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Christopher Nolan is my second all-time favorite director, and he is coming close to Steven Spielberg. That is how great I think Nolan is. Nolan knows how to make some of the most interesting, complex and entertaining movies. A British American film director, screenwriter, Nolan makes thrillers that will make thrillers and push the envelope with storytelling. Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy set the bar on what a superhero series should be with realism and fear. He has been nominated for numerous awards while winning the Best Director prize at the Academy Awards. The man has literally made you think of dreams, magic tricks, space travel, the destroyer of worlds and retelling the world’s greatest detective in Batman. Let’s stand and give this legend an ovation.
The Dark Knight (2008)
It would be an understatement to not call The Dark Knight one of if not the BEST superhero movies of all time. Marvel has made some great films such as Black Panther, but the Dark Knight Rises takes everything to a new level. Nolan ups the ante by making the Dark Knight darker, complex, and disturbing by showcasing the real terrors a person can have on a city. Nolan keeps his realism aspect alive by drawing on what people fear the most in terms of terrorism. This film is great from the single performance of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker. Nolan holds nothing back as the Cape Crusader returns to face his biggest challenge in one of the greatest artistic achievements for a comic book movie.
Inception (2010)
Inception! One of the best movies EVER made. Every time I watch this movie, I enjoy it more and more. This is one of Nolan’s best works. When you spend over ten years writing the script, you bet your ass it will be good. Most people will get confused with the dream within a dream but if you follow the film, it will make sense. This is honestly my second favorite Nolan film, and I remember when it first came out. How about that hallway fight scene. This film is truly amazing. Hans Zimmer goes hard in the freakin paint with that music.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Only Christopher Nolan can make a film about the father of the atomic bomb interesting. The film follows the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man who became death and destroyer of worlds. This film finally won Nolan the coveted Best Director prize at the Academy Awards. Behind the brilliant and award-winning performance of Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. this was one of the best films of the year, winning multiple awards. Also, the film was part of the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon with it being released the same day as Barbie.
Memento (2000)
One of Nolan’s first major films, this was the beginning of how this director’s mind works. The film is crazy to watch based on the style, direction and story flow. Starring the likes of Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joe Pantoliano, the film follows Leonard Shelby as a man who suffers from anterograde amnesia, i.e. dude has short-term memory loss and can’t form new memories. Nolan is masterful as he shows Leonard using photographs, notes and tattoos to figure out the mystery of who killed his wife. What is even crazy for one’s little mind to understand is the non-linear narrative that is presented. Nolan blew my mind as the black-and-white scenes are shown forward in time while all the color scenes are reverse order. Shit is crazy to watch but so freakin good.
Interstellar (2014)
My mom was the first person to mention to film to me. I don’t even remember it coming out as I moved to Cali and didn’t have any TV back then. This film is Nolan’s epic space adventure. Nolan must be a genius because the movies he comes up with are mind-blowing and the special effects he uses are out of this world. This film stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn, Matt Damon, and Michael Caine. It is set in a dystopian future where Earth is suffering from catastrophic blight and famine. McConaughey joins a group of astronauts who travel through a wormhole to find a new home. This film is long and there is a surprise cameo but damn its good and one to watch. The music is off the chain.
The Prestige (2006)
Abracadabra! Only Christopher Nolan and make a thought-provoking film about magicians. Forget David Copperfield, Houdini, Merlin or Siegfried and Roy. Starring Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, Nolan presents a film about two feuding magicians and their quest to perfect a teleportation trick. Nolan does a great job with pitting the two against each other but also explaining how a magic trick works throughout the film. The ending has a great twist that you probably won’t see coming. Take a bow Mr. Nolan as you know how to story tell.
Tenet (2020)
I want to say again, that I love a good Christopher Nolan film but Tenet was a hard film to follow. It is one of those films that you need to watch several times to get it and appreciate it. Tenet confused the hell out of me as Nolan went way beyond blowing my mind, and I understood Inception and Interstellar. Nolan went big brain and needed to bring it back a little bit. Starring John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, and Kenneth Branagh this film follows the Protagonist who is recruited to join an unknown government agency called Tenet and stop a disaster by traveling back in time. Don’t get me wrong, the effects are awesome and seeing things going in reverse but damn it was complicated.
Dunkirk (2017)
Dunkirk is another historical masterpiece by Nolan. He took the Dunkirk evacuation from WWII and made it interesting and intense. If you watch the film, you will see no enemy soldier around but you know they are their and waiting to attack. Nolan masterfully splits the films perspectives from the land, sea and air. He also makes the time of each perspective different. This is not a linear film and is perfection all around. I thought it was the best film of the year and was really rooting for him to win the Best Director award at the Oscars. Nolan has the ability to take an event and make it grand on the screen.
Insomnia (2002)
After the success of Memento, Nolan comes back and drops a great psychological thriller with Insomnia. This is the only film that he had no hand in writing. Starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank, it focuses on two L.A. homicide detectives going all the way to Alaska to investigate a murder. It’s crazy as the killer witnesses an accidental shooting, the effort they take to avoid going to jail. The performances were great but Nolan just had an eye of directing and showing the world what he could do.
Batman Begins (2005)
Thank you, Christopher Nolan. Batman Begins is the Batman film that everyone has been waiting for. A movie that actually does the story of Batman significantly and actually tells the background of Batman. It is a true origin story. Nolan was given his chance to take the reins of the series and reboot the series altogether. Nolan, along with and writer David S. Goyer, decided to strip the whole series down to the very beginnings. Nolan decided to dig deep into the past and the creation of Bruce Wayne and Batman that no other movie has done.
