Directorial Retrospective: Christopher Nolan

It’s time for another directorial retrospective and this week, in honor of the release of his latest film, ‘Interstellar’, today we’ll be looking at the films of another one of the best directors currently working today in Hollywood: Christopher Nolan. The London-born director got off to a pretty good start early in his career with a few solidly-acclaimed movies like ‘Memento’ and ‘Insomnia’. But then in 2005, he truly made his mark in Hollywood when he took over the ‘Batman’ film franchise. Not only did he bring the character back to top form after the franchise had died out eight years prior, but also ended up giving us what is quite frankly the best superhero film trilogy to date whereas most other superhero film franchises have weaker third entries compared to the first two (like ‘Spider-Man’ and ‘X-Men’). Nolan is one of the few directors right now who, in my opinion, has yet to make a bad movie. But with that said, let me make something perfectly clear; while Nolan is one of my favorite directors, that doesn’t mean that I’m a Nolan ‘fan-boy’. Unfortunately, there are some people out there who are so huge fans of Nolan that they act like he’s the best director ever and act like jerks to anyone who doesn’t like his movies. You may recall back when ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ came out, they actually sent death threats to any critic who gave it a negative review (and given the current critical reception to ‘Interstellar’, I’m guessing they’ve already done the same thing again to those who didn’t like it). So while I am a big fan of his movies, I’m not ‘that big’ a fan. So now that I got that out of the way, here are the films of director Christopher Nolan.

FOLLOWING (1998)

While Nolan first attracted major attention with his second film, ‘Memento’, his official feature-length debut was 1998’s ‘Following’ and really, for a film made on a $6,000 budget, featuring a cast consisting of what we can assume as a bunch of Nolan’s friends (along with his uncle John, who later appeared in two of the ‘Dark Knight’ films) and with a runtime that’s just a bit over an hour long, it’s actually a pretty impressive directorial debut. It’s a very engaging/twisting crime drama that very much feels like a crime noir. Nolan makes the most of his incredibly limited budget, handling the cinematography himself and only doing about one or two takes of every scene, heavily rehearsing them beforehand, so he wouldn’t waste any film stock. This results in a film that feels incredibly focused from beginning to end due to how careful Nolan was when it came to making the film. Plus, at just 70 minutes long, it’s a breeze to get through. All in all, ‘Following’ is a film that, for its time, was the first to show-off Christopher Nolan’s talents as a director. Things would only get better for him as time went on.

Rating: 4/5

MEMENTO (2000)

 

After ‘Following’, Nolan immediately followed that up with ‘Memento’, which was based off of the short story ‘Memento Mori’ written by his brother and frequent collaborator Jonathan Nolan. This was the film that officially established him as one of the best new directors working in Hollywood at the time although you could also say that he really didn’t become a household name until he took on the ‘Dark Knight’ trilogy. ‘Memento’ is a very complicated film, primarily through the way it is structured. There are two parts to this film; a series of black-and-white sequences and a series of color sequences. The black-and-white sequences are shown in chronological order, but the color sequences are shown in reverse order. In other words, one color sequence will begin where the next color sequence will end and the film intercuts between the color and black-and-white sequences. It isn’t until the end when both sequences meet where the film finally starts moving in proper order. So like with many of Nolan’s films, you have to make sure you’re paying attention because otherwise you might get lost.

That’s why ‘Memento’ is such an effective psychological thriller. Because the film is technically ‘out of order’, we’re usually trying to figure out what’s happening due to the fact that we basically go into each scene in the middle of the action. We gradually learn more about what happens as the film goes on. It isn’t until the end, with a great twist regarding the truth behind the events of the story, when we finally understand what’s really going on. It’s all headlined by an outstanding performance by Guy Pearce in the role of Leonard, a man who has anterograde amnesia following an attack on him and his wife, which resulted in her death, by two men who now looks to find the one that escaped to enact his revenge for the death of his wife. It’s a complicated role, and Pearce fits the role of what can be classified as an ‘unreliable narrator’ perfectly. So much so that it’s sad that he didn’t get nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor that year because I feel that this is one of the best performances from any actor/actress that I’ve ever seen. ‘Memento’ is, without a doubt, one of Nolan’s best films as it is a smartly written thriller with an excellent payoff.

Rating: 5/5!

INSOMNIA (2002)

This is one of Nolan’s lesser-talked about films and I’m guessing the main reason for this is because this is the only film that he has directed where he wasn’t primarily involved with the screenplay. Instead, it was someone else who wrote this remake of a 1997 Norwegian film of the same name, though apparently Nolan did write the final draft of the screenplay. Despite this, the fact that Nolan wasn’t in charge of the screenplay does kind of show, as the film isn’t as twisted as Nolan’s other works. It’s a much more straight-forward story. Still, Nolan’s direction shines through in this film, which centers on a pair of detectives who travel to a small Alaskan town in order to help solve the case of the murder of a teen girl. However, during the investigation, the main character Will Dormer (Al Pacino) accidentally shoots his partner Hap (Martin Donovan) dead, resulting in him suffering from insomnia due to both his guilt over what had happened and also because the town he’s staying in is stuck in perpetual daylight. It’s an interesting look into the psyche of Dormer, who slowly but surely starts to lose his mind as the movie goes on. Pacino is fantastic in this, but really the main stand-out is Robin Williams in the role of the killer, crime author Walter Finch. I actually have to admit that this is the first film of Williams’ that I have seen that wasn’t a ‘comedy’ and it goes to show that with films like this, ‘Good Will Hunting’, and ‘The Fisher King’, that Williams was very much a truly great screen talent… and he will be very much missed. So in short, ‘Insomnia’ is another solid effort from Nolan, but while I do feel that it’s definitely one of his more underrated films, I can’t really say it’s his most absolute underrated. Still, ‘Insomnia’ is very much worth checking out.

Rating: 4/5

THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY (2005, 2008, 2012)

Due to the fact that I already talked about these films back in May when I did my retrospective on the ‘Batman’ films in honor of the 75^th anniversary of the character’s first appearance, I’m not going to go into too much detail about them here. For that, just refer back to that earlier post (http://rimoviecorner.blogspot.com/2014/05/batman-film-retrospective-part-1-live.html) but I’ll still do a quick recap on what I had said there. After the ‘Batman’ film franchise hit rock bottom in 1997 with ‘Batman and Robin’, Christopher Nolan revitalized the series in 2005 with ‘Batman Begins’. That film returned the series to its darker roots and gave us a solid look into the origins of Batman, something that we hadn’t really seen before in previous films. Featuring a great cast, great writing, and some terrific visuals, ‘Batman Begins’ is a phenomenal entry in the comic book genre, even if most of the hand-to-hand combat sequences aren’t really that good due to shaky cam work and quick editing. It does something much different in that while it is a comic book movie, it’s much more grounded in reality than what one would usually expect from a film of this genre. It’s a style that has influenced many as shown in films like the Daniel Craig ‘Bond’ films and even some other superhero films like ‘Man of Steel’ and ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’.

Thankfully, that issue of weak fight sequences disappeared three years later with ‘The Dark Knight’… I don’t need to go any farther than that. You all know how phenomenal a movie it is with a well-deserved Oscar win for Heath Ledger who gave us the best on-screen portrayal yet of Batman’s iconic nemesis, the Joker. It was such a great movie that admittedly it ended up having a bit of a negative effect on the finale, ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ and sure enough there are some people out there who were extremely disappointed by it. I’m not one of them… sure it may not be as great as ‘The Dark Knight’ due to some small issues like the occasional plot-hole (even though I’m not really bothered by them compared to most people) and some rushed character development. But it’s still an excellent conclusion to this trilogy and if anything, you can’t deny it’s still a well-crafted film. In short, ‘The Dark Knight Trilogy’ is the best superhero film trilogy to date as all three films are superb. That’s because they’re more than just your typical superhero films… they’re incredibly well-written films that ignore the more fantastical elements of the comic books to go for much more grounded storylines that I feel do one of the most iconic comic book superheroes of all time justice. Simply put, this trilogy is a high mark of the superhero film genre.

BEGINS: 4.5/5

DARK KNIGHT: 5/5!

RISES: 5/5!

THE PRESTIGE (2006)

‘The Prestige’ is easily Christopher Nolan’s most underrated film, one that feels like it’s been rather forgotten about in recent years. It’s sad because ‘The Prestige’ is arguably one of Nolan’s best films. It’s an incredibly compelling story about two magicians, played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, who form an intense rivalry as they each try to one-up each other in regards to creating amazing illusions of magic, often leading to dangerous and tragic results for the both of them. As you would expect from a Nolan film, ‘The Prestige’ is full of twists and turns to keep you guessing the entire film. After all, the film opens with the line ‘Are you watching closely?’ which just goes to show how twisty the film’s plot is from beginning to end. I’ve heard some people say that they didn’t like the ending, but I found it to be a pretty neat ending. Now for the sake of spoilers I won’t say anything about what actually happens during the ending. However, if I had to describe it in just one word, it would be this; Duality. If you see the film, you’ll understand what I mean by that. All in all, with great production design, great direction from Nolan (obviously), and a terrific cast including Jackman, Bale, Michael Caine, and Scarlett Johansson, ‘The Prestige’ definitely deserves more attention than it’s currently getting. Like I said back in May 2013 when I reviewed the film ‘Now You See Me’, I feel like the idea of magicians isn’t very popular anymore which I do find a little sad because the art of magic can lead to some amazing results and this film is very much proof of that.

Rating: 4.5/5

INCEPTION (2010)

In between ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, Nolan took on a dream project of his that he had been working on since 2002 about ‘dream stealers’. Originally envisioned as a horror film, it soon became what we know today as ‘Inception’. As is typical with Nolan’s films, the film is very complicated in terms of its plot. This is one of those films that very much requires constant attention throughout… otherwise you might get lost. But if you do stick with it, the payoff is quite satisfying. ‘Inception’ is an incredibly engaging and original story (although some will say it’s just ‘The Matrix’) featuring some incredible visuals that come as a result of the many dreams that the main characters infiltrate throughout the course of the film, like the fight sequence where Arthur (Joseph Gordon Levitt) fights henchmen in a rotating hallway. It’s even more impressive knowing that Nolan, as he did with the ‘Dark Knight’ films, opted to use as much practical effects as possible. The cast is terrific from top to bottom, highlighted by Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role of Dom, a ‘dream thief’ who takes on one last job in order to get back home to his kids following the death of his wife Mal (Marion Cotillard), who now haunts his memories due to him feeling guilty for letting it happen. The pulse-pounding score by Hans Zimmer, which as many of you know has been copied quite a lot in many other films since this film came out, is also excellent. My only complaint about the film is that the pacing is rather too slow. When I saw this film in the theaters, I swear that it felt like I was watching a four-hour movie when it was really only two and a half hours. Despite that, ‘Inception’ is just an awesome sci-fi heist film and another great entry in Nolan’s prestigious resume.

Rating: 4.5/5   

Top 10 Films of 2010

Since we are nearing the end of 2013 and I’m already starting to develop lists for both my Top 10 Best and Worst films of the year, I decided to take a look back into the past and do Top 10 lists for the best films of the year for both 2010 and 2011. I chose these years in particular because these were the first two years where I really started to get into the ‘film critic’ business. I have done lists for both of these years in the past, but these lists have no doubt changed since then. First up, here are my picks for the Top 10 best films of 2010; overall, this was a very good year of movies overall thanks in part to some great sequels, surprising remakes, and compelling dramas. Before I get into the actual Top 10, I have three honorable mentions.

Tron: Legacy

1982’s ‘Tron’ is well regarded as a cult classic of the 80’s but it took 28 years to make a sequel. However, in the end, I think the sequel does manage to be as good as the original. The visuals are spectacular, the film’s techno-based soundtrack by Daft Punk is one of the best film scores in recent memory, and while the writing may not exactly be great, the acting is pretty good all around, primarily from Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde, and Garrett Hedlund. Like with this year’s ‘Oblivion’, director Joseph Kosinski does an excellent job at setting up the universe of ‘The Grid’. However, also like with ‘Oblivion’, he needs better writing.

The Karate Kid

This was a film that, at first, I wasn’t particularly interested in; maybe because it was a remake of a classic underdog story or because it didn’t really appeal to me. Thankfully, I was proven wrong as this movie is one of the rare remakes that are just as good as the original. This film has incredible cinematography, which is mainly thanks to the film’s backdrop; China. Both Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan do terrific jobs in the lead roles and the film does a great job at detailing the relationship between student and master in which they work together in order to succeed. I have to give this movie a lot of credit because it truly did catch me off guard.

Unstoppable

Here’s another movie that sort of caught me off guard, but in the case of this movie, it was in the sense that this film actually got really good reviews from critics when it was released, which I really wasn’t expecting from an action movie about a runaway freight train. In the end, this was a very entertaining popcorn flick. It has you at the edge of your seat from beginning to end, and Denzel Washington and Chris Pine both do excellent jobs; the two have great camaraderie. It’s the final film from director Tony Scott, two years before he tragically committed suicide, but it’s perhaps one of his best efforts.

Kicking things off at Number 10 is a sequel that, while not as good as the original or its successor, is still a very entertaining entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

10. Iron Man 2

From a series standpoint, ‘Iron Man 2’ is the weakest of the ‘Iron Man’ movies. That’s mainly because the filmmakers went a little too far in ‘upping the ante’ for the sequel. The main problem with the film is that there are just too many characters in it, meaning that some don’t get the proper character development they deserve, particularly the main villain Whiplash. However, despite this, the movie is still very entertaining as a whole and Robert Downey Jr. is still excellent as always in the role of Tony Stark (although this film plays up his arrogance just a bit too much). In the end, while the writing could have been better, this is another entertaining entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and another step towards what would come later with ‘The Avengers’.

At number 9 is the most underrated film of 2010, as it performed pretty poorly at the box office despite solid reviews from critics. It’s a real shame because this is a really creative and entertaining film.

9. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

First off, let me just say three things about this film. Yes, it is incredibly weird. Yes, the first 30 minutes or so are rather slow and boring. Yes, the main character is rather unlikable because he abandons his sweet and caring girlfriend for someone else. Despite all of these ‘disadvantages’, the movie is just awesome. Director Edgar Wright’s slick and kinetic direction is perfect for this adaptation of the graphic novel series of the same name. As for the slow opening, once the first of Ramona’s evil Exes appears, the film picks up the pace and immediately improves as a result of it. The film’s many references to video games make it one of the best ‘video game’ movies out there. The irony about this is that it’s not even based off of a video game. Again, it’s too bad that this movie didn’t perform well at the box office because it’s another excellent film from the director of some of the best comedies in recent years; ‘Shaun of the Dead’, ‘Hot Fuzz’, and ‘The World’s End’, three films that could also sort of be called ‘underrated’ because they didn’t really perform well commercially here in the U.S.

In between ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, Christopher Nolan made this awesome movie, which earns the Number 8 spot on this list.

8. Inception

As a director, Nolan has been known for movies with complicated plots and storylines and this film is no exception. You really have to pay attention during the movie; otherwise you’ll get lost pretty quickly. Thankfully, the movie is incredibly entertaining from beginning to end with some incredible action sequences, the standout being the scene where Joseph Gordon Levitt’s character Arthur fights off bad guys in a rotating hallway. Acting is rock-solid all around and Leonardo DiCaprio is excellent as usual in the lead role of Dom Cobb. My only real complaint is that at times the movie is a little slow. It’s only 2 and half hours long but when I saw it in the theater, it felt like four hours. But in the end, Nolan delivers an exciting and overall very smart sci-fi film; one of the best of the last decade.

Number 7 is a film where, technically speaking, it mainly consists of its lead actor being the only one on screen for the majority of the film. But in the case of this movie, is that really a problem?

7. 127 Hours

‘127 Hours’ is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston’s accident in 2003 when he was trapped by a boulder while traveling through a canyon in Utah, ultimately having to cut off his arm in order to survive. That scene in particular is obviously not for the faint of heart, but the whole movie in general is backed by a terrific performance by James Franco as Ralston and director Danny Boyle’s top-notch direction.

From one movie that’s not that easy to watch to another, Number 6 is ‘a love story’ that is anything but one.

6. Blue Valentine

Let’s be honest; this film is rather tough to watch. It’s about a married couple whose marriage is in heavy decline. Not exactly the best film for a romantic ‘date night’, is it? In fact apparently this film is sometimes put in the ‘romance’ section of video stores; talk about misleading. Trust me guys, you don’t want to watch this movie with your loved one unless you want to be sleeping on the couch for the night. But despite that, this movie is still very good mainly because of the execution. Yes, it’s a movie that focuses on a declining marriage but director Derek Cianfrance also does a great job of showing what happened before all of this, when main characters Dean and Cindy first fell in love. But the best part about this whole film is the performances from Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as Dean and Cindy. Because the film was shot in a way so that the two of them can get more acquainted with each other during shooting, their performances feel even more real. This is one of the best dramas to come out in recent years though, like I said, it’s not the best recommendation for ‘date night’.

Starting off the Top 5 is the film that may have come out more than a decade after its immediate predecessor but nevertheless it was a fitting conclusion to one of the best trilogies ever.

5. Toy Story 3

It’s rare when the third film in a trilogy manages to be just as good as the first two films, but ‘Toy Story 3’ succeeds at doing that. The writing is once again excellent and also very mature at the same time; none of the emotions that are conveyed in the film feel cheap; they feel very real (and this is a movie about living toys, for crying out loud). Of course, this film isn’t afraid to take some dark turns, namely the ‘fake-out’ near the end and yes the ending of this movie is guaranteed to have you fighting back tears. It ends the series on a high note and while it’s not really the best in the series, this is probably the only true trilogy where every entry in it is fantastic.

As I mentioned earlier, ‘The Karate Kid’ was one of those rare remakes that managed to be just as good as the original. In the case of Number 4, dare I say it, this film might actually be better than the original.

4. True Grit

The original ‘True Grit’, starring John Wayne, Glen Campbell, and Kim Darby, is a classic in the western genre but in a way, the Coen Brothers’ remake is superior because of the change in overall tone. For lack of a better term, this version is ‘grittier’, with a more determined Mattie Ross, a more pathetic but still badass Rooster Cogburn, and an ending that is far from being a happy one. My only real complaint is that the villains were rather lackluster compared to their counterparts from the original film, despite very good performances from both Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper. Still, this remake succeeds by taking the bold route and not going with a traditional happy ending.

When it was first announced that the final entry in this famous series would be split into two movies, I was rather hesitant but in the end this ended up working in the series’ favor.

3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1

This film is proof that you can split a film into two parts if you have enough material to work with, unlike other certain films (I’m looking at you, ‘Breaking Dawn’).  Compared to ‘Part 2’ and the final battle of Hogwarts, ‘Part 1’ may seem rather uneventful seeing how most of it consists of Harry, Ron, Hermione on their travels to destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes. But as a whole, I like that this one was a change of pace from the previous films where it was always them going to Hogwarts and then fighting Voldemort and/or his evil forces at the end. This film also gives leads Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson a chance to shine in their respective roles, especially seeing how they’re usually the only ones on screen for the majority of the film. The film serves a great set-up for the finale and another fantastic entry in the ‘Harry Potter’ franchise.

At Number 2 is the film that proved the following fact; Ben Affleck’s career was back on track after it was on a severe downturn in 2004.

2. The Town

On the surface, ‘The Town’ is sort of your traditional heist/thriller film but with Affleck behind the camera as the director, the film holds your interest from beginning to end. It’s also very well acted; in the lead role, Affleck proves that he’s improved as an actor by giving a very reserved but strong performance as career criminal Doug McRay. But the one who steals the show here would have to be Jeremy Renner as Doug’s ‘loose cannon’ best friend and co-partner James Coughlin. Thanks to films like this, ‘Gone Baby Gone’, and ‘Argo’, Ben Affleck has become one of the best directors working today.

Finally, at Number 1 we have the film that manages to be something more than just being about the beginnings of its eponymous creation.

1. The Social Network

The idea of a movie about Facebook seems rather ridiculous, but director David Fincher succeeds at bringing one to the big screen. How? Basically, it’s by making a movie that manages to be more than just the story of how Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook. It’s also the story about how Zuckerberg made many enemies in the process of becoming the world’s youngest billionaire, whether it’s ‘stealing’ the idea from the Winklevoss twins or getting his friend/business partner Eduardo Saverin’s shares in the company diminished. Add in Fincher’s unique visual style, Aaron Sorkin’s superb writing, and terrific performances all around and you have yourself a movie that may not be entirely accurate but is easily one of the best dramas in recent years and my pick for the best film of 2010.

Check back later this week for the top 10 films of 2011.