Interstellar

There are some movies that are hard to review. It doesn't mean that such movies are of high quality. It is just that writing about it can reveal too much and take away from the pleasure if the movie was one for the ages. This is one such movie and I will do my best not give too much away about this one.

The Earth is ravaged by blight and humanity's hope for survival looks bleak. It is evident from the posters and trailers that some space travel is involved in search of a solution. Throw a wormhole into the picture and the possibilities are endless. As you watch the film you hope for another Contact but as your excitement grows the finale kind of leaves you a little deflated. Maybe the weight of expectations flattened the balloon.

Rating: * * + 

Poster licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia.

Following

 

It looks a bit familiar: strangers getting involved in each other's lives, pursuing mysterious goals while the story plays out in a non-linear manner. Chris Nolan's dry run before blowing up the premise into a full length feature classic - Memento. All of 60 minutes, its fluid, shot in black & white and gripping. 

It also brought to mind the recent film by Danny Boyle - Trance - which I review next. Couldn't help but feel that Mr. Boyle has a big Nolan monkey on his back and fails miserably to shrug it off.

Rating: * * +

The Dark Knight Rises

Gotham finds itself fairly free of crime in the aftermath of the Harvey Dent's death and the Dent act. Batman seems to have disappeared in to the twilight and Bruce Wayne has turned hermit. With a sinking Wayne Enterprise and a guilt filled Commissioner Gordon, Gotham seems ripe for the picking again. Enter the mysterious Bane. But then there is always Batman. There are hints of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns in the makeup of the film, however the majority of the plot seems to be from Knightfall. Christopher Nolan has also thrown in some hits against Occupy Wall Street though that could be a matter of interpretation. In spite of that the movie turns to be an excellent final piece in Nolan's Batman trilogy.

Rating: * * *

Inception

It must have been the IPAs that I got through earlier in the evening that had me collapsing spontaneously into this latest Chris Nolan movie about dreams and dreams within dreams. It was a big struggle staying in the moment as I was being pulled deeper into the cold warmth of the theatre. With waves of the beery subconscious running through me, the plot helmed by the capable Di Caprio was taking form - the kind that a Chris Nolan can attempt to build and not many others. Dreams are as elusive a subject as any and here it was being manfully deconstructed & subsequently constructed by an A-Team with the sole focus of understanding and influencing life. Brilliant premise. However, through my brief phases of consciousness, I felt that the linkages, those that are critical to any strong plot, were destined to play second fiddle to the brilliance of the premise. It doesn't really matter, there are no alibis in dreams.

Rating: * *                                           

PS: Michael Caine is in the movie for all of 2 scenes. Ellen Page is irritating.

                                

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight continues the fine tradition started by Batman Begins. Akin to how Frank Miller made Batman relevant again in the graphic novel arena, Christopher Nolan has given the brooding hero a breath of fresh intense air on the big screen. In print sometimes a certain character takes over the whole book and somehow enthralls the reader holding him in a vice like grip. Heath Ledger does exactly that in his role of the Joker. The film heralds the arrival of the laughing madman in the life of Batman and shows us the tip of the titanic struggle that will enshroud the rest of their existence. But with the passing of Ledger, one wonders who can replicate his panache and screen presence as the Joker...

Rating: * * *

The Prestige

Lot of hype surrounding the movie - understandable, considering it was Chris Nolan & about magicians. The beginining and the build-up of the story was good - Michael Caine explaining the basic tenets of magic tricks, the manic obsession of the main characters for their craft, and their sheer ruthlessness came across very well.

But the last bit wasn't half as tight as it should have been. I understand that the book, from which the movie was adapted, was different - esp the latter part of the story. Probably explains the sudden dilution of events in the movie. Usual tricks are present: the movie transports the viewer to&fro across time - which sadly is not a novelty anymore. Good performances though from everyone.

A good movie, but certainly not in the same class as Memento.

Rating: * * +