Inception

[Jomama]

Off to see this one..

[Jomama]

Holy shit, what a great mind fuck.. Must see movie of the summer if not year..

[Kyrillian]

I saw this yesterday and was amazed. Christopher Nolan is just world's ahead of anyone else making movies today. If he had only directed this I would be amazed, but having also written it just makes my jaw drop.

First, the cast is perfect for this movie. Nolan has a habit of making casting choices that seem odd when announced but in the end really make the movie more enjoyable. For example, when I heard Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon Levitt were cast in his summer action tentpole movie I was like "umm what?" but they were both amazing in it. The same was said when he cast Heath Ledger as the Joker and the internet erupted in fury and anger, we know how that one turned out.

The script was also great, it never seemed cheesy and there were no cringe moments. That sets him apart from the other writer-directors like James Cameron and M. Night Shymalan (lol).

The action scenes were amazing and they weren't CGI cartoons, this was a big budget action movie and they spent the money well.

Lastly, the pacing of the movie was perfect. The movie was 2.5 hours and you don't even notice it. I think I had to use the bathroom at about the 1.5 hour mark and I was like F it I'm not missing a second of this movie. I made it to the rest room after the movie without incident, in case anyone was wondering.

I liked the ending, it was succinct enough to be a real ending and not follow the recent trend of non-ending movies (think: Matrix: Revolutions). That being said, the ending left plenty up for discussion and it kind of creates this loop in your head where every potential answer creates another question, which is perfectly in line with the Paradoxal (sp?) nature of Inception

[Jomama]

I'm still mulling it all over, I thought I got the end for the most part, but then reading something like this interpretation opens up a whole other possibility that I hadn't thought about...

Spoiler
http://halphillips.tumblr.com/post/822919795/inception


Did you see Shutter Island? While the execution of Inception is way better, more interesting story, etc... Its crazy that both movies have DiCapprio with this inner-alternative reality....

[Kyrillian]

I saw Shutter Island. Definitely had a similar running theme. I liked Shutter Island but I thought the acting and directing saved what was a mediocre and fairly predictable story. I think about 30-40 minutes into Shutter Island I predicted the ending.

I had a feeling about Inceptions ending but I don't think you can really predict it because it's implications really make you have to retrace the entire movie

[Kyrillian]

Can you link that picture or something, tumblr is blocked here and I can't see it.

There was a funny video I heard about where the creator or producer of Lost explained the ending, I haven't seen it yet but heard it's funny.

[Jomama]

You'll have to check it out at home, its just a blog post with a interesting plot theory for Inception... one I didn't guess at even after the twist at the end.

[Jomama]

Another little spoiler like tidbit about the score.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVkQ0C4qDvM&feature=player_embedded

[Kyrillian]

Here is the most important link involving Inception, don't worry no spoilers.

http://ryanpitts.com/projects/inceptionator/#

[Naya]

I noticed that the score for Shutter Island was all previously composed music, nothing was made strictly for the movie. And damn that was some creepy music.

I can't wait to see this movie. And I definitely want to see it in the theater now.

[Willas]

Favorite movie of the past 2 years. And, OH HAI EVERYONE, I'm still alive.

[Naya]

Best movie I've seen in 10 years, easy.

The end of the movie was priceless and any critic who says that it doesn't matter if the top fell or not is full of shit. There are HUGE implications hinging on that little fact. After it ended I had to drive my cousin back to the U of M campus, so I had some time to ponder about the ending. I had come to the conclusion that the entire plot was a farce, and that everything we'd seen in the movie had been a dream. But I hadn't figured out why.

What still confuses me is that I thought there was a scene where Cobb confirms he's not dreaming using his top; because it falls, we wasn't dreaming.

What I wish we had seen more of was Ariadne's totem. I knew it was a hollowed pawn from a metal chess set, but ... what was it supposed to do in the dream that differed from real life? If the theory presented by Hal in the link Rich provided, wouldn't she have created her totem while in the dream? I'm guessing she already had her totem and just created another one to satisfy Cobb. But I still want to know its way of defining the line between dream and reality for Ariadne.

One thing to note is that she puts it down after hollowing it out, and then pushes it and it tips over. What the hell does that mean? Based on the theory of "whole movie is a dream" from Rich's link, that's what her totem does when she's dreaming. Wtf does it do in real life?

The reason I want to know this is it might tell us why there was a point in the movie where Cobb spun his top and it fell. So then based on the theory from Rich's link, if the entire movie was a dream, then Cobb's totem didn't work at all anymore. It couldn't tell the difference between dream and real life. So then that means the final scene of the movie didn't matter. It didn't matter if the top fell or not; but that's only if the whole movie was a dream, proving Cobb's totem invalid.

My only reasoning to counter my own argument is that, previously in the movie, Cobb's totem fell because he was in his own dream. The totem works in that it proves to you that you are not dreaming or that you're in your own dream. The totem works against the "trick" when you're in someone else's dream because they don't know your totem.

So when we first saw Cobb use the top and it fell, it was his own dream he was already in, and I guess there's no plot hole then.

There's so many more questions I have but I think I might be boring people with this yammering.

[Eric]

Yeah, I absolutely loved it. I love when a movie shines like this...pretty much everything was not just good, but polished. Something that you can tell the creators took pride in, didn't just churn out to make a profit. Just outstanding.

[Eric]

Hmmmm...Naya, correct me if I'm wrong but:




What still confuses me is that I thought there was a scene where Cobb confirms he's not dreaming using his top; because it falls, we wasn't dreaming.


I think you have that backwards (that's like a quadruple negative) :). If the top does NOT fall then he's dreaming. If it falls, then he knows he's in reality, or at least his reality. Since he and Mal are the only two who can identify the totem by weight and feel, (and Mal's dead) then he alone knows if it's his totem or not.

Short answer: if it kept spinning, never wobbled, etc., then he was in someone's dream.


What I wish we had seen more of was Ariadne's totem. I knew it was a hollowed pawn from a metal chess set, but ... what was it supposed to do in the dream that differed from real life?

You just said it. It was a hollowed out pawn that she made. Only she knows how the weight of that pawn, the feel of the surface (didn't she carve something into the side too?) and the intricacies of that. It's unique to her and her alone, since she created it, and since she alone knows the properties (since no one else has touched it) then they can't PROJECT those properties to her totem.

Short answer: If she was in someone's dream, her totem would be messed up. Just like the loaded die would feel weird, the top would keep spinning/feel different.


If the theory presented by Hal in the link Rich provided, wouldn't she have created her totem while in the dream? I'm guessing she already had her totem and just created another one to satisfy Cobb. But I still want to know its way of defining the line between dream and reality for Ariadne.

Huh? She knew nothing about the dreams or totems, she was pulled into this by Cobb & the team. Remember when she was like "OMG we're dreaming? And then got jacked?" The next time she wanted to know if she was in a dream she'd look down at her totem, feel it and know immediately if she was dreaming or not because she and she alone knew how that totem felt and someone else wouldn't be able to project it correctly.


One thing to note is that she puts it down after hollowing it out, and then pushes it and it tips over. What the hell does that mean? Based on the theory of "whole movie is a dream" from Rich's link, that's what her totem does when she's dreaming. Wtf does it do in real life?

Perhaps it falls a bit differently now that it's hollowed out? Since she's the only one who knows it's weight, etc., then maybe she knows the force required to push over a hollowed out pawn vs. a non hollowed out one. Just speculating here, but it makes sense...


The reason I want to know this is it might tell us why there was a point in the movie where Cobb spun his top and it fell. So then based on the theory from Rich's link, if the entire movie was a dream, then Cobb's totem didn't work at all anymore. It couldn't tell the difference between dream and real life. So then that means the final scene of the movie didn't matter. It didn't matter if the top fell or not; but that's only if the whole movie was a dream, proving Cobb's totem invalid.

Perhaps I'm misinterpreting something, but I think you've got the whole point of a totem backwards a bit. It's a reference point. Something that the person can use to figure out if they're in a dream or not. Gordon-Levitt's loaded die is a good example: "Only I know the weight and feel of this, you touching it would defeat the purpose". So he takes it out of his pocket and if he was in a dream the dreamer would project the properties of a die to him, since it looks like a regular die and only he knows it's loaded, weighs differently, etc. If it feels differently he knows he's in a dream. If it weighs the same then he knows he's in reality (or his own dream, right?) Aagh..I just confused myself :)

The point is, the top wobbling (and falling...apparently you can hear it fall either right before, or right after the credits roll) is an indication that Cobb's not in a dream. But it leaves it up for speculation. I think the chemist (or someone) has a line about the top that it will never wobble, it'll just keep spinning forever, and at the end it clearly wobbles...even if the screen goes black before it falls.

Anyway, great way to end it...leaves you requiring a second (or third) viewing, that's for sure!


The totem works in that it proves to you that you are not dreaming or that you're in your own dream. The totem works against the "trick" when you're in someone else's dream because they don't know your totem.

I'm not sure about the "you're in your own dream" line...I thought I had it all figured out until thinking about that. I know the point is to identify if you're in someone else's dream, but perhaps someone can clarify this. I'm out of time here @ work...damn writeup is taking a lot longer than I thought it would!



3 page glorious (FILLED WITH SPOILERS OMG) article on this movie. Read if you want your mind blown...yet again.

http://screenrant.com/inception-spoilers-discussion-kofi-68330/

[Naya]

To clear up some confusion, the post I was referring to as Rich's link was really Joe's, I got the two websites confused.

[Lyncher]

I really liked the movie, but College Humor made a pretty good video of how little it makes sense:

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1939332

[Klaus]

Loved the movie. Definitely makes you think unlike most movies these days.

[Klaus]

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