The Final Preparation
Because what good is an overview without a list to go along with it?
I’ll probably never grow out of awful MS Paint manipulations. Although I’m heading to the first show of the day, I have work immediately afterwards, which means the review probably won’t be finished until midnight. Perhaps even as late as Saturday night, depending on how much I choose to write (I have a full shift the day after, too).
In case you’re wondering how I would rate Nolan’s work so far, I’ve taken a brief moment to compile a quick list. From favourite to least favourite, it would probably be something like this:
- Memento (Simply masterful and wonderfully clever)
- Insomnia (A bit too simple, but still fascinating and Pacino’s performance is brilliant)
- Following (While understandably technically lacking, it is definitely the most resonant)
- The Dark Knight (Well made, but over indulgent)
- The Prestige (The ending damn near killed it for me)
- Batman Begins (Loopy, and occasionally incompetent. Still quite good, but not his best)
If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say that Inception will probably land in the top three. I definitely don’t think it will be worse than The Prestige, since he’d probably have to pull something incredibly stupid for it to sink below a turn of the century story with a miscalculated sci-fi twist. I’ve been wrong before, of course, but still, here’s hoping that it isn’t the case.
And finally, I feel that it’s worth saying that I kind of like this whole “Countdown” thing. I’ll probably do something similar the next time a highly anticipated movie comes along that prominently features something worth revisiting. “Countdown to (insert Tarantino movie)”, “Countdown to (insert Pixar movie)”, hell, I could probably even do a countdown to Bond 23 since I’ll probably be retired with all the free time in the world to fritter away on it by the time that gets sorted out.
Hurrah! I look forward to your initial impressions. Shayla and I are going to see it on Sunday, if everything pans out. I enjoyed this little countdown as well, if only because I got to debate films I really like.
Your rankings make sense, but it’s worth noting that we’re still talking about stuff that is far better than the vast majority of tripe hitting theatres lately. Being the relative worst in a list of great movies is not a bad thing. The list is actually more like “Christopher Nolan’s movies” followed by “everybody else’s movies”. I think he’s one of the few directors I would queue up for without knowing anything about the film other than the fact that he directed it.
Yeah, we were going to see it today, but silly Marilyn went and turned twenty-one.
The countdown thing is a really cool idea. I’m sorry I’ve been too swamped to properly appreciate it. I guarantee you though, if you do one for either Tarantino or Pixar, Andrew will inevitably be on here again leaving your enormous, detailed comments for every post. And I’ll read and comment too.
I’ll have to check out some of Nolan’s older movies, since they’re you’re favourites. Do you think maybe he’s gotten progressively more mainstream overtime and that’s why you like the newer stuff less?
Wow, I used the wrong “your.” This is what happens when I take a two-week writing break.
I’m not the sort of person who stops liking something just because it’s become mainstream or popular, and I don’t deliberately seek out obscure stuff to enjoy just to give the impression that I’m edgy and cultured. The reason I tend to like Nolan’s earlier stuff is that it’s finely tuned and refined ambition, as opposed to the slightly bloated and over zealous tinge I find characterizes his more recent films. Even though The Prestige sits at the bottom, it would’ve been right near the top if his ending gambit payed off. As for his take on Batman, I do enjoy those films, but it’s not my preference for superhero blockbuster fare.
Anyway, I’m happy to report that Inception is quite good and is what I consider to be Nolan’s best work since Memento. I should have a review up shortly.