i used to think this was Nolan's worst
but now it's the 2nd worst. Dark Knight takes the cake at numba 1
shareI like the Dark Knight, and certainly like it way more than Rises. What's making you flip it?
Nolan's worst, though...? Of the ones I've seen, I might go with Interstellar.
I feel a lot of his movies just ramble into pretentiousness all too easily. A lot of problems with Interstellar could have been fixed if the characters simply used common sense, but then there wouldn't be a movie. TDKR is just a grind and I would like The Prestige a lot better if it knew when to end.
No idea about Dunkirk. No desire to see Tenet, I can already feel the exposition radiating from it.
Mostly I like Nolan, but his stuff is getting longer and longer.
Following is REALLY great, underrated and under-seen.
The Dark Knight and Batman Begins are really solid superhero flicks. They're some of the best of the genre, although I'm not sure they transcend the genre.
I liked The Prestige. I thought it's a great adaptation of the novel. Maybe not "accurate", but the edits made to translate it to film work really well.
Inception gets a lot of flak these days. It was super-loved when it came out and I think there's some counter-critic backlash against it. I've ripped on it, too, but at the end of the day, it's a great sci-fi/action-thriller.
Memento is cool and unique, although a bit over-praised in the indie scene.
Overall, my feeling with Nolan is that he's a great director, has a lot of vision, and he works SMART. That last quality is his tripwire while writing or clipping a story, though. I think he respects his audiences to the point that he tries to write out third acts that avoid all cliches. As a result, he winds up creating convoluted plot spaghetti trying to stay two steps ahead of his audience. I mean, if you have to have a flaw, "treats his audience like they're too smart" is one of the better ones to have. But this trait still made a muddle of Interstellar, the Joker's plan in TDK, and a bit of an overly-complex denouement in Following (and so on and so forth).
I think he does best if he's not the writer or sole writer, or if his writing partner has more control than he does. I also think his movies are getting overlong.
Still, he is crackerjack most of the time and I hope he keeps making pictures.
Final note: you've gotta respect that this guy likes going HUGE. Interstellar, Dunkirk, Inception, and even his bat-pictures all have scope and scale that is at least a lofty target.
Totally agree. He's got the vision and balls to create some great movies, I don't want him to become like George Lucas and film any old crap because he's surrounded by yes-men. TDK reminds me of Skyfall when the bad-guys plan is wayyy too convoluted to me credible. Still fun movies tho.
Hopefully Tenet has some proper character development this time. Inception generally gave up at the end to an all-out shoot-em-up. But still fun.
100%. It seems to be a common tragedy among the big name directors. They almost always start spiraling, traits and common themes becoming more and more exaggerated as fewer people have the authority (or interest) to tell them "Rein it in." Lucas was a great example, but it happens a lot. Tim Burton, for instance, is almost a cartoon version of his "kooky goth" self. Tarantino's films are getting longer and quirkier (they're still pretty boss, though).
I might give Tenet a go, but it's two-point-five hours. Brevity is the soul of wit, people. Why was Spectre almost three hours!? It's a James Bond movie! Drive the car, shoot the gun, kiss the girl - let's go home. Three hours!?
Good call with Skyfall and The Dark Knight both having impossibly convoluted villain schemes (both involving being caught on purpose...) I still enjoy both films, though. Bane does the "caught on purpose" thing, too.
Ridley Scott has returned to the Alien franchise with disasterous results, Cameron gave us Dark Fate which bombed big time. Tarantino was always more miss than hit for me; OTT violence rarely works and a lot of his stuff is taken from other movies, for example Kill Bill was just blatantly hopping on the wire-fu bandwagon.
Signs suggest that No Time to Die is Craig's last outing as Bond, hope it's a good one after the last snoozefest.
Burton's old stuff is fine, full of imagination. Now all he does is trash beloved kid's books. I hope he does Enid Blyton stuff next as I can't stand her.
I agree and disagree with some of your evaluations here (I think Kill Bill is deceptively clever, for instance), but that's personal taste and your broader point of director atrophy is well-taken.
I think it's hilarious that you want Burton to wreck Enid Blyton's stuff because you hate her work. That's funny stuff. I don't know who Blyton is, but that she produced such ire in you is amusing.
Enid Blyton was a British children's writer who somehow knocked out 600+ books in her career. Almost half of them can be summerised here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PdKP5Y6-5U
share