Without Fear

Everyone loves Christopher Nolan. I rarely hear anything bad about him and it’s with good reason. The man is a freaking genius. And that’s not hyperbole. He is wicked smart and his movies always reflect this. It’s nice to look through a director’s movies and really have enjoyed all of them and had so many conversations about them.

1. Memento

2. The Prestige

3. The Dark Knight

4. Inception

5. Batman Begins

6. The Dark Knight Rises

7. Insomnia

Thoughts.

I watched Memento at uni with a bunch of mates. As soon as it ended we spent hours talking about it. That alone is why it’s a brilliant movie but when you seriously deconstruct the tale it’s great.

I’ve heard some people say Memento isn’t a good tale it’s just nifty because of how it’s told. To them I say, yeah, but it is made so though genius use of the form through which it is played out. It’s like good writers being able to command a comic page and do something new with it, Nolan does that but with film. It’s to be respected. It’s like Pulp Fiction. Those stories aren’t amazing to perfection, but the way they are woven creates a tapestry you just gotta love.

Oh, imagine Christopher Nolan and Brian K Vaughan collaborating. On anything. I’m going to be sad all night now thinking about this.

I’m sure I might cop some flack for The Prestige rating higher than TDK but, seriously, The Prestige rocks hard. That movie is very rewatchable and that says a lot because this flick really punches best on its first viewing. I got on a kick with this flick over summer and watched it like 2-3 times while doing stuff. It just hits home with me.

Insomnia just sticks out on this list like a sore thumb. It’s not bad, far from it, but it’s just not on the same level at all. It’s like Nolan had to do something for the studio, he did it, now they leave him alone. If only it was always that easy.

The Batman movies feel like films. Burton brought the caped crusader onto the big screen but Nolan made films about him. Those films aren’t perfect but they get judged as so because they’re the closest superhero flicks to get there but nonetheless without all the reverse hype that sees it fashionable to bash these flick now I still got a lot of respect for them and love them a lot.

The Dark Knight is a great flick and I’d wager about 80% of that is truly due to Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker. But Nolan still brought so much game to that flick, his action is gritty and real, and his sense of world fits perfectly.

Inception is an awesome movie. I’ll state that upright. It’s tight and smart and dense but most of all I think it succeeds because through it all it is fun. It’s a cerebral Bond movie for a generation that wants to tune out but can’t because this movie changes it up every fifteen minutes.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a great actor. That is all.

I’d pay good money to see Nolan make a Parker movie with Gordon-Levitt. You know you’d fund me paying it on Kickstarter, as well.

While everyone was fawning over David Fincher and drowning him in their forced expectations, Christopher Nolan slipped out there and became the best creator of his generation.

I’m also waiting for Nolan and Guy Pearce to work together again. Damn, movies like Memento do not come around often enough.

The Dark Knight Rises was exceptionally enjoyable. It had some major issues but I can shove those aside because I’m digging on enough of the other stuff. Interesting that Nolan managed to get Tom Hardy’s Bane to follow up Ledger’s Joker. That’s impressive.

Nolan is one of those directors where just talking about his movies makes me want to rewatch them. All of them. The guy makes movies that are smart yet constantly rewatchable.

This is my list, what’s yours?