Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Marion Cotillard in The Dark Knight Rises?

There are a couple of The Dark Knight Returns news/rumors I wanted to tell everyone about.  Both have to do with casting and both are very interesting.  The first is very interesting.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been cast in the film.  It's a bit old news too, but I was waiting for the character to be announced, which it hasn't been yet.  There are a bunch of characters JGL could be playing, but this will reunite him with Director Christopher Nolan, and co-star Tom Hardy, who has been cast as Bane. 

I like JGL a lot and think he will do well no matter who he plays.  My guess at this point is Dr. Hugo Strange.  Strange is an evil doctor who conducts inhumane tests on the prisoners of Arkham Asylum.  But, most of the fan sites think he'll play Alberto Falcone, son of Carmine Falcone who was portrayed by Tom Wilkinson in Batman Begins.  Hold that thought, and let me tell you the next bit of casting rumor.

So we have the same director and 2 stars of Inception in this upcoming Batman film.  Make that 3 stars?  The latest rumor is that Marion Cotillard is joining the cast!  This is great!  I love her, I think she is stunningly beautiful and an amazing actress at that.  It is just rumor mind you.  But I love who she is rumored to play!

A few months ago, I wrote about all the possible actresses that were auditioning for the movie and what roles they were up for.  One of the roles rumored was that of Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Ras al Ghul.  Ras was played by Liam Neeson in Batman Begins.  Do you see where I'm going with this? 

We've been hearing that this is the last Nolan Batman film; and that it will bring Bruce Wayne's story full circle.  So having the children of two villains in Batman Begins come into the fold makes sense.  The son of Falcone and the daughter of al Ghul plotting revenge sounds intriguing.  There's one really big problem, too many villains!

We've seen this over and over again in comic book movies.  All of this is rumor, but if it's true, 4 villains (can't forget about Catwoman and Bane), are too much.  I have no doubt in my mind Nolan will make an amazing movie, but let's hope its done in a way that it doesn't become Spider-Man 3 or Batman & Robin.  We'll see, but I am exciting by the casting that is happening on The Dark Knight Rises.

"Inception" Review

It's one of the most anticipated films in years. It is directed by one of the most innovative and intelligent directors in the industry (Christopher Nolan). It has an all-star cast. Before watching the movie, did we know what it was about? Not exactly. All I knew about Inception was that it involved dreams. And the party began.

What I liked about the film:
Originality
We are in a new age of cinema. The studios are after preexisting properties that will offer up huge profits because of their built-in audience and merchandising possibilities. So when an original idea comes around, it's very very refreshing. Original and refreshing say it all when it comes to Inception. The movie cant be tied down to any one particular genre of film. It is science fiction, action, thriller, heist film, and above all else, it's intelligent.

Nolan creates a modern world where people insert themselves into our dreams to steal our deepest secrets. The primary arc of the film is attempting a new concept in dreams: inception. The concept that someone could plant an idea into our deepest subconscious so that it because a part of our thinking in reality... brilliant!


The Cast
Cillian Murphy is the target of the primary heist. He is the son of a very wealthy, self-made man. Murphy is set to take over his father's empire and the group want to attempt inception on him so he breaks up his empire in an attempt to "be his own man".


Ken Watanabe is Saito, Murphy's competition. He hires the group of dream thieves in hopes of financially benefiting from the inception of Murphy.

Leonardo DiCaprio is the leader of the group. He is a hired gun to corporations who need him to steal information from their competitor's subconscious.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is DiCaprio's right hand man. He is very skilled in the dream world and knows all the rules of it.

Ellen Page is an architecture student brought in to build the elaborate world necessary to pull off the inception in Murphy's character.

Tom Hardy is one of the coolest characters in the film. He has the ability to manipulate the way he looks in the dream world, which is necessary to the success of the team.

Dileep Rao plays a chemist in charge of keeping the team sedated long enough to pull off the heist. He is a vital part of the team.

Then there is the amazing Marion Cotillard, DiCaprio's wife in the film. She, in the most creative of ways, plays the antagonist of the film. You see, because the entire team is in the dream world together, every character's subconscious is part of the world. DiCaprio's troubled past with his wife has made her the villain to the entire crew.

It must be easy for Christopher Nolan to assemble such an amazing cast; every actor/actress in Hollywood wants to work with him. And why wouldn't they? He gives life and meaning to his characters like very few writer/directors can. What I loved, and what I've sort of mentioned above, is how vital each character is to the story. That's something I've always praised Nolan for. Nothing is put in his films simply for the sake of putting it in; it all has a meaning and a purpose.


The Writing
Nolan just does NOT get the credit he deserves for his writing; that also goes for the co-writer of Inception, Christopher's brother, Jonathan. I am going to be careful in this part of the review not to give anything away. If I say minor spoiler, I'm not giving anything away that will ruin your experience, major spoiler will, you get the picture.

[MINOR SPOILER]
I will give you just one example of the writing. To achieve the inception into Murphy's character, one level of the dream world will not be enough. The team has tried, and succeeded by attempting a dream within a dream, that's two levels of the dream world. For Murphy's character, the team will attempt a third level of dreaming, how awesome is that!? Three, simultaneous dream worlds, as well as reality to keep track of, without losing the audience. This is where you see the Nolan brothers greatness in writing. They progress the story without losing us along the way.
[END MINOR SPOILER]

The Action/Special Effects

I did not expect the action that was Inception. In every level of the dream world there are "projections" that come after the crew. These projections are essentially the same as the Agents in The Matrix. But there are guns and explosions galore in this film, and the special effects are spectacular. In one particular scene, we see Ellen Page's character toy with the physics of the dream world. Some of the tricks she plays are in the trailer, but there is obviously more in the movie. Well done in this department.


The Editing
[MAJOR SPOILER]
During the third level of the dream world, the level in which the team was to attempt the inception, Murphy's character dies. Well the team quickly explains that a FOURTH level of dream world is not only possible but necessary to achieve the inception. DiCaprio and Page's character go to the fourth level to resurrect Murphy's character back into the third level. Why am I telling you this spoiler? Read on.
[END MAJOR SPOILER]

The editing is the best I have ever seen. Let me say this again, the BEST I HAVE EVER SEEN. Lee Smith and Christopher Nolan had an unimaginable task at hand. The climax of the movie takes place at multiple levels of the dream world, AT THE SAME TIME. The editing was crucial to the audience's experience.

Earlier in the film, it's explained that five minutes of sleep in the real world is an hour in the first level of the dream world, 12 hours in the second level, etc. So the climaxes at different levels in the dream world have to coincide at differing speeds before all of the characters wake up from their sleep. The characters at the higher levels of dream have more time than the characters at lower levels of the dream world to achieve their tasks. All of this is done BRILLIANTLY!

What I didn't like about the movie:
The Subplot
The movie's plot is some of the best material ever written for the big screen. Too bad the same can't be said about the subplot of the film. Without giving anything away, the subplot of the movie has to do with DiCaprio's troubled past with his wife, as I mentioned earlier. I see where it was necessary to explain certain plot points, but I have to criticize Nolan's choice to bring this subplot to the forefront. I did, however, enjoy Cotillard playing the antagonist as a "projection" due to DiCaprio's subconscious; very creative work.

Ellen Page's Character
I really like Page. I think she's a great young actress who doesn't necessarily fit any one particular Hollywood mold. Her character is vital to the mission at hand. She has to build the entire dream world the crew is in, at multiple levels. Her character is used as a vehicle to explain the rules of the dream world to the audience. Forgiven Mr. Nolan, the movie is too good to be upset by this.

FattMatt introduced me to Mr. Nolan back in 2000 with his amazing Memento. It was creative, innovative, emotional and awe inspiring film making. The film made headlines, not only for its mind trip of a plot, but for its logistical approach to storytelling. Wait, the movie is told backwards? What? How? Trust me, it works, and it's brilliant.

Insomnia was another film I enjoyed where Nolan took us on a trip of the mind. We know he is what saved Batman with his new take on the character. The Batman films have shown us he can handle a blockbuster. Inception is the culmination of all of Nolan's work. It is the blockbuster that Hollywood needs to save face in the God-awful summer of movies. It is the mind trip that made movies like The Matrix legendary. The movie will require a second viewing, that's for sure; but not because I feel like I missed something. But rather because I enjoyed the movie so much, it was so detailed, there was so much dialogue, I want to experience it again.

Thank you, Mr. Nolan, thank you, Mr. DiCaprio, for restoring my faith in movies and originality. You have no idea what this movie has meant to me. Thank you.

Guest Review: Tanya M: "Public Enemies"

“Public Enemies” is one of the greatest ‘criminal’ movies I have ever seen.
Yes. That’s huge.
I loved so many things about this movie I don’t even know where to start.

Let's start with the story. The movie is about one of the greatest gangsters from the Depression era, John Dillinger (Johnny Depp). Based on a book about Dillinger, this movie is said to be the most accurate retelling of his life. Dillinger is a bank robber whose charisma and Robin Hood-like character make him the people’s hero, but his success and ability to jump prisons make him the law enforcement’s number one ‘public enemy.’ The FBI creates a special division to bring down Dillinger and his counterparts. The man they ask to head the division is Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale). That, without giving away anything, is the story.

The beauty of this movie is not so much the story but the way in which the director brings it to life. Michael Mann takes an epic movie and adds the artiness of an indie. He seamlessly weaves different forms of storytelling, with random shots that should seem out of place but instead just create a beautiful, eclectic piece of art. And that is what this film really is – ART. So, while I can understand how some people might find parts of the story a bit slow, or things a little too mismatched, I find that those elements made the story that much better.

Then there’s Johnny.
I was trying to explain this to someone but couldn’t but I’m going to try again. Ok. So, there’s a scene in the beginning of the movie and Johnny has to make this decision in the back of a getaway car (that’s all I’ll say) and after he makes the hard, but right, call he turns and just frowns… but I swear I’ve never seen this man’s face frown this way before. Like I’ve never seen his mouth bend down on the sides that way before. I have this innate ability to catch on to mannerisms in different actors but this man does what an actor is supposed to do and creates new mannerisms for each new character he portrays. I’m telling you, and I know how crazy this sounds, I saw this scene and my mouth dropped. I could go on about his accent, his walk, the way he jumps over the bank counter… but I’ll just say that Johnny Depp does not disappoint in this one. The same goes for Christian Bale, again, another amazing performance. Also, for the people who care, the scenes they share are fun to watch – but there aren’t nearly enough. The star-studded cast also includes the amazing Marion Cotillard. No one disappoints. Oh and for the fans of Channing Tatum – he’s in the movie! It’s short, because let’s face it the man has the looks but that’s about it at this point.

Something that really made the movie amazing for me is the way they played with the music and sound effects. Some scenes were eerily quite, reminiscent of “No Country for Old Men,” they rely exclusively on the power of the actor’s voice. Other scenes not only use music to explain things, the music becomes a part of the storyline. I can’t explain it better than that.

After the movie was over I learned some interesting things like the fact that the whole movie only covers a 13-month period – which doesn’t mean much until you see the film. Also, a number of scenes were filmed in the actual locations in which they occurred.

I went to see "Public Enemies" with two other girls who have very different tastes in movies, and all three of us loved the movie. I’ve read the reviews, I understand what the critics haven’t liked and I understand that this story has been told before, but I disagree with the argument that this movie is unneeded.

“Public Enemies” is a thoroughly enjoyable, well-made movie that serves as a much-needed break from this summer’s line of cheap commercial hits.