inception

[rivendellrose]

Saw "Inception" tonight, and liked it very very much. ♥ Great writing, great direction, great visual effects that do not take over the movie but are still an integral (and very impressive) part of it, and a great line walked between drama, sci-fi, and action. I love a good mix of those three, and it's hard to find. Long story short, highly recommended. ♥



Straight off I should say that I'm highly resistant to Leonardo DiCaprio. I know, intellectually, that he's a good and interesting actor, but on another level I've never quite been able to forgive him for being the god-damned inexplicable heart-throb that no one would freaking shut up about during my mid-teens. I don't find him attractive, and whenever he's played as such I tend to get a little twitchy and annoyed. Fortunately, this movie completely failed to hit those buttons, and was otherwise interesting enough that I was able to forget everything and just enjoy the movie completely.

The rest of the cast was freaking fantastic as well - Cillian Murphy being actually sympathetic (keep in mind - I still think of him as Scarecrow, so the concept that he can be adorable and wooby and sympathetic is still shocking to me), Ken Watanabe, who I dearly love, Michael Caine being awesome as always, and oh my god, Joseph Gordon-Levitt was absolutely bad-ass. I liked Dileep Rao very much, kept thinking I remembered him from something, and then was disappointed when a check of IMDB proved that "something" to have been Avatar (the media-hyped-to-death but fairly okay one, not the race-fail disaster that's currently out in theaters). Ellen Paige was lovely as Ariadne, and I was thrilled to death by the mythological significance of her name. And I quite like Marion Cotillard, and feel very much that I should try to see some more of her stuff, now. Particularly since I really need to watch French movies if I want to have the slightest chance of not totally losing my listening-comprehension skills.

Special effects - mostly I'm trying to figure out how much of the weightless scenes were done by CG, how much by wire-work (the majority, is my guess), and how much by some method I don't know about or am not thinking of. Beautifully done, in whatever event. The other effects were very nice, but generally a little less breathtaking - the folding of Paris was appealing and interesting, the Escher-type stair tricks were very interesting. Ah, but the mirror trick. The mirror trick absolutely enchanted me. Possibly this is more because I've just finished listening to "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" than for any reason inherent in the movie, but... well, I do generally just love tricks with mirrors. They're so interesting, so simple and yet complex and very very compelling, because they're something we see everyday and yet something that I think, on some deep level, still have a very mythic significance to us.

Most of all I'm thrilled that they left the "truth" up to total interpretation - was Cobb really dreaming at the end? Was he dreaming the whole time? Or did they really escape? I like that we don't know for sure - there was a fantastic ripple of laughter through the whole audience when the screen went black just as the top seemed to be wavering. The joy of a mystery kept mysterious - something we don't see often enough in movies, I don't think.

Trailers: Godawful dear-god-why movie about the guy who created Facebook (seriously, isn't it a bit too soon to be doing biopics about the guy?), Wall Street sequel with Carey Mulligan, Shia The Beef, and Michael Douglas looking weirdly like Richard Dawkins... umm... handful of other things I'm not remembering... and Sheridan. I mean Tron. But. Sheridan. I have to admit, I had a total moment of "...bwuh?" on hearing Boxleitner's voice (The Boy recognized him before me, because my brain was still back a few ticks in the past going "wait, wait, I know that voice, but that can't be right..."), and... awwwww. Totally random, but charming. Bless.

Comments

[platoapproved.livejournal.com]

Inception was so breathtaking. You might like 'Breakfast on Pluto' if you're interested in seeing Cillian Murphy in some different kinds of roles. He really is an extraordinary actor. And his American accent is scary scary good. Also, he was really good in 'Sunshine' (a shiny and awesome and weird movie) and 28 Days Later, both of which I recommend. [/the pitch]

I kind of know where you are coming from about DiCaprio. I don't mind him in films but I won't go to see them because of him. This was a welcome change after Shutter Island, in which he played practically the same character, except that that movie sucked and this one was awesome.

[beam-oflight.livejournal.com]

Holy Shit, The guy in Breakfast on Pluto is Cillian Murphy?! That completly passed me by! I love that film.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

28 Days Later, I'm afraid, is exactly the kind of movie that wimpy little me has to avoid. The others sound interesting, though, and I'm definitely intrigued by him as an actor.

He does tend to get very similar parts in a lot of movies, doesn't he? The standard faintly-rebellious hero bit. *Yawn* Not his fault, that's kind of how movies work.

[katherineokelly.livejournal.com]

Would you de-wimp yourself if you knew that 28 Days features Cillian with full frontal male nudity? ;) I assure you it does.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Honestly? I'm still faintly creeped by him from "Batman Begins," so, as cute as he was in "Inception," I really don't feel the need to see full frontal on the guy. I'm sure he's very pretty, but... *shudders* Memories of him as Scarecrow still kind of do in the libido.

[katherineokelly.livejournal.com]

Lucky me, I saw him in 28 Days first, where he was a vulnerable and gorgeous character. Years later I saw him as Scarecrow and I already had the sweet-boy association ingrained, and as Scarecrow he had sexy GLASSES! XD

[beam-oflight.livejournal.com]

Inception was awesome, I loved the ambiguity at the end - although that does probably mean sequel and that could go down bad routes.

I know what you mean about Leonardo DiCaprio, I have the exact same problem :/ He wasn't too bad in Catch Me if you Can, if I remember rightly though.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I wondered about a sequel opening, too - I mean, at least it's not one of those movie's that they've tailor-made the ending to fit a sequel, but they've definitely left an option open, and... eugh. No sequels, please. Please. That would ruin everything.

I still need to see Catch Me if You Can. *Sigh* So many movies I haven't seen.

[velvet-midnight.livejournal.com]

Not reading not reading not reading...haven't seen Inception yet so I am dutifully resisting. Yes, this is me, resisting spoilers. Shocking.

I'm just here to talk about Sheridan & Tron. As I was watching some s2 B5 last night, I decided that I loved Boxleitner's voice. It's so...nice. And comforting and distinctive. And yay, Tron! :D

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Yes, you should resist! It's a good movie, and you really do want to see it unspoiled. ♥

At some point between the middle of my first veiwing of B5 and the beginning of my second, I apparently became a total Sheridan fangirl. I love him. He's just so cute. And you're totally right about his voice - lovely and comforting and distinctive. And I'm a sucker for lovely voices, so. He actually looks quite adorable in the trailer, too. Guy's aged well. ♥

[narsilion.livejournal.com]

If you like Ellen Paige you should see Hard Candy. OMG
I loved her acting in that movie!

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

If that's the movie I'm thinking of (extremely violent?) I think I'll be skipping it... I liked her, but not enough to go out and see everything she's ever done. Especially, you know, the ones that would make me cover my eyes for the whole thing.

...Actually, if it's the one I'm thinking of, I can't believe you watched it. o_O

[narsilion.livejournal.com]

It's not extremely violent, more of a series of mind games.
You know me, I'm a wimp. It's well worth watching in my opinion. I think it's her best work. I watched it right after I saw Juno, and it's really hard to believe the same person played both parts.

[phillipalden.livejournal.com]

I thought "Inception" was excellent! Leo is an under-appreciated actor, (in my opinion.) People forget he won an Academy Award at age 17, and his performance in "Blood Diamond" was terrific.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Oh, he is. Precisely because there was a period of time when people kept trying to make a heart-throb out of him, and goodness knows we don't require actual acting out of our leading men anymore than out of our leading ladies. He's a good actor - I'm just still recovering from his fame as a pretty boy.

[velleitas.livejournal.com]

I have no shame in admitting I've had a solid crush on Mr DiCaprio for almost 15 years! (But I kept my obsession rather quiet... all I did was research how all of our names have the same number of letters, and draw pictures of him that I used to sell to the more crazed fans at school! :D)

Anyway, my sister and I had the same discussion about special effects! I came to the conclusion that it was maybe a 50/50 split? I just don't know how they could have achieved it with CG alone. The mirror scene really did me in; as a kid I used to spend hours between two mirrors in my mum's bathroom with my mind boggled because of the infinite reflections.

Anyway, for the trailers, I remember astoundingly loud Tron and thinking with such possibilities for a virtual world, they went with such a rehashed design concept? Ugh... I'm saddened by the lack of imagination in the film industry. It's probably why I liked Inception so much.

I agree with your take on Mr Murphy though? I'm pretty terrified of this dude. In my head, he's still Jack Rippner after having his throat punctured. Holy god, the nightmares. But I really wanted to give him a hug in this role-- guys with daddy issues. Aw.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

all I did was research how all of our names have the same number of letters, and draw pictures of him that I used to sell to the more crazed fans at school! :D

Okay, that's adorable. ♥

Apparently it was all physical in the hallway scene! Wire-work on a rotating set piece, according to someone further down, which just fills me with SFX glee. The mirror scene was amazing to me, as well - two mirrors together just... fascinates and creeps me out all at once.

I'm saddened by the lack of imagination in the film industry. It's probably why I liked Inception so much.

Totally agreed. They just can't be assed to do anything new or interesting, because they know they can make plenty of money doing the same old thing.

Mr Murphy really did need a hug in this one. And that is indeed a terribly strange feeling. ;)

(Iconing back at you just because I can. ♥)

[cordeliadelayne]

I'm glad you liked it! Inception has totally taken over my fic writing brain at the moment *g*

JGL did all the weightless scenes himself with wires. They created the whole hotel room on a revolving platform kind of thing and moved it all around so he was actually doing all that fighting by leaping around walls and stuff without using CGI. :)

The joy of a mystery kept mysterious -

I think that's one of the things I like most about it, that the mystery doesn't detract from anything that came before.

And God, I've seen Inception 3 times and each time I've had to sit through that bloody Facebook movie trailer. Ugh. So much not wanting.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

They created the whole hotel room on a revolving platform kind of thing and moved it all around so he was actually doing all that fighting by leaping around walls and stuff without using CGI. :)

Beautiful! I thought that was done without CG, but it's so damned hard to tell with some things, these days. As much as I ♥ good CG, it's just so damned fantastic when they do stuff without - so much more impressive and interesting and fun. ♥

And God, I've seen Inception 3 times and each time I've had to sit through that bloody Facebook movie trailer. Ugh. So much not wanting.

Eugh. I am so very sorry. Once through that trailer was more than enough. :P

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

What I find particularly inexplicable about the Facebook movie is that David Fincher is directing it. Say what?

Inception was just lovely; it was so good to see an imaginative, original film that was well done and also awesome. Every time this happens, I'm like, "Take note, Hollywood!" But they never do, and we have to suffer through a lot of crap before we get anything really good again.

I have to echo the recommendation for 28 Days Later. I'm a girl and I don't like gore and scary things but this movie is just remarkable. Some great social commentary, there are some stunningly beautiful shots, it's also got Brendan Gleeson ♥. And Cillian is wonderful.

Yeah, I totally had a moment of squee at the Box's voice, myself.

Okay if I friend you?

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Every time this happens, I'm like, "Take note, Hollywood!" But they never do.

Totally. If only Hollywood could get through their thick skulls that, amazing, people like creative, interesting concepts that are well-written, well-acted, and well-directed! It's crazy! But no, they're convinced that what we really want, deep down, is another god-damned iteration of the same damned thing, done by Brad and Angelina. *Gags*

I... have been known to hide my eyes during bits of even some of my favorite movies ("Pan's Labyrinth" springs instantly to mind - I can handle every bit of the fantastic elements, but some of the real life war bits leave me cringing behind my coat), so I suppose it's a possibility? That said, I have a long and vivid visual memory, so I try not to give my poor little brain too much horror fodder. :P

Certainly!

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Oh, if you can watch even most of Pan's Labyrinth, you can definitely watch 28 Days Later. I've probably seen it at least half a dozen times, and thinking about it, I can't really remember off-hand, like, a zombie really just chowing down on someone all up close. But if it's not your thing, no worries; I'm just squeamish, too (I watched most of PL through my fingers), so I figure if something doesn't bother me then most everyone would probably be okay.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

My love of Guillermo Del Toro's monsters got me handily through the fantastic bits of PL - it's hard to cover your eyes when you're so enthralled that you can't look away. There are bits of the real-life-world parts of that movie however, that after five viewings or so, I still haven't actually seen, but only heard from behind my coat or in the kitchen or whatever.

I'm getting braver... sort of. It just takes a big draw to drag me to something I think will push my scary-buttons - I still haven't seen "District 9," even though the alien designs call to me. It's a great shame.

[katherineokelly.livejournal.com]

The new Tron remake looks like a terrible, terrible movie. I love sci-fi usually, but I challenge someone to tell me what this movie has to offer that a deluge of other SF movies hasn't already done (and probably done better).

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Never saw the original, but I definitely agree that the second looks awful. The Boy wants to see it, but on DVD. I'm fine with that, as it gives me a chance to giggle over the actor I like who's in it... without contributing to the movie's take in theaters. ;)

[joellehart.livejournal.com]

I adored this movie. I just saw it last weekend, with my parents and my sister. We spent the entire evening afterwards sharing observations and theories. If you haven't read the FAQ for it over on IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/faq) I recommend it. It spells out easy-to-miss-or-confuse plot points, explains the philosophies that informed it, and lays out competing theories about what it all meant -- clearly a fan-made labor of love.
Knowing that the zero-gravity sequences were done without CGI makes me doubly happy.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Haha, awesome! I had not seen that FAQ yet, and I look forward to going through it!

The CGI thing - right when we got back from seeing this I had to check with a friend who was obsessed with the movie, to find out how they did that. Don't get me wrong, I love some good CG work, but... real, physical stuff that the actors and FX guys do on-set? That's just so much more amazing to me. After finding out there wasn't any CGI in that scene... so much respect for those actors, for the director, for the whole thing. Just amazing. ♥