No, not fuck but "mindfuck".
Mindfucking movies (I really didn't make this phrase up, I swear!), are movies that usually leads to an ending that is at first glance completely unexpected or contradictory, but is coherent and reasonable given hindsight and careful observation of the clues presented.
A classic example would be that of M.Night Shyala-mala-something's Academy Award-winning movie "The Sixth Sense", where the movie which supposedly told the story of a boy who sees dead people, being aided by a phyciatrist to help him better understand his "gift", turns out to be the "dead" that the boy is seeing throughout the whole movie.
Two years after the release of "Shutter Island" and all the raving reviews I have been hearing about it, I finally watched the movie today.
Now, I know I am going to pissed a lot of people who love the movie off by saying this but...here goes: Despite several obvious appearance of a fake backdrop, the plot set-up for "Shutter Island" is good but I am just not buying any of it. Yes, Martin Scorsese is a great director but sorry guys, I don't like the movie. Yes, Leo DiCaprio is a magnificent actor and good at what he does but again, I'm still not buying it. I'm sorry. "Shutter Island" just didn't give me the kick I was looking for. Perhaps Christopher Nolan raised the bar a tad bit too high for viewers who liked to be mindfucked?
Here are a list of mindfuckers that I find to be a good watch if you wanted to stretch your mind-muscle:
10. Down With Love
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Renée Zellweger
Plot: Set in the 50s, a woman who advocates female independence combats with a male chauvinist who is trying hard to gain her attention.
Remarks: No, this is not an error by mistake. I know this is a romantic comedy, which literally doesn't take itself seriously but I just can't get wipe the look on Ewan McGregor's face off my mind when Renée told him about the twist. (Ok fine, I was just horsing around with this one, let me start over...)
10. Identity
Cast: John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, Alfred Molina, Clea DuVall
Plot: A group of 10 strangers find themselves stranded in the middle of a storm in a remote motel. As the group prepares to spend the night, they quickly find that there is an unknown murderer present, killing off each of the guests, one at a time...
Remarks: The most interesting part about a whodunit is to guess who the killer really is. And I had a great time trying to guessing each and every character's motive each kill, until...
09. Stay
Cast: Ryan Gosliing, Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor
Plot: A psychiatrist attempts to prevent a college student from killing himself in three days. However, after his first encouter with the disturbed young man, he finds himself losing his own grip on reality.
Remarks: To be honest, I got this movie just because Ryan Gosling was in it. Then it happened; Although the movie started off slow, every thing really just doesn't seem to make sense anymore, making you doubt who and what is real.
08. The Awakening
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton
Plot: A published author on supernatural hoaxes, who works with the police to expose charlatans and debunk supernatural phenomenon, travels to a boarding school after receiving a request to investigate the recent death of a student and how it is related to sightings of a ghost of a child. Insisitng that the ghostly sightings are at first thought to be a prank played by one of the boys at the school, the author soon finds herself surrounded by unexplained supernatural events.
Remarks: I really had no idea what I was in for when I watch "The Awakening". There a few predictable scare-tactics and I could certainly do without some of the nudity but overall, "The Awakening" is a good watch even though I didn't really quite like the ending.
07. Se7en
Cast: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Gwyneth Paltrow
Plot: The newly-transferred detective and the soon-to-retire veteran become deeply involved in the case of a sadistic serial killer, where each meticulously-planned murder corresponds to one of the seven deadly sins: gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, pride, lust, and envy.
Remarks: This is not as much as a mindfuck it is as a "connect-the-dots movie". The death in the movie are as violent and brutal as it can get. Knowing that allthe killings are related to the seven sins, I can't help but wonder throughout the movie, how the next person is going to die until it hit me hard at the grand finale.
06. The Prestige
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, David Bowie. Andy Serkis, Piper Perabo
Plot: Adapted from a 1995 novel of the same name, "The Prestige" follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, rival stage magicians in London at the end of the 19th century. Obsessed with creating the best stage illusion, they engage in competitive one-upmanship with tragic results.
Remarks: Christopher Nolan really knows how to mess with your head. It's true! Even though this movie was adapted from a novel, Nolan managed to to turn it into a well-executed exercise for the brain.
05. The Sixth Sense
Cast: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette
Plot: "The Sixth Sense" tells the story of Cole Sear, a troubled, isolated boy who is able to see and talk to the dead, and an equally troubled child psychologist who tries to help him.
Remarks: He sees dead people. So can I. But I don't see anyone making any movie about me. Ramblings aside, this movie is definitely well executed. Although it can be slow and chatty, M. Night
04. The Others
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Alakina Mann, James Bentley
Plot: Grace Stewart is a Catholic mother who lives with her two children in a remote country house. As her son and daughter both contracted an uncommon disease, their lives are structed around a series of complex rules designed to protect them.
Remarks: "The Others" make you look at things different, especially on things that goes bump in the night. This winner of Best Horror Film in 2001, puts one's religious believes is put to the test, making you think if you what see if actually real.
03. Dogville
Cast: John Hurt, Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Stellan Skarsgård, James Caan
Plot: A woman hiding from mobsters, arrives in the small mountain town of Dogville, and is provided refuge in return for physical labor. Her stay there ultimately changes the lives of the local people and the town in many ways.
Remarks: Despite being shot on a sparsely dressed sound stage, "Dogville" really scares me. For the first time ever, a movie actually makes me feel evil. Not only do I want everybody dead, all I can think of in my head was to have everyone die a violent death...and if possible, in the worse way possible.
02. Inception
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine
Plot: Cobb, a corporate spy, whose work consists of secretly extracting valuable commercial information from the unconscious minds of his targets while they dream, is Wanted for murder and unable to visit his children. He is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "Inception", the implantation of an original idea into a target's subconscious.
Remarks: If you wanted to exercise your brain, this night jsut be the movie you need. Although the movie is repsented in a very direct and straight-in-your-face manner, you really can't help but wonder what just happened. Did the top ever stop spinning in your version?
01. Mulholland Drive
Cast: Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts, Laura Harring
Plot: -
Remarks: To be honest, I am still trying to figure this one out. David Lynch really fucked with my mind big time with this one, especially that explicit lesbian sex scene. WOW! >.<
Before I end this post, I would like to apologise to most of the cult fanatics out there, who are probably going to send me hate mails for not mentioning other great mindfuckers like "Donnie Darko" or "Fight Club" or "El Orfanato (The Orphanage)" or "Pan's Labyrinth" or "Memento", or "Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes)" [American remake: "Vanilla Sky"]......
What is your best mindfuck movie exprience? Do leave a comment, share your experience and recommendations... =)
