For some directors, it takes 12 years to make a good film. Others only feel confident making a film about a series with such a loyal fan-base that they've, allegedly, attacked critics. Thankfully, Christopher Nolan is not one of these, and more thankfully, “Inception” only resembles those films in that it's going to make a ton of money, and unlike them, it deserves all the praise it's given.

So, let me slow down and tell you why “Inception” is the best movie this year, and why, when you're done reading this, you should head to the nearest theater to see it, provided you haven't already. The basic premise: What if there were people who could slip into your dreams and steal your darkest secrets? What if you could share a lucid dream? The ­concept alone, while not the first movie to play with it, is presented in a neat, structured way.

Nolan does an amazing job conveying the details, rules, and manipulations of dreams and reality, and as the movie builds, his careful attention to detail really shows. The effects are top-notch, from slow motion water movement to the memorable scene of France folding into itself.

Hans Zimmer creates a ­memorable but subtle score (as he did with Nolan's Batman films). For the most part,
the all-star cast, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Ken Watanabe, work well together, and ­almost everyone comes off as believable and sympathetic.

But even the best films have their flaws. Ellen Page, who plays the new crew member Ariadne, completely and
utterly fails to endear her ­character to me. Ariadne is cocky, brash, and overly curious. It's difficult to understand how a talented actress like Page cannot manage to be likeable in “Inception.”

This movie defies the recent Hollywood trend of stories that revolve around the growth of a character and sticks to the older story-driven approach. The characters are, for the most part, static, and serve as set pieces for the main event: a story that unfolds with amazing depth and beautiful storytelling.

One criticism is that “Inception” is too confusing for the average movie-goer. Frankly, if you can understand Cameron's “Avatar,” you can understand “Inception,” provided you pay attention. With amazing special effects, a mostly stellar cast, and a compelling and deep story, “Inception” deserves to be the movie of the year.