Inception

christopher nolan delivers again

is anyone really surprised that a film featuring leonardo dicaprio and joseph gordon levitt that's directed by christopher nolan is pure win? nolan is the master of psychological thrillers, ever since following and memento, it was clear that the genre was his. inception is no different, the film is beautifully shot and the special effects are superb... but the plot itself is pretty damn good too. there is a new breed of criminal in the future, ones who access your mind to steal and implant thoughts. leonardo dicaprio is cobb, and he's hired to such things... but he's having trouble distinguishing reality from unreality. the premise is awesome, maybe not quite as brilliant as many have claimed, but still impressive for a big budget film. definitely worth watching.

Mr. Nobody

excellent thinking film

jared leto stars as nemo, the world's oldest man in the world. somehow he has survived longer than any other 'natural' human in the world and is recounting his life to journalists because he is on the verge of death. the film is extremely stylistic and intriguing as we do not know what from nemo's life is real and what would have been had he made changes in key situations. he can see what his life would have been had he made different decisions, and it all blurs together. it's an amazing premise and excellent film that deserves multiple viewings.

Inglourious Basterds

jews killin nazis

quentin tarantino's latest opus started off as a remake of the italian film 'inglorious bastards', but i guess he decided to make an entirely different world war II film of the same title. the film is kinda 2 stories in one. one involves the said 'basterds' who are american jews on a mission to kill as many nazis as possible, and the other story is about shoshanna dreyfus, a jewish woman who escapes certain death and is plotting to kill the german elite. see, she now owns a movie theater in france where hitler and his cronies are going to screen a new propaganda film and she has the idea to burn it down with everyone still in it. meanwhile the allied forces have a similar plan and get the basterds to pull off the ambush. it's a tarantino film, so there's tons of dialogue, lots of it seems to be for no reason, but he built suspense rather well in this one. there was plenty of gore and funny moments, but not real comedy. i loved this film throughout... even though it was long as fuck. some of the best parts were the gore effects, like when the "bear jew" kills a guy by bashing in his skull with a baseball bat. pure awesome, and i love seeing jews kill nazi fucks...like in 'defiance'. brad pitt and christoph waltz shine as the 2 main leads. i should also add that the style of the film is all over the place, and i like that. there is a good mix of english, german and french as well.

Kenny

the best mockumentary ever?

kenny is a mockumentary, but if you didn't know that going in, you may never know it. it's the story of kenny, an australian plumber who delivers, installs, and services porta-johns. he takes us on a journey through his world. from the small details of the toilet business to his real life problems with his ex-wife and having a not so respectable job. shane jacobson plays kenny, and fleshes him out brilliantly. the character is so real and fleshed out, it's amazing. there were plenty of times where i laughed, and at least one time where i almost cried. a big part of the film is paying respect to those who do the world's dirty jobs, and that they should be given their respect. i have had less than perfect jobs and assignments, and i completely sympathize with this character. great job all around.

Moon

sam rockwell is pure win

moon is an indie scifi drama starring sam rockwell. the film takes place on the moon where sam (sam rockwell) is manning a space station that harvests moon rocks for planet earth to use for energy. he's alone for 3 years and awaiting his return to his life on earth, when weird things start to happen. he gets in a crash in his 'rover' and wakes up in the infirmary not remembering much. he goes back to the crash site and discovers that he was never rescued. i don't want to give much away, because the way the film unfolds is quite impressive and very well done. there isn't a twist ending really, but there are plenty of twists and turns that thrill the senses.
sam rockwell is essentially the entire cast, as he plays 2 roles, and does excellent. he was already one of my favorite actors, but now he's right at the top. he's so fucking good in this. the film is just awesome. kevin spacey voices the robot GERTY, and is somewhat remininscent of HAL from 2001. i heard comparisons to a space odyssey, but i think they're on different wave lengths. moon is less about science fiction as it is just an interesting story that takes place in space. the film reminds me of the prestige (the christopher nolan film a few years back), and that's a good thing. best film i've seen in a long time.

Slumdog Millionaire

amazing

when i heard about danny boyle's 'slumdog millionaire' i was definitely intrigued. the story follows jamal on his awesome journey from poverty and petty crime to making it to the final question on "who want's to be a millionaire?". jamal and his brother salim are alone on the streets of mumbai in search of food and money. through a series of events they become seperated and jamal's only goal is to be reunited with his childhood friend and love latika. meanwhile his brother grows up into a life of crime and tries his damndest to fuck everything up for the 2 of them. the movie is amazing in my opinion. there is a very visceral quality in the film that makes us want to be like jamal... to do anything to be with that ONE special person. its fate that led him to the gameshow, and led him all the way to the final question. i loved this film all the way through. the music is pretty good too, and the actors all did a great job. wow.

The Wrestler

kinda like rocky, but good.

darren aronofsky's latest film isn't about the harsh realities of professional wrestling, or about redemption... its really about one man's struggle with what's real and what is fake. much like the "sport" of pro wrestling. mickey rourke is fucking good. that's all there is to say about his performance as randy the ram. he looks like shit, and plays the best 'broken down washed up deadbeat former superstar" ever. he made this film so great! i was a fan of pro wrestling when i was a kid, like so many others... and i saw Beyond the Mat a long time ago, so i was aware of the fucked up nature of it all... but this film takes the struggle and misery to a whole new level. there are many tear jerking moments in this film, and Marisa Tomei even delivers as an aging stripper. with a child to take care of, she doesn't want to fall in love with the ram, because she thinks he can't tell the real world from her stripper world. it works really well. i really love darren aronofsky films, he is probably still my favorite director right now, and this is a great film. i wonder if he has lost some of his unique touches that made pi and requiem for a dream so amazing. no matter, i HIGHLY recommend the wrestler.

Boy A

Best Film I've Seen All Year!!

Seriously, this is why I go to the movies. This story pulled me in, tugged ay my heart, and left me stunned and in awe. The acting, direction, and writing were all phenomenal. I don't know what to say, except I loved this movie!