Oscar talk underway for Inception

MANILA, Philippines - Let the Academy Awards buzz for Inception begin! Days before the genre-defying film opened in the US, Internet giant Yahoo already proclaimed Inception as the Best Film of the Year to-date. Yahoo wrote in its citation — “From its mind-bending dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream plot to its way cool special effects, the movie stands head-and-shoulders above an otherwise lackluster movie summer.”

Then the glowing reviews started pouring in — from the high-and-mighty Time Magazine and New York Times and Variety to the pop-centric USA Today and Chicago Times to the heady Rolling Stone. All are ecstatic over director Christopher Nolan’s originality, genius, even…balls…to realize such a high-concept film. Inevitably, the word “Oscar” kept coming up.

Which prompting news bureau Reuters to ask in a syndicated article, “Can Inception safely dream of Oscar glory? That’s one conundrum that will linger long after average moviegoers have stopped debating the ambiguities of Christopher Nolan’s twisty new thrill ride into the subconscious,” continues the story.

In the old days, like 2007, the middle of July would definitely be too early to start thinking about the Oscars. Back then, Hollywood loaded up its prestige fare in the fall so that it would stay fresh in the minds of Academy voters. Yet last year, four of the 10 Best Picture nominees — including winner The Hurt Locker — were released in the summer.

(Still showing in IMAX, Digital 2D and regular format, Inception is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.)