Movie Review: Inception

While I hold off on the new Orla Fallon CD, I've decided instead to do another movie review for Christopher Nolan's "Inception", which I saw earlier this week.

"Inception" is not your typical heist movie commonly seen in theaters today. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Cobb, a thief who does his work in a most unusual fashion: breaking into someone's mind while they sleep and stealing their ideas. After a botched job, his victim, played by Ken Watanabe, offers him a deal: if he can cause the break-up of a rival company, he will enable Cobb to return home, as he has been living overseas in exile for an unspecified amount of time. Cobb assembles a team together and prepare to do this very risky job, but his personal demons are not far behind and could put the entire mission in jeopardy.

All in all, the movie was absolutely amazing. The story being centered around how we dream was a fascinating concept and came across as being very original. There was good, solid acting from everyone, and I have no complaints about the characters, even though DiCaprio's character in some ways was reminiscent of his role in "Shutter Island". The special effects were excellent, and they gave the film a surreal, dream-like feel. And, not to mention the ending of the film which will have everyone talking about it for days and make you want to see it again.

I highly recommend this film, and it is truly one of the best movies I have seen in a long time.

I give it five out of five stars.

Upcoming CD Review

I am, at the moment, listening to former Celtic Woman Orla Fallon's Christmas/ winter CD "Winter, Fire, and Snow", purchased in MP3 form from Green Hill Music. However, because of her upcoming Christmas show in Nashville and because the CD largely being released the second week of September, I will not be posting a review until around then. Besides, it will give me more time to digest the CD and its content, something I wish I had done when writing a review of her "Distant Shore" last year. So, keep your eyes open for this upcoming review.

Movie Review: Shutter Island

A few weeks ago, on a recommendation from some friends and my own brother, my family rented this thriller from Blockbuster.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD


Edward (also known as "Teddy") Daniels is a US marshal summoned out to Ashecliff, a psychiatric hospital on Shutter Island, to find a missing patient named Rachel Solando there. He and his new partner "Chuck", as they dig deeper into finding the woman, discover that not everything is as it seems and that darker things could be happening at the hospital while, at the same time, Teddy battles the memory of his dead wife Dolores who urges him to find the man who killed her and may be on the island himself.

This movie was an interesting choice for Martin Scorsese, who is more well-known for his gritty films like "The Departed" and "Gangs of New York", but he pulled off this psychological thriller very well. Even though I had partially guessed the twist ending about halfway through the movie, it was still a surprise to me. The ending left no plot holes and fit the story perfectly; in fact, watching it a second time, I picked up more clues that gave it away, so do pay attention to it. I have no general complaints about this film, as it was enjoyable and well-done.

I give it four and a half stars out of five.