a real post would require real energy...

[rm]

... and that'll come later, but despite having a few (mostly interesting) problems, yeah Inception really is that good, and my god, the suits. Pure sartorial porn.

Assume there are spoilers in comments.

Comments

[ladypeculiar.livejournal.com]

On the whole, I thought that the concepts were a bit overcooked, which required some really clunky exposition moments throughout. But it was so beautifully crafted and acted I didn't really care.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yeah. It was clunky in places and really a whole film that good about the premise of whether this existence is real? *yawn*

On the other hand, I gave a shit about every single character, got to stare at Cilian Murphy's face, saw some beautiful suits and we had a female lead that wasn't romantic relationship relevant at all.

Also, the Edith Piaf thing is HILARIOUS if you know what else Cotilliard has done.

[tacky-tramp.livejournal.com]

a female lead that wasn't romantic relationship relevant at all

Eh, kind of? I mean, her whole role in the movie was to ~help the protagonist deal with his feelings~. Which seems to be a Nolan staple.

Of course, it makes Ariadne fic that much more interesting. I love seeing the different ways people flesh her out.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Oh, it wasn't perfect, but she was smart, capable, didn't need rescuing, didn't get involved in the whole thing out of desire, saved herself, etc. So perfect, no. Fairly realistic and not inherently insulting 2 sentences in? Yeah.

I mean no one ever questioned her presence base don her gender or asumed she had some sort of romantic or sexual involvement with any of the men. Other than Arthur's dumb, half-hearted kiss thing with her in one of the dreams, it was waaaaaaaay better than I'd generally hope for.

[tacky-tramp.livejournal.com]

I seriously kept expecting her to get fridged and was pleasantly surprised when she made it through the film alive. But hey, the woman's-death-that-creates-angst-for-men happened before the events of the movie even started! Improvement? Maybe?

I dunno. As much as I bitch about Nolan's gender issues, I still find his filmmaking devastating and compelling.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Also, the issues in The Prestige come from the source he didn't write. Doesn't address the other films, but at least there it's not totally his fault. I love The Prestige, Bowie playing Tesla is such an unbelievable statements on the concept of the created self I get shivers every time I think of it.

[redstapler.livejournal.com]

Other than Arthur's dumb, half-hearted kiss thing with her in one of the dreams

I confess, I enjoyed that moment a whole lot because if there are two randomly selected people I'd watch making out, it's Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page.

I liked that he tried it, I liked that his interest in her had absolutely no bearing on the plot. I liked watching that moment. I liked what they were wearing when it happened.

I liked it.

But I also liked that it stayed where it was.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I loved it for its pure triviality, and it also had an innocence to it that was interesting to me.

[ladypeculiar.livejournal.com]

I actually found the Edith Piaf thing pretty irritating, but, eh.

There were moments of really joyous filmmaking, (the fight scene in the hallway when the building is moving around? AMAZING), and absolutely agree with you about the complexity of the characters.

The whole thing made me really sad that he's no longer supposed to be directing Neuromancer.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Oh god, was he supposed to be doing Neuromancer? Because yeah, I kept thinking "this is cyberpunk, this is what we were all dreaming about in 1990 at hacker cons".

The hallway thing was AMAZING.

[ladypeculiar.livejournal.com]

It was going to be him for a while, and now it's the director of Splice. Gaaaaaaaah. With Hayden Christensen rumored to star. I don't even want to think about it.

[rm.livejournal.com]

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO.

I DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH NO FOR HAYDEN CHRISTIENSEN.

[gwyd.livejournal.com]

Aiyeeee! They need to keep their hands off Gibson if they aren't going to do it right1

Why does Hayden Christensen still have work when he could be out acted by a cardboard cut out?

[ladypeculiar.livejournal.com]

I'm a total idiot-- Chris Cunningham was the previously slated director (he directed the "All is Full of Love" Bjork video, which I also often attribute to Nolan despite the fact that it wasn't him.

[rm.livejournal.com]

And the Piaf is only annoying to me now because the fucking song is stuck in my head. Perhaps most hilariously, when the film ended at least three different men in the audience burst into intentionally terrible imitations of it.

[dsudis.livejournal.com]

There is extra coolness lurking in the Piaf, though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVkQ0C4qDvM

[habiliments.livejournal.com]

I think it's only about whether or not this existence is real if you want it to be about that, honestly. The is-it-real-or-isn't-it ending is, to my mind, such a major fakeout to the point that Cobb has chosen it as reality and no longer cares whether or not the top spins. I like to read it as pure process; the whole thing is him processing guilt, and trying to plant the idea in his own head that it's OK, he can keep living. To me, it's about (among other things) the value of using story to find your way through an emotional labyrinth (hence, Ariadne), and telling yourself a story about how your life could/should/might be, and then choosing that narrative, and making it real.

Also, Cillian Murphy's cheekbones.

Also I might have spent too much time this week thinking about this. *stops leaping flailing into your comments* ;)

[elainasaunt.livejournal.com]

the Edith Piaf thing is HILARIOUS if you know what else Cotilliard has done

I thought this, too, but Zimmer says, in the LA Times article linked in the notes to the WAY cool snippet that Dira links below, that he came up with the Piaf music before finding out that Cotillard had been cast. Actually, that's pretty neat, too.