Inception is the rare film which is critically acclaimed, visually stunning, and a box-office success. Reviews advertised that the plot would be complicated but anyone who possesses the ability to note details and a short-term memory of at least two hours should be perfectly fine. Unfortunately, cinema-goers who screened Shutter Island will be distracted by similar plot themes and Leonardo DiCaprio’s nearly identical performance. What is real? What is imagined? Where does reality end and dreams begin? Too many films have covered this question and this detracts from the film’s appeal. I was bracing for an ultimate clichéd twist but …
The Dark Knight and The Graduate
Over the weekend I watched two films, The Dark Knight in IMAX and The Graduate on DVD. Directors Christopher Nolan and Mike Nichols created two excellent films but only one of the two is truly an all-time great (despite what IMDB’s All-Time Ratings indicate at the moment). On the six-storey IMAX screen, The Dark Knight is spectacular. Panoramic shots are crystal clear and one can appreciate the scale of Gotham City. The monologues and dialogues are even more intense; the size of the presentation does great justice to the performances of Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, and Aaron Eckhart. But the …