[DeadDiscoDildo]

^^Funny, Im kind of seeing this girl who also studied philosophy in college, and she said the same thing about it. They could have done more with the dream within a dream etc. She thought it was safe.

I enjoyed it as far as summer blockbusters go, wasn't super impressed with the twist or even the importance of the twist, but I thought as far as mainstream shit goes it did a good job of not being too dumb or too great. A nice medium. Which doesn't bother me too much, because I didnt expect anything going into it.

[atsonicpark]

There was a twist?

[pbradley]

The twist, itself, is the open ending as to whether Cobb was in reality or still in a dream.

Personally, I think the film had firmly established for itself that the ending was real, or at least 'real' in the sense of what the film presented as the base world as given. The suggestion the ending leaves that it is not is reaching, in my opinion.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

I don't think it was like any of those movies! (though the Matrix one makes the most sense, "jacking in" to people's minds I guess but it was a completely different idea; if anything, this is more like Dark City! The whole sleep thing and whatnot..)

This movie was brilliant in a vaguely sci-fi way, without being overly ridiculous about it. There were times when I wish it went a little further because all the stuff at the beginning with the staircases of infinity, and the explosions everywhere made me think the movie was going to have all sorts of cool little set pieces. But after the train through the city, and the crumbling buildings and whatnot and the fighting in the loss of gravity, I decided that they probably did the right amount of "what the fuck" parts. I mean, if the whole movie was like that, it wouldn't have.... lemme rephrase: I appreciated its subtleness, and seriousness, even dealing with something sorta ridiculous.

I bet this thing was a NIGHTMARE to edit and write. If you notice, the entire movie is constantly in motion. Not bad for 2 1/2 hours, that it doesn't get exhausting, while still moving and moving and moving. It can cut back and forth, to and from 4 different locations simultaneously, and we immediately know where we are.

The movie isn't dumbed down but not too overly complex. But it was clearly made by brilliant people. And Nolan doesn't think his audience is completely stupid.

Great film.

I loved this film, but then again it was based entirely on the concept we psychedelics are deeply familiar with, "the Fear" and I was hooked. It took me three weeks to go to the theater, but thats because I have been to the theaters all of three times in the past 8 years, and this was well worth the trip. It will go down as one of my all-time favs once I get the DVD..

You are ridiculously correct on the writing! Its like the first two Terminator series, everything is looped together at crazy pieces and the films resonates on a million levels..

I especially enjoyed the fact that in the end it was a psychedelic story about a dude on the rebound, clinging to a lost past, and threading that idea into a serious mind fuck about the reality of reality. I love it!

I could see all the Dark City influences Nolan mentioned, and I really liked that it was not drenched with way-to-obvious computer graphics.. it struck me in the vein of late-80s to early-90s sci-fi, much more subtle than overwhelming and relying on the psychology as much or more so than the visual imagery! pure brilliance!

Originally Posted by pbradley

The twist, itself, is the open ending as to whether Cobb was in reality or still in a dream.

Personally, I think the film had firmly established for itself that the ending was real, or at least 'real' in the sense of what the film presented as the base world as given. The suggestion the ending leaves that it is not is reaching, in my opinion.

I think it left the psychedelic mind fuck ending open, as I always thought from the beginning, that the entire FILM was a hallucination/vision quest, and that NONE of it was real, and the ending was just a continuation of the beginning, a free-associative loop into infinity, the cruelty of what some of us have experienced, "the Fear"

[alteredcourse]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

"the Fear" and I was hooked.......................................and the ending was just a continuation of the beginning, a free-associative loop into infinity, the cruelty of what some of us have experienced, "the Fear"

Yeah, that's pretty much how I felt about. I couldnt NOT associate The Fear with what they were all avoiding, and it gave me the willies. I am curious though about what people think who dont have that influence over their minds.

To anyone who hoped they'd take the dream within a dream etc concept further, what would you have done ? (i dont mean that as an accusation like "if youre so good, why dont you make a movie! sssshh adam) but I'm just curious about what kinds of ideas or inspiration crossed your minds.

Overall, the film was generally a pretty standard formula in terms of an action movie. The only difference was that instead of different teams of people in different geographic locations working simultaneously, the physical space wasnt geographical but on mental planes, so that it wasnt different teams, but the same teams doing a bunch of stuff at once. The wonky bit that makes this all possible is the time slowingness formula.

Did anyone else keep seeing graphs of how you perceived everything progressing in your minds, like images of spirals and stuff ?

Anyway, sorry, I'm just trying to work it all out.

Edit, by the way, I liked the movie a lot! Didnt LOVE, but yeah, it was good! The pacing was so steady (as adam mentioned, the constant motion) that there didnt appear to be any twists. Things just happened in good order and there were really no surprises, I felt like I was held in a perfect balance of anxiety for whats to come and satisfaction for what had gone on the whole time.

The other thing, was that at the end when they're in the airport and they're acting like they dont know eachother but still acknowledging eachother, I kept pointing people out and feeling like "hey guys! hows it going!" like they were my buddies and we had all experienced a crazy trip and that we'd all been through something.

[DeadDiscoDildo]

I've never heard of "the fear" and I'd rather hear from one of you guys in your words than google it. I'm intruiged.

[terminal pharmacy]

I saw it last night, I thought it to be a dumbed down easy to understand variation on cronenberg's existenz. Inception was good but no real twists and turns. An ok action flick.

[screamingskull]

the rumour is that when leo's character goes to the medicine man and they go down into the basement, and the medicine man put him under to try out his super potent drugs, that everything after that is a dream, after that point you never see the spinner drop, leo catches it every time before it can drop... think about it...

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by DeadDiscoDildo

I've never heard of "the fear" and I'd rather hear from one of you guys in your words than google it. I'm intruiged.

the fear is the idea that reality itself is not real, that perhaps you have always been hallucinating and that under the influence of these plants, you have discovered that what you thought was real is in fact the dream, and that the dreamed is in fact the truth. Your whole reality begins to disintegrate and collapse, and naturally if you are unprepared or far to attached to your outlook on reality, then it can create a primal, life-or-death fear. However, once you come to terms with the potential that your whole life is the dream, and what you thought was the dreamed is in fact real it is a rather revelatory experience. It becomes the Fear whenever you are too attached to what you thought was real to accept what you are discovering is really real.

[DeadDiscoDildo]

I should have just said "yeah".

[alteredcourse]

Thank you suchfriends, I started to make a reply but I did not have the words. I started with the idea that it slices past the paranoia of the outside world to the feeling of being suffocated in that feeling where you are trapped in a black hole, thinking you are dead and will feel that way for eternity, that you cannot go back to reality as you knew it because everythings changed. I didnt think I could have explained it any better. Thank you!! I still get the willies thinking about it.

Question for you then,
Have you been able to navigate yourself out of such a state?
How often do you do mushrooms, and do you tend to keep anything particular in mind when you do them? Have you done them by yourself, and what is it like to take them with something deliberate in mind, such as a "vision quest" ?

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by alteredcourse

Thank you suchfriends, I started to make a reply but I did not have the words. I started with the idea that it slices past the paranoia of the outside world to the feeling of being suffocated in that feeling where you are trapped in a black hole, thinking you are dead and will feel that way for eternity, that you cannot go back to reality as you knew it because everythings changed. I didnt think I could have explained it any better. Thank you!! I still get the willies thinking about it.

thats what happened when I smoked salvia, and I didn't dare touch so much as a single mushroom for over year after, when before that I generally ate mushrooms weekly..

Question for you then,
Have you been able to navigate yourself out of such a state?
How often do you do mushrooms, and do you tend to keep anything particular in mind when you do them? Have you done them by yourself, and what is it like to take them with something deliberate in mind, such as a "vision quest" ?

Only the grace and mercy of the ever-living Jah could guide me out of the mitote that is the hell of our collective bad dream we call civilization. The power plants simply let you see the strings that were always behind the puppetry of our imaginary so-called real world.
I consume mushrooms as regularly as they appear in my life, sometimes a lot, sometimes sporadic, whenever the spirit of life brings them my way I consume and enjoy. Its never an intentional vision quest, and yet it always is one. the trick is no deliberations at all, nothing contrived. let the life in you flow out, let the dreamer inside explain to you the dream you have been living..

mushrooms take you out of Plato's cave

[alteredcourse]

Absolutely beautiful.

[EVOLghost]

ugh you make me want shrooms now. A friend of mine er...has some Iboga root. so that may come first....

[alteredcourse]

suchfriends: You'll understand when I'm dead.

[Jeremy]

FINALLY saw this earlier today and was blown away, and I already had very high expectations (Nolan can do no wrong in my eyes).

I can't really add anything that people haven't already said. It's just one amazing movie with such an unique and creative plot done with excellent execution. Everybody worked hard on it and you can tell.

Even when you begin to second think somethings, say, "The car is hitting the water first, but yet none of them are getting the 'kick'", there always seems to be a certain mystique surrounding the whole thing. Just brilliant stuff.

If Joseph Gordon-Levitt does end up playing The Riddler as rumored in Batman 3, I now feel he can do an incredible job with the role. And if anybody out there still doubts Leonardo DiCaprio's acting ability, they're nuts.

~Jeremy~

[chicka]

Originally Posted by screamingskull

the rumour is that when leo's character goes to the medicine man and they go down into the basement, and the medicine man put him under to try out his super potent drugs, that everything after that is a dream, after that point you never see the spinner drop, leo catches it every time before it can drop... think about it...

interesting I definitely didn't catch that but didn't Ellen Page develop her reality device after the visit to the medicine man and test it out? I just might have to go see it again thanks to you SS aka Rosie (yes?)

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by chicka

interesting I definitely didn't catch that but didn't Ellen Page develop her reality device after the visit to the medicine man and test it out? I just might have to go see it again thanks to you SS aka Rosie (yes?)

no, we never really confirm that either Ellen's or Leo's totems every actually were real..

[pbradley]

My theory is that I fell asleep after the first act.

[nicfit]

watched it tonight.
yes it came out today in italy.
always up to date, eh.

Anyways:

quick review for those not interested in the "deeper stuff":

It's Ocean's Eleven for psychos.
I liked it a lot.

about the other stuff: no time to type. Lots of open interpretations imo, the ending included, but not so much.