Wow, Inception . . .just wow.

Thank heavens for The Dark Knight, because if it wasn't for its record-breaking success, British filmmaker Christopher Nolan would not have the freedom to make his latest masterpiece.

Inception is set in a future where the technology exists to extract people's dreams through entering their subconscious. Dominic Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an expert in the field and, along with partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), he is hired by corporations to steal the secrets and ideas of rivals. After their last job goes awry, a mysterious businessman (Ken Watanabe) approaches them with a proposition; he wants to plant an idea in someone's mind, a task which is considered impossible. And so begins the delicate mind-fuckery that is Inception.

From Dominic taking on `one last job' to the process of assembling a mish-mash team of experts, essentially this is a heist film set within the architecture of the mind. Yet it is so much more.

Inception is like a beautiful, intricate puzzle Nolan has created for audiences to solve.
The concept of an idea being like a virus with the potential to infect the mind is intriguing enough, but it is merely one piece of a highly complex and intelligent whole. Inception is a fully realised vision with superb performances, flawless camera work, mind-boggling special effects and a haunting score from Hans Zimmer. The gravity-defying hallway fight scene with Gordon-Levitt alone is one that will be talked about for years. It is a testament to the content of the story that the immaculate production takes a back seat.
The fact Nolan has been able to thread together multiple storylines using the same actors, yet set in different time settings and spaces, without completely alienating the audience is an accomplishment of movie making. Like the characters in the film, Inception tunnels into your subconscious planting seeds of its genius in a similar fashion to the great works of Stanley Kubrick. However, it is so detailed and complex that when you leave the cinema, trying to retain details from the film is like trying to keep water in the palm of your hands. The only way to appreciate the magnitude of its brilliance is with multiple viewings.
Inception is out now.

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It's fantastic! No, really.

(Above) Festival director Casey Marshall Siemer with Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe at the GCFF opening night.

The Gold Coast Film Fantastic opened with a bang (and then some) at Australia Fair Birch Caroll & Coyle cinema's tonight with everyone from Oscar winning special effects whiz John Cox to on-screen (and possibly real life) serial-killer John Jarratt walking the red carpet.

In other highly amusing news I met a young, up and coming Australia actor who just happens to be called James Dean! And he's an actor! And young! Geddit? Sigh. Well, I found it humorous . . .especially whilst trying to interview him a Marilyn Monroe impersonator was lurking in the background. Eerie.

Anyway, the GCFF is a great local initiative for movie makers and film lovers alike. Festival director Casey Marshall Siemer and co. showcase a selection of Australian films amongst the international offerings and organise the filmmakers to meet with distributors and industry insiders during the event. For cinephiles however, the GCFF is a superb way to see a huge variety of films weeks, even months, before they're released in Oz cinemas.

But with more than 21 films and 7 free outdoor screenings across three days, it's easy to get lost amongst the sheer volume of movies at this year's GCFF. From documentaries and animated films, to romantic comedies and horror, there's something for the cinephile in all of us. Here's my guide to some of the festival highlights:

The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls

Taking out the audience award at this year's Toronto Film Festival, this is an inspirational look at two of New Zealand's national treasures whose radical protest songs have been entertaining the world for nearly 30-years.

The Accidental Husband
Uma Thurman lowers her Samurai sword for a romantic comedy co-starring Colin Firth and Grey's Anatomy fan favourite Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

ZombielandLovers of horror and comedy can hang on to to the Halloween spirit with this mash-up of the two genres. After smashing the US box-office, Zombieland has been getting rave reviews overseas and stars Woody Harrelson, Bill Murray, Abigail Breslin and rising star Jesse Eisenberg.

Sky Crawlers
Nominated for the best animated feature film at the up and coming Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Sky Crawlers is the latest from Mamoru Oshii, director of anime classic Ghost in the Shell. A slow-paced mystery, the animation is incredible with some of the best flight fight sequences ever created.

Prime Mover
Possibly the first love triangle to involve a man, woman and a truck, Prime Mover is the latest from Australian writer/director David Caesar.

BronsonOne of the most talked about drama's of the year, Bronson explores the bare knuckled reality of real life criminal Charles Bronson who has spent the last 30-years in solitary confinement for crimes committed in jail including murder and taking hostages. Oh, it also stars a beefed-up Tom Hardy (above) in his breakout roll.

The Coolangatta Gold
This year's race may be over, but relive the excitement with the 1984 film that made the iconic ironman race famous.

I.C.U
From Gold Coast director Aash Aaron, this edge-of-your-seat offering follows three teens in a Surfers Paradise high rise who play a game of cat and mouse with a serial killer.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
This is one for the kids and kids at heart Inspired by a children's book, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky thanks to the invention of a young, wacky scientist. Though I rolled my eyes at the trailer, a four star review from Empire has sparked my interest.

For a full listing of the films, session times, ticket prices and so forth head over to the GCFF website HERE.

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Analyse This

While Maurice Chevalier once thanked heaven for little girls, I thank heaven for tech-savvy friends. And no, just because I have a blog that doesn’t mean I’m not severely technologically retarded. Anywho, one of these tech-savvy friends installed Google Analytics for me in August, so I can track how many readers visit Movie Mazzupial, where they come from etc. Suffice to say it shed some interesting results when I checked it a few days ago.

What’s the most read post you ask? Okay, you didn’t ask but I wanted to know. In the biggest unsurprise since Perez Hilton got bitch slapped like the bitch he is, my interview with the three lovely lads from The Twilight Saga: New Moon was most popular. Like I said, unsurprise. Coming in at second, although considerably behind, was my breakdown on Chris Nolan’s Inception which proves my point that people are desperate to know anything they can about this flick. The Narnia exclusives were also liked among you readers and the quest to decipher the 50 famous movie titles in the CineBuzz ad led some perusers here.

My insides are buzzing with contentment that there are potentially hundreds of brides out there planning to get a Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride cake given the number of people who viewed the post I wrote on a friend of a friend’s wedding cake. Other well-read posts include the Tomorrow, When The War Began breakdown, my favourite movie posters of all time and it’s follow-up; the ten worst movie posters.

Most people who read Movie Mazz come from the UK with Aussies a close second and the US taking out third. There’s also a big readership in Norway, Italy, Sweden, Canada, Germany and Japan. There’s a bunch of peeps getting in on the Movie Mazzupial action in France too, but I’m not counting that because I’m pretty sure I know exactly who those 12 readers are (thanks guys!). Some readers I don’t know are the ones from Kuwait, Pakistan, Latvia, Moldova, Ukraine, Vietnam and Martinique. Wait, whoa, Martinique? I’ve never even heard of the country before, seriously. A Google search now informs me Martinique is an eastern island in the Caribbean Sea and has a population of 402, 000, with many lush rainforests and colourful birds. Overall there were visits from 54 different countries and territories, which I’m flattered with, so thank-you for coming here and sticking around long enough to read something. I’m throwing that useless movie knowledge net far and wide baby.

The most interesting tool in the Google analytics arsenal is the one which shows you how people found your site and what search term they used. First of all, to the person who found Movie Mazzupial by Googling “he shied a gat as he blew a berg” (a quote from one of my favourite movies; Brick) right now you’re getting a big virtual high-five from me. Someone who won’t be getting a high-five is the thug who came here by Googling Michael Bay and Anthony Lane in THE SAME SEARCH TERM! BLASPHEMY! I somehow figured there would be a name AVO out on two such vastly different names being used in close proximity. Really, how can the destructive, abomination that is Michael Bayhem have anything to do with the creative and critical genius of The New Yorker’s Anthony Lane? Some other hilarious search terms that led what can only be described as `different’ people to Movie Mazz include;

• Where The Wild Things Are title font (hmmm, OCD much?)
  Can you dig it baby + pimp of the 70s (the best use of a plus sign I’ve ever seen)
• Corpse bride wedding (they say it’s illegal, but we say love extends beyond the grave; a handy guide to marrying your dead neighbour)
• Quotes from Angus Thongs And Perfect Snogging (really? You really want to remember lines from that movie? Really?)
• Tom Hardy pictures (times this search term by, oh, say 12,000 and add the word naked and you would be close to one of the most popular search terms)
• Skinniest person on the Biggest Loser (and this led you here? How? Oh, wait, that’s right)
• Odette Yustman is spankable (and you, my dear reader, are no doubt very disappointed at what you found on this site with a search term like that)

Along with a reader I got from a referral from Sit Down For This (thanks Rickis!), my favourite search term used has to be this one;

• Epistemological conundrum in movies

Seriously, I feel smarter just knowing someone who actually understands what that means came here looking for an answer. Until the next tri-monthly Google analytics update, I heartily thank you for reading. I hope you were able to get some satisfaction out of it, but not Odette Yustman spankable satisfaction. Ew.
I now leave you with a few terms that will definitely get me a few more readers.

• Odette Yustman getting spanked by Tom Hardy.
• Michael Bay blows up the cast of Angus Thongs And Perfect Snogging.
• Tom Hardy naked and sweaty.
• 70s pimp writes list of the movies with an epistemological conundrum using Where The Wild Things Are title font.
• Tom Hardy hard.
• Love concurs all as necrophiliac marries corpse bride.
• Tom Hardy gets naked for Rick.

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