Inception

When I saw Batman Begins, I saw a good film.  When I saw The Prestige, I was impressed.  When I saw The Dark Knight, I was blown away.  But when I saw Christopher Nolan's latest film, the science fiction thriller Inception, I knew I should have seen it in theaters last year.

An exiled industrial spy who specializes in obtaining secrets through dreams is given the chance to return home, by an industrialist he has just extracted secrets from, if he undertakes the task of inserting a thought into the mind of a rival, a process known as inception.  With his team assembled, he sets about on his task, but must confront the guilt of his past, which manifests itself in his dreams and sabotages his efforts.

To say the least, this was one amazing film.  The credit belongs primarily to Christopher Nolan, for writing a story unlike anything I've ever seen before and directing a film which raises the bar for superb filmmaking to a higher level.  Throughout the film, I was never confused as the story unfolded, nor did I find myself ever having to suspend disbelief as I continued watching.  The dream sequences featured in Inception were nothing short of mind-blowing.

Not only was Nolan's presentation of the story flawless in my opinion, his direction also resulted in mature and solidly good performances from cast members Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page; I didn't expect such good acting from any of them.  DiCaprio, in particular, has been cast in numerous roles where he is unable to convince me he is the character, whether it's Howard Hughes or a Rhodesian soldier of fortune.  With Inception, DiCaprio gives arguably his best performance as an actor in 12 years.

Intelligent writing, superb directing, excellent cinematography and visual effects, and mature acting from a great cast including DiCaprio, Levitt, Page, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy and the one and only Michael Caine, Inception gets a full four stars from me.