Salt and Inception revisited

Rob didn't get to see "Inception" with me on opening night, so this past Friday we saw "Salt" and then stayed to watch "Inception". I can quickly say that "Salt" was better than I had expected it to be. I would have thought that it would be like Tom Cruise's most recent "Knight and Day", which was entertaining, but predictable and shallow. "Salt" has a few surprises, nothing earth-shattering, yet enough to keep it interesting. Let me take a moment to talk about surprises. Sure "Knight and Day" may have had its twist and double crosses, just as "Salt" does, but the difference is how those twists affect the plot and more importantly how the characters react. Angelina Jolie has done this stuff before, her biggest movies are probably the action movies. She has also proven herself time and again to be a great actress, and I think it helps to make this movie captivating, even though its not believable. Talking about believability, this is not a movie that contains much, if any of that commodity. What I find to be the most irritating is that here, as in so many other action movies, the heroine gets 50 1-shot kills in a row, followed by a climactic shootout in which she can hit no one. I would ask the filmmakers to please establish a set of rules, I'll ascribe to them for the course of the movie no matter how outrageous they are, but please, never break your own rules. All in all I liked this movie, it leaves room for a sequel, but as is true with most movies, it would be far better to leave it as is. If they make a sequel, it'll just detract from this movie.

Perhaps you could tell that my thoughts on "Salt" seemed rather flat and maybe you could tell that I'm distracted. Yes, and watching the movie, all the while knowing that a far better film lay waiting on the other side may in fact have influenced my viewing of "Salt". The second viewing of "Inception" only built upon my admiration of the film and those involved in its production. Today I went to a site that was discussing the chronology of events and their meaning in this film. I find that to be somewhat amusing. Perhaps I am just not a detail person. If you've read many of my reviews, you will have noticed that I care very little for what happened at any given moment in a film, rather it is the big picture, the meaning that I am interested in. The author of this other blog broke down the film by its individual scenes, then explained the three possible conclusions that could be drawn from the ending. Sure I find this kind of discussion interesting, it's probably one of my favorite things to do, but where this film is concerned it feels a like a waste of time. The movie isn't at all what it's about. To examine the details, as this blogger said; (and I paraphrase) "open it up and find out how it works", misses the whole point of the film. My fellow blogger did acknowledge that Christopher Nolan was 10 steps ahead for the whole movie. I liked that (I actually said that myself, not that anyone cares), this is a masterpiece of a film. Nolan didn't sit around watching the Smurfs for ten years, he wrote draft after draft of this script. Each rule that he establishes, each character and the relationships between characters, all of these are important. Sure, the plot, the images, even the sounds of a passing bicycle are all important. When the screen cuts to black, those details are no longer elements of a film, rather they have successfully fused together, bringing us to a conclusion that is greater than the sum of the parts. I could have ended with that cliché of a statement, but I will explain. Nolan knows that we as an audience are bringing our own pre-conceptions to the theater. As with "Memento" and "The Prestige" before, Nolan is not attempting to trick us, he is willing to explain a whole lot more than most directors would. No, he wants us to piece the puzzle together and then reach conclusions as though on our own. The final statement of the movie is not meant to frustrate us or trick us, rather to remind us who's puzzle this is.

Inception (Initial Review)

With "Inception", Christopher Nolan has taken ideas and crafted them so smoothly into a film that definitely is greater than the sum of its parts. At a number of points I noticed that the dialogue was simplistic, too explanatory. Yet later, when the film was over I recognized why this was necessary. The characters onscreen weren't explaining it for us, rather they were trying to wrap their own minds around some pretty heavy ideas. I thought the casting was excellent, I really was pleasantly surprised with how well Ellen Page was able to fit into the film without me thinking about "Juno" (too much). Perhaps it is because I most recently saw him in "Shutter Island" but there were some scenes where DiCaprio's performance was too familiar. Unfortunately there is a similar plot-line between this film and "Shutter Island" so in a way similarities in acting will be present too. That is not to say that DiCaprio wasn't amazing as usual, he was, and this will be added to an impressive streak.

Ideas are what this film is about, but in films ideas must be conveyed through images. This film was beautiful. A perfect combination of expression of ideas and the visual representation thereof. I liked that there wasn't need for explanation of the technology behind linking to dreams. We've all seen by now plenty of movies that have spent countless hours treating us like idiots by showing us how to "plug in". No, this film isn't about connecting to others dreams or fighting the Matrix. This is a film about the life of a thought. Where does that idea come from? How does that idea grow? What are the consequences of having one little, harmless thought? For Nolan to take those ideas (as the screenwriter)and so clearly conceive of ways to represent them visually is truly amazing. I think that one of the interesting facts about "The Matrix" is that most of the questions that movie sparks aren't addressed in the film. The film makes some interesting statements and sets up certain parameters, yet the audience is far smarter than the movie. With "Inception" Nolan has blown "The Matrix" out of the water. There is always the sense that he is a few steps ahead of us. Nolan knows the answers, all the possible answers, yet he is able to keep everything comprehensible and tightly interwoven with the story. Sure, once again you will walk out of a movie with plenty of questions, perhaps even some doubts about the answers you've been given, but don't doubt for a moment that anything was unintentional.

The Last Airbender

I had high hopes for this movie. I don't want to regurgitate what must be going around all the message boards these days, but M. Night Shaymalan has let down his fans for the first time. Up until now I have liked all of Saymalan's films. I have thought that in many ways his films have become progressively better, with the exception of "Lady in the Water" which wasn't as good as "The Village" which came right before it. When I heard Shaymalan explain that his kid had turned him on to "Avatar: The Last Airbender", and that he (Shaymalan) was excited about making it into a film, I was excited too. I was excited because I knew that he, if anyone, could make anything interesting. Up until just last week, no matter how many times I saw the trailer, I knew that Shaymalan has the ability to make a quirky anime kids show into a great visual cautionary tale. But alas, it was not to be so. Instead I saw a movie with poor acting, poor dialogue, a run-of-the-mill New Age plot, and sub-par special effects. The worst of it was realizing that this movie is a setup, most likely for two other movies. Are we going to be deprived of a true Shaymalan film for four years? Has Shaymalan lost it? Is this just some great pre-amble to an even worse second movie, followed up by a great masterpiece, which could only be truly appreciated by being disappointed by the earlier two films? I know I'm probably reaching there. It would be far healthier to forgive Shaymalan this one error, maybe even a trilogy of errors, and hope that he gets this out of his system and goes back to who he was meant to be.