Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Thoughts on Inception

I was truly surprised by the number of students who listed "Inception" as one of their favorite movies.  What is it about this film that has people so intrigued?  That appeals to many different tastes?  Having read about it for many weeks before its opening and being a huge fan of Christopher Nolan's work ("Memento," "The Prestige," "The Dark Knight"), I broke one of my own movie rules and went on opening weekend.  Even now, I can recall with detail the scenes that took my breath away (Inception clip) but I think the notions of layered consciousness that "Inception" explored are the main reason I loved it so much.  I think we do hold a "safe" deep within our mind somewhere, and that safe would manifest differently for each person.  For Cilian Murphy's character, it was a locked chamber within a snow-bound fortress.  What would mine be?  I have no idea, and that's the point.  So many people I talk to about this movie focus on the ending:  did the top topple?  Is it "live" or is it Memorex?  (Y'all are too young for that reference, sorry!)  For me, it really doesn't matter. The whole movie was itself an inception - designed to open up our own minds, to make us think, to make us talk, to elicit interaction.  And on that front, Nolan succeeded in the highest degree.  What do you think?  Why did you like or NOT like this film? 

12 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. incepion in its self was a great movie i give a 10 for story line and an 8 for actors.

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  3. I LOVED this film mainly because it challenges your mind and there is nothing out there like it. When your watching Inception your not mindlessly watching a movie your caught up in the story and the drama of it all. Its definitely a must see!

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  4. I thought the safe used in the snowbound fortress was created by the architect, not a construct of Cilian Murphy's character's mind...

    I liked inception because it focused on story, ideas, and a unique perspective on something common to us all, dreams. It didn't follow the usual summer blockbuster mediocre plot + explosions/guns/actionactionaction.

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  5. Justin - hmmmm...you may be right - I would have to see again. Even so, didn't the architect have to construct something suited to the subject so he/she wouldn't be able to sense it was artificially constructed? I have probably imposed some of my own notions of the unconscious mind on the film's subtle details - dangers of being an overly analytical English teacher!

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  6. Inception was definitely one of the best movies I saw this summer. It made me think during the entire movie and really opened up my mind to a whole different level I guess of thinking. I was created by the architect, but it was the job of the others to enforce that thought in the first and second dreams in order to make it seem that it was Fisher's(Murphy's character) actual idea. That is just my thought on that tidbit, but overall it was awesome. I had never seen anything like it before.

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  7. My bad in place of I, it should read the safe. Sorry about that. :(

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  8. I loved this movie!!! Mainly because i was never bored and it actully made me think. I don't know if this is a rumor, but one of my friends told me that the way to determine if he's "dreaming" or if it's "real", is to look to see if he's wearing his wedding ring. I havn't been able to go watch the movie again to look for it, but i thought that was interesting :]

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  9. It was very intellectually stimulating and I really enjoyed it. I just wish more had been done with the other characters, because they kind of seemed like throw-aways.

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  10. Someone mentioned Inception in English today and it made me remember the blog. Inception is definitely one of my favorite movies. The whole concept of it blew my mind.

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  11. I just love how the movie used "paradoxical architecture" in its own story. I found this caused people to get something different out of the story and its ending.

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  12. Kind of late, but look at Cobb's hand to know whether he's dreaming or not. In his dreams, he still has his wedding ring on, whereas when he's awake, the ring isn't on his finger.

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