Inception - Christopher Nolan - 2010

★★★★★-Last movie from my Christopher Nolan rewatch before going into Oppenheimer. Saved my favorite, going in at least, for last. What a goddamned mindfuck of a movie. I LOVE Nolan. All of his films are spectacular. He is a true genius. One of only a handful currently making pictures. I believe this is his best movie. I watch it at a rate of every six years. Saw in the theater, in 2016, and just the other day. While I think I might understand it more, my brain can only take so much. That's what happens when we get dreams within dreams to the god knows what degree. 

The gist is Leonardo DiCaprio plays a professional thief who steals information by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets. He's an international criminal who is offered the job of implanting an idea into the subconscious of a target (played by Cillian Murphy). In exchange, he'll have his record expunged. 

That's the short gist, of course. The film is extraordinarily complex with the thieves entering dreams, within dreams, within dreams. Like six levels of this. This flick is the ultimate mindfuck.

Written and directed by Nolan, who also produced the film with his wife Emma Thomas. Ensemble cast includes DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Murphy, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Page, Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, Tom Berenger, and Michael Caine. What a crop.

Won four Oscars (Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects) and was nominated for four more (Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Original Score) at the 83rd Academy Awards. Lost out to The King's Speech, one of the many miscarriages of justice, that film winning. Was up against what I think is the second best film of this century in The Social Network.

Could have lived with this film winning as well. Can read it in about 10 different ways. What it means, how it ends, so forth. I find it incredible that this isn't at the top of everyone's list of best Nolan movies. However, I will grant that his top three are all unquestioned masterpieces, and all of his films are great. Off the success of one of those masterpieces, The Dark Knight, the emboldened Nolan went full Nolan.

High-concept, big budget, character-driven art house film that was the culmination of everything he'd learned up to that point. A master craftsman at the top of his game firing on all cylinders making a superb film that requires multiple viewings to appreciate. I loved it the first watch, my first IMAX viewing. I have loved it infinitely more with each viewing, and it's been a different watch every time. Challenging and rewarding. This is a top five film of this century. It is genuine movie magic. 

Dunkirk - Christopher Nolan - 2017

★★★★★ - Christopher Nolan is an absolute genius. He is in my top five filmmakers of all time. I love all of his films. This might be his best.

Tells of the Dunkirk evacuation through the perspectives of the land, sea, and air. Chronology is all over the place before coming together at the end. Has what he calls a “snowballing effect” where everything connects but is made clear in the third act. This is something he does in most of his movies to great effect.

Stellar cast includes Aneurin Barnard, Kenneth Branagh, James D'Arcy, Tom Glynn-Carney, Tom Hardy, Barry Keoghan, Jack Lowden, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Harry Styles in his film debut, and Fionn Whitehead. Mostly character actors that you know, but not by name.

The film is the highest-grossing World War II film of all-time, which is nuts, earning $527 million worldwide. Dunkirk received praise for its screenplay, direction, musical score, sound effects and cinematography; some critics called it Nolan's best work, and one of the greatest war films. The film received various accolades, Received eight nominations for the 90th Academy Awards including for Best Picture and Best Director (Nolan's first directing nomination) and won three for editing.

What is crazy is Nolan conceived the film in the 1990s before ever making a feature film when he and his future wife Emma Thomas sailed across the English Channel along the path the small boats took in the evacuation. However, Nolan didn't set out to make it until he had acquired sufficient experience directing large-scale action films, wanting to do it right.

Features an economy of dialogue instead creating suspense from cinematography and music. Historically accurate, apparently, if you care about such things. However, the characters were fictional.

My overall takeaway was the film is truly breathtaking. Wish I would have seen it in IMAX. It might be my favorite WWII movie. I was glued to the screen the entire time.

Dark Knight Rises - Christopher Nolan - 2012

★★★-The Dark Knight Rises. I'm Gotham's reckoning. Here to end the borrowed time you all have been living on. Christopher Nolan directed movie from 2012. The third movie in his Dark Knight trilogy. His eighth film overall. Don’t buy the critical consensus. This is a solid flick, but not a great one. 

Gist is that Batman returns after nearly a decade after the events of the previous movie, The Dark Knight. This is after the Joker's reign made Batman a public enemy. Now, the League of Shadows has returned to create terror for the citizens of Gotham. Led by Bane, the group isolates the city from the outside world with the threat of detonating a nuclear bomb and killing 13 million people. Batman returns to save the city and take down the League for good. 

Christian Bale returns as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Also staring in the flick were Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Gordon, Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, Tom Hardy as Bane, Marion Cotillard as Miranda Tate, Joseph Gordon Levitt as John Blake, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. 

Best two scenes of the movie are the opening one with the plane crash. Followed by the football scene which is great. Weird to follow up Batman and Bane chilling and talking with pure chaos. Love how they are cut off and Bane comes out and tells them all who is white before killing Pavel, the only one who can save them. “ We give it back to you, the people.” About the time they are freeing the “oppressed,” I’d start questioning this. 

Fight scenes are bad. Obvious misses and slow haymakers that land. Nolan hasn’t made a bad movie. Momento is his best though. 

There is a little bit of nonsense. Plot holes or whatever. Batman’s vertebrae protruding for example. Falling with a rope ran your waist with a bad back isn’t a winning strategy. Some free solo shit. 

Cast is stellar. Tom Hardy, of course, is insane. But just go with it. His voice is dumb, yeah, but I still love that dude. Even when he makes a lot of old man noises whilst dying. Peak Tom Hardy. At least at his most Tom Hardy. 

How is Joseph Gordon Levitt not a star? Anne Hathaway is straight fire. She is not a fighter though. Probably my third favorite Catwoman, but out of the seven I can think of off the top of my head, they are all pretty fire. Post peak Christian Bale. He is my favorite Bruce Wayne and Batman not in costume. Keaton is my favorite Batman. But Bale is more physical. He would probably be the best but the voice is terrible. “Tell me where the trigger is then you have my permission to die.“ Boo. Lot of hubris there. General rule for Batman in this universe is just stop talking. 

Notice the pop star chick from Ted Lasso is in this. Hangs out with Catwoman mostly. 

Gets a little weak when it gets sentimental. Dig the League of Shadows, but you can’t be the Unabomber and be taken seriously. All makes for a week last 20 minutes. Then DB Sweeney shows up. Also, Matthew Modine redeems himself and then dies off-screen. Um, OK. 

I’m fine with a happy ending. I guess I think it’s just sort of whatever. Explain it all with some auto pilot stuff which is easy to mess and sort of feel sandwiched in.