One of the non-programed events I attended at Comic-Con was a small, informal cocktail party with a producer of a popular TV show, several writers, actors, etc.  As I was getting ready to leave for my panel my host asked, "What power would I have if I were a superhero?" 

For some reason the question took me aback, and put my brain into freeze lock.  I flashed through the usual -- fly, invisible, teleport, etc. -- and then I said.  "To be practical."

Now it was his turn to be taken aback, and he turned it into a wonderful running riff of my application to the Justice League.

I felt sort of stupid, but back at the hotel I analyzed what I had been saying, and I realized I was right.  That was the super power I craved.  The ability to evaluate every situation, and make the most rational decision that would have the best result for me and mine.

I've made some very foolish decisions in my life.  If I was Practicality Girl I would have avoided those missteps.

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Just got home from seeing INCEPTION with Ian.  I don't quite know what to think about this movie.  It looked amazing.  The direction was terrific.  Di Caprio is a great actor, it was complex, it was thought provoking, and at times I hated it.  Other times I loved it.

The questions raised about what is reality were intriguing, and I enjoyed some of the dream levels.  I particularly liked the second level where they run a sting on the mark.  But then we ended in a bad Roger Moore/James Bond movie, and what was that about?

I admit in terms of emotional connection I had a much greater interest in Roger Fischer's daddy issues (of course I did) then with di Caprio's guilt over his crazy wife.  By the time we finally got down to that third level in the city the couple had created I just wanted him to shoot her, and move on.

Quibbles -- that team should have had a dedicated shrink.  Having the forger double in that role didn't work for me.   How come the team was armed like a Bruce Willis Die Hard movie when they didn't expect Fisher to have all these subconscious protections?  And where did all the guns come from?  They dreamed them once people started shooting at them?  Needed a little set up for that.

The Zimmer score was provocative until near the end when it was just bombastic.

Of course there was a "lady and the tiger" ending.  Saw that coming from a looong way away.

And my biggest compliant.  The tension should have built as they descended each level, a growing sense of danger, but instead it lost tension.  Maybe because I wasn't emotionally invested in the husband and wife story, but it felt like I was watching a souffle falling in slow motion.

And yes, it was really, really long, and I think they could have cut a bunch of the James Bond sequence.

I will think about this film unlike Knight and Day which was sooo forgettable and annoying, Nolan continues to amaze, but on some level this just didn't work for me.

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