Inception (2010)

Inception (2010)

After watching Inception I was disappointed and felt the film was overrated, but I still think its very good. Let me explain. Being a fan of Christopher Nolan I was expecting a lot to begin with, after hearing a lot of very good things I expected even more, maybe I expected too much in retrospect. The film wasn’t as good as I had hoped, but it still was very entertaining and well written, directed, and so on.

In my opinion Nolan is better at writing and directing dramas than action films. The Prestige and Memento I feel are his two best films and both were drama/ thrillers. Batman Begins and the Dark Knight (which I do like) were both action films, but I think they had to be. Inception on the other hand I think would have been better as a drama/thriller rather than an action. The story is really cool and even though the action scenes are interesting and fun and well choreographed I think it could have gone without it. The action scenes gave the film too much of Matrix like feel. I think the story was enough to carry the film, and it would have been overall a better film, not just a popular one. It was a good story but wasn’t the greatest story telling, seems like he tried to hard to make it popular with the action, instead of getting deeper into the story itself and the characters.

With that aside, I do want to say that the writing and directing were really good, and I think Nolan deserves a lot of credit and respect for the film. It was a film that many writers and directors I think would have made really confusing and had twists at the end that were hard to follow. Inception was very straight forward and though it was intricate it was easy to follow and well done. The story was obviously very thought out and worked on and really was fantastic.

Another aspect that made me excited for the film was Leonardo Dicaprio, I'm a big fan of his acting and was hoping for a great performance. Honestly, it’s not a great performance for him, it is good, but for him it’s nothing special. I think most of the other actors had better performances, I don’t think they necessarily out acted Dicaprio but they definitely came close to him. Ellen Page was great, Joseph Gordon-Levitt surprised me and did very good, Michael Caine was fantastic as usual though he had a small part, and Ken Watanabe also gave a amazing performance. Cillian Murphy, However, gave the best acting in the film, and the best acting of his carrier so far.

The special effects were cool. They were very strange and creative and depending on the rest of the year could get the film a visual effects Oscar nomination. The film also could take nominations for supporting actor, writing, cinematography, editing, and picture (given that there are ten nominations.) Though I don’t think it will win any, probably has the best chance with editing.

The film is very popular and highly rated and I'm sure most people will love the film. Just don’t expect too much, or it’ll let you down.

9/10

EuroTrip (2004)

EuroTrip (2004)

5 word summary

4 friends travel through Europe

EuroTrip is one of the best comedies of the decade. It’s so funny and though the main storyline isn’t that exciting or original, the content is.

One fun thing about the film is its pretty much taking American’s stereotypes of other countries and making it real. You’ll get robbed and have sex in Amsterdam, England is full of football hooligans, Germany has the Hitler kid. Its obviously stereotyping all the countries but it makes it so funny. It's the way 4 recent graduates picture Europe.

Another thing I really enjoyed is the cameos of Lucy Lawless, Vinnie Jones, Diedrich Bader and of course Matt Damon.

An important part of the film that I think might be overlooked sometimes is the soundtrack. It’s such a fun film and I think the music is one of the main factors in that. I’m not just talking about “Scotty Doesn’t Know” either, though the song is one of the most memorable and funny things in the film. The Business, Goldfiner, Jet, all those quick clips of songs that play as the gang travel.

I’ve been talking about all the extra things so how about to the main actors/characters. Everyone gave great comedic performances. I’m actually very surprised that they aren’t seen that much in other films. Scott Mechlowicz and Jacob Pitts were both excellent.

The directors/writers were (no pun intended) ballsy. Not only did they stereotype Europe but the nude beach scene, and Vatican scene, could be seen as quite edgy and they pulled it off and made it hilarious.

Its easily one of my favorite comedies of the 00’s up with Anchorman and the Hangover. Doesn’t seem to be that well liked, but I can’t understand that, because it’s nonstop hilarious, original and fun. Recommended for everyone with a sense of humor

9/10

The Black Knight (2001)

The Black Knight (2001)

5 word summary

man accidently travels into past

The Black Knight, though funny at times, is more painful to watch than I originally remember. When I first saw it in theaters I was young and thought it was hilarious. After a recent viewing I had to wonder, what did I see in this?

As I said it is funny at times. Some of the lines and actions are really funny. Martin Lawrence at times saves the film and at times ruins it. He knows what’s funny but sometimes seems to try to hard or get to cocky and makes things that could have been funny not. One scene that I did enjoy is the scene with the Lawrence trying to get the band to play the Sly and the Family Stone song “dance to the music.”

Though it is sometimes funny, the key word is sometimes. More often your sitting bored than laughing. Even when it’s not funny you can’t watch it for a history lesson because it’s ridiculous (which I don’t fault it for, it’s a comedy they can make stuff up if they want.) the acting is bad by almost everyone. Most of them can’t pull of their lines or actions with a funny outcome. When a film is trying to be funny and its not, it gets really awkward and hard to watch, and that happened here.

If you’re a Martin Lawrence fan you might enjoy this film. Life, Blue Streak, Whats the Worst that Could Happen, etc, are all funnier and more entertaining, but if you like him enough this one might be alright. Younger viewers might enjoy it more as well, i know i liked it when i was 13. Other than that I would suggest finding a different film to watch if you want a good film watching experience.

5/10

Through a Glass Darkly (1961)

Through a Glass Darkly (1961) (Sasom I En Spegel)

Through a Glass Darkly is a very dark and deep film made by Ingmar Bergman, one of the best artists in film.

As many of Ingmar Bergman’s films, Through a Glass Darkly is more of artwork than your average film. There are many things that were brought together to make this film as beautiful as it was. The acting is fantastic, especially from Harriet Andersson. The music, when its there, is so subtle but adds so much. The writing and directing shows why Bergman is seen as one of the greatest, the deep themes of love and God, the emotion he’s able to create between people, etc. The cinematography also adds so much to the film though seems so minimal, it’s dark and realistic. When matched up with the directing it creates some beautiful images, such as when Karin and Martin are holding each other in the boat.

****spoilers****

At the end of the film David says he doesn’t know if loves proves that God exists or if love is god himself. David has learned that he has thrown love away to become a writer and feels guilty. It’s an important line in the film, it sort of explains Karin’s hallucinations of seeing God. Her hallucinations of people waiting for “Him” to show up, everyone’s waiting for him patiently, but she isn’t as patient. If God is love, and love is what she is missing and needs, she has to imagine love is coming, she has to imagine God is coming. This might be why Karin doesn’t “see God” until the end, after Minus try’s to show his love (through sex?) she finally has the vision that God comes in. God is a spider who tries to go into her and “penetrate” her, which is the way the Minus tried to show his love (possibly the only way he knows how, from looking at pornography).

We have seen throughout the film that both Karin and Minus are missing love, which is probably one of the main reasons they (most likely) had sex. We already knew Minus is somewhat sexually repressed or confused and has no one around him, and Karin also has her father who is never around and her husband seems to treat her more like a patient than a wife, except when he wants sex. The siblings are drawn together because the other one is the only one that shows them any kind love, as David said “all kinds” of love. “the highest, the lowest, the most absurd and the most sublime,” “longing and denial.” All these kinds of love could be god. And I think this one could definitely fit under absurd.

The final line of “papa spoke to me” shows how much the little things mattered. His father opening up to him and talking to him was enough to make him happy.

At the end when Karin is flown back to the hospital and David learns that he has been shutting himself off and Minus finally feeling cared for makes it a rather hopeful ending.

However, the film still seems more depressing overall. A girl who is going crazy, hearing voices and waiting to see God, a boy who is left alone and depressed, and their father who abandons them for fame. The two need to find love or sex in their own way, whether it’s hallucinating, looking at pornography or even finding it in each other. Leave it to someone like Bergman to make incest kind of beautiful.

****end spoilers****

The film is depressing, powerful, beautiful, dark, deep, and a little disturbing.

If you are a fan of Ingmar Bergman this film is a must. I can see some people being bored by this film if they aren’t into artsy, black and white, foreign films, but everyone should try to watch it, because it’s honestly a masterpiece. Not Bergman’s highest rated film but definitely fantastic.

9/10