‘Inception’: Plan to see it twice (4/5)

Inception

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Paige, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of violence and action throughout.
Running time: 2 hours, 28 minutes

If you’ve seen the previews, then this next point shouldn’t be much of a surprise: “Inception” is a mind-bending experience and is definitely a movie to watch twice. It’s nice to see original ideas again.

Dreams themselves are odd things to consider. They’ve long been seen as images from our subconscious — a mysterious force inside us that seems to know when we’re stressed and always conveniently knows what our biggest fears are (and, too, our deepest fantasies).

Director Christopher Nolan took the idea of random, internal thoughts and images to a new realm — a controllable arena in which your deepest secrets are vulnerable to the trained intruder.

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the tortured Dominic Cobb with a dark past. Cobb is an expert in the art of extraction, or the ability to retrieve information out of others’ dreams. A man approaches Cobb with an offer — implant an idea into another man’s mind, and Cobb will be reunited with his children.

But implanting an idea is much harder than retrieving one — in order for an idea to stick, the dreamer must believe it is his or her own, organic thought.

Cobb assembles a team to help him break into the guarded mind of business heir Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy, “Red Eye”). He joins together with architect Ariadne (the fantastic Ellen Page, “Juno”) and research leader Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).

A trick to Inception is to know who is dreaming and, therefore, who is in control. Also important is whose dream you are entering, because their subconscious could sense and attack you.

What makes entering Fischer’s mind so much more difficult is the use of sedation and the dream-within-a-dream stages. Also, Fischer has been trained against such interlopers, and so must be convinced to lower his guard.

The imagery of “Inception” will raise this movie above many others. Zero-gravity fights, dream building and imaginative scenarios will keep you amazed. But what will keep you invested is the story of Cobb and his wife, Mal (beautifully played by Marion Cotillard).

Leonardo DiCaprio proved long ago that he was more than just a pretty face (“Gangs of New York” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” are simply fantastic films), and though he’ll always be haunted by the memory of his blockbuster role as “Titanic’s” dreamboat Jack Dawson, DiCaprio has managed time and again to pull out amazing performances. His portrayal of the tortured Cobb is worthy of admiration.

I have to commend Joseph Gorden-Levitt. I’m used to seeing his charismatic personality shine through in his early works “Third Rock from the Sun,” “10 Things I Hate About You,” and, more recently, “(500) Days of Summer.” But his restrained role as Arthur demonstrates his desire (and, more important, his ability) to build on the more serious side of human emotion (his part as Rex Lewis in “G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra” was a good jumping off point for him in this aspect, even if the movie itself wasn’t great).

“Inception” is wonderfully refreshing and a great example of thought-provoking film. The visuals are astonishing, the characters are memorable and the actors are superb. This is easily one of the best movies of 2010 — but looking at what’s come out so far, there hasn’t been much competition.

4 of 5 stars

‘Coraline’ realistic in more ways than one (4/5)

Coraline

Starring: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Keith David.
Directed by: Henry Selick.
Rating: PG for thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor.
Running time: 1 hours, 40 minutes.


Coraline Jones is a typical “my way or the highway” 11-year-old girl — she whines, she complains, she’s too curious for her own good, she’s quick to make judgments and, frankly, she’s just a little brat.

But it’s refreshing to have a little girl actually behave like a little girl — not like the Pevensie kids from “Chronicles of Narnia,” who were obnoxious, too, but more in the “I’m so wholesome” kind of way.

And maybe her gumption is also why I like her. I was a little girl not too long ago (and, though I just turned 23 on Monday, many would still like to label me as such).

And not that her cheeky nature is all her fault. After all, much of Coraline’s poor attitude stems from her parents’ seeming indifference to her existence.

Coraline (voiced by the talented Dakota Fanning) and her parents moved from Michigan to an old, large, insect-ridden home in Oregon. Here her preoccupied mom and dad (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman) immediately begin work on their gardening magazine — without ever setting foot outside. Instead, they remain intently glued to their computer screens, barely acknowledging Coraline when she tries her best to disrupt them.

While boredly examining the house, Coraline comes upon a half-sized door in the living room concealed by wallpaper. After much harassment, her mother relents in return for quiet, breaks herself away from her work, and opens the door for Coraline — who only discovers a bricked-up hole.

That night, Coraline is wakened by a mouse in her room. She chases it downstairs and sees it dash into the half-sized door. Expecting to trap the mouse, Coraline pries open the door and finds a long tunnel.

With fear obviously not being one of Coraline’s strong points, she immediately crawls through the tunnel only to end up — back at her house.

But instead of finding her tired, workaholic parents, Coraline discovers her “Other” parents — attentive, loving, button-eyed reflections of her real mom and dad.

Here’s where things really start to get weird. While Coraline’s “new” family, home and neighbors seems like everything she could want, things quickly take a dark turn when her “Other” mother insists on exchanging Coraline’s real eyes for buttons similar to everyone else’s in the “Other” world, and keeping Coraline in the “Other” world forever.

Though technically an “animated” film, “Coraline” plays out as a fairy tale nightmare sending unexpecting adults spiraling back into the bad dreams of childhood.

But, of course, as is the sad tale of many blockbuster hits these days, “Coraline” is not an original concept. In fact, it is a relatively short book written by Neil Gaiman, the oft-fantasy, oft-horroresque author of “Stardust” and “Neverwhere” fame.

It’s no surprise, really, that the unconventional Tim Burton would pick up “Coraline” and find it a good match. He even caught back up with director Henry Selick, whom he had worked with on “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” In fact, the introduction to “Coraline” may remind some of Jack Skeleton’s bony fingers. Tim Burton’s style is difficult to miss, but always a joy to see.

The amazing stop-motion in Coraline and the optional 3-D viewing show that animation has come a long way since Disney’s 1950 “Cinderella” and may be steps away from breaking into the realm of “serious” movies for real.

A note of caution for parents of young children: This is not a Disney movie. The aesthetic and imaginative story line could easily lend themselves to a kid-friendly movie; however, with Selick’s dark undertone and the generally nightmarish storyline, this is a film that could haunt kids long after bedtime. Heck, it even unnerved me a little, but, maybe I’m still just an 11-year-old girl at heart.

4 of 5 stars