comment #1

Wrecktem says ...

Wait, hold the presses. Wells has never heard of a dreidel? Seriously?

comment #2

cinecatastrophe says ...

... Tom Hardy ...

Hey, when the hell are we going to get to see Bronson?!

comment #3

Ulysses says ...

I wouldn't have known what a dreidel was if not for that song on South Park.

comment #4

Ponderer says ...

Fuck's sake. If you don't know what a dreidel is, you have lost the right to call anyone fucking Eloi.

comment #5

Wrecktem says ...

It means: 1) Wells had no Jewish friends growing up and 2) Wells cares so little about other cultures that he hasn't even bothered to learn about one of the most famous items of the Jewish holiday tradition.

comment #6

Ulysses says ...

Ponderer: :-)

comment #7

VoiceOfReason says ...

It's not a dreidel in the trailer, it's a silver top.

comment #8

Jeffrey Wells says ...

I have gotten along beautifully on this planet so far without having to use the word "driedel," much less think about it or describe it or refer to it. I have led a completely driedel-free life, and I completely at peace with that.

comment #9

Luke Y. Thompson says ...

I learned about dreidels from the Pee-wee Herman holiday special. But yeah, I'm surprised Jeff's never seen that South Park episode.

comment #10

kneelbeforezod says ...

I've seen it. The tagline is "YOUR MIND... IS THE SCENE OF THE CRIME". The corridor fight is cool because it's as if the building is diagonal on its axis: one guy has one foot on the floor and one on the wall, and is trying to keep his balance.

There's also a shot later on of someone "falling" down a corridor, as if the corridor is now vertical. There's also a shot of a glass of water, the glass stays put but the water is sloping inside it.

Um... what else... I think after the corridor fight, there's a shot of Dicaprio kind of waking up with a start, as if it's happening in his head maybe? Another shot near the beginning of a guy being dragged to a helicopter on top of a building.

Also worth mentioning is the Hans Zimmer music, which like his Batman score is less music and more thumping, bassy, pulsing sound. Very sci-fi.

comment #11

Steven Kar says ...

Why can't we call it what it is: a spinning top, or simply, a top.

And why should some of us who are not of the Jewish persuasion know what a "dreidel" is in the first place?

It's not as if HE's readers know the names of the religious/traditional items that other religions employ in their ceremonies.

comment #12

televisiontears says ...

I went to a Christian middle school and even we played with dreidels around Hanukkah.

comment #13

btwnproductions says ...

Magnet is releasing BRONSON on 10/9.

comment #14

KC says ...

In flyover country they had us learn songs attached to religious holidays in public school, but goddamn it one of them was The Dreidel Song

comment #15

buckzollo says ...

Pretend I am Kanye West, but instead of talking about Black people I am talking about Jewish people and then pretend instead of talking about George Bush I am talking about Jeffrey Wells

comment #16

GKLondon says ...

Really? Not knowing what a dreidel is is equitable to anti-semitism? So now we've gotten to the point where even mentioning something means you hate it? Lay off the PC cool-aid ladies and gentlemen, please. By the way, I learned what a dreidel was from Friends, and learning ANYTHING from Friends makes me feel like a fucking retard.

comment #17

Dance Commander says ...

It's barely a preview. Gives not a hint as to what it is about. What little there was seemed to invoke a Matrix-like sensation. It has the ominous thud noise running through it which becomes unintentionally comical by the end. Not sure why they bothered.

comment #18

HanekeFanBoyNumberOne says ...

Dance Commander nailed it. The whole thing is predicated on Nolan as director of The Dark Knight, but that means nothing when juxtaposed with a confusingly cut teaser. If anything it made me less interested in it.

comment #19

Glenn Kenny says ...

Jeffrey Wells doesn't care about Jewish people. Nor, apparently, is he conversant with the oeuvre of Don McLean. The things you learn on a Sunday.

But seriously, dude: you saw "Two Lovers." There's a whole dreidel-ignorance riff between Phoenix and Paltrow's character early on. Didst thou nod off, or sumfin?

comment #20

KC says ...

Remember when it was a sign of criminal ignorance for Kirsten Dunst to draw a blank on "Captain Kirk?"

comment #21

Rich S. says ...

Really? "Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made you out of clay" doesn't ring a bell? In the small town where I grew up, I don't think I met a Jew until I was in my late teens. I sure knew what a dreidel was.

You'd think someone would pick up something like that out of osmosis, like the kid in Slumdog Millionaire.

comment #22

Gogocrank says ...

I know, right? I don't know a single Muslim, but I know what the Koran is. I did not grow up Catholic, but I know what a rosary is. I am not a Jehovah's Witness, but I know the name of their newsletter is The Watchtower. I'm not Mexican, but I know what a pinata is. These are all things picked up by reading books, newspapers, watching movies, breathing, etc. It baffles me that someone could truly have no idea what a dreidel is. Does the dreidel not make an appearance in a single Woody Allen movie? "Radio Days" or something?

Jeff, just wondering - honestly, not intended to be snide in the least - but do you know what it means to keep kosher? Just curious, since I'm sure you've encountered the word "kosher" before, and maybe even used it. And the concept of Kosher is far more esoteric (relatively speaking) than playing mundane ol' dreidel.

Anyway, no harm, no foul, I guess. More odd than anything else. There are a lot of things I don't know, too. Thousands, actually.

comment #23

Scott says ...

Dreidels aside...I liked the trailer quite a bit. Of course, the last time I saw a teaser this satisfying was for Eagle Eye, and that turned out...poorly. But whatever, I'll admit it - I'm a big Christopher Nolan fan, especially his work outside of the Batman films. The Dark Knight was merely icing on the cake, but The Prestige is my kinda entertainment.

And seriously, there are so few big-budget, original films made anymore, especially with studio money. I'm just glad a director can still earn this kind of clout.

comment #24

Gogocrank says ...

"The Prestige" will go down in history as one of the all-time great cult films. At least, I wish it would. I wonder how many people have actually seen it?

comment #25

ZayTonday says ...

Wells, how could you overlook the fact that TOM FUCKING BERENGER is in this movie??

comment #26

ZayTonday says ...

Also, hahahaha you didn't know what dreidels were, who are you, hitler?

comment #27

lipranzer says ...

I can't believe they advertised showing the INCEPTION teaser before INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, when in fact they didn't.

Re knowing what a dreidel is: my best friend growing up was Jewish, so I knew what a dreidel was. And when I sort of forgot, I had the TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to remind me. From "Bad Eggs":

Xander: You gotta take care of the egg. It's a baby. You gotta keep it safe and teach it Christian values.
Willow: My egg is Jewish.
Xander: Then teach it that dreidel song.

comment #28

lazarus says ...

...and that kind of dialogue is precisely why I've avoided watching Buffy or Angel.

Also, Gogocrank, I'm not sure a dreidel is on the same recognition level as The Koran, which is the religion's holy book? I sure as hell don't know names of any Muslim holiday toys. Also, rosaries have been featured in many films, and it's a prominent object in Catholic life. Pinatas? Pretty common; many non-Mexicans buy them for parties.

In the Jewish religion, the dreidel isn't some kind of holy or important item, so I don't know that it's a cultural crime not to know about. I am a little surprised though.

comment #29

Gogocrank says ...

Maybe I went about it the wrong way, but that was sort of the point: a dreidel is such a super-common, mundane, barely religious icon that it's practically secular in prominence. I mentioned the Koran and rosaries because they're specifically, exclusively religious, and you don't sing songs about them around the holidays. And yet I know what they are (I'm Jewish), and not just because I've seen them in movies. He's never heard the Dreidel Song? He's never seen a single dreidel or dreidel decoration hung up around Hanukkah? Just impressed. This is a guy who has spent a good deal of time in both New York and Los Angeles, in cities and in industries where Jews abound, so figure.

comment #30

lazarus says ...

Well it's certainly not as ubiquitous as a menorah, which I'm sure Jeff is aware of.

comment #31

JBM... says ...

lipranzer: "I can't believe they advertised showing the INCEPTION teaser before INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, when in fact they didn't."

The teaser wasn't shown with every print.

I'm more excited for this than the next Batman for some reason...

comment #32

Clear says ...

It can get confusing with Wells, you never know when cultural ignorance is loathsome (everyone else) or chic (him).

comment #33

Ju-osh says ...

It's funny cuz it's true:

Clear said, "It can get confusing with Wells, you never know when cultural ignorance is loathsome (everyone else) or chic (him)."

comment #34

Steven Kar says ...

What's a menorah?

comment #35

Scott Mendelson says ...

Gogocrank - As a HUGE lifelong Batman fan, someone who loves the first two Burton films as well as Nolan's two Batman pictures... The Prestige is still my favorite Chris Nolan film. I remember when I first bought my HDTV, I used the Prestige DVD to experiment with the colors and what not (prior to buying a Blu Ray) because it was the most recent film I owned. Anyway, every time I toyed around with it, I'd find myself watching huge chunks of the movie. Between the Batman pictures, The Prestige, and Memento, Chris Nolan is probably my current favorite director. And if Insomnia ends up being his worst film, well that will be a hell of a career.

comment #36

Scott Mendelson says ...

The Inception teaser is online. Try my site (hehe) or http://www.movie-list.com/trailers.php?id=inception. Enjoy.

comment #37

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comment #38

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