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So I just got the go for this special feature, quicker than I was told it'd be 
I'm not good at making those fancy first posts like some other people, but the man speaks for himself.
He is the 2000's best director IMO. Dates are according to IMDb, though the US release might have been a year later in some cases:
1998- Following, rating of 7.6 on IMDb, his first and, only pre-00, movie. (Although he does have 3 short films prior to it). I can't speak much of this movie, attempted twice to see it but it's just not for me.
2000- Memento, #29 in IMDb's Top 250 with a rating of 8.7, I finally saw this movie this year, spectacular movie. it works both backwards and forwards- literally. Memento chronicles two separate stories of Leonard, an ex-insurance investigator who can no longer build new memories, as he attempts to find the murderer of his wife, which is the last thing he remembers. One story line movies forward in time while the other tells the story backwards revealing more each time. (quote taken from IMDb).
2002- Insomnia, rating of 7.2 in IMDb, I haven't seen this movie yet. Currently scheduled for this week.
2005- Batman Begins, #108 in IMDb's Top 250 with a rating of 8.3. This was the first movie I saw of this, and it took me 3 years to do so. Batman, a dead franchise, not an easy task for him to take it and revitalize it but he did it and succeeded with critics and fans alike. This movie made me a fan of this classic superhero.
2006- The Prestige, #73 in IMDb's Top 250 with a rating of 8.4. This movie took me 5 viewings to finally understand it 
but the man is a complicated director, he doesn't make anything easy for the viewer. I gotta say I was a bit hesitant at first with it because I love The Illusionist and well, both movies deal with similar things and came out within the same time and I didn't think it could be as good. Love them both.
2008- The Dark Knight, #12 in IMDb's Top 250 with a rating of 8.9 however it peaked at #1 and only recently dropped out of the Top 10 because of Toy Story 3 and Nolan's own Inception, these two are still new so once they level off TDK is sure to be #10 again. Three years to get the sequel to the big screen, its year's most anticipated movie, with one of the best villains I've ever seen on the big screen The Joker played by the late Heath Ledger. Saw it at midnight, and boy was it worth every minute I lost of sleep that night It was the 4th movie to ever make $1 billion at the boxoffice worldwide. 
2010- Inception, currently #3 in IMDb's Top 250 with a rating of 9.1 which is sure to level off in the coming weeks, unless it sticks it out like TDK. I will be careful with this movie since it's only in its second weekend of release. Saw this at midnight as well, worth every minute of it. I avoided any reviews and comments leading up to the release to not overhype it in my mind, smart move on my part. I don't think it's overhyped at all. Terrific movie.
Spoiler
So many layers in this movie, a dream within a dream within a dream within a dream. The first time I saw it I thought I understood it, the second time I saw it I understood that I hadn't. And I need another viewing to make sure I got this. the top most layer, is it reality or just another dream? I read an article that speaks of the totems. What if Cobb's totem isn't the spinning top, after all he always speaks that no on else should touch your totem- and that was his wife's. Looking at the scenes, they took stills because the movie takes notice to place his hands in the screen a lot of times. In dreams, he has his wedding ring on but in "reality" he has it off- can that possibly be his real totem?
Here's the link:
and of course 2012 will bring us the third, and supposedly, final installment of the Batman franchise- at least at the hands of Nolan. Who will be the villain? Rumor has it that it will be The Riddler. Who will play him? Latest rumor is Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
I believe it's only a matter of time before Christopher Nolan has an Oscar of his own, his movies have had a total of 13 nominations (2 of which Won- and 8 of those nods come from The Dark Knight alone). And of course part of Nolan's success can also be attributed to the help of his brother Jonathan Nolan, who has helped him write several of his movies.
How Many of his movies have you seen?
Which is your favorite?
PS. I am sorry, I didn't intend this post to be this long, I hope you actually read it 
Topic starter
Posted : July 25, 2010 8:03 am
I haven't seen any of his movies except for his new one, Inception.
I think he is very talented and it takes an EXTREME amount of genius to make a film like that. Very, very large, epic scale. I did find the film a bit confusing, but not necessarily in a bad way. It's definitely a see-again film.
Spoiler
That said, I found it frustrating how he had so many loopholes/goofs in his story. One obvious one is that Mal and Cobb grow old in limbo, but when lying on the train track, they are young again. A lot of his story doesn't make sense. Like why is the 2nd dream layer affected by the 1st, but the 3rd is independant of both?
I think your wedding ring point is very interesting. Like I said, I haven't seen any of his other films so I don't necessarily know how definite he is with his endings. I personally believe that Cobb is now in limbo, and that it's not "reality." Maybe the ring is just a way for Nolan to say how he thinks the story ends, without "ruining" it for everyone else, allowing them to form their own opinions. (but if they look closely, they will see what he thinks).
I'm pretty sure TDK wouldn't be any different (it's on my movie list), but in Inception, the violence level was extremely fake. As in, heros are amazing and as long as they are a protagonist, they won't get hurt.
Spoiler
Like Yosef driving the car in dream layer 1 and not getting shot. It bugged me that Saito was though, because they had much worse range (in my memory anyway).
I guess I shouldn't hold it against him though. I still haven't found a fantasy/sci fi movie with realistic violence/war stratagies, etc.
Looking further up and further in
avvie by me
Posted : July 25, 2010 10:33 am
I've seen:
Following (a great premise but not much else). 6/10
Memento (a brilliant mind-bender of a movie) 9/10
Batman Begins (an amazing foray into the Batman mythos) 8.5/10
The Prestige (fantastic storytelling) 9.5/10
The Dark Knight (a brilliant but disturbing sequel) 10/10
I haven't seen Insomnia yet, nor Inception. I can't wait to see the latter.
Christopher Nolan is one of my favourite directors. He often has large budgets to work with but he also has big intelligent ideas and interesting characters to validate them. I love the intense psychological flavours of his movies and how they challenge the audience and entertain them at the same time.
My absolute favourite work of Nolan's is The Dark Knight, but that could change after seeing Inception. By giving TDK a perfect score I'm not saying it's technically perfect but that I loved every minute of it and that the flaws it did have (few as they were) didn't take away from the experience.
Currently watching:
Doctor Who - Season 11
Posted : July 25, 2010 2:47 pm
I've seen Inception, The Dark Knight, The Prestige, Batman Begins, and Memento. Nolan is definitely one of my favorite directors, and all of his movies are brilliant in different ways.
TDK is definitely my favorite of his films, followed by Memento, Inception, The Prestige, and then finally Batman Begins. Even though BB is my least favorite of his films, it is still one of my all time favorites, and is a very good movie.
One of the many things I love about Nolan is his effective use of twists, that mess with the mind of the viewer and cause you to re-evaluate everything previously seen in the movie. All of his films use twists to some degree, something that keep his stories from becoming bland or uninteresting. They also welcome and reward multiple viewings, and with many of Nolan's films every time you watch them you catch something you hadn't noticed before.
I also like how he uses his films to explore the psyche and the mind of his characters, and are, to quote W4J, mind-benders. It's very rare that Hollywood blockbusters display the depth that his films do, but with BB, TDK and most recently Inception, he has been able to produce blockbuster action films that also keep you on the edge of your seat, make you think, and keep you thinking about them long after you've left the theater.
Posted : July 25, 2010 3:21 pm
A short list of what I've seen with the rating I give them.
I rate every movie I see on IMDb and I have rated 670+ movies to date. Many movies get stuck with a 7/10 rating or less, but I do have a good amount over that. As for 10/10, those are very rare as I am very picky in handing those out.
I've only handed out 17 perfect scores and I told myself recently I would re-evaluate those to see if they should get dropped to 9's- I'm that picky, yet Nolan has 2 perfect scores for me:
Following, like I said in the first post I didn't like. The only one I can say that to, but it was his first movie. 3/10.
Memento, 8/10
Batman Begins, 8/10
The Prestige, 9/10
The Dark Knight, 10/10
Inception, 10/10
Insomnia I will be seeing this, or next, week.
What W4J said, mind-bending, THAT's why I love his movies so much! The man has respect for the people who see his movies and so he doesn't dumb it down but rather takes it to the next level and therefore make it for repeat viewings. I've seen movies that the first, second and even third times I feel they are great- but then they wear on me and lose a bit of steam. But his movies, like the previous poster said- you will always find something new. It took me like 5 times just to understand The Prestige in its fullness, that's if I've got it covered by now- I probably don't. 
Topic starter
Posted : July 25, 2010 3:38 pm
My first Christopher Nolan film was Batman Begins, and I Loved his take on the franchise. 
I have seen all of his movies except Memento, Insomnia and Following.
My favorite film… that’s a hard one:
Batman Begins and The Dark Knight was the best versions in the Batman franchise.
I Loved The Prestige, it was my first movie that really made me think. 
Inception is a movie that made me think but didn’t hurt my head and it was really well paced and was not only awesome as a story but visually as well!
So I think my favorite Christopher Nolan film was Inception!
I’m looking forward to the third Batman! And I was also very happy to hear that Christopher Nolan is going to be a mentor for the next superman!
Here is the link to the Superman/Batman 3 article in case anyone is interested:
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=66818
The Value of myth is that it takes all the things you know and restores to them the rich significance which has been hidden by the veil of familiarity. C.S. Lewis
Posted : July 25, 2010 3:55 pm
7chronicles,
Thanks for mentioning his mentoring the next Superman movie. When I made the suggestion for this SF I told myself to remember to mention that, and i forgot 
I'm not a fan of Superman either, saw the last movie but didn't really like it. Never got into SmallVille, which is a prequel type thing. I did like The Adventures of Louis and Clark when I was a kid, never missed an episode- but that was at over a decade ago. I am definitely interested in seeing what he will bring to that movie, although he isn't directing it himself as far a we know.
Topic starter
Posted : July 25, 2010 4:07 pm
I've watched both of the Batman movies, The Prestige, and now Inception. I'd rank them The Dark Knight > Inception > The Prestige > Batman Begins. There's not a single one of them I dislike though. All excellent movies. In a world of Mcgs and Michael Bays, it's nice to have a directer who actually creates intelligent, complex action movies.
Inception spoilers:
Spoiler
At first I was baffled by the lack of gravity in the second level, but normal gravity in the third. Then I realized that it's the bodies in the first level moving, thus affecting the world of the second level. The bodies of the third level dreamers aren't being slung around in a van, so that dream level is not affected.
The bit about Mal and Dom growing old together and the scene of them being aged does seem to contradict the scene in which they kill themselves to escape limbo. Yet this is too glaring for me to believe it's a simple plot-hole. I'm sure there's an explanation, I just can't think of one.
One thing I wonder about is why Dom would use his wife's totem. Also, how does he even know the nature of how her totem works? If the entire point of a totem is to prove to yourself reality really is reality, why would you tell anyone, even your spouse, how your totem works? I wonder if perhaps the nature of the totem is important. Arthur's totem is a loaded die. Isn't that essentially what his job as a researcher is? Loading the dice to ensure job success? Ariadne's choice of a chess piece is an interesting one; it makes me wonder if there's some truth to the theory that the movie was actually about inception being performed on Dom and Ariadne was involved in that.
I wonder if it's possible that Dom was never married and never had children, but created a wife to grow old with when he was trapped in limbo. That would require the entire movie to be something he conjured up in limbo though.
Posted : July 25, 2010 8:14 pm
I've seen Batman Begins, and loved it even though it seemed slow at first and a bit odd. It's real and gritty and yet fantasy/otherworld at the same time. I can't see any of that happening in a real city: any specific ideas why? Other than the fact he's a Batman superhero, of course
Prestige blew my mind the first time i saw it: I wasn't expecting any twists or any advanced thinking so I spent the last fifteen minutes with my jaw on the floor. And then my friend saw it with me and guessed it midway through, was so mad.
Dark Knight was simply amazing, so NOT overrated.
I'm planning on seeing Inception this week, everyone I know who's seen it says it's awesome.
avy by narniagirl90
Posted : July 26, 2010 6:19 am
PrincessMia241,
you spent the last 15 min of The Prestige with your jaw dropped. It seems you at least understood the movie and were just shocked. One point shocked me and made my jaw drop
Spoiler
when he finds that the book is a fake, that it was planted for him to find
Didn't understand a moment of what I was seeing. Overly complicated I thought. Now I think it's brilliant, it just needed several viewings.
Topic starter
Posted : July 27, 2010 9:37 am
Love Nolan. He is absolutely one of my favorite directors working today.
SpoilerThat said, I found it frustrating how he had so many loopholes/goofs in his story. One obvious one is that Mal and Cobb grow old in limbo, but when lying on the train track, they are young again. A lot of his story doesn't make sense. Like why is the 2nd dream layer affected by the 1st, but the 3rd is independant of both?
Seeing as it took him ten years to complete the script, I doubt those are loopholes. He tends to be a pretty airtight writer.
Spoiler
Your first point about Mal and Cobb 'growing old' is the result of Cobb's own subconscious, and I find it very poignant. He has been wracked with guilt by the promise he made to his wife that they would "grow old together"; he feels he has failed her in this respect. Remember that every time Mal repeats something to him, it's him repeating it to himself; she is only a projection of his own subconscious. Since it is only at the very end of the film that Cobb is able to recognize and accept the fact that he didn't fail her, and that they did grow old together (spending 50 years in limbo), it is not until the end of the film that Nolan gives us that shot of them from the back as a older couple; Cobb's own subconcious was ignoring this fact until that point.
As to your second point, not sure what you mean - the third snow-level is definitely connected to the two previous levels. They entered Fischer's mind from within the second dream level (at the hotel).
Besides just loving the graceful, sweeping, non-linear narratives Nolan gives us, I find it awesome that his wife (Emma Thomas) produces each of his films, and his brother helps with the writing on occasion. They're a family team! Pretty awesome. And yes, I'm a huge Batman fan and remember the day I first heard it announced that Christian Bale was playing Bruce in Nolan's new franchise. It was an exciting moment. I've been following this guy and his movies for a loooooong time, and he hasn't let me down yet.
"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell." (C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain)
Posted : July 27, 2010 1:34 pm
I like Nolan, but do not love him like some of those here. I think it may just be that his movies are so very dark. Because of that, I don't feel like rewatching them very often. (In fact, I don't think I've seen any of his movies more than once.)
TDK was the first I saw and more than anything, I was impressed that I was able to think of the characters primarily as people, not as superheros and supervillains. Batman Begins felt a little formulaic after that, though it's not bad, per se. But I think The Prestige may top TDK slightly for me. Either way, I like both of them.
And I definitely want to see Inception right now.
~~~~~
"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."
~~~~~
Posted : July 27, 2010 4:22 pm
Major bummer! Inception was sold out last night, so I didn't get to see it. We saw The Karate Kid instead. Yeah, it was very average but the fight scenes were cool and I caught up with a friend I hadn't seen in years, so it wasn't a total waste. I booked seats for Inception, next Tuesday night. Can't wait!
Lysander, I agree that Nolan's movies are quite psychologically dark but that's probably what I love about them. Still, he doesn't just make them dark for the sake of it but to make the happy/bitter-sweet ending all the more powerful. The man is a genius!
Currently watching:
Doctor Who - Season 11
Posted : July 27, 2010 4:34 pm
I've only seen batman Begins and Dark Knight of his work and I love them both. They are genius. I do hope Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays The Riddler. I can very much see him in that role!
I also heard Memento was a great one to watch. I need to see that. I swore to myself that I would see Inception once it comes out on DVD. I can tell it's a mind scrambler movie and I love to watch those genres at home with a remote.
Long Live King Caspian & Queen Liliandil Forever!
Jill+Tirian! Let there be Jilrian!
Posted : July 27, 2010 4:39 pm
Memento is brilliant but it has a lot of strong language and will probably mess with your head (in a good way).
Wow, in some photos Joseph Gordon-Levitt really looks like Heath Ledger. Spooky!
Currently watching:
Doctor Who - Season 11
Posted : July 27, 2010 4:49 pm
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