I’ve got a hankerin for some cool/crazy movies that make you think.
What are these movies? Well… movies that aren’t so shallow that you can pinpoint every, single, part of the plot that goes on before it happens. Movies that surprise you.
Fight Club was a great one. I saw it thinkin it was gonna be a decent action/comedy with a lil bit of drama. It ended up being the practical basis of what I think is a good crazy movie. Donnie Darko, super strange… the kid starts seeing a frickin bunnie in the mirror, 'nuff said without spoiling anything. Identity was a pretty good movie, considering I went in thinking it was gonna be a classical… “who dunnit” mystery.
However, crazy movies that make you think like pi (the mathematical PI symbol) are just a bit much. Black and white is rather boring, but it did make for some great visuals. But it was just dialogue… and the guy going crazy… (and again): 'nuff said without spoiling anything.
One movie I was thinking was Requiem of a Dream. By the same director of Pi, but done later, not black and white (I believe), and more widely accepted by the public… (I know of almost nobody who has seen pi).
Some other movies that were suggested were A Clockwork Orange, Trainspotting, and This is SpinalTap.
So essentially, if the movie’s main character is going crazy/insane, it is pretty much a crazy movie. But it is not limited to that.
Any suggestions?
Any help is greatly appreciated. -Thx
The Conversation looks ok. Description on Yahoo movies is not too gripping, and older movies are a lil less preferred by me (I’m a young’un, what can I say).
Well… not exactly SUPER twists. I’ve seen tons of movies, and can practically predict the ending in most. I like ones where my mind just cant figure it out till the end, but its not Entirely stupid. For instance, People are trying to get to a certain destination, being chased by mobsters who think they have money that was stolen from a bank… Aliens fly down, abduct em, and Suck out their brains!!! Unexpected!!! But retarded as hell. I want twists that make sense.
Other movies that I kinda liked in this way were Dreamcatcher, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, X-2, Punch Drunk Love(boring… and not That crazy, but whoever said mr. Sandler cant act except his baby voice needs to watch that movie…), and Pirates of the Caribbean.
A while ago I asked for recommendations for “deep” movies, and I got a lot of good responses. Some don’t fit the criteria in your OP, but some do. I still have a long way to go to get through everything recommended in this thread: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=185196
Unless you’ve seen it already, I recommend 12 Monkeys (or pretty much any other Terry Gilliam movie). Even for a time-travel movie, there’s a lot going on here. Also, if you see it more than once, you’ll notice that much of the dialogue has more than one meaning to it.
12 Monkeys warped my fragile little mind! Damn good movie. If you’re just looking for general weirdness, can I suggest Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, also directed by Terry Gilliam, featuring an amazing performance by Johnny Depp?
I’d be surprised if you can predict the ending in Usual Suspects. Dark City was tres weird and doesn’t get nearly enough credit for a movie with Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, and RIFF RAFF and I loved it! Very atmospheric. In the same vein, Blade Runner may work for ya, though it’s mostly “dark.” But it’s got Harrison Ford. If you just want weirdness, try A Clockwork Orange.
12 Monkeys sounds like a pretty cool movie. And with 2 dopers commenting on it, it Must be good, so thats up on the list for me.
Well Mr. Babbington, What I don’t know I can only assume, and obviously you know more about it than me. I’ll prolly get around to renting it, but I’ve got some others on my list a bit before it…
Dark City has a short description, but doesn’t sound too bad.
And A Clockwork Orange has been suggested to me numerous times, so I think that is one of the first on my list.
Along the same lines as some of these other movies, I enjoyed Existenz and The Thirteenth Floor.
Mulholland Drive is plenty weird. I watched it for the first time at home alone and when it was over I shouted at the television screen, “WHAT THE FUCK?” Once I thought about it a bit, it started to make some sense and then I had some gaps filled in by checking reviews and discussions on the internet. I think it’s a great movie because even aside from the story, each scene in the movie is a vivid experience just to look at and listen to. Seems like people either love or hate David Lynch’s movies, though, so YMMV.
The ending of 2003’s “Swimming Pool” really gets the mind working.
Also, try anything by Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai… all of his films are intellectual puzzles with multiple layers of interpretation, with “Chungking Express”, “Fallen Angels”, and “Days of Being Wild” among his best. And if you really want to give yourself a mental workout, try deciphering his non-linear wushu epic “Ashes of Time”.
I’ll support Dark City (one of my all-time favorites), 12 Monkeys, and also BRAZIL by Terry Gilliam. I can pretty much guarantee you’ll like them. The Thirteenth Floor isn’t bad, and Equilibrium is excellent–a dystopian sci-fi movie influenced by Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, 1984, and a little film called The Matrix.
Sounds like you might like some film noir, too. Trying to stick to relatively recent movies, I can’t say enough good things about L.A. Confidential and Angel Heart. Both are superbly acted, and both have amazing twists and turns. The latter has a truly chilling ending.
Try Guy Ritchie’s two good movies: Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, and Snatch. Both are British crime films with plenty of humor. Ritchie was obviously influenced by Quentin Tarantino, who you must know as the writer-director of Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, the current Kill Bill Volume One, and True Romance (which he wrote, but Tony Scott directed). You’d like all of those too.
Being John Malkovich is one of the most creatively done movies I have ever seen, weird, disturbing, and beautiful. And it’ll definitely make you think.
Malkovich Malkovich?