DreadedMonkeyGod: Comments

Meagan

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:50:19 PDT

Good piece. The best line is "I was wrong and Charleton Heston was right."

Have you seen the Keith Olbermann commentary? His is really good too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dXFo0UUACM

raser

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:02:30 PDT

In the case of the Saito, Cobb just reminded him of something he already knew. In Mol's case, Cobb got into her mind's "safe place" and planted the idea that they were in a dream, and had to kill themselves to wake up. He couldn't convince her normally because she'd already monkeyed with her own mind by hiding away her totem.

I definitely thought that they got in the chopper pretty nonchalantly. Initially, I chalked it up to them knowing they didn't have much of a choice. But the more I think about it, the more I think the scene just wasn't clear. Saito beat up the architect to find Cobb and Arthur, but wasn't ever going to do anything beyond that. Saito said "I can't speak for Cobol Engineering" just to remind them that they had made a powerful enemy that he could protect them from.

Now that I've seen it again, I really appreciate how much exposition and story is crammed into this movie, and I think a few scenes must have been cut to the bone to keep the movie from becoming an unwatchable, four-hour trip down the rabbit hole. I think the scene with Saito and the helicopter just has to get through what would normally be a three- or four-minute scene in about 40 seconds, and all that's left is the absolute core of the scene: Saito found them, the old architect is out of the picture, now they work for Saito, and their job is to plant an idea in a young heir's brain.

I agree that the private jet didn't make much sense. Maybe it was Saito just trying to convince them of how powerful he was, and how much easier their lives could be if they stayed with him. No clue. It bugs me, but not enough to wreck the movie.

Yeah, there's a certain amount of trust in the writers implicit in my thinking, but Christopher Nolan's other movies show careful attention to detail, so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

I'm sure a lot of this will be explained in the "director's cut" DVD. And if not, it's still a hell of a fun ride.

Joshua Outwater

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:59:57 PDT

Spoiler alert, so if you haven't seen the movie (whoever you are reading this) stop now.

What do you think about what he did to the Asian guy in the end of the movie? It was exactly what he did to his wife. He convinced him that he wasn't in the real world, that he was dreaming and to kill himself to wake up. Seems like a problem to me...

Also, what about the whole beginning? They get caught and their architect is torn to pieces while they get on a private jet with the guy they were trying to steal from? Seriously. Is the whole thing a dream or just bad writing?

me

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 08:58:11 PDT

i dont know if henri just looks crazy or actually is crazy

raser

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 23:14:32 PDT

Janell and I are devoted DVR users, so I generally have no idea when anything's on, ever. I had to mark my calendar, or I know I'd miss it.

Still pulling for Leonard and Penny to take terrible revenge on Evil Wil Wheaton.

Meagan

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 13:37:01 PDT

That is an awesome picture! I actually put tv shows I want to watch in my calendar because I tend to forget what day it is. :)

Joshua Outwater

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 11:24:27 PDT

Enjoy Inception for being entertaining and very cool CGI. I personally wouldn't expect much from the story line or consistency. Didn't seem like anything very new to me and they take quite a few liberties...

Brian E. Bothwell

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:54:39 PDT

Wow, thank you so much for this blog post. I am honored.

To be honest, the reason I decided to AI for this class is the AI I had was just not very good at all, and I was very frustrated. I made it through (think I got a B+), but I vowed I'd teach it and do a much better job. It's great to know you think I did so! =8^)

Also, thanks MUCH for posting my debugging guide. I lost my copy of it years ago. I am printing it out now for posterity.

-beb

Chris

Mon, 7 Jun 2010 15:45:32 PDT

Good point. Maybe it's time to upgrade to a clay tablet, or maybe even stone. Can't be too careful about losing your data...

captblsisko

Sun, 6 Jun 2010 15:36:29 PDT

Yeah, it's pretty funny that a guy like you who loves shiny tech objects like the iPod, iPhone, maXiPad, iCheeseGrater, iMirrorCleaner, iEtc. sticks with ye olde pen and paper for a day planner.

Also, ironic that I, who loathes anything iRelated, would rather use the (now extinct) PalmOS to keep dates, notes, and phone numbers than a piece of paper and a pencil. Long live my Treo 650! 5 years and counting!

Of course in the upcoming ape/robot/alien apocalypse, none of this will matter since your paper day planner will burn up and my Treo won't have any electricity to recharge to. :(