Showing posts with label ellen page. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ellen page. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Inception (2010, U.S.)

I don't even know what to say about this one. I had to make a conscious effort to relax my brow at the end of the film because I was doing some intense thinking the entire time. It is one of the most confusing things I have ever watched. There were essentially four stories nested within each other, plus side plots as flashbacks and goodness knows what else.

The basic premise is that a team is going to make a lot of money by placing an idea into a man's head. To do this, they have to approach him in a dream within a dream, thereby penetrating his subconscious as much as possible. The lead, played by DiCaprio, is slightly broken—mentally because he's gone into the dream world one too many times and emotionally because of what happened to his wife. He's a great actor, and he's complimented by a lot of other great actors. Joseph Gordon Levitt is a personal favorite of mine, and the rest of the cast was strong.

Two of the most important parts of science fiction are the world building and convincing science, and both were wonderful. It's one of those things that has to be seen, not explained, however. In fact, I probably need to see it again so I can remind myself what happened.

There were a couple of inconsistencies, but if you like a good thinker, this is definitely one for you.

Rating: 4.0

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Hard Candy (2005, U.S.)

I just don't even know what to say about this one. A pedophile (or is he?) versus a 14-year-old girl (slash psychological torturer?). Who do you want to win this battle? I'm not sure.

The film's intense. Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson did some of the most brilliant acting I've seen in ages. The plot was intriguing, the suspense gripping. Really well done, and with a total of five actors (although most of the action dealt with only two).

It's an amazing film. I can't say that you will enjoy it because of its dark themes and how uncomfortable it will make you feel, but you can't argue against its value as a work. (Hence the lack of a strong rating one way or the other.)

I just don't have anything else to say. You'd have to see it for yourself.

Rating: 3.0