What I learned from Inception

There are all kinds of movies that defy a description.  To say that Inception is Christopher Nolan's movie about a guy who can infiltrate people's dreams to extract secrets on behalf of industrial espionage is like saying the Statue of Liberty is a tall, green, woman who stands on an island in New York City's harbor.  Both are true, but neither description captures the experience of seeing them.  So, to avoid selling it short, I'll just describe what I learned from watching the movie. 

1.  Leonardo DiCaprio's acting skills continue to improve, particularly when his hair doesn't become an issue. 

2. The experience of falling and then startling awake is more universal than I expected. 

3.  Ellen Page has risen above her previous role as a smart-alecky teen.  She can also be a smart-alecky young adult.  Also, she can show emotion and do a great job as DiCaprio's conscience. 

4.  I still love Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  See The Lookout and (500) Days of Summer. 

5.  Ken Wantanbe was terrific in The Last Samurai (best part of the film) and somehow forgot how to enunciate - I think it missed almost half of his dialogue.

6.  Physics is what keeps us from walking up walls, and that you can't fall in zero gravity, but that an elevator might help.  Seriously, the special effects were terrific, particularly JGL's fight scene, but I think they missed a terrific opportunity for seriously trippy effects. 

7.  Marion Cotillard has added bad-ass to her skills at morose and annoying. 

I really, really liked the movie, I promise.  Imaginative, gripping, mysterious, and thoroughly rewatchable, if only to understand all the things you missed before.  4.5 of 5 stars/lambs

Sherlock Holmes: Review

I would have gone to see any movie with Robert Downey, Jr., but I was also excited to see a new big-screen adaptation of the great characters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as I didn't know much about them. Downey, Jr. plays Holmes, with Jude Law as Dr. John Watson, and Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler, and American con artist thief (and the love of Holmes). We first see Holmes and Watson stopping a ritualistic murder, and catching the serial killer. During the ensuing months Watson begins the process of moving out of their rooms to marry a young woman named Mary. Holmes does all he can to thwart their match, as he doesn't want to lose Watson (their bromance is both taken seriously and played for laughs and definitely reminded me of House and Wilson on "House, M.D." in that Watson protects Holmes from himself, and Holmes is fiercely loyal to Watson and secretly loves Irene). Holmes is going stir-crazy trying to find challenging things to do, as all his offers of work seem silly. However, at the time their serial killer is to be hanged, Holmes and Watson get drawn back into a much larger investigation surrounding the man about to die. The whole story is reminiscent of Indiana Jones, with mysticism and mystery, but as it is Sherlock Holmes, ultimately, it's more like a Victorian Age Mentalist.
The acting, directing, story-telling and overall look of the movie are terrific. The one complaint I had was the difficulty in understanding the rapid-fire, mumbled dialogue. I was always a few moments behind understanding the terrific dialogue, which does make the experience a bit tiresome. One of the best movies of 2009, and I can't wait to watch it again on DVD so I can rewind any dialogue I don't understand. 4.5 stars/lambs