Dobson wrote: ↑

September 3rd, 2020, 7:46 am

1. Inception
2. Dunkirk
3. The Prestige
4. The Dark Knight
5. Memento
6. Interstellar
7. The Dark Knight Rises
8. Batman Begins
9. Tenet
10. Following
11. Insomnia

1. The Dark Knight 10/10 - It's a phenomenal crime movie with conflicting human philosophies at stake, great blocking, staging in small scenes as well as the action sequences, phenomenal ending and of course easily the best performance in Nolan's movies by Heath Ledger.

2. Interstellar 10/10 - Might be his masterpiece and would be number one if it wasn't for my lifelong fascination with Batman. The expositional dialogue to explain these complex ideas was necessary, as evident by people still not getting some of the core ideas behind the film. It's masterful filmmaking, starting with cinematography and going into Nolan and Zimmer's best score. The performances are also strong all around and the message corny to some, to me feels like a perfect juxtaposition of emotion and science that need be balanced for us to progress.

3. Memento 9/10 - A true puzzle of a movie with a fantastic and original idea on how to tell a story. It's amazing how it all fits at the end by reverting us back in time and still being able to shock us with not one but two big revelations. It's not as impressive technically as his big budget films and that's the only reason it's not higher on the list.

4. The Dark Knight Rises 9/10 - There aren't any serious plot holes in the film contrary to popular belief, and it has some of the best cinematography in Nolan films and next to Interstellar it's the most effective emotionally film in his career with Bale being the best he has been in the role and Hardy's Bane being a more than solid substitute for Joker. Great Hollywood epic and romance disguised as a superhero movie.

5. The Prestige 9/10 - Tremendous parallel between filmmaking and illusion, offers us a glimpse at what both do to fool its audiences. It is also a great study of obsession going too far for both men and what toll it takes. Solid filmmaking and acting with Bowie being a perfectly mysterious Tesla and the film having some truly underrated shots.

6. Batman Begins 9/10 - The best superhero origin story (Iron Man coming up a close second and these are the only two movies in serious contention for that title). Nolan infuses this action spectacle with his best use of horror storytelling thus far, making Batman a force of fear. Probably the most comic accurate Gotham till date.

7. Inception 8/10 - I'll agree with too much exposition, unfortunately basically every dialogue in the film is exposition and it is tough on repeat viewings. However, great meta commentary on filmmaking and contains Nolan's boldest visual ideas by far. Another great collaboration with Zimmer and DiCaprio elevates the material he's given with his acting. To that you gotta mention the ensemble as this is a team effort and the chemistry between the cast is spectacular and second best only to The Dark Knight.

8. Tenet 8/10 - Nolan going all in on his tendencies and the momentum of his previous films. Once again, he attempts to mostly skip past character development and focus on spectacle but this time giving us enough time with the characters to capture details to make us care for the core of them. And the spectacle is both fascinating and amazingly choreographed and together with the score it is the star of the film. The film and its complicate timeline will keep you guessing long after you watch and it is another puzzle that requires multiple viewings to get it and much like Interstellar it's great that it is rooted in real scientific theories that might not click as much as with Interstellar but still make enough sense to be truly fascinating.

9. Insomnia 7/10 - It's a good thriller but not much else. Never stands out from its competition from a decade before where it would fit more naturally... Al Pacino is not very engaging, probably on purpose, but Robin WIlliams really steals the show and makes the film much better.

10. Dunkirk 6/10 - Technically it's really good and probably Nolan's most unorthodox movie but the action instead of character driven plot becomes boring really fast and even though it's Nolan's shortest studio film, it feels like the longest. Emotionally it's completely void and not suspenseful because of a lack of attachment to anyone. Interesting idea to make a no holds bar movie but a failed attempt that would only work with his next film.

11. Following 6/10 - At face value it's pretty much student film rubbish but the story really holds up and is an interesting enough early glimpse into what would make one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation. Thank god it is short as even if you don't love it, it's still an easy sit through.

Bacon wrote: ↑

September 3rd, 2020, 11:47 pm

After re-watching (post-Tenet):

1. The Prestige
2. The Dark Knight
3. Dunkirk
4. Inception
5. Memento
6. Interstellar
7. Batman Begins
8. The Dark Knight Rises
9. Tenet
10. Insomnia
11. Following