The cinema thread

[Acéphale]

[Fade to Black]

that first one is a major photographic inspiration for me, Acephale. Thanks for sharing.

[MoFiya]

I've only seen Alejandro Jodorowsky's El Topo which I thought was interesting but really bizarre. It was a difficult watch at the time because of it's very slow pace and my need for sleep. I'd be interested in seeing another of his films at some point.

So ... saw this yesterday at a local cinema (thank god there are still cinemas playing older and rather independent movies). Was really a great movie IMO und much easier to understand then Holy Mountain. Not saying I understood everything at all, but at least I could follow the plot No. Really. A good movie.

[Faust]

Watched Inception on the plane - which of course was the wrong thing to do, because you don't watch this movie on a plane, nor do you watch it twice. Catch22. I did not hate it, but it does not have the complexity, completeness and coherence of something like the Matrix.

So, did the geek community figure out if it was a dream or not at the end? I tend to think it is, but some signs point that it isn't, mainly that the end seemed utterly disconnected from other dreams.

[Fade to Black]

i think it's a dream

but you're right about it being no Matrix; it didn't even accomplish the illusory but entertaining grandeur out of a very basic premise of something like the Dark Knight. The movie's very technically achieved but was about it for me. The hype building up to its release was more enjoyable than the film itself.

[syed]

I think it was rather a thin allegory for cinema in general, which I did actually appreciate. The idea of the script writer, actors and filmmaker, creating a story in which we suspend our belief to enter and become invested within on multiple levels. I suppose the idea was to have an open ending for us to make our own minds on (a la Blade Runner and Deckard as a replicant). Personally I would like to think it was a dream.

[andrew]

That closing shot really annoyed me when i saw Inception, the thing is littered with clues that it might all be a dream anyway. Its like they wanted a banner at the end that said IN CASE YOU ARE TOO STUPID TO NOTICE, MAYBE ITS A DREAM.

[Fade to Black]

The thing that made no sense to me was Michael Caine's very first appearance in the film, which may have been me, but I recall that scene being dreamlike in both screen texture and content - how did they get there? Michael Caine never appears in the movie outside the 'dream' world, does he? I know they were jamming a lot of stuff in the first hour to get the whole premise established but a little too quick with their editing guns there. And I thought I was dizzy watching the first 20 minutes of Shutter Island...

[MoFiya]

That closing shot really annoyed me when i saw Inception, the thing is littered with clues that it might all be a dream anyway. Its like they wanted a banner at the end that said IN CASE YOU ARE TOO STUPID TO NOTICE, MAYBE ITS A DREAM.

My thoughts exactly... I found the movie entertaining, but the end was like ... okay, we're still watching a hollywood movie, I get it.

[Farkhanyassin]

[MoFiya]

Saw Vincent Gallos "The Brown Bunny" yesterday. Must say, unless many critics I liked the film. I thought that it might be an inspiration for FadeToBlack (regarding photography), but it sure is a slow movie which is at some point boring to watch. But you will not regret it in the end...

[MoFiya]

Funny, that you are ambivalent about the ending. To me it was like now pretty everything of that movie makes a sense, including the pictures and slowness.
And regarding the most controversial scene of the movie - I just dont get why people are so shocked about that and the pornographic comparison seems pretty odd to me. I found the scene so dramatic and full of despair... the dissonance between what one could see and what was thematically relevant was

And regarding the soundtrack... listening to it now

[copacetic]

I totally agree. It's funny how many mini-dissertations appeared after the movie was released in theaters, but the movie is almost Talmudic--obsessed with its own interpretation.

At the same time, a third of the movie plays like a Jerry Bruckheimer movie. It's not worth time unpacking especially because of the snow fortress sequence, which was absurd. This is a movie made by a director who is not in total control of his powers.

Watched Inception on the plane - which of course was the wrong thing to do, because you don't watch this movie on a plane, nor do you watch it twice. Catch22. I did not hate it, but it does not have the complexity, completeness and coherence of something like the Matrix.

So, did the geek community figure out if it was a dream or not at the end? I tend to think it is, but some signs point that it isn't, mainly that the end seemed utterly disconnected from other dreams.

[Acéphale]

[Jonn]

saw a bm song put to a haxan clip before i think it was from this thread could be wrong.