Film Review: "The Dark Knight Rises"

I get tired of having to restate this opinion, but let me verify that I do not spend $15 to see a movie with the expectation, much less the intention, of hating it. Even with this particular film, against which this week has me particularly jaded, I went in with an open heart and a cautious mind, as I do with every film. When you get down to the bare skeleton of it, the film either has to be entertaining or compelling, which is something I can say both previous Batman films from Christopher Nolan did in unison. "Batman Begins" was stunning, insightful, and tightly plotted for the first 70 minutes, and "The Dark Knight" was a nonstop hammering of terrifying notions of terrorism, insanity, and political morality. Moreover, it was a complete piece of cinema, honest and deliberate in all its ideas.

Christopher Nolan has frequently stated that he always devotes himself to the film at hand, not thinking about the future and allowing for there not to be one after the film concludes. I assumed that would go both ways, with films not relying on past sympathy either. In respects to "The Dark Knight Rises", he breaks the promise that each of his films must stand on their own. However few people who go into this film with no previous knowledge of the series will be lost in rushed and extraneous story arcs. It doesn't work as a film on its own, but it doesn't trust the memory of the previous films. Alone, it's a string of plot details carried on from the first two films, but it doesn't tonally reconcile with the first two films in the slightest.

CANNES 2012 REACTIONS: "Rust and Bone"

This seems almost certainly the film that people were keeping an eye on heading into this Cannes Film Festival, but can you blame Jacques Audiard for not being as brilliant as he was with "A Prophet"? Hardly, though there is much of a diverging debate growing on the merits of his latest film, "Rust and Bone". Yes, it is a love story, and it seems that it throws in some sentimentality to the works. The core problem may indeed be that the plot is rather conventional, as many people are accusing the film of. Those hesitations notwithstanding, the grand portion of reviews have been quite positive, if not as ecstatic as Audiard's previous premiere.

Todd McCarthy (Hollywood Reporter): "Audiard’s visual and dramatic approach is glancing, deliberately fragmented, marked by harsh contrasts between bright, bleached-out light and forbidding darkness. Charged emotions are felt and expressed but remain contained and not wallowed in. When Stephanie awakens in the hospital after her accident and realizes what’s happened to her, the dreadfulness of her discovery is palpable. But soon enough it’s absorbed, to the point where she calls Ali to take her on an outing (to the Croisette in Cannes), where he takes her back into the water."

"Rust and Bone" French Trailer

High on the mark of films I am much anticipating on the horizon of this year is Jacques Audiard's "Rust and Bone", starring Marion Cotillard. The actress alone is enough to give me clear indication of quality, but it's Audiard who is the clear draw in my book. Having only seen "A Prophet" from 2009 and none of his previous works, my knowledge of him is sparse at best, but that's something I hope to remedy well in advance of seeing his latest. I'm not about to waltz into another filmmaker's latest endeavor with an incomplete knowledge of their history. Such things are for the birds. In any case, I'm very interested to see what he's got in store this time, and it'll clearly be more than just light entertainment.

Film Review: "Contagion" (**1/2)

Within 10 minutes of "Contagion", I was already catching myself touching my spotty face and letting out a nervous cough, and the slightest scare of paranoia reached me, and other audience members understandably. I'm about to get into a lot of things that I wasn't too fond of in "Contagion", some forgivable, but nonetheless troubling. All the same, I think it's worth mentioning the one thing that Steven Soderbergh does to perfection in this film, which is that central fear of germs and illness that is unavoidable in real life.

If Soderbergh's film has a main character, it's the virus to which it owes its title. From the first moment, it's about the spread of the virus, and how society and the several disease control agencies deal with that problem. There are several characters put to work in the film, and you'd be forgiven for forgetting one or two. Soderbergh packs "Contagion" with all star cast members, none of which hold total focus. Some of them are doctors (Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet), some of them civilians (Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, John Hawkes), and just outside players (Bryan Cranston, Jude Law).

"Contagion" Trailer

I know this film has been building up with one of the greatest ensemble star casts I've seen in a while, not to mention a director like Steven Soderbergh, but I was still surprised by just how intense it all was. Like any virus, it keeps escalating to a terrifying and almost disturbing conclusion. This summer has seen very little excitement, so this fall is shaping up to be the intense roller-coaster I always hope for at the start of each year. Contagion is just another impressive piece of it all.

Film Review: "Midnight in Paris" (***1/2)

Please take a look at the film ratings I've given out recently, and you'll see they've been scaled back, because exceptional work deserves to be seen as just that. I thought I might be kind enough to give Super 8 a complete three stars, but still chipped off 1/2. I thought 1/2 more might be deserving of Kung Fu Panda 2, but it was ultimately not too special. Midnight in Paris was just the right film to knock me back into reality, as it was the first film this year that truly defied my expectations going in. We set such specific standards going into films, and without seeing them it is entirely too easy to make calls on certain features.

It starts out with a series of images documenting modern day Paris from morning to nighttime, and the immediate impact is as something hollow. People walking idly by, shelling out cash in stores, rushing through rain under cover of umbrella, and ultimately not taking advantage of the beauty of the place around them. Wasted potential is a good way of putting it. Then the credits roll, and we hear Gil Pender, played earnestly by Owen Wilson, raving about the beauty of Paris, and how much he wishes he could live there. His fiance Inez, played by Rachel McAdams, is not as convinced.

Gil is a former Hollywood screenwriter trying to punch out his first novel, and he has a decidedly more idealist view of the world than Inez and her parents. Inez comes from the viewpoint of survival rather than passion, much like most of us. She's fascinated with Paul Bates, portrayed by Michael Sheen, a cynical and pedantic pseudo-intellectual who tries his utmost to best anyone else, even to the point of factual disconnect. After a day of sightseeing and wine tasting, Gil walks home drunk on his own and ends up being picked up by an old style car that takes him to the Paris of his dreams.

For Your Anticipation: That Rabbit Hole in Iraq

Suddenly, now that we have some conceivable idea of what Midnight in Paris is, it looks like something considerably more than just your regular Paris travelogue. If I wanted to marvel at the beauty of Paris, I'd either take out my copy of Ratatouille or I'd go to Paris myself. Unfortunately I don't get paid to make deliveries to France, so the transportation of cinema will have to do. However, as beautiful as Paris may be, there's some intriguing story behind Woody Allen's latest. It's not just a look at Paris, but a look at Paris in the 1920s, and I find it so much more rewarding when a film references the period it's set in. With reviews pouring out of Cannes, it's easy to lose your own critical footing, and I remain interested but cautious in terms of this film.

Cannes Coverage 2011: "Midnight in Paris"

Cannes has officially kicked off, and I'm wasting no time in getting to the main attraction. Midnight in Paris, the film releasing in May that I've been most anticipating, opened the festival on a pleasant note. I refrain from noting it as a high note, because that could easily be misleading. The majority of reviews I have read thus far have been positive, which is something of a relief for those worried that Woody Allen would be dishing out another failure. That being said, I don't detect the same sort of emphatic euphoria that many had for Vicky Christina Barcelona. That being said, if reviews aren't stellar, they are favorable.

Brad Brevet (Rope of Silicon): "Like any film dealing with the troubles of a writer, you look for connection to the screenwriter of the film and comparisons are easy to make as you can see where Allen's career itself was inspired by the writers Gil, and seemingly Allen, both hold in high esteem. Midnight in Paris is also not without Allen's jabs at portions of society that may ruffle his feathers. Republican Tea Party comments stirred laughter from all corners of the Cannes international audience and Michael Sheen playing the role of Paul, a pedantic know-it-all friend of Inez's, is a consistent source of amusement, and Sheen absolutely crushes the part."

Teaser Trailer: Midnight in Paris

Still not a fan of Owen Wilson, and I'm not going to start anytime soon, but I actually didn't mind him too bad in this trailer for Midnight in Paris. I thought that he'd be just a small part of an ensemble cast in the film, but it turns out that he's the main character. After I let that initial sense of melancholy get past me, I was able to respect this trailer as a potential return to form for Woody Allen. I obviously don't expect him to pull off an achievement similar to Vicky Christina Barcelona, but this actually seems like a pretty likable crowd-pleaser. That's something that you can't exactly say about most of Woody Allen's films. Maybe it's the wonderful cast, aside from Wilson, or maybe it's Paris' natural charm. In any case, I liked this trailer moderately enough, and it's hard for me to discount a film with Michael Sheen and Marion Cotillard in it.

Oscar 2010 Predictions: Supporting Actress

Not nearly the most difficult race to predict, but also not a walk in the park. This was really a banner year for supporting female performances, and in fact more so than lead female performances. You can tell by the sheer amount of talent that wasn't nominated here, and yet should have been. Mila Kunis was did a fantastic job with what she was given in Black Swan, but the supporting gal that really stole the show for me was Barbara Hershey as Nina's overbearing mother. It's really one of the most tragic performances of the year, embodying somebody who reluctantly gave up her own career to become a mother, and as such is now realizing how she hasn't prepared her daughter properly for the real world. When she's looking up at Nina at the close of the film, you can see it in her eyes.

I could go on about Rooney Mara's stellar-but-short performance in The Social Network, Marion Cotillard's fascinating, multifaceted, and underrated work in Inception, or Mia Wasikowska's sweet and fragile overlooked performance in The Kids Are All Right, but I pretty much just summed them up in a run-on sentence. If there's any actress nominated here who is undeserving of any recognition, it is Helena Bonham Carter for The King's Speech. Don't get me wrong, because I've loved plenty of her past work, but she's the plainest and most uninteresting of the big three characters in the film. You can tell that from the clothing she wears, and you can tell that from her performance. I much preferred her latest turn as Bellatrix Lestrange in Deathly Hallows: Part 1.

I still haven't seen Animal Kingdom, for which Jacki Weaver is nominated, and I've been putting it off because the only ads for the film have been showing off this creepy and demented image of her. Maybe that's one of the big appeals of it, but I'll have to check it out sometime before this Sunday. Amy Adams is up for her work in The Fighter, which almost immediately appealed to me after I saw it. I gather that that's the way it was for most people, because she had such a trashy-yet-sexy attitude about her that seemed pretty authentic, and most people could imagine a girl like that in their neighborhood.

The big fight is between Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit and Melissa Leo for The Fighter, and I've been pretty one-sided for most of this race. At the end of last year, I absolutely loved Steinfeld's brave and beautiful performance, and I still believe that she's the best actress in contention here. However, as for the person who I believe will win and absolutely deserves to win, I have to go with Melissa Leo for The Fighter. After going back to the film, she's really got that ferocity and expression that almost matches her up with Bale's work. That's not even to mention the work she's done in the past. She's been unrewarded for so long, and that should end on Sunday night. If not, then she'll turn in another bravura performance and we'll be right back here again.

1. Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)
2. Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
3. Amy Adams (The Fighter)
4. Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)
5. Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech)

Will & Should Win: Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Potential Upset: Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)
Should Have Been Nominated: Barbara Hershey (Black Swan) OR Rooney Mara (The Social Network) OR Marion Cotillard (Inception) OR Mia Wasikowska (The Kids Are All Right)

"Enveloped In His Rapture"

It's a bit too easy to forget why Inception was such a towering achievement, so consider this a healthy reminder.

1st Annual Nitrate Awards

We've now officially completed this year's inaugural run of the "Best of the Year" segment, and it's definitely been something of a success. It was a little rocky on the finish there, and I apologize for the numerous problems that sprung up in terms of yesterday's "Best Films of 2010" posts. I'll probably not try the whole countdown thing again next year, and just go with simply posting it all up, avoiding all the technical errors that we've been rigorously dealing with these past few weeks. So now the only thing left to do is give my superlatives, and so here is the premiere run of the Nitrate Awards, which we hope to carry on more successfully to next year. Feel free to list your choices in these categories!

Best Picture: True Grit
Best Director: Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
Best Actor: Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
Best Actress: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Best Supporting Actor: John Hawkes (Winter's Bone)
Best Supporting Actress: Marion Cotillard (Inception)
Best Male Cameo: Chris Evans (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World)
Best Female Cameo: Rooney Mara (The Social Network)
Best Breakthrough Male Performance: Kieran Culkin (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)
Best Breakthrough Female Performance: Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)

Fragility, Bravery, and Sexiness: Best Female Performances of 2010

If yesterday's list of the best male performances felt a bit underwhelming, it's because this wasn't so much a year for men. This was a fantastic year for women, so much so that it it's become difficult to place final decisions on those two Oscar races. I've had several favorites throughout the past few months, and I think I've finally got my choices nailed down for both categories. Many are saying that this was a year of newly discovered actresses, which I believe to be a bit of an overstatement. Maybe it's because I had already discovered Chloe Moretz in last year's (500) Days of Summer, not to belittle her efforts this year. I'm hesitant to say she's the next Dakota Fanning, because I hate Dakota Fanning. Nevertheless, her disturbing dark and controversial performances in Kick-Ass and Let Me In have certainly made a name for her.

One of the greater acting showcases this year was The Fighter, which obviously contained the jaw-dropping performance from Christian Bale, but there were also the smaller gems from the film. Amy Adams is probably the most underrated of the group, because she gives a very tough, sexy, and somewhat skanky performance as Mickey's girlfriend Charlene. She gives something a logical compass for the film when Mickey's delusional family comes to misdirect him. Probably the most overrated performance is from Melissa Leo, who I admit gave a fantastic performance as the cancer faced mother of Mickey's family, and the person who really controls all the moves of her blessed white-trash children. However, she's not really given too much of a chance to shine, and her character's purpose is a bit too similar to Bale's character, and it edges on lunacy at times. She's an amazing actress, but this just isn't her time.

This is probably the most daring praise I'll give an actress this year, I was extremely impressed with Tina Fey's voice work on the film Megamind. She joins the ranks of other actors who emotionally transcended the animated genre, most notably Ellen Degeneres in 2003's Finding Nemo. Tina Fey's vocal expression brings a lot of the charm and sexiness to the character of Roxanne Ritchi. Rounding out the actresses who didn't quite make the cut for me is Rooney Mara who had merely two or three scenes in this year's greatest success story, The Social Network, but one of them happens to be the best standalone scene in the film. Her work as Erica Albright, the soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend of Jesse Eisenberg's Mark Zuckerberg, is surprisingly passionate and gives a feminist edge to the predominantly male driven film. The top ten actresses of the year after the jump!

Oscar Lookout: Inception's awards prospects

After taking eighteen paragraphs to write about how much I loved Inception, I've gotten tired of talking about it, so I promise this will be the last you hear about it from me for a while. The film's Oscar prospects have been all over the board, and people are definitely uncertain of how the academy will react. If it were me, I'd have the film up for several major categories. I really enjoyed the film that much, and I think that people agree. The box office estimates for Sunday were about 2.5 million less than what the film actually made, so word of mouth is surely doing wonders for the film.

I think that this film will probably linger on through to awards season, and it will definitely be nominated for Best Picture at this year's Oscars. I'm very certain of that, because that's pretty much why the Academy expanded the field to ten nominations. They did it so that some of the more audience friendly pics would have more of a chance. If they don't have at least three films that grossed north of $200 million nominated for Best Picture, they have pretty much failed. I also believe that Nolan will be nominated for Best Director, because his attention to detail shows up in every frame of the film. It's a crime that he was snubbed in 2008 for The Dark Knight. It won't happen again this year.

The technicals are a lock no matter what. We don't have to worry about nominations in Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Art Design Visual Effects, Film Editing, or Original Score. It may have some trouble nabbing a cinematography nod, but I think it will make it. The screenplay for the film stands a good chance of being nominated, because it's one of the most original works that's been made in a long time. The biggest question mark on the board is the actors. There are reservations about whether or not any of the actors really deserve it, but I think DiCaprio's work this year, split between Inception and Shutter Island, is deserving of a nomination. It would be an unfair snub to cancel him out on that.

As for the supporting work, it is all really fantastic here. I can see Marion Cotillard being nominated for her fractured portrayal of Mal, but the role may be too small for much recognition. On the other hand, Vanessa Redgrave was nominated for six minutes in Atonement, so we can't be too worried about that. Of the supporting actors, if anyone were nominated, I'd have a hard time deciding between Ken Watanabe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Both are exceedingly charming in their roles, and both would be fine nominations. So here are the awards the film has chances at being nominated in: Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Editing, Original Score, Cinematography, Art Direction, Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Supp. Actress (Marion Cotillard), Supp. Actor (Joseph Gordon-Levitt or Ken Watanabe)

Inception Review

After the collosal success of The Dark Knight, everyone was waiting for Christopher Nolan to jump on board for the final installment of his Batman saga. I can't tell you how grateful I am that he didn't. Inception may very well be the film Nolan is remembered for. There have been many vivid interpretations of what dreams really are, but very few of them are as acurate as the ones Nolan presents here. It's obvious that Nolan has done quite a bit of lucid dreaming, because all of the dream logic this film utilizes is very real. It's very hard to break down the outstanding qualities of Inception without literally breaking this review down to focus on different aspects of the production, so here we go.

The Plot: Inception, in case you haven't heard yet, deals with Dom Cobb (Leonardo Dicaprio), an extractor who uses a device to share dreams with other subjects in order to extract information from them. Saito (Ken Watanabe) proposes that Cobb perform inception (planting an idea in someone elses mind) in order to take down a high profile competitor (Cillian Murphy), and in return Dom can return to America and rejoin his children who have been left parentless after the death of his wife Mal (Marion Cotillard). Cobb accepts, and the rest of the film involves his quest to return to his family.

That's as far into the plot as I'm willing to go, because it's really something that you have to experience for yourself. I feel sorry for anybody who gets the ending of the film spoiled to them. Suffice it to say that this is the most original concept that's been explored in years. The last time I remember seeing a truly original science fiction film is WALL-E. Nolan proposes many unique concepts in this film, and tries something that's never been tried before. He never takes the plot of the film further than it needs to go, and it goes pretty far. Nolan respects the journey these characters take too much to compromise that just by putting on the old razzle dazzle.

Many have drawn analogies from this film to The Matrix, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Blade Runner, but oddly enough, the film I most related this film to was Up. I am indeed speaking of the 2009 Pixar film that was nominated for Best Picture this past year. It does seem like a stretch, but they both deal with similar subjects. Both deal with men trying to get over the loss of their wife, and they constantly try to keep them alive. Carl Fredrickson kept his alive through the house they built together. Cobb keeps his wife alive through his dreams. That is the emotional core of the film, and it works splendidly in both cases.

The script by Christopher Nolan is very complex and creative, but once you understand the film, you really do get the chance to relish its creativity. It's clear that Nolan's spent years working on this film, and it was his ambition to challenge audiences integrity. It doesn't become endlessly confusing, and in many ways is refreshingly up front with the audience concerning several plot points. He doesn't weave convoluted and pretentious riddles. He composes simple and heartfelt ones. Inception is a film of the mind and the heart, and it exists on such a grand scale that is nearly impossible to acheive.

The Action: It's hard to keep an audience's attention throughout an entire two and a half hour running time, but then again, it's hard to do just about anything that Inception has done. There isn't a moment in this film when something isn't happening. The action in the movie is at a level higher than anything that regular filmmakers can put together. The action exists both in reality and in the dream world. You get the idea that things are happening in each layer of perception that are preventing Cobb from succeeding. The tension gets continually more palpable as the stakes get higher.

Whereas the action in The Dark Knight felt a little sluggish at times, there is a spontaneity displayed here that keeps us from falling asleep (get it? haha). Of course, a few explosions never hurt, do they? Events that occur in one level of the dream trickle down to the other levels, and it's brilliant just watching it all unfold before our eyes. One of the greatest action scenes, not only in this film, but in any film, is the Joseph Gordon-Levitt's zero gravity hallway fight sequence. It's a little too short for my tastes, but it is so perfect in its execution, that I marvel at how they filmed it without visual effects.

The Cast: This was one of the few instances in which every single actor portrayed on screen was absolutely perfect in their roles. Leonardo DiCaprio has really grown to become one of the best actors of our time. His work in Titanic, like everything else in that film, isn't really spectacular. However, 13 years later, he grown to be able to tell so much about the characters he portrays, even if it's not necessarily on the page. He goes far deeper into his character than Heath Ledger ever did in The Dark Knight, a bold statement, but one I hold on to. Cobb is a deeply flawed human being, and despite being the lead, he's one of the bad guys. He's a criminal and a con man, yet we get behind him.

Lets get to the very core of the character of Cobb. He's a widow, trapped by guilt. He is constantly uncertain of reality. He's a man with several years of experience, and when he says he's the best extractor, that is why. Most of all, he doesn't care too much about moral values. All he cares about is getting home to his family, whatever the cost. One of the brilliant things that Nolan does is take these usually antagonistic characters and give them the proper background to make you feel for them. Many have related DiCaprio's character to his in Shutter Island, but there are some very obvious differences.

Cobb and Marion Cotillard's character, Mal, share the emotional backbone of the film. Heist movies are most often devoid of any emotional value, but Cobb and Mal's story truly brought me to tears. Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose) gracefully embodies the different incarnations of Mal. She appears as both a whole person and a malevolent projection. For a great deal of the film, she isn't a fully rounded character, because she isn't meant to be. She's just a shade of the woman Cobb loved. Not the real thing.

The rest of Cobb's team bring quite a bit to the table. Joseph Gordon-Levitt ((500) Days of Summer) is quickly becoming one of the great rising stars in the business. His performance, while not too deep, is one of the most charming of the group. Ken Watanabe may be one of my favorite actors for the first half of the film when he is most utilized, and he plays a avaricious business man in a way that endears the audience to him, rather than repulses. Tom Hardy hasn't done a whole lot of screen work in his time, but he comes on screen with such an energy that shows that he clearly is having as much fun playing the role as we are watching him do it. Dileep Rao (Drag Me to Hell) plays the geeky scientist that you need in every science fiction film, but he does it to a lessened degree.

Ellen Page plays Ariadne (her name being the only part of the script that seems slighty forced), who is the architect of the dream worlds the team enters. At first she works as a conduit for the audience, asking the questions that we kind of need answered. As the story goes on, she becomes Cobb's closest confidant, and Ellen Page excells in one of her first serious roles. She's just got this fresh young spirit to her that never goes away no matter how many roles she takes. I really want to see her take on some more challenging roles, just so I can see if she can handle it. She probably can.

The other emotional character in this film is Robert Fischer, played by Cillian Murphy. He has various emotional issues with his dying father, and they have really shaped him as the sort of frail yet angry soul needed in order for inception to work on him. As they get deeper in the dream, his emotional arc really comes full circle, and props to Cillian for making it believable. Even the minor characters who have very little to do with the actual story bring what they can to the table. Tom Berenger, Talulah Riley, Lucas Haas, Michael Caine, Pete Postlethwaite, and Michael Gaston all do stunning work in their brief time onscreen.

The Technical Aspects: People can go ahead and bash the brilliant narrative elements all they want, claiming they are too convoluted and coldhearted. That's an opinion based solely on the viewer. That's something that you'll miss out on if you're not careful, and it is something that can be as simple as missing a train. If you give the film the same amount of attention that you'd give another person in a conversation, you should be fine. However, even if you slack off for the entire film (not recommended), you will still be able to fully admire the technical brilliance of the piece. There is so much to admire about this film, other than the story.

The visual effects of the film are top notch, but the film doesn't rely on them. Nolan very firmly believes in filming whatever you can in real environments. There is little to no green screen on this film, but at the points where visual effects are in play, you don't really notice. It's not that they're extremely real, but they just blend in with the look of the environment. Remember those waves that opened up the theatrical trailer, and how I was sure that those were computer generated. Brilliantly enough, they were real. That's the sort of beauty that is rarely captured in life, and props to Wally Pfister for capturing it the way he did.

Pfister's work in the film is amazing as it always is, but this being an action film, there are a few hiccups. The shaky cam is never to the point in which you have no idea what's going on, but it keeps some of the shots from being at the same painterly level as the action shots in The Dark Knight. However, we do get quite a few beautiful shots in this film. The folding city is an amazing sight to see, and I can't wait to see it in IMAX so I can get the full sweep of it. The hallway fight sequence is one of the most brilliantly shot scenes I've come to witness. However, my favorite shot (or rather two shots) of the film is Cobb and Mal on the railway as a train comes rushing forward. Pfister's work here may not earn him his long overdue Oscar, but it'll add another nomination to resume.

The art direction department does splendid work, and they are the true architects of the dream world. It's strangely beautiful at times, and they add to the visual spectacle of it all. The sound editing and mixing is quite something, creating some of the trademark sounds of the film, but it's the score by Hans Zimmer that will be drawing in the audience's ears. I was a little worried when Zimmer said that the score would be very electronic, but I was just to caught up in the epic feel of the music to notice. He's woven so many melodic themes into this film, and the fact that he did it without seeing footage from the film makes it so much more impressive.

Conclusion: For the past two days I have been barrelling through internet chat session where people keep on debating about Inception's quality. Quite a few people keep on saying that the film is in no way a masterpiece, and I tried to keep that in mind while watching the film, but I simply couldn't. The few flaws I did find with the film were forgivable. Inception is, in this reviewer's opinion, a masterpiece by definition. It's a film that's been made by a master of the art who is at the top of his form. My deepest thanks to Christopher Nolan for giving us this. After the film is over, people will want to know what I interpretted of the ending, so I will try to say it as simply as I can while trying not to give away any spoilers. However, out of fear that I will, I place a huge SPOILER WARNING!!!! After two viewings, I stand in the firm belief that the totem topples. Of that I am 100% sure, beyond any reasonable doubt.

A+