Barry Attwood's "Film Ramblings" July/August 2010 Director Christopher Nolan’s latest blockbuster “Inception” is visually stunning, has some great performances from Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Ellen Page, but is also frustratingly baffling at the same time. The story surrounds a man with the mental ability to enter another person’s dreams and find hidden thoughts, but he has been hired by a leading businessman to this time plant a thought or a seed of an idea, this is called ‘inception’, but planting an idea is very hard, and turns out equally dangerous. We see the dreams, and there are also ‘created’ dreams within dreams; this is done to hide the fact that some people can be aware that they are being scanned. It’s all very confusing, but at the same time brilliantly conceived. It’s one of those films that leaves you pleasantly befuddled, it’s a rare film that, at the time of viewing is completely compelling, but equally as baffling, you leave the Cinema thoroughly entertained, but with so many questions left unanswered, I (at least) will have to go and see it again to try and find those answers. If you’re into well thought out, but mind numbingly frustrating films, I heartily recommend this one, it’s certainly different to any other Summer blockbuster I’ve been to. “Shrek Forever After” is the last ever ‘Shrek’ movie and it goes out on a high and in glorious 3-D too! The story opens up just before the triplets have their 1st Birthday, ‘Shrek’ has become quickly domesticated, changing nappies, helping out around the house, he even puts up with ‘Donkey’ & ‘Puss in Boots’ around all the while, but day after day of this, for a once scary Ogre, is slowly but surely wearing him down, and now he has thoughts of what it was like to be just ‘Shrek’, and the fun times of having his mud bath when and how long he would like it, chasing the local Villagers, and most importantly having some quality time to himself. This all comes to a boil at the triplets Birthday party, life is just not fun anymore, and when he storms out and has a stand up row with ‘Fiona’, who just happens to overhear, but a magical con artist called ‘Rumplestilskin’, who is down on his luck, but sees a sucker that is ‘Shrek’ at this time. Surprise, suprise he just happens to have a magical contract laying around, that if ‘Shrek’ signs it, he will give him a day as it used to be, but there’s always a catch, and ‘Rumplestilskin’ wants payment, what does he want, well he just wants a day from ‘Shrek’s’ past, so he signs the magical document, then he is magically transported to his Forest, but things look different, together with wanted posters for male Ogres, there’s also a wanted poster, that looks just like his wife ‘Fiona’, then he is overpowered by a gang of witches, when he wakes up he’s in the back of a wagon, which is being pulled by ‘Donkey’ who doesn’t recognise him, he finally comes to realise that something was awry with the agreement with ‘Rumplestilskin’. When he finally gets to ‘Far Far Away’, he sees it run down, there’s no King or Queen, but guess who’s running things, yep, ‘Rumplestilskin’. It turns out that the day that ‘Rumplestilskin’ took as payment, was actually ‘Shrek’s’ birthday, so technically he was never born, so never rescued ‘Fiona’, never met ‘Donkey’ etc. And he only has one day, before he fades out of existence, but as ‘Donkey’ points out, there is always a get out clause, if you can find it, and after bending and folding the original signed agreement, it turns out, that if he and ‘Fiona’ (who has no idea who he is) can share ‘Loves First Kiss’ (again), the spell would be broken, and things would return to normal, as he’s come to realise what he really had all the time, a loving wife, three beautiful children, and some fine friends. Here is where the fun begins, as he has too woo ‘Fiona’, foil ‘Rumplestilskin’ plans, and all in one day. The animation is breathtaking, the 3-D is one of the best I’ve seen, but it’s the familiar cast voices that make this movie, with Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas & Cameron Diaz all back for one last trip to the land of ‘Far Far Away’, and obviously all having a great time, if this is the last ever ‘Shrek’ adventure, then nobody will be left disappointed, as it’s a far better film than the last one, highly recommended. Just seen online the 1st trailer to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt.1”, and it looks suitably dark in tone, as this is the last book in the series, and the feud between ‘Harry’ and ‘Lord Voldermort’ must come to a deadly end (well at least in pt.2) sooner rather than later, there’s plenty of explosions, and Wizard duels, ‘Harry’ and the gang go searching for ‘Voldermort’s’ lost Horcruxes, which need to be destroyed, it looks good. Independent 8 Front Page 8mm Sales List Equipment Sales List Order Form [HOME]  [NEWS]  [HISTORY]  [NEXT]  [PAST]  [HOME CINEMAS]  [GETTING STARTED]  [SUPER 8 FILM REVIEW]  [FILMTEK]  [LINKS]  [CONTACT US]