Inception (2010)

Twenty years ago Jane Wagner asked, through a character played by Lilly Tomlin, "What is reality anyway? Just a collective hunch." In this movie we return to that question. Is reality just an illusion?

Writer and Director Christopher Nolan may well be a cinematic genius. He is certainly one fine story teller. As many others have pointed out, this movie is a beautiful synthesis of new and old movie making. They are done so well together you almost forget the line exists between whats real and what CG. But that is, after all, the point of the movie.

Leonardo DeCaprio continues to impress me. I try very hard to not like him but every movie he does beats that impulse down with great gusto. The rest of the cast are very much in a supporting role here, but the names and their work are equally stunning.

Joseph Gorden-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, and Cillian Murphy, all young guns with good resumes join as senior cast with huge names; Ken Watanabe, Tom Berenger, Marion Cotillard, Pete Postlethwaite, and Michael Caine.

No spoilers here, but from the get-go this movie keeps you guessing about which reality is which. You will have to draw your own conclusions.

Watch this movie with someone who has vivid dreams.

Shutter Island

This movie is not nearly as scary and the previews would lead you to believe. But it is much weirder than you might expect. Without giving too much away, this is another one of those stories where you think you know who the good guys and bad guys are until the end of the movie when you are surprised by who really is whom.

Leonardo DiCaprio does another great job playing a Boston-based cop. The range of emotions on display here are wonderful. Mark Ruffalo plays a very cool opposite to DiCaprio's overwrought character. Nice pairing of contrasts.

The supporting cast is very impressive and deserves much of the credit for the thrill in this crime thriller. Ben Kingsley and Max von Sydow are the biggest but by no means the best. I loved Ted Levine in the one scene he had with lines. Powerful stuff. Patricia Clarkson, Michelle Williams, John Carol Lynch, Elias Koteas, and Jackie Earle Haley all had pivotal roles played well.

The r-rating is for disturbing violent scenes although you never actually see much violence. What is implied however is very disturbing. Director Martin Scorsese does an amazing job of letting the audience's mind think it's knows whats going on. His continuity team really let him down however. The list of goofs is long and does not appear to include my favorite. A female patient who is given a glass of water to drink while being interviewed, raises an obviously empty right hand to drink and sets an empty glass down on the table with her left. What?

Watch this movie with someone who enjoys a good psycho-thriller with more psychos than thrillers.

Body of Lies

This is a good story well told. It is also very interesting from a variety of perspectives. If you are not aware of why the war on terrorism is going so slowly, this movie will give you two very good reasons. If you wonder how the CIA operates in a variety of places this movie will give you a bit of an insight into their methods. If you have not kept current on whats going on in the Middle East, this story might help you catch up a little bit.

Leonardo DiCaprio demonstrates once again how capable he is in every film genre he takes on. Teaming him with Russell Crowe as an American CIA desk operative was an interesting choice. Crowe character provides the perfect contrast of the stereotypical DC desk jockey to DiCaprio's character as the also classic perception of a field spook.

Mark Strong does another great job as the cool, smart, winner in this story. If you liked him as Archie in RocknRolla, you will love him as Hani in this movie.

Unless you have read the book you will probably have trouble guessing how this story is going to end, if you can call it an ending.

Watch this one with someone who likes trying to guess what's going to happen next.

The Aviator

Director Martin Scorsese has been making great films for over 50 years. "The Aviator" is among his best. It is not often that a bio-pic about well-known Hollywood insiders wins an Oscar. This one won 5 of the 11 nominations it earned.

While Leonardo DiCaprio (What's Eating Gilbert Grape, The Quick and the Dead, and Titanic) had the title role here, and played it brilliantly, he was not the top attraction. His work here may be his widest range thus far however. From amazing inventor, aviator, and captain of industry to the whacked-out germophobe living in the top floors of a Vegas casino, DiCaprio allows the audience forget it's acting.

Cate Blanchett (LOTR series, Babel, and the Elizabeth series) on the other hand, takes his work here to the next level and becomes Katherine Hepburn of the 1950's and beyond. For this she got to give an Oscar acceptance speech. if you have not seen this movie yet, watch it just for he performance as a lesson to all actors about having your character get into you rather than you getting into character. She is a complete Hepburn; voice, mannerisms, expressions, attitude, and moxie.

This project drew a big list of stars in support: Alan Alda, Alex Balwin, John C. Reilly, Kate Beckinsale, Gwen Stefani, and Jude Law to name just a few you might recognize, and each played a real person you might also have heard if. Everyone does a superb job of teaching real history in a real interesting way.

If you skipped this movie during the winter of 2004-2005, I highly recommend watching it now. If you have not seen it since, it is certainly worth a watch again, if for no other reason than to catch all the funny goofs which somehow made it into the final edit.

Watch this movie with a healthy dose of respect for how high it sets the bar.