"Inception" review

Tired of waiting for somebody else to bring William Gibson’s Neuromancer to the big screen, Christopher Nolan has clearly turned frustration into creativity and written his own version of the story to make. However, with Inception, we aren’t dealing with the internet or the “matrix”, but with dreams. The idea is basically the same. Thieves try to break into dreams and people try to hide within them.

What I like about Inception is that it is what it is: a heist movie. It’s a tight, clean-cut sci-fi tinged thriller with no grand, reality shifting twist to second guess or new plane of amazement to attempt to wow audiences with in the final reel. All the film asks you to do is listen, concentrate and remember. If you don’t… then you’re lost.

I was surprised I enjoyed Leonardo DeCaprio for once. You completely forget you’re watching that annoying twit from Titanic and just get drawn into the world of his character. I also enjoyed the performances of 3rd Rock From The Sun’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt (now all grown up and sporting some very flattering sharp suits) and Tom Hardy (who’s throaty Brit accent is to die for and his line reading is wonderfully frank and fresh).

I was disappointed by Ellen Page, who I loved so dearly in Juno. Her purpose in this movie is to soak up exposition. She’s the “newbie” character who needs things explaining. In effect, she’s our insider, we watch her and hear what she asks in order to understand the world of Inception. Unfortunately she doesn’t fit the role very well and quite often gets vocal intonations wrong whilst delivering a string of dry feed lines for the other actors/characters to play off.

The role of Cillian Murphy could have done with a little more clarity and moral definition. As the pawn in a very confusing game he is neither good nor bad, however since so much in the narrative is rested on his character’s decisions then this ambiguity leads perilously close to letting go of the viewer’s attention towards the end.

In summary, I enjoyed Inception for the complex suspense/espionage thriller that it is. Unlike The Matrix, it won’t change your perception or make you want to discuss what is real and what isn’t. Inception is clear on that: what’s real is real, when it’s not real then you can tell by the people walking on the ceiling.

The right place, the right time, the wrong people

Well it looks like my girlfriend has found a friend to temporarily rent a room whilst I’m away. She’s not looking forward to being alone for six months so when this person mentioned that they were desperate for a place to stay after Christmas well, this is one inn-keeper who had a room available. Not that this friend is Mary Christ, but it is the season of charity and good will. They came by yesterday to check the room out and seemed pretty happy with it… so we shall see.

I’ve been having ups and downs with my reduction in medication. Fingers crossed I’m slowly but surely levelling out. My girlfriend is going through the same thing and she’s been having a rough time too. I’m glad we both understand each other.

My CRB check for college still hasn’t come through yet. If it’s not done by the 20th then my place on the course will be delayed. I’m not sure how I’ll feel about it. I’m sort of hoping it’ll be delayed till September so that I begin the year with the regular intake. It’ll be hard to fit in when/if I start in January. Sigh.

Yesterday we went for Christmas drinks at a friend’s house. She has lots of acquaintances in the medical profession so there were lots of loud posh people there fighting to speak. We started feeling awkward and slightly out of place so left early. I’m don’t feel guilty about it, I really was about to tell some people to shut up, lol.

I did some last minute present shopping yesterday. I think my girlfriend will be pleased with what I’ve got her. I’ve probably spent about £200, so if she isn’t, oh well, at least I know I’ve tried.

We’re going to a carol concert tonight and then a regular music gig in town. I’m not really in the mood for either and could do with them being cancelled. What with my medication reduction and all I’m just not in a socialising sorta place right now.

I’ve watched that new Star Trek film on dvd a couple of times now (after seeing it first in the cinema) and I’m really starting to like it more and more. It is a bit cheesy, but on repeated viewings you do get over it and just enjoy the fun and novel filmmaking employed by J J Abrams.

I’ll report back on tonight’s events. Gawd I hope we don’t end up going.

Snowmen, firemen and little green men

Well the snow’s finally melted away, although there’s talk of more on the way. The news has been full of all sorts of panic mongering lately regarding the weather and local council financial cuts. They do like to scare people. I’m sure things won’t be as bad as they say, so I’m thinking positive.

I’ve bought most of my girlfriend’s Christmas presents and spent nearly £200 in the process. I hope she likes what I’ve gotten her. I’m looking forward to seeing what she’s got me.

I start college in January, although that might be delayed if the results of my (clean!!) CRB check don’t come back in time. My place will have to be deferred until September, I guess. Which will be a mountain’s worth of shite.

I’ve gone down a dosage on my antidepressants. I was starting to worry that they were effecting my creativity. After a week of being on only one pill a day I’ve found myself thinking more about my stories. Coincidence? Who knows.

My girlfriend is working a lot and still overloading herself with things to do. We don’t see a great deal of each other these days outside of the usual evenings after work.

We visited her aunt at the weekend and spent most of the evening there. I didn’t say much as I think the lower dosage of medication was messing with my head a bit. Hopefully it’ll level out eventually. We also went to Wentworth garden centre and got pushed around by grumpy pensioners buying tat and had an okish Christmas dinner.

We keep saying to each other that we love spending time together, but for some reason my girlfriend keeps making arrangements that don’t involve us being together. I’m really starting to feel redundant and isolated. Maybe it’s just the pills again.

I’ve bought the third Predator film and the two Aliens vs Predator films on dvd so I can have a marathon of all three franchises. I’m not sure when this’ll take place, maybe when I go away to college. But basically I need a good eighteen hours free. Oh gosh, I just realised how long that was. Shit. I thought it was nine films = nine hours. But it’s not. Hmmm. How about six in the morning to midnight. That’s about eighteen hours. I’ll have to rethink this.

Can you see how I prioritise my life? I have a very weird view on what’s really important. Well, maybe not weird… misguided. Yes, that sounds better.

We had some firemen visit us yesterday to do a Health & Safety check of the house. They were very friendly and I made lots of fire-based jokes which typically fell flat. Oh well. This visit has led to my girlfriend booking some plasterers to come and redecorate the ceiling in the kitchen… so on Friday I’ll be babysitting alpha-males with ladders, oh joy. I hate sitting around waiting for workmen. I’m turning into a disgruntled housewife.

Righty, need to take a wander to Tesco and buy some toiletries. Fun, fun, fun.

Bastards, butchers and bums: Hard Target

Last night I dusted of this Jean-Claude Van Damme starring Hollywood debut from renowned action director John Woo. I was terribly worried that I’d be embarrassed by my consistent assertion over the years that it’s still the only decent film that Woo has made in America. I wasn’t really in the mood to back track and spend time re-evaluating things, but realised I might have to.

Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable and well crafted the film still felt.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s a very silly film, but everybody involved in it seems to be trying their hardest to make it better than perhaps it’s budget would have allowed it to be. That’s not to say everybody takes the experience too seriously, as there’s a lot of lightness and fun in the right places, but some elements to the film are better than you would expect them to be.

Whilst Van Damme is reliably stone faced and intense as loner Chance Boudreaux his support cast really do shine and bolster the heart and soul of the action. A surprise standout is South African Arnold Vosloo (later to turn up in the Mummy series) who’s menacing demeanour is counterbalanced nicely by his cheeky bad-boy asides (not to the camera though, thank goodness). His performance is very natural and human, rather than two-dimensional and one-note.

Also on board is cinematographer Russell Carpenter who went on to lens James Cameron’s True Lies and Titanic… and you can tell that Hard Target must have helped him to get those valuable assignments. His lush oranges and blues are all in check and the waxy tone to his pallet is very rich and an interesting texture. He seems to have learnt a few things from the great Freddie Francis.

Most importantly, though, this isn’t a film that meanders. It could possibly be compared to the Liam Neeson kidnap thriller Taken for it’s tight construction. There isn’t a second wasted in Hard Target. Yes there are plot, character and emotional development scenes, but they don’t outstay their welcome or slow the pace. They are all key moments and aren’t cast aside as perfunctory. They all lay the foundations for the adventures to come.

So, why “bastards, butchers and bums”? Well, it suddenly occurred to me afterwards at how poorly men, as a gender, seem to be represented in the film. Hard Target shows a world full of destitute ex-soldiers living a rough and desperate existence, callous pornographers taking advantage on the vulnerable, malevolent and murderous businessmen who hunt for sport and crooked doctors who conceal and tamper with evidence for their own gain. Even random men in the street are unhelpful and refuse to provide sanctuary to characters being hunted to their deaths. I suppose Hart Target could be watched as a double-bill along with Once Upon A Time In America, a film thought to be let down by many critics as only portraying women as either “saints or whores”.

The balance seems to be lost in both films.