Inception - Tim J.

Great expectations are a cinephile's curse. Which of you can't recall at least a handful of instances when you'd been looking forward to a film like a child to Christmas only to be left wondering how things could go so terribly wrong? Being let down by a sequel or an actor is to be expected but when you choose a film on the basis of its director you are treading on thin ice, always prepared to be disillusioned by his next film. The Mist, Eyes Wide Shut and Tetro are a few of the films that should never have seen the light of day, at least not bearing the names Darabont, Kubrick and Coppola.

What better time for Chris Nolan to finally let us down. After grossing tens of millions with low-budget film Memento and hundreds of millions with his latest big budget film even less pessimist moviegoers must have prepared to come down to earth in the face of a sweeping $160 million summer blockbuster. But as in the case of The Dark Knight, Nolan has managed to produced an epic that does not take its audience for stupid.

When it comes to extracting secrets from you while you're dreaming, Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the best there is. If this sounds like an improbable job description to you think about the possibilities this line of work offers. Torturing someone for information may work as well but you don't know whether the info is correct and since the victims knows you know if will probably change its plans. In dream espionage however the subject never knows what hit it or even that something did. Cobb is ready to quit for good when a wealthy businessman Saito (Ken Watanabe) offers him a final gig that would allow Cobb to return to the USA and see his children, which he has been unable to do since becoming the prime suspect in the death of his wife (Marion Cotillard). This job however is a lot more difficult than his previous ones since instead of stealing an idea he is to plant one in the victim's subconscious, so deep that he believes it is his own - a process called Inception. To this end, spoiled energy syndicate heir Robert Fischer (played brilliantly by Cillian Murphy) is preyed upon by Cobb and his team so they can plant in him the idea to split up his syndicate, which would make Saito world market leader.
So far, so complicated? That's just the beginning of a two and a half hour-movie that flies by like an episode of 24 without the shaky camera. When you see the team hook themselves up to a machine to enter the dream world you are inevitably reminded of the Matrix but Inception makes that film, once my favourite, look like a video game for 12-year-olds.

Although most of the action takes place in dreams Nolan does not resort to CGI landscapes a la Lovely Bones. Instead almost all scenes were shot on set, with widget spinning entire corridors and lounges and dolls posing for sleeping protagonists. And his efforts are not in vain. The viewer is not only bedazzled by the cinematography but also constantly wondering 'how the heck did he do that?' Which makes it one of a few films of which I can't wait to see the making of. In times where stuntmen have been replaced by the more expensive but less demanding bits and bytes it is refreshing to see images with natural texture and weight.

Unless the Academy gets it completely wrong (which as we know never happens, nudge nudge) Inception will be nominated for at least a couple of the following: Best Picture (which would be fun as the producers are Nolan and his wife), Director, Film Editing, Visual Effects, Original Score, Original Screenplay and Cinematography. You will have noticed that none of these concern acting skills. Don't get me wrong, the cast is all but perfect. From experience however I must acknowledge that it is hard to score an Oscar or even a nomination without doing a funny voice (Bullock, Winslet, Whitaker), a handicap (Hanks, DiCaprio, Day-Lewis) or singing (Foxx, Bridges, Phoenix). But don't give up hope, Leo. Pesci, Clooney, Hanks, Brody, Penn, Washington and Spacey all managed to contradict this theory and so can you. It is also likely that Marion Cotillard will be nominated for Best Supporting Actress or even Lead Actress, depending on what mood the jury is in. Anyone of these would be well-deserved. As an Englishman, Chris Nolan might receive even more acclaim at the BAFTAs.

As a captious critic I have of course been pondering what flaws Inception has. Believe me, there aren't many. Pointing out what's wrong with Inception is like pointing out what's wrong with President Obama. In theory you could do it but, hey, they're by far the best we've seen in a long time. So why ruin the moment? I doubt that 2010 will see another film as good as this and am planning to see Inception again this week, expecting it to be even better than the first time. Because yes I can.

Wall Street - KDJ

Oliver Stone movies are kind of all over the place. From Natural Born Killers to The Doors to Larry Flynt to the original Wall Street and now to this one -- covering lots of ground and lots of issues later, I think this is one of the best. I think everyone that reads the news, especially during the beginning phases of the recession, wondered about the moment when the dudes that decided everything acutally had to decide something. I heard Oliver interviewed and he wanted to stay away from this sort of scene as much as possible. He didn't want to directly portray subprime, crappy loans on a huge scale. He wanted to the fall-out to be more character driven, individual, able-to-relate-to, or whatever. But gosh, when I hear the number 700 billion I am always in complete amazement thinking about the dudes that first uttered the words, we need 700 billion dollars - we these millionaire investment bankers - need 700 billion dollars. Cause, man, and I think this is why the plot of this movie moves so well, is that there is some serious Greek drama going on. There is so much under the table, so much behind the curtain of both a bailout and a movie about a bailout of this magnitude. We, the viewer are forced to piece it together for ourselves and just as this can be difficult in real life, so to has Stone captured the difficultly of seeing how things play out when there isn't one to blame or one to save us or one to explain it all for us. I thought this movie was great. The first one was monumental and has become seasoned, the second comes along in stride with the help of some slicker technology and flashy directing - much like market shares; the value is hard to pinpoint without a rumor or a vilifying story, only this time, Sheen appears un-wizened.

The Town - Rob Culpepper

I'm not sure if Ben Affleck is a good actor or not. I think we can all agree that he's a decent director. I'm not saying he's ever going to win an Academy Award for either. However, I think he plays a decent character when he basically plays himself: a likable guy with street smarts but also an overarching sense of what's right. In other words, he can see the specific but not lose sight of the universal. I don't actually know if that's how he is in real life, but let's just say his character in The Town is much more Good Will Hunting than Pearl Harbor.

So Affleck starred in and also directed this movie, which is no small feat. And the movie is pretty good. There's tons of shooting, some really intense and heart-pounding moments, some decent dialogue, and a good story that develops between Affleck's character (Doug McCrae) and Rebecca Hall's (Claire Keesy). Speaking of Rebecca Hall, you will recognize her from The Prestige and Vicky Christina Barcelona (she was the other girl). She is introduced in the first heist, and then becomes the tug at McCrae's heart that leads him to question his questionable line of work.

Other notable people in the film: Blake Lively (she's in my top 5), Jon Hamm (who plays a total douche of an FBI agent), Jeremy Renner (plays a rough dude you always associate with Boston/Irish/gang stories), and Chris Cooper (he's always a home run, in my opinion).

So now to sell you on the film: It's worth watching, no more no less. It's a heist flick, so you know you're going to get to watch people steal money in cool ways. It has a little romance in it. It certainly has some complexity that a straight Shoot 'em Up film doesn't have. Although, the issue of loyalty to brother/friend/neighborhood is quite common in movies about local crime. Now that I think about it, The Town doesn't really do anything new in the realm of cinema. But it's an interesting story and it's told well. So if you've got $10 and a couple of hours to burn, check it out.

*I was recently in Boston visiting Buck Snodgrass among others, and I can say that having a grasp of the geography of Boston is helpful. So maybe look at a map before you head into the theater.

The Social Network - A. Shipp

Virtual or Physical - Commentary on The Social Network

I was fortunate enough to get sneak peak passes to Facebook's unofficial story, The Social Network. I want to preface I will do my best not to spoil the movie; but then again even if you read this a lot of people went and saw Titanic, and thoroughly enjoyed it.


The movie is good, I would definitely recommend it. The movie has a healthy dose of the depositions of the two legal battles Zuckerberg battled in the early years of Facebook. They portray Zuckerberg, as a young arrogant jerk, who doesn't care much about anyone else. (I don't think this is an accurate portrayal, but it does allow for some hilarious one-liners.)

When not in depositions the movie shows how Facebook was created at Harvard, the beginning of the formal company on the east coast, and their eventual move out west to Palo Alto. Through everything there was a very consistent theme ~ Hold onto your ideas

I went into the movie, not knowing what to think. As a PR professional I praise Facebook for allowing companies to interact with interested publics, however as an everyday person I have had an underlying feeling since the rise of Facebook and other social networking sites, many people get comfortable and stagnant in the virtual world.

Whether this is 100% true or not, I feel Zuckerberg created Facebook in reaction to being shunned from Harvard (mainstream) society. Essentially, he created a virtual world that allows a high level of connectivity, without the hassle of the awkwardness that can accompany human communication.



This frightens me. Is Facebook an incredible way for people to make connections and sustain relationships ~ OR ~ Is Facebook a tool people use to guard themselves from rejection? Human connection can be awkward, weird, and even boring, but it can also be all those amazing things that make life incredible.

So I pose this question to you ~ Do you feel more comfortable connecting to people virtually or physically?

Look forward to interacting (Virtually AND Physically)

Until next time, whether it's B2B or B2C it's all Business to Person

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World - Robert Culpepper

I can't believe no one has written about Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. I am behind the curve as I'm sure it's not even in theaters anymore (I saw it at a dollar theater over the weekend). However, this movie kicks ass and I rate it as a Must See.

For one, it's an unbelievable work of the imagination. This movie does what a bunch of other comic book-based movies try to do. All the elements are there: sound effects written onto the screen, quick scene changes, graphic camera angles, and multiple camera shots at the same time. It pulls this off without being cliché. The use of CGI is good and you can't tell what's real and what's not. So things that are impossible in real life (flying, crazy action sequences, stuff getting smashed, etc) look totally normal in the movie...just like they do in comics. And they fit the whole vibe of the film, so that even the most outlandish elements look right at home.

That's probably what makes this movie so fun. It puts the elements of comics (and video games too) in the real world in a way that you don't notice them as odd or out of place. Speaking of being out of place, I thought it would be hard to see Michael Cera in this film. He's no action star, if you know his body type. But he actually pulls it off really well, in a very Everyman kind of way. Maybe in a kind of Peter Parker way. It helps that the film is full of small, hilarious details. The dialogue is quick and witty, and no opportunity to throw in a look, or early 90s reference, or quip, is missed. As a whole, the movie was really well cast. And Jason Schwartman is brilliant. I think we all know that.

Good comic books always spoke to the human condition in profound ways. While Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is a funny movie, it has moral underpinnings. But like a good movies (and in good comic books and good literature) the 'lesson' isn't so overt as to be annoying or off-putting. Or at least when it comes out, it doesn't feel preachy.

Just go watch it. It's one of the most fun movies I've ever seen.