2. Inception
A pop-culture phenomenon, a bewildering mind-bender, and a confirmation that Christopher Nolan is easily the best big-budget filmmaker working today, Inception is one of the most original, stylish, and skillfully assembled blockbusters of all time. While a disproportionate amount of time is spent explaining how plot devices work and how the rules of the dreamworld apply, Nolan never tells us more than we need to know and Inception is one of those rare films where you notice something new seemingly every time. The technical prowess on display here is mind-boggling. Eschewing CGI for old school stuntwork on all but the most elaborate scenes, Inception brilliantly mixes genres, drawing on heist films, noir, and science fiction. Inception delves into all of Nolan's familiar themes: identity, memory, isolation, loss, and dreams, but rarely has a film with this many ideas hiding under the surface been also as purely entertaining. Add in Hans Zimmer's already iconic score and a beautifully ambiguous ending and you have not only one of the greatest blockbusters of all-time but maybe one of the best in the entire history of Hollywood cinema.