Inception. Or how to make dumb people feel smart...?

Wow. Where do you come up with something like that?

Inception was good and a lot of people thinking they're smart now doesn't change anything.

Sorry for the late response, computer at home got messed up.

I do somewhat agree that it wouldn't have hurt the film had the morality of the situations been explored more. Although i But then, it's one of those things where it's probably best to compare that aspect with Nolan's body of work in order to let it slide. Nolan's protagonists tends to be very selfish individuals driven to do the impossible with very little regard to others and the overall consequences. Not trying to make excuses for the lack of morality questioning, but I do think it helps to look to those films as a reference point.

It's also one of those things where people either get something out of it, or they don't, really. It also might be one of those things where you've seen other foreign flicks that may have dealt with similar themes whereas I haven't seen such a film. I do know that Paprika is supposed to be similar to Inception.


I don't think any dream has a specific answer for anybody, mate. I do think that whatever emotions you are feeling with manifest itself in the subconcious, that much is obvious. The dreams I experience involve little guilt but desire more than anything, and fear, which is ridiculously hard to overcome. Since you can wake and go back into a dream state at will, I imagine you've experienced lucid dreaming? Had a couple of those experiences within the last several months, which I think may have been influenced by the film a bit. projectiles and Hulk style jumping were involved though.

I think this is true to an extent, but at the same time in order for us to dream about such an image, we have to have created it ourselves. More on this later gotta run.

Rereading your post, Rufnek, it seems your dreams are somewhat recurring. I don't really suffer from that anymore these days. It's often the emotion within my dreams that are recurring for me, but in terms of visual content, my dreams are various.

Thing is though, I buy what Mark calls Inception's pumped up reality. I think that because of the sense of reality with this recurring house, it may be something that you'll have only remembered during your childhood years. So perhaps it exists but it's been awhile since you've actually seen it and your dreams, for whatever reason, allow it to manifest itself. What about Inception's notion that what is happening to us during our conscious state effects us during the sleep, like cold and then dreaming of ice or whatever? Do any of your guys find that happening to you?

On the contrary, Leo was the only one who's acting skill were tested and I can't see how you can think he failed that test. The fact that he had to carry the film and was (with the exception of the last scene with his wife) the only one showing any emotion throughout made that task all the more difficult.

I personally don't think that the movie is over-rated and I really enjoyed it because it reminds me about some personal experience. Inception puts a big acccent on dreams and some of you guys probably experienced lucid dreaming (state in which you realize that you dream and you can control it). While lucid dreaming, you can do whatever you want like flying, creating your own world etc. When I saw how Cab and Mal created their own world, it reminded me about my lucid dreaming experience and I think it's really fantastic to share your fantasy with someone else.

I really really wanted to hate Inception because I hate the Nolan Batmans (Batmen?) and, like Yoda mentioned, I have no trust in fanboys because of Fight Club and those kinds of movies. But I actually liked Inception. It's definitely not the best movie ever but it's very enjoyable. What ticks me off is that before I saw it, I kept seeing things like "Inception Chart", "Inception Order of Events", "Timetable for Inception" and thought it would be extremely confusing. It wasn't. At all. And, no, I didn't look at any of those charts beforehand. What I liked most about it is that it was very straightforward. I like a story that doesn't stray and wraps up the loose ends like Signs, Rope, 12 Angry Men, etc. and I think Inception did that. The only thing "deep" about it is the ending which I loved because you can't please everyone and it's better to leave it up to the viewer. It's like Hitchcock said "The bomb must never go off." You don't provide the audience with any relief.

While Inception was overrated, it wasn't WAY overrated like so many other movies. The Dark Knight, Avatar, 2001: A Space Odyssey, American Psycho...

+ rep just for that last paragraph, AP.

CAMMAAAAANNNN, but seriously no

2001 is easily a candidate for one of the greatest cinematic achievements of mankind. American Psycho is easily one of the best films I've seen from the last decade. And that's the decade from which I've probably seen the most films...

So, no.

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"Loves them? They need them, like they need the air."

If American Psycho is one of the best films of the last 10 that you've seen, you really need to see a few more films and, considering how little I think of the last 10 years, that's really saying something.

I would have to agree with planet. (nice dubs)

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If I had a dollar for every existential crisis I've ever had, does money really even matter?

Same. Too perfect of a social commentary and execution to be outside the top 10 of the decade. Plus, female directors are kinky.

The Dark Knight & 2001 i dont think are overrated. Avatar is definately overrated and i havent seen American Psycho.

I actually just re-watched the opening scenes of Inception because "I can". They're pretty elegant; I'm not gonna lie. I wouldn't have done it any other way, so to speak. That's not so true of the whole film though.

But speaking of AP...

I'm just going to answer the questions about the projected audience of Inception, since that seems to be the point of this thread rather than directly focusing on the ideas and execution of Inception itself, which I feel was adequately discussed in the other thread (at least until I see it again).

I thought it was that good, if by "THAT good" you mean one of the best of the year and a perfectly legit movie that I have no problem understanding why it would make any best-of list. Not top ten all time, for me at least, but that's true of most movies most people would include in their top ten.

Who are these "unwashed masses"? This question just seems needlessly insulting and pompous to me. But to answer your question, in my experience no, it's just as appealing to ivy league grad students and faculty as it is to the rest of the world. This is purely anecdotal but there's my answer.

It's a good thing insofar as it's a good movie. I liked it a lot. Other than that I don't really look at film appreciation as a zero-sum game. I guess if we're talking about people who watch Inception but won't even give Nostalgia the time of day then yes that is frustrating but it's not Nolan's fault. The same way it bothers me that many people love Lawrence of Arabia but will never watch Prospero's Books or Naked Killer or whatever other great obscure movie. Doesn't stop Lawrence of Arabia from being one of the best movies ever made.

I think I should clarify my problem with American Psycho and 2001. I did kind of enjoy parts of each but they never amounted to anything because it relied almost entirely on its social commentary. It's kind of like beatnik poetry vs. Shel Silverstein. I'll be reading Shel Silverstein every single time because it's more entertaining BUT it still has a message. Why make something with a message and not a lot of entertainment when you can have both? I liked the rotating ship in 2001 and liked Bateman's (not Batman even though they're both Christian Bale) dancing and quirkiness when he killed people but there was too much downtime in-between. I think the best example of the perfect combination of "social commentary" and "entertainment" is Planet of the Apes. Can we all agree on that?

Agree? Who are we Switzerland?

Over rated 'Yes' but it was also entertaining and I enjoyed it. The thing about movies like this is that it creates a set of imaginary rules and it's fun to watch to see if it follows those rules.

I think its intelligent compared to the usual action movies out there, certainly more intelligent than anything Michael Bay made!

As opposed to a lot of movies today that don't follow any rules and leave you without any thrills or emotions because any situation can be overcome with a spontaneous rule change.