Inception

[Dasher]

I saw Inception several weeks ago and I still think about parts of it everyday. Maybe it was just that I didn't fully understand the whole premise of it, but I feel that people were making this movie to be out to be more than what it was. I really thought the special effects were good and the acting for the most part was good, but it was nothing outstanding.

[Leo_Lover]

I really can't wait for that Inception DVD! :D

[Leo_Lover]

Leonardo DiCaprio’s INCEPTION to Reach $300m?

Inception, dropped a mere 7.1%. If the Christopher Nolan-Leonardo DiCaprio thriller/sci-fier stays the course, it’ll quite possibly not only reach $300m domestically but will also surpass the Robert Pattinson-Kristen Stewart-Taylor Lautner romantic fantasy The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, currently with $298.67m.

Source: www.altfg.com (http://www.altfg.com/)

[Lugburz]

I was completely blown off by this movie. Surely, didn't see anything like it before.

[rauldc14]

Loved the movie! Just saw it yesterday finally. In a class of its own really, as there is no movie that you can really compare it to.

[Leo_Lover]

Inception is truely an amazing movie & one of the best I've seen all year. I really hope it does well at this coming Award Season. :D

[traglee]

Great reviews! Inception is really a mind-twisting film!

This movie is generally based on lucid dreams. The film begun in the world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a single idea within one’s mind can be the most dangerous weapon.

[Leo_Lover]

Inception Is One Of The Top 10 Movies Of 2010, So Far...


This Christopher Nolan mind-warping extravaganza could garner a best picture nod. Why? First, the film plays with reality with virtuosic skill. Second, the Academy blew it big time by failing to nominate Nolan's "Dark Knight" in 2008. Time for a makeup call.
The movie follows the exploits of Leonardo DiCaprio's Cobb, a "dream" thief who gets hired to plant an idea into the target's subconscious instead of stealing one. Problems ensue.

Even if the film's complexity makes you wish it came with Cliff's Notes, just savor the jaw-dropping visuals. At the screening I attended, the audience applauded after the gravity-challenged elevator fight.

This is one film that must be seen on a big screen to be fully appreciated.

Source: www.milforddailynews.com (http://www.milforddailynews.com/)

[bdidol]

waiting for dvd and b-ray

[Minus P]

Wow. I'm not even sure where to begin. There is just too much to digest. For the most part it's, of course, excellent. Super original ideas. I'm not even sure if I have ever seen a film like this. I really need to watch it a couple of more times to fully digest, but seriously, there is nothing quite like this film. It's a provisional 4 stars for me right now, but there is more to digest. There where a few moments of what I felt was unintentional confusion, but that's the only qualms I have thus far. The ending is wicked.


about to post my video review of it, I enjoyed it very much

[Leo_Lover]

waiting for dvd and b-ray

Same here! :D

[The Prestige]

I've never been bothered about the whole 'Inception as a filmmaking analogy' thing, but this is an excellant article. Thankfully it doesn't really talk about the film being a dream or whatever (I think people have wisely come to realise how little to no weight that theory holds, especially due to the online comic) but it's got some very interesting observations


First off, I must apologize for being the last person on the internet to consider that Inception may be an elaborate metaphor for filmmaking. Last week I was reading Perich’s great piece (http://www.overthinkingit.com/2010/09/08/how-much-does-inception-cost/) on the cost of an inception when it suddenly occurred to me, “Hey, Cobb is kind of like a writer/director! Oh boy, wait until all the kids on the Internet get a load of this!” Then I read Shana’s also great article (http://www.overthinkingit.com/2010/09/13/the-psychology-of-inception/) on Monday, in which she not only makes this argument quite elegantly, she points out that “basically any article on the Internet about Inception” points this out. [Makes embarrassed Rodney Dangerfieldesque collar-loosening gesture.]
But if Inception taught me one thing, it’s that when you run into trouble, you don’t retreat; you go deeper. So first let me rehash the apparently-obvious-but-still-new-to-me idea that performing an inception is like making a film, and then address the trickier question of what that means.
Inception is basically a heist film, like Ocean’s Eleven minus the Elvis and Sinatra. A team is assembled, a plan is conceived, security measures are dealt with through force and cunning, the plan is revised on the fly, and the team escapes in the nick of time, splitting up until the next job. But Cobb’s goal is not to steal anything. It’s to bring about a life-altering emotional catharsis, Good Will Hunting-style. http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/will-hunting-208x300.jpgSo imagine if the Matt Damon of Ocean’s Eleven was the therapist for Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting, and you get the picture. Except wait, the catharsis they are trying to induce in Fischer is based on total lies. So imagine if, contra Robin Williams, it actually WAS all Will Hunting’s fault, but the degenerate liar Matt Damon of The Talented Mister Ripley decides to trick him into an emotional breakthrough, and hires the Matt Damon of Ocean’s Eleven as the Forger and the Matt Damon of The Bourne Identity to provide some muscle, because you just know Will Hunting’s subconscious is going to involve all sorts of dudes with Red Sox caps and lead pipes.
Feel free to write up that fan fiction, by the way.
So Cobb’s not after money. He has to figure out what Fischer wants more than money, and then pretend to give it to him. Cobb’s main gift is his psychological insight: before he ever meets Fischer, he figures out how to make him break up his father’s business, a decision that seems utterly irrational. http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/brothers-bloom.jpg(For those lucky few of you who caught Rian Johnson’s The Brothers Bloom, you’ll see a lot of similarities between Mark Ruffalo’s character and DiCaprio’s. In Bloom, Ruffalo’s maxim is, “The perfect con is one where everyone involved gets just what they wanted.” After one of the Bloom Brothers’ cons, the mark doesn’t feel robbed; he feels blessed.)
But comparing Cobb to a traditional con man doesn’t really capture the scope of his job. A con man can play a character, plant forged documents, or many even cobble together a location that doesn’t exist. But Cobb can literally create a whole new world. Not only does he determine how he wants his target to feel, not only does he invent a story to inspire these feeling, but he also supervises the creation of an environment (several environments!) in which his story will unfold.
You know what job I just described? Christopher Nolan’s. Now is when I would poke around the internet for a picture that shows the physical similarity between the director and his leading man, but Shana already found it for me.
http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/nolan-dicaprio.jpg
So if Cobb is the writer-director, who is everyone else? Well, Arthur is clearly the producer. He does all the research, takes care of the logistics, and puts together a team to fulfill the director’s vision. He understands both the technical aspects and the storytelling aspects of the work, as all good producers do. And just as most directors work with the same producer again and again, Arthur and Cobb are a team.
http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/airline.jpg I really need this t-shirt.

Saito is the studio executive. He finances the inception – which is basically a work of art for an audience of one – because he thinks it will make him money. This studio executive has the good sense not to rewrite the script or tell the director how to do his job. And as Perich pointed out, Cobb’s “movie” has a virtually unlimited budget. I’m sure not even Christopher Nolan has executives willing to buy him airlines, so this might be wish fulfillment on his part. (On the other hand, when Cobb fails, the executives that hired him may try to have him killed. Hollywood is a rough town.)
Unfortunately, Saito does insist on tagging along for the “shoot,” and he pays a price. I can’t help but see Saito’s injury and imprisonment in limbo as Nolan’s little dig at meddling “suits.” He can’t work without them, but they should sign the checks and keep their distance.
Eames, of course, is the actor. He pretends to be someone else, and he tries to get certain reactions out of the audience. Ariadne is the production designer. Cobb tells her what he wants the world to look like, and she creates the “set” for his drama.
http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/yusuf-lego.jpg And this lego Yusuf.

Yusuf is the only one who doesn’t have a clear analogue in the filmmaking world. But I’d say he’s the Special Effects department. The process of inception, like filmmaking, is a technical challenge as well as an artistic one. I’m sure when Nolan decided he wanted to film parts of The Dark Knight in IMAX, he needed to find someone like Yusuf, who was willing to try something that had never been done before. And I’m sure Nolan’s producer, like Arthur, initially fretted that it was impossible. Of course, Inception itself is a technically demanding movie. If Yusuf really represents Special Effects, it’s a nice poetic touch that he’s literally at the wheel during the movie’s trickiest effects scene, Arthur’s hallway fight in shifting gravity.
Here’s where Shana and I start to disagree. She argues that if the movie is meant to perform an inception on its audience, it failed.
Is the ultimate moral of Inception that movies and dreams are similar in various ways? But that can’t be right. According to Cobb’s exposition throughout the film, an inception is successful when the dream-trapped target adopts an idea from an external source as his own and then—here’s the important part—changes his or her behavior based on that idea. In other words, a proper inception affects the target’s behavior, not just his or her thoughts.
I totally get why she feels this way. But I think she’s putting too much emphasis on the subject changing his or her behavior. Yes, that’s why people attempt an inception, because otherwise why would you bother doing something so difficult and risky? But that’s the motive; that’s not the definition. A successful inception, to me, is when you put an idea in someone’s head that they just can’t stop thinking about. I’ll let Cobb explain it, in one of his first lines:
What is the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm? An idea. Resilient. Highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it’s almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed, fully understood: that sticks.
And now let me point something out. I’m currently writing thousands of words about Inception. Shana did the same thing earlier this week. Perich did it the week before. And this movie came out more than eight weeks ago. If Inception is one thing, it’s thought-provoking. It makes you think, probably for years to come. If that’s not a successful inception, I don’t know what is. Sure, no one ever cried while playing a Rubix cube, but how many billions of hours have been spent trying to unlock its secrets?
http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/nolan-camera.jpgIf you use a dream machine to put an idea in someone’s head and it sticks with them, it’s a successful inception. If you use a camera, it’s a successful movie.
So if that’s true, what does it tell us about how Christopher Nolan views his profession?
First of all, recall that performing a successful inception is widely thought to be impossible within the movie. “The subject’s mind can always trace the genesis of the idea,” says Arthur. “True inspiration’s impossible to fake.” To use the filmmaking metaphor, this would be like if no one had ever been emotionally or intellectually moved by a film, because viewers were always aware the characters were actors, the sets were just plywood, and the plot was just something a writer cooked up beside his Beverly Hills pool. (Cobb, of course, has pulled it off, which makes him/Nolan the greatest filmmaker ever.)
http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/water.jpg Raise your hand if you're kind of jealous of this stunt man.

However, I don’t think Nolan is trying to imply that no one has ever produced a film that an audience liked. I think he’s just saying that, in Eames’s words, “it’s bloody difficult.” This is because a film is a series of pictures projected on a screen, cobbled together over the course of months in various locations, according to a script written by one dude over the course of many years. There are levels upon levels of artificiality that the filmmaker needs to hide and overcome in order to reach his goal. “With the slightest disturbance,” Arthur says, “the dream’s going to collapse.” Note also that the more ambitious the inception, the more unstable the whole thing is. To translate that, a complicated movie is easier to screw up than a simple movie.
(You know what I suddenly realized? Remember the scene where Cobb tells Yusuf he wants the dream to have three levels, and everyone thinks it’s impossible? I promise you that at some point in 2007, Christopher Nolan told people he was writing a movie with a dream that had three levels, and they told him it was impossible.)
Now, consider the twist that Fischer’s mind has been trained to detect and reject inception. This is a great metaphor for how media-savvy we’ve all become. Consider how many movies we’ve seen, how many thousands of hours of visual storytelling we’ve been exposed to. We’ve got every trick in the filmmaker’s arsenal memorized, and we roll our eyes at the first sign of cliche. Just as Cobb’s team has to literally fight its way through Fischer’s mind, Nolan feels he’s up against an audience that has built up a resistance to storytelling. The only way to do something original is to do something drastic.
http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/leonard.jpg Just call him Mr. Charles.

So what is Cobb/Nolan’s solution? He disarms the audience by pointing out the artificiality of the dream/movie. Cobb pulls the “Mr. Charles,” in which he straight-up tells Fischer he’s in someone else’s dream. Nolan did pretty much the same thing in Memento. That’s a movie in which a relatively simple story was edited to move back and forth through time. It was deliberately artificial and confusing, and the Arthurs of the world probably thought it would destroy any chance of the audience connecting with Leonard. Instead, the editing is indispensable to the emotional impact. That’s kind of what the Mr. Charles is – it makes the fakeness of the medium part of the plan to draw the audience further in.
I’m sure these observations have been made before – like Shana said, the inception-as-filmmaking angle is sort of low-hanging overthinking fruit. But here’s something that throws a monkey wrench into the whole thing: an inception is a ******* horrible thing.
An inception is way worse than stealing from someone. It’s a kind of psychic rape. You are entering someone’s subconscious without their permission, and changing them in a permanent way. And the worst part is, you’re doing it without their knowledge. To perform an inception on someone is to corrupt their free will and destroy their integrity as a human being. The two people it is done to, Fischer and Mal, move on with their lives assuming they are in full control. But they’re just puppets, being manipulated to their own destructions.
Take another look at Cobb’s opening line:
What is the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm? An idea. Resilient. Highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it’s almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed, fully understood: that sticks.
Does this sound like a guy who thinks inception is a good thing? Inception is secretly implanting a parasite inside someone that they can never get rid of. That’s what is so shocking about Cobb’s big secret: “I did it to my own wife!” His motives were good, but it doesn’t matter. It’s an unforgivable betrayal. Even if she hadn’t killed herself, he still should have felt like a monster.
http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/couch-potato.jpg Do you know some people spend three hours with the dream machine EVERY DAY? Unthinkable!

And it’s not only horrible to perform an inception/make a movie; it’s horrible to willingly subject yourself to one. When Cobb meets Yusuf for the first time, the chemist shows him a room in which 12 people are hooked up to the same dream machine. You and I know this room as a “movie theater.” Yusuf says the people do this everyday, for 3-4 hours. “The dream has become their reality,” someone tells us. “Who are you to say otherwise?” I think the characters, and the audience, have a mixture of horror and pity for those people. And yet, they’re clearly supposed to be us, watching God knows how many hours of TV each day. I can’t help but see this scene as a rebuke to Nolan’s own audience (complete with Yusuf giving one of the dreamers a hard slap to show what vegetables they are).
Moreover, it’s repeatedly said that if you spent too much time using the dream machine, you lose the ability to dream any other way. If I interpret the filmmaking metaphor correctly, Nolan is saying that when we watch too many movies, it chips away at our ability to imagine things for ourselves. He’s suggesting we’d be better off watching fewer movies and spending more time with our kids.
So if I was going to follow this argument to its logical conclusion, I’d now tell you that clearly, Christopher Nolan has to come hate making movies. He really just wants to spend time at home (he has three small children) instead of inventing imaginary worlds. Making the movie Inception gave him enough money to do this, and now we’ll never see him again.
But I’m pretty sure Christopher Nolan does not hate filmmaking. So we have three statements to reconcile:

Inceptions are a metaphor for the movies.
Inceptions are horrifying and morally repugnant.
Christopher Nolan does not think that movies are bad.
It seems that Christopher Nolan is using the movie to imply that movies are a bad thing, which we know he doesn’t believe. Hmm. You know who ELSE tries to convince someone of something which isn’t true? Cobb.
Did I just blow your mind? Want me to make the noise? Fine, just once:
http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/totem.jpgBURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
It’s time to invoke Cobb’s Law: Christopher Nolan is performing an inception on the audience. He’s planting a simple idea way down in our subconscious. The idea is this: making movies is bad, and watching movies is bad. And why is he telling us this lie? Because he fears competition. He’s afraid that a new generation of filmmakers will rise up and destroy what he’s built, and so he’s created something which will kill our ambition to do what he does.
[cracks up]
I’m kidding. But it’s pretty cute, right?
Okay, seriously, what is going on? Well look, it’s entirely possible that not every detail of inceptioning maps onto filmmaking. For instance, just because the three levels of the dream Cobb plans out seem to mimic the three acts of a traditional screenplay doesn’t mean that filmmaking must also be a form of corporate espionage.
http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Inception-kids.jpg Three of the actors who played Cobb's kids. I hope no one let them watch this movie. It will, ironically, give them nightmares.

But my theory is that the movie does contain a gentle warning about the dangers of spending your whole life lost in films and TV shows, but that doesn’t mean films and TV shows are all bad. The people who spend every day in Yusuf’s basement are taking it too far. Cobb and Mal are taking it too far when they get stranded in Limbo for a lifetime. But we can’t forget about the scene where Ariadne learns to control dreams for the first time. She bends Paris in half with her mind, giddy with the thrill of what she calls “pure creation.” It gives us a glimpse of what it must be like to make movies, and it’s a wonderful, intoxicating thing.
Nolan’s warning to us is not to forget what’s real. I bet for a guy like him, it’s sometimes necessary and even tempting to work 18 hour days. He’s at a time in his career when he can make any movie he wants, with any cast he wants, any way he wants to make it. I’m sure he’s got a giant stack of ideas and projects just screaming for his attention. But he’s also a husband, and a father of three. What Cobb and Nolan come to understand is that the power to build worlds isn’t the most important thing in life, and even the best movies aren’t as special as who you watch them with.
(Special thanks to Fenzel, who helped me out when I got stuck in Limbo while writing this.)



http://www.movieforums.com/community/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=674919

[Leo_Lover]

I went to the cinema today & I saw that Inception was still on. It's awesome how long this movie has lasted at the Cinema, especially here in Australia because hardly ever do movies last this long in the cinemas here in Australia. :D

[Leo_Lover]

The Real Ending for 'Inception' Revealed

During an interview with BBC radio Sir Michael Caine just revealed that the spinning top at the end does, in fact, topple over.

"That's when I come back on. If I'm there it's real, because I'm never in the dream. I'm the guy who invented the dream." He said.
So, you know what that means: Leonardo DiCaprio's character was indeed reunited with his children.

Thank you Sir Caine, we can all give a sigh of relief and settle whatever arguments we may have had with others as to what the heck happened at the end if Inception.

[genesis_pig]

Leo_Lover, you need to get over this film & stop trying so hard to revive this thread...

Let's discuss The Beach instead.

[Odyssey]

One of the greatest films I have ever seen. DiCaprio's acting, the brilliant score and interesting plot resulted in my eyes being glued to the screen for the entirety of the film, I even saw it a second time and enjoyed it even more. Can't wait till it's Blu Ray release in December, might have to go see it in the movies once more before then though. :D

[Leo_Lover]

^ I totally agree with everything that you wrote :D

Plus I saw Inception 3 times in the cinema & the 3rd time was soooo much better then the 1st & 2nd times because I had already figured everything out in the 1st & 2nd times I saw it. So the 3rd time I could just sit back & watch the movie without thinking. :D

[TheUsualSuspect]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5EBvRjh63Y&feature=player_embedded

[mark f]

Pretty good us of Vertigo music and a Dali bit from Spellbound at the end. More clever than great, but certainly worth a peek.

[WBadger]

You can use the Vertigo theme for everything and make it awesome.

[Odyssey]

Can someone explain the use of the Vertigo theme to me in Inception? I listened to the song on YouTube and it didn't sound like any of the music from I heard in Nolan's film. :confused:

[mark f]

The Vertigo theme is used in the faux 1950s trailer for Inception four posts above. It's not actually used in the real movie Inception, so no, you're not going insane.

[Odyssey]

Haha, that explains it. Thanks for making it clear for me. :)

[ziesha]

whoa this is the great movie by Christopher and Leonardo.Inception is a drama, mystery, sci-fi and thriller, which is directed and produced by Christopher Nolan. The movie depicts about the bane and the boon of existing technologies. The movie asks the question: ‘what happens when technology goes beyond one’s imagination?’ I have really enjoyed this movie at home only.

[Odyssey]

When I started off reading that post ^, I thought to myself "this sounds like a copied and pasted review."

The link to an external movie download site tells me it's a spam bot. Reported. ;)

[Leo_Lover]

I wish it was December already, I really want to own this movie on DVD :laugh: :D

[Odyssey]

I wish it was December already, I really want to own this movie on DVD :laugh: :D
So true.

[Fiscal]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3-oVSyzQag

[kn3wt]

trippy movie

[Leo_Lover]

but it was an awesome movie. :D

[ManOf1000Faces]

One of the best films in my opinion is Inception; It explores the mind, the thoughts and the actions of the normal human. we all had some type of a horrible relationship, you loved the man/girl soo much but you let her or him go. People may die in our life, loved ones might die also but all you gotta do is live the life,if you keep going up the steps you might find love better yet you might find humanity.

[VicDelmonte]

Hell of a film. Not as confusing as people had led me to expect. Maybe because they have different opinions of what constitutes complexity, or maybe because I just didn't see something they did.

[genesis_pig]

Christopher Nolan Comments on Debatable Moments from INCEPTION (http://www.dailyblam.com/news/2010/11/24/christopher-nolan-comments-on-debatable-moments-from-inception)

First addressing the fact that the children at the end of Inception haven't aged at all or changed clothing since Cobb's (Leonardo Dicaprio) dream sequences and flashbacks.“The kids are not wearing the same clothes at the end! And they do age! We were working with two sets of kids," said Nolan.
When Inception ends, Cobb spins the top on the table to determine if he's dreaming or not, if the top falls over, he's actually awake, if it continues to spin then he's still dreaming. The movie cuts to black before we know what the top does. “The important thing is that Cobb’s not looking at the top. He doesn’t care," said Nolan.
Many have made the argument that the entire movie Inception is a dream itself. Nolan squashes that theory...sort of..“For the ambiguity at the end to work, you need to see that Cobb’s world and the dream world are very similar. And you need to doubt Cobb," said Nolan.
One of the biggest arguments that the entire film is a dream would be the scene in which Cobb is escaping from corporate goons in the city of Mombasa and the alleyway he's in seems like it's closing in on him to an unrealistic degree.“I wanted to show the potential for the real world to have analogies to the dream world. The mazelike city of Mombasa does that," said Nolan.
He does leave more intrigue to the idea that Inception 'could' entirely be a dream by commenting on the phrase "leap of faith" being used during the film repeatedly, which would possibly be an artifact of Cobb's subconscious.“I don’t think I’m going to tell you about this," said Nolan.
As for the idea that Inception is a movie about architecture or the metaphorical idea of how one creates a movie, i.e. the forger (actor), the director, the architect etc. Nolan doesn't confirm one or the other but does say that he created Inception with ideas he's familiar with.“I didn’t intend to make a film about film-making, but I gravitated toward the creative process that I know. The film is about architects. It’s about builders," said Nolan.

[MovieMad16]

i'm getting it on Blu Ray for Christmas. :D

[isaiah446]

Inception is a surprisingly clean movie without much language or sexual content. The only thing that was bothersome was the suicide. That would keep me from wanting to let kids watch it. Just my opinion.

[genesis_pig]

If a suicide is justified as insanity in the movie, I don't see any problem of watching it with kids.

[TheUsualSuspect]

If they might have a problem with suicide, then are they even old enough to watch this film?

Would they understand it?

[Fialynn]

I thought this movie was incredible. I think I'm in the same boat as everyone else who watches it for the first time; gonna have to watch that a couple more times to really get it. Despite some of the negative aspects of the movie (the unimaginative dream world vs a more vivid one, etc), I thought it was very well done.

I agree with TheUsualSuspects. I mean, it is a movie based on fantasy and they probably see worse just watching TV. Just my .02 cents.

[THEproductions]

I thought this movie was really cool, but you definitely need to pay attention to it. My friends and I made a spoof of it. If you're interested, go to youtube, type in jcdadrummer incemination, and you can watch it.

[shnooky]

the making of this film is really surprising...a lot of it isn't fake, most of it is massive contraption. Example is the rotating hallway is a huge cylinder that rotates with the hallway suspended in it. Its a crazy sort of documentary to watch.

[iluv2viddyfilms]

we all had some type of a horrible relationship, you loved the man/girl soo much but you let her or him go. People may die in our life, loved ones might die also but all you gotta do is live the life,if you keep going up the steps you might find love better yet you might find humanity.

To me there really was no relationship in the film. It seemed tacked on. Like they had this idea about the "dream agents" and slowly added a story to it.

[Blink]

I saw this on the largest screen in Australasia - the Imax in Auckland - and I was mesmerized - it was stunning. I've seen it twice so far, and will undoubtedly see it several more times - I don't think it's as easy to watch again as, say, Pulp Fiction is, but I rate it as one of the most original and clever films I've ever seen, and it is definitely right up there with other ground breaking movies like The Matrix for shear imaginative brilliance. I was looking for a slight twist at the end with the top, and perhaps Cobb's wife - but perhaps Nolan has an even deeper twist in there somewhere that I'll have to find.

[iluv2viddyfilms]

I was looking for a slight twist at the end with the top, and perhaps Cobb's wife - but perhaps Nolan has an even deeper twist in there somewhere that I'll have to find.

Well the top was meant to throw the viewer off. That's the meaning behind the last frame of the film. The fact the top wobbles slightly, but keeps going doesn't hold consistent with the world the film creates. Either it topples or it doesn't.

I'll save you some time and reveal to you the secret twist that Nolan has in there. The twist is he wants you to look for the twist, when there really is no twist, just an idea with a half-baked written script and dialogue to give "flesh" to an idea of a film.

[Sedai]

Nolan has made it quite clear that at the end of the film, our concern shouldn't be the top, but more so why Cobb no longer cares about the top.

[honeykid]

Yeah, the point is that Cobb's given up and or believes in his current reality to the point where he no longer checks to see if it's real.

Of course, the fact that the totem wasn't even his and, therefore, he could never be sure of it's 'real feel' seems to be forgotten throughout the whole film. Unless I missed something, anyway.

[Yoda]

Who owned it originally doesn't alter its value much. The point is that its weight and feel be known only to you, and since the only other person who knew what it weighed and felt like was Mal, it fits the bill.

Regardless, a totem that only your spouse knew about would be just about as good, unless you thought your spouse might try to trick you, or was in danger of being compelled to describe it to someone else.

[mack]

so I finally watched this summer blockbuster, and I felt.......well, underwhelmed. :shrug: I like DiCaprio lots, but cmon - the man is becoming typecast. I felt like I was watching Shutter Island all over again. "Hey Mom! Its DiCaprio again! And he has emotional problems......again!" the story itself felt like a trapping created to sex-up a bland story about a sad and traumatized widower.

I can give you the story in a quick run-down.

A man is sad and traumatized because his wife asked him to commit murder-suicide with her and their children; he did not want to, so she killed herself and set him up for her murder - he really loved her but she was crazy, and he had to run from the cops else spend the rest of his life in jail. Now he lives a life of survivor-guilt and regret as an ex-patriot, and hopes deep inside that he can one day clear his name and be normal again. Cue pscho-babble/thrilling flash-and-bang.

Am I alone?

[TheUsualSuspect]

I can give you the story in a quick run-down.

A man is sad and traumatized because his wife asked him to commit murder-suicide with her and their children; he did not want to, so she killed herself and set him up for her murder - he really loved her but she was crazy, and he had to run from the cops else spend the rest of his life in jail. Now he lives a life of survivor-guilt and regret as an ex-patriot, and hopes deep inside that he can one day clear his name and be normal again. Cue pscho-babble/thrilling flash-and-bang.

Am I alone?

That doesn't make the story seem simple to me. If you want to go by that notion, let's look at some classics.

Goodfellas : Henry Hill works his way up through the mob hierarchy, starting as a teenager, ending as an adult who rats.

Godfather: The aging patriarch of the organized crime family Corleone gives total control of his "empire" to his reluctant son

You actually made the film seem more complicated than it actually is.

am I alone?

On a side note - I was confused as to which film you were describing at first, Shutter Island or Inception. :p

[honeykid]

Similarities between Donald Duck comic and Inception

Christopher Nolan's 'Inception' has it all: a mind-bending, imaginative plot, awe-inspiring stunts, heartbreaking acting and an ending that leaves viewers scratching their noggin.

But the ‘original’ film’s concept may not be so original after all. Earlier this week, an old children's comic featuring Uncle Scrooge McDuck and Donald Duck, believed to have been published in 2002 in the UK (and in the US two years later), which focused on an adventure that is eerily similar to Nolan's masterpiece.

There was talk of the similarities when the film was first released last year, with an attorney even getting involved, "Dream manipulation has been around at least since Shakespeare's fairies did it in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,'" the lawyer was quoted as saying. “The concepts of the comic and the movie may be similar, but that alone is not enough to claim infringement." In any case Nolan is said to have pitched his 80-page 'Inception' treatment to Warner Bros. in 2001, before the comic was published.

But if Christopher Nolan had already submitted his insanely complicated film idea, and the Donald Duck writers didn’t see it until after the comic was released, how spooky that the two stories are so similar.

In the film DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, a corporate espionage thief who enters people's dreams and steals valuable information.

Dream invasion is the order of the day in the comic as well, with the story focusing on the Beagle Boys’ attempts to invade Scrooge's mind while he is asleep. The idea is that the miser will be dreaming of his vast fortune, and the crooks can enter his subconscious to learn the combination to his safe. Sound familiar?

The comic then introduces things that also feature in the film, including 'kicks' which allow the characters to exit the dream world by ‘falling’.

The threat of limbo hangs over the main characters in both stories, and there is even the added twist of Scrooge facing up to the guilt of mistreating an old flame – much like the relationship DiCaprio has with Marion Cotillard's character in 'Inception'.

Christopher Nolan may not have been a fan of Donald Duck comic books, but Steven Spielberg certainly was. He admitted the first 'Indiana Jones' with Indy running from the giant boulder was inspired by 1954 Uncle Scrooge comic, 'The Seven Cities of Cibola'.

http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/blog/article/147199/similarities-between-donald-duck-comic-and-inception.html

If you click the link there's panels of the comic.

[Plainview]

http://www.iwatchstuff.com/assets_c/2010/08/donald-inception-full-thumb-450x256.jpg

[mack]

That doesn't make the story seem simple to me. If you want to go by that notion, let's look at some classics.

Goodfellas : Henry Hill works his way up through the mob hierarchy, starting as a teenager, ending as an adult who rats.

Godfather: The aging patriarch of the organized crime family Corleone gives total control of his "empire" to his reluctant son

You actually made the film seem more complicated than it actually is.

am I alone?

LOL :p yeah TUS, I gotcha! Funny thing - I one started a game thread on another forum where we described a movie in one sentence - it got quite interesting in the race for clarity.......and parity! (especially when we did the same movie) ;) This one? I'd say I described it in a paragraph.

But youre right. What I should have said was that the whole little mind-trick flash/bang was too simple a vehicle to descibe what I agree is a very complex story, and in that Im irritated that the real story had to take backseat to the SciFi (and that's saying a lot, because I love science fiction) elements. Are we really going to discuss this movie as if totems and dreams were the only things of real significance?

On a side note - I was confused as to which film you were describing at first, Shutter Island or Inception. :p

funny! reeeeeal funny!!!! :rotfl:

[Fooshoeguy]

When a film has to spend most of its time explaining a relatively simple but unbelievable idea, the explanations will soon be forgotten, and with them, the film itself.

[Sombix]

Christopher Nolan, the director and writer of Inception, takes you on a mind-bending ride that gets everything right. Releasing in a year with many big names in film such as Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter, and Iron Man, Inception sticks out from the crowd with its originality. With all elements working together, all of the pieces come together in what I believe is 2010’s movie of the year. An ingenious plot, top notch performances and high production values make Inception a must see film.

Inception is the concept of planting an idea into someone’s mind through their dreams. That’s Inceptions plot in its most basic form. Christopher Nolan tells a story of Dom Cobb, an “Extractor”, who enters people’s dreams to steal their secrets and sells them to their competitors. A man gives Dom Cobb a deal he can’t refuse if he can pull off an “Inception”; Dom assembles a team to try to pull off an act that has only been achieved once before. With a plot that has so many twists and turns this is not your usual leave your brain at the door story. Expect to be confused at times but trust Nolan in giving you answers later in the story. In this instance, the destination is nothing without the journey.

Inceptions story is also somewhat spoiler proof. If I told you the ending you would be clueless, as the story leading up to it is just as important. In this movies story the beginning is the end. It opens up leaving you confused and clueless but every piece of the puzzle is given to you as the movie rolls on. The story never lets up and will constantly have you hooked as the next element in the refreshingly original story is revealed. The end of the movie, to some, can be a tear jerker but with Dom getting to where he wants to be it leaves you with a truly happy ending.

With a plot so ambitious, performances need to be top notch. In some occasions having so many high profile actors sort of takes you away from the story and your left thinking, “I’m watching Leonardo DiCaprio, wasn’t he in Titanic?” That isn’t the case in this film. Nolan brings in a cast full of talent with names such as, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page and Michael Cain. This ensemble puts on performances that make you forget about who they are, but draws you into the characters that they are portraying. Each character in the story has specialties such as the expert thief, the architect, the alchemist and the forger, and each actor is placed perfectly in the role chosen for them and plays the part perfectly. Without actors that can pull of such authentic performances the story is nothing, but due to the talent brought into this exceptional film, the story is allowed to shine.

While Leonardo DiCaprio is the lead actor the supporting cast is one of the stronger groups in recent memory. His performance is boosted by the supporting actors’ ability to make the characters they are playing their own without making DiCaprio carry them through the film. The job of a supporting cast member is to give an added dimension to a main character by adding a relationship with this character. This job is done throughout the entire movie with every character having a complex relationship with the main character, enhancing the story and the performance. You won’t find yourself wishing the plot would take you back to the main character, as each actor can hold their own with excellent acting and intriguing character storylines.

Special effects are somewhat abundant in Hollywood these days. You can’t see a movie without there being some sort of special effect. While Inception is no exception to that, they do it right without overdoing it. While the characters are within a dream it can start to collapse, the effect of a dream collapsing consist an apocalyptic style effect of buildings crashing and structures crumbling. It gives it a realistic effect rather than a cheesy magical feel. While in the dream within a dream state, the characters are in a situation that affects them within the second dream and the world starts to rotate around them giving the films best fight scene an extra dynamic. The importance of making everything believable is achieved by making sure every situation, reaction and consequence is done realistically while throwing in a mix of over the top action.

Hans Zimmer, one of the industry’s most innovative musical talents, composed the score for Inception. Known for his works in The Lion King, The Dark Knight, Pirates of the Caribbean and 131 other films, he creates a sound that immerses you into the world. Driving the emotional story through the ups, downs, twists and turns his soundtrack keeps you intrigued as clues to what lies ahead. His creations in the music serve almost as an additional actor in the movie reacting to events and going along with the journey. Expect your emotions to be driven with such a talented composer at the wheel.

Inception has been well received both by critics and viewers. Receiving a Meta score of 74 on the website metacritic.com, this compiles all reviews into one Meta score. The film also received an 8.9 on the international movie database website from 296,732 votes. The film has been nominated for 8 Oscars, won 29 awards and is nominated for 57 various awards throughout the film community. As voted on by the users of imdb.com, Inception was placed 8th on the list of top 250 movies of all time. Great reviews of a movie don’t go without naming some negative aspects, no movie is perfect. While the reviews are generally favorable, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One person might thoroughly enjoy a movie, while another may believe the same movie to be lifeless and uncreative. Taking reviews with a grain of salt and making a personal decision is normally the best route.

As amazing of a film Inception is, all movies have things that could be improved on, changed or fixed. Inceptions biggest issue is separating dreams from reality in the movie. If you stop paying attention for even a minute it will be difficult for you to get back on track on whether the characters are in reality or the dream state. If you start the movie expecting to watch an action movie you will be disappointed. While there are action sequences, they aren’t very extravagant; there are bits that are more exciting than others but nothing that competes to those of a Michael Bay movie. Another issue would be some continuity problems but those exist in about every movie ever created.

In conclusion, see Inception if you’re looking for a solid movie that will be sure to impress. A story that is fresh with innovative ideas takes you somewhere creative in a sea of films that are remakes and sequels. The actors give performances of a lifetime in making this a believable, thrilling and emotional story. Supporting the main character, the group of talented actors invigorates the main character with an added dimension and gives everything the depth that’s needed to drive film to its destination. Audio and Visual aspects act as a team to give everything a realistic feel. Without these two the movie has no life to it and both are done with crisp and precise work. All elements synergize together to create one of the greatest films of all time. Don’t miss out on a great piece of film, see this movie for yourself.

[chipper]

I still think they were robbed of the Oscars. I can't wrap my brains around the idea that they were not nominated for Best Picture.

What? Just because the movie was commercially successful, they don't deserve some critical acclaim.

King's Speech was good though.

[Justin]

If by good you mean middle-brow, then yes, I agree.

[chipper]

yeah, i guess it can be called middle-brow. it's watchable. it's not bad. there's a story. the characters are well defined and their character arcs were clear.

nothing extraordinary about the cinematography or the editing but it wasn't bad either.

so yeah, i guess middle-brow pretty much says it.

[Buster470]

Hello all, I am new to the forums but I just recently watched inception and I loved it. I would have to say it is probably the best movie from 2010, what do you think?

[shlomi]

One of thw wrost movies i have ever seen.

[Buster470]

One of thw wrost movies i have ever seen.

What about it made it one of the worst movies you have ever seen?

[Yoda]

Really, people, when you come into a thread and say something like that, just imagine someone else has already asked you why, because they're obviously going to. Otherwise you're just lobbing a grenade in the room and walking away. If you wanna have a discussion, get one started by listing reasons for your opinion. And if you don't want a discussion, why post?

[Buster470]

I believe it is a great movie for these reasons:
1. It has a unique plot different from any other movie.
2. It's visual effects are captivating and tie into the complementing scene well.
3. It is a movie immune to spoilers, if someone tells you how it ends, it would nothing unless you knew how the movie got there.
4. It is a movie that everyone can come away with a different take on what happened or if anything even happened at all.
5. Also Hans Zimmer adds a beautiful soundtrack that fits every scene like a tailor made suit.

[CelluloidChild]

A reason I really like Inception is that Christopher Nolan's writing and direction explores the human mind/memory/consciousness through a good plot.

It's an action film that makes the viewer's mind do some work.

[TheUsualSuspect]

Inception sucks, worst movie I've ever seen!!!

*leaves thread never to return*

[wintertriangles]

A reason I really like Inception is that Christopher Nolan's writing and direction explores the human mind/memory/consciousness through a good plot.

It's an action film that makes the viewer's mind do some work.If you can give one good example of this I will be surprised.

[Cobpyth]

For me it was an action movie with a cool concept that could have been a lot better, but still was pretty enjoyable.

[Buster470]

In 2010 the movie Inception was released from director Christopher Nolan, I believe it is the best movie from that year, and according to IMDb.com it is the highest rated movie from 2010 as well even beating out DiCaprio's other star movie Shutter Island.There are many reasons why I believe Inception is the best movie from 2010 and one of the reasons is it is a movie immune to spoilers. If someone were to tell you how Inception ends you would no idea what significance that held unless you knew how it got there, and trying to explain how it got there would confuse whoever you were telling. Another contributing factor is the captivating cinematography and how each scene ties into the complimenting scene flawlessly. The scenes themselves are enough to keep your eyes glued to the screen but with the help of Hanz Zimmer producing the perfect background music to produce the dramatic effect every scene delivers visually, Nolan carries you deeper into the world of Inception. The idea of Inception is a very unique and thought provoking idea in itself and it is a movie that everyone can come away with a different experience of what happened in it, or if anything even happened at all. I would highly recommend this movie to everyone and anyone, it is exciting, intriguing, visually beautiful and completely unique.

[ashdoc]

Ashdoc's review---

According to macmillan english dictionary inception means '' beginning of something '' , but here the word is used to mean something like the rhyming word conception .

Just like conception means planting of seed in womans womb ,here inception is taken to mean planting of an idea in someone's brain .........and the idea is planted by going into his dreams.......by dreaming together.

Loenardo goes into other people's dreams and finds out their secrets .......but is hired this time for---inception...what else..........to plant into the brain of the heir to an energy conglomerate the idea that he must divide it instead of strengthening it after his father's death ,in order for its rivals to survive........the hirers are the rivals ,but of course.........

But does inception work ?

Leonardo is near perfect for the job as he knows the answer to this very question .........though only he knows that he knows........because he's tried inception on somebody very near and dear to him.........and it worked.......

..........And for this very reason he's not really perfect ........for trying inception led to disastrous effects .........not only on his life ,but also on his mind..........and now those very effects threaten to upset and unsettle his dreams ..........i mean not only when he is actually dreaming as part of his job of sharing dreams with other people , but also his real life dream of getting back to his land to be with his mother-less children..........

confusing ??........well ,so is the movie.........confusing and complex both......

but what a movie........

and as the plot gets more intricate ,and the characters begin to dream ,and dream in those dreams ,so does the action hot up..........

as all the laws of physics ,and those of gravity too go for a toss ,we get to see breathtaking special effects that light up the screen...........

.........and fast-paced action sequences that make you miss your heart beats.......

director nolan has pulled of a triumph that outclasses other special effects movies like avtar and 2012 ,which look so so shallow in front of this incredibly cerebral thriller............

the ending ,of course is deliberately vague.........to keep discussions rolling ,and tongues wagging long after you have walked out of the big screen theater.........

........yeah ,thats where you need to see it .........on the big screen ,with digital sound and all that........shame on those who want to see it on the small screen.........

my bet is that it will win some awards.........

..........or i will eat my words........

Verdict---mindblowing .

[Mmmm Donuts]

If you can give one good example of this I will be surprised.

explores the human mind/memory/consciousness through a good plot.

Let me help him out, because it's quite obvious. Looking at Cobb, the whole point of performing inception is so he'll get an opportunity to go home and see his kids. The two problems with this are:

1. Inception is near impossible and almost unheard of, according to JGL's character.

2. Mal remains in Cobb's subconsciousness, as guilt for robbing her of her sense of reality, because he wanted to stay in the dream world with her forever.

At the climax of the movie, Cobb finally confronts this Mal, realizing that she can't be real, because "You are just a shade of my real wife. You're the best I can do; but I'm sorry, you are just not good enough." With this, he relieves himself of the guilt that has plagued his mind since Mal took her life.

This is not even the strongest point I have, but it will do for now. If you're still not satisfied, I have at least a couple more examples.

[Mmmm Donuts]

Anyways, my quick review of Inception. I though it was AMAZING. Nolan created a truly masterful and imaginative story, and his cinematography matches that.

I could watch this movie over and over and not get bored, because i know I'll find something new each time.

Great job, Nolan!

[Powdered Water]

Wow. Troll much?

[Mmmm Donuts]

Wow. Troll much?

Nope, I'm dead serious...

I feel like I'm an Inception fanboy, but everything I said is true, so...

[loveelfic]

Inception... What a great movie ! The plot is so well done, the actors so good. We are in, since the beginning til the end, and we're surprised, seduced, again and again.

[Olivia Crasset]

I saw this film twice or three times and I will watch it again, for two reasons.

First because I found it outstanding ! I was a bit confused at the beginning but after a while, completely captivated. The plot is uncommon and very gripping indeed. What's more, the main actors' performance is remarkable and I can say the same for the special effects.

However, the story is a bit complicated so it's difficult to follow and to understand it at once. But I actually enjoyed the end ! I will watch it again with pleasure !

[skizzerflake]

Another really good movie with a plot that is like something from Phillip K Dick. There are movies that lift directly from Dick and others that inhabit his existential universe. This seems to be the latter. It's a favorite of mine. I tend to pair it with The Adjustment Bureau, only Adjustment was a more direct lift from Dick's Adjustment Team.

[Movies_Fan]

Unique is the best word to describe this movie. I watched it over and over again to figure out the whole plot. Huge divotion to its own universe and logic force you to watch fully concentrated without a blink