Movie #304 - Inception

Inception
2010 - Rated R - 2 hr 28 min
Director: Christoper Nolan
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Marion Cotillard, Pete Postlethwaite, Michael Caine

This movie seems to be quite polarizing, at least in my opinion.  People either love it or hate it.  I happen to love it, mostly because I love a good "thinking" movie that sparks hours of debate when it's over.  Sure enough, everytime we watch this movie, the debate starts up all over again.  And every viewing also brings additional information to the table through new discoveries.

If you haven't seen it, I won't spoil anything for you.  Suffice it to say, Leonardo DiCaprio and friends know how to go into peoples' dreams and extract information.  The premise of this movie - the concept of inception - is a little harder than that.  With inception, the team must plant an idea seamlessly into someone's mind, making it seem as though it were there all along.  As DiCaprio's own past starts to catch up with him, Ellen Page tries to help him root out the truth and confront his guilt.  What happens to DiCaprio - and the end of the movie, in particular - is the subject of the debate.  Is it possible to lose track of reality when you jump through dreams for a living?  Makes sense to me.

Anyhow, I really love this one.  If you don't, I'd love to hear why not.  Plot too convuluted, overall movie too artsy, characters too flat... whatever.  I certainly wouldn't object to another debate on this one.

Movie #303 - The In-Laws

The In-Laws
2003 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 38 min
Director: Andrew Fleming
Starring: Albert Brooks, Michael Douglas, Ryan Reynolds, Robin Tunney, Lindsay Sloane, Maria Ricossa

This movie uses a similar framework to Meet the Parents but with a different spin.  The parents of a young to-be-married couple are getting to know each other when the groom's father (Michael Douglas) gets the bride' father (Albert Brooks) into a whole lot of trouble.  Douglas is an undercover CIA agent - waaaaay undercover - and Brooks gets accidentally dragged along.  He's nervous, uptight, and scared of almost everything, adding to the awkward comedy of this movie.

The young couple is played by Ryan Reynolds and the chick that played Big Red in Bring It On. Reynolds is like a little baby in this movie.  They're okay, but not really a focal point of the film, just necessary players to set up this wacky premise.

It's a fun movie, nothing extraordinary, but the chemistry between Douglas and Brooks is worth watching.

Movie #302 - In Her Shoes

In Her Shoes
2005 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 10 min
Director: Curtis Hanson
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, Shirley MacLaine

Another book to movie, In Her Shoes is based on the best selling novel of the same title by Jennifer Weiner, a personal favorite of mine.  So I know this book well and I can honeslty say that the page-to-screen transition was not as smooth as I'd like to see.

Obviously, most of the "booky" scenes were cut out and the filmable scenes were made more "filmy."  As a stand alone piece, it's coherent and tells a very emotionally engaging story. Except for Cameron Diaz, who has the emotional engagement capacity of a dead fruit fly.  Toni Collette is great as Rose except for one minor detail: she's not overweight.  In the book and even in the movie itself, there are several references to Rose being overweight.  So there's Toni Collette saying, "Clothes don't fit right and food just makes me fatter" and you're thinking, "UM....what?!"  She could've plumped it up a bit.  Or cut the references to Rose's weight.  It's jarring how off-base the comments are, and dressing Collette in baggy clothes doesn't do enough to make you believe it.

Still, I can step back from the novel and just enjoy the movie for itself.  It's a charming story, one all sisters can find something in common with, and I do like watching it.  I prefer to read the book, but that takes longer than the 2 hours this does.

Movie #301 - In Bruges

In Bruges
2008 - Rated R - 1 hr 47 min
Director: Martin McDonagh
Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Elizabeth Berrington, Ralph Fiennes, Eric Godon

On a quick side note, welcome to the 300s of our wild movie ride! I've got another hundred titles behind me and we're almost halfway there (at which point we'll absolutely be 'Livin' on a Prayer' - just fyi).  Anyway,  here's a great movie to kick off this new batch of 100!

I love In Bruges and even though it's got a plot that can't really be summed up properly in a blog post - it's just that kind of movie - it is so good, it's ridiculous.  So Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are two hired killers hiding out in Bruges, Belgium, waiting for word from their boss, played expertly by Ralph Fiennes.  The basic joke is that Fiennes' character things Bruges is the best place to vacation on earth, a Fairytale land. And Farrell likens it unto hell.

As things progress, we start to find out why these two are in hiding, what Farrell did to get them there, and what Fiennes wants to do about it.  A few colorful characters get introduced along the way - including a racist dwarf - and there are a few hysterical scenes strewn throughout this dark comedy to keep you laughing.  The overall tone is very bleak and dark, but with vibrant characters and a simple-but-complicated plot (I realize that's contradictory, but I promise that makes sense), everything falls into place to make this one enjoyable watch from beginning to end.

Movie #300 - The Importance of Being Earnest

The Importance of Being Earnest
2002 - Rated PG - 1 hr 37 min
Director: Oliver Parker
Starring: Rupert Everett, Colin Firth, Frances O'Connor, Reese Witherspoon, Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson

Yay, Oscar Wilde! The first time I watched this movie, I was actually playing a minor role in the stageplay.  So I can speak to the accuracy of the screenplay.  Barring a few minor cinematic changes that don't affect anything at all, this is pretty true to Wilde's original text.

Even better, the casting is superb.  This show's success hangs on a solid ensemble and this one's spot on.  Especially Reese Witherspoon, who I had my reservations about.  Her accent is impeccable and her portrayal of Cecily is adorable.  And with the addition of a Rupert Everett / Colin Firth duet, the movie version of this stage classic is perfect.  I love this movie!

Movie #299 - Immortal Beloved

Immortal Beloved
1994 - Rated R - 2 hr 1 min
Director: Bernard Rose
Starring: Gary Oldman, Jeroen Krabbe, Isabella Rossellini, Miriam Margolyes, Johanna ter Steege, Valeria Golino

I first saw this movie in high school on a friend's recommendation.  And since then, it's always stuck in my mind for some reason. This was my itnroduction to the fabulous character actor that is Gary Oldman-- nearly unrecognizable in his role as Ludwig van Beethoven.  Brilliant, too.

Immortal Beloved takes place after the composer's death, as his secretary (Jeroen Krabbe) searches high and low for the woman Beethoven referred to as his "immortal beloved, his other self."  He interviews three women important to Beethoven during his life to determine which of them has inherited his estate.  Putting the pieces together not only solves the question but also opens one of the women's eyes to a mystery from her own past.  It's bittersweet and heart-breaking, so romantically tragic.

I don't know how much of this is based on fact, but they take a historic figure and give him more humanness than the history books do.  Really well done, from beginning to end.  I love this one.

Movie #298 - The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
2009 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 3 min
Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Christopher Plummer, Lily Cole, Heath Ledger, Andrew Garfield, Verne Troyer, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell

Admittedly, this movie's plot is kinda complicated and the style is fairly artsy and pretty fantastical.  But it's Terry Gilliam. And Christopher Plummer. And Heath Ledger's last movie.  And although the plot seems complicated, the theme is the simplest there is: good versus evil. 

The movie centers on a traveling stage act where immortal Christoper Plummer allows spectators to enter his Imaginarium.  Inside, they must face a temptation found in their own imagination and choose between the good and the evil choice.  A wager between Dr. Parnassus (Plummer) and Nick (aka the Devil) becomes the central plot, as Parnassus' daughter and friends face their own battles. 

If you hadn't heard about this one yet, Heath Ledger died before filming was complete.  Depp, Law, and Farrell stepped in to help finish the movie, free of charge, as friends of the late actor.  How does that work? Pretty ingeniusly, actually.  Ledger completed all the "real world" shots but not the scenes inside the imaginarium.  The three fill-in actors take turns playing his character inside the fantasy world, where your appearance can be changed by your imagination.  This minor obstacle is worked seamlessly into the fill and not overexplained or hidden.  Each fill-in actor is meant to look as close to Ledger as possible, but it's not a big deal that they're not exact.  Surprisingly, it's not as jarring as you might think.

For all its artisticness and its subbing in of other actors, I really do enjoy this movie a lot.  Although set in modern times, The Imaginarium transports you into another world where all these fantasy elements seem quite commonplace.  Really well done, all around.