Welcome to the Cinema Cafe Podcast, the film podcast, by the fans for the fans. Join us as we review new movie releases, talk some film news and share our general love for all things cinema. Also, newly added, book reviews!! We review a lot of movies that are adapted from books, and we've generally read those books beforehand, so we also like to have in-depth discussions on the differences between the original book source and movie adaptation. Enjoy!!
Tonight's the big night in film. I've watching all the best film noms, so therefore a majority of the nominees. Of the 10 best film noms, here's how I'm ranking them--I was a bit hard because some of these films are so different, it's hard say one is better than the other, in some cases it's just as good but "different."
Inception
True Grit
Toy Story 3
The Fighter
127 Hours
Black Swan
The Social Network
The King's Speech
The Kids Are All Right
Winter's Bone
As you can see, my clear favorite is Inception with a close second and third with True Grit and Toy Story 3. If you did not tear up in Toy Story 3, you have no heart. All the movies after that, it was really hard to rank. I'll say, I didn't NOT like Winter's Bone but it was very slow moving with a just as slow pay off. Jennifer Lawrence was amazing but it just wasn't my cup of tea, even though I'm known to like boring movies. Social Network could have been ranked higher but everyone knows my disdain for Jesse Eisenberg so I couldn't go any higher; Andrew 'hotsie-totsie" Garfield on the other hand kept it from slipping any further.
Honorable Mentions: Shutter Island; Kick Ass; The Town; Never Let Me Go; Catfish; Jack Ass 3D (seriously, this was hilarious and would never in a 100 years be nominated but hell it was good ole fun)
Who I'd like to see win: Best Actor: James Franco Best Actress: Natalie Portman (thought it should have been Hailee Steinfeld but she didn't get this nom) Best Supporting Actor: Geoffrey Rush / Jeremy Renner (cuz I still love him from the Hurt Locker and he needs some recognition) Best Supporting Actress: Hailee Steinfeld Animated Feature Film: Toy Story 3 Best Director: Darren Aronofsky
Here's an A Capella version of the Inception trailer. What does that even mean? It means all kinds of funny. Click on the video and check it out. I just want to go around the rest of the day chanting: BRAAAAHMMMM. Enjoy.
As you all know by now, I'm a huge fan of Inception, and I still plan to watch it again some time soon in the theater. I came across this trailer mash up on my Facebook feed and actually really enjoyed it. It mashes the scenes from Up and the voiceover trailer for Inception. I must say, this was done really well and I swear, if I was slightly more sensitive, I may have had a tear in my eye. Loved Up, loved Inception--can't go wrong right? See for yourself:
I also saw the Toy Story 3 / Inception mash up and it was cute but not as good.
First things first, I started my review of "Blind Side" the other day and meant to finish it today. But unfortunately, my mind cannot focus on any film except Inception. I went to see the film last night and it still blows my mind. *WARNING* This may be an incoherent rant / review but please stay with me.
Let's try to start from the top. I've been waiting for this film to come out ALL year. When I saw the trailer in IMAX a couple months ago, I was giddy with joy and started my wait patiently. So yesterday, we went to the movies and caught an early showing as I got out of work early. The only problem, in hindsight, was that we didn't go see it in IMAX.
Christopher Nolan is the writer, the producer, the director, and the genius behind Inception. It's really hard to explain the premise but it's a story of a world similar to ours with the only exception is that there is a machine/technique that can put individuals in someone's dream, when people are most vulnerable and extract information from that someone. The story focuses on going one step further and instead of extracting information, they want to create an idea in a form of a dream, inception. This is when the fun begins, in order to accomplish inception, you have to go inside a dream within a dream, within a dream. OK I know it sounds like I'm giving away a lot but trust me, in order to truly understand this, you need to watch the film and what I'm telling you is superficial.
Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) assembles a team, his right hand man, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the dream architect, Ariadne (Ellen Page), the thief/muscle/transformer, Eames (Tom Hardy), the potion mixer, Yusuf (Dileep Rao), and lastly the backer/boss, Saito (Ken Watanabe). Their target for inception is Robert Fischer, Jr.(Cillian Murphy). The levels of dreams and the depths of the subconscious is so intricate that it's the type of film that not only stimulates you visually but intellectually. I know it may sound Matrix-y but it's much better and still very different. It truly is mind blowing. It's a smart film that I found a smirk on my face when it was all said and done. I go to the movies a lot and I rarely will watch a film more than once (especially in the theater) and this is a movie that I want to see again, in the theater, in IMAX, full price.
Prior to Inception, I would have said that Christopher Nolan is a good director, who I've only see a few films, Memento, which was also another intellectually stimulating film, and the two Batman movies, which I really enjoyed. But with Inception, he has cemented himself into god-like status for me.
The all-star cast did a phenomenal job. As much as I'm not a huge DiCaprio fan, I do love his movies and I find him to be such a great actor. If (500) Days of Summer didn't win me over, Inception made me crave for more JGL. He, with DiCaprio, is another child actor, who has really rose into stardom and not with tabloids and partying but with their talent. Now who is this Tom Hardy? I have not heard of him before but he is easy on the eyes and definitely stole the scene on a couple of occasions. Cillian Murphy is great, as always, and Ellen Page delivered. Marion Cotillard, who plays Cobb's wife, also makes an appearance in this dream sequence. And lastly, Ken Watanabe was superb but my only complaint is that there were a few words that I didn't catch with his accent. Obviously that is not his fault as I am the worst in understanding English with thick accents but this did not occur often.
With the great writing, directing, and acting in this film, it truly had it all. It's not another blockbuster film with a weak storyline. This is something not to be missed and I think it would be thoroughly enjoyed because it is different and utterly amazing.
The word "obsession" means the domination of one's thoughts and feelings by a persistent idea, image, or desire(cite). Well, the problem I have here is that I have an obsession with the Inception trailer. I first saw this new cut trailer at the Iron Man 2 showing last Friday in IMAX. I was absolutely blown away by the cinematography, the special effects, and the dreamy men involved in the film. Oh and did I mention this is written and directed by Christopher Nolan--you know, the man who did Memento and The Dark Knight.
The idea of Inception is quite interesting--stealing secrets in the dream world and how it's executed is aesthetically mind blowing. Though DiCaprio isn't my favorite actor, I will admit, he's great in these roles. And who else did I see in trailer? Michael Caine (our favorite Alfred--I know I'm lame), Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard, Juno (I mean Ellen Page) and my all time favorite JGL. After this excited and nonsensical rambling, I think you can tell that I have absurdly high standards for this film when it comes out in July. I hope it meets all my expectations and more. Now, sit back and enjoy the trailer.
