It’s a well-known fact that movies are fictional. However, many movies are based on true stories or books and may have some great tips when it comes to wealth building. These movies are the best of all the films about making money. Check them out for some good times and wealth-building ideas.
Much like a modern-day Wall Street, Boiler Room is an edgy movie about a guy that’s tired of running the daily game of trying to make some money and decides to go after the stock market instead.
As he points out, you either go for it all or you sit by the wayside while opportunities pass you by – sounds familiar when you think about your own business ideas, huh?
Following the exact parallels as Wall Street, even including scenes dedicated to the movie, Boiler Room is a very relaxing but intense movie.
I particularly enjoy this movie because it has a more urban and young feel to the movie. Every player in Boiler Room are young and the rising stars for their business.
Pi
Pi is an insane movie by the director of the well-known movie Requiem for a Dream.
Being a complete genius with numbers and computers, Max stumbles upon patterns within the stock market, which predicts the results of the next day. But it’s not all sunshine with this discovery.
Governments, individuals and private corporations want to know how Max does it. With increasing pressure from all, Max starts to become more and more paranoid.
Pi is really great because it’s shot on a low budget – black and white, gritty and plenty of intense scenes of paranoia. The movie shows how knowledge can be a double-edged sword.
Wall Street
Wall Street, starring Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen, is a classic movie about the New York stock market, major trades and the dangers of insider trading.
Without a doubt, Wall Street is the quintessential movie about making money. I don’t want to spoil it for you but this movie shows a glaring portrayal of the stock market during the 80′s – it’s got it all.
Charlie Sheen’s character is an up-and-coming star within the stock market that finally lands the big whale but it doesn’t stop with the small time. Once in Michael Douglas’ pocket, Sheen shows how going after the big one has ups and downs.
I like this movie because it shows a time I did not experience – only told through stories. I highly recommend it to see the full ride of how dangerous greed can get you.
21 “Bringing Down The House”
A few years ago I read the book Bringing Down the House about how MIT students use their knowledge to beat blackjack in Las Vegas.
Based on a true story, I devoured the book in the afternoon. A short while later, the movie came out; this movie was called 21.
Although not wholly taken from the text, the movie is quick and fun. The characters go from learning how to count cards all the way up to being so wrapped up in the game that they need to use fake identities to continue their tricks.
There’s also some great ideas you can generate from the movie: although you may think you fit a particular role, always use your knowledge to pursue different options.
திரைப்பட விமர்சனங்கள் எழுதுவதில் நான் அவ்வளவு சமர்த்தன் அல்ல. வலைத்தளங்களில் பல வித்தகர்கள் தாங்கள் ரசித்த பலமொழிப் படங்களைப் பற்றி அழகாக விமர்சனம் எழுதுவதைப் படித்து ரசித்திருக்கிறேன். அவ்வளவே. நான் பார்த்த பிறமொழிப் படங்களில் எனக்குப் பிடித்த, என்னைப் பாதித்த சில படங்களைப் பற்றி உங்களுக்குச் சொல்லலாம் என்ற எண்ணத்தில் பிறந்தது சற்றே நீளமான இந்தப் பதிவு.
போர் நிகழும் சமயத்தில் பாழடைந்த ஒரு பங்களாவில் பதுங்கியிருக்கிறான் பியானோ இசைக் கலைஞன் விளாடெக். அங்கே ஒரு பியானோவைப் பார்த்ததும் அவன் விரல்கள் இசைக்கத் துடிக்கிறது. ஆனால் இசைக்க முடியாத சூழல்! சப்தம் கேட்டால் அருகிலுள்ள ஜெர்மன் ராணுவ ஆஸ்பத்திரியிலிருக்கும் ஜெர்மானிய வீரர்களிடம் மாட்டிக் கொள்வான். இந்தச் சூழலில் அவன் பியானோவில் விரல் படாமல் இசைத்து, மனதில் அந்த இசையை அனுபவித்து மகிழும் காட்சி இருக்கிறதே... படம் பார்த்து பல வருடங்கள் ஆனாலும் மனதை விட்டுப் போகாது.
'THE PIANIST'என்கிற இந்தப் படத்தை நான் பார்த்து பல ஆண்டுகள் ஆகியும் இன்னும் மனதில் நிற்கிறது. அதன் கதை முழுமையாக இங்கே...
1939ம் வருடம். போலந்திலுள்ள வார்ஸா நகரத்தின் ரேடியோ நிலையத்தில் பியானோ வாசித்துக் கொண்டிருக்கிறான் விளாடெக். ரேடியோ நிலையம் குண்டுச் சத்தத்தில் அதிர்கிறது. பியானோ வாசிப்பதை நிறுத்தச் சொல்லி, அதிகாரிகள் ஓடுகின்றனர். இவன் தொடர்ந்து வாசிக்கிறான். ஸ்டுடியோவின் ஜன்னலருகே ஒரு குண்டு வெடிக்கிறது. விளாடெக் நெற்றியில் ரத்தக் காயம் பட்டு வெளியே ஓடி வருகிறான். மக்கள் அனைவரும் கூக்குரலிட்டபடி சிதறி ஓடிக் கொண்டிருக்கின்றனர். அப்போது டொராடோ என்ற பெண் அவனிடம் தன்னை அறிமுகப் படுத்திக் கொள்கிறாள். அவன் நண்பனின் தங்கை என்றும், அவனின் பியானோ வாசிப்பு தனக்குப் பிடிக்குமென்றும் அந்த அவசர சூழலிலும் பேசும் அவளை அண்ணன் இழுத்துச் செல்கிறான்.
வீட்டுக்கு வருகிறான் விளாடெக். அப்பா, அம்மா, ஒரு அண்ணன், இரண்டு தங்கைகள் அடங்கிய குடும்பம் அவனுடையது. ஜெர்மானிய நாஜிப் படைகள் டிசம்பருக்குள் போலந்து மக்களை நகரின் கிழக்குப் பகுதிக்குச் செல்ல உத்தரவிட்டிருப்பதைக் கூறி எவ்வளவு பணத்தை தாங்கள் எடுத்துச் செல்ல முடியும் என்று அப்பா பேச, தங்கைகள் கேலி செய்து சிரிக்கின்றனர். விளாடெக்கின் பியானோவை விற்று பணம் சேர்க்கிறார்கள்.
டொராடோவை மீண்டும் சந்திக்கிறான் விளாடெக். அவளுக்கு செல்லோ என்ற வாத்தியத்தை நன்கு வாசிக்கத் தெரியும் என்பதை அறிந்து கொள்கிறான். பேசியபடி ஒரு காபி ஷாப்பிற்குச் செல்ல, அங்கே ‘ஜெர்மானியர்களுக்கு மட்டுமே அனுமதி’ என்ற போர்டைக் கண்டு கொதிக்கிறாள் அவள். அவன் சமாதானப்படுத்துகிறான். அவன் குடும்பம் மற்ற மக்களுடன் இடம் பெயர்கிறது. டொராடோ அவனைச் சந்தித்து, தான் வரவில்லை என்றும் அங்கேயே இருந்துவிடப் போவதாகவும் கூறுகிறாள். அவன் குடும்பத்துடன் நாட்டின் கிழக்குப் பகுதிக்கு வந்து சேர்கிறான். அங்கே ஒரு கிளப்பில் பியானோ வாசிப்பவனாக வேலையில் சேர்கிறான். சிறிது காலம் கழிகிறது.
யுத்தம் தீவிரமடைய, முதியவர்கள், பெண்கள், குழந்தைகள் அனைவரையும் ஒரே சரக்கு ரயிலில் ஆடு மாடுகளைப் போல அடைத்து அழைத்துச் செல்கிறது ஜெர்மன் ராணுவம். மறுபடி சந்திக்கப் போவதில்லை என்பதை அறியாமலேயே தன் குடும்பத்தை அப்போது விளாடெக் பிரிகிறான். இளைஞர்கள் கேம்ப்களுக்கு அனுப்பப்பட்டு வேலை செய்யும்படி கட்டாயப் படுத்தப்படுகின்றனர். பியானோ இசைக் கலைஞன் விளாடெக் செங்கல் சுமப்பவனாக வேலை செய்ய நேர்கிறது. ஒருமுறை சாரத்தில் ஏறும் போது போர் விமானங்கள் வரும் சத்தத்தைக் கேட்டு செங்கற்களை நழுவவிட, ஜெர்மானிய அதிகாரி அவனை மயங்கும் வரை சாட்டையால் அடிக்கிறார்.
அவர்களி்ல் வேலை செய்ய இயலாத பலரை ஜெர்மானிய ராணுவம் இரக்கமின்றிக் கொல் வதைக் கண்டு குமுறுகின்றனர். வாரம் ஒரு முறை சென்று அவர்களுக்கு வேண்டிய ரொட்டி யும், உருளைக் கிழங்குகளும் வாங்கிவர ராணுவம் அனும திக்கிறது. அங்குள்ள இளைஞர் கள் அதனைப் பயன்படுத்தி, உருளைக்கிழங்கு மூட்டை யினுள் பதுக்கி எடுத்து வந்து ஆயுதங்கள் சேகரிக்கின்றனர். அவற்றை வாங்கச் செல்பவனிடம் மேற்குப் பகுதியில் வசிக்கும், தனக்குத் தெரிந்த இசைக்கலைஞரான ஒரு தோழியின் முகவரி தந்து பார்த்துவரச் சொல்கிறான். அவன் பார்த்து வந்து அவர்களிடம் பேசி விட்டதாகவும், அவனை தப்பிவரச் சொன்னதையும் சொல்கிறான்.
விளாடெக் தப்பிச் சென்று அவர்களைச் சந்திக்கிறான். அவர்கள் சொல்லும் ஒரு ஒளிவிடத்தில் மறைகிறான். ‘மிக அவசியமென்றால் இந்த முகவரிக்குச் செல்’ என்று ஒரு முகவரி அவனிடம் தரப்பட, அதை ஷுவில் மறைத்து வைத்துக் கொள்கிறான். அந்த இடத்தில் நீண்ட நாள் இருக்க முடியாத சூழல். ராணுவத்தின் குண்டு வீச்சால் அந்தக் கட்டிடம் பாதிக்கப்பட, அங்கிருந்து விலகி, தனக்கு கொடுக்கப்பட்ட முகவரிக்குச் செல்கிறான்.
அங்கு சென்றதும்தான் அது டொராடோவின் முகவரி என்பதையும், அவளுக்கு கல்யாணமாகி, அவள் கர்ப்பமாக இருப்பதையும் அறிகிறான். அவள் தன் கணவனிடம் அவனை அறிமுகப்படுத்தி அவனுக்கு அடைக்கலம் தரச் சொல்கிறாள். அவர் அவனை ஜெர்மானிய ராணுவ ஆஸ்பத்திரியின் அருகிலுள்ள ஒரு பில்டிங்கில் தலைமறைவாகத் தங்க வைக்கிறார்.
அங்கே சிலகாலம் மறைந்து வாழும் விளாடெக் இப்போது முகமெல்லாம் தாடி அடர்ந்து, இளைத்துப் போனவனாகக் காட்சி தருகிறான். ஆயுதங்கள் சேகரித்த போலந்து இளைஞர்கள் ராணுவத்தை எதிர்க்க, நிகழும் சண்டையில் அவன் மறைந்திருக்கும் பில்டிங் எரிகிறது. அங்கிருந்து விலகி தாக்குதலால் தற்போது பாழடைந்துவிட்ட ராணுவ ஆஸ்பத்திரியில் ஒளிகிறான். குடிக்க தண்ணீர்கூட கிடைக்காமல் அங்கிருக்கும் அழுக்குத் தண்ணீரைக் குடிக்கிறான்.
ஜெர்மானியப் படைகள் ஆஸ்பத்திரியையும் அழித்துவிட, வேறொரு பாழடைந்த கட்டிடத்தில் பரணில் ஒளிகிறான். அங்கே அவன் இருப்பதைக் கண்டுபிடிக்கும் ஒரு ஜெர்மானிய அதிகாரி, அவன் இசைக் கலைஞன் என்பதை அறிந்ததும் அவனைக் கொல்லாமல் தன் ராணுவக் கடமைகளுக்கு இடையே அவனுக்கு ரகசியமாக உணவு தந்து பராமரிக்கிறார். பின்னொரு நாளில் பிரிட்டன், பிரான்ஸ் படைகள் போரில் இறங்கி விட்டதாகவும் தங்கள் ஜெர்மன் ராணுவம் ஒரு வாரத்தில் வெளியேறி விடும் என்றும் சொல்லி, குளிரில் நடுங்கும் அவனுக்குத் தன் கோட்டைத் தந்து விடைபெறுகிறார்.
அவர் சொன்னபடியே படைகள் வெளியேறுவதைப் பார்க்கிறான். போலந்து தேசிய கீதம் இசைக்கப்படுவதையும், தன் நாட்டு மக்கள் விடுதலை பெற்றவர்களாய் வருவதையும் கண்டு மறைவிடத்திலிருந்து வரும் அவனை ஜெர்மானியன் என நினைத்து சுடுகின்றனர். ‘நான் போலந்துக்காரன்’ என்று அலறி, அவர்களிடம் உண்மையைச் சொல்கிறான். அவனைப் பராமரித்த ஜெர்மன் அதிகாரி இப்போது போலந்துப் படையினரிடம் கைதியாய் இருக்க, அவர் இவன் பெயரைச் சொல்லி, தகவல் அனுப்புகிறார். இவன் விரைந்து வந்தும் அவரைக் காப்பாற்ற இயலாமல் போகிறது.
விளாடெக் மீண்டும் வார்சா ரேடியோவில் இசைக் கலைஞனாக வேலைக்குச் சேர்கிறான். இது நிகழ்வது 1944ல் ‘அதன்பின் 2000ம் ஆண்டு வரை அவன் வாழ்ந்தான்’ என்று கார்டு திரையில் போடப்பட, படம் நிறைவடைகிறது.
போரின் கொடூரத்தை ஒரு பியானோக் கலைஞனின் வாழ்க்கையுடன் இணைத்து ஒரு கவிதை போல படத்தைக் கொண்டு போயிருக்கிறார் இயக்குனர் ரோமன் போலன்ஸ்கி. Władysław Szpilman என்ற இசைக்கலைஞனின் வாழ்வில் நடந்த உண்மைச் சம்பவங்களை அவரது சுயசரிதையிலிருந்து எடுத்து படமாக்கி யுள்ளனர். ரொனால்ட் ஹார்வுட்டின் கச்சிதமான திரைக்கதை படத்தின் விறுவிறுப்புக்குத் துணை நிற்கிறது. அழகான பின்னணி இசையும், கண்களில் ஒற்றிக் கொள்கிறார் போல துல்லியமான ஒளிப்பதிவும் படத்திற்கு பக்கபலமாக நின்று மேலும் மெருகூட்டுகின்றன.
பல நாடுகளில் திரையிடப்பட்டு, பல விருதுகளை வென்ற, 143 நிமிடங்கள் ஓடும் இந்தத் திரைப்படம் அனைவரும் வாழ்நாளில் ஒரு முறை அவசியமாக, கட்டாயமாக பார்த்தே தீர வேண்டிய படம்.
இத்திரைப்படம் பெற்ற விருதுகள் :
* Academy Award for Best Actor – Adrien Brody * Academy Award for Best Director – Roman Polanski * Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay – Ronald Harwood * Palme d'Or, 2002 Cannes Film Festival[1] * BAFTA Award for Best Film * BAFTA Award for Best Direction – Roman Polanski * César Award for Best Actor * César Award for Best Director * César Award for Best Film * César Award for Best Music Written for a Film * César Award for Best Cinematography * César Award for Best Production Design * César Award for Best Sound * Goya Award for Best European Film
WOULD YOU PRESS THIS BUTTON FOR A MILLION DOLLARS? WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU PRESS IT? A CLASSIC MORAL DILEMMA UNFOLDS.
Ifound this week’s film, Black Button, on YouTube where it has become rather popular. That makes sense since it is a good film, but more so than that it is also emblematic of the uniqueness of YouTube and the possibilities for filmmakers there. Black Button is minimalistic in design and execution, but is the kind of tautly paced, well-written film that really shines in the short format. The film centers around a classic hypothetical and moral quandary; lost and confused in a stark white room the main character, Mr. Roberts, is offered ten million dollars by a mysterious older gentleman to push a black button. The catch? If he does, someone, somewhere will die. This premise sets the stage for a provocative conversation between the two as they discuss the implications of such a choice.
There is a lot to like about the film, the visual aesthetic is stylish; stark and ultra-exposed in order to create the depth-less white set. As mentioned, the pacing is excellent, sucking in your attention and never letting it flag and the shot selection wrings the most dynamism possible out of the limited set. The two strongest aspects though are the excellent sound work and superb acting. Fantastically creepy, disorienting sounds emanate during the payoff that heighten the affect nicely, and quite simply Robert Grubb steals the show with his turn as the elderly gentlemen.
As accomplished a film as it is, especially for a $200 first time effort, Black Buttonlikely would have found success on the festival circuit, but instead on YouTube it has become a phenomena, garnering a half a million views and over 6000 comments. It’s hard to imagine garnering as much exposure or feedback from any other means than the online video giant. But also because of the community-nature of the site, the feedback is often a lot more substantial than other sites. Thirteen video responseshave been posted already by fans of the film, and questions generated by the short prompted the filmmakers to post two new “makingof” segments to YouTube as well, extending the level of interactions possible between independent filmmakers and their audiences. Now if only YouTube can perfect some revenue sharing…
-YouTube Awards 2007 - Top Six Finalist, Best Short Film
-WINNER: Fitzroy Short Film Festival (Melb, Aus)
-WINNER: DearCinemaFest Short Film Festival (Int.)
and more...
Mr Roberts finds himself awoken inexplicably in a white room. A man sits before him at a desk and in between them stands a black button. If Mr Roberts pushes it, he will receive a briefcase filled with millions of dollars. Or he can take the key to the door and leave penniless. The catch? Pushing the button will result in the death of a human being. What would you do?
EDIT 1: Some people have observed a similarity in the premise of this film and an revival episode of The Twilight Zone in 1986. Please note (1) We had never seen the episode and only learned of it long after we'd finished the film. (2) The Twilight Zone weren't the first to do it. There was a short story before that, which was in turn based on an old premise called the 'Faustian Bargain', around since the 16th century (deal with the 'devil'). An almost identical premise exists in several cultures. Richard Kelly is even making a film with this premise called 'The Box'. (3) Our film is similar in premise, but different in plot, characters, dialogue, aesthetics, setting, moral meaning, religious undertone, twist etc. Each version, including ours, aims to bring something new to an old idea. Please have the respect to not accuse us of plagiarism.
A full-time degree in Screenwriting & Producing for Film and Television.
Start date - September 12th, 2011The script is the cornerstone of television and film production - from the point of conception through to the realization of the final work, the script forms the spine, structure and design of the final creative project, and all production ideas, decisions and executions emanate from it.
This three-year undergraduate degree programme is designed to develop the next generation of writers and producers for the screen, i.e., individuals who will work on both sides of the film and television industry.
In doing this it goes further and encompasses more than a pure creative writing or screenwriting degree, since it also trains and educates new young writers in the commercial and production side of the screen industry, and develops key skills which are essential for the career success of a writer or producer.
The Course Covers
Storytelling & narrative structure
Characterisation & character function
Use of arena and an understanding of the screen as a visual medium
Dramatic construction
Audience empathy
Genre and the psychology within stories
The structure and mechanics of the screen industry
How to judge ideas and convert them into screen productions
Marketing
Legal issues
Budgeting and financial practices
The ability to handle writers, directors, actors and agents
In addition the programme includes essential business skills and a detailed understanding of the production process and the roles of project developers, production executives, script editors, agents and distributors.
Industry Placement & Practical Film Project
The course will also contain an industry placement and a unit in which students will write, direct and produce their own short film.
Learning Methods
Delivery will be by lecture, seminar, workshop and tutorial, and students will have the opportunity to work both individually and in groups, thus replicating industry practice, to specialise in preferred script and production areas, and to write and hypothetically produce their own film in Year Three.
Who Should Take This Course?
The course is aimed at students wishing to work in the television or film industry as writer, producer, or both.
It is designed to attract those who want to increase their employability and their understanding of the industry by operating simultaneously on both sides of what has traditionally been falsely seen as a boundary between different skills.
Employment Opportunities from this course
The US and the UK, and therefore the English language, occupy positions 1 and 2 in the league tables of international film and television exports, with London a major centre of screen production. And with the creative industries in 2008 growing twice as fast as the rest of the economy and predicted to expand annually by 10% (as is the global creative sector also), opportunities for employment in the screen industry are at an all-time high.
This degree trains the new generation of writer/producers, giving them transferable and wide-ranging skills which will markedly increase their opportunities of employment and success whether they are operating in one or both of the two roles.
Henry Cavill was recently cast as Superman in the reboot of the reboot of the franchise in another attempt to not screw it up. Hollywood can do that, you know. Some people find the choice a little questionable, partially because the man is British and partially because people hate all superhero casting choices. It’s pretty much inevitable. If you look hard enough you’ll find someone who probably thought Patrick Stewart was a bad choice for Professor X. But that said, some choices are clearly weirder than others. Let’s take a look at some of the most questionable casting choices in superhero filmdom.
Nic Cage as Ghost Rider
Starting things off with a bang is Nic Cage because, if you’re talking about ridiculous casting, Nic Cage is a great place to start. The context barely even matters. But in this case, it’s Nic’s second most preposterous role (after the Wicker Man) that makes him fodder for our criticisms. Nic and his hairpiece play Johnny Blaze, who becomes the Ghost Rider and hangs out with Sam Elliot’s character from The Big Lebowski to hunt down an emo asshole in a crappy town in Texas where everyone was a jerk. Or something like that.
Nic Cage may be the precise dictionary definition of every antonym for super that there is. Maybe in his 20’s he could have convinced someone that this would work, but these days he seems like a Mad Hatter who everyone refuses to institutionalize. He’s not intimidating or heroic particularly and even if he were, his hairpiece throughout this entire movie looks like a deformed honey badger trying to eat his scalp.
If you are not now or have never been a teenaged girl, you may not have ever seen Smallville. It apparently had something to do with Superman and a bald boy. No one cares because it was Dawson’s Creek-level drama with pseudo superpowers and was, arguably, the worst superhero adaptation ever and that includes the Justice League movie that featured Charles Emerson Winchester III as the Martian Manhunter.
Tom Welling played young Clark Kent and it wasn’t that the kid was so bad at first as Superman it’s that he wasn’t Superman. The show ran for God knows how many seasons and he never became Superman ever. On the one hand the producers were awkwardly trying to tell the story of Superman before he was Superman, but on the other hand Clark Kent was always Superman so he should have at least slapped an S on his chest and flown to the hamburger stand in downtown Smallville at least once. But he didn’t. So this kid was cast in a pointless role for no reason, really.
One of the most curious things in the history of acting is Halle Berry and her entire career. She’s won an Academy Award and yet it seems like every role she takes is worse than ever other role. If you were to watch two of her movies at the same time and try to decide which performance was worse your ears would likely start bleeding as you blacked out and lost your memory of the previous 24 hours. Despite this, she’s very popular, possibly because she’s hot. Or maybe because of The Last Boyscout. That was a great movie.
No one liked the movie Catwoman because it was worse than Hitler AIDS. Halle Berry was cast in the role because of two things – she was riding high on a wave of superhero goodwill from her useless turn as Storm in the X-Men and it was during Hollywood’s curious “let’s intentionally unintentionally cast people of different races in roles” phase that also saw Michael Clarke Duncan as the Kingpin, Cedric the Entertainer as Ralph Kramden and Ashton Kutcher in Guess Who as who cares. All of those movies sucked, too.
When you think of women who can kick your ass, you probably don’t think of Halle Berry. While she’s in shape, she also seems liek she spends most of her day just looking pretty and maybe fretting over her lack of Perrier.
Bullshit as Galactus
If you saw the sequel to Fantastic Four, then that’s a shame. But you also bore witness to what the producers figured was a decent representation of Galactus. Oy.
For those not in the know, Galactus was supposed to be one of the oldest living things in existence. He was so damn old he predated the universe and had, in fact, been a resident of the previous universe. That’s old shit, and he was pretty powerful. So powerful, in fact, he consumed the life force of entire planets to sustain himself. In the movie, they made him a really poorly rendered storm cloud.
Now I get that, in the comics, Galactus looks a little silly. Or a lot silly. He looks like a Roman Gladiator with a coat rack on his head. But he’s at least got a body. And he’s massive. And he eats worlds. Anything would have been better than a cosmic fart cloud.
Topher Grace as Venom
Toper Grace as a superhero would be preposterous. Topher Grace as a menacing supervillain is as ridiculous as FOX news anchors teaching journalism classes. In the comics Eddie Brock is a monster of a man who hates Spiderman for ruining his life. He finds the suit and becomes Venom and thinks he’s a good guy, wants to be a superhero, is a giant beast that scares everyone and still hates Spiderman. However, in the movie, he’s basically exactly the same as Peter Parker, hates Peter Parker and just becomes more of an asshole with the suit on.
Venom should have been a big, misguided fool, not a weiner. Remember that, casting directors – only cast Topher Grace in roles that require wieners.
Shaq as Steel
Steel was originally a Superman, which you may not have known if you saw the movie as they didn’t really mention it ever. See, back in the day, DC made a big deal out of killing Superman in the comics and then having new Supermen take his place, including Superboy, a cyborg Superman, a clone and Steel, a man named John Henry Irons who was inspired by Superman to do good but, having no powers of his own, he made a suit out of steel to help him in his quest to right wrongs.
The bizarre thing about casting Shaq in this role is that, technically, he looks exactly like Steel from the comics. The problem is, of course, that Shaq is to acting what a hammer blow to the crotch is to intimacy. Plus the mask they gave him was completely dumb. For reals.
Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl
Before Renee Zellwegger was stinking up the screen, you had to turn to Alicia Silverstone if you wanted to see a dim blonde sleepwalking her way through a role with a mildly petulant look on her face.
After Tim Burton’s tolerable run with Batman, Joel Schumacher took over after abusing a cocktail of mind-altering substances. The results are two of the worst pieces of shit ever put on film. But the final piece of shit really takes the cake for any number of reasons – George Clooney’s abhorrent Batman, Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze, those guys on ice skates, etc. And then there was Alicia Silverstone. She was supposed to be Alfred’s niece, despite not being English and has all the energy of a dog being put to sleep. She also evokes the idea of superheroism in much the same way a hobo makes you think of cleanliness.
Most films are pretty linear and easy to follow in their story telling. Others are muddled, but make sense when you think about them — like Memento. But some, some are designed to bewilder, obfuscate, and confuse. These 15 films are all varying degrees of head-scratchers. Some you can pick apart with a bit of work, some you are deliberately impossible to understand, but all are worth the effort of the attempt. Oh yeah, spoilers.
15. Vanilla Sky
While personally I didn’t find this American remake of the Spanish psycho-thriller that bewildering, there were plenty who did, to the point where it was voted the most confusing film ever by a DVD rental company. The fact of the matter is that much of the perceived twistedness and confusion from the plot is all resolved by the classic cop out “it was all a dream.” While perhaps not as utterly blatant as that, but the entire film takes place in the lucid dream of a man in cryogenic suspensions whose subconscious has started to assert itself. That explains the constantly switching nature of reality, and the weirdness that surrounds him. There, easy.
14. Pi
Darren Aaranofsky’s first major flick was Pi, and this twisted black and white look at obsession and paranoia was enough to get him into the big leagues. It’s a combination of Aaranofsky’s trademark incredibly quick cuts, the dense subject matter, and an unreliable narrator that causes Pi to be tricky to follow, as Max Cohen struggles to understand the universal patterns that occur through nature as a way of understanding and predicting the stock market. As he uncovers more and more of a number that may be at the root of things, or may be the unknown name of god, his sanity begins to erode, and his headaches increase, his final inevitable decline is as horrific as it is a relief — both for the viewer and the character.
13. eXistenZ
Cronenberg excels at making you question what is real and what is not, and eXistenZ asks that about video games and reality, as the story blurs the boundary between at least three or four levels of the interaction of both. With the advent of a total immersion video game, eXistenZ is all about asking how much is free will, how much is scripted, and how much is even real. As multiple levels of games and reality begin to emerge, the final scene eventually feels like the whole movie has been sorted out — until the very last line.
12. Solaris
Partly due to being in Russian and partly due to its legendary slow pacing, Solaris (the 1972 version) is notoriously hard to follow. Often called the Russian 2001, Solaris takes place on a space station where the researchers are starting to hallucinate and go insane. The hallucinations cause plenty of questioning about the nature of their reality, which when combined with a psychologist main character and the question of how to approach a truly, truly alien lifeform has lead to many scratching their heads. The final open end to the film leaves just as many questions raised as it answers. It’s still a damn good movie if you can handle the glacial pace, but don’t expect any easy answers.
11. Adaptation
Adaptation is utterly confusing, and unlike other films which blur the lines between reality and fantasy within the world of the movie, it takes on the borders between film and real life — as in our real life. Adaptation is an adaptation of a novel called The Orchid Thief, which has no plot to speak of. So the movie is about the movie’s writer struggling to adapt the book, and make a screenplay, which ends up being about him struggling to write a screenplay about the Orchid Thief. It consciously slips between Kaufman’s attempts to write a script true to a book that can’t be adapted, while shamelessly throwing in Hollywoodesque features like explosions, car chases, and love stories. Yeah, it’s bewildering, and just how true any of it is is entirely up for debate. It’s still a great film, though.
10. Akira
Without having read the immense manga or hitting wikipedia, understanding Akira on the first viewing is extremely tricky. The amount of information presented to the viewer is minimal, and the whole “wait, what happened to Akira? Where did he go? And the blue kids? There’s another universe?” thing is pretty damn hard to get your head around, especially when most of the movie only explains these things tangentially, and you’re more concerned about Tetsuo’s crazy ass powers. Repeated watching and further research really do clarify what the hell is going on, because otherwise you’re left bewildered.
9. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001 is pretty damned hard to follow, mostly due to the bookends of the film, with the prehistoric opening and incredibly trippy closing, which serve to bewilder many viewers. The bit in the middles is juts fine, though. Kubrick was famously exacting in what he required from his films, and the slow pacing is entirely intentional, and so too is the requirement that you as a watcher actually have to think and interpret what is happening, and not have it handed to you on a platter. The transformation into the Star-Child — and proceeding bad trip through space — is definitely obtuse and was designed to be open to interpretation. My personal view is that when Bowman activates the monolith, he’s whisked to an alien zoo for observation, before they ascend him into a new form. But hey, that’s just me.
8. Naked Lunch
Cronenberg directing a book by Burroughs. You know there’s going to be nothing but batshit crazy here. Only really tangentially related to the book, Peter Weller’s laconic take on the insanity and surreality that surround him rapidly becomes an anchoring point for the viewer. Talking insects, hallucinogens, murder, sentient typewriters, psychic communications, body suits and all other manner of weirdness pervade it, and it’s certainly not for the squeamish or easily bewildered. Unlike many of the other stories on this list, Naked Lunch isn’t capable of being picked apart, instead it’s intentionally obtuse and inscrutable. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.
7. Jacob’s Ladder
Military experiments, death, drugs, and psychic powers. Jacob’s Ladder is an utterly horrifying trip into the mind of a broken individual trying to escape the legacy of the horrors of Vietnam. I won’t ruin the ending — which could be viewed either as a cop out, or else the only logical end of the story — but it’s a kick in the gut, that’s for sure. Increasingly horrific hallucinations plague Jacob as he learns more about just what happened when he was wounded during the war, and how it’s linked to everything that’s happened since then. Uniquely terrifying and difficult to pick apart, the ending kind of does away with any real need to explain what’s going on.
6. Mulholland Drive
Pretty much any film by David Lynch belongs on this list, but lets bundle most of them up in with Mulholland Drive, which is possibly his most acclaimed work. Lets face it, barring maybe Elephant Man and Dune, Lynch’s work is uniquely surrealist, and hard to follow regardless of how well you understand his corpus of productions. Lynch has specifically avoided offering explanations of the goings on in Mulholland Drive, instead intentionally wanting viewers and critics to create their own opinions. Non-linear, bewildering, and inter-cut with seemingly unrelated chunks, it’s hard to follow even at the best of times, yet remains a powerful and influential film.
5. Holy Mountain
Chilean filmmaker/artist Alejandro Jodorowsky is either the closest thing we have to a mad prophet, or utterly insane, and I can’t decide which. Anything he makes is so densely packed with symbolism and metaphor that it will break your brain trying to understand what everything means — and it all means something. Steeped in tarot, mysticism, Christian magic, alchemy, and everything else weird and wonderful, his work is transcendental, if you can follow it. He’s more or less given up on film these days, instead focusing on comics where he isn’t limited by things like the laws of physics or budgets. Unfortunately, his later work has become almost a self-cliché, invariably hitting the same points over and over. Here’s something interesting, grab anything he’s done in the last decade, and tick off which of the following are in it: incest, violence and mutilation between family members, castration of a son by a father, a horrible disfiguring wound caused by a parent figure, obese and corrupt priests, back-stabbing royalty. Yeah, all of his stuff hits these points, regardless if it’s fantasy, historical, or sci-fi.
4. Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko is much, much deeper than I originally gave it credit for. I first went in with my brain turned off, expecting something “quirky”, but not actually deep. What I got was only the tip of the story, and it turns out there are volumes more information that you need to really appreciate what was going on — mostly given via the notoriously twisted and labyrinthine website. If you don’t have the time to invest the hours required to plumb its depth, I thoroughly recommend this guide.
3. Eraserhead
I know, we’ve already seen Lynch on this list, but could I really ignore the famously off-the-wall Eraserhead? It’s completely and utterly indescribable. There’s a guy, his wife, a horribly deformed baby which may or may not be human, explosions, machinery, oozing wounds and liquids, eraser shavings, and more craziness than I can even understand. It was Lynch’s first feature film, and is 89 minutes of pure snake-fucking crazy. Highly influential, but still utterly unintelligible, there’s really nothing you can do but try and ride it out, or devote a lifelong academic career to trying to decipher it.
2. Synecdoche, New York
Again we see a Charlie Kaufman flick. The guy really does excel at the mindfuck. This time starring the superb Philip Seymour Hoffman as a play director crippled by neuroses who receives an immense grant, and sets up a massive play in a warehouse where each actor acts out a private and banal life, mimicking the outside. Slowly the play begins to mirror the outside world more and more, as he is afflicted by a mysterious illness, to the point where he hires actors to portray people outside, including himself. The film twists in on itself constantly, with the impossibly large warehouse eventually housing a full replica of New York city, including its own impossibly large warehouse, and so on. Sharply dividing to critics, some hailed it as the best film of the decade, others as unintelligible gibberish. Thematically dense but incredible, if you can follow it, you’ll be justly rewarded.
1. Primer
Shot for a mere $7,000, Primer is about time travel. Sort of. It’s more about the breakdown between two people, but an incredibly confusing causally linked time travel mechanism underpins it. If someone tells you they understood it on their first viewing, they’re filthy liars. Written by a mathematician/engineer, none of the jargon or lingo is cut, making it as factually accurate as one could imagine a time travel story to be. The plot loops in on itself in recursive and terrifying ways. Trying to follow it? Here’s a sample timeline, here’s another, though this one is the most accurate. Yes, it really is that batshit confusing, but watching it over and over to pick it apart is surprisingly fun. Unlike some of the other films on this list which are confusing just to be confusing, Primer actually makes complete sense, if you’re willing to put enough time and effort into it to understand what’s going on.
