Well, I have to say been awhile since I ranted on a movie:

Chris Nolan's Inception this time around. I had heard MOSTLY good things said about the movie from friends who had already watched it before, and also the constant ravings on the internets and facebook. Nonetheless, I was keen to see it, so I went down to watch with two lovely ladies, my girlfriend and our friend, and a not so lovely guy (calling him lovely would be rather...unusual, to say the least if you knew him.) Anyways, so 2 and a half hours LONG, remember folks, PEE before you go in, lest you have to get up to go to the washroom in the midst of the movie, which would be a grave mistake to have to miss any of it. Finally, it ended...to the sound of a rather perplexed and collective intake of air and gasp from the audience...and resounding applause. I loved it as much as they did!

First thing I should say though, that this is not a breakdown, or an analysis of the movie. I think, over analysing and trying to figure out what works and what doesnt for a movie like this, is simply taking away from the intentions of what Nolan wanted the audience to watch and experience. Yeah I know you either love or hate this movie, but with so much to contemplate and see (the special effects themselves are really amazing), the movie does hold quite abit for everyone: There's gunfights, suspense, romance (albeit a pained one), humour (I really liked Eames and Arthur), fear, etc.

Admittedly, I was pretty confused as hell for the first 30 minutes trying to wonder if I was plain stupid, or did everyone else understand what was going on. What was real, and what was a dreamscape. Its all very fantastical, but eventually the story unravels itself within its course, and slowly draws you into this world that Nolan has crafted:

A world where people known as 'Extractors' are hired to seek out the deepest darkest secrets in a person's mind via their dreams, or to plant a seed of an idea to manipulate that person into doing something they would never have dreamed of.(pun intended!) Cobb (Dicapaccino) our protagonist with a tortured past, is given one final job by a very powerful business man: Saito (Watanabe), who has the power to clear his name and allow Cobb to return to a normal life once more, if he completes it. I hope this about correctly sums up the premise of the story.

Without giving out too much away to people who might not have yet watched the movie, needless to say its about dreams, and dreams within the dream...and yet ANOTHER dream within those dreams...! Confused? Shouldnt be. Its pretty much like those babushka dolls: one within each other. The thing, which most people end up debating, is how much of the movie, or at least which parts are the 'reality', and which parts are the 'dreams', if the suspenseful ending is anything to go by. Personally, I think that question which is forced upon the audience IS the answer. Whether what is real or not is irrelevent at that point, simply that it is open to interpretation and the individual. There are many little hints and suggestions dropped by the director within bits of the movie to lead the audience to make their own assumptions on what is real, and what isnt....and of course the ever controversial spinning top.

But I digress, the movie's special effects work was simply amazing. The scenes that stood out for me were the Explosions outside the cafe bit, with all the bursting and exploding stuff around the people; the zero-g hotel scene which although im sure its wire work, was done pretty damn well unlike most cases where its very obvious the actor is being moved about on a string. The snow base, just shouted 'METAL GEAR SOLID' to me...(was expecting soldiers in white balaclavas with FAMAS rifles to be standing around, and a Mi-24 to be sitting on a pad somewhere...XD), and is one of the amazing sets I think they built in addition to the fancy 'Dining Hall' building in limbo that Saito is seen at the beginning. Simply amazing that they have all these fantastic sets on site. The apocalyptic destroyed bayside city at the end, was of course, something that appealed to me much. It looks like something that could be, at the end of civilization far into the future when mankind has breathed its last, and all that's left standing are the steel and concrete sentinels we have built.

Sound effects and music were not really overly memorable, but certain scores in the movie do strike a chord with me. In terms of sound effects...I dunno about you people, but I bloody well jumped in my seat in the scene where the wife (Mal) turns to stare directly into the camera/Ellen Page, who was spying on Cobb and Mal through the elevator grate. GAH, I just really saw that coming, but the damn sound really just set me off still! Horror movie glare, right there...riiiight...THERE.

Overall I think the pacing and story were very satisfying for me(another friend told me she fell asleep during the movie), and left me wanting to watch it a second time, just to have a more relaxed viewing. The first time you watch, you are eagerly trying to absorb all the information presented so as to make sense of what is going on, and at the end of it all, it eventually falls into place, like a jigsaw. I read somewhere, that Nolan's genius behind this movie, is not so much the story(and that he took roughly 8 years or so to mess about and complete the script), but his ability to lead the audience. That being the movie and the story itself are not complicated, but the audience is led to believe that it very much is so, and that by the end of the movie, we were able to unravel the mystery and solve the complicated story. It makes us feel good...and smart too! And heck, we all like feeling smart.

All that said and done, I think this is one of the best movies I have watched in recent years that I actually want to go back to the cinema and watch AGAIN. This definately should win some awards in the near future, for the story and acting and all. Love it or hate it, Inception is definately one of the better, if not best movies of this year. Oh wait...by the way, did someone say, 'Paprika'? XD

.

.

.

If you're still here, thanks for reading.

.

.

.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*OPEN FOR COMMISSIONS & FREELANCE *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey folks, I'm taking commission and freelance.

Anyone interested may drop me a note here on Devart, or alternatively email me here: the_saint_iz@hotmail.com

Cheers~

-Marc

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------