One central conceit of Chris Nolan’s movie ‘Inception’ is that an idea, once planted, is unstoppable. No direct spoilers below – unless you follow links. Providing spoilers requires more cognitive commitment than just watching it.
‘Inception’ is supposed to pass for ‘high concept’ science fiction these days. Some compare it to Fellini’s ‘8 1/2’ – seriously. (Bonus points if you knew before Googling where CHUD came from). Remember all those now tenured faculty launching careers ‘revealing’ hidden subtexts in the first three Star Wars movies? Same deal, geekier arena.
People playing the pundit game these days are no different. We remember leaving ‘Attack of the Clones’ with a national security type and spouse. The spouse — whom you may even read on the Interwebs now — was crestfallen, bemoaning all those years studying the VHS tapes . . . wasted. So one might want to wait before writing off the ‘Inception’-Fellini meme. It may have a long half-life.
If it’s not Fellini, what is it? It’s doing good business for one thing. The movie boasts a remarkable 85% ‘fresh’ rating from Rotten Tomatoes. New Yorker critic David Denby doesn’t buy it. We’ll let you decide. Despite the ads, this movie works as well on a big screen now, Cinemax later or even computer monitor.
We do think Fellini Chris Nolan is on to at least one thing. A week ago we read this review declaring ‘Inception’ to be a calamitous pitch of Clooney’s self-admiring ‘Ocean’s 11’ meets ‘The Matrix’. Clever, actually – and funny if you remember Buck Henry’s pitch meeting in ‘The Player.’
The relevant point? The reviewer kept mocking Di Caprio as ‘fetus face’. Childish. Dismissible.
So it’s a week later. In a movie theater surrounded by people who subscribe to AARP magazine (we ignore the direct mail). They really do reach and turn off their cellphones when told to do so before the previews, etc. Then the movie. And from scene one all we could do was keep thinking ‘fetus face.’ Scene after scene. Until final credits. You see, an idea, once planted really is unstoppable. We were . . . incepted, if you will.
Someone could just say ‘Hey Stiftung, check out this queen of hearts, yo!’ More succinct. Ten bucks saved. No fetal imagery. If ‘Inception’ is the price for at least one future greenlit good sci-fi movie ‘to cash in’, a reasonable down payment. A shame it couldn’t ever plausibly be compared to ‘Satyricon’.
But did you know you are being incepted now as you read this? You *will* remember this exact moment years in the future. When someone turns to explain the deep subtexts within the first ‘Inception Trilogy’. You will wake up. In America.
Comment says
Timesmen are all in shock about what’s happening. John Burns was lamenting the stock price recently in the same paragraph wherein he wondered allowed about Greenwald’s attacks on him. They all sense a world slipping away and have not figured out how to respond..
Here’s some circular firing squad we’d like to see more of – A little man at Commentary sees Palin insult a very important and very serious “conservative sage.” He is NOT happy w/ the Alaskan impertinance:
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/tobin/384493
Dr Leo Strauss says
@Comment
re Keller/NYT — Twitter is now almost worth twice the NYT ($2 billion) with its new $3.7 billion valuation.
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/twitter-worth-almost-double-the-new-york-times_b23706
In Keller’s defense, he has to ask “WTF?” Olbermann and rape tweets are worth twice this place?
Comment says
Keller makes an ass out of himself trying to explain something he really does not want to bother explaining – He makes so many distinctions by the end he sound ridiculous:
http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffbercovici/2010/12/16/ny-times-editor-wikileaks-is-not-my-kind-of-news-organization/
Comment says
.Tweety’s homage tonight to Larry King is priceless – with a terrible imitation attempt at King’s Brooklyn accent sounding nothing like Larry King at all, but a bit like an elderly woman who used to live in one of our old apartment buildings/
Tweet is simply unable to think outside of certain demographic or political parameters –
Dr Leo Strauss says
Inception On Demand or DVD rental might be diverting. Sfx really don’t matter despite their prominence in marketing. Chris Nolan recently released his own chart diagramming out the dreams within dreams matryoshka doll conceit if one is interested. We still think the description of Ocean’s 11 meets the Matrix sums it up.
Comment says
Is Inception worth watching? Anyone?
Dr Leo Strauss says
@Hunter
Great stuff, best parody seen so far. Still laughing.
Hunter says
Inebriation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsZ1SagUPb4
Aldershot says
@Hunter @Hunter and Doc: lol…who said vaudeville was dead?
Hunter says
@absurdistHumor: I just flew back from Boston, and the airlines sure are… overbooked! Bada bing!
Dr Leo Strauss says
@Aldershot
Heh. HRC just flew back from Afghanistan and boy are the armies . . . tired. Bada bing !
Aldershot says
@Dr Leo Strauss
I said, I just flew into Philadelphia, and boy are my arms tired!
Dr Leo Strauss says
@Aldershot I think Comment may be wearing ear plugs, Aldershot 😉
Aldershot says
@Aldershot
*tap tap* Is this thing on? Testing, 1-2-3-4.
Aldershot says
Comment, here’s a heads up for you to get ready to set your recorder:
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/455748-TCA_Sarah_Palin_s_Alaska_Gets_Premiere_Date_on_TLC.php
Aldershot says
@Dr Leo Strauss
Great to see you, too, Doc, and that the merry band is still here. It’s been too long, but I’m a horrible procrastinator.
Eerily coincidentally, re your Windup Girl post, two days ago, based on links from bhtv, I checked out Neuromancer for the first time. I read the first page or so on Amazon, and am going to order it. Funny, that cozy Cold War spy novel vibe one gets from the genre of futuristic anomie.
Secondly, and still eerily coincidental, I read on Amazon, from the same bhtv link, from the book Kraken, by China Mieville:
“Billy suspected, he would, DiCaprio-like, simply become like an increasingly wizened child.”
Based on the first review on Amazon, I don’t think I’ll delve into this one.
Comment says
Do Palin’s neocon advisors pay Weisberg to write this trite unfunny snooty stuff? This is just the only way possible to make Palin look unfairly put upon by coastal elites.
http://www.slate.com/id/2262822
Dr Leo Strauss says
@Aldershot
Aldershot, great to see you. Sorry for the inception!
anxiousmodernman says
Interesting argument from Whitman’s campaign: because of vast personal wealth, she will not be beholden to the big money interests.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2010/08/whitman-defends-campaign-spending.html
One of those eyebrow-raising “Are you serious?” moments.
Aldershot says
“And from scene one all we could do was keep thinking ‘fetus face.’ Scene after scene. Until final credits.”
Well thanks for nothin’.
Dr Leo Strauss says
@anxiousmodernman
One wonders if there is any cheque Meg Whitman won’t write herself to buy this election.
anxiousmodernman says
Relax, man. The Terminator’s governor.
Dr Leo Strauss says
Summer content dump: A.O. Scott milks ‘Inception’ for a second gossip-recap.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/movies/25scott.html
Dr Leo Strauss says
Also overheard in France elsewhere:
Garçon: Le script du film a été faible. Quelque chose manquait? Je pense que Di Caprio représenté Jerry Lewis?
Garçon 2: Oui, malheureusement, le cinéma américain a atteint son apogée avec Transformers 2. Passez la frites de la liberté. . .
——————
Dude: The movie script was weak. Something was missing? I think Di Caprio represented Jerry Lewis?
Dude 2: Yes, sadly, American cinema hit its peak with Transformers 2. Hey, don’t boggart all the Freedom Fries . . .
Comment says
Inception gets a weak review from some of our friends in France who just saw it. Lots of lamenting about a good idea with a bad script.
Dr Leo Strauss says
@anxiousmodernman
Anxious, not sure if am reading/interpreting this graph the right way. Does it really show that California Twitter is relatively ‘mellow’ even with State in catastrophic meltdown? If so, amazing.
Comment says
Newt has to make up his mind before he makes some stupid and inaccurate comment about that Muslim center proposed for downtown. Does he really think NY is part of America and is no longer the enemy of normal Americans?
anxiousmodernman says
And in related studies of our post-humanity:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujcrJZRSGkg&feature=player_embedded
Dr Leo Strauss says
@anxiousmodernman
Perfectly sensible thing to do !
anxiousmodernman says
If this technology ever gets turned into a free Google app, I’m going to run your blog through it. 🙂
http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/arxiv/25514/
Dr Leo Strauss says
Apropos it all – Always quotable Armond White on Roger Ebert destroying film criticism:
Read more: Armond White: “I Do Think It Is Fair To Say That Roger Ebert Destroyed Film Criticism” | /Film http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/07/20/armond-white-i-do-think-it-is-fair-to-say-that-roger-ebert-destroyed-film-criticism/#ixzz0uOC1nfrZ
Great stuff.