Underrated Showcase Sunday: Hard Candy

I must be one of the most damaged children of my age. Someone asked me what I am going to watch tonight. I went through my options, coming to the original Straw Dogs, which I decided I wouldn't watch since I've already seen a rape movie this week. If I ever tell people about what happens in Requiem for a Dream, they just look at me strangely. One of my essays on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was basically all about rape (I'm doing the theme of 'revenge', so that's what it all came down to). But by far and beyond the most damaging film I've seen in my life is Hard Candy. Now, I vaguely remember this film during it's release back in 2005/06 or whatever. It was at the beginning of my movie obsession, and it was in the first issue of Empire (Australian movie magazine) I ever got, with a stellar 5 star review. I don't know how popular it was back in the day, but judging by the mixed critical response, I can't help but put it in the 'underrated' category.

It's been a year since I first saw Inception...time for 52 things I love about Inception!

I find it hard to believe that this time a year ago, I was sitting in the cinemas after months of watching the trailers over and over again, having mini heart attacks every time the word 'Inception' was uttered, watching every other Christopher Nolan flick, and then spending this day shaking excitedly at school, because every minute gone was a minute closer to seeing the film. Just so you know, this was the only time I've ever been so excited over a films release, and yes, even I admit I was a bit obsessed. But do you know what the best thing was? The film topped my sky-high expectations. Which is probably why, after 365 days and nearly 15 watches, I still absolutely love this movie. It hasn't been just a 'film' for me, it's actually meant a lot to me.

So, if you don't like Inception, go to the left. This is my time to share 52 reasons why I think this movie is amazing, and I don't really want any crap comments ruining it. I get that it isn't as good as what it was a year ago...even I don't find it as amazing as I did. But, you know, I still love it to bitty bits. Okay, are we good? I hope so.

Anyway, here we go, 52 reasons why I love Inception (one for every week since my first viewing, not in any order either):

1. "You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling."

2. All of the totems

3. ...but especially the cheeky one at the end.



4. Blasting up '528491' in my headphones at full volume, because that is freaking epic.

5. Cillian Murphy crying.

6. Arthur's wardrobe.

7. This is completely original Nolan - not adapted Nolan.

8. Oh yeah, and this is directed by Nolan. 

9. Yusuf. You should never forget Yusuf and his crazy driving skills and his cats.

10. That spinning hallway scene.

11. Cobb is the director, Arthur is the producer, Ariadne is the production designer, Eames is the actor, Saito is the studio, and Fischer is the audience.

12. Michael Caine's in it for like three minutes and he still gets top billing.

13. When Cobb finally shoots Mal.

14. The fact that 'Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien' is my alarm and it's the best alarm ever.

15. Even the posters are awesome.

16. Tom Hardy.

17. Ellen Page shooting Marion Cotillard because of the 2008 Oscars.

18. The suit porn.

19. This film required a food stylist and an assistant food stylist...(When I found this out, I actually listed all of the food in the movie. Hell, if this means you can take part in a Nolan flick, I want to be a food stylist.)

20. It won as many Oscars as The King's Speech.

21. This is the third Nolan flick that Cillian Murphy has spent a considerable amount of time hidden beneath a cloth sack.



22. The track 'Time' which is at the end of the soundtrack. Simply beautiful

23. The name Ariadne. 

24. "You're waiting for a train. A train that'll take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you. But you can't know for sure. Yet it doesn't matter. Because we'll be together."

25. When the little kids finally turn around so Cobb can see their faces.

26. Saito and his carpet.

27. Blowing up Paris. Because that's a cool way to get friends.

28. Oh, and folding over Paris. Because that's a cool way to get an architect.

29. "Un café! Un café!" - That's how you try an disguise yourself in a chase through Mombasa.

30. The awkward moment when Ariadne finds out Cobb's wife is actually dead.

31. Pete Postlethwaite. Always great.

32. "I bought the airline...it seemed neater."

33. The Eames/Arthur relationship.

34. Fischer's many 'bitch, please' looks.

35. Ooooh, freight train in the middle of the street.

36. Finding out the real story about Cobb and Mal.

37. When Eames turns into a chick. Hahaha.

38. "Paradox."

39. The world that Cobb and Mal built. I can see myself living there.

40. When the van hits the water. 

41. The looks exchanged with Cobb as he walks through the airport.

42. "I know you were disappointed, that I couldn't be you." "No no no. I was disappointed that you tried."

43. Saito's aged look.

44. The fact that it wasn't made in 3D.

45. Mal's dress in the Japanese castle scene.

46. In fact, that castle was beautiful.

47. It's a family affair: Nolan's cousin plays the flight attendant, and his son plays Mal and Cobb's son when he is 20 months.

48. The fact that I can't say 'defibrillator'...but I do like their defibrillator.

49. Arthur's good driving skills.

50. Fischer's wallet has $500 in it, and the wallet is worth more than that.

51. The way the movie starts.

52. The way the movie ends. The screen goes black, the audience gets pissed off, and then the track 'Dream is Collapsing' starts as the title comes up. And then Christopher Nolan's name comes up, and I always cry because I can never be like him.

So there are 52 reasons why I love this amazing film, which has been with me for a year. Why do you like it?

DVD--Peacock

or: Who is she/he?

One word to sum it up: Interesting.

You may remember, back in August/September, I had a wee obsession with Cillian Murphy. I mean, I watched like, nearly all of his movies during that time. One I hadn't seen though, was Peacock. I never thought I would get to see it, considering Cillian is pretty good with having his movies hidden behind the mist and Peacock didn't even look like it would make it to New Zealand. Luckily, it just arrived on DVD, and it was another chance at seeing my favourite actor as a woman again.

John Skillpa (Cillian Murphy), a quiet bank clerk living in tiny Peacock, Nebraska, prefers to live an invisible life in order to hide his secret: He has multiple personality disorder, the implied result of childhood trauma inflicted by his abusive mother. His alter ego is a woman, Emma (Cillian Murphy), who each morning does his chores and cooks him breakfast before he starts the day. Then, in a moment, everything changes. A freight train caboose runs off its tracks and crashes into John's backyard, destroying his wooden fence. When neighbours descend on the scene, they discover Emma for the first time and mistakenly believe her to be John's wife. This launches John into the glare of the spotlight, threatening to reveal his secret life. He must then fool the town into believing he and his alter ego are man and wife. A young, struggling single mother, Maggie (Ellen Page), holds the key to his past and sparks a battle between the personalities. Now John must try to stop Emma from taking over completely.

Unlike Cillian's previous transgender film, Breakfast on Pluto, he isn't just playing one person. He has to sway his time between John and Emma, which he does effortlessly, even though Emma is a far more interesting character. His performance as John seems to rightly captivate the socially inept nature of him, though sometimes, his use of twitchy mannerisms come off as a little too crazy. The interesting part, though, is the way the two characters are entirely different and there is no facet of John in Emma or Emma in John. It's such a rare gift that Cillian puts to work here, and reminds us why we should still watch all the movies that he's in that done get the biggest releases.

Cillian isn't the only well performed actor here. Ellen Page, who also worked with him in Inception, does a fantastic job as the struggling mother who holds a key to John's insanity. Her work is definitely a far cry from the likes of Juno and Whip It. Susan Sarandon also joins the cast as the saint Fanny Crill, and has the whole rich woman out to save the world act down to a tee. It's pretty obvious that she is also contributing to John's personality disfunction.

Peacock is as much as you could expect from a direct-to-video movie, even though it's story is a force to be reckoned with. While I felt there was little resolve at the end, and I was left wanting more, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie for the most part. This probably has more to do with the performances over anything else. I was also expecting a muderous sort of tale, but Peacock unravels as a quiet psychological thriller. A psychological thriller which shouldn't be missed.


THE VERDICT: Thanks to an enlightening performance from Cillian Murphy, Peacock is a psychological thriller which really flies.

7/10

DVD--Inception

or: Ya know...just one of my favourite movies.

One word to sum it up: Brain-frying.

Ask anyone who knows me, I absolutely adore Christopher Nolan. He is not only my favourite director of all time (three of his movies are in my top 5 favourite films), but he’s also the man who I aspire to be. With good reason, too. The guy is amazing. Not only did he burst onto the scene with Memento, a film which was backwards leaving the viewer’s brain fried, he also revitalized the Batman series with Batman Begins. In 2008, he made The Dark Knight, which was arguably the best film of the decade, and became the third highest grossing film of all time. But how could Master Nolan possibly top his success in 2008 with The Dark Knight? Easily. He releases Inception, a movie which he wrote, produced and directed himself, and managed to fry our brains again...and also restored everyone’s faith in the modern blockbuster.


So what’s Inception about? Well, it’s best if you just go and watch the movie, because it would take me at least three pages to explain the whole plot so you don’t get confused. I’ll give you this, though: Inception is a movie about people who can go into your dreams and steal your ideas. However, Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), the most skilled ‘extractor’, is given the task of planting an idea instead of stealing one.

There’s no doubt that Inception is the film of the year. When I first saw it back on it’s opening day in July, I had never seen anything so beautiful, so challenging, so completely creative. I also managed to walk out of the cinemas in tears thanks to how amazing it was. Take it from me, I saw it three times in the cinemas (record), and loved it every single time. And I’m pretty sure the six friends who I took to see it all loved it too.

Why is Inception so great? It’s unprecedented amount of originality. I have never seen anything come close to this film, apart from maybe The Matrix. Inception is a multi-layered action packed thriller, which requires your full attention. If you take your eyes off it for a minute, you are guaranteed to miss something. But trust me, this is an easy film to lose yourself in, which makes it all the more satisfying at the end. The rotating hallway fight sequence that Joseph Gordon-Levitt finds himself in is awe-inspiring, as are the scenes where we see Ellen Page picking up the dream world by folding over Paris. It’s not only a visually stunning piece, but it is also an emotional one, too. The more we find out about Cobb, the more we care about his plight to get back to his family. Most of all, the end is possibly the best and most-talked about ending in recent history, but it also caused me to wonder about the line between reality and dreams. I felt like I dreamed I had seen Inception, because it’s sometimes too good to be true.

Inception has a wonderful ensemble cast. It has the relatively well knowns: a great Leonardo DiCaprio, a beautiful Marion Cotillard, a brilliant Ken Wantabe, even a couple of appearances from Nolan’s lucky charm Michael Caine and Tom Berenger. The rest of the cast is made up from some young actors who are equally as brilliant as the others: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy and Ellen Page. Basically, with a cast like this and a director like Nolan, Inception is a dream. If there’s one movie you see this year, make it Inception. Unfortunately, it has been proved that the older generation don’t like it, but the younger generation will LOVE it. This is more than your brainless blockbuster. Christopher Nolan, again, has raised the bar in movies with Inception, and if he can top this with The Dark Knight Rises in 2012, then it will become clear that he is the best director who ever lived. Come Oscar time, Inception will be in for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay, no doubt about it.


THE VERDICT: The movie of the year. The greatest blockbuster in recent memory, an example of why Christopher Nolan makes the best movies. If you want to watch a movie that makes you think, then Inception is the grand-scale epic you should watch.

10/10

Amazing People: Ellen Page

"It's much simpler to be tortured on camera or to be filmed losing your mind. Whereas a script that has characters who are honest, witty and genuine... is often much harder to act."

-Ellen Page, actress, Juno, Whip It and Inception.

Rewatch--Whip It

Or: Juno with roller-skates.

One word to sum it up: Fun

As I have probably said before, in my eyes, Ellen Page will always be Juno. She can perform as another character unbelievably well, but in the back of my mind I have the vision of her in that white and orange striped tee shirt with a prominent baby bump sticking out. This happened to me a lot during Whip It, even though she did an amazingly underrated performance as Bliss Cavendar/Babe Ruthless.

Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) dreams of escaping her tiny Texas truck-stop town. Unfortunately, her devoted, beauty pageant obsessed mother (Marcia Gay Harden) is convinced Bliss can only succeed in life if she wins the crown at the local Miss Blue Bonnet Pageant. In the big city of Austin she discovers a world unlike anything she could ever imagine; roller derby, with its girl-power-meets-punk-rock spirit and its liberating celebration of wild individuality. Inspired by the likes of Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig) and feisty Smashley Simpson (Drew Barrymore), Bliss tries out for a spot on the Hurl Scouts, a rag-tag team of scrappy underdogs. Soon she's trading in gowns and crowns for skits, skates and scrapes becoming her alter ego, Babe Ruthless. Leading a precarious double life as a waitress by day and the fastest thing on eight wheels by night, Bliss is doing things she never dreamed of--including fearlessly facing off with bad-ass rivals like Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis) and falling for a boy in a band (Landon Pigg).

Whip It is amazingly cool. I hadn't even heard of roller derby before this movie, and now I am quite keen to try it out. Even though I'm probably too weak and un-coed to even go 30 centimetres in roller skates. While it is predominantly a film about roller derby, it is also a strikingly real teenage film. It's not let down by stereotypes, and it focuses on the relationships that teenagers have with their friends, boyfriends and parents. Bliss is believable, mainly because her life is run by her mother and she is doing things she really isn't happy doing. But once she finds the thing she wants to do, and the thing that she is good at, she is prepared to do anything to keep going. Like lying about her age and later leading a double life (luckily not the Hannah Montana kind).

Drew Barrymore makes a great directorial debut, and she should definitely take time out to direct another film similar to this. She managed to bring together a great cast of mostly women and doesn't let anything get out of hand. The soundtrack she acquired was indie cool, which may cause people to draw comparisons to that of Juno. If anything stands out in this film, it has to be the ensemble of colourful characters, who are really bad-ass, just like their names suggest (ah, Maggie Mayhem, Bloody Holly, Eva Destruction, anyone?). Then comes the sweet and tender look at love, shown through the relationship between Bliss and Oliver. I really and truly hope that if there was a future for this film, those two would get married and have mini roller-derby band kids.

THE VERDICT: Whip It is a strong directorial debut for Barrymore, but more than anything just a fun showcase for roller derby and a real teenage flick. There's something for everyone to relate to in this movie.

8/10

Another Inception screening...*spoilers*

...yes, I went to go see it a third time in the cinemas (record), but this time it was for my birthday. I mean, did I really want to take all my friends to go see Salt? No. Of course, there weren't many differences to the other two times I saw it, apart from the fact that a) the cinema was almost full (the screening afterwards was full, and this movie has been out for just over a month, unbelievable), and b) the reaction at the end was worth the price of the ticket itself (it would have been enough to shatter a few windows). So I have decided to go through my favourite part of the movie--the cast--bit by bit. Because, this is the cast of the century. It's like the He's Just Not That Into You of sci-fi/actions. Though, you could class He's Just Not That Into You as a sci-fi/action, because most of the film is fiction developed from bad relationship science, and Bradley Cooper gets a bit of action with Scarlett Johansson...see?

Leonardo DiCaprio: Dom Cobb (The Extractor)

What else have I seen him in?? What's Eating Gilbert Grape, The Basketball Diaries, Romeo + Juliet, Titanic, The Beach, Catch Me If You Can, The Aviator, The Departed, Blood Diamond, Revolutionary Road, Shutter Island and Inception.
As you should know, Leonardo DiCaprio is my favourite actor. This is probably my favourite film of his, but not my favourite performance (that would be The Aviator). However, I do think this is Leo at his best, because most of the films emotional connection comes from him. For once there is an 'action hero' who we sympathize with and hope for the best for. Cobb is a really damaged character, mainly because of this whole business with Mal, but still soldiers on in a job that isn't particularly great for him (stealing ideas through sleep? There would be some nasty stuff with that). He misses his children dearly, which is why at the end I always find myself in tears, the same when he is looking back on his life in limbo with Mal. Leo always does this to me, and I often find myself crying in 95% of his movies (especially Revolutionary Road, I didn't even like April but just seeing Leo's face made me burst into tears). Had a different actor got the role of Cobb, I'm not sure that this film would have been so affecting, and he would have passed as just another guy in an action movie.

Ken Watanabe: Saito (The Tourist)

What have I seen him in?? Batman Begins and Inception...shocking, I know.

Saito, I have to say, is probably my least favourite character because he is one shady dude. Sure, he's like dead for most of it and I should have really been hoping that he would make it through this ordeal, but I'm not sure he 'honoured the arrangement'. My theory is that Saito planted the idea in Cobb's mind that he would get to go back and see his children and the charges against him would be dropped if he incepted Fischer, but really, he would do this and then plunge straight back into limbo with his kids projections. Of course, the only one who rightfully knows the ending is Christopher Nolan, and I'm not one of those people who have to find out the ending or throw theories around. I'm just happy that it ended the way it did so I could remember it. But if I go by that theory with Saito incepting Cobb, then that makes Saito a horrid person. I don't care if he got shot in the first dream and then plunged into limbo as an old man.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt: Arthur (The Point Man)

What have I seen him in?? 10 Things I Hate About You, various episodes of 3rd Rock From the Sun, Brick, (500) Days of Summer and Inception (is that really it?)

Arthur is actually one of my favourite characters in this movie, mainly because he is just a bad-ass. I mean, did you see that hotel fight scene?? He worked that spinning hallway like the new and updated version of Neo from The Matrix. He is also part of the dynamic duo...him and Eames. On Facebook there is a page titled 'Arthur and Eames from Inception seriously need their own movie'--please like it, coz I totally think they should. Arthur is such a fun-sponge, but is also really fun. He looks so awesome driving a taxi and shooting at people. He really wants to get in with Ariadne. Okay, so basically, Arthur is awesome, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt delivers a stand-out performance in the film. You see, this guy will be getting Oscars and he will be the next...Heath Ledger?

Marion Cotillard: Mal Cobb (The Shade)

What have I seen her in?? La Vie En Rose, Public Enemies and Inception.

I love Marion Cotillard, but I really, really, didn't like Mal. I mean, how could you possibly like her? She kept invading Cobb's dreams and killing off everyone just so she could get her husband to come back to limbo with her. The thing is, she is dead, and I doubt that Cobb would want to live the rest of his life with a projection. Then again, even though she does spend most of the movie shooting people to get them out of the dream (I actually started hating her when she shot Arthur in the foot), I still feel kinda sorry for her. She highlights the point that this movie makes: where is the line between reality and dreams? She killed herself because reality was getting to be too much for her. But she thought it was all a dream. Big mistake. I bet that there are hundreds of people who think just like her. Anyway, back to the hating. She makes Cobb's life hell, yet he keeps returning to memories with her in his dreams. Together, they are a pretty damaged couple...Cobb loves his dead wife's projection, Mal is dead and she wants her husband back in limbo. Good love story, that one.

Ellen Page: Ariadne (The Architect)

What have I seen her in?? Juno, Smart People, Whip It and Inception.

Despite Ellen Page's best efforts, I will never be able to see her as anyone different than Juno. That role made her. However, unlike Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana, Ellen has enough talent to carry off any role, as she does in this film, where she is all grown up and rearing to go. I can see why Arthur took a liking to Ariadne, because she looks very sweet an innocent, but like, say Rachel Dawes, she can put up a fight for herself. Ariadne is also the major lead between the audience and Cobb's story. Ariadne is the only one in the crew who knows what is really eating Cobb, and about all these 'experiments' he does when no-one else is around. This makes Ariadne someone more special than the creator of the dream world. Oh, and I must commend her for making all of those amazing dreams...I imagine aspiring architects would be super jealous of what she gets to do.

Tom Hardy: Eames (The Forger)

What have I seen him in?? Inception...yet he is still one of my favourite actors.

Eames is the funniest character out of all of them, mainly because he likes to take the piss out of Arthur and also make himself look like an over-tanned old man and some tall blonde chick who hits on both Cillian Murphy and Ken Watanabe in one night. What a lucky, lucky guy. I absolutely adore Tom Hardy in this, because he is the cool guy. He can be serious but you can't really take him that seriously. He isn't afraid to dream a little bigger darling. Tom Hardy will be the next big actor in Hollywood, as I'm sure this and his acclaimed turn in Bronson have confirmed him to be a star of the rise and one you should definitely be watching in the future. And Eames gets all the best lines in this movie...

Cillian Murphy: Robert Fischer Jr. (The Mark)

What have I seen him in?? Cold Mountain, Batman Begins, Breakfast on Pluto, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, Sunshine, The Edge of Love, The Dark Knight and Inception. In the near future I will be watching Red Eye, Watching the Detectives and Girl with a Pearl Earring.

I am currently obsessed with Cillian Murphy. I don't know why, but everything about this guy is amazing. He is so under-rated and should really be getting an Oscar sometime soon, because he is such a diverse actor. Going from film to film it is hard to believe that it is the same person on the screen (especially watching Breakfast on Pluto and then Sunshine). However, in Inception, he starts off as an arrogant prick. He's a pampered rich boy who is exactly like his father, which is probably why they don't see eye to eye. I just really wanted to know why Fischer was hated by his father so much, was he a druggie or something?? Towards the end Fischer is the emotional character...the one we sympathize with. He's stuck in this dream where all these terrible things are happening, and BAM, his father is 'disappoint'. When he started crying, I started dying a little inside. In fact, everytime he came on screen, I started dying, because of those beautiful blue eyes and superbly crafted cheekbones...this guy is God.

Of course, I must also credit Tom Berenger, Michael Caine and Dileep Rao, who are all valuable assets in this multi-layered film of films. You guys are all probably aware of how much I love this movie. I promise that this will be the last time I watch Inception...until it comes out on DVD later this year...