Monday, 9 August 2010 03:33 pm
(no subject)
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deckardcanineSaw Inception on Saturday. I give it a solid 4 out of 5. Sorry, but when there's more than one interpretation and the director won't tell us, I'm obliged to deduct a point to spite him.
Okay, that's not the only reason. Long-time readers may know that I take interest in VR, dreams, and the combination thereof; I even wrote a NaNoWriMo story involving it (not half as presentable as Inception). Alas, some writers deprive the premise of its best aspect: randomness. I deem eXistenZ mediocre partly because the advanced game world is too much like reality with reduced free will -- where's the fun in that? Inception has the mitigating factors of dream architects, experienced dream navigators, and business purposes, but they don't make up for the fact that Christopher Nolan is no Hitchcock when it comes to dream portrayal. Tho to be fair, few narratives in any medium really capture credible dreaming.
Moreover, I don't buy all the explicit premises. Maybe there's scientific evidence that our minds work fast enough to make dreams feel longer than they are, but I would've thought the opposite. My dreams often take time to revise themselves and then try to make me believe the earlier stuff didn't happen. I read once that the average dream lasts 20 minutes, yet even my most vivid memories suggest 5 minutes tops. Plus, Cobb says we use a mere fraction of our brains when awake and much more when asleep. For the first part, is he alluding to this old urban legend, only without the indignity of a specific figure? For the second, it sure seems to me that parts of my brain, like Wernicke's area, get left out of certain dreams. I could overlook these questionable claims more easily in a less intellectual film.
My one other minor complaint is that Nolan is falling into a rut in terms of coworkers, tho not as badly as Tim Burton. Hans Zimmer delivers as always, and Cillian Murphy works better than he did in Batman Begins, but why give the likable but limited Michael Caine a minute or two of screentime as the father of a French woman? [EDIT: Oops, turns out he's her father-in-law. Not quite so questionably cast, but I still think they could've found better.]
Nevertheless, the movie did not leave a sour taste in my mouth like it did for others. I've come to expect a bit of discomfort from Nolan movies. At least I wasn't sore at the protagonists this time; in fact, I sympathized more as the movie went on. Even the worst possible meaning for the ending isn't a real downer. I never felt too terribly lost, tho I certainly needed my brain in high gear.
To me, Inception is easier to enjoy, if not easier to respect, than The Prestige or even Memento. Whether it will lend itself to as much tangential conversation as Memento remains to be seen.
Just as interesting to me as the movie itself is how exactly I took the most interest. It wasn't the sci-fi focus, the action, or the special effects. It was the relationship of Cobb and his wife: Few stories assemble that much love, fear, and betrayal to my liking. Not only does it suggest that Inception has something for everybody, but this preference may be a sign of my maturity.
Or just my feminine side, which appears stronger than most straight men's. I did enjoy Pretty Woman last night.
Okay, that's not the only reason. Long-time readers may know that I take interest in VR, dreams, and the combination thereof; I even wrote a NaNoWriMo story involving it (not half as presentable as Inception). Alas, some writers deprive the premise of its best aspect: randomness. I deem eXistenZ mediocre partly because the advanced game world is too much like reality with reduced free will -- where's the fun in that? Inception has the mitigating factors of dream architects, experienced dream navigators, and business purposes, but they don't make up for the fact that Christopher Nolan is no Hitchcock when it comes to dream portrayal. Tho to be fair, few narratives in any medium really capture credible dreaming.
Moreover, I don't buy all the explicit premises. Maybe there's scientific evidence that our minds work fast enough to make dreams feel longer than they are, but I would've thought the opposite. My dreams often take time to revise themselves and then try to make me believe the earlier stuff didn't happen. I read once that the average dream lasts 20 minutes, yet even my most vivid memories suggest 5 minutes tops. Plus, Cobb says we use a mere fraction of our brains when awake and much more when asleep. For the first part, is he alluding to this old urban legend, only without the indignity of a specific figure? For the second, it sure seems to me that parts of my brain, like Wernicke's area, get left out of certain dreams. I could overlook these questionable claims more easily in a less intellectual film.
My one other minor complaint is that Nolan is falling into a rut in terms of coworkers, tho not as badly as Tim Burton. Hans Zimmer delivers as always, and Cillian Murphy works better than he did in Batman Begins, but why give the likable but limited Michael Caine a minute or two of screentime as the father of a French woman? [EDIT: Oops, turns out he's her father-in-law. Not quite so questionably cast, but I still think they could've found better.]
Nevertheless, the movie did not leave a sour taste in my mouth like it did for others. I've come to expect a bit of discomfort from Nolan movies. At least I wasn't sore at the protagonists this time; in fact, I sympathized more as the movie went on. Even the worst possible meaning for the ending isn't a real downer. I never felt too terribly lost, tho I certainly needed my brain in high gear.
To me, Inception is easier to enjoy, if not easier to respect, than The Prestige or even Memento. Whether it will lend itself to as much tangential conversation as Memento remains to be seen.
Just as interesting to me as the movie itself is how exactly I took the most interest. It wasn't the sci-fi focus, the action, or the special effects. It was the relationship of Cobb and his wife: Few stories assemble that much love, fear, and betrayal to my liking. Not only does it suggest that Inception has something for everybody, but this preference may be a sign of my maturity.
Or just my feminine side, which appears stronger than most straight men's. I did enjoy Pretty Woman last night.
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I wish there had been some more development of the supporting characters, especially since I've recently become a fan of Ellen Page. That was my only major gripe with the film. Maybe the DVD extras will expand their stories a little. I have a vague feeling that Nolan wanted to tell an even more complicated story that the one he presented, but time constraints and marketability forced him to make some cuts.
no subject
Like Memento and like my 2009 NaNo contribution, it includes a good short story told by a character as a late-life summary. By "good" I mean capable of standing alone. I'll make sure to have at least one of those in the first grown-up novel I seriously submit for publication.
I would call myself a Page fan, except that it's like calling myself an Emile Hirsch fan: not very meaningful when I've seen them in only two movies apiece.