Inception

"Wait, whose subconscious are we going through exactly?"

Dreams hold our deepest secrets, the things we hide away from the rest of the world.  For Dom Cobb (DiCaprio) and his team, this is the scene of the crime: they are hired to extract information through a subjects dream.  He is the best, but his dreams are haunted by his late wife Mal (Cotillard), and he considered a fugitive, never able to see his children.  He is offered the chance for a clean slate and the opportunity to go home, after completing one final job.  He is hired by businessman Saito (Watanabe) to plant an idea in a competitor's, Robert Fischer (Murphy), mind: inception.  Inception is a tricky and layered process that tends to backfire and put the thieves in danger.

To get the job done Dom hires the best.  On point is Arthur (Gordon-Levitt), his frequent collaborator with a plan.  Eames (Hardy) is a forger with the ability to impersonate other people.  Ariadne (Page) is the new architect, hired to design the layout of the dreams.  And Yusuf (Rao) created a heavy sedative to keep everyone asleep for the necessary amount of time.  As the pieces fall into place, will the team be successful or will Mal lose sight of reality?

Once again Christopher Nolan delivered a knock-out!  A fast paced, complicated story which takes a bit to fully understand (there are dreams within dreams... it's complicated); interesting characters that grab you from the beginning, and awe-inspiring effects that leave you speechless.  Add a great cast, and you have a bona fide hit!

It's the kind of film you watch once and say "I don't know what happened, but that was awesome," and want to see again to try and understand it better.  After watching the film (I've only seen it once) I sat through all the end credits, trying to gather my thoughts (and ability to speak) and process everything from the screen.  I'm still trying to wrap my mind around parts and have been reading everything I can about the film.

The cast is great.  Tom Hardy's Eames steals the show, but not by much.  Everyone holds their own and creates memorable and interesting characters that you want to encourage...

And then there are the effects.  MINDBLOWING!  And the best part: most were done without the aid of computers.  How awesome is that!  Joseph Gordon-Levitt does an extended sequence of stunts (pictured above), which he actually performed, walking on all four sides of the room and other gravity-defying acts.

I would see it again in theatres or splurge and see it in IMAX, if it was still available in local theatres.  Definitely planning buy / rent this film as soon as it is available and have an Inception party, followed by lengthy discussions / analysis.  Good times!

Inception (2010) 148 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of violence and action throughout.
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Arthur
Ellen Page as Ariadne
Tom Hardy as Eames
Ken Watanabe as Saito
Dileep Rao as Yusuf
Cillian Murphy as Robert Fischer
Mario Cotillard as Mal

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

"We all have baggage."
"Yeah well, my baggage doesn't try and kill me every five minutes."

Scott Pilgrim (Cera) is a wimpy, 23 year old, currently "in between jobs."  He spends days with his high school girlfriend, Knives (Wong), to get over the last girl who broke his heart, and spends his evenings playing bass with garage band Sex Bob-omb.  He lives in a small apartment and shares a mattress on the floor with his sarcastic, gay roommate Wallace Wells (Culkin).  The literal girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers (Winstead), rolls into his life and changes everything.

The fuchsia haired Ramona halfheartedly agrees to go on a date with Scott and life is good... until he gets a strange email from Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha).  In order to continue dating Ramona, he must defeat her Seven Evil Exes.

• Matthew Patel, a rocker with mystical powers
• Lucas Lee (Chris Evans), a skateboarding movie star with a gang of stunt doubles
• Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh), a bassist with Vegan psychic powers
• Roxy Richter (Mae Whitman), her college roommate with ninja skills
• Kyle Katayanagi (Keita Saitou) & Ken Katayanagi (Shota Saitou), twins who combine forces
• Gideon Graves (Jason Schwartzman), a music executive

Will he defeat the exes and win the girl (and coins) or will he lose the game / his life?

O.M.G.  So awesome!!

First of all, I love Edgar Wright.  I am a big fan of his films Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, and TV shows Spaced and Asylum.  Love the collaboration between Wright and actor/writer Simon Pegg.  Love the writing and directing style.

Based on a popular comic strip with the same name, this film borrows heavily from comic book / video game styling.  For example, when a new character is introduced a box with information appears on the screen and whenever the phone rings the word "ring" appears.

All the battles between Scott and the Evil League of Exes are staged like video game battles, and when a person is defeated they turn into coins that Scott collects (like in old Mario games).  Everything is setup in fun and interesting ways.  I wish I knew more about the comic, or had read it prior to seeing the film.

Great cast... Kieran Culkin's Wallace steals every scene with his sarcastic comments.

Definitely worth the price of admission (I saw it the week it was released!!)!

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) 112 minutes

Rating: PG-13 for stylized violence, sexual content, language and drug references.

Director: Edgar Wright

Starring: Michael Cera as Scott Pilgrim

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Ramona Flowers

Kieran Culkin as Wallace Wells

Ellen Wong as Knives Chau

Alison Pill as Kim Pine

Mark Webber as Stephen Still

Johnny Simmons as Young Neil

Anna Kendrick as Stacey Pilgrim

The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines

"You'd be surprised what you can learn at the library"

A year has passed since Flynn Carsen (Wyle) became the Librarian.  In that time he has saved the world several times and moved out of his mother's house... but still hasn't attained the status of a "great" Librarian.

On his first day home after the latest library adventure, Flynn is called home for a surprise birthday party and receives a mysterious package.  At the party he reminisces with his mother (Olympia Dukakis) and his father's best friend, Uncle Jerry (Foxworth)... and when he returns home, the package is stolen.  He learns the package was part of a map to King Solomon's Mine.  Unwilling to let criminals find and plunder the mine first, he sets off to Morocco to look for clues.  While in Morocco, he teams up with archaeologist Emily Davenport (Anwar), who has more degrees and understands obscure ancient languages, and rescues Jomo (Hakeem Kae-Kazim), who vows to return the favor.  Together, they try to stay one step ahead of General Samir (Avari) and survive all the obstacles in their paths.


Like it's predecessor, The Librarian: Quest for the Spear, this movie is good for a cable TV movie (TNT)...  It's fun and funny with a great cast, with Gabrielle Anwar (from USA's "Burn Notice") and Erick Avari stepping in as the new love interest and the villain respectively.

The special effects are still bad, but it doesn't take away from the movie.  This film flows a little better and they add to the mythology / size of the Library.  It is great to return to these characters, especially seeing how Flynn has accepted his destiny... but still doesn't know everything or every move.  Enjoyable, and worth watching when TNT shows "Librarian" marathons.

The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines (2006) 92 minutes
Director: Jonathan Frakes
Starring: Noah Wyle as Flynn Carsen
Gabrielle Anwar as Emily Davenport
Bob Newhart as Judson
Erick Avari as General Samir
Robert Foxworth as Uncle Jerry

The Librarian: Quest for the Spear

"The fate of the world is in my hands? That's so... sad."

Professional student Flynn Carsen (Wyle) has over 20 degrees, but no real ambition.  When the university grants his latest degree mid-way through the semester, Flynn is forced to look for a real job.  He receives a mysterious invitation to interview for the position of librarian at the Metropolitan Public Library...but the job is more than what it seems.  The Librarian is a special individual who guards the secret treasures of the museum and routinely saves the world.

On his first day, he is sent to save the world when a piece of the Spear of Destiny is stolen from museum.  The spear gives it's bearer the ability to control the destiny of the world.  Flynn is sent to collect the remaining 2 pieces of the spear before the evil Serpent Brotherhood.  He is accompanied by Nicole Noone (Walger), his bodyguard.  Can Flynn's various degrees save the day, or will his lack of real-world skills disrupt the operation.


Good for what it is: a made for TV movie (on TNT).  A decent cast (loved Noah Wyle on ER) of well-known / easily recognizable TV stars: Wyle on ER, Walger on Lost & Flash Forward, Newhart on The Bob Newhart Show & Newhart, and Jane Curtin on SNL & 3rd Rock From the Sun.

An interesting story, with lots of potential.... overall it was well executed.  The special effects are laughable at times, but that could be due to a lower budget than Hollywood blockbusters.  A bigger budget and longer running time could make this film a big hit.  A decent film that I try to catch whenever TNT does a Librarian marathon.

The Librarian: Quest for the Spear (2004) 92 minutes
Director: Peter Winther
Starring: Noah Wyle as Flynn Carsen
Sonya Walger as Nicole Noone
Bob Newhart as Judson
Kyle MacLachlan as Edward Wilde
Kelly Hu as Lana
Jane Curtin as Charlene

The First Wives Club

"Ladies, you have to be strong and independent, and remember, don't get mad, get everything."

Three old college friends reunite over the death of Cynthia Swann Griffin (Stockard Channing) and their mutual marital woes.  Each supported their husband and helped launch his career and were dumped for a younger woman.  Actress Elise Elliot (Hawn) gave her ex Bill Atchison (Garber) producer credits on her films, even though he didn't know anything about film.  Now he is dating new, young actress Phoebe (Elizabeth Berkley), and asking for half of everything.  Brenda Cushman (Midler) worked at her husband Morty 's (Hedaya) store when he was starting out... Now he is seeing golddigger Shelly (Parker), and Brenda is trying to support their son.  Annie Paradis (Keaton) is disillusioned about her relationship with her husband Aaron (Collins).  They are separated but she thinks they will reconcile, he wants a divorce so he can marry their therapist Dr. Leslie Rosen (Marcia Gay Hayden).

They decide to fight back.  They will make each man pay: literally and physically.  They are aided by wealthy divorcee Gunilla Garson Goldberg (Smith), Brenda's boss designer Duarto Feliz (Bronson Pinchot), and Annie's vengeful, lesbian daughter Chris (Jennifer Dundas).


Three talented actresses tackle a comedy about strong females.  Each character goes on a journey to self discovery.  Goldie Hawn gets to do most of the heavy lifting and is the most interesting character.  She gets the best wardrobe and some great lines.  Diane Keaton gets the biggest arc, and the burden of narrating the film.  Her character goes from mousy dependent to confident business woman, in a mostly believable way.  Bette Midler gets to be angry throughout, but she gets most of the good one-liners.

A funny film... still relevant after all these years.  Is it amazing or well-written?  No, but it is a great pickup after a bad or exhausting day.  And just try to get "You Don't Own Me" out of your head after finishing the film.  The final scene (shown above) is probably my favorite part of the film... they are having a great time and you just want to get up and dance with them.  Proudly a part of my film collection!

The First Wives Club (1996) 103 minutes
Rating: PG for thematic elements, some mild language and sensuality.
Director: Hugh Wilson
Starring: Bette Midler as Brenda Cushman
Goldie Hawn as Elise Elliot
Diane Keaton as Annie Paradis
Maggie Smith as Gunilla Garson Goldberg
Dan Hedaya as Morty Cushman
Sarah Jessica Parker as Shelly Stewart
Victor Garber as Bill Atchison
Stephen Collins as Aaron Paradis