Insertion.

Some of you may ponder my title choice today. I shall explain. The opposite of extraction is insertion. So why Christoper Nolan called his movie Inception is a mystery.

If you didn't guess I'm finally getting round to reviewing Inception; an all round excellent movie. It stars some of my favourite actors, (Cillian Murphy, Leanardo DiCaprio, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page) and is directed by the incredible Christopher Nolan. Now, if for some reason you didn't recognise that name, you have issues. Christopher Nolan directed the reboot of the Batman series and has placed The Dark Knight in many people's 'Top Ten' lists. And if you haven't heard of that.. Then I truly feel sorry for you.

With gun and spinning top in hand, Leo can take the dream world.

The plot of the film is complex but please don't let that put you off. Professional 'thief' Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) and his partner, Arthur (Gordon-Levitt,) are offered a job. But instead of the usual job of stealing they must place something. An idea. Yes they work within the subject's dreams instead of their reality; extracting ideas or, in this case, inserting one... Inception. Japanese business man, Saito (Ken Watanabe,) wishes for rival company, Cobol Engineering, to be gone and asks Cobb to place an idea in Robert Fischer's subconscious. The idea? To destroy his fathers company. Cobb gathers a team to place the idea, despite Arthur stating it's impossible.

A film full with awesome action sequences but also a clever plot which contains philosophical underlining. (Don't worry. Those underlinings are just for intelligent people. If you feel you just want to watch an action film this is still for you.) It's nice to see a completely original film in this world of remakes, reboots and sequels. It's not just a unique plot either; the fight sequences and car chases are truly new and fresh, (mainly cause in the world of subconscious you can plow a train down the middle of a street..) The special effects are spellbinding and some of the acting is outstanding (Check Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing the serious character.)

The hype for this film had the actors bouncing of the walls.

There's funny moments and sad moments. There's thrilling moments and calm moments. There's WTF moments and 'Oh I get it' moments. There's basically something for everyone.

Also, here's a fun fact for your amusement: This is the third Christopher Nolan movie in five years in which Cillian Murphy has spent a significant amount of screen time with a cloth bag on his head.

So worth a watch.. In fact a must-see. Don't miss it. You'll regret it.




Best bit? Joseph Gordon-Levitt's fight scene in a spinning hotel corridor. (He did his own stunts that scene don't you know.) Oh and BRITISH DIRECTOR!

The Penultimate Destination (Maybe)

The last chapter in The Final Destination series... No wait... There's still a 5nal one coming. See I found that joke really funny but all you won't. I'm not sure why I bother.

So anyway; Final Destination, otherwise known as The Final Destination. When it was released it was 3D which I assume made the horrid special effects bearable. But I was not watching it in 3D.. My television doesn't do that. Every explosion looked wrong, every flying object looked fake.

An example of one of the less gory deaths.. Just so you know what to expect.

Despite this, my biggest problem was the way in which characters died. If you have not encountered any Final Destination film before, allow me to explain the plot.. Of every film. One teenager has a vision of their friends and themselves dying in a horrible accident and so they stop it happening. Afterwards the teenagers die in extremely odd ways, one by one, in the order they would've died in had they have died in the original accident. Just to give you an idea of how the franchise has spiralled down for this movie, here's a list of the original accidents: FD1: Plane crash, FD2: Car crash, FD3: Roller coaster crash, TFD (FD4): Nascar racers explode as they crash forcing the whole of the stadium to fall to pieces and crush the spectators. Yes.. That is how the movie starts.

The teens were practically lining up for their deaths

So we knew before the film started that there would be a lot of death. But in the previous films the death scenes have (kind of) made sense. Thinking back to all of the death scenes of this movie there's maybe two or 3 that make sense. out of 11. Even in the visions.. One girl gets a foot crushed in an escalator motor and then coughs up blood. Someone explain that biology to me. And have you ever seen a single ember set a whole pile of wood on fire in seconds? Or a doctor just leave an elderly patient in a harness while the bath is running and almost overflowing? Or a pile of sand, yes sand, catch fire.. in the sun? No. It doesn't happen. Admittedly it's unlikely that any of the deaths in previous films will happen... But the science makes more sense (even if it is ridiculous.) Plus there was no cool cliffhanger on this film. Sad stuff.

There is nothing special here in any of the technical departments either. If you like gore and you don't care whether the reason for it makes sense then this film will be a welcome treat. Otherwise you will end up yelling at the stupidity of the characters and the lack of science.

Best bit? The bit where someone dies.. I like that bit. But seriously the best bit is... is... hmmm...

11 Years In Waiting.

Yes. I have been waiting over a decade for this movie. I remember seeing the second film in the cinemas in 1999 very clearly but now, the third film is here. I am, of course, talking about Toy Story 3. I saw it yesterday with the wonderful Kate Pass in stunning 3D. And yes, stunning is the best word to describe this film.

A happy audience waited for Woody's next speech

If you don't know the general plot by now you're weird. But I'll recap it anyway. Buzz, Woody and the remaining toys that Andy has kept over the years are accidently donated to Sunnyside Daycare when Andy leaves for college. But what seems like paridise soon turns ugly.

This is the first animated film I've reviewed I think... Those of us that were around when the first two movies were released will appriciate the film far more than the little kiddie winkles... In fact I think adults in genral will enjoy this more. Why? The jokes are very funny but it's unlikely that the little ones will get all of them. But the animation... Just... Wow. Not only is it just amazing but it also focuses on human aspects of the toys, the emotions. Never did I think I would border on tears from some toys holding hands. PIXAR made it happen.

Woody Jumped onstage to meet his favourite acting group;

They were rather startled.

It's the little things that PIXAR do that make their movies so damn good. All the way through the movie were hints to other things from the world of PIXAR: drawings of Nemo, Boo playing with a toy version of 'kitty' and even Luxo Ball is the credit scenes. But, for me, it was the human characters that made this movie such a success. It was mostly emotions we could relate to: the stress of leaving home, the fear of losing your childhood memories... Even the way they characters interacted. Bonnie, a little girl character, acted like any real toddler would. The characters are real.

If you see this film, splash out and see it in 3D, it's worth every penny. Wait... What do I mean if? When you watch this movie. It's unmissable. A perfect rounding off to the triology.

Best bit? I really don't know... So many bits to choose! Just the whole film. Really.

Updates, News etc.

I hate Justin Bieber. I'm sure he's a nice person.. That produces awful music, sells his soul and ruins Twitter. I hear you shout, "But Phil! This is a movie blog!" And correct you are! Which is why Justin is here. He has just signed a deal to turn his life story, the sixteen years of it, into a film. Now I know plenty of 12 year olds and so on will see this as he is Justin Bieber but surely it's an insult to the biopic film genre?

Anyway, moving on from my extreme anger at this. Woman In Black. One of the most stunning West End plays around. If you haven't seen it, see it. Again, not a film I know but it will be. And Harry Potter is set to star as Arthur Kipps. Good choice? Well we can't judge yet.. But I have my opinions.. Lets hope Daniel Radcliffe proves me wrong.

Finally, Batman 3 update. Just over a month ago, the legendary Christopher Nolan announced that the script was finished and that shooting would start in April 2011. Sounds good right? Though we still know nothing about plot, villains or cast but it looks more and more likely that the brilliant Joseph Gordon-Levitt may be playing the Riddler. I'm totally in favour of this idea as he is an incredible actor. Chris Nolan has also claimed that the Penguin and Mr Freeze would not be in it.

Well that's it. Stick around for reviews on Inception, Shrek 4, 12 Angry Men, District 9 and more.

And The Winner Is....

My word! I have so many films to review!!!

But first things first.

A week yesterday was the end of our annual film week (Woohoo.) Last year was very official.. We had notepads and rated the films to decide a winner. We scraped that. This year was about enjoyment. We didn't decide a winner all together but I know what came out on top for me. (Note: The winner isn't my favourite out of the films on the list. Just the one that I enjoyed most in film week.)

Here are the films:

• DAY 1


• The Beach (****)
  
• Moon (*****)


• Goodfellas (*****)


• The Good, The Bad and The Weird (See previous review)


• DAY 2


• Into The Wild (****)


• The Holy Grail (*****)


• The Pianist (*****)


• Being John Malkovich (*****)


• DAY 3


• In Bruges (*****)


• Brick (*****)


• Walk The Line (****)


• The Shining (*****)


• DAY 4


• Leon (We were half asleep - or asleep- for (ooer))


• Garden State (****)


• Taxi Driver (Which we never got around to.. This year or last year.)


• [500] Days Of Summer (*****)
  

You can tell from my mini star ratings which films I loved.

But the winner is.........

[500] Days Of Summer!

So lets review it.

The story of one man called Tom and his love with Summer. A girl... Not the season. The tag line of the movie is, 'Boy meets Girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn't.' Sound original? No? Well it is. Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) works in an office and falls for colleague Summer (Zooey Deschanel.) She may or may not love him back. We follow the 500 days of their relationship, good and bad, but not in chronological order. We jump from day 22 to 204. (Maybe not those exact days but you get the point.)

The film doesn't take itself too serious. We're randomly treated to a documentary about love with opinions from characters. There is a huge dance sequence complete with an animated bird. There is a split-scene comparison between reality and expectations for a whole scene. The film is very funny. Check out the date scene in Ikea, "Honey. I don't know how to tell you this, but there is a Chinese family in our bathroom." But it is also sad... After all it is (not) a love story.

The soundtrack is epic. Every song is brilliantly selected. Some camera work is outstanding and the acting is just... wow.

Watch this movie. No exception.

Best bit? Either the dance sequence or the first date to Ikea. Classic.

Night At Grosse Pointe With A Wild Target.

I have a list of films to review building up so forgive me for some short reviews. And also I apologise for the extreme lack in blogs recently. I've had exams and performances etc.

Lets start at the most recent film I watched on the television box.

Night At The Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian.

This is a film that will be enjoyed by all ages. Kids will love it for the funny slapstick and prat falls and we older folk will enjoy it for the clever references t

o real (and fictional) historical characters. A pity though.. The original had a lot less characters and so it was a lot easier to focus on them and they became very funny. Unfortunately this had twice as many characters and just too much going on to focus on. Larry (Stiller) sets off to DC to save his favourite exhibits but the magic tablet soon falls into the hands of evil Pharaoh Kahmunrah and events begin to get out of hand.

Einstein's clones had been in short supply.

But all is not lost! The few characters that actually had more than ten minutes screen time were as hilarious as ever and very well acted. I'm speaking of course of the wondrous Amy Adams as Amilia Earhart who performed her part very well. But Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan as Jedediah and Octavius stole the show again with their miniature antics like stabbing the toes of the baddies and confronting squirrels.

Overall not a bad film but nothing special. Good if you're just wanting to relax on a lazy afternoon.

Best Bit? The Einstein bobble heads. "All together now! Zats ze vay uh huh uh huh ve like it"

Next up, Grosse Pointe Blank.

Starring one of my favourite actors around , John Cusack, Grosse Pointe Blank already looks good. And it is. I always like a good black comedy and this is almost too light to be put with this particular genre. But I suppose if Martin Blank (Cusack) wasn't a hit man then there would be no comedy or darkness. When a job happens to be in the same place and time as his high school reunion he has a decision to make. Find his high school love? Or do his job?
Cusack is awesome and funny as always and his co-star Minne Driver is stunningly beautiful and incredible. Its a really enjoyable film with some laugh out loud moments and also some real touching stuff. Who says hit men can't have hearts? We'll come onto that next review. The soundtrack kicks ass and the action sequences are awesome.

A must see if you ask me. Really fun and really cool.

Best bit? The awesome fight scene near the end.

Finally another comedy about a hit man, but this time with an aura of British humour. Bill Nighy stars as Victor Maynard, the best British hit man around. But when he's put on a job to kill the beautiful Rose (Emily Blunt) things get out of hand. It's a British film through and through and very funny. But the show stealer here is Rupert Grint. His comedy timing is superb and he's actually a really good actor. Well done to him for moving on before the end of Harry Potter to show his range.

Bill soon realised his mistake; never trust a ginger with a gun.

Their lack of souls makes them born killers.

Sure the film had some jokes that weren't funny and some scenes which didn't quite make sense but brilliant performances all round. It's worth a watch if you like British humour. In Bruges fans.. Pre-order the DVD now.


Best bit? Any of Rupert Grint's moments. He's perfection in the form of a ginger.

Korean Cowboys?

I'm beginning to really love foreign language films. Here is a film that took a famous western and put it in South Korea.

The Good The Bad The Weird pays tribute to the classic, The Good The Bad And The Ugly. Plenty of little in jokes for fans of the western to pick up on as well as little character traits. (The weird/The ugly both brush their teeth with their fingers.) The plot is far simpler than the original. Set in the 1940's, two outlaws and a bounty hunter go on the search of treasure due to a map. Following them are Chinese gangs and the Japanese army. Far less side plots. Not that side plots are a bad thing... But if you have a short attention span like a lot of young people nowadays, this film is easier to watch. Unless you dislike subtitles.

"Check out this backwards shooting!"

Firstly, I noticed straight away how awesome the camera work was. I mean.. It's really incredible at some points. The chase at the end... WOW. So there's not that much of a score (Though during the chase listen for the background tribute to The Good The Bad & The Ugly's score.) but the other technical aspects make up for that. The action sequences are suburb and wonderful to watch. Not only are they full of action but they're also cool and fun. The cast are wonderful. Some may think Byung-hun Lee was the wrong choice for Park Chang-yi / The Bad, but they're wrong. His 'pretty boy' exterior may seem odd for a crazy killer type person but it just makes it all the more effective when he whips out his knife and starts madly slashing people up. Kang-ho Song (Yoon Tae-goo / The Weird) fits his role perfectly. He is weird. There is very few other ways of describing it. But he was brilliant. Woo-sung Jung (Park Do-won / The Good) is just plain cool. From the moment we first see him shooting at The Bad and The Weird plus henchmen, till the very last second. Especially his part in the chase scene.... Wow.

 

Guess Who is Who

Some fun facts about the film... Woo-sung Jung, The Good, broke his arm during filming... This was the most expensive South Korean Film to be made (as of 2009)... And something that made me chuckle: Director Woo-sung Jung claimed he would like this to be called a 'kimchee western' after the Korean food made with fermented cabbages. He says he thinks the plot and film are spicy and vibrant, like the Korean culture and people. Of course, The Good The Bad And The Ugly was a 'Spaghetti western' due to it being a western made by Italians. Really worth a watch if you can be bothered to read subtitles. I dislike it when films aren't given a fair chance because people won't read a little.

 

Best Bit? The Chase Scene. It's awesome. Armies, gangs, outlaws, weirdos, cars, horses, moterbikes... It has everything.