My new favorite movie

Rating: 10/10 (17 July 2010)

I've said that about so many movies but the euphoria passes about some time after it's done. So I figured I'd wait 24 hours to see if this euphoria has passed... looks like it hasn't. V For Vendetta was my favorite movie, I now have to reconsider.
Inception is an AMAZING movie. For one, it has one of the most interesting plots I've ever had the good fortune to witness. Look at it. Stealing/planting ideas through dreams. Entering others' dreams. Completing tasks in dreams. This stuff is what I like. The plot was very complex and multi-layered, and therefore there was so much to offer in the plot. Not a single moment went by where I wasn't interested.
The visuals are AMAZING. I was blown away when Cobb was showing Ellen Page how the dream world worked, with the folding city. As well as the scenery in the Arctic. The sets looked vivid and gorgeous. They complemented the film's great plot and IMO, were very creepy and brooding too.
Another reason the movie is so great is because it uses ambiguity THE RIGHT WAY. A lot of filmmakers (*ahem* Michael Haneke, I'm looking at you!!!!) think that senseless manipulation equals a great movie (to a lot of people nowadays think it does and because of it, they rave about it like it's second coming of Jesus), and this one doesn't senselessly manipulate the viewer. It challenges the viewer to piece together the puzzle and find out the answer. Yet it has plenty of exciting action and suspense to offer, and it doesn't beat you over the head with the theme. You're getting your adrenaline up during the action while simultaneously piecing the puzzle together.
The ending. WOW. I'll be thinking about this one for at least a month. It uses ambiguity the right way too- I am personally leaning towards the "he's still dreaming" side, but I definitely like the ending a lot because he could be in the real world too. My friend and I both decided last night that he's lost his mind and is in limbo, but that's what makes the ending so powerful. You interpret it your own way. See this is what I wish a lot of the pretentious directors who go for the "open to interpretation" approach did more often- end it AFTER the resolution of the conflict and then leave the one element up to the viewer to decide. It can be interpreted many ways.
The movie is VERY long. 2 hours 28 minutes. But it didn't feel long at all!! I seriously thought it was only 1 hour 45 minutes. That's the thing, when you're so into a movie, when your attention is drawn to it for that long, when you're trying to piece together the puzzle, time flies so fast. I didn't even get up from my seat once and mind you I'm VERY bad for having to go to the bathroom.
Last night I lay wide in bed thinking about the movie. I tried to sleep but I couldn't. The movie was very powerful, it made me think about it. I was thinking about it on the way home from the IMAX. My friend and I were talking about it the whole way (and ruining it for people on the bus lol). It goes to show you how powerful a movie can be. It leaves you thinking, and I'm STILL thinking about it as I type this. I am really glad I saw it.
As over the top as I may sound, I am not trying to sound over the top. I really loved it. WAY more than the Dark Knight. I'm seeing it again on Wednesday, and I cannot wait. This movie is the best movie I've seen this year and maybe the best I've seen in general (I do not make that up, and have seen several movies in a lifetime alone).