Movie of the Week

This Week,

INCEPTION (2010)

Starring- Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

I don't want to ruin anything about this movie for you, so in the interest of being kind I will preface this review with-

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!

Now, with that said, I feel that this new film from director and writer Christopher Nolan is the best movie of 2010, thus far. Inception is very similar to other films in many ways, but also different, and that is why it is uniquely entertaining. It is kind of like Minority Report, Shutter Island, Vertigo and Memento had a sophisticated, complex and thought provoking baby. Nolan loves to explore the human mind in his films and that is the primary setting for Inception. In fact, most of the action takes place inside dreams. This is because DiCaprio's character, and his team are experts in stealing thoughts from the minds of unsuspecting victims. According to the film, unlocking hidden thoughts via the subconscious is easy, but implanting ideas in the mind is next to impossible.

This practice of creating thoughts in someone's mind is called inception, and if not for his desperate nature, Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) would not even consider it. To do the job, he creates a team to help him implant the idea, starting with his right hand man played by Gordon-Levitt, and a young architect played by Ellen Page. While his team works to figure out the technical aspects of inception, Cobb struggles with personal demons in his own subconscious that could threaten the entire operation.

Nolan does a nice job of making this film a thinking person's suspense thriller. Rather than having the suspense driven by emotion, the viewer is actually thinking more about what might come next rather than feeling it, and that is different from other films in this genre. Inception is helped along with a first rate cast that has in its minor roles the likes of Michael Caine, Pete Posthlewaite and Cillian Murphy- not too shabby. I don't want to give much more away because the less you know going into this movie, the better. I will say, however, that the action is as strong as what you might find in a James Bond or Jason Bourne adventure, the dialogue is realistic and the story is inventive and compelling. Even though I thought it was a bit long, Inception brings the audience to an exciting climax that will have you talking well after the credits roll.

Things to watch for-

The totem
Tom Beringer's triumphant return
Some great zero gravity fighting
James Bond meets planet Hoth

"What's the most resilient parasite? An Idea."