Movie Monday: Inception

SHE SAID:

Going into this movie I had pretty low expectations. The idea of invading people’s dreams and messing with their thoughts seemed a bit too far out there for my liking, but I knew Brad really wanted to see it so I gave it a chance, albeit a very small one.

The first half hour or so of the film lived up to my lowly expectations. As my confusion increased more and more with the plot, I sunk deeper and deeper into my seat, waiting for it to end. A couple factors played into my confusion – one, there is a ridiculous amount of time warping at the beginning and two, I hadn’t read up on the film enough before going. To avoid the latter pitfall, I highly recommend reading a brief synopsis before proceeding to the theatre.

Strangely enough, after the first half hour when Ellen Page walked onto the screen, the plot began to make a little bit of sense to me. Up until that point the acting was all that carried me through. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a convincing major role alongside the likes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer), Michael Caine and Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins).

I would say that maybe this one’s a renter (so that you can rewind during the confusing parts) but the special effects should be seen on the big screen if at all possible. If you can trudge through the first half hour you won’t be disappointed and the ending will leave you satisfied.

HE SAID:

Have you ever been close to falling asleep only to be jolted awake as if you had been shocked by a defibrillator? Or how about waking up from a dream only to find out that it was a dream within a dream? These are only two of the many aspects of dreams that are explored in Christopher Nolan’s new film Inception.

Inception stars Leonardo DiCaprio, and Halifax’s own Ellen Page in a mind bending heist movie about dreams. If it sounds weird and intriguing, that’s because it is. The basic premise is simple enough. Cobb (played by DiCaprio) has found a way to get inside people’s dreams and extract thoughts that are hidden deep in their subconscious. Things take a turn when he is presented with the challenge of placing a thought in someone’s mind rather than taking it out, i.e. inception.

I won’t bog you down with any more plot description than that. All I can say is I loved every minute of this movie. For all the hype that surrounded Avatar, this movie deserves that and more. The visuals were amazing, and, imagine this, the story was even better.

Unfortunately there was something that I didn’t enjoy about my night at the movies. Thankfully it had nothing to do with the movie itself. We sat towards the end of a row where there were two empty seats next to the aisle and then me. The lights went down, the previews started, then in walks a couple who decide to plunk down right next to me. Maybe I’m weird, but when I have to sit next to strangers in a theatre that isn’t packed full, I try to leave at least one empty seat between us for a personal space buffer zone. Anyway, I figured maybe there were no better seats available so I got over it. That is until the grocery bag FULL of food came out. Oh my sweet stars above…I’m getting anxious just thinking about it. Not only was it a grocery bag full of food, it was full of food in noisy wrappers. They literally ate for two hours straight. They rummaged through the plastic bag a thousand times, opened at least 15 of those mini chip bags, chewed with their mouthes open, and burped out loud, through almost the entire movie, including the quiet parts. I was fit to be tied. As a result, I missed a few chunks of the plot, which is not a good thing in a movie like this. The sad part of the whole thing is that I can’t remember the last time I went to the theatre and something like this didn’t happen. Anyway, that’s the end of my rant.

Despite my surroundings I really enjoyed Inception. It was very complex, but not impossible to follow. If you’re looking for a light hearted movie for a weekend date night, this may not be the best choice. But if you’re looking for something visually amazing that leaves you thinking, this is it.

If you’ve seen Inception, let us know what you thought of it. Also, if you can relate to my experience with noisy theatre neighbours, tell us about that too.