DVD review: Clone Hunter Often, sci-fi and low budget indie productions go together about as well as chocolate and onions. The high budget demands on special effects eventually hamper the entire story. Clone Hunter is indeed [ ... ] |
What to make of the ending to Inception? So far, my favorite film this year is Christopher Nolanís Inception. Not only does it deliver all the action and thrills expected of a big budget summer blockbuster, but it has inspired endl [ ... ] |
DVD Review: The White Ribbon The White Ribbon is a drama starring Christian Freidl, Ulrich Turkl and Burghart Klaussner. Directed by Michael Haneke. |
DVD Review: Shutter Island The film begins on an ominous note. Eerie strings play as the film fades to white. Soon, a ship appears out of the fog. Cut to a gumshoe, looking and speaking as if he has stepped straight out of a [ ... ] |
| Top Ten Mind Mess Films |
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| Written by Trent Daniel |
| Monday, 16 August 2010 19:24 |
In the wake of Inception, I thought it might be fun to create a list of 10 of the best mind mess movies. All of these films are very good, with some masterpieces. What they have in common is a tendency to question reality and confuse what is real and what is not. Also, like the best art, many of these films leave their meaning completely open to interpretation for each viewer. For anyone who likes films to challenge them as well as entertain them, these films are highly recommended. Last Year at Marienbad (1961)- This strange, jigsaw puzzle of a film is truly polarizing, as it is either considered a masterpiece of postmodern cinema or representative of foreign cinema at its most pretentious and silly. The simple plot of Alain Resnais' film;, a woman in a baroque hotel continuously is seduced by a man who insists they have met before. The couple is somewhat stalked by a man who may or may not be her husband. That is it. The characters are never named. Other characters move like robots-if they move at all. The score is primarily played by organ, giving it an eerie similarity to funeral music. The giant baroque rooms have a lifeless, scary quality that was surely not lost on Stanley Kubrick (see the end of 2001 and The Shining). Persona (1966)-In Ingmar Bergman's controversial yet lauded film, an actress suffers a mental breakdown on stage, soon never to speak again. She is taken to a remote cottage to be under the care of one nurse. Yet, the more the nurse tries to communicate with the actress, the more their personalties begin to merge. The film uses mirrors, seemingly unrelated but powerful imagery and, most famously, long close ups of each actress in order to present its puzzle . It includes legendary moments for film buffs,such as a moment where the film seemingly burns itself into two parts and a disturbing split close up where the actresses seem to share the same face. Is our identity based only on how we think others perceive us? This film has no answers, only enticing questions.
 PerPerformance (1970)- In much of the under-appreciated work of Roeg (Walkabout, Don't Look Now, The Man Who Fell to Earth), the themes touched on are our inability to truly communicate with each other and how outside forces and environment can gradually crumble and transform one's identity. In this truly strange and challenging film, a London gangster on the lam tries to hide out in an old mansion already occupied by a rock star in self seclusion (Mick Jagger, at the hight of his notoriety) and the star's mistress. A strange menage a trios develops and soon, the personalities and identities of the gangster and the rock star begin to merge, with the Jagger character becoming more and more gangster like. At the end, one dies and one is captured-but you are left unsure which one! Jagger's sinister performance of ìMemo from Turnerî in the middle of the film is considered by some rock historians to be part of the foundation for what become music videos. The Discreet Charm of Bourgeoisie (1972)-Luis BuÒuel's surrealistic masterpiece seems simple on the surface: a group of affluent couples try to meat for a lavish feast,only to find their meal interrupted by something ever so strange. The food is found to be fake at one attempt. In another, a curtain suddenly raises and the diners find themselves on stage. Threaded throughout the film, the diners are seen walking in a hurry down a country road? Where are they going? Do they even know (and is that the point)?  3 Women (1977). Robert Altman's most challenging film is limitless in possible interpretations. Is it about one man's fear of the power of women (in particular their power to create as well as distinguish life)? Is it about how others have the power to create or destroy our own identity? The film splits itself in half (literally! A la Persona) as seemingly the weakest character in the first half is dominant in the second. A truly, mysterious and haunting film. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Too many sequels and a poorly received remake have somewhat diminished the reputation of the original. However, if viewed with a fresh perspective, one can appreciate how truly frightening it is. Though Freddy Krueger is a fearsome presence, what makes the film scary is that one can never be sure if the victims are still in reality or the deadly dream world, where Krueger is ìgod.î  Jacob's Ladder (1990)-An homage of sorts to the famous short storyîAn Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,î Adrian Lyne's film tells the story of a wounded Vietnam vet (Tim Robbins) returning home to Brooklyn, only to find his old neighborhood infested with strange creatures, including the ghost of his son. The sequence where Robbins is strapped to a gurney, taken on a nightmarish ride though a hospital hallway that becomes more and more gruesome as he descends, only to find himself in an OR filled with demonic creatures dressed as surgeons, is one of the most frightening scenes in film history. The Matrix (1999)-Ignore the vastly inferior sequels. This film was clearly influential on Inception, as, until now, no film was as successful a mesh of mind trip and pure action as this one. Are humans really trapped as fuel for giant computes? Are we living our ìrealityîin a world made by machines? Is Neo really The One? Just go with the ride!  Waking Life (2001)-Richard Linklatter's film is shot entirely in rotoscope, a technique in which the film is made with live actors on digital video,then painted over by a team of artists to give the images a surreal, dream like quality. The technique is perfect, for the entire film is about a young man trapped in a state between dream and consciousness. He knows this, and even discusses with characters he meets the meaning of reality, free will and other philosophical topics. The title itself is from the mantra ìwaking life is a dream controlled." The collective works of David Lynch. Perhaps no director has challenged his audience to decide what is real and what is a dream like Lynch has. Three works of his in particular, Eraserhead, Lost Highway and Mulholland Dr., can possibly be interpreted as entirely the dream (or, this being Lynch,the nightmare) of the protagonist. When viewing a movie, the audience is seeing a new reality through the eyes of the film's creators. The rules of ìrealityî do not have to exist on the screen. Lynch has always been daring enough to play with this created ìrealityî as he sees fit.
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| Last Updated on Friday, 20 August 2010 19:59 |
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