The Reel Life of Real Life

Hmm…I don’t…I don’t really know what to do with this. I watched this film for the second time recently so I decided, what the hell, let’s write a review on it! I remember the first time I watched it (and even a little now if I’m honest) the final credits were rolling and I was sitting sort of bewildered wondering what the f*** did I just watch?  Well…Ok. Based on the book of the same name by Irvine Welsh, it’s set in Scotland, and tells the twisted story of a detective named Bruce Robertson.  Bruce wants a promotion. Basically, he thinks if he gets this promotion then all the problems in his life will sort themselves out. There’s been a murder, which Bruce’s boss wants him to solve. That’s basically the jist of the plot…what happens in between is something I can’t quite conjure up words for right now. It’s…it’s something. Sort of like, ok, “The Wolf of Wallstreet” smashed together with “The Basketball Diaries” with the intensity of “Pulp Fiction”…yeah. By t...

Dom Cobb is a skilled dream thief, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state when the mind is at its most vulnerable. But he is also a fugitive, unable to return to his children. He is offered a chance to return however: the condition being if he can perform the impossible known as inception. Now his team of specailists must come together, not to steal information, but to plant an idea in someone’s head instead. Of course, nothing is straight forward and as they hit some bumps along the way, Cobb must come to terms with some demons of his own. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Tom Hardy. Directed by Christopher Nolan. Soundtrack featuring Hans Zimmer. I’ve always had a fascination with dreams and the concept of dreaming so I really like this film. It’s so confusing but if you can follow it, it’s brilliant. There are some scenes that are pretty class. My favourite scene would be when Ellen Page’s cha...

Set in Sierra Leone during the civil war and chaos of 1990, Blood Diamond tells the story of Danny Archer (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), an ex mercenary from Zimbabwe, and Solomon Vandy (played by Djimon Hounsou), a fisherman. Both men aer African but their backgrounds are as different as you could get, until their fates join in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond. Solomon was taken from his family and forced to work in diamond fields, and while in prison for smuggling, Danny Archer learns that he has hidden the stone. With the help of Maddy Bowen (played by Jennifer Connolly), an American journalist, the two men embark on a trek through rebel territory to acquire the stone and save Solomon’s family. This is a good film. Leonardo DiCaprio is brilliant in this actually, but as usual, was ignored by Oscar voters. He plays Danny Archer in such a way that the audience might not necessarily like the character, but you still care about him. He comes across as a bit stuck...

I love this movie. I love the story. I love the costumes, the outfits, and the mannerisms of this era...all of it. I always say Baz Luhurman’s style of directing is very distinct in the majority of his films. You can tell instantly it was directed by him. And the editing is great. There’s a lot of fast-pace/sweeping shots that give a kind of disjointed feel...if that’s an adequate way of describing it. Very similar to those in “Moulin Rouge” and “Romeo + Juliet”. I notice this particularly in the beginning of the film, like, for example, when we meet Daisy for the first time. I like the shots that feature here of the windows open and the curtains flying out everywhere in the breeze. It gives her character a slight ambiguity which kind of serves well for later on in the film I think. And Carrie Mulligan plays her so well. I like Nick’s narration throughout the film. And I like Nick’s character very much. I always feel sorry for him though because in the whole story he’s w...