Ranking the Films of Christopher Nolan

 

Photo Credit: Matt Handle

It’s Christmas Eve and I finally got to watch Christopher Nolan’s latest film, Tenet, last night on DVD. I knew going in that many critics knocked it for being both confusing in plot as well as difficult to keep up with because of the level of noise drowning out the dialogue in certain scenes. The good news is neither of those things bothered me much. Yes, the plot is complex and yes, some of the dialogue is muffled, but neither of those complaints is why Tenet fails to rank up there with the best of Nolan’s films. For me, the movie’s failure is that Nolan just got too clever for his story’s own good. I kept finding myself chuckling over some nimble bit of science he throws at a scene, some inventive camera trick, or just pondering how he managed particular action sequences. I was much more interested in the how of the film rather than the what. I didn’t have much invested in any of the characters or if they would win their battle over opponents armed with “inversion”. I just marveled at the filmmaking logistics Nolan challenged his self with. Tenet is definitely an achievement, it just isn’t particularly good story-telling. So how does it stack up when compared to Nolan’s other 10 feature films? See below for his worst to best.

 

Following (1998)

Nolan’s debut only clocks in at 69 minutes and was made on the stringiest of shoestring budgets. It’s interesting and shows some of the promise he soon delivered in his bigger budget films, but it’s the least of his works in my opinion.

Dunkirk (2017)

Yes, yes, I know. This film was a critical darling that won all sort of awards including three Oscars, but there’s a reason it’s got one of Nolan’s lowest rankings on IMDB. For all its prestige, it’s kind of indulgent and for a war movie, it’s kind of boring.

Insomnia (2002)

This film boasts great performances by Al Pacino and Robin Williams and an intriguing setting in an Alaska town where the endless sunlight wears down a sleep-deprived detective who battles both a worthy opponent and his own guilt.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

This is the last and the weakest of Nolan’s three Batman films. Christian Bale is still great as the Caped Crusader and Tom Hardy makes a properly menacing Bane, but the movie is at least 20 minutes too long and nothing Nolan could do would match the villain and story of the trilogy’s second film.

Tenet (2020)

Interesting theme, big set pieces, incredible action sequences, but as stated above, the sum of this film doesn’t measure up to all its parts. This movie is perhaps the best release of a dismal year in cinema, but it isn’t nearly as good as the films that follow it on this list.

Batman Begins (2005)

Nolan reinvented superhero films with this one and the genre has been massive ever since. No longer campy with cringe-worthy dialogue and ridiculous spandex costumes, this Batman was dark, gritty, and the direct predecessor to what I believe is the best movie of its kind.

Memento (2000)

If Following showed Nolan’s promise as a storyteller and director, Memento delivered on that promise. This is his second film and it’s a knock-out. Utilizing the unique device of short-term memory loss, this movie tells the tale of a man determined to avenge his wife’s death despite a complete lack of recollection of anything that’s happened since she met her demise.

Interstellar (2014)

It’s been six years since I reviewed Interstellar on this blog and the film holds up just as well today as it did then. In fact, Nolan hasn’t made a film to match it since. Big, ambitious sci-fi like this one is always a treat when it’s done well and this one is exceptional. Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and crew must travel through a wormhole to save humanity at the risk of never seeing their loved ones again.

The Prestige (2006)

This film boasts Nolan’s best cast ever including Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, and maybe my favorite David Bowie acting performance of all time. The Prestige tells a tale about the cost of illusion and the miracles of science and it includes one of my favorite images ever captured on film, the forest of top hats.

The Dark Knight (2008)

This is the greatest superhero movie ever made, bar none. I’m not even a fan of the genre and I love this one. Christian Bale is superb as always, but it’s Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance as the Joker that steals the show.  How do you defeat an opponent who “can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with”? What if that opponent simply “wants to watch the world burn”?

Inception (2010)

And finally, my favorite of all Christopher Nolan’s films, his sci-fi masterpiece, Inception. Nolan put together another fantastic ensemble cast for this one that tells the story of a group of corporate spies who infiltrate the mind of a young industrialist in order to plant an idea that will dramatically alter his company and his memory of his recently deceased, unloving father. Nolan is known for his brilliant ideas, complex narratives, and massive set pieces. Inception nails all three of these trademarks.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Top 10 Performances

Photo Credit AP Images/Invision

From his humble Hollywood beginnings as a child television actor to his current status as one of the most famous film stars in the world, Leonardo DiCaprio has pretty much done it all. I finally got a chance to see him in Quentin Tarantino’s latest, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, on video last night so I thought it would be fun to rank his all-time top 10 performances. Does his latest role make the list? Read on and find out!

Django Unchained (2012) – Yes, DiCaprio’s repugnant plantation owner Calvin Candie is over-the-top camp, but like so many of writer/director Quentin Tarantino’s wilder characters, he’s tons of fun. DiCaprio plays against type here as the racist bad guy against Jamie Foxx’s heroic ex-slave and new bounty hunter, Django Freeman.

Titanic (1997) – Of course this is the role that made DiCaprio a movie star so it had to be on my list somewhere. Young, handsome, and undeniably charismatic, DiCaprio won the heart of Kate Winslet’s Rose and movie-goers everywhere as the charming but ultimately doomed Jack.

Catch Me If You Can (2002) – This light-hearted Spielberg-directed film tells the story of real-life conman Frank Abagnale Jr. and his early life of crime as he’s pursued by FBI agent Carl Hanratty. This role probably wasn’t as challenging as some of the others on this list, but DiCaprio is a joy to watch as he fools people into thinking he’s a teacher, an airline pilot, and a doctor all while cashing forged checks everywhere he goes.

Shutter Island (2010) – Most critics don’t hold this movie in as high a regard as many other Martin Scorsese films, but I really liked it. It’s a puzzle of a story and DiCaprio does a great job of keeping us in the dark as to the true nature of his character as he navigates the mysterious mental hospital where he’s been called to solve a case.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) – If there’s one thing Tarantino does well, it’s creating memorable characters. Leo plays washed up cowboy actor Rick Dalton who is trying to hold onto a sinking career in 1969 unaware that Charlie Manson and his gang are planning to murder his neighbors. For a star who remains on top of the world, DiCaprio does a fantastic job of presenting an actor who reached for the golden ring and never quite attained it.

The Departed (2006) – Scorsese has made several great films with DiCaprio and this is one of the best. DiCaprio plays state trooper Billy Costigan who goes undercover to infiltrate the Boston mob and ferret out a suspected mole on the force. DiCaprio brings just the right mix of bravado and vulnerability to the role and he more than holds his own in a stellar cast.

Inception (2010) – Anyone who reads this blog regularly is probably familiar with my appreciation of director Christopher Nolan’s work and my particular fondness for his sci-fi masterpiece, Inception. DiCaprio is darn near perfect as the brilliant but emotionally damaged lead, Dom Cobb.

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) – Still a teenager at the time, this is the movie that helped DiCaprio make the leap from television to film. His performance as mentally-impaired Arnie Grape showed the world he was much more than just a cute kid. He was in fact a star in the making.

The Revenant (2015) – DiCaprio’s only Best Actor Oscar so far was awarded to him for this gritty performance as a frontiersman in the early 1800s on a mission of revenge against the man who killed his son. The cinematography is amazing in this movie, but it’s DiCaprio’s steely-eyed determination that really brings the story to life.

The Aviator (2004) – One of four films to earn DiCaprio an Oscar nomination, he plays the legendary eccentric, millionaire, playboy, businessman, and aviator Howard Hughes. The best actor award wound up going to Jamie Foxx for his excellent turn as Ray Charles in Ray, but to me, this is DiCaprio’s greatest performance to date and his best collaboration with Scorsese. I completely forgot I was watching an actor when I saw this movie the first time. That’s the mark of a great performance.

No The Wolf of Wall Street? No Blood Diamond? Nope! DiCaprio has had such a fantastic career those two Oscar-nominated performances didn’t even make my list. With another four projects on his slate right now, including two more Scorsese films, who knows how many more great roles he’ll rack up before he’s done. If your favorite didn’t make my list, tell me about it in the comments section below.

The Best and Worst of Batman

Photo Credit: DC Comics

I’m not much of comic-book movie guy. I still haven’t seen any of the Avengers movies. Or Thor. Or Captain America. Or Suicide Squad. If I could take back the time I spent watching the two Hulk films or the last few Spiderman movies, I would. That said I’m a big fan of Batman. I always have been. A guy that constantly fights his darker impulses and wears a disguise while lashing out violently at the evil men that surround him and threaten those he cares about… yeah, I can relate. When I heard they were making a Lego version of my favorite super hero, I had my doubts but my wife and I took the kids to see The Lego Batman Movie this weekend. While it isn’t as funny as the film it spun off from, 2014’s The Lego Movie, it was definitely entertaining. In fact it was significantly better than several other Batman efforts including last year’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.  So just how good is it? I’ve ranked all nine of the big budget Batman film entries below.

Batman & Robin (1997)

Director Joel Schumacher all but destroyed the franchise with this cheesy mess. George Clooney might have been a decent caped crusader in a different film, but pair him with the abysmal Chris O’Donnell as Robin, add a bunch of lame villains including Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze, then fill it with vapid dialogue and you’ve got the worst Batman film ever made.

Batman Forever (1995)

Schumacher’s first outing is only slighter better than his second. Val Kilmer is horribly miscast as our hero, both Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones are way too over the top as the bad guys, and the plot is positively insipid even for a comic book movie.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

The faults of this film seem as if they can be laid at the director’s feet as well. Ben Affleck is excellent as our new dark knight, but Zack Snyder gave us a long series of dreary, disturbing scenes without any real plot or continuity to pull them together into a coherent story. I was never sold on the concept in the first place, but this film feels more like a two-and-a-half hour trailer than an actual movie.

Batman Returns (1992)

This is where they get good. Michael Keaton was a great Batman and Michelle Pfeiffer was the perfect foil/love interest as Catwoman. I’m not as enamored with Danny DeVito’s Penguin as some and Christopher Walken was more silly than scary as the evil Max Shreck, but this film remains a solid entry in the series and a nice example of the dark humor director Tim Burton can bring to a good script.

The Lego Batman Movie (2017)

Largely a spoof of the live-action movies in the series, this animated entry hits its marks for being funny, kid-friendly, and yet still an action-packed adventure. Will Arnett gets the gravelly voice just right and Seth Grahame-Smith’s script provides plenty of in-jokes to keep the adult fans of the Batman as entertained as the children.

Batman (1989)

Tim Burton’s Batman debut proved that comic book movies didn’t have to just be for kids. Despite initial fan protest, Keaton nails the dual-personality of Bruce Wayne/Batman and Jack Nicolson’s take on the Joker served as the modern-day benchmark for comic book villains until Heath Ledger came along almost 20 years later.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

A little too long and a little bit of a let-down after its classic predecessor, this film is still a great piece of entertainment. Christian Bale remains the best Batman of them all; Tom Hardy does a menacing Bane, and supporting players Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are great as always.

Batman Begins (2005)

Director Christopher Nolan resurrected Batman after Schumacher nearly destroyed him in the 90s. Gone were the cheesy jokes and nipple-suits. His caped crusader was dark and brooding. His violence wasn’t cartoonish; it was gritty and looked bruising. With a great script and excellent casting, Nolan set a new bar for comic book movies that’s only been surpassed by one film – his sequel.

The Dark Knight (2008)

This is perhaps the best comic book movie ever made. It’s my favorite of the genre by a wide margin. With the best director of the series, the best script of the series, the best Batman of the series, and far and away the best villain of the series, The Dark Knight stands alone. Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker is mesmerizing as his posthumous Oscar for best supporting actor will attest.

Interstellar – My review

Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Ent.

Yes, I know the film came out over a month ago, but I finally got a chance to see Interstellar last night. It was worth the wait. Christopher Nolan is the only filmmaker whose movies I go see in the theater simply because I know he made them. The guy is that good. But even before I saw Interstellar, I knew it had much more going for it than just a fantastic director. First, it centers around the exploration of space, the inherent loneliness in that endeavor, and the enduring love of family that even the vastness of time and space cannot compensate for or conquer. Anyone that’s read my short story, Vestiges, knows these are themes that are near and dear to my heart. Interstellar also boasts an amazing cast that includes Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, and Jessica Chastain.

The story starts off by depicting a near-future Earth that has been decimated by blight. The world’s soil is so ruined that crops won’t grow, food is short, and the human population is nearly wiped out. McConaughey's protagonist, Cooper, an astronaut-turned-farmer, is recruited for a mission to explore a wormhole that’s appeared near Saturn. Probes have been sent through this space anomaly and it’s believed that three planets exist on the other side of it that might be capable of sustaining human life. Cooper is asked to leave his family behind in order to investigate these planets along with fellow explorers Brand (Hathaway), Doyle (Wes Brantley), and Romilly (David Gyasi). Michael Caine's Professor Brand explains that this is humanity’s last chance for survival. If the mission fails, humankind is doomed to die along with the planet.

Cooper’s young daughter, Murph, is especially devastated by her father’s departure and her heartbreak weighs heavily on the space pilot as he embarks on the long journey that he knows will take years even in the best case scenario. Trouble soon arises and the astronauts begin to perish one by one as they struggle to overcome difficulties that result in the mission dragging out much longer than any of them ever anticipated. Knowing that every hour so deep in space equates to years back on Earth, Cooper and Brand race the clock to find a habitable planet in the hopes they can do so and find a way back to their loved ones before it’s too late.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Murph has grown up. Played as an adult by Jessica Chastain, Murph has become Professor Brand’s protégé and is a brilliant scientist in her own right. Still broken by her father’s abandonment, Murph dedicates her entire life to figuring out how to evacuate the world’s population so that they can leave for the new home her father swore he’d find.

I won’t give away any more of the plot, but Nolan does a wonderful job of making us feel Cooper and Murph's anguish, Cooper’s subsequent guilt, and both Cooper’s and Murph's determination to meet again somehow even while the fate of all humanity swings in the balance.

Han Zimmer's score perfectly builds tension where needed and bombast when appropriate. There’s a docking scene in the latter half of the movie that will have you on the edge of your seat the images and music are so well done. Some of the louder scenes, such as their take-off from Earth, are nearly ear-splitting.

The film isn't perfect. At 169 minutes, it covers a ton of territory and not all of it succeeds. Some of the dialogue feels a bit leaden and Matt Damon is completely miscast as a supposedly charismatic explorer that led the first “Lazarus” missions into the wormhole years ago, but I still walked out of the theater feeling exhilarated. Nolan’s skill, ambition, and dedication to his craft have made every one of his last eight films, starting with the year 2000’s Memento, favorites of mine. Interstellar is no exception. I highly recommend you go see it on the big screen while you still can.