Inception

Christopher Nolan strikes again. For every brilliant idea there’s a baffling decision lurking. Batman Begins, Nolan kick starts a new era of gritty film adaptations with style and as much as he tries to sabotage the project by casting Katie Holmes, almost outdoing Sofia Coppola’s single handed razing of The Godfather: Part III, the film is a success. The Dark Knight emerges a few years later and Nolan has decided to relocate Batman to Boston; the Gotham so consciously created in Begins – the Narrows, Wayen Enterprises and its monorail, Wayne Manor (blown up, I know) – is replaced with a city, any city. Gotham, arguably the Batman franchise’s most important character, save the Bat, one of popular cultures most iconic cities is sterilised and all sense of geography is lost. The Prestige, probably my favourite of Nolan’s films,  he decides to take leave of reality and introduce a magical replication machine half way through – jarring stuff. Thankfully, on repeated viewing this sudden abuse of reality is less of a shock and we are left to revel in the real horror of Robert Angier’s sacrifices. And now to Inception.

It is essentially a heist film – think Ocean’s 11 without the suave or humour but with epic visuals, creativity and its own style. The rules of the dream are laid out for us, although there is a signature Nolan move when one of these rules – that death wakes the dreamer – is completely undone when it comes to the heist, and although this clinical approach makes events easy to understand it also makes the film strangely impersonal; a logical breakdown where every character is a known quantity. Even the unstable Cobb (DiCaprio) plays out his part in a rather predictable manner, this is not helped by the strange and needless decision to start the film with a scene from the end of the film. There are a couple points where supporting characters almost break through and reveal some depth but these moments are quickly pushed aside. That’s not to say the film isn’t immensely enjoyable while it lasts. However, beyond the spectacle there is little that is memorable. The realm of dreams is wasted – none of the depth seen in, for example, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, is there (‘Limbo’ the potentially fascinating idea of the communal and fixed dream space is only tortuously hinted at).

There have been accusations that this film is difficult to understand – it isn’t. Is it complicated? Not especially. Is it deep? Nowhere near as much as it should be. Is it enjoyable? Very much so. Forgettable? Beyond the dazzle I’m afraid in time it might just be.

5 out of 8

Stargate Universe – Earth

It’s been a slow start but Stargate Universe seems to be building up.

Rush couldn’t hold his angry face for the whole episode and even though essentially nothing happened, we finally have our first major dynamic; the Destiny and the relatively helpless Stargate team on Earth. Yes, anyone with two brain cells knocking about knew this was how it was going to go down but it was good to get it out the way. SGU is never going to escape the comparison with Battlestar Galactica but by about the sixth episode of BSG we had a clearly defined ‘other’ and a strong sense of direction which allowed the writers to play with the audience. SGU is a bit aimless and this week did go a little way to rectifying that but there is still a long way to go.

Dial down the TV soap and pile on more Sci-fi and SGU could develop into something a little special.

V – The Pilot

The rebooted V landed this week. Having never seen the the original series I’m not able to make any comparisons. Impressions?

The image of Christ nose diving off a balcony in an attempt to crush a cripple followed by the mass where Father Jack Landry asks his congregation to question how safe it is to unquestionably trust the Vs, even though the Catholic church is currently forbidding the use of condoms in Africa because it doesn’t stop the spread of AIDS even though the WHO have said “consistent and correct” condom use reduces the risk of HIV infection by 90% [Source], seems to indicate some anti-religious undertones. Will we see more as the series progresses? Only time will tell.

Now to the cast. Tyler Evans, son of Lost‘s Elizabeth Mitchell, is already a predictably annoying brainwashed youth. Elizabeth Mitchell herself seems to have shrugged off the punchability that she’d garnered during her time on Lost. The lovely Morena Baccarin, with her smiling malevolence, is spot on casting for the part of Anna. I look forward to seeing a bit more of the other characters as the series progresses.

It would be nice had Erica‘s partner had not so obviously been the leak and a V.

Any chance of there being ‘sleeper’ Vs, a la the great Battlestar Galactica? I can only hope Tyler Evans, the son, is an alien in disguise.

E! Online gave the pilot 11/10 saying “on a scale of 1 to 10, we give it an 11. V is the best pilot we’ve seen in, well, forever.” Insane. The pilot was more functional than entertaining. We probably won’t see the series deliver on the pilot’s potential.

Next time, There Is No Normal Anymore.

Did I just hear that? – Star Trek Voyager

From the episode Learning Curve (Synopsis: Voyager’s bio-neural circuitry is afflicted by a viral infection stemming from Neelix’s cooking) comes one of the most brilliant lines ever to vibrate my eardrums.

“Get the cheese to sickbay.”

Is that the best cheese related Star Trek line ever written? I think it might just be.

Heroes – Season 3 Finale – Alternate Ending

The finale of season 3 of Heroes was a real slap in the face for me and, yes, I know it was a while ago now but I have to get it off my chest. The show had kind of lost it’s way but slowly it had managed to gain some momentum as the season drew to an end. So, with baited breath I watched the finale and was deeply disappointed.

I’ll get this out the way. I like Sylar. Mostly for potentially how brilliant a character he could be. He had a few intriguing moments mid way through the third season when he acquired his shape shifting ability. Who was he? What had he become and why? Sadly these issues were never really delved into, but that is a discussion for another time. Sylar really comes across as a growling, arched eyebrowed, generic, snarly villain. He always hints at more depth but never really gets to the thick of it.

So here comes along the perfect opportunity to not just make Sylar the character he, and the audience, deserve but to breath new life into Heroes and turn the series on its head.

What happened:

In the finale, Nathan is killed by Sylar in an intense duel that no one sees. Peter, who steals Sylar‘s shape-shifting ability in the duel, uses it to disguise himself as the President and tranquilize Sylar. With Sylar‘s unconscious body and a dead Nathan, Matt is instructed to alter Sylar‘s mind to believe he is Nathan, with Sylar‘s acquired ability enabling him to fully embody Nathan‘s personality and gain his memories.

The net result of this season of heroes is unsubstantial to say the least.

What should have happened:

In the finale, Nathan is killed by Sylar in an intense duel that shows not just these character’s powers but also the mental stress, and physical ardor, that comes with.

Sylar makes it to the President and in turn accomplishes his plan. This is Sylar‘s second chance. The President’s car pulls away and the scene fades to black.

Cut to a year later. The Petrellis meet somewhere crowded, looking over their shoulders. They are preparing to go after Sylar (who, unknown to the viewer, has just won his second term as President). As they go their separate ways the camera pans upwards to a live Presidential announcement. The camera zooms through the screen into the room. Sylar is discussing how by embracing people with powers we can make the world a better place, it’s all very inspirational. As he ends, the press give him a standing ovation. He exits to the Oval Office, sits and spins his chair to the windows. As he transforms back into Sylar a wry smile appears on his face and the ticking, almost inaudible, starts.

And thus starts a new era in the world of Heroes. One where Sylar is the apparent good guy and Peter Petrelli is the leader of a perceived terrorist group and everything is to play for.

Under Construction

Everything that has a beginning has an end. I see the end coming, I see the darkness spreading. I see death. I see low low prices at Barry McBarry’s Inflatable Dartboard Emporium!!!

Everything must go!