Month: March 2023

“You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.” —Eames

Today’s quick review: Inception. As an extractor, Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) breaks into people’s dreams to steal their secrets. Saito (Ken Watanabe), the head of an energy corporation, hires him to do the opposite: to plant a thought in the mind of his business rival (Cillian Murphy). Cobb assembles a talented team for the job and comes up with a plan that could work. But within the dream, the greatest threat comes from Cobb’s own subconscious.

Inception is a science fiction crime thriller written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Leonardo DiCaprio leads an all-star cast that includes Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, and Michael Caine. Inception takes place in a world where a machine makes it possible to enter another person’s dreams. What follows is a carefully orchestrated heist that plays out over multiple levels of the dreamscape.

Inception features an intricate and mind-bending plot. The mechanics of the dream are fascinating on their own, and the complications that arise during the heist force Cobb and his crew to improvise some truly clever solutions. The details of the story can be a lot to take in, especially during a first viewing. However, the payoff more than justifies the effort it takes to keep track of what is going on.

The emotional heart of the film is Cobb’s attempts to cope with the death of his wife. The deatils of her death are revealed gradually throughout the film, but the fallout has left him emotionally scarred, unable to control his subconscious, and legally barred from returning home to his children. The journey into his target’s mind also exposes Cobb’s unresolved issues, resulting in a powerful and deeply personal story beneath the heist.

The combination of the dream device and Cobb’s backstory allows Inception to explore a range of meaningful themes. The film delves into psychology and catharsis, the nature of reality, suicide and depression, guilt and remorse, and the intricacies of the creative process. The themes are worked into the film in organic ways, arising naturally from the plot and characters. The outcome is an emotionally fulfilling movie that has a lot to unpack.

Finally, Inception benefits from outstanding execution quality. The performances are excellent, especially from DiCaprio and Cotillard. The direction is artful and precise, with subtle visual details and recurring motifs that amplify the story. The script is nuanced, well-paced, and often poetic. The special effects are seamless, bringing the imaginative physics of the dream to life. And Hans Zimmer outdoes himself with a memorable score.

Inception’s one major caveat is what it is not. In spite of its premise, Inception is not a film about abusing the dreamscape for action or fantasy. The film does explore the mechanics of the dreamscape in detail, and there are some memorable action scenes along the way. But the action is secondary to the characters and story, not something that is pursued to the exclusion of all else. Viewers expecting pure spectacle may be disappointed.

Inception is a masterful movie that works at nearly every level. It represents the science fiction genre at its richest, using a simple conceit to tell a unique story that simultaneously stretches the imagination and sheds light on the human condition. Not everyone will appreciate what Inception has to offer, and its complex plot takes some getting used to. But its vision and its craftsmanship make it a modern classic that’s well worth watching.

For a science fiction drama of similar caliber from Christopher Nolan, check out Interstellar. For a more down-to-earth mystery from Nolan, try The Prestige. For a darker thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, try Shutter Island. For a more surreal trip into the world of dreams, try Paprika. For a darker, more cartoonish trip into the mind, try The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

[8.8 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/). I give it an 8.5 for a brilliant premise and outstanding quality.

Today’s quick review: Tenet. A CIA agent (John David Washington) is recruited by a shadowy organization to help deal with a new threat: objects that travel backward through time, sent by someone in the future as part of a war on the past. The agent tracks the objects back to Sator (Kenneth Branagh), a Russian arms dealer. To get the answers he needs, the agent enlists the help of Sator’s wife Kat (Elizabeth Debicki), who wants to escape her husband.

Tenet is a sci-fi action thriller written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Tenet takes a seemingly simple idea—bullets that travel backward—and spins it into an intricate and mind-bending story. The protagonist finds himself in the middle of a where cause and effect are reversed, physics is turned on its head, and secrecy is his only weapon. Tenet’s ambitious story makes it an interesting watch, but not a very accessible one.

Tenet’s premise is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it opens up an entirely new space for the movie to explore. Tenet’s plot twists take full advantage of its time-twisting premise, turning the entire story into an elaborate puzzle. The action scenes are similarly perplexing, shaped by the presence of bullets firing in reverse, debris that reassembles itself, and assailants who already know how the situation is going to play out.

On the other hand, Tenet’s premise makes it incredibly hard to follow. The film provides enough exposition for the audience to piece together what is happening, but just barely. The action sequences are flashy, but they have a steep learning curve, relying on causal tricks that run counter to the audience’s intuitions. The comprehensibility problems are exacerbated by a story that moves quickly and only rarely stops to let the audience catch up.

Apart from its complexity, Tenet’s other main weakness is its limited emotional arc. Where other Nolan movies like Inception, Memento, and Interstellar are built around a powerful emotional payoff, Tenet has the somewhat weaker story of Kat trying to get away from her abusive husband. The protagonist himself is an emotionally neutral character, making the story more of an intellectual exercise than a personal journey.

Tenet holds promise for the right viewer. The premise manages to turn time travel on its head, while the elaborate action scenes are a nice complement to the puzzling plot. But Tenet’s virtues are hidden behind a dense wall of confusion, making it a hit-or-miss watch that depends heavily on how much effort the viewer is willing to expend. Give it a shot when you’re in the mood for a unique puzzle. Steer clear if you want a conventional thriller.

For a more accessible mind-bending science fiction thriller from the same director, try Inception. For a more restrained Christopher Nolan film that experiments with the concept of time, try Memento. For a sci-fi thriller with a similar flavor of time travel, try Looper. For a minimalistic sci-fi movie that tackles the mechanics of time travel in depth, try Primer.

[7.6 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6723592/). I give it a 7.5 for a fascinating story with a steep barrier to entry.

Today’s quick review: It’s a Wonderful Life. George Bailey (James Stewart) has led a selfless life, giving up his dreams to run the savings and loan for the people of Bedford Falls. His reward for his hard work has been a modest home that he shares with his loving wife Mary (Donna Reed) and their four children. But when disaster strikes on Christmas Eve, George receives help from Clarence (Henry Travers), an angel trying to earn his wings.

It’s a Wonderful Life is a classic drama about a good man driven to despair on Christmas Eve. James Stewart stars as George Bailey, whose compassion and determination have helped Bedford Falls immeasurably over the years, often at great personal cost. It’s a Wonderful Life charts the highs and lows of Bailey’s life, from the twists of fate that have kept him from the life he had planned to the consolations of friends and family.

It’s a Wonderful Life is a deeply human film with a mature perspective on life. George is not a saint. He makes mistakes, he is prone to frustration, and he has only barely managed to keep his father’s savings and loan open. Yet his reflexive generosity and his enthusiasm for the people around him make him a kind person and a compelling character. Through George’s character, the film captures the best of humanity and the sacrifice that entails.

Much of the enduring appeal of It’s a Wonderful Life comes from the way it tells its story. Beginning with George’s childhood, the film walks through his life step by step, giving the viewer time to invest in the residents of Bedford Falls. The drama is modest, personal, and all the more meaningful for it. By the time George faces his crisis, the stage is set for a powerful ending that remains one of the most iconic in the history of cinema.

It’s a Wonderful Life is a heartfelt classic with a moving story and characters that are full of life. Its tone may be too sentimental for some viewers, but its maturity gives it a much deeper appeal than the typical Christmas movie, capturing life’s disappointments along with its victories. Give It’s a Wonderful Life a shot when you are in the mood for an honest, uplifting drama that stands the test of time.

For a holiday classic in the same vein, try The Bishop’s Wife. For a classic story about a man given the chance to reexamine his life at Christmas, try one of the adaptations of A Christmas Carol. For a more tragic movie about the disappointments of life, try Penny Serenade. For the fictional biography of a selfish man, try Citizen Kane. For a classic comedy starring James Stewart with some of the same heart, try Harvey.

[8.6 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/). I give it an 8.0 to 8.5 for a beautiful, heartfelt story.