Saw The Movie Inception..

[randissimo]

That movie was intense! Really a trip to follow.. Anyone else see it? What did you think?

[Van Basten II]

We talked about it the film thread, Check around the post 5565.

Here's what I wrote the day after I saw the movie

Saw Inception last night, since this is the kind of film that deserves to be seen knowing little as possible, before spoiling anything I'll just comment that the film deserves to be seen.

Stop reading if you wanna see still remain a virgin regarding this film or only read it when you have seen it.

If I had to resume the film using other ones it be a mix of Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind (For the concept) of the Matrix (Visuals and what the movie tries to achieve ) and a bit of Blade Runner I am not sure however the film is as brilliant as it claims or the hype claims it to be. Yes it is challenging compared to most high profile films but it is more on the entertaining side than cerebral side. For starters as we got involved in the multi stages of the dream, it seemed that we kinda lost the purpose of the many plots and they filled it up with action sequences for the sake of it and what was going on inside those dreams didn't matter, weirdly the way it ended you could make of an argument than it did not matter.

Other main weakness, the psychological developpement of the characters is as thin as most typical blockbusters, then again maybe the end explains their lack of depth.

Among the positives the visuals are quite stunning , Dicaprio is quite convincing in his character, although you could make a case that it is a lot like the character he played in Shutter Island.

Despite these misgivings as I mentionned at the start the movie is a fun ride just don't expect a film worthy of an Academy Award just a way above average summer blockbuster.

Edited August 12, 2010 by Van Basten II

[Teasing the Korean]

I loved Memento and wanted to like this film. I kind of enjoyed it while watching, but the more I reflected on it, I realize I didn't.

Possible spoilers:

I know it's an old convention, but there was something very artificial about the characters constantly explaining what was going on to the other characters, strictly for the audience's benefit.

The whole thing about not seeing the kids' faces, until the very end of the movie, seemed like a pasted-in, manipulative device that didn't serve the narrative, attempting to elicit an emotional response that wasn't earned.

The sets were interesting on some level, but they kind of came off like, "Wow, we have gazillions to spend and some great software. What can we do?"

Hans Zimmer's pompous score was just awful. It sounded like a parody. It pushed me outside of the film rather than drawing me in.

Still, there were some good elements. The premise was interesting, even if they didn't quite pull it off. I thought Leonardo DiCaprio did a good job considering what he had to work with.

It probably provides a more intense experience in the theatre than on DVD, but I'm not sure I could recommend people paying top dollar to see it.

[Rooster_Ties]

My wife and I saw Inception last night — for the very FIRST time for either of us. And both of us knew next to NOTHING about it going in — other than over a decade ago I’d seen just a little footage (possibly just the trailer) of the skyline of one or more cities distorting and being ‘folded’ (and that’s it).

I’d even forgotten all traces of who was in it, that Leonardo DiCaprio was the star —  and I’m pretty sure I never even knew Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt was in it too (JLG being a favorite of mine, at least in the handful of other things I’d seen him in before).

AND, we saw it on the single BIGGEST screen in all of Pittsburgh — the 71x39 foot IMAX-style theatre at the Kamin Science Center (down near the stadiums) — and we got there way early, and got perfect seats dead center, with hyper-raked ‘vertical’ seating that allowed us to be in a row literally half as high up as the vertical center of the screen too — so dead-center in every way.

I’m not sure if I’ve had a more riveting and exciting moviegoing experience in my entire life (hyperbolic as that sounds).

And on top of maybe the most top-notch way to see a movie — the actual movie was an delight too… a wild, wild, wild story and narrative — and an insane premise, that was incredibly exciting to try and follow — and a premise that (by its very nature) allowed for a HUGE amount of (very necessary) suspension of disbelief.

And yet, any/all of the little visual details that might have otherwise had me handwringing at every turn — the PREMISE meant that none of that stuff had to actually be ‘believable’ per se.

Anyway, it all made for an exciting evening — and I felt both literally high on adrenaline for a couple hours after, but then the movie itself also tickled parts of my brain that often don’t get agitated that much (in a good way!!) but maybe 3-4x a decade.

Truly epic, incredible storytelling, and a damn good film too (incredible cinematography!) that really stretches one’s own imagination (or certainly did mine).

I had quite vivid dreams last night — with no specific narrative details (at least not that I could remember) — but I definitely remember dreaming of wild, crazy cityscapes in one way or another.

Quite a psychedelic experience overall, between the film itself, and the optimal viewing venue — and my nearly “altered state” afterwards, induced solely by seeing the film that way (I think the last alcohol I had was maybe 1 drink 2-3 weeks ago, and I don’t even do nicotine, let alone anything else, and never have).

Highly recommended!!

[Holy Ghost]

Hands down, "Inception" turned me into a huge admirer of Christopher Nolan's work, and I wanted to watch everything that came beforehand, e.g., "Memento", and everything afterwards, especially "Oppenheimer." 

The cast was top-shelf. Besides DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt to name a few.  The special effects were absolutely incredible, and I agree with Rooster Ties, the premise was borderline insane, and the action scenes were ridiculously good! I also really liked Hans Zimmer's soundtrack too, as it really added a feeling that something ominous was always about to happen at anytime. 

Just an overall excellent movie, one of my favorites from the last 15-20 years.