'Inception'

I literally can't remember the last time I saw a decent film at the cinema, let alone the last time I looked forward to seeing one. I've been following the production of 'Inception' since its very early stages, as I've followed the career of Christopher Nolan closely after loving both 'Memento' and 'Batman Begins'. He went on the make 'the Prestige' and, obviously, 'the Dark Knight', giving him - in both my opinion and near-undisputed fact - one of the most impressive track records of directors in recent film history. Not one of his seven films has failed to impress, both critically and commercially, and even his remake of the Norwegian film 'Insomnia' - his weakest film yet - was a strong effort.

His films all display the many attributes of his rare talent. He's worked on all his films with his wife Emma Thomas and Wally Pfister acting as Producer and Director of Photography, respectfully, and often collaborates with his brother, Jonathon Nolan on his scripts. He displays a knack for post-modern narrative, effective ensemble casting of huge talent, and the ability to pull the best performances out of his actors.

After the success of 'the Dark Knight', Warner practically gave him free roam with a $200 million budget to develop a script he'd been working on for over 12 years. He put together an incredible ensemble cast and filmed in over 7 different countries in order to make his genre-bending "heist" film 'Inception', "set within the architecture of the mind".

But, aside from all the details and the fact that Nolan has become one of my favourite directors in his relatively short career, the hype around this film can mainly come the fact that this is the first big summer blockbuster (I can think of) in years that is not a sequel/remake/reboot/adaptation, but instead a truly original script.