Inception

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oh_brother
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Inception

Post by oh_brother »

Has anyone seen Inception yet? I went over the weekend, I had heard nothing about it, I did not even know that it was directed by Christopher Nolan.

So I did not know what to expect. And after the first 10 minutes or so I was only mildly interested. But very soon after that I really got into it, and it has been the best movie I have seen in the cinema for a long time. Very exciting, keeps you guessing, and demands to be watched a second time! I won't mention anything about the plot, because it is probably best to watch it knowing as little as possible. I give it two thumbs up.
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Trantor
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Re: Inception

Post by Trantor »

Great to hear that. It won't start here in Germany before next week, and all I know about it is that a) Christopher Nolan directs it and that b) Leonardo DiCaprio stars in it. I have yet to see a bad film by Nolan, and I actually really like Leo, so I'm pretty excited. Thanks for not spoiling anything about the plot, I try to avoid any spoilers as I'd like to be surprised. Now that you recommended it, I really can't wait!
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Re: Inception

Post by beowuuf »

Yeah, I did see it, but actually spoke about it on another forum. I was into it from the start, but it took @10 minutes for my mind to settle into which (which is, of course, how long the film takes to settle I guess). I really enjoyed it, and need to go see it again.

Spoilery thoughts:
Spoiler
I really liked that there was no big twist during the main part of the film. The ambiguous ending was separate from the main plot, nicely in the resolution, and so you could enjoy the central plot without having a Shamalan-like twist for the sake of it to turn the story on its head during the action. While, you know, still having that ending. I guess I was just really worried that the story would get invaildated before it was fully resoloved. Having the end how they had it, it just felt liek you got closure, and THEN you got the 'make you think' bit.

If you see what I mean.

I thought many of the ensemble cast worked well, even if the backstories or characters weren't really touched on. Still, for a film based on the heist premise, this is forgiveable. I also liked that while the rules were exlained as you went along, and the worlds had logic to them, alot of the fluff was handwaived. Where did the tech come from, etc? Who cares - it exists, the world is how it is because of it, and I didn't have to waste 5 minutes at the start being told backstory that meant nothing :)
So in summary - yeah, I enjoyed it :)
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oh_brother
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Re: Inception

Post by oh_brother »

@Trantor - yes, I avoided all reviews also, so I did not have any expectations. Maybe that is something I will try with other films, try to know as little as possible about the plot before I go in. Of course then it can be hard to decide what movie to see in the first place...

Leo has changed so much since his earlier work, he really is a very good actor. I loved him in The Departed, and he is great in this too.

@beo: exactly.

Or, to answer in a more spoilery way:
Spoiler
I was wondering what the "big twist" would be. My brother who watched it with me said exactly the same, there were a number of fairly obvious twists it could have taken. But I was very glad they did not resort to that. Ever since "The Sixth Sense" these endings have been more and more common, and if it has now got to the stage where people (you, me and my brother at least) are wondering "what will the twist be?" then it is time to cut them out. And as you say he actual ending was not a twist, just left you hanging a bit. And made you think.
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Re: Inception

Post by zoom »

oh_brother wrote:Maybe that is something I will try with other films, try to know as little as possible about the plot before I go in. Of course then it can be hard to decide what movie to see in the first place...
ever tried sneak preview? It is really great and does just that. You know nothing, You do not decide
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Re: Inception

Post by oh_brother »

^^ Could not find it on google, do you have a link?
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Trantor
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Re: Inception

Post by Trantor »

"Sneak preview" is the term used in Germany for surprise previews. Basically, you sit down in a theatre with no idea which movie you will see. It's usually a movie that doesn't start until 2 or 3 weeks later, and the atmosphere is usually great, with the audience having a lot of fun before and during the film. It's rather popular here in Germany, don't know if it even exists anywhere else.

A former friend of mine watched The Matrix like that, she had heard absolutely nothing about the film before, and it absolutely blew her mind. She went on to see the film a dozen times or so in the theatre alone.

I generally think that watching a movie with no expectation can lead to great results. I was often disappointed by so-called "great" films simply because I expected something different. For example, I thought that Taxi Driver was really, really boring, but that might simply be because I had wrong expectations. Maybe I would like it better if I see it a second time, who knows.
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Re: Inception

Post by beowuuf »

I often find if I go to a fim with the wrong expectation, I can totally hate it - or at least not get into the film for the first half of it.
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Re: Inception

Post by zoom »

Trantor is right and thoroughly explained it.. It is also popular in Austria!
Vienna - where I first encountered sneak preview

Sometimes, you expect a good film and it is bad. E.g. part one was great and part 3 sucks.
Really has to do with your mood to some extent.
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Re: Inception

Post by Gambit37 »

I saw Inception last night and enjoyed it immensely. Luckily, I had managed to stay away from any hype and still knew virtually nothing about it -- and this is usually a good thing for being able to enjoy a film. I certainly still have some questions though, and I think it perhaps takes itself a little too seriously, but on the whole it was a great piece of cinema.

I really loved how well crafted the
Spoiler
idea of dreams within dreams were handled
; it could have been really silly, but was handled pretty well. Mind bending stuff!
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Re: Inception

Post by raixel »

@ zoom & Trantor: I really wish we had something like that here. The only people who get to see movies before they're released are hollywood types. Ocasionally a movie wil be showing in a big city like NY or LA for a few weeks sooner than everywhere else, but you still know which movie you're gonna see. I might go to an actual theater more often if that was tje case. (also paying 20$ just for the ticket kinda sucks too)

@ Gambit, beo, & OB: Now I wanna go see it! So many big-budget sci fis now days are all about wow-you-with-cgi and not much into plot. But from what you guys say(or dont as the case may be, this one actually seems worth watching. I'll put it on my netflix queue as soon as it pops up :)
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Re: Inception

Post by Trantor »

I've seen it yesterday, and I really liked it. I agree with Beo and oh_brother about the way they handled the ending, that was pretty good. Cast and characters were very good, and the whole concept was really intelligent and highly creative. But while the film immensely stimulated my brain, it didn't really touch my heart. The "jumping scene" was probably the only one that really got to me and a very emotional level.
8/10
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Re: Inception

Post by oh_brother »

I did connect emotionally with it, some bits are still stuck in my head. For example I thought that
Spoiler
the time in limbo with Mal, and the time they spent growing old together
was quite emotional. Then again I know a lot of people who thought it was good but not great...still the fact that everyone seems to think it was either good or great means it is a very good movie (I have not spoken to anyone who did not like it).

And I still am not sure what my take on the movie is. In fact I really want to see it again, that is rare for me with films. I would give it 9/10.
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Re: Inception

Post by beowuuf »

Indeed, it seems to have survived the initial backlash a film this hyped up. I'm sure a backlash is comign though :)
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Re: Inception

Post by oh_brother »

True. I am glad I saw it before I read any reviews. With some of the comments coming out now you could not fail to be disappointed, and perhaps feel a bit cheated (I think a similar thing happened to me when I saw Blade Runner - I was not as impressed as I thought I should have been. I ended up thinking that is was only okay.).
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Re: Inception

Post by Trantor »

I tried to like Blade Runner three times. Failed everytime.
Inception certainly still sticks with me. I might watch it again in the cinema, but am unsure right now. My girlfriend told me she never dreames as intensely as today!
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Re: Inception

Post by T0Mi »

Seen this movie on the BIG screen (of a Pocket PC).

People seem to be very different in what they like and dislike when it comes to movies. I guess there are people in existence who didn't like Terminator 2.

I stopped at the point where it turned from "Matrix" into "James Bond". (winter wonder land with lots of shooting, snowmobiles and a baldhead sucking on his small finger with a cat on his arm appearing any minute)

Even Avatar didn't manage to put me off that much. Seriously: dream-in-a-dream-in-a-dream? This is just shallow as it is without triple penetrating. Since you guys seem to be so fond of this movie, I guess I missed the whole point of this movie.
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Re: Inception

Post by Gambit37 »

It's a big screen kinda movie. I think you lost something by watching it at 4x3 inches.

There's been a lot of criticism on the web that the story doesn't make sense, or is just over complex for the sake of wanting to appear "clever" *.That's probably true. It's also true that there are some fairly big plot holes. And it does take itself too seriously. But that didn't stop me from enjoying it immensely, because not only is it a good film, it's a great cinema experience.

Some films are meant to be seen on a big screen. This is one of them.


* Funny interpretation: Inception characters don't understand Inception.
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Re: Inception

Post by Sophia »

Not to mention the fact that there is not (as of yet, I mean, because it's new) any legitimate way you could be watching it on a Pocket PC, so I can only assume that you ended up with some grainy, crappy version recorded by some dude with a camcorder inside of a theater.
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Re: Inception

Post by Gambit37 »

Yeah, that too! *slaps head*. Tomi, do yourself a favour and either see things at the cinema, or wait for the DVD! Cam and TS recordings are no way to experience good movies.
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Re: Inception

Post by T0Mi »

Stunning visuals (and the way they reach your visual cortex) may help to make a better movie (or game) for sure and it's certainly true for a already -good- movie, watched for the first time, spoiled by using a device not really suited for it. It may even prevent building up the atmosphere needed to be drawn into the plot at all. But the major difference between (razorsharp) VGA on a mobile device and a HD cinema is drinking beer and eating popcorn. For me Inception won't become a "good" movie all of a sudden because of a big screen. That is, unless there is enough beer involved and after all: said by someone who doesn't even own a TV. ;-)
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Re: Inception

Post by Sophia »

Your screen may be sharp, but it doesn't do anything to help the degradation caused by watching a movie recorded off a movie screen by a camcorder. :P
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Re: Inception

Post by T0Mi »

I guess it isn't done this way any more, Sophy. ;-)

You can grab full blue ray HD images of the net, ususally the next day of the premiere. The leaky spot is the projectionist or even the editing department of the movie company, as some movies are available before they even can be seen in the cinema. (That cinema experience itself of course is kind of hard to copy, that's why people go to the cinema after all)

A friend of mine worked as a projectionist in a local cinema a few years ago, and he told me it would have been a breeze to grab the movies, just by bringing along a laptop and a bit of homemade equipment.

It's a real issue, maybe not so much for the Hollywood mainstream stuff, but for smaller companies for sure, for game companies in particular (look at the downgoing of Windows mobile, which happens not just because it is a bad OS) and a real problem in the industry.

A 16 GB micro SD card can be hidden underneath your eye lid, and it can contain an uncompressed movie rip or all construction and design details of a car that comes out years (!) from now. A skin design of a new car is worth several 100k Euros to a competitor and loyalty is but a word in the industry of today.

But that (again) is a thread of it's own. Sorry for going OT. (*dodges thrown banatos*)
Last edited by T0Mi on Fri Aug 13, 2010 12:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Inception

Post by Gambit37 »

It's best not to discuss methods of film piracy here. In this case, I really strongly suggest we stay on topic and continue the Inception discussion only. Thanks for your understanding.
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