Inception

Dear readers despair for alas, Inception has proved yet another stumbling block on the path leading to that grandest of goals: me thinking along the same lines as mainstream society.

Inception is a brilliant film. Excellently made and highly entertaining, but despite it's many, many strong attributes I left the screening feeling under-whelmed.

"Why," you ask (I can tell that you asked it because that part was in speech marks) "Why are you not raving about this film like every reviewer on Earth? Like every movie-goer on Earth. If you have a pulse, you should be raving about this film. Even the trailers and TV spots have fan groups on Facebook! Yet you have the audacity to be "under-whelmed"?!" (See what I did there with the quote inside the quote? Clever huh?)

I do want to sing the praises of this film. I want to tell you about how amazing Joseph Gordon-Levitt is. How Tom Hardy and Leonardo DiCaprio are coolness personified and a pleasure to watch. How the film is based on an entirely clever and original idea - a rarity these days. What about the breath-stopping corridor fight scene which push the world of visual effects to another level. It is all of these things and a true feat of film making. Christopher Nolan is excellent at what he does.

I am however, I'll confess to you and you alone, getting a leeeeeeetle tired of people rattling on about this film as it it's a life-changing experience. Yes it's excellent, but for me it didn't leave me questioning my reality, the world around me, everything I'd ever known and believed. I just walked away, no questions at all.

The film relies on layers and shifts in time and relativity, dreams and reality are inter-changed but I was hugely disappointed to be able to keep up the whole time. Not once did I question where I was or when or if it was a dream or not. Perhaps my expectations were misguided because of the publicity out of the US, but I really didn't get the dose of mind-fuck that I was looking for. I wasn't challenged.

Visually I was also let down. Yeah alright it looked pretty impressive, but it wasn't like the Matrix was - creating brand new effects never before seen on the big screen. The rolling over of Paris that we've all seen in the trailer was their big set piece and it was pretty meh really. I can't fault any of it, I just wanted a bit more.

I'm prepared for basically everyone to disagree with me on this one. I really am. Just please don't feel the need to tell me about it. My world has gone on completely unchanged post-Inception though I did enjoy the two and a half hours I spent watching it. I just don't feel the need to see it again.


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Four - bet you wouldn't have picked that from my comments as a whole, but I did tell you it was well made.

A bit of a catch-up

I know it will be of little consolation to my devoted readers (hi Mum!) but I truly have been very busy. You know, training clowns... catching rainbows... that sort of thing! Once again I'm sorry for being so lax when it comes to keeping you all informed of my valuable and always correct opinions on things.

Catch you you on the latest and greatest here are some quick fire opinions:

At the Movies
Twilight: Eclipse
SO mediocre it's crazy. Better made than the last two, but it still fails to prompt any sort of engagement or emotional response. There was nearly a threesome in a tent on a mountain though. That would have been ok.

Karate Kid
Actually bloody good! Not a direct copy of the first one but infused with the same spirit. Even Jackie Chan can't ruin this pretty fun film. Quite long, but also really enjoyable.

Toy Story 3
Great film. What can I say? Pixar have done it again. It's perhaps not as magical as Up in my opinion, but a damned fine film. Well worth the watch for families and lovers of animation.

I'm ridiculously behind on my arthouse viewing I'm sorry to report. I do mean to see The Last Station, Me and Orson Wells and Secret in their Eyes.


On the Box

• Recently the Neil Patrick Harris episode of Glee was better than having sex while eating toast... with peanut butter on it!
• I'm sorry to see the back of Modern Family which is, in my humble absolute correctness, one of the best TV shows to come out of the US in quite some time.
• Outrageous Fortune is back and better than ever.
• Nurse Jackie also returns adding a touch of prescription meds to the on-air line-up

In your ears

I haven't really heard anything brilliant recently that's been pushed on the radio. However... 

I was lucky enough to hear Janine Foster play recently at the Basement. She is an amazing talent and one to watch. A powerful, smokey voice and song writing that made me involuntarily stop breathing. You can actually check her out for free by coming to this event. 

I'm also a little intrigued by some artists I've only heard single songs from. They're all local acts and they are:

Lydia Cole

Annah Mac

SJD

Kristen Morrell

James Duncan

Seth Haapu

Iva Lamkum

So hopefully this will bring you roughly up to speed on the things that have been occupying my thoughts and spare time recently. I will try to be better. I, of course, promise nothing!