Inception (Blu-ray)

I suppose many people have written at length about the DVDs (and/or Blu-ray) discs and all its "bells and whistles" that come with it.For me, I will say this: This film has been a long time in the making. As an artist in several mediums, film included, I can relate to some simple thoughts for those wondering about the movie "Inception" itself. I met Christopher Nolan last century (weird to say) at an international film festival when "Memento" was first screened. I thought that movie was brilliantly presented and unique - as was his less successful, but still intriguing, previous venture "Following".The movie "Inception" was something that was on Nolan's mind for quite a long time. His problem: The trouble with creative ideas, especially when involving such a semi-uncharted realm of "dreams" as your grounded subject matter, is hard for one to convey such unique, fresh ideas into a visually physical and presentable piece.However, Nolan finally succeeded with "Inception". As technology (CGI) had increased exponentially for creative potentials such as bringing artists' dreams into something visceral and presentable, this film became more and more "do-able" for him as a project.In this century, as the art (almost seemingly lost amongst so many writers and directors lately) seems to have turned into massively (almost mindless) "action"-packed, substance-lessness groups of movie re-makes, comic books and consumer entities turned into trite-made-flesh "movies", and the seemingly endless amount of sequels (which most should have ended a few sequels back) and, along with that, the upsurge in "prequels" (have we really started running out of originality?),I personally find it more difficult to even "want" to see a movie in the theater unless its something with possible unique potential as something fresh, new and (at some point in the past) even "unthinkable" as a premise for a movie. Afterall: 2 people seeing a movie these days is a major financial investment at $10-$12+ per ticket... and gods help you if either one of you wants something edible, even simply a $5 bottle of water! And even though I'm only in my later 30s, yes, seriously kids: things were much different - and cheaper - in the 80's and 90's as a movie-going enthusiast. I suppose that's why, when you pay less for something, if it was a "crappy movie", the let down wasn't that bad. Nowadays, if something doesn't impress you, the "investment" you put into hoping to see a movie becomes something that could backfire and "depress" you.So I was very glad to be even moreso impressed than I was expecting when I saw "Inception". It is a fresh story which is artisticly and meticulously woven into a high-quality film which presents the idea of a world (whose time period we aren't really told, but we come to accept as either a future or a possible reality of the "near-present day" realm) where the most precious commodities that exist that we would like to think are not in another's grasp: an idea... a thought... a dream... could become something of a tangible commodity to others with an ulterior interest.The movie presents you with the "what if" premise that some of your most gaurded, personal thoughts and ideas, buried inside your own mind which may emerge in your own dreams, could actually be visited, viewed, experienced... and stolen. It's a disturbing thought on one hand. On the other hand, it makes for something fresh and incredibly imaginative to be explored and presented in a cinematic format.I won't go in depth and throw spoilers and such about the movie, because this is one of those rare movies that I personally wanted to know very little about beforehand... and walk into the theater (of for those of you now: to be able to rent or buy this film) knowing not much about what you are about to see.And that's why I enjoyed it so much when I saw it in the theaters. It is a fresh concept, a movie in this time of regurgitated cinema sparkle and fodder which kept me so engaged. The ideas were new, fresh and imaginative. The premises and layers (literally) of thought involved in this piece that echoes a famous line from Edgar A. Poe's writings: "All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream."From start to finish, this may not be a movie some people will be able to fully absorb and comprehend all its beauitfully creative details and uniquities, as its pace doesn't waver to do a "time-out" for the viewing audience to try and explain it all to you - and some people may find that an irritation indemic of the "I want to know everything explained to me now" generation/group of impatient "movie-goers". However, what makes "Inception" unique is that we find ourselves somehow going along for its ride, like the finality of beginning a long roller coaster ride which, once seated, you are in for many unexpected twists, turns, and thrilling experiences along the way. You find yourself accepting things momentarily as if: "that's ok... this is a dream anyway... right?" You may even find yourself falling deeper into accepting these realms with all their ideas and concepts that defy what we assume are constants - like, oh, the laws of physics, gravity and logic. But hey it's just about a dream ...right? Well hang on, because you most likely will find yourself becoming pulled into the film, catching yourself momentarily uttering, silently, "Whoa, I did not see this coming," and futher down the rabbit hole you go.As with most of Nolan's original works of the 90's, "Inception" is, in my opinion, his shining jewel. And it should be, considering how many years upon years he kept this movie as a work-in-progress in his mind (and a journal or two). Luckily, so far his guarded thoughts weren't something easily up to be stolen while he slept. It's a rewarding experience that deserves to be taken in - because honestly, how often do you see something unique in movies and say to yourself (either during or after the end credits) "I never saw or thought of something like that before... in my life... and I just saw it on screen" ...?It's also an experience that deserves to be watched again, because once you've seen it (like taking the red pill in "The Matrix"), there is no going back. Therefore moving forward is the only option you have. Rewatching it helps you take in more of the concepts: It is truly an amazing feat of accomplishment to bring the realm of thoughts and dreams out with ideas not oft (if ever) explored in past films that somehow work incredibly well together here. The visual beauty of the work of the cinematic art in its entirity (and all its little details). Nolan insisted continually through this movie to physically film things visually in the real-life recording moments themselves as much as humanly (and safely) possible, only ending with astoundingly artiful merging of additions and touch-ups with the usage of CGI to blend in what couldn't be physically filmed in real life... and trust me, some of the things you see make you feel a sense of accepting the unlimited possibilities that can be explored in the future of movies, stories, etc involving the subject matter of our consciousness... and our sub/unconsciousness.And on an extra note (as a person who works in the music industry): the sound engineering was amazing and its accolades and awards were justified - exceeding (and shocking) my own expectations.The Blu-ray 2-disc edition is what I purchased, and I found it to be rewarding enough to see how many of the visually stunning scenes were created and even how the sound engineering was accomplished! It was also shocking to see how many of the scenes were shot - including what I thought was CGI which turned out to be real... etc etc. This would be one of the few movies I own whose "extras" I found myself interested in watching entirely. I believe there is an option to "interrupt" the movie momentarily to view "how they did that scene you just watched" during the movie, but they are just as easily accessible as parts to watch on their own.Again, this movie will inevitably beg for you to watch it again... and you don't want to be interrupting it every 10 or 15 minutes to see some behind the scenes moment DURING the movie. Maybe save that for the 3rd+ time you've seen it, if you're into that. Because hands down, this was one of those rare movies I said to myself: "Finally! Something original, creative, beautiful, imaginative and not wavering and bending over backwards to 'meet' or 'fit' into the seemingly typical Hollywood format of what Hollywood considers the 'proper format' of how a movie 'has to be' in order to make money."Because it worked fine all on its own. I believe the Oscar awards spoke up on their own earlier this year as well.Jason Kraley

This is an excellent film. It's a daring film too. Like another film, The Usual Suspects, it starts in the present with a scene between an old man and a young one. The old man asks him what he wants and the young man struggles to recall what he wants from the old man. It leads to the start of the story in the past and an extraction job on the train to Kyoto, Saito's offer to Cobb, the assembly of the team, putting together their game plan for putting an idea into a financial rival's mind, the dream shared aboard the jet, onto the opening scene again when the young man why he's here then onto the final scene. The plot is superb. One man, Cobb, wants to find his way home to his family while another one, Saito, is willing to pay a fortune to change the outcome of events with a rival business firm through the inception of an idea into his rival's mind. The cast is also superb. It took more than Leonard DiCaprio to pull this story off. In this case there was some strong writing. Something closer to six or seven characters were needed for the development of the plot. Is it too complicated or just too intriguing? I really enjoy watching a good film again and again and have truly enjoyed Inception. Dreaming by itself was no basis for a story but to the credit of Inception it introduced dream-sharing by way of a new technology. In view of the developments over the past 60 years viewers will find it quite easy enough to suspend their disbelief. Cobb and his wife, Mal, put the learning to use by way of extracting ideas by people. Once they began building dreams within dreams extraction was easier but time moves at a different and slower pace at various levels of a dream. It can also become difficult to distinguish a dream from reality and they finally lose their way into the sub-conscious. After fifty years down there Cobb tries inception on Mal and plants an idea in her mind which leads to their return but Mal suspects that she's still dreaming and wants Cobb to return to reality. One night she tries to blackmail Cobb by informing the police that she suspects her husband will kill her. Dreams can be usually brought to an end when the dreamer runs out of time on the machine or is killed. After she kills herself Cobb leaves the country to avoid arrest but he's still deeply filled with regret and guilt about Mal who is constantly trying to keep him with her. It's interesting how one storyline is affecting the other one and the characterization which results from it.Ken Watanabe plays Mr. Saito. He's heard about extraction and rumours about conception. He's convinced that he will be financially ruined by his rival, Mr. Fischer. Now he's heard rumors about Cobb's skill but before he asks Cobb he wants to make sure that he's talking to the right mind. So he arranges an audition for Cobb's crew under tough conditions with himself as the target. Cobb extracts the information but he realizes that Saito has known all along about the job from start and asks why? Saito was never interested in the extraction but the level of Cobb's skill. While Cobb extracted the information, Saito wasn't impressed with the level of skill that Cobb showed. His opinion of Cobb quickly rises when he realizes that he's still dreaming. Cobb placed him in a dream inside a dream. In the following scene Saito makes an offer to Cobb of financial reward and a safe return to America if he can succeed in planting an idea in his rival's mind. Money is no problem with Saito. So Cobb finds a top-notch crew who will work for him and his partner, Arthur. DiCaprio clearly dominates the first crew but when Saito tells him to put together a better team he becomes part of the team. Michael Caine puts in a strong appareanance as Cobb's father-in-law who finds him another architect in dream-sharing, Ariadne played by Ellen Page. Then it's onto Africa for an interview with an old friend, Eames played by Tom Hardy, who's a skillful thief and forger and introduces Cobb to Yusuf, the Chemist played by Dileep Rao. Fischer, played by Cillian Murphy, puts in another good performance as Saito's rival. What's really interesting are all the contributions everybody makes towards the development of the story. It is a well written story and well performed one. You'll also appreciate the quick pace.While the dream starts on the jet. The levels of the dream can always be identified. The first level of the dream can always be identified by the rain in a city downtown. The primary development is the appearance of projections from Fischer's mind into dream who will defend him against any attempt at extraction. On this level Saito is shot and dying but on the lower levels it will take longer for him to die. Eames attempts to kill him and end the dream but the sedative taken demands their return to consciousness in a particular fashion. If they die they are lost in a sub-consciousness of the dreamer. So they must go onto the next level of the dream inside a van that Yusuf is driving. The second level of the dream is found in an expensive hotel where Cobb plays a figure on this level known as Mr. Charles and poses as one of the projections sent to guard Fischer. Mr. Charles gains Fischer's trust and convinces him that a corporate figure in his father's company is betraying him and the only way to learn the truth is entering a third level of the dream. The third level takes place in winter and the mountains where Fischer fights to learn the truth and the team plants an idea in him.In the meantime Saito dies during the assault. The scenes in the sub-conscicous take place in beautiful weather on the seaside. The final beach scene leads you to an earlier scene from the start of the film: an old man asks Cobb what he wants. The old man is Saito who was killed and has been lost for years. Cobb now remembers the audition for Saito, the inception and his confrontation with Mal. He urges Saito, now an old man filled with his regrets and guilt to come back with him and be young again. Well, the next scene tells you what happen he finds himself waking aboard the jet with Fischer, Saito and his crew. Saito places a call to set things in motion which will clear the way for Cobb's return home.I've seen this film on numerous occasions over the past few years. It just keeps getting better. It only proves the importance of good writing and acting to one another as well as editing and directing. Suspense simply is not a factor. Yet the story constantly grips you. You simply don't realize the length of the film by its quick pace of the story.