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Films that totally blew your mind.
- Thread starter DaveFromCampbelltown
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I’ve seen a lot of movies that have blown my mind and most of them are blockbusters. There are a couple that aren’t blockbusters that I think about often because they were so profound, IMHO. I’m not proud that they are both stories dealing with sadness but they reasonated with me nevertheless.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - how far would you go to erase, literally, someone from your memory? What are you actually erasing in that attempt to ease pain? The good times and the bad.
The House of Sand and Fog - a modern Shakespearean tragedy in every sense. This might be Shohreh Agdashloo’s first big role. She must of been stoked to be working with Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly. The DVD had bonus content of her screen test. She nailed it. Such a sad story but phenomenal acting all around in this movie.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - how far would you go to erase, literally, someone from your memory? What are you actually erasing in that attempt to ease pain? The good times and the bad.
The House of Sand and Fog - a modern Shakespearean tragedy in every sense. This might be Shohreh Agdashloo’s first big role. She must of been stoked to be working with Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly. The DVD had bonus content of her screen test. She nailed it. Such a sad story but phenomenal acting all around in this movie.
Everything Everywhere All At Once. The film is totally bonkers and has great performances from Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, James Hong, and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Synecdoche, New York has to be right up there.
Its like if 2001: A Space Odyssey was a Shakespearean character study instead.
Its like if 2001: A Space Odyssey was a Shakespearean character study instead.
I was so pissed at Space Odyssey the first time I saw it, 1968 (15 years old), this was not the kind of space movie I expected. However, I grew to appreciate its brilliance, although the book explains it better!
2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984) is also excellent.- Bullitt (1968)- A car chase was freaking amazing circa 1968 celluloid.
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)- Raindrops are falling on my head- Really? still loved it. Creative story telling.
- More recently ExMachina (2014)- Holy crap I did not see this ending coming, but it was impressive.
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A New Hope- I had seen the ads on TV, it seemed a little hokey, but it’s one of those movies, that not only blew me away, but a friend and I went to see it 3 times in the theater, in the days before home media.
Both Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan were those kind of movies, they really make you consider the horrors that occur during war, and what humanity can be about at it’s worst moments.
Clockwork Orange
Blade Runner
Alien
Blade Runner
Alien
We read the book and watched the film in high school, presumably as an anti-communist polemic. However, I now see its lessons all around as a warning about Privilege in general...
Well alas, I don't want to go too deep here. I see it as not "communist" but Stalin's communism which is akin to fascism and totalitarian systems. Orwell was somewhat a democratic socialist if I recall correctly.
I recently re-read the book and forgot a lot of it... having read it again, only older, to me it also seems more on point. Watching the movie, the scene with the horse. UGH... Who is cutting onions in here?!?!
The pigs always reminded me of something you would see in a Pink Floyd movie or video.
Another movie that I can add to my list is:
Glory. Between the subject matter, the acting, and the ending... IMHO brilliant. So much so that I saw it twice in the theater.
While not a great movie, the ending death scene in "Foxes" always had an impact on me. Especially since I had a crush on that character and to see her go the way she did. Still impacts me to this day.
Let's see ...
Lord of the Rings Part 1 (Fellowship) - as an avid reader of the books since childhood I was well prepared for it to turn out a real letdown. However it was very impressive right from the prologue and really brought this world to life. Also managed to tell its story well - considerably better IMO than the two follow-up films which were bigger in scope but not better for it. Very well done.
Gravity - a non-stop spectacle on the big screen. Made me flinch a few times and I saw that in 2D. Great camera work, great use of sound, didn't look CG to me and apart from Clooney being just himself it didn't detract from what it was.
Oldboy (the original) - wild story, wild characters and wild imagery. That corridor fight has stayed with me through the years. The poor octopus too. I've watched every of Park's films since in hopes of channeling that vibe again but no luck so far. That film was fire.
Lord of the Rings Part 1 (Fellowship) - as an avid reader of the books since childhood I was well prepared for it to turn out a real letdown. However it was very impressive right from the prologue and really brought this world to life. Also managed to tell its story well - considerably better IMO than the two follow-up films which were bigger in scope but not better for it. Very well done.
Gravity - a non-stop spectacle on the big screen. Made me flinch a few times and I saw that in 2D. Great camera work, great use of sound, didn't look CG to me and apart from Clooney being just himself it didn't detract from what it was.
Oldboy (the original) - wild story, wild characters and wild imagery. That corridor fight has stayed with me through the years. The poor octopus too. I've watched every of Park's films since in hopes of channeling that vibe again but no luck so far. That film was fire.
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Both of these movies are freaking outstanding IMHO and completely agree with them being on this list. Good stuff!
Eraserhead; Platoon; The Perfect Storm; The Usual Suspects; Close Encounters of the Third Kind; Fight Club; War Games; A.I. Artificial Intelligence; oh yeah and that "I see dead people" movie with Bruce Willis.