Mind Benders & Time Shifters
Off-normal flicks that have come my way. Some are much better than others, but all are worth a look if you like this kind of movie. In no particular order, except that some of the first few titles are uber low budget offerings that put 99% of Hollywood to shame.
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27 titles
- DirectorRichard KellyStarsJake GyllenhaalJena MaloneMary McDonnellAfter narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.I personally liked the Theatrical cut better than the now more common extended version - it left even more for you to decipher on your own.
9/10 - DirectorShane CarruthStarsShane CarruthDavid SullivanCasey GoodenFour friends/fledgling entrepreneurs, knowing that there's something bigger and more innovative than the different error-checking devices they've built, wrestle over their new invention.Two guys and a box. You can't get much lower tech. Or more complicated.
8/10 - DirectorJamin WinansStarsChristopher Soren KellyQuinn HuncharJessica DuffyA mysterious creature, known as Ink, steals a child's soul in hopes of using it as a bargaining chip to join the Incubi - the group of supernatural beings responsible for creating nightmares.So imaginative. I've watched this several times over the years.
9/10 - DirectorJames Ward ByrkitStarsEmily BaldoniMaury SterlingNicholas BrendonStrange things begin to happen when a group of friends gather for a dinner party on an evening when a comet is passing overhead.Such a cool idea; based loosely in real theory. I don't really consider this a spoiler, but (geek alert) the final 10 seconds contradicts the basis of the underlying premise. I wish they'd come up with an ending that didn't, but it was still effective.
8/10 - DirectorMatthew AvantStarsDave PotterJed HimelMatthew AvantTwo documentary filmmakers accidentally uncover the greatest moon secret the world has never known, and the powerful organization determined to keep it that way.Too much fun. Bogs down a little in the middle, but still worth it. Apparently this movie was made for less than $5,000, so don't expect a lot of flash.
7/10 - DirectorCampbell ScottStarsDenis LearyHope DavisJ.C. MacKenzieWhen Bill (Denis Leary) wakes up in the psychiatric wing at Sumer Hospital, he has trouble distinguishing his dreams from reality.A special project movie with stars Dennis Leary & Hope Davis (both great here) that was done for $80k.
7/10 - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsLeonardo DiCaprioJoseph Gordon-LevittElliot PageA thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O., but his tragic past may doom the project and his team to disaster.Great premise. Wish they'd had a more aggressive editor for the chase/fall sequence at the end - it went on forever.
8/10 - DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsAmy AdamsJeremy RennerForest WhitakerA linguist works with the military to communicate with alien lifeforms after twelve mysterious spacecraft appear around the world.Solid, all the way around. Interesting take on "non-linear" time and how we might perceive it.
9/10 - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsMatthew McConaugheyAnne HathawayJessica ChastainWhen Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.Wow. Just so good on every level.
10/10 - DirectorJohn AugustStarsRyan ReynoldsHope DavisMelissa McCarthyA troubled actor, a television show runner, and an acclaimed videogame designer find their lives intertwining in mysterious and unsettling ways.Very cool. Melissa McCarthy was great, and Hope Davis is always very good. Got "whacked" in the ratings because of it's strong religious overtones, but you don't have to be religious to think it's a very cool & original concept.
8/10 - DirectorDavid LynchStarsKarolina GruszkaKrzysztof MajchrzakGrace ZabriskieAs an actress begins to adopt the persona of her character in a film, her world becomes nightmarish and surreal.You could put almost anything Lynch into this category. I only added two.
8/10 - DirectorDavid LynchStarsNaomi WattsLaura HarringJustin TherouxAfter a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.See above.
8/10 - DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsNatalya BondarchukDonatas BanionisJüri JärvetA psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.Russian. Subtitles.
One of my favorite movies of any kind. You need to be the kind of person that can settle in for a VERY paced (read slow) offering. A fact that may be interesting only to me: I've seen this movie, the George Clooney remake, and read the original book by Polish author Stanislaw Lem. They are all good, but each focuses on a very different underlying theme.
9/10 - DirectorMarc ForsterStarsEwan McGregorNaomi WattsRyan GoslingA psychiatrist attempts to prevent one of his patients from committing suicide while trying to maintain his own grip on reality.I heard someone call this "Lynch Lite". Ultra-lite is more like it; but still pretty good.
7/10 - DirectorSong Il-gonStarsKam Woo-seongJung SuhKang Kyung-hunA recently widowed TV producer is drawn to an isolated cabin in a mysterious woods.Korean. Subtitles. Very "foreign" feel, in a good way.
8/10 - DirectorJaco Van DormaelStarsJared LetoSarah PolleyDiane KrugerA boy stands on a station platform as a train is about to leave. Should he go with his mother or stay with his father? Infinite possibilities arise from this decision. As long as he doesn't choose, anything is possible.Really liked this.
8/10 - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsGuy PearceCarrie-Anne MossJoe PantolianoA man with short-term memory loss attempts to track down his wife's murderer.Better the second time through.
7/10 - DirectorTarsem SinghStarsLee PaceCatinca UntaruJustine WaddellIn 1920s Los Angeles, a bedridden patient in a hospital captivates a young girl with a fantastic tale of heroes, myths, and villains on a desert island.This and The Fountain are true "eye candy". This would be one of my lower rated on this list.
6/10 - DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsHugh JackmanRachel WeiszSean Patrick ThomasAs a modern-day scientist, Tommy is struggling with mortality, desperately searching for the medical breakthrough that will save the life of his cancer-stricken wife, Izzi.See above, but I liked this better.
8/10 - DirectorNacho VigalondoStarsKarra ElejaldeCandela FernándezBárbara GoenagaA man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.Interesting, but not one of my favorites on this list.
6/10 - DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonMarty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.Too straightforward for this list, yet here it is.
8/10 - DirectorChristopher SmithStarsMelissa GeorgeJoshua McIvorJack TaylorFive friends set sail and their yacht is overturned by a strange and sudden storm. A mysterious ship arrives to rescue them, and what happens next cannot be explained.So close, and yet . . . 2nd tier but top of the 2nd tier.
7/10 - DirectorTerry GilliamStarsBruce WillisMadeleine StoweBrad PittIn a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.This one had to grow on me. I really didn't think much of it when it first came out, and I'm still not totally sold on it. Maybe it's just a Terry Gilliam thing?
6/10 - DirectorRian JohnsonStarsJoseph Gordon-LevittBruce WillisEmily BluntIn 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent into the past, where a hired gun awaits - someone like Joe - who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by sending back Joe's future self for assassination.Love the "Closing The Loop" concept.
7/10 - DirectorJohn MayburyStarsAdrien BrodyKeira KnightleyDaniel CraigA Gulf war veteran is wrongly sent to a mental institution for insane criminals, where he becomes the object of a doctor's experiments, and his life is completely affected by them.I really don't know why I liked this, but I did - much more than I should have.
7/10 - DirectorMark PellingtonStarsRichard GereLaura LinneyDavid EigenbergA reporter is drawn to a small West Virginia town to investigate a series of strange events, including psychic visions and the appearance of bizarre entities.Ditto (see above).
6/10 - DirectorHarold RamisStarsBill MurrayAndie MacDowellChris ElliottA narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.OK, Groundhog Day
7/10