CCI: Inception

After what feels like forever, I finally went to see Inception with my friend Olim. I was prepared to be blown away by the supposed amazingness of it all.

Well, first things first. I had heard about how it was a movie that made you think. That challenged the audience. I was up for the challenge. I had also heard that you had to pay very close attention, especially at the beginning of the movie. I'm happy to say that I was mentally present throughout.

It was easy to get lost in the film, far easier than I have felt in a cinema for too long of a time. Movie plots are too often recycled, scripts are weak, ideas (ah, the basis of Inception) have been thought before, and actors are chosen for beauty over skill. To say that I have lost faith in the movie industry, then, would be correct, if not a slight understatement.

So I was excited, maybe too excited, to have a seat to a well-hyped piece of cinematic art. And I did enjoy it. I just didn't come out of it as impressed as I thought I would be. Was I a victim of extremely high expectations? Did I miss something? Without divulging the plot, I think I was able to grasp the depths of dream states within the film, whether overtly alluded to or not. And the question of reality has been a tourist in my mind quite a few times now, especially as of late.

This whole situation reminds me of the Bodyworlds exhibit when it came to Vancouver a few years ago. I had heard people say how amazed they were by it all; but when I went, I didn't feel the same wonder they felt, because I had felt it already when I had taken Biology 12. Human anatomy has always fascinated me and when I got to learn more specifically about body systems--most notably the urinary system (kidneys and the whole filtration process)--I was in awe of the complexity and seamlessness of it all. That the human body is such a masterpiece, whether created or evolved (I think both), struck me like lightning in those moments of twelfth grade, as it probably struck many who attended Bodyworlds.

And so you can't blame me for my watered down sentiment regarding Inception.

Another quotation from The Solitaire Mystery--because I just can't get enough:

I said it was strange that we human beings are so clever in so many ways - we explore space and the composition of atoms - but we don't have a better understanding of what we are...If our brain was simple for us to understand it, we would be so stupid we wouldn't be able to understand it after all.