The evacuation of Dunkirk – a miracle in its own right – is the focus of this striking, nerve-shredding survival epic from director Christopher Nolan. Split into three sections, the narrative cross-cuts between perspectives: land, sea and air, each one spanning a different period of time. The tension mounts at an unbelievable rate. Nolan’s camera traps the audience in the moment so as to experience every inch of horror from eye level. Continue reading “Review: Dunkirk (2017)”
Stuck in development turmoil for years, Mad Max: Fury Road – the fourth in the franchise – returns us to George Miller’s one-of-a-kind post-apocalyptic badlands for a full-throttle, action-packed whirlwind of elite madness. Haunted by his past and left wandering the harsh desert alone, Max (Tom Hardy) is unwittingly swept up in a desperate attempt to flee the tyrannical clutches of Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) lead by Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron). Continue reading “Review: Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)”
Eight years after the grisly events that resulted in the death of Harvey Dent, Batman is nowhere to be seen and the city of Gotham has become a place of peace and mutual co-operation under the Dent Act. However, when a ruthless madman named Bane (Tom Hardy) rises from the darkest depths of the world and begins to take advantage of the city’s new-found order, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is forced to call upon Wayne Enterprises’ virtuoso Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), Continue reading “Review: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)”
Warner Bros. Pictures have released the third and final trailer for The Dark Knight Rises – one that promises a more dramatic, emotionally resonant entry into the latest, inherently murky Batman franchise.
Written and directed once more by the partnership of Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises finds Batman (Christian Bale) hunted by the Police Department after taking the fall for Harvey Dent’s demise. However, Continue reading “Third And Final Trailer For The Dark Knight Rises”
Awards season enters its prime with the long-awaited release of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, a new cinematic adaptation of John Le Carré’s acclaimed spy thriller of the same name.
Entrenched in the mid-1970’s, George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is pressured from semi-retirement by Control (John Hurt), the head of British Intelligence, to expose an undercover Sovient agent within MI6’s ranks. His list of suspects include the wily Percy Alleline (Toby Jones), liberal Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), laconic Roy Bland (Ciarán Hinds), reticent Toby Esterhase (David Dencik) and then, of course, Smiley himself. Continue reading “Review: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011)”
Director – Greg Williams
Starring: Tom Hardy, Nathaniel Parker, Ben Macleod and Gillian Bevan
Inception is the latest film from movie mastermind Christopher Nolan. After directing such acclaimed and commercially successful films as Memento, The Dark Knight and The Prestige, Nolan returns to cinema screens with another mind-bending summer blockbuster, this time putting the emphasis on dreams, allowing his action to take place across several layers, or levels as they’re referred to in the film.
Centering on Dom (DiCaprio), a superior “extrator” who’s hired by a businessman, Saito (Watanbe) to carry out an “inception”, which is to plant an idea, that will cause Robert (Murphy) to collapse his fathers (Postlethwaite) company following his death.
For around the first hour of the film we’re introduced to Dom and his efforts to assemble a team to accompany him, which eventually include Arthur (Levitt), Eames (Hardy), Yusef (Rao), and Ariadne (Page) who’s hired by Dom to design the dream they’ll be entering to carry out the “inception”.
Dom’s late wife, Mal (Cotillard), who we’re introduced to early on in the film, flits between the dreams, haunting Dom’s mind as a “projection”. Eventually, we learn the backbone to their story, how she died, and why Dom won’t let her go. Although Cotillard doesn’t have much screentime, she brings a mysterious, almost dreamy quality to Mal’s nature, allowing viewers to understand her position within the narrative.
It’s when we enter the first level that the action really gets going and Nolan’s imagination comes to life. Playing off wondrous specticle and the studios freedom, he concocts a thinking man’s blockbuster, one that will keep you hooked for it’s entirety, leading itself to a memorable, explosive, bewildering, yet assured, ending.
Despite the heavy running time, the film runs smoothly enough, seamlessly gliding along as the team delve through different levels, getting deeper and deeper withing the subconscious in an effort to plant this idea inside Robert’s mind, deep enough for it to stick long after they’ve awoken.
DiCaprio’s performance as Dom carries the film, showing a new side to his superior acting skills, as he inforces Dom’s ideals, while restraining himself somewhat, especially against the action-laded backdrop. Supporting performances from Page, Levitt and, most notably, Hardy are remarkable, hopefully enough to make them stick in critics’ heads come awards season.
In terms of style, it’s truly spectacular to see someone like Nolan’s vision come to life on the big screen. You could spend the whole film marvelling at the set designs, CG effects and cinematography, but it never gets in the way of the film’s purpose. A remarkable feat to behold.
Inception is not only visually impressive but, with a sterling cast, innovative narrative and mind-blowing set-pieces, also a winning cinematic experience all-round. Worth entering with an open mind.
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