I finally got around to seeing my two most anticipated movies of the summer, Scott Pilgrim vs the World and Inception. And I saw them on the same day! Talk about being a good film student (ignoring for a second that it’s been weeks since I’ve watched any movies). So needless to say, neither disappointed.

Inception was the film that I was all hyped for ever since seeing that teaser so long ago. At its roots, it is essentially a heist-like movie. Gather a group, get a job done. That’s the simple way of describing it. Throw in a unique and complex dream world, and suddenly the movie is literally filled with layers and mindboggling effects that it becomes so much more. While it starts off a bit slow to set up the story, when things get crazy, they get crazy. The last quarter of the movie gets so intense that it’s crazy to think, in the reality of their world, all of it takes place in such a short span, as most dreams truly do. It’s amazing to think that from such a simple idea, the feeling of a dream lasting longer than the actual dream, a man like Nolan can come up with something so creative. I will admit however, that right after watching the movie, I didn’t leave the theater thinking it was all that great. The hype, expectations, they got the better of me. Upon thinking about it now though, all that hype and expectations were all justified and met. But I think a big part of it was that I wasn’t all that eager to see Inception, because what I wanted to really see was the movie that released last weekend.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World was exactly what I was in the mood for that day. Inception was great, but ever since I’ve read the Scott Pilgrim comics, I was dying to see it come to life on screen. I will admit that when I first saw the trailer to Scott Pilgrim, I had my doubts. Another Michael Cera movie? I didn’t think of it like that by the time I found out Edgar Wright was directing it. Being one of my favorite directors ever, I had to see the movie now just because of Edgar Wright. Being his first movie without Nick Frost or Simon Pegg, it could’ve gone in any direction, but I was glad to see that it was as awesome as all expectations. I decided to read the graphic novels when I heard that I would appreciate the movie more if I had, and a part of me did appreciate it more. Wright stuck to the material like no other, even throwing animated parts of the actual comic into the film. Of course, I was a bit bummed because they couldn’t fit ALL the story into the film, let alone Wright not having access to the final comic at the time. The conclusion of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel wasn’t even finished when the movie got started. What ending we did get in the film was good for what Wright had to work with and at a certain point of understanding, I had to let some things go.

So both movies? A+

Next movie I’m excited for? Tron Legacy. But that’s a ways away unfortunately.