Well as you know, my reviews here are pretty much exclusive of older films. So with that in mind, here’s a film from 2009! Staring Quinton Aaron (Michael Oher) and Sandra Bullock (Leigh Anne Touhy) who won an Oscar for her leaden role in the film.

Based on a true story, the film follows the story of, big friendly and slow black giant from the projects in Memphis Tennessee. With little education in his life, does not know his father and his mom is a crack addict, life is not nice for Michael. By chance, he is given a a place at a Christian school by their football coach who sees Michael as their star defender.

Being a huge late teenager starting in a class with kids barely in their teens, life is at first hard for Michael at his new school. However little child, S.J Tuohysees the giant as a lost soul and make friends with the big guy. One wet, cold night, while making his way to the gym or as he knows it “home”, the child’s parents chance upon Michael and give him a roof for the night at their sizeable home.

One night turns into weeks and slowly but surely they build a bond between them and realise his talent for defending not only in football but in life itself. The key to his future though relies on him needing to graduate and so hires a private tutor (Kathy Bates), a role no doubt helped by that fact she was born in Tennessee.

At first though despite his size and protective nature, he does not do too well at football and his coach has no clue how to teach the giant bear how to play the game.

So in steps Leigh Anne and shows Michael what he needs to do in the only way he can relate to, from there on in football is his future.

He ends up being the the first draft pick for the NFL in 2009.

So that’s the basic outline and I have to say I love this film. I hate to use the term “feel good film”, because, well, in most cases it’s a film and people watch films as an escapism not as a guiding light.

But given that this is based (fairly strongly) on fact I can see this as a feel good film. Not that most can benefit from it and make a change for the better (that’s what I call a real “feel good film/documentary”); however it is a film that lifts the spirit and even shed a tear for sadness growing into joy.

As mentioned, Sandra Bullock won the leading actress for her role. I’m a HUGE Sandra fan, but she’s a very hard cause to fight for. Ever since Speed, much of her film career has been stinkers, but I can’t help but love her. However, in this she does play a blinder of a role, akin to Julia Roberts‘ role in Erin Brockovich though I think Julia did far better than Sandra.

There are big similarities, being a strong based-on-fact woman and a role vastly different from their norm. Both are incredibly good looking for their age, however Julia certainly pulls of the push-up bra better than Sandra does in this film (which must surely have been deliberate). But, and this is a big but, it was fantastic to see Sandra actually work for her money.

To see her in this role proves that she has been a wasted talent and I would assume she hasn’t had many roles like this given to her. I can only imagine she leapt at the chance to be in this film. Sadly it seems, it’s not been a case of a career revival and has been given more roles like this.

The big centre point in this film is the deep south of love, of God and with Christianity overcoming racism. At points the black card is played and is better dealt with in some scenes than others, but given that allegedly the real Tuohy’s applied a big part in this adaptation, time constraints played more than their part in this.

Credit has to go to the other members of the family who make this feel like a great household to depart of. Much credit has to go to Jae Head. His closeness to Michael looks and feel genuine as the whole family takes this stranger and make him instantly a part of the family. Their religion is never forced down are throats as actually Christianity per se, but having not read the book, this is possibly Hollywood glossing over a few aspects of the real events.

Overall I really liked this film, while it was obvious it was “Sandra’s time” at the Oscars she has not moved much from the rom-coms since, she played a great role as does Quinton in his. This makes for defending the Sandra Bullock Fan Club a harder cause to fight for. After the massive disappointment of Johnny English Reborn which was watched immediately preceding this, it was a great watch.

Reviewed by Invisiblekid

Time has ticked by for almost a year since reports of script problems on a movie adaptation of the popular ‘real-time’ drama 24 hit a snag.

But now it seems the clock has finally reset, with a feature length version of the Imagine Entertainment/Fox television series back in development.

The exciting new project brings back Kiefer Sutherland’s tireless CTU agent Jack Bauer to the big screen.

Mark Bomback – a favourite writer at 20th Century Fox, who penned The Wolverine – is expected to turn around a new draft of Billy Ray’s script, hopefully in the time of the New Year.

The movie is believed to see Jack Bauer making his ends justify his means in Europe, and Deadline report that Fox has a shortlist of five directors. Sadly, the once-rumoured Tony Scott is definitely not among them.

Brian Grazer is producing but 24 needs to be fast track to get shooting in April, in order to match Sutherland’s availability.

Based on the novel by James Sallis and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive is about a Los Angeles wheelman for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day and steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by night.

When I first heard about Drive, I thought it would be a film adaption based on the popular video game Driver made by Reflections. The settings are very similar. You are a handy wheelman and can outrun the police after several bank jobs.

Ryan Gosling plays an unnamed Hollywood stunt driver who moonlights as an ultra-efficient, no-questions-asked getaway driver, overseen in both cases by his friend and mentor Shannon (played by Breaking Bad’s star Bryan Cranston).

Though he normally keeps himself to himself, the driver’s solitary existence is ruffled when he forms an attachment with his beautiful neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her young son (Kaden Leos) after they move into his building.

When Irene’s ex-convict husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) is released from prison, the driver agrees to help him with the debt he owes a local gangster by agreeing to drive during a heist. However, when the heist goes wrong, the driver finds his life threatened by gang boss Nino (Ron Perlman) and crooked businessman Bernie (Albert Brooks), both of whom have history with Shannon.

Even with minimal dialogue and almost no facial expression except the occasional smile, Gosling delivers a super cool performance. It helps that his white satin, gold scorpion-emblazoned jacket he wears throughout the film made him look cool and hip.

There’s also strong support from Isaac, Perlman (who gets the best lines) and Cranston, not forgetting the eye-catching turn from Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks as gangster’s moll Blanche.

Nicolas Winding Refn’s impeccably stylish direction in Drive won him the Best Director in this year’s Cannes Film Festival. With long, fluid takes accompanied by a great soundtrack and some impressive production design work. Refn’s also directs some exciting action sequences, including that thrilling car chase, as well as heart-pounding scenes punctuated by explosions of strong violence.

I was highly impressed by Drive. The story and characters made it fascinating to watch and I was quite captivated by the action thanks to a strong script and a great lead performance from Ryan Gosling. Well recommended for quite possibly the coolest film this year.

Based on the 1974 novel by John le Carré, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a gripping espionage thriller set at the height of Cold War paranoid.

Directed by Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson with screenplay from the late Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan, the film adaption takes a different approach to the classic BBC television series starring Sir Alec Guinness.

When an agent (Mark Strong as Jim Prideaux) is shot while on a mission in Budapest, Control (led by the superb John Hurt) realises that there must be a Russian mole in the British Secret Intelligence Services and asks his former officer George Smiley (the impressive Gary Oldman) to come out of retirement to investigate.

Aided by Peter Guillam (played by the talented theatre actor Benedict Cumberbatch) and retired researcher Connie Sachs (the scene-stealing Kathy Burke), Smiley uncovers the identity of the Russian mole, which seems to involve rogue agent Ricky Tarr (the excellent Tom Hardy), who fell in love with a Russian woman (Svetlana Khabenskiy) while undercover behind the Iron Curtain.

As they unravel Control’s chain of suspicions, Smiley and Guillan begin to narrow down four possible colleagues featuring the codename “Tinker” (Toby Esterhase played by David Dencik), “Tailor” (Bill Haydon, performed by the BAFTA-winning actor Colin Firth), “Soldier” (Roy Bland, featuring the superb Irish talent of Ciarán Hinds) and “Poorman” (Percy Alleline played by Toby Jones).

I enjoyed every moment in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The cinematography is a work of art thanks to Hoyte Van Hoytema, who also shot Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In.

The soundtrack is great too, in the way it builds up a sense of drama and tension during key scenes in the film. As for the performances by the talented cast, it’s difficult to fault anyone in this gorgeous 1970s period of paranoid and suspicion but obviously it is Gary Oldman who is the main highlight in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. His utterly compelling performance as Smiley is fantastic and it is not a surprise to hear Oldman as a likely candidate to win next year’s Oscar for best actor.

Alfredson’s direction is assured throughout the film, allowing the pieces of information to fit together slowly like an exceedingly complex jigsaw puzzle where you don’t see the whole picture until the final piece is played out. The director also orchestrates some terrific sequences, such as Guillam attempting to steal some important files from under the noses of his colleagues followed by a heart-stopping scene that hinges on the inspired use of George Formby’s Mr. Wu’s a Window Cleaner Now.

Impressively directed and beautifully shot, this is a gripping spy story with a satisfyingly intelligent script, with some superb production design work and terrific performances from a wonderful British cast. Highly recommended.

Yes, you read the title correctly, this is a review of a 17 year old film. I did mean to watch a film in this decade at least, but in my defence I was running out of space on my Sky HD box and it was in HD. In fact it’s the only place you can watch in HD.

This does contain spoilers, but I feel they don’t actually spoil the film. But if your sensitive to these kind of things, then just watch the film by any means you can.

Ok so yes, this is not a new film. What’s worse is this film was, wait for it, made for TV!! But just hold back all your horrid thoughts of shite dramas or Sy Fy atrocities. The TV channel in question is HBO. Yeah, thought that’s make you think twice. So we get a decent budget ( I cannot find the amount ) and a great cast involving Kyle MacLachian (Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet), Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, 51st State), Harry Dean Stanton (The Green Mile, Alien) and Tom Bower (The Killer Inside Me, Raising Cain). Having seen this back at it’s release on something called VHS, it was repeated recently on the greatest channel in the UK, Sky Atlantic HD. It had to be watched again.

The film is a dramatisation of the New York housed Attica prison riot in 1971 where the prisoners in retaliation to the awful conditions and the shooting of fellow prisoner at the infamous San Quentin Prison (though I don’t recall this being shown in the film). They over powered the guards and took over the prison for four days taking 33 of the staff hostage.

We follow newbie guard Michael Smith (MacLachlan), who’s family like many in Attica, revolved around the prison. It’s not like his life’s dream, but a new wife and child on the way, it’s the overtime that draws him reluctantly to join the staff at the pretty god damn horrid correctional facility. At first his kindness is take to task by the prisoners though he is quickly pulled back into line by his fellow guards and management. This lesson comes in the form of being introduced and asked to humiliate inmate, Jamall X (Jackson), a notorious black activist well know to Attica as being a “Bad Mutha F***er” . Whilst the reluctant Smith follows his seniors orders, we see the beings of a friendship between the two which will later, flourish and be tested.

But soon after, an incident over hot soup ( and not the mentioned shooting at San Quentin ) we see the prisoners reaching their limit and begin to very quickly take over the prison. This is where we get to see HBO flex it’s adult ratings, with some horrific, violent scenes. Sure in todays standards, it’s not quite got the hit as I got from it back in the day, it’s still carries a brutal hit. Multiple beatings to the powerless guards and their keys are taken, half of the 2000 prisons joined the uprising and so quickly the Attica prison surrenders to the rioters.

We then follow the fruitless negotiations by the State and prison authorities, which could not agree to all the prisoners’ demands which included complete amnesty of the takeover and the eventual death of one of the guards. During which Smiths determination not to bow down and beg to rioters demeaning treatment to their hostages. This intrigues Jamall and their relationship develops into a tested friendship in that Jamall protects Smiths life on more than one occasion from the rioting gang whom are getting restless with the lack of respect given to them by the state. The failure of the appearance of the State Governor Nelson Rockefeller which seems to be the crux of their demands and with no side wanting to back down, the violent end is nigh. Just like Waco Texas, state police go mental and take back the prison.

What follows is quite the most absurd battle in which, nearly a third of the prison guards are killed. Not by the prisoners, but by the police. This is no surprise of course really given the more recent events of Waco and famous incidents in recent wars. What is more shocking is the aftermath. Serious beatings to the surviving inmates, the emergence of utterly false newspaper stories and the complete lack of investigation into the incident and treatment to the prisoners after it all ended.

The film does a decent job of portraying the real events and a few captions at the end credits tell us of some of the aftermath that follows. There is some decent acting from the main characters of Jackson and MacLachian and good back up jobs from the lesser roles. Like many true story re-enactments, the fact that what your watching is more or less true takes it film up a notch or two. So the thing you take away from this film is that this actually happened and not that its a brilliant film. However, given that it doesn’t stray too far from the truth, it’s a great visual addition to just reading about it. Well worth watching as it’s shocking, well acted, pretty true to its source and it’s by far the best TV film you’ll ever watch.

IMDB – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109053/

The real story of Attica can be found here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attica_Prison_riot

Film reviewed by Invisiblekid

Seventeen years after that fateful day at Imola, in which the legendary Brazilian Ayrton Senna was killed at the wheel of a Formula One racing car, Asif Kapadia’s documentary film reveal a fascinating insight into the three-time world champion.

With access to the Formula One Management’s extensive video archive, the producers – Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, James Gay-Rees and Manish Pandey – tells the story of Ayrton Senna’s life and career through original video footage, much of it never before seen.

The uses of talking head interviews or a narrator were taken out, instead voice-overs from several contributors including journalists, former racing drivers and Senna himself, plus addition clips from television commentaries tells the story.

The film starts with Senna’s arrival in Formula One in the mid 1980s. Driving for Toleman at a soaking wet Monaco Grand Prix in 1984, the Brazilian demonstrated his amazing wet weather talent. The following year, representing Team Lotus in the classic black and gold John Player Special livery car, Ayrton Senna won his maiden Grand Prix at a rain-soaked Portuguese Grand Prix.

The film then shifts to his rivalry with Alain Prost, his team-mate at McLaren. The battle for on-track supremacy with his nemesis was intense, with the Brazilian determined to win at all cost.

Two important moments in the rising hostility between Senna and Prost are omitted in the film. These were the wheel-to-wheel duel at Estoril in 1988 and the row that erupted over the restart at Imola in 1989.

But the sequences of events at Suzuka in 1989 and 1990 prove to be the main focal point in the film.

In a bid to remain in the contention for the world title, Senna had to win the Japanese Grand Prix. The only problem was his McLaren team-mate Prost. He had to overtake his rival in order to win the championship.

Approaching the chicane, Senna tried an inside move on Prost. The Frenchman turned his car into the apex and the two McLarens ended up with their wheels interlocked in the Suzuka chicane escape road. Prost got out from his car and yet Senna got a push-start from the track marshals to re-join the race.

He took the lead from the Benetton of Alessandro Nannini and went on to finish first, only to be disqualified by the sport’s governing body for cutting the chicane after the collision and for crossing into the pit lane entry.

A large fine and temporary suspension of his Super License followed. Senna was furious and engaged in a bitter war of words with the FIA and its then President Jean-Marie Balestre.

Even though the film portrays Prost as his nemeses, in turns out that the FIA President is ultimately the main villain. The footage in the drivers’ briefing providing glimpses of Balestre’s heavy-handed and partisan interventions to do Senna no favours at all.

The following year, at the same circuit where the pair had their collision, Senna took pole ahead of Prost. The pole position in Suzuka was on the right-hand, dirty side of the track. Alain Prost made a better start in the Ferrari and pulled ahead of Ayrton Senna’s McLaren. Going into the first turn, Senna aggressively kept his line and never lifted the throttle, while Prost turned in and the McLaren ploughed into the rear wheel of the Ferrari at about 170 mph, putting both cars off the track, and sealing the championship to the Brazilian.

Twelve months later, after taking his third world championship, Senna explained to the press his actions at Suzuka 1990.

He maintained that prior to qualifying fastest, he had sought and received assurances from race officials that pole position would be changed to the left-hand, clean side of the track, only to find this decision reversed by Jean-Marie Balestre after he had taken pole.

Explaining the collision with Prost, Senna said that what he had wanted was to make it clear that he was not going to accept what he perceived as unfair decision making by Balestre, including his disqualification in 1989 and the pole position in 1990.

Prost would later go on record slamming Senna’s actions as “disgusting” and that he seriously considered retiring from the sport after that incident.

The film reaches a poignant and moving conclusion with that awful weekend in Imola, with the final sequence of events striking an emotional chord.

There are some astonishing moments in which we see Senna’s devastated reaction to the death of Roland Ratzenberger and the hospitalisation of Rubens Barrichello, which ironically inspired the Brazilian to recreate the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association to improve track safety, mere hours before his own death.

To the credit of director Asif Kapadia, the final few minutes with Senna losing control of his Williams-Renault and the national mourning in Brazil are beautifully handed. It’s tragic that we have the lost one of the greatest Formula One driver in the history of the sport but how this film presented the Brazilian as a hero and a Saint (He donated millions to his native country to provide a better life for the poor) is a remarkable achievement in film making.

In fact, Kapadia’s film on Senna won the World Cinema Audience Award for documentaries at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and it fully deserves the acclamation. Highly recommended.

The directorial debut of BBC 6 Music radio presenter Attack The Block is a pleasant surprise. Written and directed by Joe Cornish, the film begins with a group of hoodies – lead by Moses (John Boyega), Pest (Alex Esmail), Dennis (Franz Drameh), Jerome (Leeon Jones) and Biggz (Simon Howard) – mugging a trainee nurse Sam (Jodie Whittaker) on a South London council estate on Bonfire night.

Suddenly, a fiery object falls from the sky, crashing through the roof of a parked car near them. When they investigate, the youths discover a mysterious furry black creature, which they promptly beat to death and take to the 19th floor flat of local drug dealer Ron (Nick Frost) for identification purposes.

Soon afterwards a dozens of furry black creatures with glow-in-the-dark fang teeth are converging on their tower block and the gang will have to join forces with Sam, a stoner Brewis (Luke Treadaway) and local gangster Hi-Hatz (Jumayn Hunter) in order to fight them off.

It may sounds surreal, but Joe Cornish’s debut film is actually quite good. With an unique street lingo – Cornish spent a year in South London researching on urban culture and language to make the dialogue between the hoodies as affective as possible – Attack The Block is a highly independent film intertwining between youth culture of Broken Britain, sci-fi horror and black comedy.

The young cast of newcomers acquit themselves well. Jodie Whittaker is also good and the amusing comic support from Luke Treadaway and Nick Frost provides light relief in moments of tension and fear.

As for the aliens – furry, black with luminous teeth – the design do look basic but were visually effective in some scenes. The only negative point I would like to make is that the script could have been better.

Despite that Attack the Block is lively and entertaining throughout. Well done Dr Sexy on your latest film!

The world of racing has many big time races. Formula 1 has Monaco, NASCAR have the Daytona 500 and the Aussies have the Bathurst 1000. All need balls of steel and the endurance beyond what you think can be had. But these all pale into insignificance when compared to the complete the bike race that insanity is made of, The Isle Of Man TT.

While of course the other races are fast, hard and push the drivers skills to the limit, the 33 mile TT road race has always gone one step further. The complete disregard for safety. The other races to some extent have all been touched the hand of the Safety Police. Quite beyond comprehension and despite well over 200 deaths since its inception, the Isle Of Man TT has remain almost untouched by the people in Hi-Vis vests. Okay so they have been instructed to have a few hay bales thrown around the most vicious corners (and we are talking very few), some padding around lamp posts, but I think by padding they only meant some sort of thin carpet and well, that’s it! The riders are let loose riding on the public roads at some 200mph on the mountain pass and well over 150mph through the towns streets with the already mentioned lamp posts and many other very solid hazards, whizzing past just inches from the bikes and riders.

To the outsider seeing footage of this race usually generates just one question, why? Showing the 2010 race, this 3D documentary tries to show you just why these riders and their families go through this race once a year. Mainly following the incredible Guy Martin, we get to see the mentality of everyone involved and how they overcome the dangers of the TT.

Despite not actually winning a single race so far, it’s easy to see why Guy was the main subject in the film. Upon seeing other riders and their background and preparation for the race, it’s plain to see that they are nearly all the same as Micheal Schumacher. By that I mean DULL. Guy Martin on the other hand is a mish mash of Alex Higgins, James Hunt, Ronnie O’sullivan, and culminating with the greatest player never to have won the big one, Jimmy White. A lot of snooker players I know, but they all are a part of Guy. Massively charismatic (Higgins), a ladies man in the form of Hunt (though we get told in vivid detail that he isn’t a ladies man), a rule breaker (O’Sullivan) and of course the never quite able to win the big one, Jimmy White.

We follow is his run up to the race and get to see that he is a (very) down to earth, North Linconshire bloke who’d rather spend time fixing anything with an engine and getting covered in oil than lead the playboy lifestyle of a famous racer.

We also get to see how this race effects the families of those who race in particular Paul Dobbs’ life. Later it’s apparent why, when he has a tragic accident and leaves behind his wife and their two children. Yet as common among all attendees including the spectators, the complete acceptance that their time could be ended at 170mph, is fascinating to watch. So long as, with a few shown on camera, a tear may be shed.

Talking of watching, this film is an incredible visual feast. The 3D aspect brings the speed right in your face with on-board shots, superb set piece drive-bys and great artistic shots which really make this film worth catching wearing those silly specs. Also included are some brilliant still photos that are panned across showing you bikes being launched into the air. It is truly amazing to see the speed these guys ride at through the dusty, lumpy, cambered roads at such high speed and getting to see how much the bikes flex and twist with each turn, bump and jump. Brilliant stuff indeed. But of course this is the TT so we also get to see some horrific accidents. After the adrenaline of the rushing bike speeding past, there is nothing to make you think of the danger so vividly than seeing the results of getting a corner wrong or even just mechanical failure, especially when it’s all done in 3D or post production 3D.

Considering the subject though, this is not for bike lovers only however. It’s a great insight to how the human mind gets itself around the problem of death and why some of us volunteer to shake it’s hand with such passion and decisiveness that death almost doesn’t matter.

It’s truly great stuff and great use of 3D, but again it shows that 3D also has no place in the home. This on a small 3D TV would be nothing.

Film reviewed by Invisiblekid

New blog contributor invisiblekid’s film review of Danny Boyle’s thriller 127 Hours, starring James Franco.

Right, lets get one thing straight right now. This is NOT the feel good movie that many have labeled it. Even Danny Boyle said it was a feel good film. Sorry but it’s just not. Just as Boyle’s last film Slumdog Millionaire was incorrectly called “The feel good movie of the year”, that wasn’t true either. Both are grueling films where bad things happen, but just happen to have a happy ending. Making a film where by at the end, not everyone you’ve seen dies does not mean it’s a feel good film.

In this instance, it’s slightly more clouded especially with it happening for real back in 2003. Escaping death by hacking your arm off (not a spoiler obviously) and becoming a better person for it, it only makes it a feel good event for Aron Ralston (played by James Franco).

There isn’t much for the viewer to take home and change their lives with. Aron started the film as a complete cocky twat and experienced a million even billion to one accident. During his ordeal, he realised this and has made amends. Not much for us to feel good about ourselves.

But onto the film, which frankly is miles better than I have made it sound so far. Aron Ralston is an adrenaline junkie and has all the trimmings that come with it. Cockiness and skills to make him think he’s unstoppable, taking massive risks, treats his girlfriend (now ex) badly and doesn’t return his mums calls.

During a trip to the Blue John Canyon, he tries to beat the recommended time for the climb. During which, he finds a couple of lost girls and in his own typical high risk lifestyle, show them a short cut to their destination. Which has to be said is very cool.

Later, they part ways, and until the end, the only people we see are in his mind.

A bizarre incident leaves him trapped with one arm jammed between, well and rock and a hard place, that being the title of the book. With only: a few bits of rock climbing equipment, a video camera, a still camera and a bottle of water, he tries to free himself from his predicament.

From here on, it’s just us watching him as he records his feelings and see his slow deterioration including: hallucinations, premonitions, and flashbacks all via Danny’s masterful camera work.

It’s very claustrophobic for all involved, including us the viewer, so brilliantly is the stage set made and the closeness in which it is filmed. The flashbacks of course bolster the image we get of Aron, but not in a way that it’s too obvious in what it’s doing. They are just of him remembering the good times and the life he had the in parts, wasted.

The close camera work also shows us the why the film works so well, actor James Franco. His facial expressions will be used a training tool for many years to come. It’s staggering how he and Boyle made a film, with the most talked about finale, that we all know how it ends, into something so gripping and real.

The second Aron is trapped; you can see in James’ eyes that he already knows that it’s too late to do anything. We see him desperately try everything else in seconds that follow. But then there’s calmness and organisation as he calculates his next move instead.

Despite the stillness and depression, Danny’s makes everything flow with such a pulse with fancy camera work. Following the water flow through Aron’s water bag and bottle. The vertical camera lifts from way down deep in ravine where Aron is trapped, to way up high in the sky. It could be seen as silly and a ‘bit Michael Bay’! But it in fact all adds to the slowly building tension. It reminds me of Breaking Bad in the way that you know your getting tense, but you really have no clue just how tense until it’s released.

The release ironically, comes from Aron’s err… release. So while its no spoiler as to how, there’s one point, or two actually (you’ll know when you see it), which got me, wincing like a schoolgirl. These I will not describe, as I feel it will spoil it for any that have not watched it. But my god, it was painful to watch.

Utterly brilliant work indeed, and you can see why some of the faint hearted that watch it, did, well, faint.

Just like Chris Nolan’s Inception, this film was only funded due to the director’s previous massive hits.  Given the subject matter though, I have to hand it to Danny Boyle. Thinking of a truly bizarre, complicated, massive set piece film as in the case of Inception is one thing. But to see how to make a riveting film from such a static event and be so passionate about it is shear brilliance. Just like the film.

Christopher Nolan’s latest sci-fi thriller Inception is a masterpiece of storytelling, with beautiful cinematography and fascinating characters.

In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a single idea within one’s mind can be the most dangerous weapon or the most valuable asset.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a skilled thief. The absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable.

Cobb’s rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved.

Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible-inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists (featuring the talented stars of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe and Dileep Rao) have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. Inside the mind of Robert Fischer Jr played by Cillian Murphy.

If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming.

Following the success of rebooting the Batman series with the superb Batman Begins and the excellent The Dark Knight (and not forgetting The Prestige) British director Christopher Nolan’s new film Inception sets a new bar of creativity and originality. If you thought Memento was difficult to follow, Nolan’s latest film Inception is even more complicated! Nolan taps into the world of the subconscious and after experiencing 148 minutes of mind-blowing special effects and top star talents, you are left feeling in a dream like status.

The action sequences are like a work of art but you have to be paying constant attention to all the layers of what is happening. The final hour is quite possibly one of the most complicated. Without giving the game away, this make this film so entertaining to the viewer.

With a A-list cast featuring the talent of Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Lewitt (Tommy Solomon from 3rd Rock of the Sun!), Sir Michael Caine, Ellen Page (Juno) and Marion Cotillard, the film represent the best of Hollywood.

Inception certainly lives up to the hype and indeed Nolan has surpassed himself with this brilliant and breathtaking film. Highly recommended.