This week:
"I'll tell you a riddle. You're waiting for a train, a train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you, but you don't know for sure. But it doesn't matter. How can it not matter to you where that train will take you?" - Mal
WARNING: SPOILERS ARE IN THIS POST - IF YOU STILL HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE AND WANT TO - PLEASE SCROLL DOWN AND OGGLE BROOKLYN DECKER SOME MORE.
In the world of dumb-downed main stream media, rarely does a movie make someone actually think these days. Inception, the 2010 blockbuster directed by amazing director Christopher Nolan (the guy who brought you Memento, The Prestige, the last two Batman movies, and Insomnia), is a movie that makes you more than just think. It forces the viewer to actually think to the point of mind numbery. Ever get a headache after thinking too hard? It's called a mind f#ck.
Symptoms of a mind f#ck are 1) posing neverending questions about a topic, 2) massive confusion, and 3) slight anger at a lack of understanding. You wake up the next morning still confused about what you've pondered and try to make sense out of it by reading the message boards on IMDB and googling for answers. You end up with even more questions than answers and throw in the towel. It's the sober equivalent to the morning after a lonnnng night of binge drinking.
Inception is perhaps the greatest mind f#ck of all movies. All those who watched and payed attention ended up with a blank stare at the epic last scene, frustrated that Chris Nolan messed with our heads yet another time. You know, the scene with the spinning top. Was anyone else waiting for the end of the credits to see the damn top fall?
The questions outweighed the answers. Of course the most relevant being if he was still dreaming at the end. Less questioned, but still on the minds of at least a few were how did he end up growing old in the dream world but returning to reality still young? Why couldn't the totem (i.e. spinning top) be all part of the dream? I could keep going... but you get the point.
Even after seeing the movie twice, it was really hard to digest the extraordinary level of thought and planning that went into the script. The movie itself is a visual orgasm - packed with good acting performances and enough action to make any man happy. Inception stars well known figures like Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page (not preggers anymore), and Michael Caine (a staple in most Nolan movies). Other lesser known but upcoming actors include Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, and Cillian Murphy (of Scarecrow fame in Batman:The Beginning). Even good ol' Tom Berenger has a part (I thought he was still catching for the Indians).
Truth be told - DiCaprio is usually hit or miss for me - I thought he did a great job playing Cobb (still glad he died at the end of Titantic though). The rest of the cast fit in perfectly and did a decent job.
Overall, the movie was solid. It gets points for having enough action and thought behind it to keep people into the movie. As it clocks in at almost 2 1/2 hours, it really does a good job at hooking in the viewer. Nolan, yet again, delivers an amazing movie (everything he does is good - have no fear folks weary of Catwoman in the next Batman movie).
Is it the best movie ever? Definitely not. I'm pretty sure Memento beats it for best Nolan movie and The Prestige is essentially tied with it (Come on, how badass was that movie's ending!). That being said, Inception is easily the best movie in 2010, and deserves its place in the top 20 on imdb's top 250 of all time (although I wouldn't put it at 8th).
In the Eric ratings chart (follows much like the Michael Scott rating system from the "Beach Games" episode of The Office) - I'd give it 8 points, 4 gold stars, and 2 thumbs up.
I'll end this post with this - The ending is reality cause he's not wearing his wedding ring. Feel free to disagree... ha.
Lastly: How Inception Really Should Have Ended:
Thanks to DTM for letting me contribute to his awesomely badass blog. I'm going to try to make this a weekly feature - so long as I don't get super lazy. Please put suggestions for next week's movie review in the comments!
