Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Cobb), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Arthur), Ellen Page (Ariadne), Tom Hardy (Eames), Ken Watanabe (Saito), Dileep Rao (Yusuf), Cillian Murphy (Robert Fischer, Jr.)
For complete info, see IMDb's Inception page.
What an interesting movie! I really enjoyed Inception and I'm glad it was the first movie I saw with a D-Box motion seat synchronized with the movie. There were some scenes the seat definitely improved for me.
I did have one HUGE continuity problem with this movie, which I won't mention, since I don't want to give anything away, but I think they really dropped the ball with the ending scene. If you'd like to know more after you've seen it, contact me and I'll explain.
For the most part, I liked that Inception was a fairly complex movie that entertained and surprised me quite a bit. It's a pretty long movie (2:20), but I think most of that is necessary for setting up the story and going deep enough into the complexity of the plot. I didn't sit there wondering when the movie would end and probably wouldn't have realized how long Inception took if I didn't know it was long heading into the movie.
If you like Sci-Fi action movies, Inception is one you should definitely see in a theatre. I'd suggest going for a theatre with perfect digital clarity and D-Box motion seats or the closest IMAX theatre. I'm sure both will enhance the experience of Inception greatly.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2010, action, Cillian Murphy, Dileep Rao, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, Leonardo DiCaprio, movie, mystery, sci-fi, thriller, Tom Hardy
Reviewed by Kat at the 10:00 AM show | 0 screams
Cast: Ken Watanabe (General Tadamichi Kuribayashi), Kazunari Ninomiya (Saigo), Tsuyoshi Ihara (Baron Nishi)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's Letters from Iwo Jima page.
Letters from Iwo Jima is definitely an intense movie. Not for those who can't handle subtitles (though David chose the movie from the Netflix DVD's we have, he wasn't prepared to have to read it). I heard that this movie was better than Flags of Our Fathers. I don't agree with that, though it was very well done. I'm a big fan of Ken Watanabe and he and the rest of the cast are amazing, but for me it wasn't quite as good.
If you liked Flags of Our Fathers, I definitely recommend renting Letters from Iwo Jima if you haven't seen it yet. If you didn't like Flags of Our Fathers, you should probably skip the second movie in the set.
Grade: B
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Ziyi Zhang (Sayuri), Ken Watanabe (Chairman)
For complete cast, see the IMDb Memoirs of a Geisha page.
Initially, I wanted to read the book before I saw Memoirs of a Geisha, but I also really wanted to see it in a theater in order to fully appreciate the beautiful scenery. In the end, wanting to see it in the theater won out. I'll read the book after seeing the movie.
The woman who played Sayuri was amazing. I hadn't seen any of her other movies and she did a wonderful job. I've enjoyed Ken Watanabe for years and he continued to prove his great talent in this movie.
Before seeing Memoirs of a Geisha, I knew almost nothing about the life of a Geisha. This story was very compelling and really opened a window into a world most of us know little to nothing about.
I definitely recommend seeing this movie. If you miss it in theaters, be sure to rent it when it comes out on DVD.
Grade: B
Labels: 2005, drama, Ken Watanabe, movie, romance
Reviewed by Kat at the 3:25 AM show | 0 screams
Cast: Ken Watanabe (Katsumoto), Tom Cruise (Nathan Algren)
For complete cast info, see IMDb's The Last Samurai page.
Considering all the Oscar buzz surrounding Master and Commander, I didn't expect The Last Samurai to be better than it, but I think The Last Samurai should be getting the Oscar buzz instead. I was very impressed with this movie.
I think Tom Cruise did a great job learning all he had to know to play Nathan Algren in this movie about a US military advisor who embraces the Samurai culture when he is captured in battle. The Last Samurai is a very moving story with beautiful scenery and amazing costumes.
This glimpse inside the world of the Samurai was very interesting, even if it might not be totally accurate. I would have no way of knowing how accurate it is, since I know very little about the Samurai culture, but it seemed believable to me.
Grade: A
Labels: 2003, action, adventure, drama, Ken Watanabe, movie, Tom Cruise, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 4:30 PM show | 0 screams