Am I dreaming of writing this review right now or am I actually writing this review and are you, dear reading, merely dreaming of reading this review? And if you are in fact dreaming of reading this review could I in fact, be controlling that dream and planting the very subconscious thought that this is by far the best film to come out of the drudge that has been the summer film crop? Interesting premise…
That is the very concept behind ‘Inception’, the thought provoking thriller from Christopher Nolan (Dark Knight) starring Leonardo DiCaprio in another outstanding performance, showing he has true acting chops. ‘Inception’ has been the buzz of Hollywood for several months now and deservedly so; mind blowing in both story and visuals, Nolan has firmly established himself has a director of note, worthy of the same mentions as Kubrick and Scorsese. Since the complex ‘Memento’, Nolan has made his name building movies that are elaborate labyrinths of story and character. Never go to a Nolan film tired as you will miss something that is critical to the outcome of the film and I promise; repeated showings of any Nolan film will yield new and amazing surprises each time. ‘Inception’ is no exception to this rule as I am sure repeated showings will yield many conversations and additional theories.
What is simply amazing about the entire film, Nolan holds the story together despite the complexity. Essentially, this is a heist film – a heist of the mind. Sometime in the near future business leaders hire ‘extractors’ to enter the dreams of other business leaders and steal their industrial and trade secrets while in their own dreams. Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) is one such dream raider with a well oiled team behind him played by Ellen Page (Juno), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (GI Joe) and Tom Hardy (RocknRolla); because they are so slick and good at what they do, they are bought to the attention of Saito (Ken Watanabe), a energy tycoon who wants to destroy another energy rival. Saito does not want to just steal the secrets of dying rival Maurice Fischer (Pete Postlesthwaite) but break apart his monopoly by planting the seeds of sabotage in the mind of his son and heir, Robert (Cillian Murphy).
Planting these seeds, or the ‘inception’ of an idea, is the trickiest most difficult task of all and Cobb wants the challenge; especially after Saito promises to help Cobb return to the States and his children; you see, we find that Cobb is on the run from the law after the very mysterious death of his wife, also a ‘extractor’. The plot is inspired and complicated; you will often wonder if you are dreaming yourself, which is quite the point I would imagine. Filled with memorable lines and remarkable visions, ‘Inception’ is a true masterpiece for the 21st century that works on many levels both real and dream like. Borrowing freely from such films as ‘The Matrix’ and just about any Alfred Hitchcock film, ‘Inception’ will inspire your thought process and just perhaps your dreams! This 4 star effort is well worth several trips to the theater.
Keeping in line with the thriller mode, my Redbox Rental pick is ‘Chloe’ – the direct to DVD release with Amanda Seyfried (Letters to Juliet), Liam Neeson (The A-Team) and Julianne Moore (The Kids Are Alright). Catherine (Moore) is concerned her husband (Neeson) may be having an affair; so naturally she hires the mysterious Chloe (Seyfried) to seduce him. Why not? Of course, Chloe is a nut who really wants to seduce Catherine (and does) and actually seduces their son as well (to get to Catherine). I am guessing all of these guys needed a paycheck for some reason – otherwise why would they have made this? Not worth much more than $1 at Redbox!
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