Inception

[No spoken words]

Good to read. I had the same shit-eating grin on my face as well for most of the second half.

Sorry, GAF. THE CLICK! has spoken. Your only hope now is that you'll have Lance for company on the neg side.

So, I have read people say this was Hitchcockian or Kurbirckian, but, to me, if anything, this was what would happen if Philip K Dick gave an idea to Michael Mann and Mann wrote a screenplay and then sent it to Ian Fleming for a subtle amount of editing. Am I far off there?

 

[Lancemc]

I still think it's a pretty sophisticated and daring film structurally, and even thematically, even if it doesn't frequently succeed in the latter regard. But yeah not the time nor the place so fuck off, me.

 

[Lancemc]

So, I have read people say this was Hitchcockian or Kurbirckian, but, to me, if anything, this was what would happen if Philip K Dick gave an idea to Michael Mann and Mann wrote a screenplay and then sent it to Ian Fleming for a subtle amount of editing. Am I far off there?

I was promised James Bond meets The Matrix! If it's not exactly that, I'm going to be furious.

 

[No spoken words]

I was promised James Bond meets The Matrix! If it's not exactly that, I'm going to be furious.

When you inevitably leave the theater disappointed, muttering to yourself "Christopher Nolan makes ugly films and that was not some Neo-meets 007 shit" please at least take the time to vent your anger by kicking a Twilight fan in the sternum.

 

[lazarus]

I still think it's a pretty sophisticated and daring film structurally, and even thematically, even if it doesn't frequently succeed in the latter regard.

I'll give you that. And there were cool individual scenes But it didn't work on its own as a story (which I feel even sequels should) and the ending was eye-rollingly dumb (the "dum-dum-DUM!!" musical cue). It could have partially been salvaged with a part 3 that retroactively made it stronger, which we all know didn't come close to happening.

 

[lazarus]

I was promised James Bond meets The Matrix! If it's not exactly that, I'm going to be furious.

There's actually nods to both the new and old Bond aesthetic, which is kind of cool. One could argue there's a little Bourne Identity in there as wiell.

 

[No spoken words]

There's actually nods to both the new and old Bond aesthetic, which is kind of cool. One could argue there's a little Bourne Identity in there as wiell.

Which is why I mentioned Ian Fleming, Lance.

Now fuck off.

 

[Lancemc]

Something about snowmobiles and shit, right? Does it have Telly Savalas? Oh no wait, those were bobsleds.

 

[powerhour24]

I love the action in Matrix Reloaded, but all the talking did was create a convoluted mess if the entire series, however I did enjoy the new characters, and I thought Revolutions actually managed to recover a decent conclusion. The battle on the freeway is hands down my favorite action sequence of the decade, possibly ever.

 

[LMP]

So, I have read people say this was Hitchcockian or Kurbirckian, but, to me, if anything, this was what would happen if Philip K Dick gave an idea to Michael Mann and Mann wrote a screenplay and then sent it to Ian Fleming for a subtle amount of editing. Am I far off there?

That's how I felt, too. Hell, the biggest surprise for me was how well the action was staged, easily the weakest parts of Nolan's Batman films. Not that it was significantly better, but they were all coherent enough to follow and enjoy, particularly the snow sequences.

Anyway, I was amazed at the narrative juggling, like Laz mentioned earlier, and the insane amount of tension present throughout. Even with the crazy amount of exposition necessary to establish this universe, I never felt condescended or felt the need to facepalm at any given time. The clunkiness is apparent in the dialogue, but DiCap and Co. were able to sell it, even Cisco Page, who I had a lot of trepidation about coming into this. Give it up to Shinzon and Scarecrow for their series of ass-kicking character moments, too.

Inception pretty much epitomizes what I want to see in major Hollywood filmmaking: emotional and visceral satisfaction and the sense that there was some risk taken in its execution. The cynic in me thinks this'll just be a blip on the studio radar, but I hope this is a turning point for maintaining some sort of artistic integrity in blockbuster filmmaking. In short, eat it, Jerry Bruckheimer.

 

[lazarus]

I think you're going to be seeing more Avatars than Inceptions. And it's kind of already happening.

As I said before (maybe not here), it's hard to call it a game-changer because I don't think many filmmakers can even play this kind of game.

 

[Lancemc]

I'd wager there are a few filmmakers who could play the Nolan blockbuster game, but I doubt studios are ever going to give any of them the money.

 

[LMP]

I think you're going to be seeing more Avatars than Inceptions. And it's kind of already happening.

As I said before (maybe not here), it's hard to call it a game-changer because I don't think many filmmakers can even play this kind of game.

Nolan certainly had to pull a "one for me, one for them" switcheroo to get this off of a ground, but how is this any different than what Cameron did for Avatar? Both followed up incredibly successful films with a passion project that had extravagant budgets and almost total creative control.

I don't think we'll be seeing these sorts of deals on the scale of what Cameron and Nolan had to work with, but something more akin to the Peter Jackson-backed, modestly budgeted District 9 could appear more often than not in the near future. The Spielberg/Abrams joint coming out next year can maybe be another example.

 

[OrARoundabout]

60 Million opening weekend...not bad Inception, not bad

This is from a recent MTV article about the final scene:

Dileep Rao offered further insight, advising viewers to pay attention to the scene in an unusual way. "You know what, I'll just say this: Use your ears not your eyes."

So people say u...erm..."hear something" when the screen goes black

 

[Imperor]

One thing this one solidified for me: Cillian Murphy is underrated. He's great just about every time I've ever seen him on screen. It wasn't his fault Red Eye was garbage.

 

[lazarus]

That's just what I was saying before.

 

[LMP]

"That's right, motherfuckers."

 

[Imperor]

Would you like to see my mask? I use it in my experiments.

Spoiler

 

[powerhour24]

Ever since 28 Days Later Cillian Murphy has been among my top favorite actors. He's since given stellar performances in (among others) Intermission, The Wind That Shakes the Barley & Sunshine and gave my all time favorite Batman villain performance. And yes, he bright his emotional A-game to Inception.

 

[No spoken words]

Would you like to see my mask? I use it in my experiments.

Spoiler

I LOL'D.

I like Murphy a lot, too. Sunshine's fucking awesome.

 

[powerhour24]

And it is performances like Sunshine that should remind people that Chris Evans is also a talented actor, and should prove an excellent Captain America.

 

[lazarus]

Ever since 28 Days Later Cillian Murphy has been among my top favorite actors. He's since given stellar performances in (among others) Intermission, The Wind That Shakes the Barley & Sunshine and gave my all time favorite Batman villain performance. And yes, he bright his emotional A-game to Inception.

I know a few people who didn't like the film, but his crowning achievement acting-wise is still Breakfast on Pluto.

 

[No spoken words]

I know a few people who didn't like the film, but his crowning achievement acting-wise is still Breakfast on Pluto.

Those people should be beaten.

 

[LMP]

If we're going to talk about Batman villain performances, then Murphy's Scarecrow has to take a backseat to DeVito's Penguin, Pfieffer's Catwoman and Ledger's Joker. Those three are the gold standard, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Imperor]

Not so.

 

[powerhour24]

If we're going to talk about Batman villain performances, then Murphy's Scarecrow has to take a backseat to DeVito's Penguin, Pfieffer's Catwoman and Ledger's Joker. Those three are the gold standard, as far as I'm concerned.

In terms of pure silly entertainment I agree with the pair from Batman Returns, in terms of chilling reality Murphy wins, followed by Ledger. Nothing against Heath, I just find the slightly more grounded villain to be more unnerving and engaging to watch, its the same reason why I prefer Brian Cox' take on Hannibal Lector to Hopkins' admittedly more entertaining take.

 

[No spoken words]

I sincerely doubt that I'll ever enjoy a villain's portrayal in this genre more than Ledger's. I still find his scenes mesmerizing.

Agreed on the Cox > Hopkins comment.

 

[powerhour24]

Well at least there's someone out there that agree wih me on that one. Typically I get people acting all pissy when I say that, and then find out they've never even seen Manhunter.

 

[lauramullen]

I'm going to see it tonight.

 

[corianderstem]

I really enjoyed the hell out of that thing. A few questions of confusion, and I'll use spoiler tags just in case:

Spoiler

In the final scene, I was watching the totem intently, and while I was hoping they weren't setting it up to be the "duuuude, it's a dream", it sure came across like that. But I saw the wobble as well, so I'm going to take it as that it was real. Reading the other tidbits in this thread was great.

Although I do question the ending bit with Limbo Ken and Limbo Leo - when Ken reached for the gun, what was he supposed to be doing? I thought that was a key that it was going to shoot Leo, to put him into "real" Limbo (because he wasn't really in limbo, was he? Since he didn't "die" while under sedation?) rather than ...

Aw fuck, now I'm confusing myself trying to ask my question. How did Leo get them both out of Limbo? Did he have to come up with another kick somehow to get them back? Who was still round in the other levels to bring Leo back?

And while I'm asking questions - what was supposed to have happened to someone in Limbo? In the real world, would they just have been carted off to the loony bin in a straightjacket or something? They kept saying how your mind is lost in Limbo, but ... hmm.

I was completely delighted by the varying levels of the scenes, and oh man, there were a lot of visuals that just had me grinning. Loved, loved, LOVED the scene where Page's character realizes she can play with physics. Also loved the music at the end.

Also, it's interesting to see Leo kind of shed, and I mean this from a physical perspective, whatever is left of his youthfulness. I'm a big fan of his and have been for a while but he always seemed almost too youthful for some of his roles, but I think that's done between this and Shutter Island.

Ha! I had the exact same thought. "You know, I'm finally able to look at Leo and be annoyed by how babyish he looks." Watching this and Shutter Island so close together sealed the deal.