Right, time to pick this apart. I'll be brief, as I have to go soon, but here's the gist of it:
He's not a detective. Quite the opposite, really - he's basically a thief. But whatever. That's just me being nit-picky.
You mean except for the huge set-piece in Mombasa, which is relatively early on in the film.
This isn't a cliche at all - rather, it's one of the most effective screenwriting techniques taught by the likes of Robert McKee and other experts - you start off with the "bite", the scene that grabs the audience's attention. The diner scene in Pulp Fiction. The opening of The Usual Suspects. The prologue in The Lord of the Rings. Then, you take it down a notch, and set the first act of the story in motion; start establishing the characters.
Yes, you can.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream
Like you, I can barely remember my dreams. But there are people out there with photographic memory who remember every detail about their dreams. There are techniques to increasing your ability to remember dreams - keeping a dream journal is one - but this is very much real, and there are many people who are capable of controlling their actions in their dreams.
Agreed for the most part, although honestly, this Scrooge McDuck thing is kind of a stretch. However, there's no doubt that, like all movies, this one owes a lot to its predecessors in the genre. However, I think Nolan did a great job at applying his original concepts and style to the basic guidelines of the science fiction and heist film genres. Nothing is truly original these days - however, I think it's unfair not to give Nolan credit where it is due.
Once again, you seem to have fallen into the trap that makes me disregard every single professional review that has fallen into it as well: Your opinion of the film is yours, but your opinion on fans of the film is completely irrelevant to this review. You are reviewing the FILM, not ranting against its fans. And I think it's quite silly to let the one influence the other. Because it's clear to me that your disdain towards "Nolan fanboys" and the hype around the film is one of the reasons you didn't like it.