Editor's note: As FlipSide went to print, "Inception" closed in theaters. It's on DVD in December.
If there is one movie you should see before the summer ends, it is most definitely "Inception." Starring Ellen Page ("Juno") and Leonardo DiCaprio ("Shutter Island"), it is a jaw-dropping thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat.
The movie revolves around the idea of inception: planting a concept in a person's mind through his or her dreams. Enter Cobb (DiCaprio), and his partner-in-crime, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "500 Days of Summer"), who work inside people's dreams to conduct their business -- extracting secrets for their clients.
One of these clients is Saito (Ken Watanabe, "Batman Begins"), a cutthroat Japanese business mogul. He solicits Cobb and Arthur not to extract secrets but to plant an idea -- not to follow in his father's footsteps -- in the mind of Robert Fisher (Cillian Murphy, "Red Eye"), the heir of a vast corporation. The purpose is to ruin Fisher's father's empire for the benefit of Saito.
However, they cannot do this alone; Cobb and Arthur need a new architect, which is the person who engineers the circumstances of the dream so inception can be performed.
Cobb lives a nomadic life brought on by the death of his wife and abandonment of his children. While in Paris, he discovers his new architect, Ariadne (Page).
He finds her at a Parisian institution of higher learning and begins to school her on being his architect, a job that entails going very deep within a person's consciousness to the place where ideas can be planted.
With the help of Ariadne and several others, Cobb and his partner begin to actively pursue their act of inception.
All the while, Cobb must overcome the constant images of his wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard, "Public Enemies"), in the dreams. He must also break through the dreamers' inhibitions and suspicions, which have become personified by antagonists and grow increasingly dangerous.
What makes "Inception" exceptional are not only the stunning visual effects, but also director Christopher Nolan's amazing script and the movie's all-star cast, which includes Michael Caine ("The Dark Knight"), in addition to the aforementioned actors.
You can bet that "Inception" will sweep not only the Academy Awards in February, but the hearts and minds of the viewing public as well. It is sure to please all who see it, so if you haven't seen it yet, go now!