My task at hand (writing a review of Inception) is a dubious one at least.  Christopher Nolan has (and not for the first time, mind you) created a film for which words alone can’t really do justice.  Even something relatively simple like assigning it to a genre falls apart fairly quickly.  Is it science fiction?  A heist picture?  Family drama?  Psychological thriller?  Is it action-packed?  Surreal?  Mind-bending?  Quite simply, yes, yes it is.

I can’t imagine any other director more suited to the challenge of keeping this many plates spinning in a logical manner than Nolan.  Memento and The Prestige have already proven that he knows his way around a cinematic puzzle, and his Batman films showed that he can present an ostensibly straightforward story in creatively complicated ways.  I won’t say it’s his masterpiece, because that seems to imply that it’s only his first one.

Typically I would provide you with a brief(ish) summary of the events of the film in question, however I’m not going to do that since any summary I could provide would not do justice to the story and would simultaneously ruin a lot of the fun.  We are unlikely to see a film as original as this for some time (maybe the next Batman film, perhaps?) and I don’t want to waste time trying to recap it when you should go and enjoy it for yourselves (also it’s very intricately plotted so by not recapping I’m also saving myself a lot of time).

What we have here is a mesmerising film from one of our most visionary directors.  It is a film that defies time, reality, and gravity in one astonishing sequence.  It is a thinking man’s blockbuster, or a working man’s arthouse flick, depending on how you want to look at it.  It is likely a benchmark for the future of cinema, one day people will look back on this, much in the way we look at, say, Jaws as the movie that changed the way we think about movies (I can’t wait to see what Piranha-type imitations come out of this).

What has come before this may (nay, does) look like just a lot of hyperbole.  Can a movie really be that good?  Answer: yes, yes it can, and Inception really is that good.

Posted under Kyle's Adventures in Pop Culture

I have to start this post with a sincere thank you to Turner Classic Movies, without whom I would not have finished these lists.  And despite having to wake up two hours earlier than normal, I was able to catch their showing of Wuthering Heights last Friday morning, and with that I have officially seen every movie on both versions of AFI’s Top 100 Films of All Time list.

Even though this stands as a relatively minor milestone, given that there are still tons of movies that I have left to see, it is gratifying to know that I set out to accomplish something and that I achieved my goal.  My only regret is having a lack of organization, if I had to do it over again I probably would have arranged to end it with some stronger films.  But no matter, what’s done is done, and this project is officially done (every fiber of my being wants to say ‘Huzzah’ but I’ll resist the temptation).

More thoughts on the films:

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans: Clunky title aside, this may be one of my favorite movies on this list.  It certainly stands as my favorite silent movie (an easy choice given the still small amount of silent movies I’ve seen).  It’s the beautiful tale of a husband and wife rediscovering their love for one another after gradually drifting apart (and an attempted murder).  It’s a rare occurence of not being able to describe what’s so great about this film, and also not being able to say enough.  It’s a majestic story that needs to be seen by as many people as possible.

Dances With Wolves: On the opposite end of the spectrum we have this outing from Kevin Costner.  I don’t know if I’d go so far as to call this a terrible movie, but I wouldn’t argue with someone who would.  Admittedly gorgeous cinematography was unfortunately not enough to save this movie for me.  Costner’s merely competent direction and bland acting style contribute to the most boredom I’ve experienced thus far with this project.  The best example of what’s wrong with it is the truly terrible narration, Costner sounds like he’s a kid who’s been called on to read in class.  I get that they’re journal entries, but he doesn’t sound at all like he has any emotional attachment to the events that he is describing.

Stagecoach: A movie I was not super excited to watch for one reason or another, but wound up loving.  I’m trying my best to come around on Westerns and more movies like this will really help that process along.  Pure entertainment value runs rampant through this film and I hope to see more like it.

My Fair Lady: Because why not follow up a John Wayne western with an Audrey Hepburn musical?  I don’t know how much weight to assign this film, it’s definitely enjoyable (despite Hepburn’s comically bad Cockney accent) but the movie as a whole is something of a trifle.  Mostly solid musical numbers certainly help, though.  Also I finally get where Family Guy‘s Stewie got his voice.

Birth of a Nation: Not the easiest movie to sit through, I must admit.  A three hour, blatantly racist, silent movie?  Sounds awesome, right?  Despite all that, though, it is actually a very good movie, you just have to realize that the racism is deliberately over-the-top to point out just how ridiculous the KKK truly is.

Sophie’s Choice:  A quiet intensity simmers throughout this film.  Eventually it is revealed why.  And it is appropriately heart-wrenching.  Meryl Streep gives a phenomenal performance as Sophie, and Kevin Kline is amazing in his film debut.  My only issue with the movie is not actually a fault with the film itself, but I just can’t look at Peter MacNicol without thinking “Everysing you are doing is bad, I wants you to know zis.”

Wuthering Heights: As stated, this was the film that caused the most trouble, given its lack of availability, and I probably wouldn’t have picked a costume drama to be the movie I end with, but it actually did prove to be a remarkable film.  It’s nice to know that that hack Laurence Olivier gave at least one good performance in his life.

The Wild Bunch: This was my first Peckinpah film, and from the opening scene it is easy to see why he is so highly regarded for his action sequences.  And what’s truly amazing is that that scene is just the first in a long line of similarly jaw-dropping sequences.

Giant: It’s been called the Gone With The Wind of the fifties.  And despite how much I enjoyed Gone With The Wind, that description still didn’t fill me with excitement.  But despite a slow start, the movie does ultimately succeed.  James Dean gives an astonishingly tragic performance, and the irony of Rock Hudson playing a bigot is enough for me to recommend this movie to others.

Well, to quote a great orator, that’s all folks!  I really have enjoyed the heck out of this project, and yeah, I’ve got a long way to go in my film-watching, but I’m going to try to enjoy my success for at least a couple more days.  What’s in store for me now?  Maybe Yahoo’s lists.  Or imdb’s.  Any other lists out there?

Posted under Kyle's Adventures in Pop Culture

In the past I’ve made mention of the fact that when it comes to music, I have been really, really stupid.  An analogy I’ve adopted as of late (but have refused to vocalize, because I’m sure it would sound dumb if said out loud) is that in the ocean of music, I spent a lot of time treading water.

But even with my limited knowledge of music, I was still an avid listener.  And as such, periodically I did hit on something outside my typical comfort zone.  But given my stupidity, those outliers didn’t always take.  Which brings us to today, and the new and improved me (or Me 2.0 if you will, although I wouldn’t).  My musical tastes have matured and expanded, and I’ve gone back to a few of those outliers and reevaluated them.

Some of them have struck me much the way they had initially.  A few weeks ago I gave Arctic Monkeys’ Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not a spin.  I had initially purchased it on the strength of “I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor,” but the rest of the album, in my opinion, just fell flat.  And upon revisiting it, I must say that the album still falls flat; even “Dancefloor,” which at first I found impossibly catchy, now strikes me as artificial.  The rest of the songs all tend to blend together into a mass of vaguely punk-sounding noise-rock.  Hooks are in short supply here, and the album suffers as a result.  Arctic Monkeys are definitely a band with whom I do not regret not following through.

I have also revisited another punk-lite British band whose debut album I randomly bought in a timely fashion, Kaiser Chiefs.  However, unlike Whatever People Say…, I fell in love with Employment.  Once again, this is an album I bought on the strength of the lead single, “I Predict A Riot” in this case, but upon first listen, I was disappointed that “Riot” was not exactly indicative of the album as a whole.  I was expecting a Clash-esque, throwback punk band, one that probably wouldn’t have had much of a shelf-life, sure, but one that I would have enjoyed when I was 18.

I was not expecting the New Wave, dance-pop mentality that runs rampant throughout Employment.  My younger self was unable to get on board with it.  However, my current self has been playing it with alarming frequency these past several months.  Songs that originally struck me as trite and obnoxious, I now can’t get enough of. I initially found ”Na Na Na Na Naa” amusing for roughly the first 10 seconds, but I could never bring myself to listen past the initial chorus.  For whatever reason, I was unable to recognize the fact that that song is made of nothing but hooks.  It is literally wall-to-wall catchiness, and I hated it, why?  Because I was stupid!  We’ve been over this.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) there are not many other bands whose albums I had dismissed.  There are a lot that I just haven’t heard, but not many that I’ve chucked aside.  Which means I’m in for a long haul of ‘Better Late Than Never’ experiences.  Which I will begin… now!  Nnnow!  Now?  Well, as soon as I can.

Posted under Kyle's Adventures in Pop Culture