Inception

[minimadman]

I saw Inception on Wednesday but have been getting things for the new job aligned and have not had time to post about it. Before Christopher Nolan redefined Batman he was making movies that would leave you scratching your head when they were over and in that regard Inception is his masterpiece. For the first 30 mins you have little to no idea of what's going on and then they will give you a little bit at a time until the idea of the movie is pretty well defined. It's a very good movie but very strange and I think that there will be people who will not like it simply because there is so much going on and the story takes place on several different levels, if you will pardon the pun (you'll get that after seeing the movie). I am going to try and see it again maybe on Sunday and see how the second viewing is with the cat out of the bag. Can't wait to see what everyone thinks of it.

EDIT: Let's try to keep this thread spoiler free for a few days.

Edited July 16, 2010 by minimadman

[Trekker 42]

If my friend has recovered from her mission trip I hope to go Tuesday after I'm done poll working. I'm excited. Nolan is like Pixar: I can trust him to make good movies.

[minimadman]

I agree with the exception of Insomnia.

[Trekker 42]

I agree with the exception of Insomnia.

Everybody has one. Even Pixar. Some say it's Cars. I say it's A Bug's Life. Either way, everyone has one.

[minimadman]

I agree with the exception of Insomnia.

Everybody has one. Even Pixar. Some say it's Cars. I say it's A Bug's Life. Either way, everyone has one.

I can't fault Pixar for anything. Although to be fair when Cars first came out I was only lukewarm on it and I later watched a documentary that's on the Bluray and seeing it allowed me to see the film the way that John Lasseter sees it. If you have it you should check it out.

[TBT!]

I can't fault Pixar for anything.

You've obviously never had to work with them on a professional level, If I were to describe those at pixar I've worked with it would be using Rad's favourite word.... needless to say all of their movies are now dead to me!

I like Nolan's work ( and have done since memento) and want to see this but suspect I wont find time for a while

T.

[Trekker 42]

I can't fault Pixar for anything.

You've obviously never had to work with them on a professional level, If I were to describe those at pixar I've worked with it would be using Rad's favourite word.... needless to say all of their movies are now dead to me!

Perhaps I should warn that friend of mine. He wants to work there. Contribute to the tear fueled World Domination machine they are creating. Hence the huge number of tearjerkers... He's definatley good enough to do it.

Anyway I'm definately going Monday or Tuesday and I really have to say that this is my favortie concept of Nolan's so far. Memento, cool. The Prestige, badass. But freakin breaking into the minds of people and ripping out their thoughts and selling them off... Holy crap man.

[karamazov80]

I really want to see this one. I liked Memento so much that I saw it at the theater three times. Little did I know at the time that this guy was no "one hit wonder." He's the real deal--one of the best filmmakers going today, up there with the Coens and Cronenberg IMO. I also enjoyed Insomnia. Personally, I think his worst movie (after "Following," which can be excused) is the Prestige. I might even have a chance to see a movie next week, but the wife doesn't want to see this one

You've obviously never had to work with them on a professional level

So in other words, you are done professionally?

Edited July 17, 2010 by karamazov80

[eclipse]

this movie is a must see hopfully going to see it tonight or tommarow

[drgnrbrn316]

I highly enjoyed it.

I can't believe it was his sled.

[NorthRaider]

I too have just seen it.

And I am proud to declare I managed to figure much of it out on the first sitting. Ended up explaining parts of it back to Mom on the way home.

I'm calling it:

This movie is the new Matrix.

[Lurch77]

We went and saw this last night, loved it! Everything about it: story, acting, visuals; was superb. Really wish there were move movies released that were of this caliber instead of the constant stream of crap that is usually released.

What did everyone think of the ending?

Was he still dreaming? I would think that his kids would have been a year or so older if he wasn't still dreaming.

Only thing I didn't like was paying $8.50 for two medium drinks, I could have bought 8 friggin 2-liters for that price.

[gambitron]

I saw it last night and loved it as well! What an incredibly complex yet enjoyable movie.

I would agree that at the end his kids should have been older. The top seemed to wobble just a bit at the end but who knows, thats why I think it was a great ending!

Edited July 20, 2010 by gambitron

[Glantern]

Saw this film last night. Easily my favorite Nolan film. Loved every minute of it.

I particularly loved

the scene where Arthur takes out the guards while the hotel spins.

The ending is obviously meant for interpretation, so every one may see it differently. Personally, I think since Mal wasn't present in any way it was reality, but there is certainly enough evidence to sugest otherwise.

[Lobsterman]

Not to be contrarian, but I thought the whole thing was an awful bore. Most, if not all of the characters were underdeveloped placeholders in whom I had no emotional investment. The whole "what if you could dream within a dream within a dream within a dream within..." felt like a conversation you'd have while getting stoned and studying for a freshman psychology exam. And I'm really shocked to hear Nolan called the heir to Kubrick or Hitchcock after this. There was no suspense, never that uncomfortable feeling of losing control you get in true psychological thrillers.

I've liked all of Nolan's stuff to date, but this one really fell flat for me.

[NorthRaider]

I haven't watched much of Nolan's movies with the exception of the Batman ones, so I can't speak for how good his movie characterizations usually are. My friend did note however the disturbing tendency for his movies to feature

women that die

a lot, and I honestly don't know how to respond to that.

I guess it's not surprising for even the best of writers, directors, etc. to have this "two trick pony"-ness to them when you follow them long enough. I don't always consider a movie being too brainy for its own good a bad thing and Hollywood need more good cerebral blockbusters anyway, though this is all of course a very you-mileage-may-vary "Style versus Substance" thing. To be fair though the landfall of theories surrounding this movie have been a blast to skim through, all amusing mental exercises in their own way.

My thoughts on the ending:

For the sake of my own sanity I

really wanted Cobb to be in the real world again, except that the kids still looking identical to the way they did in the dreams (from the back anyway) was just too fishy to ignore

.

[Trekker 42]

Damn good movie.

Seriously just a damn good movie. How the hell does Nolan pull off topping the Dark Freakin Knight!? The acting was quite amazing, Leo honestly putting in the least interesting performance. The action was BEYOND top notch and the style... just so fun.

And whether he was dreaming at the end or not, I think Michael Caine's character was behind the whole thing. Taught Cobb all he knew. And had an interest in getting Cobb over Mal. So he was the architect of a dream that did just that, the one planting the final inception being Ellen Page's character who, of course, was referred to Cobb by who else but Michael Caine.

[Turtle]

I finally got to see this movie last week. Amazing. I was fully expecting to be floored, and I was not at all disappointed. I loved it.

My thoughts on the ending:

For the sake of my own sanity I

really wanted Cobb to be in the real world again, except that the kids still looking identical to the way they did in the dreams (from the back anyway) was just too fishy to ignore

.

Except the kids didn't look identical. First, they had faces. Second, they were wearing different clothes. The level of detail and realism in the dreams was uncanny, but it was already established that Cobb was a master architect. I think throughout the movie, we see the kids as Cobb created them in his dream world, and he was very careful to not reveal their faces to himself (despite Mal's attempt). Revealing the faces would be a dangerous game, and Cobb knew better than to let himself do that. I think it ended in reality.

[Lurch77]

Inception of Scrooge McDuck

Wow, not as original as I thought it was, lol.

[TM2 Dinobot]

See this people? Inception is what I go to the movies for. I want to go to think, not kick back and relax.

Also, Cars did markedly better in the South than it did in the rest of the country. That's why some people consider it a flop. It depended on where you live.

[Nessex]

Loved it! Best thing i've seen this year i think. I was worried it would be too much of a mind-f*ck, but it is fairly linear. Some great action sequences. Some wonderful sci-fi ideas. It was great. This has been the best thing i've seen Kick Ass & will definitely be in my top 5 for the year. Possibly in my top 2.

[Trekker 42]

Loved it! Best thing i've seen this year i think. I was worried it would be too much of a mind-f*ck, but it is fairly linear. Some great action sequences. Some wonderful sci-fi ideas. It was great. This has been the best thing i've seen Kick Ass & will definitely be in my top 5 for the year. Possibly in my top 2.

So you're saying that Kick-Ass was better than Toy Story 3? Or did you just miss Toy Story 3? Either way, MOVIE BLASPHEMY!

I'm seeing this again tomorrow. So excited about it, it was just a crazy good movie.

[Turtle]

I somehow missed it in the movie, but in GLantern's custom thread (go check out his nice Cobb and Arthur) he mentions Ariadne as a future custom. I completely missed that as Ellen Paige's character's name. She was the daughter of King Minos and helped Theseus defeat the Minotaur at the heart of the labyrinth. Very nice choice in name selection. Now I wonder what other allusions I missed.

[TM2 Dinobot]

I somehow missed it in the movie, but in GLantern's custom thread (go check out his nice Cobb and Arthur) he mentions Ariadne as a future custom. I completely missed that as Ellen Paige's character's name. She was the daughter of King Minos and helped Theseus defeat the Minotaur at the heart of the labyrinth. Very nice choice in name selection. Now I wonder what other allusions I missed.

TURTLE!

Sorry, saw your name on the main page and had to scream it. i love turtles.

Yeah, i didn't know that. What a great allusion.

[NorthRaider]

I just read a fantastic theory about the movie.

A lot of people had been asking: If the spinning top was Mal's totem, what was Cobb's? I forgot the exact article I found it in (probably io9), but some people are saying that

his totem is his wedding ring. There are a bunch of shots where his hand is prominently shown; in the "confirmed" dreams he's wearing it, and in the "real world" he isn't

. Fun observation.

Unrelated question: Who do you think is your favorite character from the film? After a couple of viewings, for some reason I've really taken a shine to Eames as a character. What can I say? The man's hilarious.