Theme Week!!!!!

This week I'm going to try something new and do an entire week of reviews with one thing in common. This week the theme is TOM HARDY. Because nobody can stop me and I heart him. I did Mad Max Fury Road the other week and that doesn't count. This entry is going to be Monday's entry because I didn't get around to writing it last night. So, we're going to talk about Inception. Yeah, I'm going there. Not only does this movie have Hardy, it was made by my favorite director Chris Nolan. Hm, that gives me an idea for another theme week. Anyway, back to Inception. I really doubt that anybody completely comprehended this movie the first time they saw it. When I first saw Inception it completely blew mind in the best possible way. My head hurt when I walked out of that theater and I completely loved it. Nolan has this way of bending minds so that you don't completely understand what's going on but you can kind of keep up. You just kind of pretend you know what's going on to get through the movie. With repeated viewings, you understand more and more. It's the type of movie where you can find something new you never saw before with each viewing. Chris Nolan always manages to mix the real science with slightly less real science that makes a damn good story. So, DREAMS! Who doesn't love a good movie about dreams? Bonus, Joseph Gordon Levitt is in it. JGL and Tom Hardy?! Madness. Hardy's role isn't the biggest but it's probably the funniest. He has some good one-liners.

Leo: That bounty on my head, was it dead or alive?
Tom: Can't remember. See if they start shooting.

Ah, love him. Anyway, back to Inception. Let's talk science. It's a neat concept that you could go in to other people's subconscious. Scary, but neat. We have all had that feeling of being jerked awake by a falling sensation and that is a key part of this movie. Also mentioned is how we never know how we get to a place in a dream. We just sort of come into it in the middle. These things that we all experience are what sucks us into this movie without automatically discrediting crazy science. See what I mean? Chris Nolan is brilliant. I know the internet has examined the crap out of this movie and there are so many theories out there that could all be right because there isn't a clear answer to this whole movie. I have a question about the totems. You are the only one that should know the exact weight and feel of your totem. I get that. Cobb's totem bothers me though. For one, it's not his, it's his dead wife's. Which opens up a whole can of worms about if this is his dream or limbo or yada yada. I won't get in to that. The biggest thing that bothers me is he has to spin his totem and if he's in "real life" then the totem will wobble and fall over and eventually stop spinning. He says that in a dream the top will just keep spinning and spinning. But, why? Why would a top just keep spinning in a dream if we all know that eventually they stop? This just bothers me. And then the ending. We see the top spinning and this is surely where the audience finds out the answer to the whole movie right? Wrong. The top wobbles. Or does it? It is seen going and going so you think dream and then it wobbles slightly and cuts to black. Does that mean it would have stopped? Damn you Chris Nolan! Of course it's going to be one of those "make up your own mind about what happens" types of movies. Another thing that bothers me is the architect. I don't completely understand that whole thing. Cobb says the architect just has to put basic places together and the dreamer fills in the rest themselves. I can kind of get on that train. But a person building a complete city? That shouldn't look like some place in real life? I just think there is a big flaw in that. And what is with Cobb's wife Mal coming in to ruin these dream journeys? How? Why?

Characters. The main man Cobb is just not a character I like very much. He's crazy and puts his whole team in danger. His dead wife keeps popping up and ruining things. Ok and they named her Mal. Come on. You literally just named the character "bad." That's what Mal means. Could they make it any more obvious? Then there's Arthur played by JGL. He's got the most sense and is totally badass. Then comes Eames. Ah, Eames. The lovely Tom Hardy. Even more badass than JGL and funny. Ariadne comes in as the new architect and is played by Ellen Page. Cool ass name Ariadne but her character is kind of whiny and annoying. She pushes her way in to situations that are none of her business and spends most of her time like "oh Cobb, you're putting everyone in danger and Mal is ruining everything and we need to tell everybody" blah blah blah. Just tell them then. And there's of course a few more main players but I don't want to talk about them. Everybody did their parts well and I don't think any body was mis-cast.

Cinematography. Nolan is very pro at getting great shots and angles and knows exactly how to film scenes. He even managed to add a couple moments that made you jump which is interesting in a movie that isn't supposed to be scary. I know Nolan likes to use CGI as little as possible and try to do everything in the actual environment so there aren't any scenes that just overly look computer generated. Even the scene where Ariadne turns half a city to a 90 degree angle looks pretty legit. The scene of slow motion exploding buildings and such was even actually done around the actors. He really blew things up. The coolest part is when Arthur is fighting in zero gravity. Nolan actually simulated zero g with a tube like structure that could rotate. JGL was hooked on wires of course but by putting the camera in one place and spinning them you create the scene more accurately. It's all very technological but so cool.

Closing remarks. Lessons learned: inception is bad, pain is in the mind so it can hurt if you get shot in a dream and don't die and go back to reality, stay out of other people's dreams, and most importantly what is reality? It's like the Matrix all over again. This movie is a classic and will be referenced for a long time to come. It will be studied and examined scholastically too. It's just that good and has that much depth. Reading all of the theories stemming from Inception is also very fascinating. Spend a day doing that. Your brain will hurt. Inception isn't one of those movies, however, that I will just put on any ole time and watch it frequently. It's definitely and endeavor going into it. I also find myself getting bored about 4/5 of the way through because I know the whole ending and it just gets tiresome and drags on. I do regret that I will never get to see this movie for the first time ever again (unless I end up with amnesia but I'm not gonna talk about that). There are few movies on that list of movies I get sad that I will never see for the first time again. I do love being there with other people who are seeing it for the first time though. That's fun. In fact, the majority of said list are Nolan's movies. Imagine that. I won't even go into Interstellar. I still haven't recovered from that one. Anyway, all in all, stay out of my dreams and subconscious ok?

Stay tuned for more Tom Hardy tomorrow. I will do 2 (gasp) reviews to make up for today (Tuesday) and then get to Wednesday's.