Christopher Nolan is a genius. A scary, imaginative, creative genius. He made Batman relevant and serious in BATMAN BEGINS, and then raised the stakes for superhero films even more and made the absolutely epic DARK KNIGHT. Now he’s raised the stakes for all movie makers of any genre with the mind bending Inception.

Now I must admit, I didn’t really enjoy Inception. But I appreciate the hell out of it. It is such a well made movie. Such a serious and grown up movie, yet with more awe inspiring effects than the Matrix trilogy because somehow it all seems so real.

Inception deals with the premise of entering peoples’ dreams to get information straight from their conscience. On the surface it seems like a relatively simple concept, but you know dreams…nothing’s ever simple. Trust me, there is not one simple aspect to this movie. Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are the dream warriors here, with a crew consisting of Ellen Page and Tom Hardy, among others. Nolan’s Batman alumni Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, and Michael Caine also appear. The lovely and talented Marion Cotillard plays DiCaprio’s wife, and she is excellent. Well, everybody is excellent in the flick, but I was actually most impressed with Gordon-Levitt, mayhaps because he has some very awesome scenes.

It’s unfair to say that the story isn’t as important here as the visuals…and the logic behind the visuals, but it might be the case. The visuals…the world we see in Inception is just so unlike anything we’ve seen before. I can’t see it ever being topped as cerebral movies go. If I enjoyed it more I’d probably want to see it again to see if I can wrap my head around it better. But as it is, I’m sure we won’t be more awed at the movies this year.