Inception

A critical and commercial hit, writer-director Christopher Nolan's mindbender stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb, trained in high-stakes corporate espionage and the use of psychotropic drugs to steal thoughts buried deep in his targets' subconscious minds. But Cobb is currently an international fugitive, estranged from his family in the U.S. So when a wealthy, mysterious businessman (Ken Watanabe) offers him a way home, Cobb agrees to perform a far more dangerous feat: to implant an idea in the brain of an industrialist heir (Cillian Murphy). Nolan's stylish, illusory dreamscapes defy the laws of time and physics, serving up an arresting Parisian cityscape folding in upon itself, or an eye-popping chase sequence with weightless participants bouncing off walls in zero gravity, all the while holding true to the ingenious internal logic of this complex, sophisticated sci-fi thriller. DiCaprio embodies a desperate man haunted by secrets, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as his trusted colleague, Marion Cotillard as the love of his life, and Ellen Page as a brilliant architecture student. Michael Caine, Tom Berenger, and Pete Postlethwaite also add pivotal support in this tantalizing, tension-filled, time-twisting joyride. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (S. Granger)