I will try to summarize the movie "Inception" in one sentence; the best movie I have seen all year.
Possibly one of the 3 best movies I have EVER seen, which is considerable. The cinematography, acting, editing, sound, plot, everything was spot on; there was not a weak spot to be found. Leo gives his best performance since the Departed, Ellen Page is surprisingly good, and the rest of the cast does an admirable job of not being completely overshadowed by the two main characters. Christopher Nolan seems to be on a hot streak; "The Prestige", "The Dark Knight", and now "Inception". In just his 9th role as a director, Nolan shows us why he is a genius writer, producer, and of course director.
**** Spoilers! ****
Now for the nitty gritty. The whole movie plays with our perception of reality and whether or not we are in a dream state. Similar in some ways to the Matrix trilogy, yet infinitely more understandable, Inception is the definition of a "mind fuck". Dom (DiCaprio) Cobb is a master of Extraction, going into a subjects brain, inducing a dream, filling the dream with the subconscious information that he needs, then stealing it and giving the information to whoever is employing him at the time. Page is a young architect that is hired on to his team for his final job, to plant an idea into the head of the heir of a giant energy corporation.
After discussing whether or not it is possible to plant an idea or not, and explaining the process, a full team is assembled and they begin their mission of infiltrating Robert Fischer Jr's mind (Cillian Murphy, who played Dr. Crane in The Dark Knight) and planting the idea of disassembling his fathers corporation. The team traverses through 3 or 4 different dreams within dreams within dreams within dreams, and at the moment I am still up in the air as to whether or not I believe Dom and Ariadne (Page) were in Limbo during the last scene with Mal. Also up for debate is whether or not Dom is in reality or a dream state during the final scene, where we see the top spin seemingly forever on the table as Dom is reunited with his children.
Personally I believe that the top was slowing down and beginning to wobble, which is Nolan's way of telling us that Dom was in the real world. Also, whenever Dom was in a dream he would never look at the children's faces; but in the final scene they turn and expose themselves to the audience (not in that way, sicko!). However, it still bugs me that in that scene, the children are wearing the same clothes that they wear in all of Dom's memories, and that they are still digging in the ground for the worm.
Another interesting twist that I had not thought of, until I saw it posted online, was that Michael Caine (Miles, Dom's father) hired Ariadne to infiltrate Dom's mind and use inception on him, to get him to come to the realization that Mal is long gone, and that he needs to realize it and get past it. A few indicators that this might be the case are that when Miles picks Dom up from the airport, he apparently says, "Welcome" to his son. However, some viewers reported that they distinctly heard him whisper, "You're" before saying welcome. Also, as Cobb walks by the rest of the team in the airport, they all give him the same grin, that "We know something you don't know" grin. Which could possibly mean that they all knew about it, and were glad that both of the inceptions that were planted had worked.
With Nolan, it seems plausible that this could be the case, though just as with the Prestige, he leaves much up to the imagination. There are many different scenarios that could be possible, and all of them fit in with at least most of the facts. That is the beauty of "Inception", that regardless of what you think actually happened, you're right. Because there is no one correct answer, we all make up our own answer to fit the facts as we see them, and that's brilliant movie-making.
If you have any opinions one way or another on the topic, leave a comment on this post and share your view.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
LeBron
Let me start off by saying I am neither a Cleveland Cavaliers fan or a LeBron fan. I don't dislike LeBron, but I'm not going to buy his jersey anytime soon. That being said, I like him coming to Miami. Miami with DWade and a good supporting cast can win a championship, we know that already. Miami with DWade and CBosh can definitely win a championship.
Miami with DWade, CBosh, and LBJ is going to win several championships.
Many people have criticized LBJ for skipping town on the Cavs. But can you honestly say you wouldn't have done the same? In the worthless 7 years that he spent there, he almost won them a championship by himself. Every time they came close and failed, it was because he had no support. So win or lose, all the blame/praise was on LBJ. And since losing in the playoffs is what they liked to do, there was tremendous pressure on LBJ to try to carry a team, which no one, no not even Jordan, had to do. It is entirely on the front office of the Cavs for not providing LeBron the support to complete his mission.
So he went from a team where he was always struggling to pull a "middle of the road" team uphill with all of his teammates piled on to his back, to a team where he is not going to be the sole breadwinner. If/when the Heat go deep into the playoffs or win a ring, LBJ will not be the only player with a spotlight focused on them. He will also not be the only player to be lampooned on the morning edition of SportsCenter if they don't meet expectations.
There is something to be said for the fact that LBJ will have some tremendous help now. Jordan never had a DWade and a Bosh. He had Pippen and Rodman but thats apples to oranges if you ask me. Yes its true, when LBJ finally gets a ring it will be more plastic than gold, but the fact remains that had he stayed in Cleveland, who knows if Dan Gilberts ever would have given him the players he needed for a ring? Jordan stayed in Chicago, and was rewarded with Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. Would the same have happened for LBJ? We'll never know.
But I sure can't blame him for switching out Ohio and cornfields for South Beach and beautiful women.
Miami with DWade, CBosh, and LBJ is going to win several championships.
Many people have criticized LBJ for skipping town on the Cavs. But can you honestly say you wouldn't have done the same? In the worthless 7 years that he spent there, he almost won them a championship by himself. Every time they came close and failed, it was because he had no support. So win or lose, all the blame/praise was on LBJ. And since losing in the playoffs is what they liked to do, there was tremendous pressure on LBJ to try to carry a team, which no one, no not even Jordan, had to do. It is entirely on the front office of the Cavs for not providing LeBron the support to complete his mission.
So he went from a team where he was always struggling to pull a "middle of the road" team uphill with all of his teammates piled on to his back, to a team where he is not going to be the sole breadwinner. If/when the Heat go deep into the playoffs or win a ring, LBJ will not be the only player with a spotlight focused on them. He will also not be the only player to be lampooned on the morning edition of SportsCenter if they don't meet expectations.
There is something to be said for the fact that LBJ will have some tremendous help now. Jordan never had a DWade and a Bosh. He had Pippen and Rodman but thats apples to oranges if you ask me. Yes its true, when LBJ finally gets a ring it will be more plastic than gold, but the fact remains that had he stayed in Cleveland, who knows if Dan Gilberts ever would have given him the players he needed for a ring? Jordan stayed in Chicago, and was rewarded with Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. Would the same have happened for LBJ? We'll never know.
But I sure can't blame him for switching out Ohio and cornfields for South Beach and beautiful women.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Lost and Found
The title of this entry makes me think of a lot of stuff. Back when I was active in the church, we went to a youth group meeting in San Diego where a band called Lost & Found played, they are a Christian band that specializes in covers of others songs and making them into a religious song. They were a big part of me for a few years of my life.
It also reminds me of a puppy that we (Ashley, Mark, Zack, and I) recently found on the road, we only had her for a day but it reminded me of how sporadic and spontaneous life can be; that no matter how dull it may seem, ALL life, ALL human experience has some form of spontaneous combustion or spontaneous eruption, whichever term you prefer. It doesn't matter how mundane or ordinary your life is, at some point in all of our lives we are privileged enough to experience the randomness and beauty that is human existence. We all have a very specific purpose in life and it's the little things, like finding a lost dog in the middle of the night, that provides us the break from the norm and that reminds us that all is not lost; that no matter how simple and boring a life we may lead, we all can find excitement and electricity in everyday occurrences.
Now for some updates for whoever may be reading this somewhere in blog-land. I no longer do Jiu-Jitsu, though I want to once I move back to Bellingham. I am about to get my degree from CWU in Law & Justice, I still have a wonderful girlfriend whom I fear I sometimes under-appreciate, I have a terribly appreciative and loving family who love me despite whatever flaws I have, I have great friends that will stick with me though the thick and thin, I know what I want to do in my life and I am on the path to achieve that goal, and I manage to reign in all of that while still having time to enjoy being young and having the opportunity to experience what I want to experience.
I have become more of a fan of red wine than I ever thought possible. Whereas 2 years ago I had a disdain for the aroma and taste of beer, I now rather like it, and in fact I consider myself somewhat of a beer aficionado. Though I am aware I have much to learn about the subject, I am considerably interested in the formation of beer and the distinct flavors and styles that are possible though differences in fermentation techniques.
Over my 2 years at Central, I have met some people that I never wish to contact again. However, I have also met some people who I would consider long-term friends. How lucky am I that I would find some random people through luck of the draw that I can find not only common ground with but have common interests and similar world views.
I initially titled my blog "Accidental Thoughts", but after thinking it through recently, I have come to the conclusion that nothing in life is accidental; that events in our lives happen because of decisions that we make, and that whatever happens because of our decisions, we must live with the consequences. It is all a pattern of sorts, and nothing is left to chance. Every decision, from the choice of whether to lift weights or not, to what classes we take, to where we go to dinner, will influence our lives negatively or positively, and we as adults need to take control of our lives and we need to take responsibility for our lives.
I want to say that I am where I am today because I got lucky. I was lucky enough to be born to a relatively stable family, I was lucky enough to be blessed with a brain that was capable of processing complex thought, and I was lucky enough to find good friends to enrich my life. Nothing about my life or my situation was accidental; I am simply lucky to have been born as what I am, and I am forever grateful for whatever cosmical force provided me with such resources.
In Peace,
Aaron Bean
It also reminds me of a puppy that we (Ashley, Mark, Zack, and I) recently found on the road, we only had her for a day but it reminded me of how sporadic and spontaneous life can be; that no matter how dull it may seem, ALL life, ALL human experience has some form of spontaneous combustion or spontaneous eruption, whichever term you prefer. It doesn't matter how mundane or ordinary your life is, at some point in all of our lives we are privileged enough to experience the randomness and beauty that is human existence. We all have a very specific purpose in life and it's the little things, like finding a lost dog in the middle of the night, that provides us the break from the norm and that reminds us that all is not lost; that no matter how simple and boring a life we may lead, we all can find excitement and electricity in everyday occurrences.
Now for some updates for whoever may be reading this somewhere in blog-land. I no longer do Jiu-Jitsu, though I want to once I move back to Bellingham. I am about to get my degree from CWU in Law & Justice, I still have a wonderful girlfriend whom I fear I sometimes under-appreciate, I have a terribly appreciative and loving family who love me despite whatever flaws I have, I have great friends that will stick with me though the thick and thin, I know what I want to do in my life and I am on the path to achieve that goal, and I manage to reign in all of that while still having time to enjoy being young and having the opportunity to experience what I want to experience.
I have become more of a fan of red wine than I ever thought possible. Whereas 2 years ago I had a disdain for the aroma and taste of beer, I now rather like it, and in fact I consider myself somewhat of a beer aficionado. Though I am aware I have much to learn about the subject, I am considerably interested in the formation of beer and the distinct flavors and styles that are possible though differences in fermentation techniques.
Over my 2 years at Central, I have met some people that I never wish to contact again. However, I have also met some people who I would consider long-term friends. How lucky am I that I would find some random people through luck of the draw that I can find not only common ground with but have common interests and similar world views.
I initially titled my blog "Accidental Thoughts", but after thinking it through recently, I have come to the conclusion that nothing in life is accidental; that events in our lives happen because of decisions that we make, and that whatever happens because of our decisions, we must live with the consequences. It is all a pattern of sorts, and nothing is left to chance. Every decision, from the choice of whether to lift weights or not, to what classes we take, to where we go to dinner, will influence our lives negatively or positively, and we as adults need to take control of our lives and we need to take responsibility for our lives.
I want to say that I am where I am today because I got lucky. I was lucky enough to be born to a relatively stable family, I was lucky enough to be blessed with a brain that was capable of processing complex thought, and I was lucky enough to find good friends to enrich my life. Nothing about my life or my situation was accidental; I am simply lucky to have been born as what I am, and I am forever grateful for whatever cosmical force provided me with such resources.
In Peace,
Aaron Bean
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)