Sunday, January 16, 2011

Deception

Am I like the only person in the country who didn't like the movie, "Inception?" I thought it was boring. I won't got into a full-blown review of it again, but c'mon -- the drama wasn't dramatic, the action scenes were boring, the dream sequences weren't nearly "dreamy" enough, and the big ending to it had me thinking "Who cares?" Seriously, it's like an action movie for people who don't like action movies, a drama for people who don't understand drama, science fiction for people who don't read science fiction, a caper movie for people who don't watch caper movies, blah blah blah. The most interesting facet of the movie was largely downplayed (the character of Leo DiCaprio's wife, who is basically a ghost in his dreams, thanks to his monkeying around with her mind using his dream-weaver powers). Instead of making that the core of the story, they spackled on about four layers of "Who Gives a Fuck" around it. "The Matrix" handled action sequences and even layered perceptions of reality far better than "Inception." But people mistook a complicated plot with a complex one, and they're not entirely the same. Anyway, it did well, and people seem to like it -- like everybody I know who's seen it, but I just didn't like it.

I like action movies, but they should have compelling action. I like dramas, but they should have compelling drama. I like science fiction, but it should have the depth of the genre behind it. Caper movies should propel you through them. "Inception" dips its toes lightly in those three pools, and we're supposed to find it immersive. I remember being bored very early in the movie -- and those fucking dream sequences, interminable things (nobody but nobody has dreams as lame as the dreams in "Inception" -- and if you do dream like that, you have my sympathy).

Anyway, I don't know how it managed to strike a resonant chord with so many people, and leave me just bored. I'm out of step with the world, clearly.