Agree with most of what you said. I loved the movie, but I've only seen it once. I need to see it again... and again. And I agree with you on the cast really being an ensemble and no one really carrying the film. I personally think that the narrative carried it and the interesting plot. I loved all of them. I also found it interesting that Leo's character in this was somewhat similar to the one he played in Shutter Island, including the crazy wife and all. :/ Maybe it was just a coincidence. Best score ever too. Hans Zimmer is a genius, but I think we all know that
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Haha, I know right? I had a feeling once they revealed the whole 'his wife is dead' thing that this could be similar to Shutter Island. And then low and behold, the "twist" at the end just sealed the deal.
I think the ending could've been bad if they tried to make it too obvious but it was just enough of a tease so the audience feels uneasy but not so much that you know it was a contrived twist.
LOL, people I saw it with got fed with Mal and the kids too whenever they appeared. They were like "LEO GET OVER IT".
I did like how dark Nolan went with Mal's character though. I was thinking about it, and other than Carrie Anne Moss' character in Memento, that's the darkest he's ever gone with a female character.
IMO, this is probably his best movie for female characters. While I love what he did for the Batman franchise, I don't think he put much effort into the female character(s) there.
SECOND VIEWING-- DEFINITELY SAW MORE WOBBLING THAN THE FIRST TIME.
And this time, I looked really really closely every time they spun the totem in the movie and tried to see which one the final spin resembled more. I think the 'dream' spinning is just so uniform and continuous that the final scene is just a little more wobbly than that. But then those stupid kids look the same. DAMN YOU NOLAN.
i'm just going to let it be and stop thinking about it. makes it more fun. i remember the first time i watched Memento my instincts went to OH YAY HE KILLED THE GUY and then the second time around i realized OMG WHAT IF HE'S BEEN KILLING ALL THESE GUYS THINKING THEY'RE THE KILLER.
it definitely seemed so real though right? what with Michael Caine and then his kids turning around. but then they wear the same clothes and i definitely feel like he's been on the run for a bunch of years etc. ughh
Great review--- yeah i think Leo should get a nomination for Shutter Island, and if the year rolls out with no other solid performances, Marion does have a good shot at Best Supporting, at least at the Globes, because her performance was crazy effective.
the cast should DEFINITELY get best ensemble at the SAGs. I felt like all of them had their gameface on throughout the whole film and also injected a bit of their own interpretation into the characters which was fun.
I actually really liked Ellen Page's character, which I totally didn't expect since I was so worried at the start she would be like this kid being dragged along the ride but she held her own very well.
I loved Mal but when she appeared at the snowstorm scene, I felt it was a little unnecessary.. or maybe i was irritated. other than that i thought she was a fantastic character.
the twist of how Dom's words came back to bite him-- about the idea being a parasite, the most resilient thing---, that was brilliant.
This is like the epitome of a great ensemble. Everyone does their part exactly right and together, they elevate the film as opposed to having one person carry all the weight.
I liked Ellen too, mostly because she was always voicing what I was thinking to Cobb (DUDE WTF) so it was really easy to for me to get behind the character. There were a few moments where I thought she wasn't really needed, especially when all the action/gun fire starts and she's the only one who isn't like doing anything. On the other hand, I think they could've cast someone a little more mature (not necessarily older but more mature looking) and could've played up the Arthur/Ariadne pairing more.
Haha, everyone I saw this with was soooo annoyed with Mal and those kids. They were like, WTF THIS BITCH AGAIN.
Ahh i would have loved to see a little more Arthur/Ariadne because I'm a sucker for stuff like that! I was convinced they were going to make out in the underwater van scene when they floated out to the surface lol!
I thought they were gonna get more too but it turned out to just be that one brief peck in the hotel. But I guess they didn't really build it up much (Ariadne seemed to have more of connection with Hobb in a plantonic way) so it wasn't really going to be a legit romance. It was just a cute light moment that broke the tension a bit.
Haha, that part where they're using the air tank, I thought so too.
Haha! Isn't it awesome? I love those movies where you just can't stop thinking about it afterwards.
Dude, JGL was HOT as hell and that zero gravity fight scene.. damn. I'm not usually into guys that skinny but he looked good in that suit. The guys were just all around good-looking in this movie. Leo, JGL, Hardy, Murphy, Watanabe- ALL HOT.
It took me so long to just get the gist of that movie, I feel absolutely compelled to go see it again to get all the little details that I missed the first time around. my friends and i are convinced that the top fell. we got so mad when we never found out
This movie was really easy on the eyes as far as the guys are concerned. Everyone was hot! (and the suits definitely support my case)
Ugh, it's just one of those things where you can believe one thing or another. The second time around, I definitely leaned more towards falling cause the first time I was too stunned to pay close enough attention.
I thought it was JUST confusing enough. Like, I had to work at it, but once I did, it was satisfying and it made me feel smart. And I always enjoy that. Same with The Prestige, really, although that was more of a 'gotcha' ending, whereas this was just...consistently twisty and smart in a different way.
I too thought the beginning and the end went REALLY quickly and jumped from scene to scene really dizzingly--but then I realized, that's how dreams are. So the definitely-reality parts of the movie were structured like dreams, like it was our dream, not the characters'. That's awesome
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Haha, it's like a movie where you have to pay attention but if you do, then you shouldn't get lost or anything. I think the most 'confusing' aspect of it was actually how they slowly revealed what happened to Mal and didn't really tell us the truth until towards the end.
I guess the anti-gravity thing worked because it's actually based in physics. Being in free fall (and then slowed down to the next level) really does mean there's no gravity. The only thing is that it didn't seem to carry over to the third level cause didn't they feel the van hitting the bridge in the mountains too? Anyways, it would've been too weird to have zero gravity on a mountain I guess.
Yeah, on my second viewing, I tried to pay really close attention whenever the totem was spun and there is a big difference between the last spin and how it usually spins in a dream. That's interesting-- also since Cobb had already been down in limbo, he could withstand the whole 'going crazy' thing unlike Saito.
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I think the ending could've been bad if they tried to make it too obvious but it was just enough of a tease so the audience feels uneasy but not so much that you know it was a contrived twist.
LOL, people I saw it with got fed with Mal and the kids too whenever they appeared. They were like "LEO GET OVER IT".
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And this time, I looked really really closely every time they spun the totem in the movie and tried to see which one the final spin resembled more. I think the 'dream' spinning is just so uniform and continuous that the final scene is just a little more wobbly than that. But then those stupid kids look the same. DAMN YOU NOLAN.
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it definitely seemed so real though right? what with Michael Caine and then his kids turning around. but then they wear the same clothes and i definitely feel like he's been on the run for a bunch of years etc. ughh
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This better get lots of Oscar nominations or else.
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the cast should DEFINITELY get best ensemble at the SAGs. I felt like all of them had their gameface on throughout the whole film and also injected a bit of their own interpretation into the characters which was fun.
I actually really liked Ellen Page's character, which I totally didn't expect since I was so worried at the start she would be like this kid being dragged along the ride but she held her own very well.
I loved Mal but when she appeared at the snowstorm scene, I felt it was a little unnecessary.. or maybe i was irritated. other than that i thought she was a fantastic character.
the twist of how Dom's words came back to bite him-- about the idea being a parasite, the most resilient thing---, that was brilliant.
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I liked Ellen too, mostly because she was always voicing what I was thinking to Cobb (DUDE WTF) so it was really easy to for me to get behind the character. There were a few moments where I thought she wasn't really needed, especially when all the action/gun fire starts and she's the only one who isn't like doing anything. On the other hand, I think they could've cast someone a little more mature (not necessarily older but more mature looking) and could've played up the Arthur/Ariadne pairing more.
Haha, everyone I saw this with was soooo annoyed with Mal and those kids. They were like, WTF THIS BITCH AGAIN.
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Ahh i would have loved to see a little more Arthur/Ariadne because I'm a sucker for stuff like that! I was convinced they were going to make out in the underwater van scene when they floated out to the surface lol!
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Haha, that part where they're using the air tank, I thought so too.
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I loved it, frankly. It was the right kind of mindfuck that left my friends and I wanting more (we screamed 'WHAT WAS THIS' once the movie ended)
And also, JGL is quite the attractive man in that movie, with his hair all slicked back and the like~
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Dude, JGL was HOT as hell and that zero gravity fight scene.. damn. I'm not usually into guys that skinny but he looked good in that suit. The guys were just all around good-looking in this movie. Leo, JGL, Hardy, Murphy, Watanabe- ALL HOT.
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my friends and i are convinced that the top fell. we got so mad when we never found out
This movie was really easy on the eyes as far as the guys are concerned. Everyone was hot! (and the suits definitely support my case)
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The suits, the ski gear, all of it was HOT.
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I too thought the beginning and the end went REALLY quickly and jumped from scene to scene really dizzingly--but then I realized, that's how dreams are. So the definitely-reality parts of the movie were structured like dreams, like it was our dream, not the characters'. That's awesome ( ... )
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I guess the anti-gravity thing worked because it's actually based in physics. Being in free fall (and then slowed down to the next level) really does mean there's no gravity. The only thing is that it didn't seem to carry over to the third level cause didn't they feel the van hitting the bridge in the mountains too? Anyways, it would've been too weird to have zero gravity on a mountain I guess.
Yeah, on my second viewing, I tried to pay really close attention whenever the totem was spun and there is a big difference between the last spin and how it usually spins in a dream. That's interesting-- also since Cobb had already been down in limbo, he could withstand the whole 'going crazy' thing unlike Saito.
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