'Inception' Initiated Excitement, Thrills, and Mindbending Moments

'Inception' is a newly released 2010 movie directed by Christopher Nolan ('Batman Begins,' 'The Dark Knight,' 'Memento')

Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is highly skilled at the art and process of stealing another person's valuable secrets and ideas from their subconscious while in the dream state, or "extraction."

Cobb's talent is highly valuable (and illegal) and his 'dream team' includes a man named Arthur ('500 Days of Summer's Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Eames, an 'imitator' (Tom Hardy), and Yusef, a chemist (Dileep Rao).

Cobb is later paid by powerful billionaire, Saito (Ken Watanabe) to do something different. Taking secrets and ideas from a person is not the only thing one can do in another's subconscious. A more dangerous act is called 'inception' or planting an idea into a person's mind. Saito wants this done on another young billionaire, his corporation rival's son, Robert Fisher, Jr. (Cillian Murphy). Saito wants ideas brought into Fisher's mind that would lead to the surrender of the family business, thus making Saito number one.

Saito promises that Cobb will be exempt of all charges brought against him and he will be able to see his children again. Despite the complications of inception, Cobb agrees out of desperation to be able to hold his kids and to see their faces once more.

Cobb sets out to look for a skilled architect and finds Ariadne ('Juno's Ellen Page). Her job as an architect is essential to the dream team as she is the one to create a maze-space layout of the dream's world.

Going into a person's subconsious is not as simple as entering and exiting a door. There are real, harmful dangers if one stays in that dream-state for too long. A person can lose sight of what is reality and what is a dream.

This movie took a very risky storyline and is orchestrated very well under Christopher Nolan's directing. I like this much better than his film, 'Memento' which is a good movie, but is completely shadowed by 'Inception' in my opinion.

It also messes and plays with your mind while you stupidly munch on your popcorn and/or nachos. It challenges you to think about the idea of a dream...within a dream...and having a dream in that dream that you are dreaming.....all while dreaming.

"WUT?"

Actually, it makes sense while you are watching the movie, but reading about it doesn't do the film justice.

The actors did WONDERFUL. They are a great cast and I had my doubts about Ellen Page at first. When she said her first line, I thought of one thing: 'JUNO.' I was worried that I would think of Juno McGuff throughout the whole movie, but Page actually did a good job and I applaude her for that.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is becoming a very successful actor and I hope that Christopher Nolan will use him as the next Joker, a role previously played by the late Heath Ledger. Gordon-Levitt and Ledger have similarities in the face and Gordon-Levitt seems to be a competent actor. I think it would work out. Hopefully Nolan thinks so too.

The graphics are not disappointing and neither are the action scenes. There were times when I felt genuinely worried for the team.

I also like this better than the other film DiCaprio starred in recently: 'Shutter Island' which was good, but I found it predictable. I came up with 2 different predictions throughout 'Inception' and was wrong.

I want to add a little tidbit to the people who have seen the film already because I thought it was weird. The music that was used to wake up/warn those in the dream-state is "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" (I regret nothing) by famous old French singer, Edith Piaf. There was a film called 'La Vie En Rose' that centered around the singer's sad lifestyle and it starred Marion Cotillard as Piaf. Cotillard plays Mal, Cobb's wife in 'Inception.'

'Inception' is awesome to watch in theaters and be prepared to open your mind. This movie is not for people who do not like to think during movies. It really does, as someone I know put it, mind-rapes you. But in the best way possible, I think.

5/5

Rent worthy? I rather you watch it in theaters to get the awesome surround sound that 'Inception' carries, but if you have surround sound at home, go ahead and wait to rent it.

DVD/Blu-ray worthy? I think I'll get it on Blu-ray when it comes out. It has some really cool graphics and I like the concept of the story a lot. I would love to watch it again to see what I missed. Plus, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is SMOKING. Eye candy never hurts. Grrrrr.

Trailers that came with 'Inception': One really stuck with me because when I saw the trailer, I thought "Whoa, that looks cool." ...until I saw "From M. Night Shaymalan" which made me instinctively scoff really loud. It's like my body knows to shun him now. That movie is called 'Devil.' Other previews included a remake of 'Tron' which looks decent, 'The Town' with Ben Affleck, and 'The Social Network' which is about the making of Facebook or something, I don't know.

Keep on watchin'

The Little Critic