ARTICLE: Oscar Winners! How Did Wild Bore Do?

Was it worth the wait? The Oscars are finally over and were there any surprises? No. None. I had already  made my predictions here - but let's see how well we did.










Best Picture Winner: The King's Speech
WRONG
Unfortunately I thought 'The Social Network' would win this and the real shock was that Fincher's Facebook Film didn't fare better.

Best Actor In A Leading Role: Colin Firth
CORRECT
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out Firth was going to get this. Apparently the bookies said never before had the odds been better for an actor in this category.

Best Actor In A Supporting Role: Christian Bale
CORRECT
'The Fighter' had to pick up something and got the Supporting roles. However, Bale was a shoe-in with a decent backlog of films and a worthy successor to Heath Ledger's same award a couple of years back.

Best Actress In A Leading Role: Natalie Portman
CORRECT
Predictable until the end - but a very deserving win.

Best Actress In A Supporting Role: Melissa Leo
CORRECT
Even with a full page spread in Variety that Leo financed herself - her shameless self-belief that she should win the award didn't hinder her chances.

Best Animated Feature Film: Toy Story 3
CORRECT
Critics and fans love it alike.

Best Art Direction: Alice In Wonderland
WRONG
I thought Harry Potter would get this, but it's lack of awards makes me wonder if it will do a Return of the King next year and scoop up a huge amount in 2012.


Best Cinematography: Inception
WRONG
I thought 'True Grit' would get this, and I'm not the only one. The Coen's latest offering was up for 10 nominations and got nothing. That was another shock!

Best Costume Design: Alice In Wonderland
CORRECT
These kind of films where a lot of money is haemorrhaged in will always get more technical awards than creative ones. "But Costume is very creative!" - Well, sometimes it is ...

Best Directing: Tom Hooper
WRONG
I really didn't think Hooper would win this. He is perhaps the most undeserving director on the list and I'm positive a lot of people won't be happy about it. I guessed Fincher would get this one.

Best Documentary Feature: Inside Job
WRONG
I didn't think "Inside Job" would be as good as it turned out to be. "Restrepo", I thought, had Oscar all over it. Apparently not!


Best Documentary Short Feature: Strangers No More
WRONG
"Killing In The Name" was very apt for such a time of Middle Eastern uprising. However, this more homely subject matter took the golden goose home.

Best Film Editing: The Social Network
WRONG
I should have guessed "127 Hours" would walk away with nothing. Danny Boyle himself knew he wouldn't win anything, damn.


Best Foreign Language Film: In A Better World
WRONG
I've never seen it. Maybe I should then.

Best Make-Up: The Wolfman
CORRECT
The fact this terrible film won anything was ridiculous. Even though I guessed correct, "Barney's Version" really should have won.


Best Music: Original Score: The Social Network
CORRECT
Not a surprise. I still think Daft Punk should have won this - but they weren't even nominated.
TRON!

Best Music: Original Song: Toy Story 3 - "We Belong Together" Randy Newman
WRONG
I thought "127 Hours" would get this. But it didn't. Randy Newman did for those God-awful country songs that make me want to rip my eyes out of their sockets and stick them down my ears.

Best Short Film (Animated): The Lost Thing
WRONG
I actually wanted The Lost Thing to win - but didn't think it would. I guess someone has to have some kind of taste along the line. Instead I thought "The Gruffalo" did.

Best Short Film (Live Action): God of Love
WRONG
I thought "Na Wewe" would get this. That's all I got to say about that.


Best Sound Editing: Inception
CORRECT
"Inception" was given a few nods from the Academy but Nolan is still yet to make a huge impression. Until he takes on a more 'serious' project, I feel they won't accept him as an auteur which is a shame seeing as a nobody like Hooper is supposed to be better than him.

Best Sound Mixing: Inception
WRONG
Really? "Inception" got both Sound ones? Jesus. I thought "True Grit" would get this, but it didn't even get a look see.

Best Visual Effects: Inception
WRONG
I really should have got this right but I really saw "Inception" taking more mainstream awards and thought "Alice In Wonderland" being pretty much all in CG and being Burton would scoop this, but it rightfully went to Inception, which was my personal choice anyway.

Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay): The Social Network
CORRECT
Aaron Sorkin. 'Nuff said.


Best Writing (Original Screenplay): The King's Speech
WRONG
David Seidler? I mean ... really? His last film went straight to TV and was called "Kung Fu Killer". I thought "The Fighter" would get this - but they like stutters.

So that's it!  10 out of 24 - not great but not bad either. Not as spot on as my predictions last year, but I got almost all the main ones. Which is what matters really.

ARTICLE: Oscar Nomination & Predictions

After The Wild Bore's amazing results in last year's predictions it's time to check out who we think will win in 2011.


What a boring nominations list - absolutely no surprises here whatsoever - what do you guys think? I've suggested what I think will win, and what I think should win.






Best Picture
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

Prediction: The Social Network
Wild Bore Choice: Black Swan


I can't imagine anything else but Social Network winning this. As much as I think King's Speech will win some huge awards, I doubt they will give it Best Film. For me, I'd like to have seen either Inception or Black Swan but Inception was fun but Black Swan, as a film, was better.

Actor In A Leading Role
Javier Bardem - Biutiful
Jeff Bridges - True Grit
Jesse Eisenburg - The Social Network
Colin Firth - The King's Speech
James Franco - 127 Hours

Prediction: Colin Firth - The King's Speech
Wild Bore Choice: Colin Firth - The King's Speech


I haven't seen Biutiful but I sincerely doubt Bardem will win it and Jeff Bridges is still on the comedown from his Crazy Heart win, Eisenburg did well but one of the best actors of last year? I don't think so. Franco shouldn't win because not only is he hosting the Oscars with Anne Hathaway this year but I don't think he was very impressive in 127 Hours (which I haven't stayed awake through yet). Therefore, it can only be Firth as he missed out with A Single Man and has impressed the States no end.

Actor In A Supporting Role
Christian Bale - The Fighter
John Hawkes - Winter's Bone
Jeremy Renner - The Town
Mark Ruffalo - The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush - The King's Speech

Prediction: Christian Bale - The Fighter
Wild Bore Choice: Jeremy Renner - The Town


I think Bale will get an Oscar for the fact that he deserves one, but also a lot of people were impressed with his method acting that has finally found a film that ticks all the Oscar's boxes. I haven't seen Winter's Bone so can't comment, I've heard The Kids Are All Right is up it's own arse and as much as I loved Geoffrey Rush, I think Bale will pip it. However, I'd love to see Renner win in a film I didn't expect I'd enjoy so much and one I think should have been given more credit, Affleck's The Town. I feel where Bale can go OTT, Renner holds it back, and it's this approach that I find much more appealing.

Actress In A Leading Role
Annette Bening - The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine

Prediction: Natalie Portman - Black Swan
Wild Bore Choice: Natalie Portman - Black Swan


A whole bunch of films I am yet to see, so instead it's more of an educated guess. I just can't see Portman losing this.

Actress In A Supporting Role
Amy Adams - The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter - The King's Speech
Melissa Leo - The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit
Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom

Prediction: Melissa Leo - The Fighter
Wild Bore Choice: Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit


Jacki who? Anyway, Adams was upstaged by Leo so I think that's unfair for a start, however I can't see Bonham Carter winning here at the Oscars, other British awards maybe but not here. Steinfeld I thought really brought True Grit home and was a stand-out performance, I don't see how they classify Jeff Bridges as a leading male and Steinfeld as a Supporting role, I thought it would be the other way round.

Animated Feature Film
How To Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3

Prediction: Toy Story 3
Wild Bore Choice: Toy Story 3


I want to say The Illusionist but I haven't seen it. Toy Story can't lose this one though, the Academy love it.

Art Direction
Alice In Wonderland
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1
Inception
The King's Speech
True Grit

Prediction: Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1
Wild Bore Choice: Inception


I think as far as all the art direction goes, the more fantastical it is, then the more chance it has of winning. However, Alice In Wonderland was mainly CG and Harry Potter always does well for more technical stuff but I think Inception's art direction was overshadowed by it's content. Every detail in it's different settings was unique and stylish. Hats off.

Cinematography
Black Swan
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network
True Grit

Prediction: True Grit
Wild Bore Choice: True Grit


As beautiful as the other films look, the cinematography in True Grit really captured the raw essence and the landscapes, the lighting, all the shots felt remarkable. Inception again was incredible and Black Swan was more rebellious, but True Grit will get some Oscars for stuff like this.

Costume Design
Alice In Wonderland
I Am Love
The King's Speech
The Tempest
True Grit

Prediction: Alice In Wonderland
Wild Bore Choice: Alice In Wonderland


How it can be nominated for anything is crazy but I haven't seen The Tempest or I Am Love. King's Speech wasn't exactly imaginative and True Grit didn't have anything particularly interesting costume wise I thought.

Direction
Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan
David O Russell - The Fighter
Tom Hooper - The King's Speech
David Fincher - The Social Network
Coen Brothers - True Grit

Prediction: David Fincher - The Social Network
Wild Bore Choice: Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan


America is going crazy for The Social Network and Fincher is a well respected director and some feel Aronofsky has already enjoyed some success with The Wrestler last time. Hooper is too new and O Russell I don't think will be chosen as he's not exactly earned it and The Fighter is very straightforward, and something Aronofsky gave up to produce anyway. Black Swan had some incredible directing, but it will be Fincher who takes the glory.

Documentary Feature
Exit Through The Gift Shop
Gasland
Inside Job
Restrepo
Waste Land

Prediction: Restrepo
Wild Bore Choice: Restrepo


Not only because it's the only one that I've seen anything of but American's love documentaries on the war don't they?

Documentary Short Subject
Killing In The Name
Poster Girl
Strangers No More
Sun Come Up
The Warriors of Qiugang

Prediction: Killing In The Name
Wild Bore Choice: Killing In The Name


I haven't seen any of these. I like Rage Against The Machine.

Film Editing
Black Swan
The Fighter
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network

Prediction: 127 Hours
Wild Bore Choice: Black Swan


They have to give Danny Boyle something, and I'm sure they will think 127 Hours was this terrific, horrific, prolific piece of film-making keeping you on your toes at all times, but in fact it should be Black Swan again, the editing as graceful and beautiful as a dance itself.

Foreign Language Film
Biutiful
Dogtooth
In A Better World
Incendies
Outside The Law

Prediction: Biutiful
Wild Bore Choice: Dogtooth


Dogtooth! Love it. Though I doubt such a strange rather disturbing film will get a nod, instead it will give Bardem some peace for losing out on Best Actor.

Make-Up
Barney's Version
The Way Back
The Wolfman

Prediction: The Wolfman
Wild Bore Choice: Barney's Version


I re-edited this because after seeing Barney's Version, not only is it a great film but the make-up is brilliant. They age perfectly, and I'd say it's better than the CG fakeness of Benjamin Button for instance.

Music (Original Score)
How To Train Your Dragon
Inception
The King's Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network

Prediction: The Social Network
Wild Bore Choice: Inception


Ok, so Trent Reznor's score has been commended left right and centre (where's Tron: Legacy by the way?!) but it's Hans Zimmer's looming score that really stuck with me. Hans Zimmer has loads of Oscars though so I doubt he'll be bothered losing one.

Music (Original Song)
Country Strong - Coming Home
Tangled - I See The Light
127 hours - If I Rise
Toy Story 3 - We Belong Together

Prediction: 127 Hours
Wild Bore Choice: .... Tangled?


I haven't heard these and quite frankly I don't care. But I think Dido's If I Rise might be the one.

Short Film Animated
Day & Night
The Gruffalo
Let's Pollute
The Lost Thing
Madagascar, A Journey Diary

Prediction: The Gruffalo
Wild Bore Choice: The Lost Thing


No idea. Gruffalo's pretty well known though.

Short Film (Live Action)
The Confession
The Crush
God Of Love
Na Wewe
Wish 143

Prediction: Na Wewe
Wild Bore Choice: The Confession


Na Wewe looks like it's about child soldiers and The Confession looks dark. That's it.

Sound Editing
Inception
Toy Story 3
Tron: Legacy
True Grit
Unstoppable

Prediction: Inception
Wild Bore Choice: Inception


The sound was amazing and worked perfectly

Sound Mixing
Inception
Salt
The King's Speech
The Social Network
True Grit

Prediction: True Grit
Wild Bore Choice: True Grit


Blending all the many sounds and dialogue in quite close quarters in an epic landscape takes some doing.

Visual Effects
Alice In Wonderland
Harry Potter & Deathly Hallows Part 1
Hereafter
Inception
Iron Man 2

Prediction: Alice In Wonderland
Wild Bore Choice: Inception


The use of 3D is strangely non-existent here and I think it might be so as to give Alice In Wonderland a shot at something that looked quite pretty, but Inception's visuals still take some beating.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
127 hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

Prediction: The Social Network
Wild Bore Choice: The Social Network


C'mon, it's Aaron Sorkin, no way Boyle or the Coens could even touch him.

Writing (Original Screenplay)
Another Year
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech

Prediction: The Fighter
Wild Bore Choice: Inception


I doubt Mike Leigh will get an Oscar for this but I can't help but love Inception and the screenplay is perfect.


So that's it! Really isn't that amazing but never mind. I'm hoping Inception and Black Swan will clean up but we'll see. What do you guys think? Am I right? Am I wrong?

Daft Punk - Tron Legacy (OST)

Exclusive Daft Punk music video for "Derezzed" including some never-before-seen footage from Tron Legacy film. Keep reading underneath for the FULL review of the Tron Legacy Soundtrack by Daft Punk.

Daft Punk return with the soundtrack to the upcoming film Tron Legacy, but is this worth gracing your record collection with?

Firstly, this album has to be taken into context. It is, after all, a motion picture soundtrack, it's the score for Disney's Tron Legacy and isn't meant to be a pop album by any means. However, I have a lot of time for music scores - the obvious ones being Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, John Williams etc. but I find it extremely satisfying when producers bring in an outside source to give some remarkable results. Think of Air with The Virgin Suicides, the musical genius that is Kevin Shields with Lost In Translation, okay so they are both Sofia Coppola films but still, you get my point. So in this instance, Daft Punk score the new Tron film and it's surprisingly a mature effort from one of the most successful leading dance crossover artists around.

I wouldn't recommend this album if you are expecting a classic Daft Punk album full of riffs, hooks, and samples because it is nothing like they have ever done before. Instead, it takes you on a journey similar to that Vangelis took people on in Blade Runner, it's dark, epic sounds with a synth backbeat is perfect. Now, I used to absolutely love driving at night listening to Vangelis, especially with a cigarette in my hand. It made me feel like I was driving around in a dark, dystopian future in my own world (if you haven't done it, I'd recommend it) but I can't wait to do the same with this album, it creates a subtle yet chilling atmosphere that is perfect for a film score. In particular, half way through the album it picks up the beat slightly and turns into something you'd hear in a futuristic neon nightclub before the final comedown.

The French duo have clearly pulled out all the stops and taken this all incredibly seriously. You have to remember that some of these 22 tracks sound very similar and you'll be hard pushed to distinguish one from the other but it is supposed to be used for running underneath footage, not to release singles from. Also for all you foghorn fans who enjoyed the scores of the incredible Shutter Island and Inception, then there's quite a bit of that for you too. Surely foghorns are the sound of 2010? Not Cheryl Cole. Though they are quite similar perhaps. But the general feel, is that of a dark, post-apocalyptic Eighties B-Movie (which is kind of how Tron's first incarnation might have been regarded) brought up to date and produced to a high quality - which sounds like a perfect combo to me.

After opening song Overture pipes up, you already know you're in for an epic ride and when Jeff Bridges' voice comes in to describe The Grid, you see a world within computers, much like how you could describe Daft Punk's sound and 'then one day ... I got in'. The score then enters as you can almost picture yourself walking into this digital landscape they have created around you. The Son of Flynn has that typical French sound that runs throughout and when Recognizer kicks in, you feel the pace heighten as something dark seems to be gearing up which leads into the disturbing, sinister Armory. Arena then slowly builds up from silence into a Terminator-esque rhythm which feels like a tribal, battle sound that I'm guessing it wants to create. This sweeps nicely into Rinzler, as the battle drums turn more threatening and it builds up with The Game Has Changed and soon, those Inception style horns kick in with that robotic, digital underbelly that only Daft Punk can pull off successfully.

Outlands conjures up a feeling of mystery and intrigue that slows down for Adagio For TRON where a sadness must occur during the film, or something rather emotional as the violins kick in and then soon that dark, digital sound comes back in. This is an example of the entire album really - it builds an epic landscape where the digital sounds are a constant sinister threat and seem to be chasing you throughout, something that I imagine will be the same in the film where, after all, the technology is the enemy.

Nocturne again is a slower song that seems to end the more reflective part of the album and End Of Line comes in with some absolutely amazing synths that put the hairs up at the back of my neck which soon turns into Derezzed which I'm guessing will be remixed to fuck the next coming months and something I could see at any Daft Punk set. It's probably the stand out track of the entire piece and more immediately accessible than the other tracks.

Fall then enters the scene with what you can imagine to be a dramatic moment in the film with a sweeping score until Solar Sailer calms it back down. The horns get going again in Rectifier which clearly describes some strange danger ahead and then melts into Disc Wars (I think we know what scene this might be from). It takes a while to build up, but the French-electro duo once again clearly put their stamp on a track that could have easily sounded like any other big budget Hollywood score. C.L.U is very similar to the song before but with a tinge of violence (maybe it's the Psycho stabs?) before moving down some musical scales into those recognisable threatening horns and then the drum machine coming back in before an abrupt ending.

Arrival is a classic post-event comedown score which you can imagine where the hero is being reflective on the events that have just happened in C.L.U. Flynn Lives (is that a spoiler?!) is another comedown song that is both beautiful, epic and heroic as it builds back up to a fanfare of sorts.

TRON Legacy (End Titles) is again one of the stand out songs. It sounds like an 8-Bit computer game that you can imagine is worth sitting in the cinema afterwards listening to, because you could probably never hear it that loud again for a while. It's simple yet stylised sound is incredible, especially about 1:20 in when those epic synths come in to add that sweeping sound that makes you realise you've probably just watched an incredible action film (which I'm hoping I will). The Finale song you can tell is the big comedown after the preceding songs, and won't be too out of place in Lord of the Rings or something as it majestically rides over those digital beats leaving a satisfied feeling like every good Disney film should have.

One criticism would be that, unfortunately the songs don't really last too long, most being a couple of minutes or so, which means just as a song is gearing up it's over. However, it's the best background music you could have for anything in my opinion and they've done a fantastic job.

I'm not lying when I say this is one of the best score's to a film yet. I can already taste what kind of a film Tron Legacy will be, and if it's anything like the music Daft Punk have created, it's going to be one hell of a film. Maybe they can do us a favour and take this on tour? Maybe I'm revelling in the hype I'm creating, but I've rated this as a film score and NOT as a typical Daft Punk album - remember it's a different kettle of fish. The songs aren't created for the sole audio experience, but as a guide for what you see onscreen and if they can still impress and tell a story without visual aid, then it's got to be good. Which is why I'm giving this...

Rating: 9/10

Now where's my car keys and fags ...

NEWS

Playstation Phone

People are starting to work themselves up into a frenzy that the Playstation Phone will be around the corner soon. However, even though it's been verified that Sony are working on a device that doesn't need constant Wi-Fi but uses a cellular network, it might be assumed that this will just be the PSP2 people have been hearing about.

The image here was 'leaked' online but it's hard to say whether it's real or not. Apparently it will run on Google Android and feature direct access to the Sony Marketplace. Engadget says the device pictured features a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 mobile processor, 512MBs of RAM, 1GBs of ROM, a 3.7 to 4.1-inch touchscreen display, a built-in camera with LED flash, and the slider panel. The bit in the middle is a touch sensitive surface rather than analog sticks and well, that's about it.

Sony have neither confirmed nor denied the picture which means it either is a proper leak, or it's just creating online buzz as a marketing ploy, or both. Either way, let's hope it's not like the N:Gage. Do you know anyone who bought that? Let me know - because they weren't cheap!

Dark Knight Returns

Christopher Nolan has announced that Batman 3 will be entitled 'The Dark Knight Rises' and, although we know Tom Hardy will be in it, we still don't know as what. Nolan ruled out the Riddler making an appearance and it will be shot in 2D like the last one. There have been rumours that the villain might be a woman ... let's hope it's not Halle Berry again.

Craprica

If, like me, you were still holding out in the hope that Caprica could get better then don't bother, it's been cancelled. Ratings and reviews were tough (Wild Bore one will be up as soon as I finish the first season), but with it's painfully slow storyline and with no action, it's hardly surprising. The Battlestar fans were never going to get on board with it as it has been lacking anything that had drawn their interest. Has anyone else been watching it?

Instead Syfy has asked BGS makers to concentrate on Cyclon Wars set prequel Blood & Chrome, with a young Bill Adama taking on the Cylons. At the moment, it's just a TV pilot but could turn into a series completely set during the war, which would be a lot better.

If you're a big fan of Caprica don't worry, they will be drip feeding the end of the first season throughout the beginning of 2011. Yawn.

Star Wars New Films & 3D Extravaganza

If you didn't already know, George Lucas is going to squeeze out even more money by re-releasing the entire 6 Star Wars films in 3D (as well as the 4 Indiana Jones films) and if it is to be believed, that afterwards he will embark on three new films taking place during Episodes 4-6 but nothing to do with the main characters. This also will be completely separate to the confirmed Star Wars TV series that was greenlit a little while ago. Is it all a bit too much? What do you think?

South Park "Insheeption" Rip Off

Oh dear, for what is normally my favourite original show it looks like the South Park crew have ripped off College Humour in terms of their Inception jokes last week. They have since apologised but here's the original College Humour video and the end is great, what do you think? Worth apologising for?

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

The Hobbit

In case you don't know, Martin Freeman (Tim from The Office) is now
going to be Bilbo in Jackson's The Hobbit. Is this a good call? I will hedge
my bets after his carbon copy acting that might as well be renamed as
the following. "Tim From The Office In Space!" (Hitch-hiker's Guide
To The Galaxy), "Tim From The Office At School" (Nativity) etc. etc.,
but let's wait and see. Oh and Sylvester McCoy, the Time Lord himself,
might pop up as a wizard.

Avatar Sequels

And so the time has come for Cameron to announce that he will be
filming Avatar 2 and 3 back to back to be released at Christmas
2014 and 2015. Apparently they will be self-contained stories,
so I don't think it will be a Matrix blunder this time. Do you think
they should just leave it alone?


Devil May Cry

Capcom are doing quite well at the moment. Dead Rising 2 has
made them a tonne of money so far and even DLC Dead Rising :
Case Zero (which I enjoyed) has made them a fair bit. People
have complained that these 'paid' pre-release items will mean
the end of free demos, but I argue that as long as these titles
are self-contained, they are worth shelling out for. It's just an
extra bit to the story and demos will always be free because
people will always want to know what they are buying first if
they can help it, and this is extremely important with games.
Anyway, back to Devil May Cry, Capcom have said that a new
look Dante is coming back and they've teamed up with the
amazing Ninja Theory team to release it. I'm excited. Are you?
You mean about the game? So did I ... sure ....

Inception

"An idea is like a virus" states DiCaprio and seeing as this hasn't left my mind since I've seen it, he couldn't be more correct.

I'm guessing most people have already heard the incredible feedback this film has received and so might walk into it thinking 'how great can this be?' and the answer is, it is perhaps one of the best films I've ever seen.

This isn't like Empire where they throw top marks at everything that's not complete crap (and sometimes even then they don't hold back), but this is a brave, original, perfectly crafted work of art. Yes it's art. Art can still be a commercial success and at least this isn't up it's own arse.

If you're not familiar with what it's about I can tell you the less you know the better. So I'm not going to reveal too much but let's say it's got a unique blend of different genres - action, heist, spy, sci-fi, thriller, horror, fantasy, drama and even a bit of comedy thrown in every now and then. DiCaprio is a man with a haunted past that is able with his crew to penetrate people's dreams.

That's the basis and I don't want to reveal more of the plot than this as it's a review, not an essay. Though I'm sure a lot of film students will have a field day on this film as it beckons more questions than The Matrix ever did. The symbolism, science and pretty much everything is enough to keep your mind busy for a while and what's great is that - it makes sense.

It doesn't patronise the audience by talking to them like a child, but it explains in simple enough terms all the intricacies of how the science of it all works and it is clearly a topic Nolan had thought to death about. Nothing is spared, every possible loophole filled and leaves the audience satisified (unlike the awful writing of Lost for example).

So let's move on to Nolan. There's no denying the man is a genius, he knows how to make a true film and you can see the passion he puts into his work all over the screen. The directing cannot be bettered and I would go as far as to say he is possibly my favourite contemporary director after this film. Not one of his past movies (not just Dark Knight - but Memento, Insomnia etc.) has ever failed to be nothing short of incredible. His confident, brave and bold projects shows that it really does pay to take a chance and take on something most directors wouldn't dare. The fact that he wrote Inception (I'd imagine he let his brother at least look over it) shows that his personal involvement with these films puts people like Bay and more to shame. Nolan has taught us that even subject matter like a comic book hero doesn't mean it has to be anything less than amazing.

Back to Inception though. It's possibly the first time that I have looked at a film and thought the CG looks entirely real. Completely believable. The fight scenes were enough to beat Heat & The Matrix (which if you remember were pretty much the best bits of the respective films) and the action is relentless. Like all Nolan films, not one scene is filler - every single moment in the film is relevant and even at a lengthy 2 and a half hours, I would have stayed and watched the whole thing again happily. It also shows that to have such an amazing scale, you don't need to be in 3D either and that it probably would have possibly ruined the film should people have been too obsessed with the 3D aspect of it. Thoughts?

Either way, the acting was perfect, I even enjoyed watching Page whom I hated before this film. Tom Hardy once again proves he is Britain's best young hope and even DiCaprio works on his Shutter Island performance to give a depth and gravitas I've never seen him do before. Even the score, cinematography, script and basically everything is incredible, I cannot gush about this enough. Fuck Toy Story 3 - if you've got a choice, choose this.

Saying that, it can't be completely perfect right? Well, that's true. For some reason, the first fifteen minutes felt a bit Johnny Mnemonic to me and I started to get a bit wary of where this was going, although luckily that feeling left quite soon. Also Michael Caine jarred with me slightly as I felt like he was just going to turn around and go "Yes Mr. Wayne" at any point. The fact that they go through so much trouble to plant an idea in someones head also feels ridiculous - surely there are easier ways of manipulation? And wouldn't it take someone just to go 'that's ridiculous, why would you do that?' to counteract it? Unless you truly believe it's like a disease and that you get obsessed with it. I don't know ...

However, these are such slight niggling things that all it will do is detract from your enjoyment of what is a perfect piece of film-making. I don't think anyone could argue that the way the dream layers come together at the end is nothing short of a superb piece of storytelling that could have easily gone wrong at any point. And the final shot? That's enough to drive you mad forever.

I can hardly fault this film and to be honest, I shouldn't, because if more film-makers like Nolan were around this truly would be a wondrous world. I'd just love to have a look at what goes on inside that head of his, but I guess this is the closest I'll ever get.
Maybe ....

Rating: 10/10

Knight & Day

Cruise is back to prove he can still pull in the crowds, but is it time to call it a (Knight &) Day?

I have a problem with Tom Cruise. Mainly because I really, really want to like him. I'm a big fan of his work and I don't really know why. I loved him in Risky Business to Vanilla Sky to Minority Report to Eyes Wide Shut to Mission Impossible (3) to Tropic Thunder and every time, like a giddy schoolgirl, I fall for his charm. Damn it I don't know why! So when I walked into this movie I was ready to be dazzled and in all fairness, I was.

Cruise's character Roy is an example of self-aware over-acting to the point where it comes back on itself and becomes fun. This is hyperbolic to a tee and Cruise wallows in the ridiculously charismatic yet dangerous Roy that he embodies. The emotional pull here is supposed to be his relationship with Diaz and that he might be able to do anything, but can he commit? But don't worry, they don't focus too much on this. Instead, the plot follows Diaz as she gets entangled in Roy's world and suddenly gets a new lust for life, not that anything was really wrong with her life in the first place. Which is the problem...

Firstly, Cameron Diaz looks old. I mean, yeah she's glamorous and everything but look at her hands, what has she done to herself? And her skin? My God, the poor make-up artist involved in that must have been well paid. Don't get me wrong, she's gorgeous but it's definitely the beginning of the end for her and she should start looking at some more mature roles rather than these fun ones, and leave them to the youngsters they belong to. It's only because Cruise looks a bit old too now that she gets away with it but if it was anyone like Chris Evans (not the ginger one), she would have looked more like his mum. Her acting is confident and fun, but she's just a canvas for Cruise to paint himself on and she really does try to hold her own, but this is really the Tom Cruise show. As strong and independent as they try to make her, really she's just pathetic.

I won't give anything away as I thought it was more enjoyable letting them drip feed you information rather than knowing anything at all, but it's a globe-trotting action flick that cranks everything up to 11 and makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The script is cheesy and laughable but it does what it says on the tin.

Overall, it's a good bang for your buck and a bunch of nonsense, but it went on for a lot longer than I wished and though some parts worked, the cheese smelt so bad I had to turn away at places. If you hate Tom Cruise, then why are you even reading this? If you like him, you'll probably enjoy this and if, like me, you seem to be strangely captivated by him, it might be worth it. It's no Mission Impossible 3 (which I LOVED and don't care if people didn't) but it's not as bad as Charlie's Angels. If you like a no-brainer action piece you can take the missus to, then go see it, but you'll forget about it in a couple of days, and you should probably go see Inception instead.

Rating: 6/10