Inception Fever: Leonardo DiCaprio

Who would have thought that the kid playing Arnie in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape would turn out to be one of the biggest heartthrobs on the planet? Only 18 at the time, Leonardo DiCaprio’s portrayal of a boy with learning difficulties gained him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Sadly he lost out to Tommy Lee Jones for his part in The Fugitive. Despite the film’s title referring to Johnny Depp’s character, Gilbert, it was clear that DiCaprio, was the star of the show. At the time, his portrayal of 18-year-old Arnie Grape had many viewers convinced that the relatively unknown star did actually have a learning disability like the character he was playing!

The film focuses on the horribly familiar day-to-day complexities and frustrations of a small town community. What begins as Gilbert’s tale of his dull and hopeless existence in Endora (“where nothing much ever happens and nothing much ever will”), soon evolves into a story of compassion, desire and new found hope, when the optimistic Becky (Juliette Lewis) arrives in town...

Here are two of my favourite Arnie moments in the film. WARNING!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!

Match in the gas tank, boom boom!
Whilst Gilbert is distracted by the lovely Mrs. Betty Carver, Arnie makes a dash for his favourite place, the top of the town’s water tank. After coaxing him down with some playful rhymes, Gilbert apologises profusely to the Sheriff…

Gilbert: I'm gonna take him home. I promise it won't happen again.
Sheriff: Son, we hear this every time. Then after a couple of days, he's right back up there again.
Gilbert: Yeah, but this is the last time. Right, buddy?
Arnie: It's the last time.
Gilbert: Yeah. Come on. Let's go.
Arnie: I wanna go back up there again.

It’s the Burger Barn, Gilbert!
During Ken Carver’s funeral, Arnie's attention is drawn to something in the distance. Upon realising it is the highly anticipated Burger Barn (a portable fast food restaurant) he can barely contain his excitement!

Priest: Lord Jesus, by your death you took away the sting of death. Grant to us, your servants, so to follow in faith... for you have led the way...
Arnie: Hey! Hey!
Priest: that we may at length fall asleep...
Arnie: Lookit here! Lookit here!
Priest: great in your likeness...
Arnie: Look what's coming!
Priest (louder): the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ. The great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant...
Arnie: It's the Burger Barn, Gilbert!
Priest: make you perfect in every good work to do his will...
Arnie: Gilbert, it's the Burger Barn!
Priest: working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight...
Arnie: Burger Barn!
Priest: through Jesus Christ, amen.

And to wrap up my Inception feature, my final installment will be a film starring the one and only, Michael "you're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off" Caine. But don't be fooled, The Italian Job it is not...

Inception Fever

To celebrate the release of Christopher Nolan’s mind melting movie Inception, I have picked some of my favourite films that either star, or are directed by, the talent that made the movie. I’ll be posting them as mini blogs during the lead up to the film’s imminent release…

To kick us off, the director, heralded by some as a man who can do no wrong… Christopher Nolan. Now, before the late Heath Ledger deservedly stole some of Batman’s thunder, as the Joker in The Dark Night, Nolan brought the winged one back from the dead in the brilliant, if slightly underrated Batman Begins. Although rapturously received by audiences and critics alike, it was later overshadowed by its follow-up. So lets take a moment to remember how Nolan made us fall in love with “the Batman” all over again…

Creepsville
He made Tim Burton’s attempts at “dark” seem almost as camp as Batman’s “Holy hole in a doughnut!” days on 1960s television. With stunning cinematography, kick ass costumes and mesmerising FX, we were literally blown away…

At Home with Master Wayne
At first glance he seemed like a bit of a git, a playboy, an unworthy heir to his father’s legacy, but we soon realised that this was just another of Wayne’s public personas. Nolan really got under the skin of the man behind the mask, to show us how Bruce’s alter ego was born.

Actual Scary Villains
Following the likes of Jim Carey’s Riddler and Arnie Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Freeze, this was some scary sh*t! Cillian Murphy brilliantly mastered the Scarecrow, managing a subtle and downright creepy portrayal of the classic Batman character in what could easily have been turned into a caricaturized performance.

A Cast List Made in Heaven
At last! A Batman with the intensity, severity, mystery and subtle good looks to make the audience cheer and swoon all at once, hurrah! Christian Bale is, in the eyes of many hardcore fans, the greatest Batman to grace the rooftops of Gotham. And with co-stars including Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Ken Watanabe and Katie Holmes, how much convincing did we need?!

The Batmobile…
Need I say more?


For tomorrow’s grilling, one of my all time favourite films starring the talented, “why hasn’t he won an Oscar yet?” Leonardo DiCaprio…