Christopher Nolan + DiCaprio = Inception

[Blzer]

Re: Christopher Nolan + DiCaprio = Inception

Atticus Ross...Atticus Finch....same difference.

I was thinking too much of David Fincher lol.

And thanks CMH.

[CMH]

Re: Christopher Nolan + DiCaprio = Inception

By the way, I have the soundtrack and it truly is amazing. Love "Time." Just a perfect score for that ending.

[Blzer]

Re: Christopher Nolan + DiCaprio = Inception

By the way, I have the soundtrack and it truly is amazing. Love "Time." Just a perfect score for that ending.

Of course. It's on the Blu-ray so I made myself a physical CD by recording all of the songs through the computer's internal mic, then I included the two free downloadable songs through their website and added them in right before Time. It's 52 minutes of awesomeness.

(I don't have Half Remembered Dream or Waiting for a Train, though... these were left out of the Blu-ray)

[BatsareBugs]

Re: Christopher Nolan + DiCaprio = Inception

It's a darn shame that Inception didn't get best score, but whatever, sometimes the best never gets the award.

[AUChase]

Re: Christopher Nolan + DiCaprio = Inception

Finally saw this movie.

Wow Wow Wow!

It makes your' mind work, but at the same time you're not that confused.

I wasn't confused a bit, but I also don't think I could turn around and explain to someone what the movie is about... really good stuff.

[UncleMo]

Re: Christopher Nolan + DiCaprio = Inception

I'm curious, has anyone watched this movie mor than once, and if so why is that? Was it hard for you to follow the story line, or was it to see if you could get a different take on the movie, or some other reason(s)?

I once took an art class that explains alot of stuff purposely put into movies (relivion, numerology, and philosophies, for example), so this move was easy forme to knock out in one sitting as opposed to other movies.

Also, does anyone want to sell their soundtrack? I collect sound effects galore and I know this would be helpful for ambiance. I'd appreciate it.

[Beantown]

Re: Christopher Nolan + DiCaprio = Inception

I'm curious, has anyone watched this movie mor than once, and if so why is that? Was it hard for you to follow the story line, or was it to see if you could get a different take on the movie, or some other reason(s)?

I once took an art class that explains alot of stuff purposely put into movies (relivion, numerology, and philosophies, for example), so this move was easy forme to knock out in one sitting as opposed to other movies.

Also, does anyone want to sell their soundtrack? I collect sound effects galore and I know this would be helpful for ambiance. I'd appreciate it.

I've watched the movie 3 or 4 times. Mainly because I enjoy it, but also because every time I've watched it I've noticed one scene that somehow slipped by before, or one little comment, or action, that I missed.

[Blzer]

Re: Christopher Nolan + DiCaprio = Inception

I'm curious, has anyone watched this movie mor than once, and if so why is that? Was it hard for you to follow the story line, or was it to see if you could get a different take on the movie, or some other reason(s)?

I once took an art class that explains alot of stuff purposely put into movies (relivion, numerology, and philosophies, for example), so this move was easy forme to knock out in one sitting as opposed to other movies.

Also, does anyone want to sell their soundtrack? I collect sound effects galore and I know this would be helpful for ambiance. I'd appreciate it.

I'm not going to lie, I've watched this movie over twenty times already. I watched it more and more because I love the movie. I think I understand everything that there is to understand. That doesn't mean I know all the answers, but there are some things which just can't be answered based on what Nolan provided for us.

I never got a soundtrack because the Blu-ray came with one (except for two tracks). If you have the Blu-ray and PC with a BD drive, do what I did and record the track with an internal mic, save it as an MP3, and burn it on a CD for transport. Hell it's your music, as far as I'm concerned that's okay to do.

[ASB37]

Re: Christopher Nolan + DiCaprio = Inception

Personally for me, I love movies that I can watch multiple times and pick up new things with every viewing. I've seen inception probably 5 or 6 times and it's definitely fit that bill for me.

[AUChase]

Re: Christopher Nolan + DiCaprio = Inception

I'm glad I decided to buy this and not just watch it once.

There were a few instances where I would rewind it back about 30-40 seconds to make sure I heard something correctly.

Great movie!

[Sportsforever]

Re: Christopher Nolan + DiCaprio = Inception

I'm curious, has anyone watched this movie mor than once, and if so why is that? Was it hard for you to follow the story line, or was it to see if you could get a different take on the movie, or some other reason(s)?

I once took an art class that explains alot of stuff purposely put into movies (relivion, numerology, and philosophies, for example), so this move was easy forme to knock out in one sitting as opposed to other movies.

Also, does anyone want to sell their soundtrack? I collect sound effects galore and I know this would be helpful for ambiance. I'd appreciate it.

Yup...watched it on back to back nights when I first saw it. Not confused, just really, really enjoyed it.

[UncleMo]

Re: Christopher Nolan + DiCaprio = Inception

I'm not going to lie, I've watched this movie over twenty times already. I watched it more and more because I love the movie. I think I understand everything that there is to understand. That doesn't mean I know all the answers, but there are some things which just can't be answered based on what Nolan provided for us.

I never got a soundtrack because the Blu-ray came with one (except for two tracks). If you have the Blu-ray and PC with a BD drive, do what I did and record the track with an internal mic, save it as an MP3, and burn it on a CD for transport. Hell it's your music, as far as I'm concerned that's okay to do.

I can see it again, which would be my second time, and really would like to own it one day, but it intrigues me when someone says they've seen it this many times. It makes me wonder if I missed something when I'm pretty certain I did not.

What are a couple of things you'd tell someone to look for if they had never seen it?

[Blzer]

Re: Christopher Nolan + DiCaprio = Inception

I can see it again, which would be my second time, and really would like to own it one day, but it intrigues me when someone says they've seen it this many times. It makes me wonder if I missed something when I'm pretty certain I did not.

What are a couple of things you'd tell someone to look for if they had never seen it?

Hmm, where to begin? Well there are some small things you might read about over the Internet, but I tend to find out some on my own when I'm paying close enough attention. Here are a few:

Spoiler

- Recall the opening scene in Limbo where Cobb and an older version of Saito have a meet. For the most part, this simply appears to be "in media res," which is showing a chronologically later scene in the beginning, then rewinding until we meet back to it later. This isn't exactly the case, just by the dialogue exchange that occurs in the two different scenes. I don't know what aim Nolan was going for in trying to make the scenes as identical as possible with still having subtle differences, but there are two very small differences indeed. One is a change in a piece of dialogue, and one is a change in who says a piece of dialogue. I'd encourage you to pay close attention to that.

- Another is Cobb's wedding ring. If you scan his left hand enough times in scenes, you will notice when it is he wears it and when it is he doesn't. This might help you draw some conclusions about whether Cobb is awake or dreaming at the end of the movie.

- Now that you know from the start that Mal is a figment of Cobb's subconscious, I implore you to watch it that way. Don't think of Mal as Cobb's wife since she's running around everywhere like a crazy bitch, think of it as a situation of Cobb's projection which he cannot control. It will definitely deepen Cobb's character as you sink your teeth into him pretty much battling and confronting himself. The guilt that he feels and the belief that her death is his fault is what's haunting her, and that confrontation is the way to let go of that guilt. This is how everyone feels on a symbolic level, and this imagery on screen is the metaphor of that.

- It's very obviously pointed out and shown in the movie, but take note of the musical score combined with the song Non Je Regrette Rien. As we know per the dream rules, time feels more slow in the dream compared to real waking time. So as you hear the music normally on one level, a level down it will sound much slower. This is where you get that BRRRM BRRRM sound as part of the song. Composer Hans Zimmer worked on this and came up with the musical score for this movie based on that one sound alone. Genius work at its best.

- As long as there aren't any definitive answers on the ending, this movie is really a double-feature. You get to watch, analyze, and interpret the film in two entirely different ways based on whether you think Cobb is awake or dreaming at the end. Not only that, but you might want to ask yourself which inception is the important one to look at. Is it Fischer's inception or is it Cobb's? Ariadne could be scene as a piece to help him let go of Mal, getting through immigration could be seen as his inaccessible vault to his secrets, and seeing his children could be the actual inception taking place within his subconscious. He might be a better, happier man because of this, just like Fischer.

- This isn't really anything that's obscure as it's quite concretely laid out in the scene, but one of my favorite dialogue-ridden scenes is the one where Cobb plays out the Mr. Charles gambit. It's such a clever scene in the film based on Nolan's dream rules which has Fischer turn his subconscious against itself. I also love the 528491 bit as they have to keep re-reminding him about it somehow, and how he can subconsciously retain this number in his mind. The whole point of the inception was to go deep enough while allowing him to configure his father's emotions for himself. No wonder this script took so long to complete.

- I love how Nolan decided to make instances vague about whether we can confirm/deny Cobb being in reality or a dream. Take for example the Mombasa chase sequence. You have anonymous corporations chasing and shooting at him, a huge architectural maze-like city with the one moment of him being trapped between the walls, almost making it look like they're closing in on him... then Saito randomly shows up, almost coincidentally. It plays out in such surreal fashion that it very well could seem like a dream. Then afterward Cobb meets Yusuf and goes under with his sedation. Afterward, he tries to spin his totem as it falls and Saito enters, so he never gets a chance to check if he's dreaming or in reality. Nolan's direction here helps as he nearly plans every shot afterward to have scenes "being right in the middle of what's going on." I really don't know why he was snubbed of an Oscar for this movie.

- There are a lot of other small things sprinkled throughout that are just cool, like when Cobb and Mal are "building" on the sand and you see Cobb push over a sand building, and in the background you'll watch an entire building topple over. Or maybe something like looking at how the people are dressed in each dream layer based on the person who's dreaming or the environment they're in, as you can tell Arthur has an elegant taste in menswear from the first scene at Saito's hideout and also in the hotel. And remember something like Fischer's picture of him and his father. He puts it beside his father's bed in the real waking world and it also ends up in the snow dream on top of his safe. He also continually projects the picture in his wallet on the first two dream levels, hinting to Eames that there is something important about that picture that he would want to use for the inception. Oh and a small thing I thought was really cool was the scene where Ariadne creates a familiar world in her dream when she does that mirror trick... the cool part is that you cannot see the camera in these shots at all, despite the fact that it should be in full view. I'm not sure how Nolan did it, but I like it.

There are many more things that are better explained if you ask a question and I answer it, but these are small tidbits that can be more profoundly noticed on a second, third, and fourth viewing of this movie.

[UncleMo]

Re: Christopher Nolan + DiCaprio = Inception

Hmm, where to begin? Well there are some small things you might read about over the Internet, but I tend to find out some on my own when I'm paying close enough attention. Here are a few:

Spoiler

- Recall the opening scene in Limbo where Cobb and an older version of Saito have a meet. For the most part, this simply appears to be "in media res," which is showing a chronologically later scene in the beginning, then rewinding until we meet back to it later. This isn't exactly the case, just by the dialogue exchange that occurs in the two different scenes. I don't know what aim Nolan was going for in trying to make the scenes as identical as possible with still having subtle differences, but there are two very small differences indeed. One is a change in a piece of dialogue, and one is a change in who says a piece of dialogue. I'd encourage you to pay close attention to that.

- Another is Cobb's wedding ring. If you scan his left hand enough times in scenes, you will notice when it is he wears it and when it is he doesn't. This might help you draw some conclusions about whether Cobb is awake or dreaming at the end of the movie.

- Now that you know from the start that Mal is a figment of Cobb's subconscious, I implore you to watch it that way. Don't think of Mal as Cobb's wife since she's running around everywhere like a crazy bitch, think of it as a situation of Cobb's projection which he cannot control. It will definitely deepen Cobb's character as you sink your teeth into him pretty much battling and confronting himself. The guilt that he feels and the belief that her death is his fault is what's haunting her, and that confrontation is the way to let go of that guilt. This is how everyone feels on a symbolic level, and this imagery on screen is the metaphor of that.

- It's very obviously pointed out and shown in the movie, but take note of the musical score combined with the song Non Je Regrette Rien. As we know per the dream rules, time feels more slow in the dream compared to real waking time. So as you hear the music normally on one level, a level down it will sound much slower. This is where you get that BRRRM BRRRM sound as part of the song. Composer Hans Zimmer worked on this and came up with the musical score for this movie based on that one sound alone. Genius work at its best.

- As long as there aren't any definitive answers on the ending, this movie is really a double-feature. You get to watch, analyze, and interpret the film in two entirely different ways based on whether you think Cobb is awake or dreaming at the end. Not only that, but you might want to ask yourself which inception is the important one to look at. Is it Fischer's inception or is it Cobb's? Ariadne could be scene as a piece to help him let go of Mal, getting through immigration could be seen as his inaccessible vault to his secrets, and seeing his children could be the actual inception taking place within his subconscious. He might be a better, happier man because of this, just like Fischer.

- This isn't really anything that's obscure as it's quite concretely laid out in the scene, but one of my favorite dialogue-ridden scenes is the one where Cobb plays out the Mr. Charles gambit. It's such a clever scene in the film based on Nolan's dream rules which has Fischer turn his subconscious against itself. I also love the 528491 bit as they have to keep re-reminding him about it somehow, and how he can subconsciously retain this number in his mind. The whole point of the inception was to go deep enough while allowing him to configure his father's emotions for himself. No wonder this script took so long to complete.

- I love how Nolan decided to make instances vague about whether we can confirm/deny Cobb being in reality or a dream. Take for example the Mombasa chase sequence. You have anonymous corporations chasing and shooting at him, a huge architectural maze-like city with the one moment of him being trapped between the walls, almost making it look like they're closing in on him... then Saito randomly shows up, almost coincidentally. It plays out in such surreal fashion that it very well could seem like a dream. Then afterward Cobb meets Yusuf and goes under with his sedation. Afterward, he tries to spin his totem as it falls and Saito enters, so he never gets a chance to check if he's dreaming or in reality. Nolan's direction here helps as he nearly plans every shot afterward to have scenes "being right in the middle of what's going on." I really don't know why he was snubbed of an Oscar for this movie.

- There are a lot of other small things sprinkled throughout that are just cool, like when Cobb and Mal are "building" on the sand and you see Cobb push over a sand building, and in the background you'll watch an entire building topple over. Or maybe something like looking at how the people are dressed in each dream layer based on the person who's dreaming or the environment they're in, as you can tell Arthur has an elegant taste in menswear from the first scene at Saito's hideout and also in the hotel. And remember something like Fischer's picture of him and his father. He puts it beside his father's bed in the real waking world and it also ends up in the snow dream on top of his safe. He also continually projects the picture in his wallet on the first two dream levels, hinting to Eames that there is something important about that picture that he would want to use for the inception. Oh and a small thing I thought was really cool was the scene where Ariadne creates a familiar world in her dream when she does that mirror trick... the cool part is that you cannot see the camera in these shots at all, despite the fact that it should be in full view. I'm not sure how Nolan did it, but I like it.

There are many more things that are better explained if you ask a question and I answer it, but these are small tidbits that can be more profoundly noticed on a second, third, and fourth viewing of this movie.

That was a lot, and I'm glad for it. Just one question, why would you think Cobb (DiCaprio) is not awake at the end?

[Blzer]

Re: Christopher Nolan + DiCaprio = Inception

That was a lot, and I'm glad for it. Just one question, why would you think Cobb (DiCaprio) is not awake at the end?

Spoiler

Well you could argue that the way Nolan spins the real world and dream world together, too many things just appear too coincidential for it to actually be in the real world. For starters, one phone call from Saito and he is cleared free of murder charges as well as any charges for fleeing the country? Miles is one step ahead of him in Los Angeles, greeting him in open arms? The kids are in familiar looking clothes and positions, despite everything being subtly different as well as them being older? It almost seems too perfect. And then there is the top, still spinning as it cuts to black. Yes it wobbles as it's starting to lose centripetal force, but we don't know what happened a second later. We are left hanging onto our breath for that fall that never happens. Unless that top falls, you can never say for sure that he is awake.

And then you'd ask why this would even come into question anyway. Why would he be dreaming? Well, think about what his projection of Mal said. He doesn't believe in one world to be reality anymore. In the real world he can no longer create; he can't dream, he can't perceive Mal, and he can't live with his children. In the dream world, he is afforded these luxuries with the one inkling of knowing that his world isn't in fact real. This is why he left Limbo the first time, but this time he was offered a choice. Choose to be with his projections, or choose to live free of the guilt that has been haunting him for two or so years after her death. His team might have decided it would be best to keep Cobb happy, however it is. As I said, they might have kept him down there and constructed a world that he'll call reality. As long as he has his children, he might as well accept that the world is real, no matter what the top tells him. It will be his inception.

What's actually funny about this idea, like I said, is you can watch the movie completely differently and maybe think like the entire thing is built around him. "We all yearn for reconciliation, for catharsis. We want [Robert Fischer] to have a positive emotional impact on all of this." Look at Cobb at the end and tell me he isn't happy. It's not the truth that matters (like Fischer and his father's somewhat minor distaste for his own son), it's what matters most to the subject to be positively stricken by the inception taking place. Think about the meeting between Cobb and Eames in Mombasa and tell me that it couldn't have been spun towards Cobb if we wanted to read it that way. Just like how Cobb convinced Fischer they were only one level down and they were going into Browning's subconscious, it's that very kind of subconscious thought that will get them deeper into the recess of his mind, not necessarily the depth levels themselves. Same with Cobb... hearing about what the absolute basic things you need for inception, about relationships and so on and so forth, is exactly the mindset he needs to be implanted with the seed that they're targeting.

You could say that Ariadne was just a student, but she might just be a plant, someone who follows Cobb into finding out the truth that he once knew but will subconsciously choose to forget. He could forget about his reality and he could choose what he believes in. Be it the real world or a dream, it's not the totem that will convince him one way or the other anymore. Just like Mal, she jumped despite what her totem would do. The inception superseded the totem's power over her mind.

Now keep in mind all of this could be heavily disputed either way. I for one would prefer the ending is reality, but that Nolan put this stuff in place anyway. I'm the kind of person who does not like giving the writer/director credit that they don't deserve, i.e. finding something "hidden" within the lines of the movie that weren't supposed to be there in the first place. When it comes to Inception, nearly every time we read between the lines, it was absolutely Nolan's intent for it to be there. These arguments are here for this very reason, because Nolan made it that impossible to know for sure.

And it's not like he made it vague either, he made it very concrete... you just don't know which side of the spectrum it's supposed to heir to; this reminds me very much of the Penrose Staircase idea used in the movie, creating an illusion of something being possible when in fact it really isn't. Now tell me that writing and directing isn't Oscar-worthy.