Monday Movie Miscellany - Inception

After weeks of hype, I finally went and saw it this weekend.  As always, there were things that I liked and things that I didn't, but all things considered I'd say Inception's a pretty good movie.


The obvious high point by far is the visual effects.  The whole film is really beautifully shot, and they did an incredible job creating dreamscapes that were simultaneously lifelike and surreal. 

The plot is convoluted to say the least, and kinda feels like an Ocean's 11 with brain hacking instead of casino heisting.  As I'm sure you either know or have heard from folks who've seen it, the ending leaves you questioning the reality of the situation, but I find it really hard to care. 

I mean, I just spent two and half hours navigating this extensive narrative, and I'm not going to spend another two and a half hours debating the movie after it's done.  Writers, I know that's what you want, and I refuse to do it.

But to digress (or perhaps get back on topic?), I must express my relief that we don't live in a world where dreams can be hacked.  And I'm also very glad that this doesn't seem like it'll be a possibility in the near future, or even at all. 

That does make me really curious about the technical side of these operations though… Like how does the architect create the dream and all the details while still being present in the action?  Or does s/he simply have to have the place preconceived?  But then this isn't something based on technical feasibility, so it doesn't really matter.  Although it is a fun brain exercise.

In any case, I think the moral of the story is stay out of other people's subconsciouses, it screws too much with your sense of reality.