Inception (2010)

Couple of years back I had watched a movie called “Memento” that was so convoluted and mind-numbing that I had to watch it twice to really enjoy the finer intricacies that it possessed. Back then, I also watched a movie called “The Matrix” that was such a big visual treat that I hardly paid attention to the story the first time around. And very recently I happened to see something called “Inception” that not only provided the same level of visual treat as the latter but was also as respectful of the viewer’s intelligence as the former. To summarize it, “Inception” is a movie buff’s dream (totally unintentional pun!!)come true!!
To try summarizing the movie’s plot would be a gross injustice to ten year’s worth of effort that Nolan put into this, so I would just describe a global overview of the scheme of things. Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an “extractor” who steals ideas from a person’s mind by sharing their dreams. During one such job, he meets Saito (Ken Watanbe), who wants him to do something similar but much more difficult- plant a fresh idea in someone’s mind or an “inception” without making the other person realize that the idea is not his own. If you want to pull off a big one like that, you need the best and therein lies one of the biggest strengths of the movie- its amazing ensemble cast.
Cobb’s team is formed of “The Point Man”(Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who happened to be my favorite character just for remaining so wonderfully unfazed in the midst of all the action. “The Architect” (Ellen Page), who designs the dream world; being new to all this herself allows the character to also serve as an able audience’s guide to the world. “The Forger”, ably played by Tom Hardy, meanwhile is nice comic relief at times with his deadpan sense of humor. Along with them we also have “The Chemist” (Dileep Rao), and Cobb’s dead wife or “The Shade” who slowly reveals pages of Cobb’s dark past, every time she appears. The fact that the entire movie is happening at different levels of the dream, allows for each of these characters to flourish in their unique importance.
Much has been written about the confusing nature of the plot with multiple level of story-telling but to me, it wasn’t very difficult to follow. Maybe having been forewarned by my peers that the script would be hard to comprehend, I was perhaps watching every scene too intricately! Direction by Nolan is exquisite to say the least, neither as abstract in its uniqueness as “Memento” nor too self-absorbed in its twists like “The Prestige”. The entire cast led by DiCaprio, shine in perfection and there is a delightful little cameo by Nolan favorite Michael Caine to make things more interesting.
While the script, direction and the acting are top-notch, it’s the technical aspects of the movie that towers it heads and shoulders above any other movie released before. The scenes of dreams collapsing, Paris folding onto itself, the gravity-defying fight sequences in the hallway are just some examples that will get adrenaline pumping into your veins. The surprising thing is that in essence, each of these sequences are rather simple in concept but you never get the impression due to their grandeur. The icing on the cake is the pulsating soundtrack by Hans Zimmer that hammers home the effect of each and every frame.
If the Academy does not give Nolan an Oscar nod (if not the actual award), then I would quit watching them! All in all, “Inception” is one of those rare films of 2010 that you would want to watch again and again If not for anything, maybe just to have a clearer understanding of the final frame of the movie that Nolan uses to tease the viewer with!!
RATING: ****1/2 (out of 5)

SURROGATES (2009)

Imagine that you are watching any of the Terminator movies and then suddenly you realize that the menacing robots are actually humans! “Surrogates” has a plot that actually looks something like that. The end result though is nor humorous nor exciting but somewhere in between.
The movie begins by tracing the evolution of the “Surrogates” across the ages. They are robotic forms controlled by humans in the real world, while they stay in the safe environs of their home. Something like Neo hooking onto and entering the matrix!! But the difference here is that while the Surrogates can be destroyed, their human controllers remain unharmed. The entire world uses them to carry out their daily work. But there also exist a group of humans led by the Prophet (a barely noticeable Ving Rhames), who resist the use of surrogates and they live in machine free zones resisting their use. This system has led to an almost non-existent crime rates and general peace in the world.
But things are about to change when a gruesome murder takes place of a Surrogate who happens to be the son of the discoverer of Surrogacy. The incident not only destroys the Surrogate but also happens to kill its controller by frying the controller’s brain!! In comes investigators Tom Greer (Bruce Willis) and Peters (Radha Mitchell). They soon realize that a human has the possession of a weapon that can kill both the Surrogates and its owner. The clue to the murder lies on who made the weapon and for what purpose.
While the plot may look a wee bit interesting but the movie hardly is. In fact, it is difficult to tell what the movie is aiming to be: a thriller, a mystery, an action or a full blown science-fiction. The sub-plot of death of Greer’s son and his relationship with his wife (Rosamund Pike) is hardly explored. Bruce Willis almost sleepwalks through his role while Radha Mitchell has little scope to display her acting prowess. Rosamund Pike is as unemotional as all the Surrogates in the movie (it might be intentional but comes naturally to her!!). Some of the action is pretty well shot but why were the Surrogates jumping and flying in the air like G.I.Joe’s??
All in all, Surrogates ends up as the movie that you can only watch when you have nothing else to do and you are as bored as me!!
RATING: ** (out of 5)