Inception

I went to the Squirrel Hill Theater yesterday and saw Inception. It was entertaining, mesmerizing, confusing, and frightening. It tries to work upon the ideas of dreams within dreams, and much of the movie is set in these somewhat lucid settings. To describe the plot would explain little. The gift of this film was being in the moment.

Acting was top notch. I like Leonardo DiCaprio immensely and feel that he is becoming the best actor of his generation. Joseph Gordon Levitt is right there with him, and Ellen Page manages to hold her own with an emotional resonance.

The movie operates a bit like a heist flick, with a team being assembled in order to carry out a mission that will take place within the subconsciousness of their target. What I really liked were the rules that they established early on, and how they managed to adhere to or play with those rules as the movie progressed. Rules always manage to heighten the emotional experience, whether it be not crossing the streams in Ghostbusters or the logic of time travel in Back to the Future or Primer.

As much as I like the idea of doing a gigantic expensive blockbuster that also demands that you pay close attention, I was wondering if that much money really had to go into the production. It did look phenomenal, but I feel like just as much can be accomplished on a shoestring budget. Either way, when you direct one of the biggest superhero movies of all time, as Christopher Nolan did, you get some cash to throw around.