Not many details are known about “Inception,” but it’s being called “a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind." I’ve also heard that it’s about a businessman who becomes involved in a blackmailing scheme. Perfect DiCaprio vehicle, because he does these types of movies really well. 

Christopher Nolan is directing the flick, scheduled for a July 16, 2010 release. The all-star cast also includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt,Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine, Tom Berenger, Lukas Haas, and Ken Watanabe.

Image: Fame Pictures

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The film teams frequent collaborators director Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, who along with Mark Ruffalo plays a U.S. marshal. The partners are summoned to a remote island off the coast of Massachusetts to investigate the disappearance of a murderess from the island’s fortress-like mental hospital. Cripes, there’s something creepy about mental hospitals, in general, but especially those like this one which house the criminally insane.

The rest of the cast seems like a can’t-miss, as well: Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Patricia Clarkson and Max Von Sydow also star in this Paramount film. Watch the trailer, and see if it doesn’t creep you out. 

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Early info is calling the movie a "contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind." That really spells it out, doesn’t it? I’ve also read that it’s about a businessman who becomes involved in a blackmailing scheme, which sounds like the sort of movie DiCaprio has been making the past few years.

The all-star cast also includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine, Tom Berenger, Lukas Haas, and Ken Watanabe.

Image: Bauer-Griffin

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Movie: Revolutionary Road * Trailer * Official Site	In Theaters: Dec. 26, 2008; On  DVD: June 2, 2009
Runtime: 119 minutes	Directed by: Sam Mendes
MPAA Rating: R for language and some sexual content/nudity	Gecko Rating:

As a rule, I generally don’t like movies that revolve around couples arguing. But as you can see above, I gave "Revolutionary Road" 5 out of 5 Geckos, and the reason is simple: Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.

As I was watching this movie, I kept thinking, here’s a couple who really work well together. It’s like they’re hardly acting, because they’re so natural with each other, their dialogue and actions playing beautifully off each other. They’re a modern-day Kate Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, only way more intense and dramatic.

"Revolutionary Road" takes place in 1955 and follows the story of Frank and April Wheeler (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet). They’ve been married seven years and reside in a Connecticut suburb with two young kids. Frank takes the train to NYC where he works in the same office his father worked for 20 years. April stays home and tends to the house and kids.

But they’re both miserable. They realize they’ve bought into the whole picket-fence business, but neither is happy about it. While Frank was never quite sure what he wanted to do with his life, April once dreamed of becoming an actress.

One day, she brings up the wild idea of moving to Paris. They’ve got six months of living expenses saved up; now is their chance to make a break for it. The plan is for April to land a high-paying secretarial job for one of the major international organizations, giving Frank the free time to figure out what he wants to do.

Without giving away any major spoilers, their plans abruptly change. The story gradually turns from a couple seeking to break away and live the life they’re always dreamed about, to an angst-ridden housewife who will do whatever it takes to escape from her current life.

If you’d like to retain any nostalgic feelings you have about the 1950s, you’d best not see "Revolutionary Road." It’s a depressing look at an era where people were expected to follow a certain path, and those who didn’t were looked upon as crazy. In fact, the only person who seems to understand where the Wheelers are coming from is their realtor’s son, who’s logged time in a mental hospital. Kathy Bates plays their realtor; Michael Shannon plays her son.

You get the feeling that some people would love to escape from their lives – including the Wheeler’s neighbors, Shep and Milly Campbell (David Harbour and Kathryn Hahn) and the realtor’s husband (Richard Easton). But they realize it’s just a dream. They’re destined to live out their days going to a job they hate and perhaps living with a person they hate, as well.

This movie has been making the rounds on the awards circuit; including three Oscar nominations, a Best Actress Golden Globe for Winslet; and several other wins and nominations. It’s easy to see why. I loved everything about this movie, especially the performances of Winslet and DiCaprio, so nuanced and spot-on in their angst and passion and desperation.

The original music by Thomas Newman is captivating; also, great attention was paid to the wonderful 1950s-era details: clothes, cars, homes, furniture, everything just took you right back to that era. Check out the pictures below, and you’ll see what I mean.

DVD Bonus Features:

• Commentary with director Sam Mendes and screenwriter Justin Haythe
• Deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Sam Mendes and screenwriter Justin Haythe
• Lives of Quiet Desperation: The Making of Revolutionary Road

Images: Revolutionary Road, DreamWorks Distribution, 2008

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Revolutionary Road (R). Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio team up again (remember “Titanic”?!) in this tale of repressed suburbia in the 1950s. Film Gecko Review [Official Site]

Defiance (R). Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, and Jamie Bell are three Jewish brothers who escape into the woods to escape the Nazis, and end up helping others in the process. Based on a true story. [Official Site]

Buy these DVDs and Blu-rays on Film Gecko’s DVD Store on Amazon!

Images: Amazon.com

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A cloak of secrecy surrounds the film, but it’s described as “a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind.” Well, that really spells it out.

Whatever the plot, these three will be a great addition. Loved Ellen Page in “Hard Candy” and “Juno,” and there’s a reason why Marion Cotillard won a Best Actress Oscar award for La Vie en rose. Cillian Murphy is a favorite of Nolan’s, having played Scarecrow in “The Dark Knight.”

Nolan and company are looking at beginning shooting this summer, with a 2010 release date.

Photo Credit: Miramax Films; Source: Hollywood Reporter.com

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I mean, really! Check out her Awards page on IMDB.com. It’s a mile long! And this is nothing new for her; she’s been winning awards since the 1990s.

Winslet has taken her clothes off in a lot of those movies, but now she’s saying no more. In an interview with Time magazine, she says, “I think I won’t do it again: a) I can’t keep getting away with it, and b) I don’t want to become ‘that actress who always gets her kit off.’” Such a way with words she has.

Winslet credits her workaholic tendencies to her upbringing, saying she comes from “a long line of real cart horses.”

“Very stoic, insides-made-of-iron people. So I can take any s*** you can fling at me. I can cope with any workload. I can deal with lack of sleep. I can multitask like you’ve no idea. But two weeks ago, I actually had a panic attack, my first one. I didn’t know what it was! … I called my sister and said, ‘I can’t breathe, and I feel like I’ve got a brick on my chest and I’m seeing funny, and it sounds like everyone’s talking to me in Hebrew.’ She said, ‘Yeah, that’s a panic attack.’”

So even though she’s an accomplished actress, good to know she’s still like the rest of us!

Image: Newscom

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Flash of Genius. Greg Kinnear stars as Bob Kearns, the man who invented the intermittent windshield wiper in the 1960s, then had to fight to earn recognition for it. It wasn’t about the money; it was the principle of the thing![Film Gecko Review] [Official Site]

Changeling. Angelina Jolie stars as a single mom who isn’t all that thrilled when her missing son is returned. Because it’s not him. Directed by Clint Eastwood. [Official Site]

Body of Lies. Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe star in this Ridley Scott film about the CIA’s hunt for terrorists. [Trailer] [Official Site]

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. Simon Pegg stars as Sidney Young, a displaced, irritating British journalist who now finds himself working for the hottest magazine in America. Also stars Kirsten Dunst, Megan Fox and Jeff Bridges. [Official Site]

High School Musical 3. The third movie in the sugary franchise reunites Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, and all the rest. [Film Gecko Review] [Official Site]

Image: Universal Pictures

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5. Gone With the Wind. What could be sexier than stepping over bodies strewn about the streets of Atlanta? Ok, maybe that’s not the sexiest scene of this classic 1939 film, but the banter between Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable more than makes up for it. Sexiest Scene: When Rhett says to Scarlett, “No, I don’t think I will kiss you, although you need kissing, badly. That’s what’s wrong with you. You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.” [Official Site]

More after the jump…

4. Wild Orchid. With Mickey Rourke back in vogue now, it’s making me think of this sexy movie he did with Carre Otis. In fact, rumor has it the sex scenes were NOT faked, but director Zalman King isn’t talking. This is probably as close to a porn movie as you can get without actually being a porn movie. Anyway, if you’re in the mood for some mesmerizing sex scenes, check out this flick about a woman lawyer (Jacqueline Bisset) who becomes enamored with Rourke’s millionaire character while on a trip to sexy Rio. Sexiest Scene: Sex up against a wall in a hotel construction site. [IMDB Page]

3. The Age of Innocence. I love this Martin Scorsese film set in 19th century New York City. It’s an era where people simply didn’t have sex outside of marriage – at least, not proper people. This doesn’t bode well for Newland Archer and Ellen Olenska. Played by Daniel Day-Lewis and Michelle Pfeiffer, you just REALLY WANT them to be together. But alas, he’s married to sweet May Welland (Winona Ryder) Sexiest Scene: When Newland gently unbuttons Ellen’s glove and kisses her wrist. [IMDB Page]

2. Dirty Dancing. I can’t surf by this movie without stopping to watch Patrick Swayze’s sizzling bad-boy connect with Jennifer Grey’s young innocent girl at a summer resort in the 1950s. I’ve been known to watch the end scene several times in a row. You know the one – where she jumps into his arms and they dance their way out of the room. I always wonder what happened to this couple after the movie ended. I’m hoping that she encouraged him to pursue his dreams, whatever those may have been. Sexiest Scene: When Baby goes to Johnny’s cabin and ends up staying the night. [Official Site]

1. Titanic. I know, this is sort of a throw-away, because it’s so unabashedly romantic. It’s yet another film about forbidden love, and Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are two beautiful people who are even more beautiful together, even though we know it ends badly. Sexiest Scene: When he’s sketching a portrait of her in all her naked glory. [Official Site]

Your turn! What are YOUR favorite sexy movies?

Images: Gone with the Wind, MGM, 1939; All the Rest: Amazon.com

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