Tag: Christopher Nolan

Movies

Dunkirk (2017)

Forgive me if I sound too positive on Dunkirk. Its late and I just recently arrived home from watching in full IMAX. So there’s that. Here are some initial, quick thoughts:

An eloquent, boldly structured portrait of the chaos and madness of war from roughly five perspectives; Dunkirk is a full blown, eye widening experience. Nolan’s reach as a director is beyond doubt and at this point its safe to bump him to the “greats.” Dunkirk is ambitious, not only in scope but also in construction, as this film weaves in and out of past or present, loosely tying together disparate events with mere visual recollection. Exposition is limited to perhaps two conversations and some brief text early in the film; Dunkirk is about basic survival instincts and how people react in the face of overwhelming odds.

But the key to me, the incredible feat Dunkirk pulls off, is that there is no blame cast, no preachy moralizing at all. Some of the heroes in Dunkirk face the odds with selflessness and bravery, some others with quite the opposite; fleeing from combat or putting their own survival before others. But if Dunkirk has a lesson, it’s to give pause before labeling anyone a coward, and to more readily hail others as heroes. The Germans are never glimpsed, even for a moment. I loved that. No reason to show them. The old Alfred Hitchcock quote kept coming to mind; “I don’t want to show you whats behind that door, your mind can do that just fine.” In Dunkirk, the enemy is an abstract fear, almost as demonized here as the circumstances that landed these 400,000 men on this beach, stranded without hope of escape.

I think its safe to state Dunkirk is one of the best war films period, and its easy to see why.  It’s a flawless, masterful exercise in immersion and spectacle, desperately searching for meaning and order in absolute chaos and carnage still unfathomable 77 years later. A search for the meaning of life surrounded by the utter meaninglessness of war. It’s an intimate, harrowing epic; a rare beast of a movie the likes of which I haven’t seen before.

Those fundamental contradictions are what make Dunkirk so fascinating, so stimulating both emotionally and intellectually. I don’t really have the words for this movie because of how recent I watched and hopefully I can unwrap a little more following a rewatch. But on my end, it’s safe to say Dunkirk is more than worth the price of admission to see in full 70mm.

Its hard to say Nolan and Dunkirk won’t be major contenders at the 2018 Oscars and rightfully so. Christopher Nolan has made one of those rare movies that reminds you of the heights great cinema and great artists can reach when pushing boundaries and exceeding expectations.

Go see Dunkirk in IMAX for the full experience. You won’t regret it.

Movies

Film Review: Interstellar

When Christopher Nolan makes a movie I take notice with extreme interest. It doesn’t matter the premise, synopsis or what actors are involved. His filmography speaks for itself: Memento, The Prestige, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception. I really could go on but there’s no need to do. Interstellar marks Nolan’s most ambitious film to date and not only does it push Nolan’s filmmaking abilities technically, it also solidifies the fact that Christopher Nolan is a great filmmaker, but he slowly but surely is joining a small but special list of filmmakers in the “Auteur” category. A group that names include Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock and Frederico Fellini.

Interstellar is as follows: With our time on Earth coming to an end, a team of explorers undertakes the most important mission in human history; traveling beyond this galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars.

Interstellar is not only the best movie I’ve seen all year, quite possibly it’s the most ambitious film I have ever seen. There’s something to be said for a movie that sets out to be something grand in size and completely succeeds. I don’t envy Christopher Nolan or his brother Jonathan for having to write this script or to pull off this gigantic idea, but we all will sure enjoy the results. They reach for something huge here and while the ending may leave a little to be desired in it’s complexity it doesn’t take away from the fantastic journey you will take if you board this ship.

The movie’s biggest strength without question is Christopher Nolan. You can make a very real argument that Christopher Nolan is the best working director in the movie business right now. There’s no one who makes a big movie feel so small and intimate. He has an unbelievable way of fitting these really sweet, smaller sized scenes into a very large movie. Take Interstellar for example: the movie is quite possibly the largest scale movie of all time due to where it takes us logistically in the universe. The best scene in the movie, however, comes from inside a bedroom on a farm between Mathew McConaughey and his daughter. Sure the movie is big, epic to say the least. but Nolan keeps his finger on the pulse enough to know when to scale back. And at times, does so masterfully.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Interstellar deserves multiple viewings. It’s a highly complex film that demands every second of your attention and quite frankly it deserves every second of it. It’s very rare in Hollywood nowadays we see a team of Jonathan and Christopher Nolan work together to create something so seamless and so complicated yet complete and effective. Interstellar unbelievably pulls off with great achievement a fantastic movie experience, you will laugh you’ll cry and most importantly you will interact emotionally. The movie isn’t so big it leaves you. It constantly holds your hand.

THE VERDICT
Please go see interstellar, I’m begging you as a life long film fan. This is a special movie that will be talked about for a long time. I intentionally left out the words “2001 Space Odyssey” for comparisons but the fact of bringing it up isn’t a crime in the least bit, in fact I believe if Stanley Kubrick was living today he would tell you this is closest we’ve come to a 2001 Space Odyssey experience.

What makes Interstellar one of the best, most enthralling, intelligent and moving science-fiction films of modern cinema is not so much the inter-galactic journey it takes you on as the emotional journey your left with. Bottom line: Interstellar is as cinematically epic as it is dramatically intimate. Go see it.

10/10

Movies

#9 The Prestige

Top 10’s – FAVORITE FILMS

#9 – The Prestige – Christopher Nolan, 2006

More than magic, revenge, science, or romantic intrigue, Christopher Nolan’s “The Prestige” is a film about duality. It is about the doubles, twins, copies, clones, role-players, brothers, rivals, and partners that lurk both externally in the world and internally within individuals’ souls and psyches. The film is about the two opposing sides of the coin and the obsessive wars raged between those opposing sides – both when the sides compete against one another on life’s multiple stages over career and fame, and when the sides compete most personally inside one’s self over regrets and decisions poorly made.

The narrative of “The Prestige” is nonlinear and provocative, pulling the audience along on the coiling journeys of the film’s two protagonists. Its secrets are revealed slowly, and its momentum builds at a measured pace. In concert with the film’s visuals, the story is hypnotic and completely engrossing. The cast here, the likes of which is a rarely witnessed, excitingly assembled and never-ending source of aligned-stars amazement, deftly carries the tale. Jackman, Bale, Caine, Serkis, Johansson, Bowie, and Hall are the ideal conduits for the story.

The results of all of this is breathtaking. Nolan’s film scores triumphantly across all technical and artistic levels, and “The Prestige” is as rewarding on the second, third, or tenth viewing as it is on its first. While some decry the film as offering cheap tricks and narrative illusions, it may be this segment of the audience that is simply not be watching closely.

Two passionate magicians, Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, are having massive success with their brilliant illusions. But when one of their magic shows goes horribly wrong, the two turn against each other, plotting and out witting the other person. It becomes an obsession, and consequences occur.

The Prestige is simply thrilling. Fast paced, mesmerizing, and doesn’t feel even a bit long- despite the over 2 hour run time- The Prestige has you hooked from the very first shot. The plot is so intricate, weaving together 3 different times in the two magician’s lives. This is at first overwhelming, but the picture grows clearer and clearer, but it doesn’t make things any less unpredictable.

The tone of the film is dark, and indeed, there isn’t a true protagonist. There are main characters- in the form of the two magicians- but they both seem morally incorrect. In a way, this might suggest that one doesn’t connect to either one in sympathies or emotion, and yet, one feels for both. Both seem in the wrong- and deciding which one is more at fault may simply come down to a “he started it” conclusion- but at the same time, they are both characters we sort of root for. We never really choose one fully over the other, as their is still an emotional anchor for each (but to keep spoilers out of this review, I won’t discuss this element further).

Everything about this film is so smart, and so well done. The characters are flawlessly developed, and the story is original, unique, and gripping. I’ve already said plenty about the twists of course, and the intricacies with the interwoven stories. I’m shocked and appalled that this film did not receive so much as a nomination from the Academy for editing, as it is so skilled and precise. I’m not the kind that pays attention to the editing, but in a film like this, it’s crucial- far more so than most action films.

The Prestige is personally everything I ever need from a film. It follows its own rules. Has a original story and most importantly it demands attention. The Prestige is a roller-coaster of a ride with intriguingly intertwined subplots and masterful time switching, which makes it one of a kind and an ultimate masterpiece. The uncanny feat of Christopher Nolan to manifest a motion picture, which forays the realms of Mystery, Thrill, Sci-fi and Fantasy, is truly exemplary and makes the movie a contemporary classic. The movie is a tapestry of twists and turns, which evinces its overwhelming potential to bewitch the masses and gratify even the most obscure viewers. The questions that it continually asks of the viewers can only be answered after repetitive viewings, with each viewing seeking utmost attention of the viewer. The only question that I would ask of the viewer is: “Are you watching closely? ”

Masterfully deceptive, and deviously assembled. The Prestige succeeds as a mystery, a drama, a thriller, and a mind-bender, while placing heavy focus on the characters themselves. Just one bit of advice- a caution if you will: Don’t over think it, just absorb it all. Pay attention, and you will be greatly rewarded.

Movies

Movie Review: Interstellar

When Christopher Nolan makes a movie I take notice with extreme interest. It doesn’t matter the premise, synopsis or what actors are involved. His filmography speaks for itself: Memento, The Prestige, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception. I really could go on but there’s no need to do. Interstellar marks Nolan’s most ambitious film to date and not only does it push Nolan’s filmmaking abilities technically, it also solidifies the fact that Christopher Nolan is a great filmmaker, but he slowly but surely is joining a small but special list of filmmakers in the “Auteur” category. A group that names include Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock and Frederico Fellini.

Interstellar is as follows: With our time on Earth coming to an end, a team of explorers undertakes the most important mission in human history; traveling beyond this galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars.

Interstellar is not only the best movie I’ve seen all year, quite possibly it’s the best movie I’ve seen in the past five years. There’s something to be said for a movie that sets out to be something grand in size and completely succeeds. I don’t envy Christopher Nolan or his brother Jonathan for having to write this script or to pull off this gigantic idea, but we all will sure enjoy the results. They reach for something huge here and while the ending may leave a little to be desired in it’s complexity it doesn’t take away from the fantastic journey you will take if you board this ship.

The movie’s biggest strength without question is Christopher Nolan. You can make a very real argument that Christopher Nolan is the best working director in the movie business right now. There’s no one who makes a big movie feel so small and intimate. He has an unbelievable way of fitting these really sweet, smaller sized scenes into a very large movie. Take Interstellar for example: the movie is quite possibly the largest scale movie of all time due to where it takes us logistically in the universe. The best scene in the movie, however, comes from inside a bedroom on a farm between Mathew McConaughey and his daughter with probably about five pages of dialogue. Firstly you don’t see a movie with five pages of dialogue in one scene anymore, secondly Christopher Nolan tailors this seemlessly into a huge movie.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Interstellar deserves multiple viewings. It’s a highly complex film that demands every second of your attention and quite frankly it deserves every second of it. It’s very rare in Hollywood nowadays we see a team of Jonathan and Christopher Nolan work together to create something so seamless and so complicated yet complete and effective. Interstellar unbelievably pulls off with great achievement a fantastic movie experience, you will laugh you’ll cry and most importantly you will interact emotionally. The movie isn’t so big it leaves you. It constantly holds your hand.

THE VERDICT
Please go see interstellar, I’m begging you as a life long film fan. This is a special movie that will be talked about for a long time. I intentionally left out the words “2001 Space Odyssey” for comparisons but the fact of bringing it up isn’t a crime in the least bit, in fact I believe if Stanley Kubrick was living today he would tell you this is closest we’ve come to a 2001 Space Odyssey experience.

What makes Interstellar one of the best, most enthralling, intelligent and moving science-fiction films of modern cinema is not so much the inter-galactic journey it takes you on as the emotional journey your left with. Bottom line: Interstellar is as cinematically epic as it is dramatically intimate. Go see it.

10/10