Escape to the Movies: Inception
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Just saw it, best movie of the year so far. To me, it far exceeds Toy Story 3 (although almost every movie of this year surpassed TS3 imo). I thought it was a total masterpiece.
Damn this was a good movie. At the end of the last scene when it cut to the credits everyone in the audience flipped their shit. Good stuff.
Good movie overall, I saw it earlier today.
Otherwise, I don't see why many people would have forgotten "Dreamscape" or need to be a hard core film nerd to remember that. I mean it was a decent movie, and not exactly obscure. I'm only 34, while not a kid anymore I'm hardly a geriatric who grumbles about "those blasted kids" yet.
To be honest I do think remembering movies like that is important, and when someone does something similar I think comparisons are fair and not "something people need to get out of their system" like it's a bad thing. I think credit needs to be given where credit is due, and honestly even if one is to argue "Inception" is a superior film, I think it's important to throw on the breaks before people start praising it with more originality than it actually delivered, that's how "classics" are forgotten. Simply because very little is truely original anymore, is not an excuse to forget the origins, or simply other takes on the same basic material.
As far as the movie goes: (SPOILERS BELOW)
I did not care for the ambigious ending, though I understand why it was done that way.
I however feel that they explained the key concepts, including the mutli-layered dreams, well enough where it wasn't really hard to follow. I don't think most movie goers will have a problem. Just because the everyman can enjoy the intellectual slumming of a movie like "Transformers" or watching pro-wrestling on TV does not mean that is all they are capable of. I'm sure a decent number of people won't get it, and will just be taken by the FX until they toss it around a few times, but I think those people are actually below the curve. I don't consider this movie really "smart" as much as "not dumbed down as much as many others".
I also personally do not think it was divorced from politics, I actually suspected thate there was a political statement being made here, without trying to act like one was being made or focusing on it. I can't help but notice that the central motivation driving the plot is specifically to break up an energy company monopoly. The person hiring for this feat is an asian gentleman, and the guys running the monopoly are white Americans.
If you follow politics you'd know that this is pretty much in keeping with a central issue today. Basically the far east, China in paticular, are increasing their technology base and lifestyles and with the increased use of things like cars (as well as building up much larger militaries and war machines) has come an increased demand for oil and energy sources. The major "neutral" producers of oil being in The Middle East, but they keep a fairly tight rein on how much oil they produce. The US and it's companies wind up bidding for this oil and taking control of a lot of it, leading to a lot of whining about the US depriving other parts of the world of energy and hampering their development, though admittedly we wind up using all of this oil to support our own infrastructure which was always huge.
In the US Oil/Gas companies are frequently accused of engaging in cartel behavior, or operating as a monopoly, even if nobody has actually tried to perform a "Ted Turner" and organize them all under one banner. The industry acting as one entity has lead to a lot of investigations in the US based on things like price setting and other behaviors.
Despite the fact that our protaganist is being hired with the promise of having a crime in the US forgiven, allowing him to return home (whether this happens or not is debatable given the ending), the way certain things are phrased definatly makes me think that he's being hired by non-American, non-Western business interests that simply have powerful political and perhaps diplomatic connections in the US (the line between goverment and private business can be quite blurry in places like China). While not harped on specifically a good part of the plot seems to rely on the perceived nobility of sticking it to the western oil "monopoly", albiet re-defined quite a bit from reality to make it seem like the "problem" can be addressed by manipulating one person.
Interestingly the way things are shot and the audio works and such during te climactic moment when the idea being planted takes and so on, I get the impression that this deed is being portrayed as a great, good, and heroic thing above and beyond the personal desires of our protaganist and his very personal reasons for taking the job. What's more you are constantly being reminded now and again what the purpose our protaganist is working towards is.
The point of this is that I don't think the movie is non-political, and simply focusing on "high concept science fiction". I get the impression that Mr. Nolan did have something to say here, even if I disagree with it, albiet that message was not the exclusive focus of the movie.
Not super important, but noteworthy, and I don't think I'm reading into it to an unusual degree. I can put my personal beliefs aside enough to watch a movie like this, but to be honest I do very much think there was intended to be an anti-US energy policy message in this movie. I think the nature of the job being undertaken was very carefully thought out.
Otherwise, I don't see why many people would have forgotten "Dreamscape" or need to be a hard core film nerd to remember that. I mean it was a decent movie, and not exactly obscure. I'm only 34, while not a kid anymore I'm hardly a geriatric who grumbles about "those blasted kids" yet.
To be honest I do think remembering movies like that is important, and when someone does something similar I think comparisons are fair and not "something people need to get out of their system" like it's a bad thing. I think credit needs to be given where credit is due, and honestly even if one is to argue "Inception" is a superior film, I think it's important to throw on the breaks before people start praising it with more originality than it actually delivered, that's how "classics" are forgotten. Simply because very little is truely original anymore, is not an excuse to forget the origins, or simply other takes on the same basic material.
As far as the movie goes: (SPOILERS BELOW)
I did not care for the ambigious ending, though I understand why it was done that way.
I however feel that they explained the key concepts, including the mutli-layered dreams, well enough where it wasn't really hard to follow. I don't think most movie goers will have a problem. Just because the everyman can enjoy the intellectual slumming of a movie like "Transformers" or watching pro-wrestling on TV does not mean that is all they are capable of. I'm sure a decent number of people won't get it, and will just be taken by the FX until they toss it around a few times, but I think those people are actually below the curve. I don't consider this movie really "smart" as much as "not dumbed down as much as many others".
I also personally do not think it was divorced from politics, I actually suspected thate there was a political statement being made here, without trying to act like one was being made or focusing on it. I can't help but notice that the central motivation driving the plot is specifically to break up an energy company monopoly. The person hiring for this feat is an asian gentleman, and the guys running the monopoly are white Americans.
If you follow politics you'd know that this is pretty much in keeping with a central issue today. Basically the far east, China in paticular, are increasing their technology base and lifestyles and with the increased use of things like cars (as well as building up much larger militaries and war machines) has come an increased demand for oil and energy sources. The major "neutral" producers of oil being in The Middle East, but they keep a fairly tight rein on how much oil they produce. The US and it's companies wind up bidding for this oil and taking control of a lot of it, leading to a lot of whining about the US depriving other parts of the world of energy and hampering their development, though admittedly we wind up using all of this oil to support our own infrastructure which was always huge.
In the US Oil/Gas companies are frequently accused of engaging in cartel behavior, or operating as a monopoly, even if nobody has actually tried to perform a "Ted Turner" and organize them all under one banner. The industry acting as one entity has lead to a lot of investigations in the US based on things like price setting and other behaviors.
Despite the fact that our protaganist is being hired with the promise of having a crime in the US forgiven, allowing him to return home (whether this happens or not is debatable given the ending), the way certain things are phrased definatly makes me think that he's being hired by non-American, non-Western business interests that simply have powerful political and perhaps diplomatic connections in the US (the line between goverment and private business can be quite blurry in places like China). While not harped on specifically a good part of the plot seems to rely on the perceived nobility of sticking it to the western oil "monopoly", albiet re-defined quite a bit from reality to make it seem like the "problem" can be addressed by manipulating one person.
Interestingly the way things are shot and the audio works and such during te climactic moment when the idea being planted takes and so on, I get the impression that this deed is being portrayed as a great, good, and heroic thing above and beyond the personal desires of our protaganist and his very personal reasons for taking the job. What's more you are constantly being reminded now and again what the purpose our protaganist is working towards is.
The point of this is that I don't think the movie is non-political, and simply focusing on "high concept science fiction". I get the impression that Mr. Nolan did have something to say here, even if I disagree with it, albiet that message was not the exclusive focus of the movie.
Not super important, but noteworthy, and I don't think I'm reading into it to an unusual degree. I can put my personal beliefs aside enough to watch a movie like this, but to be honest I do very much think there was intended to be an anti-US energy policy message in this movie. I think the nature of the job being undertaken was very carefully thought out.
A lot of comments already, I can see. Without going through them all, just wanted to chime in with HOW MUCH I AGREE. This movie was amazing. A total mind trip that satisfies that desire for a thicker, meatier concept, while still providing that tasty action filling. A phenomenal film. Like a friend of mine said after he saw it, "It's like The Matrix + Psychonauts." Now I just wish it would hurry up and come to DVD so I can watch it several times more.
Well the ending was (thankfully) ambiguous. I too anticipated the kind of ending that I suspect you anticipated, but as the film went on, I wasn't so sure:piscian said:
It's nice because the ending is kind of a nod to that suspicion that many savvy moviegoers will have. We sit there with tension, wondering if the top will fall, but we never know in the end. I think that uncertainty is all the more compelling. Perhaps I'm missing some of the "hints" you picked up on? Naturally, the ambiguity of the different dream-states calls into question any semblance of reality in the film; they do that in the first scene, but that's almost to be expected given the nature of the story. I get the sense Nolan and the writers expected that and kept it satisfyingly ambiguous throughout. So we may suspect, even before the possibility is mentioned in the film, but our suspicions are never confirmed.
Glad Moviebob remembered "Dreamscape" though I wonder how many people seeing this film even known of Dreamscape's existence. The one thing I wish Moviebob had explained was how this movie avoid been there done that feel I had with Total Recall (1990), TekWar (1994), eXistenZ (1999), and TV movie where the "real world" that is having issues with a virtual reality of the 1920s is itself a virtual reality. Perhaps I have seen too many of these types of movies but I had a feeling of 'ok been there done that so how is this better?' with his review.
Ok, I just saw Inception and I can't agree more with Bob's take on this movie. I think I was the only person laughing at the end of this movie.
Inception made me do it. That is the movie was so good I took the leap of faith and registered here. My first post is now to applaud movie bob for his ever interesting reviews.
I absolutely agree with the spoiler warning. There is no need to be an asshat like other reviewers and try to edge one in on us for hits. The amount of warnings bob gives allows me to securely watch both review and movie without one ruining the other.
This is the second movie to make me cry. The first was Pass It On when I was a kid.
Good stuff.
I absolutely agree with the spoiler warning. There is no need to be an asshat like other reviewers and try to edge one in on us for hits. The amount of warnings bob gives allows me to securely watch both review and movie without one ruining the other.
This is the second movie to make me cry. The first was Pass It On when I was a kid.
Good stuff.
here's something amusing:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2010-07-20/bloody-monday-manga-creators-draw-inception-poster
And for everyone quoting Paprika, Nolan has been on record saying Paprika did help him get ideas for Ariadne as a character. Hey, at least he's getting inspiration from GOOD sources.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2010-07-20/bloody-monday-manga-creators-draw-inception-poster
And for everyone quoting Paprika, Nolan has been on record saying Paprika did help him get ideas for Ariadne as a character. Hey, at least he's getting inspiration from GOOD sources.
Saw it today. SO GOOD. Between it and Despicable Me I don't need to see another movie until The Expendables comes out, and even that is just an excuse to have a bro-fest...
My only thing about Bob's review is I thought it was less "What if Freddy Kruger was James Bond?" and more "What if Ocean's 11 was in the Matrix?"
My only thing about Bob's review is I thought it was less "What if Freddy Kruger was James Bond?" and more "What if Ocean's 11 was in the Matrix?"
That's... really strange.geizr said:
Everyone in our party of six siad exactly the same thing, and we all said it must have been the theatre's sound system.
The one person came up with the theory that perhaps this was deliberate on Nolan's part, to make us question our own sense of reality or something.
Wow, PC Elitism in a cinema review thread.Dhatz said:
The irony here is that you seem to imply console gamers are stupid and a 'degradation' of the human race yet your own grammar is bloody terrible.