Jaymole

Yep...before Armond White came along, Rex Reed is the critic I always used as a reverse gauge.

DVD Josh

Which is ironic since despite his protests he gave TDK a glowing one.

Oops.

Reed has no credibility or relevance.

stingermck

Just got back from the midnight...

I love this movie.

Very packed theater, and the whole audience gasped when the film cut to black at the end. Then lots of applause.

I need to get some inception style sleep, but for now I can say it would an excellent film.

RagingBull80

I thought the flick was excellent. I agree with Suprmallet that the story was more straightforward than I imagined which worked out fine. I also thought the film lacked some of the emotional depth that should have been there. But other than that criticism I can't really complain because I was pretty wowed through the whole thing.

The effects are amazing and the action is top-notch. The actors in the film are no slouches either. All the leads are great but I have to say that Joseph Gordon-Levitt was my favorite part. He turned out to be a pretty damn good actor and I agree completely with ardathbey who said a few pages back that he is on the cusp of being a major star.

Only one word can describe all of the "hallway" scenes and the following scenes with Levitt in the hotel: AMAZING.

I gave the film four stars because I don't think that it lived up to all its potential but damn near close. That said, I had insanely high expectations going in and I was not disappointed.

RagingBull80

Oh, and there was a huge collective gasp at the end when the screen went black. It was the best reaction I've seen to the ending of a movie since No Country for Old Men was in theaters.

Supermallet

I wish Nolan had given a little more attention to the supporting characters, as none of them have backstories or any purpose other than to move the plot forward.

RagingBull80

I would have liked a little more behind the Arthur character but I also liked that he was a little mysterious. None of the characters were really all that developed but I thought it worked out ok. You didn't need to have a background for this team. The only one I feel that a bit of back story would have worked for was Page's character other than that I was cool with it.

You got the sense that Arthur and Cobb have been working together for a while now and that they had a solid relationship. That was good enough for me.

They didn't even explain how the damn machine worked and I was totally cool with that. I didn't need to know how the damn thing worked. What was important was the job and they set that up nicely. Some of the stuff with Cobb and Mal dragged a bit and I think played a little too heavily at times but I thought it worked out in the end.

Goat3001

Just got back from seeing this. Great movie, pretty original and not dumbed down at all. Good performances all around but as others have stated, it does lack some emotions that keeps this from being a true masterpiece. Not that it completely failed in that aspect, it could have just been explored more deeply.

I really got the feel that Nolan got a blank check from the studio to make the movie he wanted to make. The visuals were intense and very well done and it's so smart for a summer movie that I just feel that the studio stayed out of Nolan's way here. It's the mindfuck that Memento was mixed in with the big blockbuster budget that Dark Knight had.

I still gave it a 5/5 and I will say I'm bias because I'm a big fan of Nolan, DiCaprio and Levitt.

For those who have seen it:

Osiris3657

Loved this, especially the complexity and intricacy of the plot. Great cinematography and acting all around. #1 movie of the year!

Osiris3657

Solid Snake

The dream Cobb has always wanted is now real. I did get A LOT of collecting gasps at the end too.

Osiris3657

Oh right, we don't need spoilers in this thread I guess.

Can someone explain to me why Cobb put the idea of her reality being a dream into Mal's mind? Sorry for being an inattentive fuck up

Also, my friend brings up a good point. His totem, the thing that tells you if you're in a dream or reality, was stolen from his wife's safe in her dream....did I miss something?

Not complaints, I just want other's opinions about this. Again, Loved this!

Supermallet

Solid Snake

Cuz to her the dream was real. She lived a whole life in it. She couldn't understand the difference anymore. She got too seducted by the dream

I'm ashamed to say but I remember what you're saying, I know the images that happened during that sequence, but not what Cobb was saying during that scene. Fuck. That's going to annoy me now.

EDIT: NVM Suprmallet to the rescue.

Blu Man

I attended the midnight showing, the theater was sold out, and at the end of the film everybody seemed shocked by the ending and clapped.

Inception was just as good as I expected. The chemistry between the cast members was fantastic, particularly between JGL and Hardy. The cinematography was breath taking. Wally's best work by far. The film wasn't non-stop action, which I liked. At times it would feel like a straight up drama, then it would transform into a high speed actioner. It made the switch beautifully. Every single actor/actress in this film seemed to bring their "A game". I didn't expect Cillian Murphy to have so much screen time, but he really was just as fantastic as the "dream team" (no Ash, there not called that in the actual film...). The directing is Nolan's best so far, although as an overall film I still prefer The Dark Knight, but not by much.

As for this talk of lack of emotion, it a pointless argument. This is not a James Cameron film. It not full of melodrama like Avatar or Titanic, and it doesn't need it. The story doesn't call for melodrama to evoke a emotional response, don't watch this movie if your looking for that. It's a straight up highest movie set within the mind.

The end was, in my opinion, the best possible way this film could have ended. It was a cherry on top. Each viewer can decide what to make of the ending. This film does what 99.9% of Hollywood blockbusters don't do. It makes you think about life and reality. It's great.

It really wasn't very non-linear, nothing like Memento or The Prestige. Other then the opening scene, it's pretty straight forward. Which is good because with the dreams with dreams within dreams aspect (which worked very well), a non linear plot would have been too much, it would have felt like a gimmick.

If you enjoy smart, science fiction/action/drama, you will love this film. If not, see The Last Airbender.

A (95%)

Supermallet

There's a big difference between drama and melodrama. Inception was lacking the former, imo, regardless of how much of the latter may be in James Cameron's last two films. It's not an either/or proposition.

movieking

My interpretation of the ending:



The other thing that kinda surprised me:



What was the Page deadpan joke? I just came back from the theatre and can't remember off the top of my head.

Dr. DVD

Getting ready to watch it. Theater is mostly empty but those in attendance are adults. Could be good or mean the movie is doomed.

Blu Man

What exactly was wrong with the drama? The relationship between Cobb and Mal didn't come off as a love story to me. I don't think Nolan intended for us to connect with the couple on that level, it was more to just explain and complicate the love/hate relationship Cobb has with "Mal". Not to make us feel emotionally invested in their relationship. That's just how I saw it, but as with any movie, it's all about the viewers interpretation.

Supermallet

Man, if Nolan didn't intend us to be emotionally connected to Cobb and Mal's relationship, than that only leaves Cillian Murphy's relationship with his father for the audience to connect with. I'm not saying there has to be a love story or layers of drama, but we as the audience need some hook so we can empathize with the characters. I didn't really see that in this film. It's immaculately made, but missing a soul.

Blu Man

My interpretation:

reubs82

Crap. I was looking at this thread and the "Social Network" thread at the same time and clicked the spoilers thinking they were talking about that trailer.

Fail.

Dr. DVD

Saw it. Really liked it. Not on the level of Dark Knight, but I would probably place at the same one as Prestige. Definitely better than Insomnia. The movie really starts the coolness factor about 1/3 of the way in, after the exposition and assembly of the team members. For those that said the movie didn't have any humor, I disagree. It seemed to have about the same amount humor as The Dark Knight IMO. Of course that isn't much, but still, you can't say it's okay for one action/adventure movie to have humor and another lacking it isn't.
I will say it wasn't until I had time to think about the movie (still thinking, actually) that I began to think it was brilliant. Visually it's the best one of the year.

My interpretation of the ending:



Also, Marion Cotillard is smoking hot. She needs to play more femme fatale roles, or at least get her to be a Bond girl. Hell, it might happen if they ever get a new one off the ground, and Nolan has actually expressed interest in making one himself.

FWIW, Nolan once said that one of his big stylistic influences was Ridley Scott, and his movies definitely reflect that IMO.

RagingBull80

I too can't remember and would like to know.

I'm wondering if KillerCannibal ever went to see the flick despite the involvement of Ellen Page. He's missing out if he doesn't see this on the big screen and Page was actually not too bad in the flick.

tylergfoster

Two theories I have heard. I will be seeing the movie again at 8:40 tonight. I admit that having seen it once I can't say for certain whether either holds up.