One thing about Inception that no one has brought up here is how thoroughly pleasing it is to watch Marion Cotillard. Hubba hubba.

Also, there are not many actors in the history of cinema who can make an entire movie theater happy just by showing up on screen like Michael Caine.

Who’s to say either was *meant* to be believeable?

…saw that one as well…there’s 2 hours of my life I’ll never get back! >:-/

I actually just saw Shutter Island the other day. It was better than I expected. What I liked about it was Scorcese seemed to really put a huge stamp on it. I haven’t read the novel so I can’t say for sure but that was my impression.

The main thing I’m thinking of was the trippy vibe to it ***spoiler*** – never before have I seen a movie so telegraph its twist. I interpreted that as Scorcese looking beyond it, which is smart. Of course by the time the movie gets to the end, the air is kind of let out anyway, but not as much as it would have been had it been set up as the rug-pull I imagine was originally intended.

[16] Wow I loved that movie.

I did also come away thinking Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be the next big breakout star, especially if he lands the role of The Riddler in the next Batman film (or perhaps in a Spiderman reboot?)

I took issue with the relationship between Leo and his wife in the film; without giving too much away I thought it did not have the depth it implied, nor did I think the resolution was believable. Still, the main performances were creditable, but Tom Berenger needs to lose some serious weight; he seemed too tired to act sometimes. All-in-all, you won’t feel like you wasted your time in the end, but there was more restraint than there needed to be at times, which in turn made the movie seem longer than it needed to be. I would have liked to have seen them make some more interesting choices in certain scenes, but it was a good film to base further collaboration of Christopher Nolan and Leo on.

My roommate said “Manchurian Candidate with Citizen Kane and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”,.. to me, maybe a B+ to A- attempt at all three.

He really came into his own in The Departed I think. It is by no stretch a “Great Film,” but it IS a good film with a great cast. Jack was more or less on autopilot, but he more than held his own against Sheen and Wahlberg and (I think) blew Damon away.

Shutter Island was really just a b-movie taken to a higher level. Its not going to go right on the top of Leo or Marty’s resume, but they had fun with it and made an enjoyable enough noir.

It’s a fine point on Gilbert, but considering the talent in that movie, he more than held his own, no? And he was the best of the major players in The Departed, no? I mean Wahlberg and Damon were fine (while Jack vamped) but isn’t that rightly Leo’s movie? That tells me something.

[9] I have a tendency to generalize when I disagree. Sorry about that. Mulholland Drive is watchable in parts, but as a whole it just seemed to me to be Lynch kissing himself in the mirror. But my point there was more about the critics. Since Mulholland didn’t reek of commercial success, they were free to praise the artistic vision. Yes, as Scott notes, it’s perfectly fine to feel conflicted about the movie. But considering that Toy Story 3 is the top reviewed major movie of 2010, I don’t know how much weight I should put on the reviews.

What’s interesting to me is both Inception and Mulholland Drive were 2.5 hours long. But there’s no question which one I’d rather watch again and again. Of course, Nolan made his for a wider audience – he had to given the vision and the budget.

Who woulda thought that those 14 year old girls going to see Titanic for the 300th time in ’97 we’re actually onto something?

As for the movie, I neither loved nor hated it. I did think it was an extremely solid Summer movie, completely enjoyable and had nothing to apologize for. Its not as brilliant as its biggest boosters are going to try to convince you it is, but it also isn’t a steaming pile of junk like the inevitable backlash will label it.

Also, you didn’t really negate my point – this is why I find Nolan an odd writer/director for a project about dreams. Give me The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie any day.

Also, I don’t think not liking Inception makes you a contrarian hipster – that was part of the point of Scott’s NYT piece. Here at work, I spoke to a couple people who loved it and another who couldn’t STAND it, all of whom are intelligent folks.