If movies are shared dreams, then Christopher Nolan is surely one of Hollywood’s most inventive dreamers, given the evidence of his commandingly clever “Inception.” Applying a vivid sense of procedural detail to a fiendishly intricate yarn set in the labyrinth of the subconscious, the writer-director has devised a heist thriller for surrealists, a Jungian’s “Rififi,” that challenges viewers to sift through multiple layers of (un)reality. As such, it’s a conceptual tour de force unlikely to rank with Batman at the B.O., though post-”Dark Knight” anticipation and Leonardo DiCaprio should still position it as one of the summer’s hottest, classiest tickets.

Our guide to this world of high-stakes corporate espionage is Dom Cobb (DiCaprio), an “extractor” paid to invade the dreams of various titans of industry and steal their top-secret ideas. Cobb plunders the psyche with practiced skill, though he’s increasingly haunted by the memory of his late wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard), who has a nasty habit of showing up in his subconscious and wreaking havoc on his missions.

This latest film Christopher Nolan (“Memento,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Prestige”) practically defies description. It’s a metaphysical crime caper/action epic that unfolds almost exclusively in the dreams of its characters.

Dreams, of course, are where anything can happen, where the subconscious comes out to play or to torment itself, where our deepest fears are manifested.

In the near future of “Inception” our dreams can be invaded. Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a corporate spy skilled at “extraction.” Using a briefcase-size machine (it’s like a fancy lie detector with wires to connect the participants), he and his colleagues can enter the dreams of a sleeping target and root around for the deepest secrets.

This is no simple task. Cobb and his team create dream environments and scenarios so real that their drugged subjects don’t suspect they’re asleep, yet so subtly calibrated that they push just the right emotional and intellectual buttons. When subjects wake up, they have no memory of being violated; Cobb walks away with valuable information.

But Cobb is an international fugitive, accused of murder and unable to re-enter the U.S. to be with his two young children. This makes him vulnerable to the entreaties of the powerful industrialist Saito (Ken Watanabe), who recruits him to go after Fischer (Cillian Muphy), the heir to a rival conglomerate.

Instead of just extracting information, though, Saito envisions a far more dangerous “inception”: planting ideas into Fischer’s subconscious – ideas that would lead him to sell off his family’s extensive holdings.

If Cobb can accomplish this, Saito will pull strings to ensure his safe return home.

Nolan’s screenplay has two main sections. In the first, Cobb and his associate (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) recruit a new team – Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao and Watanabe – and begin building the dream world in which they will operate.

The second half of the film is the actual job, and it’s truly mind-blowing, a labyrinth of dreams within dreams within dreams. The stakes are high. In a standard extraction, when a dream spy “dies” he simply wakes up in the real world. But should you die in the ever-deeper levels of an “inception,” you’ll find yourself in limbo, unable to return to our dimension.

Things are further complicated by Cobb’s own iffy mental state. Though he has kept it a secret from his colleagues, while on the job he’s often visited by his late wife and former extraction partner (Marion Cotillard), who may appear as a lover or as a gun-toting adversary. She’s obviously a manifestation of Cobb’s own tortured conscience, and her presence threatens everything.

Yeah, that’s a lot to wrap your head around. But Nolan is such a skilled storyteller that it all somehow makes sense. He finds ways to delineate between the ever-descending dream environments Cobb’s team must navigate so that we can sense just where we are at any moment.

And these dreamscapes make for some dazzling moments, like a brawl between Gordon-Levitt’s character and several thugs in a gravity-free hotel hallway. It’s like “The Matrix” on steroids… you can hardly believe what you’re seeing.

Shot across four continents by Nolan’s regular d.p., Wally Pfister, and outfitted by production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas, “Inception” is easily the director’s most visually unbridled work; its canvas stretches from the skyscrapers of Tokyo to the bazaars of Tangiers, from an amber-lit hotel corridor to a snowy mountain compound (a setpiece that plays like an homage to “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”). Pic has arresting effects and images to spare, such as the sight of Paris folding in on itself like a book or Gordon-Levitt’s Arthur performing a fight scene in zero gravity (the explanation for which is even more dazzling).

“Inception” is a work of staggering imagination that’s almost undone by its very coolness. What it accomplishes is phenomenal. And yet on a fundamental dramatic level it feels vacant, an awesome display of filmmaking brio that offers plenty for the eyes, ears and head but precious little for the heart.

Nolan is a very clever fellow, no argument there. He’s skilled at juggling big ideas and making us think. Now if he can just make us feel.

A Warner Bros. release presented in association with Legendary Pictures of a Syncopy production. Produced by Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan. Executive producers, Chris Brigham, Thomas Tull. Co-producer, Jordan Goldberg. Directed, written by Christopher Nolan.

When JJ Abrams was in San Jose for the Cinequest movie festival, he was asked about the show’s origins. He recounted that ABC had asked him to pitch a TV show about plane crash survivors on a “deserted” island. Hip deep in several of his own projects and not wanting to add another, he quickly fired back a proposal of complicated story arcs that were way outside the networks formulaic norms. He figured ABC would discard the pitch as too big a financial risk and he could get on with his “to do” list. But, the network execs loved it and ordered a pilot that was needed in three months. Abrams decided to go for it even though he only had half the time he needed. They cast characters before there were scripts based on quirks they noticed in the auditions. Abrams also wanted to go with an inter-racial cast. He somehow pulled it all together and then handed it off to Lindelof and Cuse and the rest, as they say, is history.

Now, six seasons later, “Lost” completed an incredible run, in the words of the producers, “on our terms.” For the final episode, advertisers paid an amazing $900,000.00 per 30 second spot and the only place in the country where it wasn’t #1 in the ratings was Chicago who was watching their beloved Blackhawks beat the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference title series (I guess there were other priorities). Now it’s time to blog about “what just happened ???”

A word of warning. If you haven’t seen the final episode, stop reading now. In Hurley’s words, “Didn’t see that one comin’,” the episode once again surprised us all with an ending that really didn’t leave any room for a spin off or a movie sequel because at the end (again, stop reading if you haven’t seen it) everyone was dead. Sigh!

Season five’s cliffhanger was Juliet detonating the nuclear bomb thirty years in the past. The theory was with the island’s electromagnetic energy destroyed, Oceanic flight 815 would safely land in LA and never crash on the island. The timelines of the passengers would continue uninterrupted and everything would be as if the plane never crashed. At the beginning of season six, the plane did land, but many of the stories were different. James Ford was a cop and his partner was Miles Straume. Desmond Hume was on the plane. Jack Shepherd was a surgeon with a teenage son. Jin and Sun were not married. And Hurley was the luckiest man alive.

After the Lost title sequence, we find our characters back on the island, blasted forward to the present, and Juliet dies in Sawyer’s arms. Two timelines are now evident. The present from when the plane lands in LA and the present with the island survivors. Rather than a flashback or a flash forward, this is dubbed a flash sideways. As the two timelines began tracking in the sixth season with colorful memory flashes of the island occurring in the LA characters , there was a hope that somehow the timelines would converge and be reconciled in the series finale. True to form Lindelof and Cuse left even more questions unanswered, but they did leave us with a few clues to help us sort out some of the questions.

Clue #1: At the dinner Eloise Hawking asks Desmond, “Once they know, what then?” Desmond responds, “We’re leaving.” She then asks, “Are you going to take my son?” Desmond answers, “Not with me… No.” In an earlier episode Desmond had asked his driver to get the manifest of Oceanic flight 815 and then he began rounding up, with Hurley’s help, the passengers. Also, Desmond’s flash sideways was different in that he was aware of his presence on the island and in LA.

Clue #2: Outside of the church John Locke, in a wheel chair, meets Ben sitting on a courtyard bench. Ben says, “I’m very sorry for what I did to you John. I was selfish, jealous… I wanted everything you had.” Locke asks, “What did I have?” Ben answers, “You were special John. But I wasn’t.” Locke replies, “Well if it helps Ben, I forgive you.” “Thank you John. That does help. It matters more than I can say.” Locke asks, “What are you going to do now?” “I have some things I still need to work out… I think I’ll stay here a while.” Ben watches as Locke continues moving toward the door in his wheelchair and then says, “You know, I don’t think you need to be in that chair anymore.” Locke looks down, lifts his legs on to the ground, stands up, looks and Ben and says, “Goodbye Ben,” and then walks into the church.

Clue #3: After a flash sideways where Hugo accepts he is now the caretaker for the island and he asks Ben to be his #2, we return to Ben still sitting on the courtyard bench. Hurley comes out the church door and sees Ben and says, “Hey Dude!” Ben responds warmly, “Hello, Hugo.” Hurley tells Ben, “We’re all inside,” expecting him to come with him. “I don’t think I’m coming in,” Ben replies. Hurley nods, understands, and then says, “You know… you were a real good number two.” “And you were a great number one, Hugo.” Hurley says, “Thanks dude. I’ll see ya.”

Clue #4: Kate bring Jack to the church and tells him to go in the back. “Where are you going?” he asks. “Inside… I’ll be waiting for you there, when you are ready.” Jack asks, “Ready for what?” Kate replies, “To leave.”

When Jack enters the back of the church, He sees his father’s casket. Prominently in the scene is a stained glass window with icons for all faiths. I’m not sure what kind of church this is, but a large statue of Jesus is displayed in the courtyard. This window is in almost every shot of this next sequence.

Jack touches his father’s casket and is immediately flooded with memories of leading and helping people from when he was on the island. He then opens the casket and finds it empty. He hears, “Hey Kiddo.” He turns to see his father in the room. “Dad?” Jack is clearly startled. “Hello Jack.” Jack says, “I don’t understand… you died.” “Yeah… Yes, I did.” “Then, how are you here right now?” Jack asks. After a long pause Christian asks Jack, “How are you here?” Jack thinks for a moment and then realizes, “I died too.” He begins to weep.

“It’s OK… it’s ok, son.” They embrace while saying, “I love you,” to each other. Jack asks, “Are you real?” Christian replies, “I sure hope so. Yeah, I’m real. You’re real. Everything that’s happened to you is real. All those people in the church, they’re all real too.”

“They’re all dead?” Jack asks. Christian replies, “Everyone dies sometime Kiddo. Some of them before you, some of them long after you.” “But, why are they all here now?” Jack asks. “Well, there is no NOW… here.” Jack looks around the room and then looks at his father and asks, “Where are we Dad?”

“Well, this is a place that you all made together so you could find one another. The most important part of your life was the time that you spent with these people. That’s why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone, Jack. You needed all of them, and they needed you.” Jack asks, “For what?”

“To remember, and to let go.” Jack replies, “Kate, she said we were leaving.” Christian responds, “Not leaving… No, moving on.” Jack asks, “Where we goin’?” Christian smiles and says, “Let’s go find out.”

They enter the church and see everyone smiling, greeting, and embracing each other like in a reunion. The island couples have been reunited and inter-cut with the scene is Jack staggering back into the bamboo forest where he was at the beginning of the series. Jack greets everyone and they take their places in the church pews. In the bamboo forest Jack slowly lays down on his back and is joined by Vincent. He is there to be with Jack in his death, so that Jack won’t die alone.

After everyone is seated, Christian squeezes Jack’s shoulder and walks to the back of the church. Jack is seated with Kate and looks forward in expectation of what will happen next. Christian opens the church doors and the sanctuary is flooded with white light. The next scene show Jack on his back in the bamboo forest watching the survivors flying away as his eyes close and he dies.

SO WHAT JUST HAPPENED???

I believe all of the flashes sideways were episodes of their next life. A kind of a purgatory life where the lessons that were not learned in the island life could be now be learned through a bio-reset. While this reincarnational take on a story doesn’t sit well with Christian theology, the producers made it clear from the stained glass icons that a mix of world faiths was what they were about. Given the chance, everyone would like a “do-over.” But, what if the first time through there were significant people that were with you through your learning and your mistakes. Wouldn’t you want them with you the second time? And then after you had learned what you needed to know, went together with you to the next place.

So much of “Lost” was how lost each character was in their lives and how their experiences together made a place where they could be found. Some say that Desmond was the Christ figure who brought everyone together for their next life. Others say that Jack was, as he gave his life for the remaining survivors to leave. While the theological definition of heaven may be quite different, the practical definition of heaven when we talk about it at funerals or in a sense of moving forward with life, is heaven is about being with the people you love and letting go through forgiveness.

I had to watch it though a second time to finally be satisfied with a story I had been following for the past six years. I even watched all six seasons through in a month in anticipation of the finale. I was disappointed at first viewing, wanting a more traditional resolution to the dual story lines, but after I watched it though a second time, I realized the writers and producers were true to their vision and ended on their own terms.

It’s interesting… Ben was invited to go with the group to the next destination, but he chose to stay and work through a few things. From Hurley’s conversation with Ben, we are led to believe there was a period of time that he and Hurley worked together managing the island. Maybe that had something to do with Ben’s invite. But, to know that he was included after all of the awful things he had done just shows how deep the forgiveness was.

In the new “Robin Hood,” Russell Crowe’s iconic medieval hero wears no tights, shows little interest in redistribution of wealth, scarcely bothers with the Sheriff of Nottingham, fights alongside Maid — sorry, Lady Marion and all but forces King John to sign the Magna Carta. In other words, director Ridley Scott and his producers were so determined this would not be your father’s Robin Hood that a checklist of familiar incidents and legendary exploits to avoid must have been handed to writers Brian Helgeland (story and screenplay), Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris (story).

The result is less a Robin Hood story than an epic action movie that sees Crowe at the center of English history at the turn of the 13th century. It’s “Gladiator” in Sherwood Forest — only please don’t mention Sherwood Forest either.

Scott supplies a supple visual design and terrific action choreography while Helgeland’s screenplay conjures up robust characters that often lack dimension but make up for this with vigor. The film, which premieres Wednesday at the Festival de Cannes as the fest’s opening movie, could be a crowd-pleaser. If that crowd extends from devotees of the Robin of Olde to teen action fans and admirers of Crowe and Cate Blanchett, Universal may have an international hit.

It’s 1199 A.D., and Robin Longstride (Crowe, who produced with Scott and Brian Grazer) is an honorable Briton and skilled archer in the crusading army of King Richard (Danny Huston) — who, in contrast to most versions of the story, appears at the beginning rather than the end. Fed up with their lot as soldiers, Robin and his men — who include a slimmer-than-usual Little John (Kevin Durand), contributing a few moments of bawdy humor — flee a battle with French soldiers shortly after Richard himself is killed in action.

A few skirmishes later, Robin finds himself in possession of the late monarch’s crown, which he bears back to London disguised as a knight of the realm, Sir Robert Loxley. Along the way, the film introduces its principal villains, although Richard’s cruel successor, John (Oscar Isaac), turns out to be a mere tool for his suspiciously bilingual adviser, Godfrey (chrome-domed Mark Strong, once again typecast).

While Godfrey sets the stage for a Gallic invasion, sabotaging John’s relations with the local barons and their ruthlessly overtaxed citizens, Robin nobly seeks out the family of the fallen Sir Robert. The journey leads him to Nottingham, where he meets the knight’s aging father, Sir Walter (Max von Sydow), and his widow, Lady Marion — no damsel in distress, but a dagger-wielding spitfire played with relish by Cate Blanchett.

The formative Robin Hood gang is there, with Little John (Kevin Durand) most prominent, followed by Friar Tuck (Mark Addy), so we don’t entirely lose our bearings. But now there is a framework for their coming together, and a snapshot into their characteristics.

The battle scenes are muddy and bloody, the artefacts of ancient warfare a fascinating study of man’s ingenuity when it comes to killing machines, and the sounds of battle help make these scenes a visceral experience. Ridley Scott likes to paint on a large cinematic canvas, and he makes good use of all the tools at his command, from aerial views of armies – like the French landing on English shores – to the arrow-cam, sparingly used but to great effect.

This Robin Hood has the Ridley Scott epic treatment all over it, and much like gladiator marks a clear path through a thicket of characters in the story line. Summed up in the headstone quote, “Rise and rise again, until lambs become lions,” the message is simple. Don’t give up until whatever you’re fighting against has been conquered. When you are knocked down, you will become stronger each time you rise.

A Universal release presented with Imagine Entertainment in association with Relativity Media of a Brian Grazer production in association with Scott Free Prods. Produced by Grazer, Ridley Scott, Russell Crowe. Executive producers, Charles J.D. Schlissel, Michael Costigan, Jim Whitaker, Ryan Kavanaugh. Co-producer, Nikolas Korda. Co-executive producer, Michael Ellenberg. Directed by Ridley Scott. Screenplay, Brian Helgeland; story, Helgeland, Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris.