Inception, the Movie with Leonardo Di Caprio

I first went to see this movie in the theater with my older son, and was looking forward to seeing it based on the previews. I had no idea what to expect but was intrigued from the very beginning. I really enjoyed this movie and how it makes you think hard about what goes on with our minds while we are sleeping and dreaming. It will force you to think a bit differently about reality, time, the sub-conscious and much more. Now that my son got the DVD for Christmas, we own the movie. I need to say that if you haven't seen the movie, and don't want any surprises ruined for you, please do not read on! It will spoil the movie perhaps and I want to give a fair warning for that.

The casting of Inception was amazing, in my opinion. I truly loved the actors and actresses chosen for the different parts. It made the whole movie come together wonderfully. I enjoyed the plot very much, and how complicated it sometimes could get. You will realize that you want to pay close attention when watching the movie, especially for the first time. At first you didn't quite realize when a person was dreaming, or when you were in "real time." Add to that, that eventually they go into deeper "levels" of dreaming, and all the factors that change along with that.

The movie really drew me in, and I was fascinated at the concepts being presented and how the author and producer made a movie out of it for our enjoyment. I would highly recommend it. It has a lot of different components to it, and shows the possible consequences of running with an idea like what is presented in Inception. Getting into other people's minds during their dream state is a far out idea, but it was fun to run with that idea for a bit.

There was a sense of desperation playing out, as you sensed the love between a husband and wife, loss, children that are potentially lost to you, and the effects of a death "pinned" on you even though it wasn't your fault. It was very sad to see what happened to the wife when the line between reality and dreaming became intertwined to the degree it was. The idea of killing oneself in a dream to wake up could have big consequences when you are sure you are awake, but really just dreaming. So it was heartbreaking in some ways.  Sometime actors and actresses really allow you to get into the emotions they are feeling, because they are just that good at what they do.  This is the case with Inception.

The way the twist from stealing an idea in someones mind to planting an idea in another person's mind played out was fascinating. A lot of dangers and twists and turns, and trying to avoid being in a state of "limbo" which to some was almost as bad as death. Very intriguing.

To those that have seen the movie, I wonder if you also experienced some relief when you realized that the main character Cobb really did keep his promise to his wife after all. She just forgot, or either he believed she forgot because really it was his perception of her in his own mind playing out. His guilt over what happened really almost destroyed him. They did get to grow old together, and for a lot of the movie you got the impression they never got that time. They did get to love and live and grow old together for several decades. If you are like me, you wonder how that would play out for 50 years or so like he mentioned, in a world that you create with time passing much more slowly, to the point it is a possibility at all.

It was just so interesting how he wanted to do these "missions" but knew he couldn't be the architect anymore. It wasn't just an interest either, but of life and death to him in regards to getting to see his children again.  If his mind knew the layout of the world he created in the dreams, then other deeper parts of his subconscious could interact and sabotage things.

The way they created the worlds they lived in, near the beach was really weird and interesting at the same time. Seeing how the worlds in the dreams would begin to crumble or be distorted depending on what was happening in reality was wild to see. Sometimes, it was the "reality" within a dream that affected the literal laws of nature in the next level down in a dream. You had to really try to keep track of what level people were on and when, and if they were really threatened and to what degree on each level of the mind.

To those that have seen the movie, you will know what I am talking about, but if you have not, you will think this all sounds crazy perhaps. If you have not seen it, I highly recommend you doing so, but hopefully before you read this. That said, even if you are at this point of the review, still go and see it for it is an interesting work for sure, and I liked the movie very much. The music by Hans Zimmer is exceptional. My son and I and the whole family now love the song at the end the most, where they are back in "reality" and realizing that they "did it." Great movie, a must see!

Leonardo Di Caprio, playing Cobb, Arthur played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Ariadne played by Ellen Page were all very impressive as were many others. These stood out to me in particular, and Ellen Page surprised me and loved that she played the part, she was perfect. Saito played by Ken Watanabe was great of course, perfect for his part, and Mal was a very complex and deep character played by Marion Cotillard. Great actress with a lot of depth and feeling. Cillian Murphy was great, who played the part of Robert Fischer. He was the son in a complicated Father Son relationship in the movie, that took some interesting turns. Miles, by Michael Cane was a perfect fit.  The rest of the whole team, like I said before were very well chosen and I wouldn't change a thing. I rarely think the parts turn out to be so perfect like this, the actors/actresses to roles, so it was a real joy of a movie to watch. It comes highly recommended. I am very impressed with the writing and directing done by Christopher Nolan.