There was a time not so long ago when Hollywood held something of a monopoly on special effects. They didn’t necessarily have to be particularly good, even, to inspire wonder in audiences; the sheer novelty of an ant towering over a factory was enough. But with the quick-moving evolution of consumer-grade film equipment, what was once the province of the professional has widened to include anyone with enough curiosity to learn a computer program.

For an idea of what’s possible, look up the YouTube channel of a user who goes by the name “The Faking Hoaxer.” An amateur with a strong interest in the space program and disaster scenarios, his creations—often making use of carefully edited newscast voiceovers and a spare piano soundtrack—are haunting in their realism, like three-minute trailers for films we hope we never have to see.

In one, our space shuttle floats helplessly in orbit, torn into pieces; in another, downtown Sydney deals with the aftermath of a cataclysmic event. Watching them, one realizes that the line between studio and hobbyist—technologically, at least—has shifted, blurred, and will almost inevitably disappear.

One of the side effects of that closing gap seems to be a capacity among filmgoers to embrace films like Inception, the Christopher Nolan sci-fi mindbender in theaters now. Filled with wild visuals and a labyrinthine plot that features Leonardo DiCaprio as a corporate spy who enters the worlds of other people’s dreams, it’s the kind of film that just a decade ago would likely have been more of a cult hit than a mainstream success.

Here DiCaprio plays Dom Cobb, mind-thief and international fugitive whose special ability has made him the first call for corporate espionage gigs. It’s also cost him his family life, but a final high-risk job offers a chance to reverse his downward spiral. To pull it off, however, Cobb must invert his usual method, and instead of stealing secrets, plant an idea in his target’s mind without being found out—a much more dangerous game. Inception‘s maze of twists and turns in a way echoes Nolan’s own earlier film Memento, in which the story ran backward, ending with the incident that sets the plot in motion.

In between those films, Nolan made Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, two blockbusters that, for all their impact, lacked some of Memento‘s infectious intelligence. In that same interval, our everyday sense of technology has been redefined by the introduction of products like the iPhone and iPad, by GPS and video-calling, by hybrid cars and electronic books. With Inception, the director has found a way to marry the intelligence of Memento with the spectacle of a superhero story, and this time, his audience is ready.

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Also this week: Most of the time, theaters are pretty strict about their policies on outside food—they hate it. So what’s going on when they suggest you bring “rice (banned at some, but not most theaters), toast (unbuttered), toilet paper and a deck of cards,” and then tell you to “watch everyone else to figure out when to throw these items?” The only possible answer is The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The camp classic comes to South Hadley’s Tower Theaters for a midnight show this Saturday, and as always the Come Again Players will be on hand to provide a running live action commentary. Alas, the CAP have adopted a hard-line stance of their own: says their website, “Outside crap is not permitted. Support the Come Again Players and buy a crap kit!”

Jack Brown can be reached at cinemadope@gmail.com.