Inception is a mind bender. At the same time, when followed intently from beginning to end, the expedition of dreams that the movie is, kindles the mind and encourages it to explore the topic. Which is what it has set off in my case.
The movie is based on the concept of complex dreams with deep interpretations, blended with stunning set pieces, visuals, locales and racy action. A great package that ensures your focus doesn’t stray – it is an experience that draws you in.
A team headed by Leo Di Caprio sets out to plant an idea in the subject’s (son of a wealthy millionaire) mind. They find that he’s going on a 10 hour flight. They get onto that flight (the man who hires him buys that flight – but now let me not drift into the main story – I want to talk about all the dreaming) and sedate him by slipping a sedative into his drinking water. Now I will not talk about the idea – I want to focus on the process.
The team connects the subject and themselves to a device, go into sleep and have a shared dream. The dream is complex – it has three whole layers – and while planting their idea, they have to convince the subject that it has not come from an outside source, but has been generated by himself – and in the third stage he is convinced of that and the idea is finally planted.
There is a dream architect (played by Ellen Page – Juno fame) who constructs the subject’s dreams while sharing the dream. Thanks to this fascinating fictitious (is it or is it not? I sooo want to believe it!) concept, the director gets the chance to include some brilliant set pieces and have them crumble in mind blowing sequences symbolizing the end of a shared dream.
There are some rules to inception of an idea – one must not build dreams or dream architecture on past memories – but Di Caprio’s past memories keep slipping in – his wife keeps appearing in his dreams and messing up things by shooting characters (the reasons I shall not elaborate on – I want to get to the ideas I derived). Also if one dies during a dream he/she may move into limbo – a permanent dream state.
During the second level of the dream, the millionaire’s son is shot by the wife and is very close to death. The team tries to save the mission by reviving him through defibrillation –risking going further into his dream and making things more complex - but succeeds. He proceeds to the next level. And all ends well.
The director, Christopher Nolan has beautifully expressed the concept of a dream within a dream and the end of each dream, layer by layer and how the conditions of the surroundings in the first dream affect the second dream – fascinating ideas and mind blowing interpretations.
Inception inspired me to read about shared dreaming and other concepts. Shared dreaming exists and there are a lot to learn about dreams. There is a treatment called hypnotherapy – which cures people of depression and other such problems by putting them into a hypnotic state, helping them discover their past life – and apparently the events in the past life are linked to those in the present.
Apparently you can have control over your dreams – if you are aware that you are dreaming – I think it happened to me too. I have slept, dreamt, been woken up for a few seconds, then gone back to the dream and this time, what I thought for a second was what continued in that dream – at least that was the way it began – and I want it to happen again.
I want to give the profession of dream architecture a shot (wink). I want to try and be the architect of my mind – in the sense that I want to organise my mind, create space to stow away memories and retrieve them – am I getting too carried away? I don’t know. I am also being inspired by the famous character Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs), who, according to Thomas Harris’ book ‘Hannibal Rising’ has a ‘memory palace’ which he was taught to create, by his tutor – where he stores away memories in innumerable chambers and retrieves them when he wants. Well, is it possible for me to create something like that? Or a percentage of something as complex as that? I sure want to explore.
Inception is a near-masterpiece that sets off deep thoughts, the thirst to explore them. We’re discovering the power of dreams more and more & this is a fantastic theme that has emerged at the right time. Inception has been the start to my deeper journey into dreams and I hope to discover a lot more. I also hope to catch every movie as brilliant as Inception in its genre.
Showing posts with label Phillumz Extraordinaire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phillumz Extraordinaire. Show all posts
My Cousin Vinny - discover humour!
Starring
Joe Pesci – Academy Award Winner – as plump likable leather jacketed lawyer Vinny who spent 6 years in law school, on his first case
Marisa Tomei – as his gorgeous equally likable miniskirted girlfriend, whose father runs a mechanic garage. Very nice role. She even won an Oscar for it. Men will love her. Look up Marisa Tomei on Wiki and Google, dear male readers.
Italian lad – as main accused in a murder case
American lad – as his friend with priceless expressions on his face
Judge – to whom Vinny lies that he has 16 years of experience, on top of which he claims to be a famous New York lawyer, whom his girlfriend later says died recently.
Channel – Star Movies. Look out for the rerun.
The Review…
We’re so used to Vivek, Vadivelu and Santhanam and programmes like Kalakkapovadhu Yaaru that we think a funny programme is something that makes us laugh aloud every few minutes.
I realised I am very well such a person when I watched “My Cousin Vinny” which was rated by Readers Digest a few years back as one of the 25 funniest movies ever. I remembered that Readers Digest article and that was the very reason I wanted to watch the movie.
And I tried hard to laugh, but I couldn’t. I just smiled. Why?
It is like how real humour is. And how it should be. Natural. The movie is built around classic funny situations. They are humourous to the core. But you won’t laugh, laugh and laugh like a noisy kookaburra.
The plot revolves around 2 boys who are put in jail and accused of killing a cashier in a supermarket. One of them pockets a can of tuna in the supermarket and at first they’re under the impression that they are arrested for that. Leading to them admitting to “the crime” before they actually know what it is, and by the time they realise it, they can’t get out of the hole and hilarious situation they dug for themselves.
And in steps one of the boys’ cousins, Vinny as their lawyer.
He got into a law school thanks to the influence of a judge known to him, and flunked his way through 6 years of law school. Finally he graduated and gained 6 long weeks of experience in the field. This is his first case.
But hiring a big, expensive lawyer is out of the question. And Vinny’s family. How can the boys say no then? Besides he has considerable experience – his family is known for a tendency to argue like crazy.
Vinny has a girlfriend, who seems to be all beauty and no brains… and she keeps behaving like a tourist, taking snaps of everything in sight, even dog poop.
The court sessions begin. The opposition lawyer brings up 3 witnesses to the incident who seem to eliminate all chances for the boys.
Vinny bumbles in the first few court sessions. That is after he irritates the judge by coming dressed like a wannabe gangster… in a black shirt, trousers and leather jacket.
Two times he is asked to wear a suit. And the day after he finally wears a decent one, he dumps a bag in sticky mud unknowingly (after falling twice on it himself) and asks his girlfriend what is in the bag. The girl says, without seeing that they’re stuck in mud: “Oh, that bag has your suit. I had it cleaned for you.” The suit rental store is closed because its employees have the flu. Vinny ends up wearing a magician’s tux hired from a costume store.
I forgot this… Vinny even goes to jail twice. For being found guilty of contempt of court. His girlfriend bails him out and takes his photo when he is walking out of the jail gate. Truly a special moment.
Despite all these situations, despite ignoring the book on state laws given by the judge (a bit of which his girl reads and helps him) and sleeping in court, Vinny proves that he is a winning lawyer. Because he visits the witnesses’ houses, talks in a friendly way and took some photos on the sly. And befriends the opposition lawyer, even going on a hunting trip with him.
In the end, Vinny upholds his family name with his clever arguments. Vinny’s girlfriend proves to be a big saviour. Her dog poop picture is very helpful. And also, you get to know very interesting information about cars (the girl’s dad runs a mechanic garage), thanks to her dialogues.
Dialogue between Vinny and girlfriend when she is forced to come to the witness stand as she knows a lot about cars… (taken from http://www.law.indiana.edu/instruction/tanford/web/movies/MyCousinVinny.htm)
Vinny: Miss Vito, you're supposed to be some kind of expert in automobiles, is that correct? Is that correct?
[No answer]
Vinny: Will you please answer the Counselor's question?
Girlfriend: No, I hate him.
Vinny: May I have permission to treat Miss Vito as a hostile witness?
Girlfriend: You think I'm hostile now, wait till you see me tonight.
Judge: Do you two know each other?
Vinny: Yeah, she's my fiancée.
Judge: Well, that would certainly explain the hostility.
I skipped a lot of parts. Some of which are vital links. I left out a lot of funny stuff… but the thought that you probably won’t watch it if I tell you everything hit me just as I was coming to the last few paras. The paras may seem patchy. But how can I, as an aspiring movie reviewer, reveal the rest? Watch the movie!
Joe Pesci – Academy Award Winner – as plump likable leather jacketed lawyer Vinny who spent 6 years in law school, on his first case
Marisa Tomei – as his gorgeous equally likable miniskirted girlfriend, whose father runs a mechanic garage. Very nice role. She even won an Oscar for it. Men will love her. Look up Marisa Tomei on Wiki and Google, dear male readers.
Italian lad – as main accused in a murder case
American lad – as his friend with priceless expressions on his face
Judge – to whom Vinny lies that he has 16 years of experience, on top of which he claims to be a famous New York lawyer, whom his girlfriend later says died recently.
Channel – Star Movies. Look out for the rerun.
The Review…
We’re so used to Vivek, Vadivelu and Santhanam and programmes like Kalakkapovadhu Yaaru that we think a funny programme is something that makes us laugh aloud every few minutes.
I realised I am very well such a person when I watched “My Cousin Vinny” which was rated by Readers Digest a few years back as one of the 25 funniest movies ever. I remembered that Readers Digest article and that was the very reason I wanted to watch the movie.
And I tried hard to laugh, but I couldn’t. I just smiled. Why?
It is like how real humour is. And how it should be. Natural. The movie is built around classic funny situations. They are humourous to the core. But you won’t laugh, laugh and laugh like a noisy kookaburra.
The plot revolves around 2 boys who are put in jail and accused of killing a cashier in a supermarket. One of them pockets a can of tuna in the supermarket and at first they’re under the impression that they are arrested for that. Leading to them admitting to “the crime” before they actually know what it is, and by the time they realise it, they can’t get out of the hole and hilarious situation they dug for themselves.
And in steps one of the boys’ cousins, Vinny as their lawyer.
He got into a law school thanks to the influence of a judge known to him, and flunked his way through 6 years of law school. Finally he graduated and gained 6 long weeks of experience in the field. This is his first case.
But hiring a big, expensive lawyer is out of the question. And Vinny’s family. How can the boys say no then? Besides he has considerable experience – his family is known for a tendency to argue like crazy.
Vinny has a girlfriend, who seems to be all beauty and no brains… and she keeps behaving like a tourist, taking snaps of everything in sight, even dog poop.
The court sessions begin. The opposition lawyer brings up 3 witnesses to the incident who seem to eliminate all chances for the boys.
Vinny bumbles in the first few court sessions. That is after he irritates the judge by coming dressed like a wannabe gangster… in a black shirt, trousers and leather jacket.
Two times he is asked to wear a suit. And the day after he finally wears a decent one, he dumps a bag in sticky mud unknowingly (after falling twice on it himself) and asks his girlfriend what is in the bag. The girl says, without seeing that they’re stuck in mud: “Oh, that bag has your suit. I had it cleaned for you.” The suit rental store is closed because its employees have the flu. Vinny ends up wearing a magician’s tux hired from a costume store.
I forgot this… Vinny even goes to jail twice. For being found guilty of contempt of court. His girlfriend bails him out and takes his photo when he is walking out of the jail gate. Truly a special moment.
Despite all these situations, despite ignoring the book on state laws given by the judge (a bit of which his girl reads and helps him) and sleeping in court, Vinny proves that he is a winning lawyer. Because he visits the witnesses’ houses, talks in a friendly way and took some photos on the sly. And befriends the opposition lawyer, even going on a hunting trip with him.
In the end, Vinny upholds his family name with his clever arguments. Vinny’s girlfriend proves to be a big saviour. Her dog poop picture is very helpful. And also, you get to know very interesting information about cars (the girl’s dad runs a mechanic garage), thanks to her dialogues.
Dialogue between Vinny and girlfriend when she is forced to come to the witness stand as she knows a lot about cars… (taken from http://www.law.indiana.edu/instruction/tanford/web/movies/MyCousinVinny.htm)
Vinny: Miss Vito, you're supposed to be some kind of expert in automobiles, is that correct? Is that correct?
[No answer]
Vinny: Will you please answer the Counselor's question?
Girlfriend: No, I hate him.
Vinny: May I have permission to treat Miss Vito as a hostile witness?
Girlfriend: You think I'm hostile now, wait till you see me tonight.
Judge: Do you two know each other?
Vinny: Yeah, she's my fiancée.
Judge: Well, that would certainly explain the hostility.
I skipped a lot of parts. Some of which are vital links. I left out a lot of funny stuff… but the thought that you probably won’t watch it if I tell you everything hit me just as I was coming to the last few paras. The paras may seem patchy. But how can I, as an aspiring movie reviewer, reveal the rest? Watch the movie!
Clichés get a fresh lease of life in this delightful flick
Lest you dismiss Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa as an ordinary movie…
If you are curious about the movie, read the papers of the past month for info about JTYJN and decide if you’ll enjoy such a movie. Because people’s tastes differ, but good movies don’t deserve to be unfairly criticised (though I doubt you’d do that if you watch JTYJN).
Read the review of the movie for good measure.
Now, about JTYJN
The clichéd youth romance format will be back with a bang, provided people follow JTYJN’s example and make such love stories tweaked to suit today’s audiences who enjoy movies that have more interesting elements than saccharine sweet love and little else, or little significance attached to anything else. Again, such romances shouldn’t be dime-a-dozen in Bollywood in the coming years. Because are there many able filmmakers willing to create a film like JTYJN in the format in the next few years?
Though JTYJN has an old fashioned story, the characterisation is good. Many characters have a lovely individuality, and are integrated in the story in such a way that the actors impress and make you notice so many things. A ‘typical’ girl-boy film that makes you pay attention. Now, that’s different!
Imran and Genelia are indeed the stars of the show. Perfect casting!
Imran puts up a good performance and probably has millions of teenage girls hooked with that boyish cuteness and vulnerability. He is natural in the romantic scenes. Here I should make a mention of Manjari Phadnis (Meghna). Pretty lass with eyes that men will drown in. She puts in a good performance in a character that the scriptwriter and director have done justice to.
And Genelia! She’s in the skin of the character! If she could act like a lovable kid in Santhosh Subramaniam, she shows that she can play Aditi Mahant very well too. It’s only her third film in Hindi, and it looks like both her bubbly cuteness and acting are going to make waves. Keep it up, girl!
Ratna Pathak Shah as Imran’s mom rocks. Naseeruddin Shah has a ball entertaining us. Sushant is alternately the chivalrous but smooth dude, and drunken asshole to the hilt. The rest of the cast has done their bit quite ok. As we know, bad acting will stick out like a sore thumb, and that didn’t happen.
The climax is enjoyable, if you pardon the cliché elements (which I did), and like the generous dollops of quintessential Bollywoodishness added to it.
‘Pappu can’t dance’ still played in my head to a vision of me boogying, hours after I walked out.
The review’s not over yet. Here’s a part-review:
Some things that make JTYJN even more special:
Aditi’s fiancé giving her a parting ‘shot’… err… power slap. How many of us would expect that in a Bollywood movie? Or expect him to him to slap so hard?
Manjari and Imran having a peaceful break-up (albeit a really sad one for Manjari).
Ratna Pathak Shah - Showing the way for cool movie moms this decade.
Imran’s dreams of a cloaked warrior chasing the ‘villains’, and in the third dream, finding that he is the warrior.
Aditi’s brother Amit telling her he wants her to be with Imran, because Imran is an ‘achcha’ ladka, unlike himself.
Amit himself, who had me drooling, even as I was wondering if the character was gay…
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