realized how nearly airtight the script was, almost every little minute detail had purpose and works towards the final payoff. Cinematography and visual effects are second to none, and serve only to enhance an already great movie. When this movie came out there was huge buzz about it's greatness and there is very little letdown throughout the film. Most of you have seen it so there's not much else to be said, if you haven't seen it then you certainly ought to.
Story - 9.5
Comedy/Tragedy - 9
Characters - 5
Believability - 5
Filmmaking - 10
Sheer Enjoyment - 9.5
Inception = 4.8 out of 5 yukes
Dinner For Schmucks - C
In theory, this movie had every chance to succeed. A cast of household names like Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell, Zach Galifianakis and Jemaine Clement (of Flight of the Conchords fame) lead one to believe this movie should be nothing short of hilarious. But as was the case with Date Night, great actors still need great material to work with.
A sub-par story line sees Tim (Rudd) seeking a promotion at work, only to find out the partners at his firm are self-righteous assholes who get enjoyment out of inviting outcasts to a dinner with the sole purpose of making fun at their expense. The movie doesn't seem to maintain any one emotion for long enough for us to enjoy ourselves. Did I laugh? Yes. The problem is that it was too few and far between for me to emotionally invest in the humor it was trying to present. My only recommendation is for you to rent at your own risk.
Story - 5
Comedy/Tragedy - 6.5
Characters - 3
Believability - 2.5
Filmmaking - 5
Sheer Enjoyment - 5
Dinner For Schmucks = 2.7 out of 5 yukes
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