Category Archives: Inception

Top 10: Mistakes That Could Ruin Your Favorite Movies

Also, footballs should not be thrown on roofs.

Movies get a lot wrong. And when I say a lot I mean a lot.

Jumping off of my piece from the other day, what you make of those mistakes is up to you. I try to avoid them because while they are probably better to know, they can also ruin the movie. However, they can also be hilarious depending on how wrong they are. I decided to do some research on IMDB, and I compiled ten of my favorite mistakes, and another list of five “mistakes.” Did I just ruin your favorite movie for you? Well good, it’s ruined for me, too. Let’s bond over sadness.

Read the list below:

21 Jump Street- “ In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that if a cop neglects to read your Miranda rights, that is not necessarily grounds for release from charges. So the cops’ mistake at the beginning is not accurate.” (IMDB)

Casablanca: “There was never any such thing as a “letter of transit.” (IMDB)

Django Unchained: “Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson) uses the word “motherfucker” four times throughout the film, This is a linguistic anachronism as the word didn’t exist until the WWI era (the Oxford English dictionary lists the earliest use in 1918).” (IMDB)

No Country for Old Men: “In the scene where Anton is chasing Llewelyn through the streets at night, a modern day Dominos Pizza sign can be seen in the background.” (IMDB) [Note: I would pay lots of money for a scene where Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem eat Domino's together while in character.]

The Big Lebowski: “The first sex offender laws, like those which would require Jesus Quintana to notify his neighbors of his paedophilic record, weren’t implemented in California until 1996.” (IMDB)

The Room: “Johnny claims that he couldn’t cash a check because it was “out of state.” However, it is entirely possible to cash an out of state check. Johnny, a banker, should know this.” (IMDB)

The Room: “Mark asks Lisa “what’s going on” with “the candles [and] the music”, but neither music nor candles are present.” (IMDB)

Braveheart: “Primae noctis has never been used in the entire history of the British Isles.” (IMDB)

Braveheart: “In reality most of the Irish fought against Wallace.” (IMDB)

Braveheart: “At the funeral of Wallace’s father, the child Murron plucks a thistle, the national flower of Scotland, and gives it to the boy Wallace. This is both physically impossible (every species of thistle in the British Isles is so prickly and so tough-stemmed that you could only wrench one from its stem wearing protective gloves) and symbolically absurd (the toughness and prickliness of the thistle is its whole point as a symbol of Scottishness).” (IMDB) [Note: I really wanted to put "Braveheart" in its place. And I guess "The Room" needed to be, too.]

And Five “Mistakes”

Elysium: There are actually no machines that exist in real life that can cure both cancer and paralyzed legs.

Inception: When traveling through other people’s dreams, people do not actually yell confusing lines of exposition at each other.

Inglourious Basterds: Hitler was not actually shot hundreds of times in the face by a man named the Bear Jew. In fact, Bears are legally not allowed to be Jewish.

Taxi Driver: Robert De Niro is not actually a taxi driver. He is, in fact, a very talented actor.

There Will Be Blood: In one scene, Daniel Plainview tells Eli Sunday that he is going to bury him underground. In fact, the practice of burying the dead underground did not exist until Warren G. Harding passed it into international law on July 17, 1923. Before that, bodies were stacked up in wheelbarrows, similar to what is seen in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

What are some of your favorite mistakes in movies?

The Reel Deal Goes To Cannes Update #6: There’s a First Time For Everything

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The less glitzy side of The Red Carpet.

“Hitting the wall” is the Cannes related phenomena in which a while’s worth of no sleep comes together in spectactular fashion.

I have not quite hit the wall yet, but I feel that I am on course for collision.

Today was yet another rainy day, yet it was also a day of many lessons. I learned that Macedonia has a film industry, the Czech Republic gives out generous amounts of free wine, and that the end of “Inception” is (SPOILER ALERT) undoubtedly reality. This is a fact that most people probably knew about three years ago. More on that coming up.

After the Jump: Meeting IMDB’s creator, Col Needham, and walking out of a movie for the first time.

One of the main highlights of my trip occured today. I met a man wearing a jacket with an IMDB pin on it. I asked him if he worked for the site. His response was something along the lines of “actually, I created it.”

Col Needham created IMDB for the exact reason you’d expect: he was a film buff who needed a convenient place for all things film. He told me about the experience of seeing “Aliens” in theaters for the first time. And that “Inception” thing. In every scene in which DiCaprio is wearing his ring, it is a dream. When he isn’t, it’s reality. At the end, he is not wearing his ring. While this ruins the fun of the ambiguity, it made me appreciate the film much more, as this displays Nolan’s attention to detail. I still maintain though, that the real point of the ending is that it doesn’t matter whether or not the top fell, all that mattered is that he was exactly where he wanted to be. I now proclaim the “Inception” debate officially over [Editor's Note: I'm being told that it ended two years ago].

Unfortunately, I come with few new screenings to share stories of. “Rust & Bone” is the most talked about film around, but good luck finding a seat for it. After an unsuccessful attempt at seeing that, I decided to be a little impulsive and see a screening with basically no prior knowledge of it. I landed on “White Elephant.” All I heard in advance was “Argentinian movie about drug cartels” and I was sold. I still can’t even decide if it was actually about that. Don’t get me wrong, I like slow-burning films, and Cannes is the perfect place for that. However, there is slow, and then there is too slow, and “White Elephant” falls into the latter category. Nothing happens for a while, and when it does happen, I just felt myself shrug, and want to go back to sleep.

That is another thing about “the wall”: it can hit at anytime, during the events you don’t want it to happen during. It is usually hardest to fight it once the lights go off in the cinema. It can be resisted by seeing “Lawless” and not “White Elephant.”

“White Elephant” marks a sad turning point in my life, as it was the first film I ever walked out off. I don’t plan to indulge in this behavior normally, but walking out of a film early feels nornal at a film festival. Once again, slow and tortorous are two very different things. I will review “White Elephant” no further, as I did not see the second half, and it is entirely possible that I could have missed something worthwhile. Also, a film must be reviewed as a whole. Missing any of it and the intended bigger picture is sullied.

The only reason I feel less terrible for walking out is that this seems to be a commonplace action in Cannes. I have never seen this many walkouts per capita in my life over the span of the Festival. While there is usually value to seeing a bad movie, as it makes you realize what it takes for a movie to be good, there is just so much to see at Cannes that any amount of time spent in a bad film feels like time wasted. As the phrase that I never wish was invented goes, “YOCO” (You Only Cannes Once).*

*I strongly reccomend never using this in daily conversation.

Oscars ’10: The Snubs

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With every set of Oscar nominations comes a set of even more ridiculous snubs. Even with another year of ten best picture nominations, there were still plenty of egregious snubs to go around.

On this day, the day the Oscar nominations are announced, I would like to recognize not those were selected, but those who strangely missed the mark. Not everyone can make the cut, but these people and films certainly deserved to:

Andrew Garfield (The Social Network)

This one seemed like a sure thing. The man who is destined to be Spider-Man broke out this year and brought the pathos to “The Social Network.” With Zuckerberg being mainly emotionally cold, Garfield made Eduardo a character impossible not to connect with. Every emotion he injects into the film, he also injects into the audience. Then when his character turns from nice to angry in the film’s dramatic climax, the transformation is so believable that it makes the already devastating conclusion even worse. “The Social Network” might’ve been about Mark Zuckerberg, but it’s hard to believe there ever would’ve been a great story without Eduardo Saverin and Garfield’s performance.

Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass)

There should have been room for two teenage actresses who could use a weapon in this year’s Oscars. So many have praised Hailee Steinfeld, but forget the almost similar performance given by Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl in “Kick-Ass.” She managed to act lightyears more mature than her superiors while always maintaing child-like innocence. She showed off the kind of creepy excitement a typical tween might have over Robert Pattinson while slicing off limbs and dropping the c-bomb. Fourteen-year-olds don’t typically steal the show in a film, but Moretz did enough so that it was at times hard to remember that the movie is called “Kick-Ass” and not “Hit-Girl.”

Christopher Nolan (Inception)

Seriously, what does Christopher Nolan have to do to get a Best Director nomination? Is turning a confusing, mind-f***ing idea into both a work of art and a $300 million grossing summer blockbuster not enough? How about changing the rules of physics? Or how about returning blockbusters to their original state in which they began in the 1970s? The Best Screenplay nomination for “Inception” can be disputed, but few would argue if Nolan finally got his long deserved Best Director nod.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Shutter Island)

To this day, people have trouble taking DiCaprio’s performances seriously. The common excuse is his youthful looks make it hard for him to seem mature. If anyone still argues this, they obviously haven’t watched “Shutter Island” yet. DiCaprio went from good actor with some talent to great actor with soul. He was so smoothly able to handle the massive transformation of his character without loosing the ambiguity. Then there is the way he delivers that final line, “which would be worse, to live as a monster or to die as a good man” which is delivered in a way that is so heartbreaking that it could almost produce tears. With maybe a few more films, DiCaprio can truly become Scorsese’s new De Niro.

Danny Boyle (127 Hours)

Over directing usually isn’t an admiral trait in a director. Unless of course your name is Danny Boyle. Boyle made a story about one man in one location epic enough to be engaging for its entire running time. He injects every frame of this film with so much life. Everything from a drop of water to the desert sand seem to be living, breathing, interacting characters. That’s how you make a movie about a man stuck in a hole. Boyle, like a great director, realizes this essential fact: a good film is about what it’s about; a great film is about how it’s about.

Ten of ’10: The Best Movies of the Year

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It’s that time of year again. No, it’s not time to light the menorah, open gifts from under the Christmas tree, or, do whatever people do on Kwanza. It is time to somehow take every single movie this year, compare them, and somehow rank them against each other. It may be confusing, and it may be extremely unfair, but it’s something every critic must do.

However, I see this as less of a chore and more of a privilege, as every good movie is worth talking about an infinite number of times. While I originally thought this year was not the greatest year for movies, I found I was quite mistaken when looking back. There may not have been an “Inglourious Basterds” this year, but there were many other films that followed very closely in its tracks of greatness.

Still, I had a tough time deciding what film to choose for number one this year, because there actually were many worthy contenders. There were some films that broke out of typical Hollywood cliches and created stunning pieces of entertainment. Others explored the excitement, loneliness, and selfishness brought about by the Digital Age in quirky and unique ways. 2010 was the beginning of a new decade, and therefore the potential for a new era of filmmaking. What will the predominant style be? I cannot say because if the biggest films of this year say anything, it is that ambiguity is in.

I can now safely say I’ve seen enough movies in 2010 to make my list. So here it is, the ten best films of 2010:

1. Black Swan- There are few words that could ever truly do justice to this film. But for a movie this good, it’s worth a try. “Black Swan” is the kind of psychological thriller that has been told so many times. Yet, what sets this one apart is that it actually has something new and effective to say. “Black Swan” is the greatest achievement in cinema in 2010 because it simply made up the best movie experience possible, doing so little and accomplishing so much. Darren Aronofsky’s look behind the scenes of a ballet may not be totally realistic, but it was a perfect metaphor for the artistic process. “Black Swan” also comes with the best female acting of the year. Natalie Portman’s wounding performance constantly oscillates between evil and innocent, yet never lands on just one. “Black Swan” leaves the viewer with so much to chew on with only some closure. It may be ambiguous, it may not make sense, but in the end, this film will never leave your head. It leaves you with something, and it leaves you with nothing.

Read Review

2. The Social Network- What’s the best way to make a movie about Facebook not seem totally lame and self-indulgent? Hire Aaron Sorkin as a writer and put David Fincher in the director’s seat. “The Social Network” is one of the most polished films of the year. While it has been labeled as factually inaccurate by most, it still remains powerful for a generation raised on the internet. The screenplay, this year’s very best, moves at lightning speed, forcing the viewer to think quickly in order to keep up with the banter. Best of all, “The Social Network” provides one of the best characters in recent memory: Mark Zuckerberg. He spends most of the movie being a cold, stuck-up, and manipulative genius and miraculously ends the film as a haunted, semi-pathetic anti-hero. Even if it isn’t very accurate, “The Social Network” is still the most informative and relevant film of the year.

Read Review

3. Inception- Now that all the hype and backlash have subsided, it’s time to once again talk about the sheer genius of “Inception.” With “Inception,” Christopher Nolan proved once again that there is a place for intelligence in mainstream cinema. Think about the scene in which the streets of Paris fold over, or the scene in which Joseph Gordon-Levitt fights the laws of gravity. “Inception” was the most thoughtful, well-crafted, and best of all, original blockbuster to come out in years. It was like a giant breath of fresh air circulating through the summer smut. Still, most people can only think about one thing: did that top fall or not? The real question should be this: if it did or didn’t fall, why would it matter?

Read Review; Extra Analysis

4. 127 Hours- Is Aron Ralston a bad person because he decided to go on a dangerous nature expedition by himself, without letting anyone know where he was heading? Maybe not a bad person, but certainly one deserving of his own film. “127 Hours” may be one of the finest achievements in Danny Boyle’s career. Boyle is the rare filmmaker who can make over-directing stylish and meaningful rather than overt and excessive. The film is commanded by an extraordinary performance by James Franco, who gives the phrase “one man show” a whole new meaning. Once that final scene rolls around, if tears aren’t streaming down your face, then you might just be the one who’s a bad person.

Read Review

5. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World- “Scott Pilgrim” is 2010′s misunderstood masterpiece. People were probably turned off because it looked like a corny video game, or because they now hated star Michael Cera. To truly appreciate “Scott Pilgrim,” one must throw all expectations out the window. “Scott Pilgrim” is mashup satire, covering a wide variety of topics ranging from video games, to comic books, to hipsters and Asian fangirls. It perfectly hits all of its targets, without totally hating on them. Think of the whole thing as “Mortal Kombat” meets “Kick-Ass” meets that dude at the Vampire Weekend concert.

Read Review

6. Kick-Ass- There was yet another underrated graphic novel adaptation this year. “Kick-Ass” took on the superhero genre by becoming a superhero film itself. In that nature, it succeeded at being both satire and the subject it was satirizing. It’s also hilarious and marvelously shot. If there’s one thing that can’t be forgotten about it, it’s Hit-Girl. In the breakout role of the year, Chloe Moretz manages to be more mature than her superiors. She also drops a c-bomb and slices someone’s legs off. If there is one thing that truly sets “Kick-Ass” apart, it is how absurdly, delightfully over-the-top it is.

Read Review

7. The Kids Are All Right- This is good, honest, comedic writing at its very finest. “The Kids Are All Right” stars Julianne Moore and Annette Benning as a married couple on the verge of a familial crisis. “The Kids Are All Right” is funny at all the right moments and in the end, surprisingly sweet and unpredictable. The real magic here though is that this is the first film to be popular with mainstream audiences that barely makes a big deal out of homosexuality. It is simply a normal part of society. Good luck even finding if the word “gay” is mentioned once throughout the entire movie.

Read Review

8. Toy Story 3- Pixar almost always ends up in the top 10 list. Not because it is common courtesy, but because they actually deserve the repeated honor.”Toy Story 3″ is possibly the most emotional personal film Pixar has ever created, even topping the opening sequence of “Up.” “Toy Story 3″ is the rare sequel with an engaging and original story. Most of the jokes will be just as hilarious to adults as they are to kids. But really, nothing “Toy Story 3″ did from a filmmaking perspective overly impressed me. It is the fact that “Toy Story” first came out when I was a child, and ended when I got ready for college, just as it did for the film’s Andy. When the final credits for “Toy Story 3″ rolled, it wasn’t just the end of a great film series: it was the end of my childhood.

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9. True Grit- The latest film by Joel and Ethan Coen isn’t a genre-defying mind-bender along the lines of “No Country for Old Men” and “A Serious Man.” It isn’t a flat-out masterpiece like “Fargo” or “Blood Simple.” And it isn’t even in a category of its own like “The Big Lebowski.” “True Grit” is a pure genre film, and it brings out the very best of a great genre clinging for life. It includes a few great performances, mainly Jeff Bridges in full Dude element, and Hailee Steinfeld, this year’s other great breakout performance by a teenage girl. I have always seen The Coen Brothers as directors with mysterious motives. The motive is here is no mystery though. With “True Grit,” the Coen Brothers have created their first piece of pure, mainstream entertainment.

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10. MacGruber- “MacGruber” had absolutely no right to be this funny. It is based off a decently funny concept, and stars a decently funny comedian. Yet, here I am, talking about the best comedy of the year. It managed to perfectly satirize the action movie genre without constantly winking at the audience. It contains a lot of random gags (the license plate), and a lot that are just too dirty to ever be funny (those sex scenes), yet they are anyway. “MacGruber” is an example of correct execution. It contains a daring style of comedy that is unfortunately taken for granted.

Read Review

Other Contenders: The Fighter, Shutter Island, Fish Tank, Cyrus, Greenberg, The King’s Speech, The Town, Hot Tub Time Machine

Still Need to See: Animal Kingdom, Blue Valentine, Exit Through the Gift Shop, How to Train Your Dragon, Rabbit Hole, Somewhere

Worst of the Year: Robin Hood

Summer ’10 in Movies: Think Small, Dream Big

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The verdict on 2010 in movies has been pretty clear: this has been a horrible year (and especially, summer) for movies.

Is it possible to say that we’ve seen some awful movies recently? Yes, we have? But must this be classified as a horrible year for movies? Depends on your angle. Maybe those people who can’t see a bright spot have been subjected to too many viewings of “Robin Hood.” “Robin Hood” brought out the very worst that movies can be. It was overly long and painstakingly dull. The action was too quick to be admired. In the end, it was just a two hour trailer for a sequel no one is even interested in seeing.

Then, there was “The A-Team,” a fine example of Hollywood creative bankruptcy. The film mainly consisted of sloppily edited action sequences, unfunny jokes that made no sense, and a plot that’s beyond incomprehensible. Seriously, if the audience is supposed to buy into the idea of a flying tank, the world being portrayed must first be remotely believable. Without that, it’s just a tank being held up by a parachute. This would likely be a top contender for worst of the year had it not been for “Robin Hood.”

It seems funny to say that for the first half of the summer, the best movie was “Iron Man 2.” “Iron Man 2″ lacked the surprising fun of its predecessor. Two great villains and a surprising story were bogged down by a need to constantly promote the upcoming “Avengers” movie. It would’ve been much better had Robert Downey Jr. had just been allowed to do whatever he wanted to.

The conventional superhero genre may be dead, but the graphic novel genre is just being born in an amazing new way. The ambitions and satirical edginess of the late summer pleasure “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” cannot easily be equaled. The more I think about it, the more “Scott Pilgrim” stands out as a perfect representation of our current world. It parodies video games, comic books, and hipsters like only someone who has ever been involved with video games, comic books, and hipsters could. Edgar Wright is officially the satirist film director of our generation.

Of all the sequels, prequels, and remakes to grace the cinema this summer, of course the only one actually worth seeing comes from Pixar. “Toy Story 3″ is the rare sequel that not only felt necessary, but also worked to finish a story. It also brought tears to my eyes for all the right reasons. The “Toy Story” saga began with the story of a child and ended with the child going to college. Maybe the reason that this film seemed even more meaningful to teenagers than children is that it fit in so perfectly with our lives. Now, I need to think twice before leaving a toy behind.

Pixar may rule the animated genre, but that doesn’t mean that competitors don’t have a chance. The scrappy debut effort “Despicable Me” didn’t have the money and talent of Pixar, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be worthy entertainment. This one might be meant more for kids, but it got me with its near perfect voice talent (Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Will Arnett) and little creatures called Minions.

As usual, the greatest summer delights came from the indie surprises. On the darker side, there was the twisted creature feature “Splice” and the hauntingly realistic “Winter’s Bone.”

“Splice” was far from perfect, but it was without a doubt one of the most expertly directed films made in a while. Vincenzo Natali so effortlessly vacillates between the many different moods and feelings projected by the film. Until the very conventional ending, he made “Splice” something truly special. I can’t wait to watch “Cube,” and all other films he has planned down the line.

“Winter’s Bone” was a much different film than you’d expect to see over the summer. The cold, harsh Ozark landscape certainly contrasts the summer attitude. But the film played off both murder mystery and character study so well. I guess this one was just too dark and too realistic to reach out to a wider audience.

Another indie that didn’t reach out as far as it should’ve was “Cyrus.” I will admit that my expectations for “Cyrus” were extremely high and that they weren’t exactly met. I certainly got a different movie than I anticipated. Still, it certainly surprised me in a good way. It was frank and understanding while being so hilarious and breezy. It also elevated Jonah Hill from good comedic actor to impressive dramatic actor. Maybe the love triangle was a little too weird for some people.

The indie community can live with one true victory this summer: “The Kids Are All Right.” “The Kids Are All Right” deserves so much praise for so many reasons. No comedy in the past year has felt this warm, inviting, and all out hilarious. Not to mention, it also contains a groundbreaking portrayal of a lesbian couple as, well, normal. “The Kids Are All Right” could’ve been about a man and a woman and their relationship wouldn’t have been much different.

Now, I save the best for last. It’s a pretty obvious choice, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t talk about it one last time. It’s Christopher Nolan’s brilliant triumph, “Inception.” Maybe I’ve talked enough about this movie, but the more I talk about it, the more I enjoy it. Now is no time for further in depth analysis. Now it is time to praise “Inception” for what it really is: the smart and original blockbuster we don’t get anymore. The film certainly has its faults, and it is definitely too early to put it next to the likes of “Citizen Kane” and “The Godfather.” But appreciate “Inception” for what it is, because we rarely get a film like it. Then again, with its huge box office success, perhaps studios will finally start to take risks on original ideas.

That’s summer 2010 for you. It was a summer in which good ideas and imagination triumphed over the uninspired. However, summer is not over yet. “Piranha 3D” is just around the corner.

Minimalism: The New Way to Market a Movie

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Today, I want to talk not about a movie, but about a poster. Well actually, many posters.

The art form known as Minimalism has become a phenomenon on the interweb. It’s not new; artists have been using it for years. However, it’s been given a new use: movie posters.

The idea behind Minimalism is to create a work of art that takes a concept and strips it down to its most basic form. When something is stripped down to its most basic element, there is something strangely deeper that can be found in it. It would basically be saying so much by showing so little.

Some of the posters make a lot of sense. A lot of them involve a great knowledge of the film involved to truly understand. Take for example, one poster for “Inception.” It simply shows an outline of four of the main characters’ faces and their totem placed inside each of them. It is simple and effective. It also shows how each totem is psychologically linked to each character, objects of how their brains work.

Others are confusing, yet portray something so important to the movie. One of my favorites is the one for “The Deer Hunter.” It shows six circles. Five are empty, and one is shaded red. Even people who love the movie will be confused at first. Think. Think very hard. Yes, it is portraying a gun with one bullet in it, loaded for Russian Roulette. With this image, such a deep and complex film is boiled down to its most basic, yet most important idea. Who needs an image of helicopters flying through Vietnam when you can just have a picture of the barrel of a gun?

There are others in the spirit of the “Inception” poster. The “Blade Runner” poster has no epic image of futuristic Los Angeles. All it has is that little origami unicorn. The poster for “Inglourious Basterds” shows two hands holding up three fingers in different ways. It’s the German three and the English three. It’s yet another small detail that made a very big difference in this movie.

Some posters are even more thought provoking and even more creative. The pattern on “The Shining” poster is the carpeting of The Overlook Hotel. The “Titanic” poster is not just a white triangle, it’s that deadly iceberg. Some add on to certain movies as well. “The Godfather” poster shows the rest of the horse’s body without the head. That is, if you really wanted to know what a headless horse looked like.

At the moment, Minimalist posters are fan art. They are made by and for people who truly appreciate movies. Yet, I feel like this new art form has a bigger potential. Why not actually use Minimalist posters to market movies? They’re better and more original than most of the generic crap passed off as posters nowadays. As a marketing tool, movie posters should draw people into a movie with a curiosity factor. If someone sees a “Kill Bill” poster with nothing but footsteps, they might wonder, where do those footsteps lead?

But posters shouldn’t just be for marketing. A movie poster should serve the same purpose as an album cover. They should converse with the art, and emphasize a central purpose behind it. A poster of the incredible futuristic Los Angeles from “Blade Runner” might draw more attention, but that unicorn is much more important to the story. You could compare that to the cover of “London Calling.” It could’ve just been an image of London being caught in the middle of the apocalypse. While the simple image of Joe Strummer smashing a guitar may seem out of place, it’s really there to show the raw, unbridled power of true rock and roll that the album is partially a metaphor for.

That simple image of a mythical creature, or the inside of a gun are not the first things you’d expect to see on a good movie poster. But like that album cover, they show the strange, mesmerizing magic of truly amazing cinema. The poster is meant to encapsulate an entire film in one image. In so simple an image, so much more can be said.

I couldn’t find the “Inception” poster I was referring to earlier, but here is another cool one.

Inception: On Backlashes, Second Viewings, and Dead Cats

Movie Review: Inception

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Dreams are not reality. Movies are not reality. They are both part of what he have in life, and mostly what we really want. That’s why they’re constantly a focus in movies. Though the whole “it was all a dream” ending had worn out its welcome. That is until “Inception” landed in theaters and completely redefined reality and imagination.

“Inception” is a film that’s been hyped up for months. It brilliantly showed us gripping footage while keeping us totally in the dark. For once in your life, you’ll feel like you walked into a movie not knowing a single thing about what it really is. It’s more than the thriller you thought it would be. It’s, well, maybe you should be kept in the dark about that.

I will give you something, maybe slightly more than you could get from some commercials. “Inception” brings us to what may or may not be a futuristic dystopia. Or else it is a slightly altered version of our own time. In this world, technology exists that allows one to enter the human mind through dreams and use that to gather and manipulate ideas. It’s called Inception. Two “architects,” Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), are experts at this. Cobb is addicted to exploring the world of dreams, so much so that it causes strains between him and his family.

Cobb and Arthur are hired by a shady businessman (Ken Watanabe) to find some information for them. The two team up with a bright, young student (Ellen Page) to embark on a mind-bending, possibly dangerous journey into the human subconscious.

It’s hard to know where to begin with “Inception.” The way to enjoy “Inception” is to suspend reality and be engrossed into the many worlds you are introduced to. That’s why the set pieces and camera are so crucial. This is a rare film that actually uses its sets properly. And much of what you see is done without the aid of CGI. Christopher Nolan decided to go the old-fashioned way and actually build real sets. For that, I applaud him.

Every location and every shot of the film feels so authentic, and so imaginative. The laws of gravity and physics no longer apply. Cities runoff into the sky. People can float. Objects can move at any pace they want. This is a world without rules.

With the infinite possibilities that lie within dreams, Nolan is given the freedom to bring the story into whatever direction he wants. Most directors seem to stop at certain points because they don’t want to lose their audience. Nolan doesn’t care if you’re following or not. He’ll go as far as he wants, for however long he wants to.

Nolan though is trying to unite two different crowds: those who want a thought-provoking movie, and those who want high-class entertainment. “Inception” amazingly caters to both needs.

As an action movie, “Inception” keeps you in constant suspense and constant shock. Fight scenes, whether real or imagined, are given time and detail. They aren’t filled with the insanely fast cuts that made movies like “The A-Team” almost unwatchable. Nolan lets the audience savor every blow delivered.

The one action piece you won’t stop thinking about involves a hallway and a lack of gravity. Any amount of description I provide can’t possibly ruin it for you. It looks accurate enough to have been a green screen.

“Inception” proves a conclusion that has already been reached: Nolan is a master. He knows how to turn spaces into haunting visual nightmares. The looming shots of Tokyo and other metropolises might as well be Gotham City. He can then take those landscapes and fill them with incredibly complex stories.

Nolan’s narrative techniques are as interesting as his directing. Much of the dialogue in the film is expository, but hearing every step of the process is so fascinating that you won’t mind. Intertwined is some enlightening discussion about the nature of dreams and the human mind. It’s the kind of information that must’ve taken years of research. How Nolan could fit all that in while making two “Batman” movies is a mystery to me.

The plot of “Inception” unfolds very slowly. As the characters enter deeper levels into the dream world, new layers of plot unfold. Strangely, the more chaotic things get, the clearer the story becomes.

It’s kind of hard for any one actor in this film to truly shine, as Nolan and the visuals totally steal the show. That’s not to say there isn’t some fine acting. “Inception” boasts a few of the most talented young actors working today. With both “Inception” and “Shutter Island” this year, DiCaprio has proven himself an actor responsible of mature and psychologically complex roles. He knows how to play people so torn up that they can barely even function as humans. He is starting to become the DeNiro of our generation. Gordon-Levitt and Page meanwhile, provide a perfect counterbalance of wit and charm along with both understanding and total confusion.

All of this leads me to say that beyond all of the action, “Inception” is truly a human story. It is about loss and regret and the dream being an outlet to both conceal and confront the darkest parts of our lives. Dreaming can be a means of both escape and confrontation.

“Inception” reminded me for the first time in a long time what a true moviegoing experience is like. The theater exists for a reason. That reason is when you have a story this complex and sprawling, you need a gigantic screen to fill the room and truly take in everything being shown. It is in a space like this where we are most able to suspend reality. Plus, when you have a film this good on a screen big enough, it can truly suck you into the story. At a time like this in a film like this, 3D seems irrelevant. Your mind creates the illusion of being in a third dimension.

To call “Inception” the best movie made in a very long time would be an understatement. Nothing has changed the rules of cinema this much since “The Matrix.” It combines so many genres into one mesmerizing whole. At so many points it could’ve fallen apart but Nolan keeps it intact.

“Inception” is a thriller of the mind that won’t leave your mind. After some movies end, you immediately know you have to see it again. Only with “Inception” will you know that from the very first scene.

If You Liked this Movie, You’ll also Like: Memento, Mulholland Dr., The Dark Knight, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Matrix, Shutter Island, Fight Club, Blue Velvet, Blade Runner

For more awesome mind-bending movies, check this out.