Review: Inception

While watching Inception I realised I haven't been genuinely wowed by a film in years.

In fact, I can't think of the last time I watched something and felt like I was seeing something I really hadn't seen before. Last year's big hitter Avatar certainly promised to be that film. It wasn't. Sure, it provided some admittedly dazzling spectacle, but in terms of story, in terms of ideas, it was disappointingly familiar.

Enter Chris Nolan who, with Inception, is playing in a world all of his own. The imagination and creativity on display here is nothing short of astounding and it is the work of an auteur at the absolute top of his game. Films as rich and huge as this just don't get made anymore and they're rarely, if ever, tackled this well.

In terms of plot I'm reluctant to go into detail. Leonardo Di Caprio plays Dominic Cobb, the world's best "extractor". His, highly illegal, talent involves him and his team entering a target's mind and stealing their ideas while they sleep. A very lucrative offer comes along to attempt the impossible; Inception. Planting an idea inside someone's mind as they dream. If Cobb can pull this off the past that is haunting him may just go away.

Moreso than any film in recent memory the less you know about this film the better, not because of any potential twists, but simply because me outlining the plot would rob you of the way Nolan presents it. It's an amazing feat of story telling. Inception could have been a expositional nightmare but Nolan presents the concept and explains the rules quickly and clearly. To be fair he cheats a little, (new recruit Ariadne played by Ellen Page is the stand in for the audience asking questions she should probably already know) but Nolan is confident enough not hold your hand through the film. To watch a mainstream summer blockbuster this big that allows and trusts you to think for yourself is such a refreshing experience and doesn't happen nearly enough.

The Internet became a flurry of excitement when Di Caprio said he based Cobb on Nolan himself and that adds an incredible new layer to the film. People talk about films being personal, here Nolan is showing us how he dreams or at least an approximation of it. Perhaps disappointingly there is restraint shown within the dream world presented. It's far more logical than any I've ever had and you have to wonder whether Nolan tried to push the surreal but was reigned in by Warner Brothers. Whatever the case he manages to craft some incredible imagery, the city folding itself in half, a freight train appearing in a busy street and even MC Esher's Infinite Staircase brought to life by some crafty special effects.

Mr Nolan would also like to announce that he can shoot action. One of the main criticisms of his two Batman films was the rather pedestrian action sequences. Not here. Inception is bursting at the seams with some incredibly realised set pieces, the stand out being a zero gravity fist fight in a spinning hotel room. Tense, exciting, inventive and beautifully choreographed the entire scene is utterly mesmerising and is instantly one of the most stunningly realised action scenes since Neo ordered all those guns.

But as with all of Nolan's films the concept revolves around the human. DiCaprio is the heart and soul of Inception and it's difficult to go into how well he portrays his character without revealing some of the film's mystery. Cobb has a secret, one that could jeopardise everything for the team he has assembled. In fact, this new job offer could be the answer he is looking for. Many have compared Cobb to Teddy Daniels, DiCaprio's US Marshal in Shutter Island. The comparison is apt, both men have a darkness eating them alive as they try desperately to unravel something. DiCaprio has always played desperate well, he can build that anger and despair in such a subtle way that when he does inevitably snap he is electric.

If there is one criticism of Inception it's that it's overlong. There is enough content here for a trilogy of films. The film is crammed full of ideas and concepts that can barely be contained in the almost two and a half hour runtime. What's worse is that the third act contains an extended action sequence that just isn't necessary, in fact it distracts from what's actually happening. The Dark Knight suffered from some excess bloat and unfortunately the same applies here keeping the film shy of perfect. Sometimes there can be too much of a good thing.

But this is a minor criticism of an incredible film. After Inception I have no reservations calling Nolan one of the most important Directors working today. Not only has he made a cerebral brain bender but he manged to smuggle it into a mainstream blockbuster. If he had only done that I would be impressed, the fact that it's this is good is staggering.

Nolan has said he wanted to make a Bond film. You hear that MGM? Give him the next film, give him the whole franchise.

Review: Predators

Wouldn't it be nice if Predator 2 hadn't happened?

The law of diminishing returns hasn't been kind to our dreadlocked friends. Predator 2 had a seriously hard time matching the first film's visceral punch and if we're being honest Danny Glover is a poor replacement of Arnold Schwarzenegger in anyone's book. Then, of course, there are the Alien vs Predator films that not only failed on just about every level but also managed the impressive feat of running two franchises into the ground. Naturally, any attempt to resurrect this saga would be met with a cynical eye. As far as expectations go mine were rock bottom.

So colour me surprised that Predators is good. In fact it is almost a perfect template for a sequel. It's flawed so it's in no way a perfect movie, but in the traditional sense it does exactly what a sequel should do. Producer Robert Rodriguez and Director Nimrod Antal have taken what worked with Predator and added to it. It's effectively a retread of the original but it manages to create an identity of it's own, successfully honouring the original whilst taking the franchise forward.

The result is a throwback so pleasing I couldn't stop grinning the entire time.

Review: loudQUIETloud - A film about The Pixies

In 2004, Boston born rock band The Pixies reformed after 11 years apart. The Pixies are the Vincent Van Goch of Alternative Rock music. Achieving modest success when they were together their legacy grew and grew in the years since they split. Kurt Cobain famously stated that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was his attempt to write a Pixies song, and David Bowie has since called them "the band of the eighties" (maybe you could have said it at the time, Dave?). Various tensions in the band, mainly between lead singer Frank Black and bass player Kim Deal caused a schism in the band and they parted on pretty unfriendly terms in 1993.

loudQUIETloud - A film about The Pixies follows the band on their reunion tour, documents the initial split and explores the decision to reunite and tour again. For a fan of the band, and of music in general, it's fascinating seeing where these people have ended up, both in terms of careers and their personal lives.

Review: Get Him to the Greek

I made a prediction a few years ago that Russell Brand would successfully make the jump to feature films and surprise a lot of people. The Essex born Hellraiser isn't just a hairdo. He is a legitimate entertainer and a very intelligent, talented performer. And while his performance in Get Him to the Greek isn't going to have his critics singing from the rooftops it is a giant leap in the right direction.

Brand reprises his role as Aldous Snow, the last of the great British rockstars. Snow was introduced in the not terrible Forgetting Sarah Marshall, where he stole every scene that Paul Rudd hadn't already walked off with. The difference here is that that Aldous was seven years sober. This Aldous is not, having leapt spectacularly off the wagon. In an attempt to get him back on track, record label intern Aaron Green, played by Jonah Hill, is given the unenviable task of getting Snow from London to LA in 72 hours to play what could be a career reviving gig.

As far as premises go it's not the most complex, in fact the plot is nothing more than an excuse to capitalise on the chemistry found between Brand and Hill in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Get Him to the Greek in concept is just a road movie tying a handful of sketches together, but while it's lite on plot what it does, it does very well. One of the problems some of the Apatow films have had (Sarah Marshall included) is the tendency to cram the gags into the beginning of the film and spend the last act getting a bit po faced. Get Him to the Greek keeps things balanced, the jokes come thick and fast from start to end but it weaves a touching (if very familiar) tale of redemption throughout.

Mikey's Musings: M. Night Shyamalan and the Amazing Backwards Career

As of the third of July The Last Airbender, M Night Shyamalan's latest film, has an 8% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 109 reviews and opened to $16 million in the US.

What the hell happened? Eleven years ago Shyamalan gave us the Oscar nominated The Sixth Sense, a film which instantly became a global phenomenon and went on to earn just over $670 million worldwide. Has there ever been a career trajectory quite like this before? In 1999 Shyamalan was being called the next Hitchcock, eleven years later and some people are arguing he doesn't even have a career left. It's an astonishing notion and it's desperately disappointing to see this once exciting filmaker's work decline so rapidly.

Here's the thing though. The Sixth Sense wasn't a fluke. It is a tremendous film and remains a powerfully effective thriller and a showcase for a director with a serious understanding of cinema and film making. The film is so much more than that twist, it's a beautiful film, perfectly paced and to this day terrifying. A film as well crafted as that doesn't happen by accident. It fully deserves it's place in cinematic history. And it's not like Shyamalan is a one hit wonder either, his second film, while not as well received as it's predecessor was a success. In fact, Unbreakable suffered only from being released too soon. Had it been released during the current superhero boom maybe it would have had a far warmer reception. It's an intriguing film, a superhero movie disguised as a psychological thriller. Unbreakable is a fascinating alternative look at the mythology of superheroes and a wonderful example of the now stale "origin" movie.