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Inception (Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio) Grading & Discussion

Grading

  • Total voters
    169
Aragorn

Aragorn

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inceptionposterm.jpg


In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a single idea within one's mind can be the most dangerous weapon or the most valuable asset.

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xitHF0IPJSQ[/yt]

The good reviews:

Richard Roeper said:
One of the most intoxicating, challenging and beautiful movies of the 21st century, deserving of multiple Oscar nominations.
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Peter Travers said:
In this wildly ingenious chess game, grandmaster Nolan plants ideas in our heads that disturb and dazzle. The result is a knockout. But be warned: Inception dreams big.
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Justin Chang said:
If movies are shared dreams, then Christopher Nolan is surely one of Hollywood's most inventive dreamers, given the evidence of his commandingly clever Inception.
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Roger Ebert said:
The movies often seem to come from the recycling bin these days: Sequels, remakes, franchises. "Inception" does a difficult thing. It is wholly original, cut from new cloth, and yet structured with action movie basics so it feels like it makes more sense than (quite possibly) it does.
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The bad reviews:

David Edelstein said:
I wanted to surrender to this dream; I didn’t want to be out in the cold, alone. But I truly have no idea what so many people are raving about.
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Nick Pinkerton said:
It's obvious that Nolan either can't articulate or doesn't believe in a distinction between living feelings and dreams -- and his barren Inception doesn't capture much of either.
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Rex Reed said:
None of this prattling drivel adds up to one iota of cogent or convincing logic. You never know who anyone is, what their goals are, who they work for or what they're doing.
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Nick Schager said:
Inception is Instruction Manual Cinema, a film that spends so much time explaining the rules of its narrative conceit that it fails to either emotionally engage or, except in a few notable spots, viscerally thrill.
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And finally, since Armond White doesn't like it, that probably means it's one of the best films of the year:

Like Grand Theft Auto's quasi-cinematic extension of noir and action-flick plots, Inception manipulates the digital audience’s delectation for relentless subterfuge.
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Re: Inception (Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio) Grading & Discuss

I can't wait...been waiting for this since it was first announced. Seeing it on Sat!
 
Re: Inception (Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio) Grading & Discuss

Still one week from release here. :(
 
Re: Inception (Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio) Grading & Discuss

A lot of theaters in my area are having midnight showings. Even on fake IMAX.
 
Re: Inception (Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio) Grading & Discuss

Oh my god! I want to see this movie soooooooo bad! As far as I'm concerned, Christopher Nolan is a genius. He has never made a film I did not enjoy immensely. Memento, The Prestige, and The Dark Knight are all among my absolute favorite films. The fact that it's getting such great reviews only adds fuel to the fire of my anticipation.
 
Re: Inception (Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio) Grading & Discuss

I can't wait to see this film! I will be checking it out on Saturday as my first IMAX experience.
 
Re: Inception (Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio) Grading & Discuss

Saw this last night at a press screening.

I voted "Above Average" but it is a hard movie to judge or rate.

All of the individual aspects of it are amazing, the acting, the cinematography, the action scenes, etc... The fact that it is a big original science fiction movie is great.

But something did feel a bit off. I don't quite know how to explain it. You know the saying that "The whole is greater then the sum of the parts"? Well, this film feels a bit like the opposite of that. All the individual parts were great, but the whole was a little less then the sum.

Still I still had to give it a good review, there is just too much going on that is great. Nolan is a master at great action sequences and dramatic visuals.

Maybe it was that since the movie involves dreams and reality you just can't help but expect some of the plot twists that are coming. It's like going into a M. Knight Shyamalan film, you know there will be a twist so you are constantly looking for it or waiting for it.

Anyways, I can't say any more about it with out spoiling things, so I won't.

All I can do is say, yes go see this film, but... don't get your expectations up to high for it. I had high expectations and felt a little let down when it was over and from the audience reaction it seemed that a lot of people felt much the same way. (On the other hand my girlfriend didn't have much expectations for it (she just likes Ellen Page and Leo) and she really, really liked it.)

So see it, just don't expect The Dark Knight level of awesome.
 
Re: Inception (Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio) Grading & Discuss

I'm just worried about the separation between the real characters and dream world.

Roger Ebert in his reviews about the Maxtrix always brought up the dividing line between the person in the Matrix and the person outside.

You have the equivalent of a game character who can do almost anything. When you have that, you kind of feel disconnected from the real person outside.
 
Re: Inception (Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio) Grading & Discuss

I already bought my tickets for tonight! Plus, I also have my tickets for Saturday too, in IMAX. Can't wait!
 
Re: Inception (Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio) Grading & Discuss

will def go see it but will wait for a quieter night. looks like it warrants reviewing so maybe i'll se it twice!
 
Re: Inception (Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio) Grading & Discuss

Surprisingly, I was able to get a ticket for the midnight showing at the local IMAX.

So I saw it. Is it good? Yes. Is it an instant classic? I would have to say... no. I'm not quite sure how to express my reaction to it -- to be honest, I think I was hoping for a bit more of a mindfuck than I got. :rommie: There's some neat ideas, but nothing that seemed really intensely thought-provoking, and (this may seem like an odd complaint) I didn't really have much trouble following the story; I guess I was hoping it would challenge me a bit more than it did.

Nevertheless, I was still able to get into it. It's a great-looking, well-crafted film, as I would expect from Nolan, and the performances were solid (although a couple of the characters were a little flat).

I think Mallet summed it up fairly well: I'll recommend the film, but it's best if you don't go in with your expectations too heightened.

Oh, yeah, and
judging from the collective groan that came from the crowd at the very end, I think a lot of people realized, as I did, that it was probably going to end on an "is he still dreaming or isn't he?" note -- which frustrated a number of people, I'm sure. :lol:
 
Re: Inception (Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio) Grading & Discuss

^ Nah I think Nolan was just trying to be a bit cheeky there. I am pretty sure it was back to reality.
 
Re: Inception (Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio) Grading & Discuss

^Oh, I think so too, but a number of audience members sure didn't seem so certain. :D
 
Re: Inception (Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio) Grading & Discuss

Ground Shakes

Ariadne- I'm still dreaming!!!
Cobb- No this is real! It's an earthquake!
Ariadne- Are you sure?
Cobb- Yes I'm sure. This isn't an M Night Shamalyan movie.
 
Re: Inception (Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio) Grading & Discuss

I just saw the movie and I'm still gathering my thoughts. My initial thoughts are that the movie has an excellent concept and some very creative and thought provoking ideas, but the execution isn't quite on par. If I where to grade the movie right now, I would give it a B+.

edited to add: I am glad to see that Tom Hardy is making a comeback. While watching Star Trek: Nemesis I got the impression that he was a good actor who simply wasn't given a good script to work with. I liked his character in Inception.
 
Re: Inception (Christopher Nolan, Leonardo DiCaprio) Grading & Discuss

Just out from it.

Wow.
This is the Christopher Nolan I've been waiting for since 'Memento'. None of his movies, including 'The Dark Knight' have been able to hold together satisfactorily right through to the end credits without falling down in some department. 'Inception' kicks into another gear in the closing 15 minutes, providing an emotional killer punch that was needed to lift it out of being smart but clinical sci-fi and left me satisfied with just a hint of a 'hang on a minute' moment at the end that allows the movie to live on in my mind, not just as memory of a cinematic experience but as a question that only I can answer, if I choose to.
I thought about half way through it was going to be let down by its clinicalness but the glimpse of the emotional anguish at the heart of the story saved it.
I can't wait to savour it again, maybe in IMAX next time.
 
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