Release Year: 2010

Genre: Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Director: Christopher Nolan

Writer: Christopher Nolan

Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page

Quick, before it's too late: find the closest small object and memorize its weight and feel. 

How else will you know if you're dreaming?

In Inception, directed by Christopher Nolan, a dude named Cobb invades people's dreams through a sci-fi dream sharing device and extracts valuable information. Soon enough, Cobb (who's s estranged from his kids) is asked by a businessman named Saito to take on his biggest job yet: instead of stealing information, he's going to implant it. 

Incept it, if you will.

Sounds confusing? It is. Inception is so massively complicated that people have taken to creating infographics just to figure out what exactly is going down in Nolan's dreamverse.

By the time of the movie's 2010 release, Christopher Nolan had earned a large budget—$160 million and an additional $100 million spent on advertising—and the movie definitely returned the investment, grossing over $800 million worldwide. It also won four Oscars for cinematography, visual effects, sound editing, and sound mixing.

Yeah, never before had audiences cared so much about sound mixing.

Of course, what everyone remembers is that ending. 

No spoilers here, but let's just say that the borders between dreams and reality are pretty blurry by the time the credits roll.

We're going to break it down for you, Inception-style.

Layer #1: Cultural Knowledge

Kick: Everyone Else

When a movie spawns its own suffix, you know it's important. Although not quite as popular now as it was in the years following the release of Inception, the suffix –ception is added to the end of words when multiple layers are at play. Yes, we know, the term "inception" in the movie has nothing to do with layers, but that doesn't stop people from using it that way.

Layer #2: Versions of Reality

Kick: Knowing If You're Awake

Sure, this movie has all the flashiness of a big Hollywood blockbuster (because it's a big Hollywood blockbuster) but don't dismiss this movie's credence as a work of art simply because it appeals to the masses.

Inception can change the way you think of reality by positing that dreams can be just as real as "real life." Whoa, dude. If you don't know that an experience isn't "real," then it's really no different from "real" experiences.

Again: whoa, dude.

Layer #3: Emotional Journey

Kick: Don't Be An Old Man, Waiting To Die Alone

Inception goes even deeper than an intellectual, fancy-pants discussion of reality. It delves deep into our emotional core—make sure you have popcorn and Kleenex. We witness two characters go along the difficult path toward healing and reconciliation.

Sure, the crazy dream stuff is what people will remember (because it's awesome) but when you step back and look at the movie as a whole you'll realize how important the character-driven center of its story is.

Yes. This movie will make you understand what a "fishception" is (a fish within a fish within a fish), will blow your mind (and make you walk around wondering "Is this even real?") and probably also melt your heart (we bet you'll call your sweetie, or at least your mom, after watching this).