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Author Topic: What must I do to enjoy INCEPTION? Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 01-31-2011 02:43 PM                        I have heard only good things about INCEPTION when it was playing in theatres but it is not a ordinary film but one that requires a lot of concentration to understand what was going on. There was a lot on my mind when I tried to watch the Blu-Ray after renting it from Blockbuster when it was released and I was totally lost after the first half hour. I have a friend who bought the movie On DVD and watched it twice to understand what was going on. After I told him of my experience of watching the movie, he told me to make an effort to understand the film by watching it again in it's entirety and pay close attentIon to what was being said. Normally I do not waste my time on movies that I have a problem understanding but INCEPTION is a movie I would like to enjoy because of the good word of mouth and many Academy Award nominations and I like all of the special effects visuals I have seen. This time I will buy the Blu-Ray and watch it again tonight. -Claude  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 01-31-2011 03:21 PM                     I currently have my Blu-ray of Inception loaned out to a friend (again). It's a great movie, but one where it's easy to lose track of what's happening if you miss some crucial details. I don't think this is quite a spoiler, but the most important plot device the viewer must understand is the notion of dreams within dreams. When we dream, we're going into it at only one level. The mind spies in Inception are diving into multiple levels: dreams inside of dreams. Additionally with each dream level downward the passage of time elongates. This allows for the various action sequences that are all happening in parallel to take place during the film's climax. When you keep track of the different pieces of action that are happening at different levels and how they tie together the movie becomes a lot of fun to watch. I had a real "movie high" moment watching it all come together in the end as each dream "kick" at different levels were delivered. It was also great how the movie had an emotional core that dealt with the importance of memories and love lost. That helped flesh out the characters into more than just 2D cut outs thrown into a labyrinthine plot.  |  IP: Logged Richard Hamilton Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1341 From: Evansville, Indiana Registered: Jan 2000 posted 01-31-2011 03:52 PM                     I stopped it at 15 minutes and fell asleep. Maybe it's a good movie, but I couldn't get into it.  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 01-31-2011 03:54 PM                        Thank you, Bobby Can't wait to pick up the Blu-Ray and watch it tonight. I had no problems with the receiver I reported I was having problems at another thread last night and I am hoping for the same tonight when I watch INCEPTION. -Claude  |  IP: Logged Aaron Garman Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1470 From: Toledo, OH USA Registered: Mar 2003 posted 01-31-2011 05:26 PM                     I've found that multiple viewings really help with Inception. I loved it upon my first viewing, but it just gets better and better. Make sure to crank the sound on this one too: a great mix! AJG  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 01-31-2011 05:58 PM                        I was able to catch pretty much everything on my first viewing of Inception, but then again my brain was custom made to order by scientists in a lab. Anyway, a lot of people have a difficult time imagining dreams within dreams. Look at it this way: When you are dreaming, you can actually dream that you are asleep and dreaming. That is a dream within a dream. I have had this happen many times before. I was having a weird dream and I "woke up" to discover what had happened was just a dream. Then I wake up to reality and find out that was just a dream. It's weird, but cool.  |  IP: Logged Bruce Hansen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 847 From: Stone Mountain, GA, USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 01-31-2011 07:12 PM                     quote: Joe Redifer my brain was custom made to order by scientists in a lab. It was a brain from Abby something or other; oh yes, it was Abby Normal. Sorry Joe, I just couldn't resist.  |  IP: Logged John Wilson Film God Posts: 5438 From: Sydney, Australia. Registered: Dec 1999 posted 01-31-2011 07:58 PM                     Are you inferring Joe is a gorilla?  |  IP: Logged John Lasher Master Film Handler Posts: 493 From: Newark, DE Registered: Aug 2001 posted 01-31-2011 08:24 PM                        Mighty Joe Young... (insert joke about MJY being better looking/smarter/funnier/more hygienic than JR here). As everyone else has said, the key here is the concept of dreams within dreams. Like Nolan's other films ("Memento" in particular) you have to pay attention, or you'll miss something important, and there are things which are never fully explained, questions that the film provides no definite answer to. Spoiler Alert - Click to Toggle One thing I had to explain to Mom when I saw it with her (my 2nd viewing, her 1st) was how killing themselves while in limbo brought them back up. The way I understood it is: when you're at that level, you can't go any further down, so the only way to go is up.  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 01-31-2011 08:55 PM                        John, Was MEMENTO the movie that featured a story told in reverse? I went to a theatre to see it because of the fantastic reviews I had read and walked out after watching about an hour of it. I think it starred Guy Pierce the actor who played King Edward V111 in THE KING's SPEECH . I just cannot get into watching MEMENTO and got totally frustrated after an hour and left. Despite the rave reviews the movie got, I never made another effort to see it. -Claude  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-31-2011 10:18 PM                     Maybe this movie is simply not Claude's cup of tea. After all, one should not have to TRY to enjoy a movie. A movie should not require "directions for use." Nor should any explanations be necessary. Having to explain things to other viewers is a mark against a movie, in my opinion. And this movie needed a lot of explanation, judging from all the chatter that was going on in coffee houses, theatre lobbies and on chat sites. Provoking discussions about issues and ideas might be a good thing, but provoking one-sided "discussions" where the Chris Nolan fan is "explaining" the movie to perfectly intelligent people is another matter altogether. And I witnessed too much of that going on. I wanted to throw a rock at some of those guys. You either like a movie or you don't. And, usually, you know within the first 10-15 minutes. Based on your reaction to MEMENTO (yes, you remember it correctly) and now also INCEPTION, I'm thinking you don't go for these kinds of plots. There are a lot of very popular, successful and/or "important" movies that I can't get through. Case in point: I usually disagree with the entire Oscar situation. I've just come to accept that I can't love every movie out there. FWIW, I liked INCEPTION but I didn't LOVE it -- never got the urge to see it a 2nd time. ...and now... ...a FAR MORE IMPORTANT QUESTION... Toggling spoiler alerts? Since when?  |  IP: Logged Caleb Johnstone-Cowan Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 593 From: London, UK Registered: Mar 2006 posted 01-31-2011 10:39 PM                     My suggestion would be to forget about watching the film for a couple of weeks, then come back to it when you aren't bothered. And don't try to think about it, just let the plot unfold in its own time. I didn't find Inception one bit confusing because they refer back to the upper layers of the dream constantly. I usually try to do this with my Cinema visits and avoid the hype that is involved with some titles. Sometimes this backfires, Scott Pilgrim got over-hyped to me and it left Cinemas quite quickly so didn't see it in the end. Burn After Reading was a similar situation, just watched that on DVD today actually and didn't care for it.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-31-2011 11:00 PM                     I give the same advice for sufferers of "performance anxiety."  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 01-31-2011 11:15 PM                     Inception isn't nearly the mental workout as Memento, although I enjoyed that movie quite a bit. Christopher Nolan's movies have a certain style to them and I'm sure they're not to everyone's liking. I agree if someone just doesn't like a movie he just doesn't like it. Explaining the plot probably isn't going to do any good. But then there's also the issue of our society's collective attention span being very short. The viewer shouldn't need a prerequisite road map of explanation in order to enjoy a movie. However, most movies deserve our undivided attention. Some viewers don't supply that. So when they miss something because they weren't paying attention, well then they have themselves to blame and not the movie when they end up disappointed. I'm not saying anyone in this forum does it, but I personally know people who watch movies halfway while they talk about other crap or do other multi-tasking activities. This is very common in home viewing environments. It's also common in theaters too. People carry on phone texting conversations with friends, talk to other people next to them, make trips in and out of the auditorium to visit the snack bar, bathroom, etc. instead of paying attention to the screen. Knowing this behavior I've told just about anyone asking about Inception that it's important to pay attention. Don't use the movie as background for other crap. Inception isn't difficult to "get," but you really have to watch it with undivided attention to at least get it. Then if you still don't like it, well, you just don't like it and that's that. But at least the movie had its fair chance to entertain.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-31-2011 11:23 PM                     Being such an avid movie collector, Claude strikes me as the sort of person who makes the good faith effort to appreciate a movie. Hmmm... do "most" movies deserve our undivided attention? Really? Most of them?  |  IP: Logged

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