My local library has an excellent DVD collection. I made a run a few days ago and decided to do mini reviews for all the DVDs I checked out.

1. Redbelt
2008, Directed by David Mamet

This is the first Mamet film I’ve seen, and according to Roger Ebert and the Reverse Shot blog, I should have started with one of his earlier films. Being my first, I missed its shortcomings and was mesmerized by the energy of its performances and dialog and the seeming random plotting of its first half. Roughly, Redbelt is set in the world of mixed martial arts and pay-per view fighting, and deals with a maddeningly confusing conspiracy directed against a down-on-his luck martial arts instructor. This film is about the way society cheapens ideas of morality and honor by using them as a facade for power-grabbing and greed. The hero, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who delivers a brilliant performance, is an idealist who must confront these corruptions. I found it refreshing that rather than losing his beliefs, he holds fast to them. Mamet modernly shows the corruption in all of us, but classically gives us a Mr. Smith-type hero who pervades against it. The ending leaves almost every plot point hanging, but is nonetheless satisfying in it’s directness and intensity.

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It seems the Nolan hype machine, made up of his recently joined comic book fanboys who believe they have reached a higher ground of cinema through his unique artistic power, is still in full force. I have already read and heard many of them say that Inception is “the greatest film.” These were the same people who said that Nolan’s dreary 2009 The Dark Knight was also “the greatest film.” I must disagree with their sentiment.

Just because a director cuts predictable corners and makes us think doesn’t mean his films deserve top ten ratings. Personally, I felt that Dark Knight was a messy film with an unclear message. It pulsed with energy, was unpredictable and challenging, but it was also confusingly plotted and couldn’t seem to focus on any one idea. It was joyless and had a deplorably melodramatic ending. Nolan’s earlier Batman Begins will always be a greater film in my mind, due to its far more engaging plotting and beautiful symbolism. Don’t get me wrong, Nolan is a great director and Inception is a great film. It would just be greater if people saw it for what it is and quit worshiping it as “the best.”

On its surface, Inception is a science fiction heist film with Matrix overtones. That it trumps the The Matrix in almost every way is only the first of many feathers in its cap. Instead of edgy fight scenes, we get acrobatic air dances and rushed wanderings through haunting structures and empty spaces. In the dream worlds of Inception, death is a mere annoyance and isn’t as dangerous as mental breakdown. The stakes are high, but hard to comprehend.

As the film progresses and the stakes are raised, the sci-fi dream heist becomes a sub-plot amidst a deeper struggle. Two of the main characters come face to face with their deeply held senses of loss, and how they choose to deal with these losses is the center of the film’s message: to have peace in life, one must let go. This letting go involves graceful forgiveness, both to self and others, but at its core I find an unsatisfying denial of truth. Again and again I find this theme in Hollywood films. When someone has no hope of an after-life, the reality of death and the loss it brings is truly the most terrifying thing. The characters of Inception attempt to block this reality with unreality, but it’s impossible. The only answer is found in facing it, and then moving on, which they might, or might not do.

I found an interesting parallel in Inception to Lewis’s novel The Silver Chair. As the hero of the film descends deeper into the dreamworld, he encounters an enchanting woman who begs him to stay in what she calls the “real world,” just as the Green Lady in Silver Chair lies to the children, telling them that their world is only a dream. Satan tries to tell us this every day, that the kingdom of Christ is a fairy tale, and only his dark kingdom is real. I find it extremely sad that such a perceptive filmmaker as Nolan can represent this deceit in a film, but can’t bring it to its ultimate conclusion, nor apply it to his own life. Such is the tempter’s power.

Like Dark Knight, and Nolan’s earlier The Prestige, Inception isn’t as fun as it is engaging. The audience I sat with gasped and tried to breath through its pounding, non-stop scenes of mysterious, tense action and psychological conflict. The ending is both relieving and startling. It left us cheering. Though definitely not “The best film,” Christopher Nolan has once again made a solid one.

Why is Adrien Brody playing a tough-as-nails mercenary in this film? He sounds like he’s channeling Christian Bail’s laughable Batman voice from “The Dark Knight,” and I don’t believe his performance for a second. Maybe the director thought it would be funny to cast an actor known for his emotionally sensitive roles as Schwarzenegger mark 2, but the audience I sat with wasn’t laughing.

I saw the original “Predator” on a tiny screen in a van driving from South Carolina to Chicago at two in the morning, and it was still a more entertaining experience. The original film was all about atmosphere, the foreboding feeling of being pursued by unseen forces, and Schwarzenegger made the film tick with his strong physical performance. All this film has to offer is a handful of boring stereotype characters wandering around in a jungle, punctuated with lame fight scenes and goofy violence.

Every time I go to the cinema I hate the concept of film franchises a little more. After watching M. Night’s newest lameness a few weeks ago, which “ended” with a “to be continued,” I realized that modern Hollywood is less interested in entertaining than it is in creating money-making serials. Never mind an absence of compelling story or proper ending, tune in next year to see what happens next! That this film has no ending isn’t as offensive as its final climax, which is a shot-for-shot rip-off of the original Predator climax. “But there are TWO PREDATORS fighting,” you may say. Yeah, just like there were two mummies in Universal’s awful fifth mummy film, “The Mummy’s Curse.” Changing the quantities of things doesn’t make a sequel original.

The one bright spot in this mess was Laurence Fishburne’s engaging performance as a crazy Predator impersonator. I wanted the film to be about him, but I guess he was just too original to headline this rip-off film.