It Feels Weird to Know What's Going on...

I just watched Inception, Christopher Nolan's new flick. And I tell you, especially judging how off-the-wall nutso the whole premise really was, it was weird to actually feel as if I knew what was going on in a movie. It feels strange to realize that I haven't actually fully grasped any of the movies I've seen recently, short of the ones with perfectly linear plots. Even movies as feel-good and enjoyable as The Karate Kid I specifically remember moments where I'd think, "Wait one ear-lobe itching second, that ain't so! It can't be." And I'd smile and sigh, and a piece of my soul would firgive them and die, and I'd wait for the next fight sequence. There were moments like these for actions of the hero, or for glowerings of the villain. There were moments like this that demanded the suspicion of product endorsement, and others that made me suppose that no special-effects person actually has a soul. This sensation of my unbelief collapsing arose after over-simplicities in plotting, or under-simpliciies in dialogue, over vague uses of drama, and over headachey violin warbling.

"That ain't so!" I thought so much. "It can't be. There is no demand for it in the presentation of this story. It is getting in the way." Every movie, even the best of them, had me thinking these things at least a few times.

Inception left me with one un-answered question. And I can put it right here, so I will, because I'm pretty sure it doesn't ruin the movie at all: Wherefore military tech shareage, then, eh? And aside from that one unanswered question, I was, over and again, while watching this movie just smiling, and smiling, and smiling, because my, "hmm, why that particular action, cos?" thoughts which I had directed at the characters continued over and over again to be answered. I was genuinely curious, and always my curiosity was genuinely fulfilled.

At the beginning of the movie, I did have to make a conscious decision to go along with some...let us say, wild plot devices. And that makes it sound as if I went out of my way to be gullible. It wasn't that. The conscious decision that I made at the beginning was to trust these movie makers to guide me sufficiently through their wild world so that I had a good ride, and didn't get lost. Being a cynic, but a generous one, I planned to stop trusting them on the second or third abuse of my trust.

They never abused my trust. Everything there, on that screen, from those speakers, supported that story.

Inception told itself well. Highest praise I can give it.

And the fight scenes rocked. Which I really wasn't expecting.

Demon of Air: inspired by a fright

I had this series of dreams about this dude. A green dude, not too big, who wore brown pants and nothing else. He was hairless, and had bitty horns sticking out his head, like a devil dude. He could fly around, had a huge sword, and like to terrorize nearby yokels. I don't know if he ate their cattle or stole their virgins or what, because I woke up pumping adrenaline before I saw the end. Scared me frightened.

Over the next few weeks I have some more dreams about this same guy. The Demon of Air felt like his name, although I thought it a pretty dumb name. More characters were introduced: an older guy in a suit who was chasing the Demon of Air for some reason, who had this younger woman with him. I figured it was his daughted, but I don't know just yet.

These two people chased the Demon of Air around, in a sort of Van Helsing, vampire hunt type deal, and I kept waking up with a start before the dreams ended, so I don't know why they were. I watched the action from trees, mostly, sitting on branches and looking down and things, so I guess I was like a fourth character. There was this one scene where the Demon sat in a white, plastic chair, in the middle of an outdoor basketball court--I don't know what that was all about--and the old guy and young woman caught up to him, and they talked. I sat in a tree nearby. I can't remember what they said, but I'm sure it was good.

These dreams woke me up in the middle of the night--scared me. It was the Demon of Air who did. And yet, I dreamed up in these dreams a scarier, feral version of the guy. Same size, same shape, but like...red and slimy.

Dreams are weird.

I want to write this story out as a story. So this blog is meant to get the juices flowing on this Demon of Air.