Sometimes you want a bit of easy viewing in the evening, something that you can switch on and relax in front of. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that; it's only natural to want to chill out from time to time. However, at other times, you might want something that you can sink your teeth into. There are a handful of directors that really deliver when it comes to films that the brainiacs amongst us will appreciate, with Christopher Nolan being perhaps the most commercially successful of them all. So, with that in mind, we're going to take a dive into Nolan and crew's most brilliant blockbusters for deep thinkers.

Inception (2010)

Kicking things off with a Christopher Nolan classic, Inception tells the tale of a thief who steals information from his victims by getting inside their heads. Leonardo DiCaprio is this thief and, alongside a cast of incredible names, he infiltrates the dreams of his targets, trying not to change them but, instead, access their subconscious. The film culminates in a terrifying and fascinating plot to insert an idea into somebody's subconscious. If DiCaprio is successful then his criminal past will be erased in the eyes of the law, but if he fails, nobody is quite sure exactly what will happen to him. It's a fascinating premise, that Nolan sat on for a long time after discovering the incredible world of lucid dreaming. He directed several movies in the space between thinking of the idea for Inception and actually creating it, but it was worth the wait. The plot is fascinating, the cast glittering, the score a classic Hans Zimmer masterpiece. It won four Oscars on its year of release and grossed more than $800 million worldwide, making it not just a masterpiece, but a critical success too.

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

The Da Vinci Code was a film that divided audiences from the very beginning. Directed by Ron Howard, this movie deals with a dark and disturbing matter: the grisly death of a university professor. As the death of this professor is investigated, it becomes clear that the Holy Grail, Leonardo da Vinci, and an unlikely coverup might all have something to do with the crime. It's a twisting, turning tale, beautifully shot and with a haunting score by the one and only Hans Zimmer. Whilst it divided audiences, it's gone on to inspire a great deal of people. One of the most popular real money slots is based on information from this film about Da Vinci, and so, too, are countless other video games. The Da Vinci Code has inspired many with its complex story, but where did the inspiration for the film come from? Dan Brown wrote a book that was released in 2003 that shares the same name as the film. Although the film varies ever so slightly from the book, the vast majority of the storyline comes straight from Dan Brown's mind.

Oppenheimer (2023)

Our final choice is this year's big hit, Oppenheimer. It's another Christopher Nolan triumph, this time based on the true story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the leader of the Manhattan Project. In terms of things to get your brain into, much of the quantum physics is left out of the film, giving the brilliant Cillian Murphy a chance to show the human side of Oppenheimer, rather than the scientific side that many of us already know about. However, even with a lot of the gritty scientific part left out, this film is a puzzle in morality. To this day there are people who applaud what Oppenheimer did and those who condemn it. Watching the film and deciding for yourself probably won't lead to an overnight epiphany.