Movies releasing today: It's INCEPTION time!
Seven new films open in South Africa today. Curiously two of these films have already been released by one of the nation's two main distributors - if the Nu Metro and Ster Kinekor websites are to be believed. So, yes, apparently as of this weekend you can finally watch Lars von Trier's controversial arthouse horror film, Antichrist (48% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), as well as "uplifting" Christian cancer drama Letters to God (17% Fresh) , at selected Ster Kinekor cinemas.
Also screening at select Ster Kinekor cinemas is filmed concert The Big Four. Gods of metal Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax rock out for three and a half hours on the big screen. Fans will no doubt love it! Completely different, but also showing in limited release, is the Oscar nominated German drama, The White Ribbon (85% Fresh) about a village that falls prey to suspicion and mysterious events just prior to World War I.
Meanwhile, screening more widely at local moviehouses from today are interracial comedy Our Family Wedding (13% Fresh) starring Ugly Betty's America Ferrera and Forest Whitaker; and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, a Bollywood crime drama centred on the exploits of a notorious gangster.
That then leaves my movie pick of the week: Inception.
Up until now - with the exception of the animated movies - it's been a very mediocre midyear blockbuster season. I mean, Kick-Ass still easily tops my list of 2010's best live-action films. Inception, the latest twisty sci-fi thriller from The Dark Knight and Memento's Christopher Nolan looks set to change that. Apparently it's the first really good, thought-provoking, and highly entertaining film of the US Summer.
I've tried not to delve too deeply into information about Inception in case I spoil the film for myself. What I do know is that Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard and Nolan regular Michael Caine star in a pleasantly original tale that mixes science fiction and corporate espionage. Inception centres on people who make a career from entering the dreams of others to steal, and occasionally plant, ideas. Of course, such actions are highly dangerous as dream worlds are unstable, collapsing and reforming regularly. Anyway, in the film DiCaprio's character is regarded as a top "dream stealer," and he accepts one final contract in the hope that he can regain his former life.
Nolan is one of my favourite directors, having made the excellent Dark Knight, Insomnia and The Prestige - all of which rank among my favourite ever films. So naturally I have very high hopes that Inception will be similarly intelligent and entertaining.
Inception is 87% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Fans are calling it a visually stunning action film that doesn't sacrifice the cerebral, and improves as the movie progresses. Detractors, meanwhile, are calling Inception incoherent and "Freudian claptrap." Blade Runner comparisons abound, with many reviewers commenting that Inception is one of those movies we'll be rewatching for years as we attempt to slice through its many, many layers of meaning.
I just have to add that I'm immensely disappointed South African IMAX is dead, because watching this film on the giant screen would surely be the optimal way to experience it.
Also screening at select Ster Kinekor cinemas is filmed concert The Big Four. Gods of metal Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax rock out for three and a half hours on the big screen. Fans will no doubt love it! Completely different, but also showing in limited release, is the Oscar nominated German drama, The White Ribbon (85% Fresh) about a village that falls prey to suspicion and mysterious events just prior to World War I.
Meanwhile, screening more widely at local moviehouses from today are interracial comedy Our Family Wedding (13% Fresh) starring Ugly Betty's America Ferrera and Forest Whitaker; and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, a Bollywood crime drama centred on the exploits of a notorious gangster.
That then leaves my movie pick of the week: Inception.
Up until now - with the exception of the animated movies - it's been a very mediocre midyear blockbuster season. I mean, Kick-Ass still easily tops my list of 2010's best live-action films. Inception, the latest twisty sci-fi thriller from The Dark Knight and Memento's Christopher Nolan looks set to change that. Apparently it's the first really good, thought-provoking, and highly entertaining film of the US Summer.
I've tried not to delve too deeply into information about Inception in case I spoil the film for myself. What I do know is that Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard and Nolan regular Michael Caine star in a pleasantly original tale that mixes science fiction and corporate espionage. Inception centres on people who make a career from entering the dreams of others to steal, and occasionally plant, ideas. Of course, such actions are highly dangerous as dream worlds are unstable, collapsing and reforming regularly. Anyway, in the film DiCaprio's character is regarded as a top "dream stealer," and he accepts one final contract in the hope that he can regain his former life.
Nolan is one of my favourite directors, having made the excellent Dark Knight, Insomnia and The Prestige - all of which rank among my favourite ever films. So naturally I have very high hopes that Inception will be similarly intelligent and entertaining.
Inception is 87% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Fans are calling it a visually stunning action film that doesn't sacrifice the cerebral, and improves as the movie progresses. Detractors, meanwhile, are calling Inception incoherent and "Freudian claptrap." Blade Runner comparisons abound, with many reviewers commenting that Inception is one of those movies we'll be rewatching for years as we attempt to slice through its many, many layers of meaning.
I just have to add that I'm immensely disappointed South African IMAX is dead, because watching this film on the giant screen would surely be the optimal way to experience it.
Comments
Hanum, thanks for sharing your opinion.
That already gives me goose bumps, and I want to see this! :)