Master Villain on 2/10/2011 at 12:29
Inception was nice, but it let me down because everyone went on about how DEEP and CLEVER and INTRICATE it was. Really the bulk of the film is just three stories running concurrently, and the rules change depending on where in the story they need to be changed. All style, no substance.
driver on 2/10/2011 at 14:33
Every time people complain about Inception, they always seem to focus on what other people said about it. Personally speaking, I've never heard people go on about how clever and and deep it was, only people complaining about other people that did.
I wasn't anywhere near, say, Primer in its complexity, but it was certainly a few notches above your average hollywood fast-cars-and-splosions flick, which seems to make it fair game for some to moan about people finding it deep. I actually enjoyed watching a film where you have to pay attention but doesn't go out of its way to obfuscate everything and make you feelstupid. Plus it was nice to see a big budget film that wasn't about a goddamn superhero.
Shutter Island, on the other hand, was just too obvious for me to enjoy. It was all building up to an obvious revelation that was pretty apparent from the start. I do give it credit for the ending, the twist on a twist which I didn't see coming. It was a very nice dark touch to end the film on.
Tocky on 2/10/2011 at 15:19
I haven't read any reviews and, although it agrees with Alchemist, I knew it was not a popular opinion from the original Inception thread. That was my true thought on it. Sure it was better than Commando, I'll give you that. But onion layers don't make complex thought.
Shutter Island wasn't obvious from the start. At first not at all. Then intimations. Then the cave where it became so. Then the tower where it was cemented. That an institutional staff would go to so much trouble was the least believable part but denoughment was gradual. The end where he couldn't choose sanity was brilliant because now we understand why and can even sadly agree with the choice.
Rug Burn Junky on 2/10/2011 at 16:02
The reason why Shutter Island was impressive was not because the "plot twist" itself was well-hidden or obvious. It was because once you knew the plot twist, the meaning of the actions of the other characters changed dramatically. The fact that so many of these performances were so consistent with both interpretations is what is so impressive, and that's just skillful direction - to simultaneously create two consistent films out of the same performances.
I don't think it's a hallmark "great" movie (I doubt I'd even put it in Scorsese's top 10), but it's the only movie in recent memory that caused me to rewatch it almost immediately.
Muzman on 2/10/2011 at 16:40
Inception has that not so subtle subtext of being a film about films and filmmaking that gives it a little extra something. It really is a film about structure, watching and trying to make you conscious of the assembling of narratives in your head that goes on while you watch.
This isn't going to necessarily make anyone like it, of course (it's so much like it had no interest in the real experience of dreaming but instead the films-as-dreams analyses you find in theory books).
Where action films try to excite with the stimulus of loud noises and editing, Inception is stimulating through narrative complexity. Neither of them necessarily have any deep emotional resonance. It's a different and more imaginative way to be fun to watch and I liked it for that.
Its closest movie relatives are things like Timecode and The Prestige (no surprise there). Haven't seen Shutter Island yet
Harvester on 2/10/2011 at 19:52
I wouldn't say that Shutter Island is ten times better than Inception but I do like it more. With Inception, keeping track of the relatively complex narrative was a lot of fun and the main reason why I liked it so much. I liked following the story so much that I actually found the action scenes (the hallway fight and especially the shootout in the snow), where the story didn't progress much, a bit boring to be honest. That's also why as far as Nolan movies go, I prefer The Prestige to Inception, because it has a similarly captivating story without the superfluous action scenes, and more emotional resonance to boot.
Shutter Island was kind of spoiled for me because I had read beforehand on the internet that Teddy was insane. But I still loved the movie. It was very atmospheric and movies about mental illness always resonate with me because of my own experiences with it (although I was never psychotic like Teddy). I also agree with RBJ on the acting, for example pay attention to the nervousness of the guards (it's not totally obvious because they try to hide it, but you can see it under the surface) when Teddy and Mark Ruffalo's character set foot on the island, which totally makes sense once you know Teddy's insane and violent.
When it comes to Shutter Island, the only thing I don't like about it is not even a fault of the movie itself, it's that some people on the IMDb message boards still claim that Teddy is not insane and that the conspiracy is real, despite that not being the case in the book and the screenwriter publicly stating he actually is insane.
SubJeff on 2/10/2011 at 22:03
I'm going to have to see Shutter now. What put me off it was I got the trust from the trailer, but you guys make it sound like it's more than that.
Nothing is as complex as Primer so we should never compare anything to it, yet.
And the other dream film was Dreamscape.
When are they going to do another Flowers for Algernon film? :( In the right hands it'd be awesome.
The Alchemist on 2/10/2011 at 23:36
Quote Posted by Harvester
... as far as Nolan movies go, I prefer The Prestige to Inception, because it has a similarly captivating story without the superfluous action scenes, and more emotional resonance to boot.
YES.
demagogue on 3/10/2011 at 02:56
The Prestige is my pick for best movie of the 2000s. I thought Inception had the right hook but it wasn't woven together as tightly, with all the parts working together.
I especially liked how The Prestige had the form and content playing off each other... hard to explain, easier to just point out (things like playing with the double-man trope, or the movie itself being structured in 3 parts like a magic trick, or the mysterious but "faked" side of magic vs. the cold dark but "real" reality, and both of those things getting turned on their head, and dozens of little pieces mirroring other pieces), very very cleverly composed as a narrative piece. But The Prestige was well composed as a novel originally, and I think all that clever composition got translated into the movie. I think the screenwriters just couldn't come up with that level of layering for Inception. The closest form/content interplay they got was the "elevator", but just not as layered or having every piece connecting as well. (They did it masterfully for Memento, the form & content practically had a love affair, but the core idea was so solid it carried itself.) Anyway I liked Inception; if I had anything critical to say it's that I think they could have done better with the opportunity.
The other "X within an X" movie I remember was eXistenZ, with the VR game within a game within a game. That was fun, but even Inception played with the idea better. It does make me notice that (AFAIK) there hasn't been a game that's played with this trope, and IMO it'd be perfect for an interactive setting. This would get into some of our discussions in GenGaming on a game with an LSD type of mechanic. I actually have a strong vision with this idea; I just can't do everything I have a vision about.
Kuuso on 4/10/2011 at 08:19
Albeit liking it fairly much, I was bored watching The Prestige. It dragged on a bit. Anyways, what I wanted to write here is that it's stupid to put Shutter Island against Inception. The movies have hardly anything in common aside from Dicaprio.
