Inception - Chris Nolan + Leo DiCaprio = best movie of the summer?

[Guest pulsewarrior]

naturally you all just want the truth in your lives to shut the fuck up! well it can do that, it is well capable of doing that!

 

you don't know what you've got till it's gone - actually you probably just don't know what you've got.

 

slags

 

you may be the most shining example of intellectual mediocrity i have ever seen in these parts

 

congratulations

[Terpentintollwut]

Off to see the movie en anglaise

[baph]

is this out yet??

 

Nah, it's just a faek directed by Altered:Carbon. Check out the obvious dblue glitch in the Limbo sequences.

[Guest acknowledgeandproceed]

Leo's dick?

 

I heard Marky Mark got the lead part in Boogie Nights over Leo when he walked into the casting director and said "I've got two inches on Leo." And still they needed a prosthetic.

 

True story.

 

[Terpentintollwut]

Didn't read the whole thread, but could you blame me - I saw the film yesterday and I thought it was pretty good. Far from being perfect but pretty fun to watch. In the beginning I couldn't get into it at all, for the first 30 minutes or so. Ellen Paige scenes were the first ones that got me, and once they were on the plane, I was kinda hooked with the whole story. Apparently so much that I didn't feel the length of the film at all. When it ended I thought I had seen about 90 minutes. So that's gotta be a good sign. Fortunately for me despite the first half hour I managed to get all the information I needed never to be lost. I was on the edge of being lost a few times, but who cares. I thought it would have gone on much longer after *spoiler* the van hits the water */spoiler*, it kinda bothered me how so much of the film was set within this time span, although it was a cool concept. I just hoped it would go on a little in dream layer #1 after that, for some kind of finale. Murphy is perhaps my fav actor and he was decent, but you could tell he's been working with better scripts and dialogue before, just thinking of 28 Days Later. Now for some complaints as well as other positive stuff:

 

 

I don't know about you guys, but i usually dream about flesh golems, lasers, my bedroom made of pudding, thunder clap high fives, puzzle conversations that are so good that you keep talking when you wake up, riding on the back of gigantic teddy bears, going blind, this black woman I work with as a vampire, skeletons playing poker wearing crusader era armor, being in an episode of cops (hiding under a kiddie pool) etc.

 

Not that the dream scenarios in the film are not feasible. I have Call of Duty dreams occasionally, sure. I just think the "limbo" setting was the most interesting.

 

Yeah that's more like it. Like dreams I mean. But I gotta say I did have the feeling that the action was taking place within a dream most of the time. I do sometimes have these "epic" visuals in dreams, but they're just one aspect of many. Like the folding city everyone already knew from the trailer. That was actually kind of dream-esque for me. What wasn't was how they moved from the one flat ground to the other 90° tilted one and performed that easy gravity shift (I'm talking about the same scene, not the whole gravity stuff causes by the car, which is cool with me) - in my dream this would have been a felt half hour sequence of trying to jump or roll up the wall only to then have some weirdo appear telling me that I was already on the wall, and also in Pakistan for some reason.

 

The limbo-entrance, broken building front at the shore, actually did look pretty much exactly like something I dreamed once, only thing missing were the shopping trolleys. That was pretty cool. But still a very "awake" interpretation of dreams.

 

 

there was a funny season 6 X-files episode called 'field trip'

 

I kept thinking about this one. In fact this episode influenced me a lot when I was ~12 and had my first camera, I made a similar film with my friend and some kids where they were 'eaten' by the woods and then they returned to their home town to find that there was no wind and no sound and they couldn't touch or move anything. At the moment they died, they just kind of faded out, which thinking about it is kinda morbid. I didn't tell my fried how shamelessly I was ripping off The X-Files until last year or so.

 

True indeed. If it hadn't have been for The Dark Knight's success, Nolan wouldn't have had the free reign to getting the movie made that he did. That's not to say he wouldn't have got it made, but it might have had to have been scaled back due to budget constraints (and who knows, the suits might have interfered more as well).

 

Low budget sometimes helps too, I find. Sure some scenes wouldn't have been possible but they wouldn't have had any choice but to put more thought into it and think of creative and unconventional ways to show dreams. I mean just look at the X-Files I just mentioned, and then look at newer series like Supernatural and the likes. More cgi more explosions less thought.

 

 

Did anyone else have trouble understanding most of things things Ken Watanabe says? And it seems like the audio mixing is poor in some scenes, like when Cobb and Mal are kicking themselves out of their dream world by lying on the train tracks, and Cobb goes: "What's the most important thing?" Then a train comes, really fucking loud, and Mal replies: "kjdfopIJklWJENSHFWOinviwfg". I mean, seriously. Did anyone actually hear what she said there?

 

 

I thought it was due to me not being a native speaker. I didn't understand these either and unfortunately failed to read the German subs at these parts as I was too busy trying to ignore them.

 

The initial premise is very elegant but the ending is so predictable, Ellen Page's character is so weak, much of the actual editing is weak, and a lot of the action sequences drag on.

 

7.5/10

 

I've heard predictable a couple of times now, but what exactly is there to predict? I didn't really think about the ending while I was watching the film, I rarely do, but surely the whole fisher operation couldn't have been predicted ... ? Or do you mean the stuff with the kids?

 

Only thing I predicted was the exploration of the subject. I came up with that whole being sedated/mustn't wake up idea before I saw the film, but I wouldn't blame the people who made the movie having the same thought.

 

Had this been filmed in the style of say "Children of Men" in the action sequences, I think the dreams would have felt a lot more like dreams and less like a bourne/bond movie.

 

My thoughts! Children of Men has the most immersive action sequences I've ever seen. They also felt like a dream to me when I saw it the same time and I'm still kicking myself for not seeing it in cinema even though I had the chance.

 

I wanted David Lynch, and got Michael Bay, you know?

 

spot on

 

It was actually the first movie I've seen with Juno girl in it where I didn't want to punch her in the head.

 

Hard Candy?

 

i felt the same way with the dream logic they had. you can tell it was made by someone who has never lucid dreamed in their life.

i still thought it was a great movie though, for what it was.

 

I don't think you need to be a lucid dreamer in order to get a grasp of dream logic. But it certainly helps when you are making a movie about people being conscious within a dream.

 

 

At the end of the credits there is the sound of the totem dropping

 

 

For real?

 

All in all I don't regret going to the cinema, I'd also like to see it again. It wasn't 'the bomb' in terms of portraying dreams, but I never expected it to be. If anything, I will make a film about dreams at some point and I'll try to make it as faithful to real dreams as I can.

[o00o]

I enjoyed the movie. I wish it was less bond. More labyrinths. More shit that felt like dreams. I don't know about you guys, but i usually dream about flesh golems, lasers, my bedroom made of pudding, thunder clap high fives, puzzle conversations that are so good that you keep talking when you wake up, riding on the back of gigantic teddy bears, going blind, this black woman I work with as a vampire, skeletons playing poker wearing crusader era armor, being in an episode of cops (hiding under a kiddie pool) etc.

 

Not that the dream scenarios in the film are not feasible. I have Call of Duty dreams occasionally, sure. I just think the "limbo" setting was the most interesting.

 

yeah they should have done much more like the limbo setting as it was the most dream like. but the settings had to be that different to not get lost between them. I didn't have any problem with that but my father told me that it was hard for him to follow what was happening where at the end. If they where all like limbo the "normal" audience would be pretty much confused especially when the cutting speed increases at the end.

[Terpentintollwut]

There would have been tons of ways to make the separate dream-layers differ from each other though. It's dreams, they could have done anything. Like that oil painting world from "What Dreams May Come", or the weird fire-storm-hell-scenario from Constantine (I think that's where it's from? Anyway it looked like a Beksinki painting)

 

I forgot to mention two things that were genuine dreamlike (for me anyway) as I have had them in a dream before - the elevator that ends up at the beach. And the hallway/staircase in which this M C Escher perspective-trick occurred. It just looked very much like a staircase I dreamed of, I also made a rendering of it but I don't want to look for it right now (it's not very good either). But especially this 2nd thing, the perspective trick, is the stuff the movie could have had a lot more of imo.

[oscillik]

lol at everyone missing the point of the dreams being rooted in some kind of reality

[GORDO]

so i finally saw this tonight and my impression is:

 

meh...

 

I thought that after all it is a shallow film with nothing much to extract from it. but now i'm going to read all this thread and maybe there's something i messed.

 

I keep comparing it in my mind with Synedoche, i think the comparison is fair (even tho one is an action film and the other is... whatever it is) since the theme is the same. but synedoche is actually trying to say something.

[GORDO]

halfway trough the thread and HOLY FUCKING SHIT! I agree with Mirezzi!

[GORDO]

so i just glanced through the rest of the thread and I think it's safe to assume i didn't miss anything in the film that could change my mind about it.

 

so... leaving the theater i'm feeling somehow disappointed, but i couldn't say exactly why; "there's nothing i could criticize about it really" I thought. "the effects were really cool, and the idea is interesting". All I could think about me feeling disappointed is that I was expecting mindfucks but the movie is actually quite straightforward and easy to follow (not even some clever twist ffs).

 

then after a lil' while of thinking about it here are some things i can mention that i see as flaws:

 

- there are no characters, only archetypes.

 

- half of it consist of either a) chase scenes, b) fight scenes or c) gun fight scenes. none of them particularly good except the zero gravity bit. (and secret option d: things falling in slowmo).

 

- the idea/concept has a lot of potential and it is wasted here.

 

- the music was horrible.

 

so overall, as i said earlier, there's no depth to this and it's pretty much an average action film based on a cool gimmick. one thing i could say i thought was good was the revelation that he accidentally planted the idea on mal, but even that one you could kinda see coming.

 

I didn't hate it tho.

 

I just had a thought this could be really good if it was a television series. would give room to develop characters and complicated storylines. could also be one of those mission of the week shows.

[kokoon]

I don't know about you guys, but i usually dream about flesh golems, lasers, my bedroom made of pudding, thunder clap high fives, puzzle conversations that are so good that you keep talking when you wake up, riding on the back of gigantic teddy bears, going blind, this black woman I work with as a vampire, skeletons playing poker wearing crusader era armor, being in an episode of cops (hiding under a kiddie pool) etc.

can't get enough of this quote :D

[Blir]

- the music was horrible.

 

WHAT!?

 

Oh, come on! I don't like to argue with people's opinions or anything but man...

 

Come on!

[Terpentintollwut]

lol at everyone missing the point of the dreams being rooted in some kind of reality

 

But was it thee point or the excuse for not going more surreal? Dream layer #1, sure, but once they went further down, they could have gone nuts!

 

 

- the music was horrible.

 

WHAT!?

 

Oh, come on! I don't like to argue with people's opinions or anything but man...

 

Come on!

 

It was Hans Zimmer, so it was solid but routine. I found it fitting actually, but nothing that will resonate with you, like almost all Hans Zimmer scores. Gladiator was probably the most daring, while I personally like his minimal soundtrack of The Ring best even though it was allegedly composed in one afternoon.

[Blir]

It was Hans Zimmer, so it was solid but routine. I found it fitting actually, but nothing that will resonate with you, like almost all Hans Zimmer scores. Gladiator was probably the most daring, while I personally like his minimal soundtrack of The Ring best even though it was allegedly composed in one afternoon.

 

I thought the soundtrack was brilliant personally. It's the use of the slowed down Edith Piaf tune, the blaring trumpets that impressed me. I dunno, I don't follow film soundtracks much, but I think it's the best in a while.

[oscillik]

lol at everyone missing the point of the dreams being rooted in some kind of reality

 

But was it thee point or the excuse for not going more surreal? Dream layer #1, sure, but once they went further down, they could have gone nuts!

 

 

- the music was horrible.

 

WHAT!?

 

Oh, come on! I don't like to argue with people's opinions or anything but man...

 

Come on!

 

It was Hans Zimmer, so it was solid but routine. I found it fitting actually, but nothing that will resonate with you, like almost all Hans Zimmer scores. Gladiator was probably the most daring, while I personally like his minimal soundtrack of The Ring best even though it was allegedly composed in one afternoon.

no it was definitely the point.

 

and i couldn't disagree with you more, regarding the soundtrack. it very definitely resonates with me personally.

[GORDO]

well the music took me out of the movie time and time again. that's why I say it.

[Terpentintollwut]

and i couldn't disagree with you more, regarding the soundtrack. it very definitely resonates with me personally.

 

Mhh maybe I was being a bit too pessimistic for the sake of it. Those trumpets (or whatever they are) were kinda cool and they did stay with me after the film too. It's just that I'm a bit tired of Zimmer always doing these 'epic' ones, but I must admit it was fitting here. Some minimal glitch-score alà Cube wouldn't have worked with the visuals after all. I didn't say it was bad, just routine for him, but I guess it was a little more than that.

 

Still more dream-surrealness would have been appreciated, regardless of said point.

[TwiddleBot]

well, let's be fair, it was hans zimmer directing his team of ghost writers.

 

not that i'm dissing him, i mean, most pop stars and musicians are more brand name (director) than composer. like miles davis, madonna, or iannis xenakis.

 

(and yeah, i did like the music in the film too)

[Guest Blanket Fort Collapse]

don't know about you guys, but i usually dream about being in an episode of cops (hiding under a kiddie pool) etc.

 

[Guest tidbit]

5.5/10

[Squee]

Ever since I watched Inception I've been wondering what it might be that people find confusing about this movie?

[fenton]

I'm confused why to as everyone love it so much!

[Hoodie]

i thought i was going to love it but then i did not love it and now i am bitter.

[Redruth]

on the outside and on the inside this film is a masterpiece. christopher nolan and company are genius.