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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 21 July 2010

Inception may be the most intelligent action film you will ever see.  I’ve always believed that you cannot sum up the plot of a great film in a single sentence.  It’s proven true once again.  I’d need reams of A4 paper before even attempting to dissect this storyline.  It’s a stunning achievement - one that has been ten years in the making for writer-director Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight).

So how do I describe the story?  I need to give you all something.  Essentially this film is about dreams.  What if we lived in a world where we had the power to share dreams?  What if we took this a step further and people were able to manipulate you in these dreams?  I know we’ve seen films about this subject before (Strange Days springs to mind) but it’s Nolan’s vision which makes this so impressive.

To use his own words, Nolan “wanted to create a film that would allow the audience to experience the limitless realities that only in dreams can we realize.”  The key word there is “limitless”.  It has given Nolan full reign to create some amazingly artistic sequences.  There’s a fight scene involving Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a hotel hallway which left me shaking my head with disbelief.

There are many players in this intricate tale but the central character is Dom Cobb (DiCaprio), a master in dream extraction.  He is paid to infiltrate people’s minds and coerce them into revealing their deepest secrets.  This is an incredibly powerful ability but as you can imagine, it’s also highly illegal.  Wanted by the authorities in America, Cobb was forced to flee the country and leave his young children behind.  All he wants is to find a way to clear his name and return home.

A wealthy businessman (Watanabe) is about to provide Cobb with that opportunity.  If he can pull off one final job, he will use his connections and allow Cobb safe passage back into the United States.  Their target is Robert Fischer (Murphy), the heir to a billion dollar energy business.  This is a very different assignment though.  Cobb will not be stealing memories.  He will be implanting them.  With the help of his team, he will be taking on this extremely risky process known simply as “inception”.

Legendary film critic Roger Ebert aptly described Inception as “a movie immune to spoilers: if you knew how it ended, that would tell you nothing unless you knew how it got there."  I must say though that the film does end on a perfect note.  Like everything that precedes it, it’s designed to leave you thinking and to leave you talking.  I just love movies like this.  I can picture the wry smile on Christopher Nolan’s face when he finally finished his first draft.  He must have known this was something special.

There’s not a lot of background to the story (such as how the dream extraction technology evolved) and some viewers may be critical of this fact.  I didn’t have a problem with it.  You must take your brain into the cinema but you can rightly leave your sense of reality at home.  It’s the only way you’ll be able to completely surrender to Nolan’s world and what he is trying to achieve.

The cast is a who’s who of my favourite actors – Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine and Cillian Murphy.  I’d pay to see any of these people in a movie but to have them all together is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  The cinematography, visual effects and editing are all wonderful but I want to make specific reference to Hans Zimmer and his intense film score.  He’s one of my favourite composers and this represents some of his best work.

You must see this film.  It is a film that cannot fully be described – it can only be experienced.  On that note, I must retire for the evening.  I wish you all sweet dreams.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 11 July 2010

As for the plot, it begins on an airport with June Havens (Diaz) bumping into a complete stranger.  His name is Roy Miller (Cruise).  They gaze into each other’s eyes, share some idle chit chat and then step on the same plane bound for Boston.

It will not reach its destination however.  It turns out that Roy Miller is some kind of secret agent and that the plane is filled with bad guys out to get him.  He kills them all (including the pilots) and then uses his expertise to land the plane in a field.  As you’d expect, June is freaking out.  There’s not much she can do though.  Roy’s running this show and June is along for the ride… whether she likes it or not.

So what exactly is Roy trying to do?  He has in his possession a top secret device which can create limitless energy.  It turns out there’s a lot of people who want to get their hands on it.  Over the next few days, this unlikely duo will find themselves in a ridiculous number of life-threatening situations.  There’ll be shoot outs, there’ll be car chases and there’ll be government conspiracies.  What else would you expect?

If you like your adrenalin pumping action movies then I’m sure there’s plenty here for you.  I do believe more should have been made of the premise though.  I got tired of all the gaps in the story – where characters suddenly wake up (after being drugged) and everything is fine.  Was this meant to be a joke?  If so, it was overused.

The most important part of this film though are the performances from the two lead actors – Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.  If you like their characters and you like their sense of humour, I can safely say that you’re going to like the movie.  I chuckled a few times but not nearly enough.  I was fine with Diaz but I thought Cruise was trying way too hard.  He’s wants to come across all suave and cool but I actually found him boring and one-dimensional.  He’s also kind of creepy.

Knight And Day runs out of ammunition (unlike its characters) well before the closing credits start to roll.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 20 July 2010

His character is Roger Greenberg.  He’s a guy from New York who describes his job as being “a carpenter for money”.  I don’t think business is going too well.  He’s accepted an offer from his brother to come out to Los Angeles and housesit while the family goes on vacation.  Roger has promised to build them a nice dog house for their loyal pet.

It’s probably an opportune time to mention that Roger is a very neurotic person.  He’s just spent time in a mental hospital and struggles to interact with other people.  It’s as if writer-director Noah Baumbach had written the character with Woody Allen in mind.  Roger isn’t quite as witty as Woody but he can certainly find the negative in any positive.

Roger’s life is about to derail once again when he falls for his brother’s personal assistant, Florence (Gerwig).  She’s a wanna-be singer with extremely low self esteem.  They’re an odd match but they do find an awkward comfort in each other’s presence (if that makes sense).  Some of the scenes they share together will leave you both laughing and cringing.

As a backdrop to the main story, Roger’s trip to Los Angeles has forced him to catch up with old friends he has long avoided.  They include his former best friend, Ivan (Ifans), and his one-time girlfriend, Beth (Leigh).

I’ve called it a drama but there are elements in Greenberg which step into black comedy territory (my favourite genre).  Roger and Florence are an interesting duo and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of them.  How would their semi-relationship pan out?  I was intrigued.  On the flip side, I wasn’t too concerned with the other players.  Jennifer Jason Leigh’s character felt unnecessary.

Worthy of a mention is the performance from Ben Stiller.  When you see his character and the way he acts, you’ll find it hard to picture him as the comedian from films such as Night At The Museum, Tropic Thunder and Zoolander.  He’s glum, he’s depressive, he’s moody.  Some viewers will be turned off by this non-Stiller role but I think he’s great.  He also gets a few quotable lines thanks to writer-director Noah Baumbach (The Squid And The Whale).

Greenberg is a strange film…. but I think that’s why I liked it.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 07 July 2010

Paloma’s husband passed away many years ago and she now shuts herself off from the world in her small apartment.  Her greatest satisfaction seems to come from reading classic novels and eating chocolate.  It’s a lonely existence and you can’t help but feel sorry for her.

Things change when an elderly Japanese man named Kakuro (Igawa) moves into an upper floor in the apartment building.  When the pair are introduced, Paloma unknowingly borrows a line from one of her favourite novels – Anna Karenina.  Kakuro picks up on the literary reference and he develops a curious fascination with Palmoa.  He realises that there’s more to her than meets the eye.

Caught in between is a strange young girl named Renée (Balasko).  She may only be 11-years-old but she’s incredibly intelligent.  She has an awkward relationship with her parents and spends most of her time sneaking around and filming people using her video camera.  Renée has made the decision to commit suicide on her 12^th birthday.  She’s started a countdown and plans are put into place.

I have mixed feelings about The Hedgehog.  I liked the growing relationship with Paloma and Kakuro.  They share some beautiful moments together – particularly in the final third of the film.  It’s not explicitly spelt out with words but you know exactly what’s going through Paloma’s mind.  Given her insecure nature, she’s hesitant of Kakuro and his intentions.  Why would a wealthy guy like him be interested in a simple cleaner like her?  That said, she can’t help but be pulled in by his friendly demeanour.

On the flip side, I was somewhat disturbed by Renée storyline.  I actually thought she’d have more involvement with Kakuro and Paloma but her story seems almost secondary to the main attraction.  I found her hard to relate to and struggled to understand why someone so young would be so calculating in planning her own demise.  Put simply, I just didn’t like her.

I feel old when I realise that director Mona Achache is just 29 years of age.  I hope I haven’t left it too late to one day direct a film of my own.  The Hedgehog isn’t a bad effort for a first feature but I believe its focus on Renée’s character was the wrong approach.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 12 July 2010

It’s the story of Fiona (Mitchell) and Ben (Edgerton), an Australian couple who have travelled to India to adopt a child.  They’ve been waiting a long time and on arriving in India, they learn that their wait is going to continue for a few more days.  There’s a delay with the paperwork and they’re forced to sit in their hotel room while waiting for news.

You’d think this would be a happy time for Ben and Fiona but not so.  Their relationship is showing signs of strain.  The Indian heat and Fiona’s lost luggage are doing little to help the situation.  You’ll start to wonder if adopting a child is the best thing for this couple.  Are they doing it because they think it’ll bring them back together?

To its credit, the film goes down some paths that you might not expect.  I do like a movie which offers a few surprises.  I’m sure many will be affected the spiritual elements which come through in the final third.  I also enjoyed the developing friendship between Fiona and an Indian porter (Chakrabarti) who works at their hotel.  They come from completely different backgrounds but they have much to share.

On the flip side, I struggled to understand what point writer-director Claire McCarthy is trying to make when it comes to adopting children from other countries.  There’s one part of the film where she travels to her adopted child’s home village but nothing really comes of it.

I asked Radha Mitchell about this while hosting a question and answer session at the Brisbane premiere.  Her stance was that it’s better to have a mother than not have one.  She’d rather these children find a home in Australian than forever remain in an orphanage in India.  It’s a valid argument but it doesn’t come through strongly enough in the film.

As I continue to point out, films like The Waiting City have a non-existent marketing budget and need all the help they can get to find an audience here in Australia.  This isn’t the best Aussie film of the year but with strong performances and a distinct setting, it warrants your attention.