Inception
hermes1
109 Posts
Who's seen it ? I love Nolan's films and am looking forward to seeing it on IMAX this Sunday.
hermes1
109 Posts
Comments
Well worth going to see. I don't catch a lot of flicks at the theater but I'm glad I did with this one.
maybe overplays it's hand a bit, but really no complaints.
I like popcorn movies that make the audience think, and you have to pay attention to this movie.
no spoiler, but the final shot got a huge reaction from the audience, and rightly so.
Trying to keep this thread spoiler-free for now, but I find this statement funny, since the entire point of the ending is that it can't be figured out, which is why when that final shot went dark most of the audience yelled, groaned, shouted "no way, what the hell!" etc ... so I'm not sure what you figured out, unless early in the film you said to yourself, "Hey, I bet Nolan is going to fuck with my head at the end!"
Pretty decent. Nolan is a great director and I've liked his stuff since Following. This kinda reminded me of Memento in a way.
> no spoiler, but the final shot got a huge reaction from the audience
yep - here too.
Hey what the fuck man.
I still think Nolan can't direct a small scale action scene to save his life and I feel like the only emotional register he operates in is "tortured". That all said, his visual imagination may be limited (especially in this film) but it's still pretty awesome to behold.
The cinematography was beautiful, and the lucid dream logic was excellent. Tom hardy deserves to be put in more action movies.
(Spoilers)
The plot was silly and predictable and it took itself too seriously. I didn't like most of the cast specifically Leo and Juno, Michael Caine was underused. I felt there was too much explaining, and that made the movie feel too long. The bad guys were just subconcious projections, and I never felt that any character was in any danger at any time throughout the film. They really built up Marion Cotillard's character (easily the only interesting character) up into being something more (a major threat) than she actually was (a minor obstacle). I didn't like the fact that it turned into a simple heist movie/action movie. I'm just not into the way that Nolan directs action.
(/Spoilers)
However, I'm going to support this film because Hollywood definitely needs to fund more big budget intelligent original films.
- spidey
Also would like to point out that the Japanese did it first, and better.
- spidey
Of course, whether you actually apply them successfully is a different story.
I thought "Inception" did ok but again, I'm more in thrall with the power of the imagery and the pacing than I am with anything deeper than a visceral response. I'd need more time to really parse what I thought about the film's ideas but my gut says "not remotely as deep as it thinks it is." In contrast, "The Matrix" was actually considerably richer AND more fun to watch if you want to make a head-to-head comparison.
Spidey: nice Paprika shout-out. Visually gripping but dude, a holyfuckingmess of a plot.
This bothered me a bit too, only because it meant that the stakes were never about "oh shit, I might die!" but were instead, "oh shit, I may fail this job." Kind of lacks in dramatic tension compared to the other films were dying-in-dream-state=dying-in-reality.
On the other hand, from a sci-fi point of view, it makes more sense to me that dying in a dream is like how Inception thinks of it: you wake up. Your consciousness can't "kill itself" nor can someone else kill you in your (or their) dream. I always thought that part of "The Matrix," for example, made no sense. You're broadcasting your consciousness into a computer program but so long as your brain is physically alive, I don't see how you can "kill" a broadcast and have that kill its source.
I look forward to seeing this flick, but this comment is spot on. I feel like a little bit of levity or frivolousness would help Nolan immensely.
It's been often said that Nolan seems to aspire to make high-minded popcorn films and god bless him for that (since someone needs to counteract Bay and Ratner) but his work is so "serious" and "stoic" that it's a drag after a while. I mean, he was the perfect guy to take on "Batman" but imagine his craftsmanship combined with, you know, a sense of humor.
Imagine if "Inception" had been crossed with the DNA of "The Sting" vs. "Shutter Island".
I feel like the only plot device he operates in is violence.
I do think, however, *vengeance* is a damn near universal theme in all his notable movies (though I wouldn't say "Inception" is as wrapped up in this as is "Memento," "The Prestige" or the Batman films.
Nolan seems to want to "get under the dark psyche" of his main characters and to the extent that his work is very noir-influenced, I wish he'd find new sins to explore. Like greed. (But not lust. I don't imagine he could ever effectively direct anything sexual in content).
re: "Inception" - I really like what my man Hua had to say about the film: http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2010/07/inception-ghost-town-ghost-faces/60016/
whats the movie you're referring to?
He's referring to "Paprika," a Japanese anime film that came out around...2005? It's about a therapist/superhero who enters people's dream states to help them. The imagery in the film is fucking bonkers though as I alluded to earlier, plot-wise, it's mega-convoluted, even compared to other anime films.
The first 45 min were like "cool but not mind blowing". Once they got in the dream things got really good.
As far as the "nobody in danger" who cares? A movie isn't good unless every dies if they fail? The danger was not getting the job done and it was all really about Leo and what would happen to him if the job didn't get done.
The whole part with the 3rd Rock kid going Matrix and having to deal with his situation (trying not to spoil here) was really good stuff both in acting and FX.
High Brow Popcorn is the best tag for this kind of movie. It's not as good as reading a P. Dick novel, but it's a good time and makes you think while watching.
huh?
wow, really? I never considered the Matrix all that great. I thought this film was far more rewarding.
I think that's debatable. I don't think the amount of detail here really made the film suffer so I'm in agreement with you here. But I also don't think a good storyteller ever has to explain shit if they know how to tell a story right. "Inception" was anal-retentively detailed in a way that wasn't necessary but, to me, didn't necessarily detract from its entertainment value. I'm sympathetic to others who disagree.
That's not what I was saying. But if you're in a situation where you're killing "projections" and the worst thing that happens to you is you either "wake up" or "go to limbo," there's no dramatic tension in the stakes. I mean, Cobb took on a job that he knew would be difficult and unpopular because he wanted to "get back home" and the film hammers the point home that this is VERY IMPORTANT (cue: Zimmer!). If it had been about getting paid, it would have changed the tenor of the film.
So yeah, when you have Eames going all fucking Jason Bourne/Rambo on the snow bunnies, the fact that he's basically killing a bunch of mental projections is about as exciting as watching someone else play a video game. There's very little narrative drama there.
To me, I'm surprised Nolan didn't take the opportunity to create a more sophisticated "extraction defense." I mean, having a bunch of armed dudes show up and wreck shop seems pretty, well, lame compared to - for example - deploying forgers like Eames against the extraction/inception team. Instead, you reduce the game to a series of "who can kill who faster?"
With the exception of the zero-G hotel scenes, the action sequences in the film were quite on par with Nolan's work on the two "Batman" films, which is to say: underachieving. In the case of "Inception," not only were they directed poorly, but it's low-stakes violence. And that point, you're just blowing shit up because you can. You might as well be Michael Bay.
Bingo. And that didn't require him to necessarily fend off C.O.B.R.A.'s snow troops. The best action sequences in the film rarely involved violence, but rather, puzzle-solving. Nolan, IMO, has a real gift for the latter.
I could go into an extensive breakdown of why I think "The Matrix" is better but I don't see the productiveness in that. It's cool if you disagree. Just a diff. in opinion.