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If I could only choose one movie to take away from 2011 Inception would be the clear winner. It’s not often that I watch a movie that fulfills me 100% creatively, artistically and as an audience member but with Inception Christopher Nolan did all of that for me.

I am a Christopher Nolan junkie. Now and forevermore, I will see any movie he makes. I can’t think of a bad one in the lot, and in fact with each film I think he improves - and since square one he’s been amazing. I’ve said it before, but if I could apprentice to any director working today I would want to apprentice to Christopher Nolan. I can’t think of any contemporary director that can pull of the perfect mesh of creativity and box office appeal - a mix that would make any studio salivate at the thought of making your movie.

Inception is a movie that makes me want to make movies. That is a powerful thing, and something I am incredibly grateful for.

While I may never be a fan of 3D, let me just say that Christopher Nolan is making me a fan of IMAX. Inception was made for IMAX. By saying that I don’t just mean that Nolan shot it in IMAX, which he did, I mean that it is a film that is so rich visually and aurally that it screams to be witnessed on as large a screen as possible.

This film is simply stunning.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, I would LOVE to sit at the feet of Christopher Nolan. The sheer volume of things I could learn from that man would probably astound me. He makes movies on a filmmaking scope that is beyond definition – whether his films are big or small he makes them with an intelligence and commitment that emanates from the screen and Inception is no exception.

Going into Inception a second time I was afraid the complexities of the film would not hold up now that I’d experienced the film once and would have time to think as I watched. I was genuinely surprised to find the exact opposite happen to me. Watching the film for a second time you begin to notice even more intricacies of what Christopher Nolan has done, and how finely polished it all is because it fits together so tightly. This film isn’t a rubik’s cube that’s been twisted out of shape, it’s a labyrinth that has been artfully carved with great detail.

With every film Leonardo DiCaprio seems to be getting better, and Inception is one of his finest performances to date. I heard someone compare Leo’s character in Inception with his character in Shutter Island stating that the two were far too similar; despite the fact that both characters are fathers separated from their families I really see no further similarities. While it’s coincidence that both films came out in the same year, Cobb is a very sane man wanting desperately to be a father again and Teddy Daniels sole goal is to break the case and exact revenge.

One of the most stunning things in this film is still the sequences with Arthur and the rotating corridor. The sheer skill and coordination that went into the scene is mind boggling and the visuals are flawless. Nolan created an action sequence that I think will be imitated in the years to come, the same way that other filmmakers stole bullet time from The Matrix.

With Inception Christopher Nolan manages to make a film that is both thought provoking and action oriented. It’s a story that sparks of craftsmanship and I will be quite interested to see if it remains on everyone’s radar when awards season approaches.

Cobb: Dreams feel real while we're in them. It's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange.

For me, there are few things like the experience of a good movie in the theatre, it’s one of the reasons it’s my desire to make films for audiences. A great film is hard enough to do, but if you as a filmmaker can make a great film and suck the audience into its world to the point that the theatre comes under the films control – well there’s nothing like experiencing that. To this day I still remember what it was like when I first watched Jurassic Park and felt that dinosaurs were real, sat in Seabiscuit and realized audience members around me were cheering for a horse onscreen, and I know that the collective gasp and gleeful astoundment that came with the credits of Inception will stay with me as well.

I can’t tell you much about the actual plot of Inception, both because it’s so beautifully complicated I wouldn’t know how to begin, and because the film deserves to be watched for the first time with the freshest eyes you can, so that you too can be completely caught in the wonder. By saying the film is beautifully complicated does not mean it does not make sense, this is a film that is the complex, exquisite brainchild of master craftsman Christopher Nolan.

I do not throw the word auteur around much as I believe film is a collaborative process and auteur limits the results to one man’s contribution, but upon seeing this film I believe Christopher Nolan deserves the title of auteur. Inception could not be made without him completely involved in every aspect of the film – it reeks of an auteur’s hand.

With every film Christopher Nolan seems to be getting better. Even though the man makes giant films that make money hand over fist, I would in no way call him a commercial director, and I mean that as a compliment. Nolan makes films that achieve worldwide attention, steal the top stop at the box office, and gain critical recognition, yet they are by no means simple. Christopher Nolan has mastered the art of being able to tell a worthy, intricate tale in a compelling and entertaining way, getting the best performances possible out of his actors, and trusting the audience to come into his world instead of making his films fit into theirs. This is a balsy approach in a filmmaking era where tentpole films are generally more flash than substance and the audience leaves happy, but rarely thinking about what they actually watched for anything more than the adrenaline that it pumped through them. This is the reason it’s my desperate dream to have Christopher Nolan as a directing mentor – there could be no better hands to sit under and study.

Inception is worthy of all the critical praise it has received and I hope that it continues to surmass more critical and audience praise as it continues down it’s theatrical journey. I for one and excited to see what the visuals will look like on the IMAX screen, as they are already astoundingly visual on the standard screen. I can’t wait to go down the rabbit hole again and begin dreaming with Christopher Nolan one more time.

Director & Writer: Christopher Nolan
Cobb: Leonardo DiCaprio
Arthur: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Ariadne: Ellen Page
Eames: Tom Hardy
Saito: Ken Wantanabe
Yusuf: DiLeep Rao
Robert Fischer Jr.: Cillian Murphy
Browning: Tom Berenger
Mal: Marion Cotillad
Maurice Fischer: Pete Postlethwaite
Miles: Michael Caine
Mash: Lukas Haas

Cobb: You're asking me for Inception. I hope you do understand the gravity of that request.

What I love about Martin Scorsese is that he is a master of the vibrant and complex just as much as he is a master of the subtle; when he’s at his best you get this all in one movie. Shutter Island is one of those movies.

This time out Martin Scorsese weaves the tale of Teddy Daniels, a Federal Marshall who’s lost his wife in tragedy and volunteers for assignment investigating Shutter Island’s escape. Shutter Island is an institution for the criminally insane, and Daniels thinks there is more going on inside it’s fences than they broadcast to the world. Scorsese sets out to create a complex, taunt, psychological thriller that reminds on of Hitchcock in its dexterity and pace.

Leonardo DiCaprio has long since replaced Robert DeNiro as Scorsese’s muse and I have to say his talent truly gets better with every film. Teddy Daniels is a character that cannot have been easy to understand or play. He’s a former soldier who helped liberate the death camps in WWII, he’s a husband who lost his wife, he’s a man fighting the very nature that’s inside of him because of the atrocities he’s seen in his life – DiCaprio becomes the man. DiCaprio has slowly progressed to this point, like all truly great actors he now ceases being any part of himself on screen and replaces himself with the character. As you watch DiCaprio you almost think you can hear the thoughts racing through Teddy Daniels head and see the motives for his actions just under the surface.

What makes Shutter Island a film that truly deserves being a Scorsese film is the interplay of stunning visuals, extreme situations and strong character. Shutter Island is tricky, because in a very beautiful way it is about the obvious and the subtle all at once. This is a film that isn’t really about the ending, or the last act as one might think. Shutter Island is a film about the last line of dialogue that DiCaprio delivers; if you don’t understand what he tells you, then you won’t understand the film.

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer: Laeta Kalogridis
Teddy Daniels: Leonardo DiCaprio
Chuck Aule: Mark Ruffalo
Dr. Crawley: Ben Kingsley
Dr. Naehring: Max Von Sydow
Dolores: Michelle Williams
George Noyce: Jackie Earle Haley

Sam Mendes makes amazing films – films that promote discussion and thought, while somehow also managing to be a dynamic, visually stunning, intelligent film. Revolutionary Road is no exception to this rule. While, Revolutionary Road may not be a simple film it all boils down to one thing – marriage.

Revolutionary Road is about the life a husband and wife share, and the lives they still keep from each other. April and Frank Wheeler are the adorable young couple from Revolutionary Road; they have two children, Frank works in the city, April takes care of the kids, they are the life of the neighborhood. But both are miserable. Frank hates working every day at a jobs he hates where he feels unappreciated, and going home to feel still unappreciated. April spends her entire day taking care of the children, house and her husband and feels alone, unappreciated and desperate for something more. Frank and April are tired of living the life they were told they were supposed to live and they decide to change and thus reinvigorate their lives and relationship – but the problem is that by taking control of their lives they end up taking on the world.

For those looking for a uplifting, enchanting romance Revolutionary Road is not that film. Revolutionary Road is American Beauty devoid of the dark humor, and somehow more bleak. This is not to say that Revolutionary Road is not a film that you can’t enjoy; this is a movie that tells a story that few people want to tell. It is a brave film that does not pull punches or try to lie about the very real situation too many couples face – the “hopeless emptiness” as they say in the film.

In Revolutionary Road Sam Mendes, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet & the entire team that made the film have made a film that transcends time and will be talked about for generations to come. I do believe this film will be the recipient of a great many Oscar nominations this year, and will take home at least one of the golden statues.

Director: Sam Mendes
Writer: Justin Haythe
April Wheeler: Kate Winslet
Frank Wheeler: Leonardo DiCaprio
John Givings: Michael Shannon
Helen Givings: Kathy Bates

April Wheeler: So now I'm crazy because I don't love you, right? Is that the point?
Frank Wheeler: No! Wrong! You're not crazy, and you do love me. That's the point, April.

Body of Lies is an interesting film. It is a film that tries to make a poignant statement about our current political situation (intervening in countries overseas, the war on terror, etc.) and it actually managed to not turn me off while doing so. Trust me, that is high praise from me for a political film. Body of Lies is a highly enjoyable film; it is populated by good acting, spy thrills, and lots of action.

Primarily, Body of Lies is a character piece. The film centers on the US war on terror through two individuals, two halves of the same team – Roger Ferris and Ed Hoffman. Ferris is the man on the ground who knows the contacts, culture and CIA side, and Hoffman is blissfully removed as the head agent in Washington DC. The conflict comes in from the fact that Hoffman thinks he knows how to run the war but ends up making big messes and getting people hurt while getting results whereas Ferris operates in effective and less damaging ways but must submit to his superior officer.

Make no mistake the biggest joy in Body of Lies is watching Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio try to out act each other – this is an acting equivalent of a peeing contest.

Russell Crowe has done a fabulous job over the past few years in trying to distance himself from his gladiator robe wearing, phone throwing persona and roles like this one help him to do so. Crowe is the biggest SOB in this movie, and yet is so damn believable you can see his personality in almost any modern politician –he’s right, he’s the only one that’s right and there is no way he can pretend he’s not right. Ed Hoffman believes he is representing all of America and Crowe plays that beautifully so that you begin to forget it’s Russell Crowe.

Leo needs to thank his lucky stars that Martin Scorsese put him in Gangs of New York and continued to use him from there; it has become obvious that Leo has managed to free himself from the teen heartthrob status he held so securely after Titanic and Romeo + Juliet and managed to get to the point where he can prove to the world he is a real actor with genuine talent. Body of Lies is another film in a series of his that shows that he is not just a pretty boy. In the film Leo is the main character and does not shy away from being dirty, beaten and at times unsympathetic. He did not let himself be outshone by Crowe.

The basic downfall of Body of Lies is the fact that the film tries to do so much, and show so many issues that it ends up being a very muddled film. You can follow it to the end and decently enjoy it, just don’t expect to remember how exactly it got to that point.

Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: William Monahan
Roger Ferris: Leonardo DiCaprio
Ed Hoffman: Russell Crowe
Hani: Mark Strong
Aisha: Golshifteh Farahani