Thread: Root to lucid dream

To be honest, Waking Life wasn't that popular of a movie. Inception, on the other hand, was freaking huge.

Interception was a great movie, I liked the part where they intercepted a dream and used it to hack the mainframe of a person's brain. Ellen Page's role as the hooker particularly surprised me.

In fairness Waking Life wasn't a very popular movie, it had poor media publicity and the general consensus was it was rather mediocre. That's not to say it doesn't have it's fans; I suppose it is sort of a cult movie among 'chakras energy' and 'wiccan' types etc. I'm not a fan of movies done entirely in rotoscope - it feels gimmicky and cheap, kind of like 3D movies.

Inception was your classic AAA++ blockbuster franchise movie which was destined to be popular no matter how good or bad it was. But like most of those MEGA HYPE movies, it was remarkably forgettable. I know a lot of people liked it, and I will say I enjoyed the special effects and set design. I wouldn't watch it again.

Inception had many big names associated with it besides DiCaprio, though his role certainly helped it's performance in the box office. I don't ever see people talking about that movie anymore, but if it has any lasting influence in the public's eye, it's probably due more to the *gasp* twists and yawn-inducing, predictable ambiguity of the film's ending than Leonardo DiCaprio's role.

Waking Life was like watching a documentary that was filmed with a camera that was on drugs. Once I got over the vertigo, it was actually tolerable. Watching Inception as a lucid dreamer, I couldn't help but think "wow, that's it? THESE are the best of the best?" I just found it to be completely uninspired. It was a terribly poor depiction of the dreamworld. Now Paprika, THAT was more like it. Sure it's Anime (which I argue all takes place in the dreamworld), but it did a fairly good job of painting a portrait of world where dreams could be shared. It's one of my favorite movies of all time.

Originally Posted by SuperOhm

Watching Inception as a lucid dreamer, I couldn't help but think "wow, that's it? THESE are the best of the best?" I just found it to be completely uninspired. It was a terribly poor depiction of the dreamworld.

I don't have any particular love for Inception but you have to remember they were trying to show coherent story progression, an "accurate" depiction navigating in a dreamworld would have been terribly confusing. That would not do well for reviews, never mind making an understandable movie...but I get your point. An accessible movie like Inception had to find a balance between art and comprehension.

Originally Posted by SuperOhm

Now Paprika, THAT was more like it. Sure it's Anime (which I argue all takes place in the dreamworld), but it did a fairly good job of painting a portrait of world where dreams could be shared. It's one of my favorite movies of all time.

Paprika is great, and yeah, feels much more what dreams actually feel like. Normal when dreaming, confusing and disorienting on retrospect. Yet, Paprika was pretty damn confusing, and that's the problem you come across. Maybe it is more intelligible on additional viewings, I wouldn't know. I'm sure there's a topic on Paprika somewhere on DV?

The only other scene in anime that came close to accurately representing a dream I would say is Tetsuo's nightmare in AKIRA.

Originally Posted by SuperOhm

(which I argue all takes place in the dreamworld)

Why? You could say all movies, animated or not, and everything that tells a story takes place in the dreamworld because they are attempting to convey a message through a representative medium.

I've never even heard of Waking Life.

And it's Inception, not Interception.

You've been on here for 2 and a half years and you've not heard of Waking Life? How?