Posts Tagged ‘Chris Nolan’

Short Take: Every bit as much fun as its predecessors

Director: Brad Bird

Screenwriters: Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec

Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Michael Nyqvist, Paula Patton

Length: 2h 13m

Synopsis: After an IMF agent is killed in an effort to capture the launch codes for Russian nuclear warheads, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his crack team of agents are assigned to find out who took the codes and why. Their efforts, however, lead them to being framed for the destruction of the Moscow Kremlin, which makes Ethan Russia’s most wanted and forces IMF to disavow all of its agents. So with no help from IMF and a huge target on their backs, Ethan and Co. must prevent the stolen launch codes from getting into the wrong hands. Crazy and elaborate plans ensue, with stunts and chases aplenty. What we see may possibly be their biggest challenge yet.

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"The Social Network" has gotten very high praise for its writing, but is it the best written movie so far this year?

So far this year we’ve enjoyed the emergence of several very well made movies, such as Toy Story 3, Inception, Shutter Island, How to Train Your Dragon, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Cyrus, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and the recently released The Social Network, among others. Exactly what makes these movies so well made are an innumerable amount of things both big and small, not the least of which are their direction, editing, acting quality, and art direction. But with every film, when you get right down to it, what really makes or breaks everything is the writing. A phenomenal director and editor tandem can sometimes get past a so-so script, such as with Steven Spielberg and Michael Kahn with Jurassic Park, but the vast majority of the time the quality of the writing is what determines how good everything else can potentially be.

So far it would appear that the two movies that are being praised the most for their writing quality are Chris Nolan’s Inception and Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Network. It seems like every review of the latter has dedicated a whole paragraph to dote upon this particular aspect, crediting both Sorkin and his source material (Ben Mezrich’s The Accidental Billionaires). The former has received sterling reviews as well, though because of how intentionally ambiguous the film is some critics were hesitant to award it prematurely. In those critics’ defense, it is indeed harder to defend a story’s craftsmanship when its coherence is questionable and the overall theme and thesis lend themselves to expansive debate.

Can the stories of these two movies be compared? Read the rest of this entry »

If you haven’t already, read Part 1 here to see our interpretation of the film’s ending.

Part 2 – Taking a Leap of Faith

Being able to visit dreams is no doubt a concept that is difficult to grasp, especially once you try to consider all of the philosophical possibilities attached to such an idea. That this concept forces us to adapt the foundations of our methods of critical thinking, and indeed logic itself, because we are no longer dealing with the “real” but unbridled cognitive enterprise, we must resort to a manner of thinking that requires pure conjectural reasoning and rationality. By this I am suggesting that it would behoove our intentions to successfully explore this movie by thinking more abstractly about it (theoretically, conceptually, etc.), in addition to relying on concrete cues provided by the film’s text* (details observable in some form or fashion that lead to confirmed or implied conclusions). By doing this it may be possible to discover the film’s main goal and purpose. Read the rest of this entry »

With over a week now passed since the opening of Chris Nolan’s Inception, which is perhaps the most cerebral mainstream movie released so far this year, we thought it would be rewarding to analyze it a little further. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a neuroscientist who visits other people’s dreams (along with his own) and has a complex relationship with his late wife through these dreams, the film’s story is rife with philosophical quandaries and interpretive possibilities. Below, we try to take a look at some of both. To further appreciate any film you must look more intently at it and focus on the finer details, because sometimes these details can change how you view the bigger picture. Not that we would be so presumptuous to say that we are about to unveil some monumental factor that will knock your socks off, but taking the following analysis with a grain of salt might cause you to reconsider what you think you already know about this mind-blowing film.

Caution: It is highly recommended that you see Inception before reading any further Read the rest of this entry »

Jon Favreau (center) gives direction to Robert Downey Jr. (left) and Don Cheadle (right). *IGN images

For those of you itching to see Iron Man 2, which opens this Friday, we suggest you take a look at a video available at movies.IGN.com that shows multiple snippets from interviews taken with the film’s various stars. Director Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlet Johansson, and Don Cheadle each share interesting nuggets of information about the film and the direction its story decided to take. For those trying to avoid spoilers, have no fear. No major plot points are given. Instead you learn things like Favreau’s intentions, such as that he tried his hardest to avoid what he called “villainitus,” which he claims is the overabundance of bad guys. After Spider-Man 3 received heavy criticism for this, it’s nice to see that Favreau and Paramount can learn from the past.

In other news…

A release date for the next Batman movie has been announced, which will reportedly be July 20th, 2012. The working title is simply Batman 3, which is expected to change once production begins. Chris Nolan is reportedly not officially signed on to direct the project, but is currently working on writing the film’s script with the help of his brother Jonah and writer David Goyer. Stars Christian Bale, Michael Caine, and Gary Oldman are expected to return.

Source: IGN.com

Jason Isaacs

This idea was concocted by a few friends of mine, and I jumped up and down with excitement when they first told it to me. Most of you might recognize Jason Isaacs from his role as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies, or the evil Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot (2000). And those who are more aware of his body of work might agree stronger with the notion that Isaacs is terrific at playing a smarmy bad guy.

The script for the next Batman movie is still in the works, but like everyone else we keep a close eye on all of the rumors that float around, one of which has been that director Chris Nolan is toying with the idea of including The Riddler as one of the next villains. Jim Carrey played The Riddler (aka Edward Nigma) in Joel Schumacher’s 1995 box office sensation Batman Forever, and it is pretty safe to say that Carrey is warmly remembered for his performance in that role. His cartoonish brand of comedy fit well with Schumacher’s vision, which attempted to capture the serial-comic flavor of the 1960s. However, being that Nolan sees the world of Gotham as a much darker, more mature place, goofy doesn’t seem likely to be the direction he’ll go if The Riddler is indeed destined to return to the screen. Enter Jason Isaacs. Read the rest of this entry »