Am I Late to the 'Inception' Party?

You know, it’s not often that I don’t see a blockbuster movie the weekend it comes out, but when Christopher Nolan’s name is attached to said movie, it’s a downright rarity. So when my friends’ recent inquiries of “Why haven’t we talked about Inception” were met with a defeated “Because I haven’t seen it yet,” some questioned whether I was still the obsessive movie nerd I once purported myself to be.

I can safely say that yes, I am still a giant, unrepentant movie geek and yes, I have finally seen Inception. Although I approached this film with lofty expectations, I found it to be a cool, slick and thought-provoking thriller. As phenomenal as The Dark Knight was as a comic book adaptation, Inception is simply another level of filmmaking that truly rewards moviegoers that pay attention to details—a rare feat these days.

In a summer that’s been populated by sequels, retreads and reboots, it’s also nice to see an original concept like Inception achieve such critical and commercial success. In its second weekend, Variety reports, Inception earned a whopping $43.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $143.7 million.

Now those are numbers studio execs dream about (cue the rim shot). Or is this a dream…within a dream…within another dream? Duuuuude. (I need to lay off the iced coffee).