1. Inception
As a practical filmmaker, Christopher Nolan may be the best working director in the industry right now. He delivers smart, emotional blockbusters with tantalizing special effects, stunts, and cinematography. But the man can't write a natural sounding script to save his life. Like the majority of those who watched Inception, I was completely taken by its complexity, visuals, and story, until I realized that watching the movie was like being served breakfast in bed by Bruce Wayne's Alfred. Inception's complexity is what ultimately keeps me from watching it again (as I've seen it thrice), and not because I don't get it. In fact, I feel the very opposite. I feel the movie goes beyond the extra mile to make me get it. I'm not talking about the ambiguity of the film's final frame; to me that's a moot point for this discussion. Ambiguity and open-endedness won't be discussed here: I want to talk about exposition. There are few films that rival Inception when it comes to levels, and there are even fewer that delve into an original plot at the same time. But the problem with being wholly original and wholly complex is that you have to explain yourself, what you're doing, and where you're going to keep the audience in check. And remember, this isn't a small-budget, indie movie where you can get away with complete audience interpretation; Nolan paid the big bucks for this project of his, which means he has to keep everyone on board. The characters in Inception run around explaining what they're doing, who they have to talk to, and why it's all important. And, admittedly, if they didn't, we'd all be pretty lost. But that's why Inception makes the number one spot on this list; its complexity is its compromise for natural, wholesome characters. That's something that Nolan attempts to make up for with the subplot of Mal and Cobb, though it just causes the filmmaker to spin even more plates. And with an ensemble cast like the movie has, it's difficult balancing all those characters without having them be almost completely interchangeable in terms of exposition. The entire film feels like Nolan's pitch to Warner Brothers, like the execs were asking questions about why certain things were possible and Nolan, himself and through the characters, responds accordingly to keep everyone on the right track. And that wouldn't be a problem if it didn't happen the entire movie. I applaud Inception on its technical terms, but I can never get past that exposition.