The overwhelming majority of movies made today are manufactured to produce the biggest buck in Hollywood. They don't even need to be objectively good or well-made anymore, they just need to be 'big.' Blockbusters guarantee butts in seats; nine out of the ten highest-grossing movies of all time have been films released in the last fifteen years—all of which are franchise films with sequels and/or planned follow-ups.
Original movies have become increasingly rare. Even rarer are those that cleverly compile characters to construct a story that leaves an audience completely mesmerized, spellbound, and awestruck. It's one of the greatest possibilities of the medium—for a piece of cinema to stimulate the viewer into an elevated state of mind or an intellectualized outlook on life, or merely leave them with a special feeling that they've never felt before. This type of clever filmmaking deserves to be recognized.
6 'The Prestige' Is, Indeed, Prestige
Christopher Nolan takes on a 'turn of the 20th-century London' setting to tell the story of two stage magicians, Robert Angier and Alfred Borden—played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale respectively—who are engaged in a bitter battle for supremacy after an illusion goes horribly wrong.
The Prestige is an incredibly atmospheric film, richly detailed with exquisite diversionary tactics that pull viewers into a state of genuine curiosity, only to rip the rug right out from underneath them at the precise moment they think they've figured things out. Full of twists, turns, turmoil, and occasional torture, The Prestige never stops challenging the audience; taut with misdirection and deception, it's an utterly absorbing film that's never anything less than engaging.
5 'Prisoners' Places You On The Edge Of Your Seat
Pulling off a delicate balancing act between naturalism and nightmare, Prisoners fills even the most seemingly benign scenes with real intelligence and raw emotion.
There's a certain bleakness to Denis Villeneuve's direction, cultured by the physically and emotionally pulverizing performances he pulls from Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. The entire cast delivers flawless performances, making their stories, their worries, and their fears incredibly real. Prisoners plays like a labyrinthine of plot twists without an ounce of fat on its gripping two-and-a-half-hour narrative.
4 'Shutter Island' Lingers Long After The Credits Roll
Shutter Island represents Martin Scorsese at his most unrestrained—the film is unapologetically thrilling in its depiction of grief and tragedy in the pursuit of truth. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Deputy Marshal Teddy Daniels who's investigating a psychiatric facility off the coast of Boston Harbour, which is situated on a remote, windswept island that poses the question of a patient's impossible disappearance.
It's an intelligently crafted mystery thriller that blends the psychological elements of modern cinema with the neo-noir components of classic filmmaking. Every detail in Shutter Island makes for maximum psychic dread and confusion.
3 'Black Swan' Is Bracingly Bold And Brilliant
Natalie Portman shines in Darren Aronofsky's psychological thriller Black Swan. It tells the story of Nina Sayers, a ballerina who chances upon the role of a lifetime—Swan Queen—in a production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.
Black Swan offers a wonderfully creepy peek into an artist's ambition and obsession. Disturbing and exhilarating in all the right ways, it never fails to remain captivating in its unnerving nature. Black Swan builds to a glorious theatrical finale, filled with gorgeously grainy cinematography and a perfect performance from Portman that stands amongst cinema's greatest.
2 'Mulholland Drive' Will Drive You Insane
David Lynch's surrealist mystery thriller tells the story of Betty Elms—played by Naomi Watts— an aspiring actress who arrives in Los Angeles and meets an amnesiac woman, played by Laura Harring, who's recovering from a car accident.
Mulholland Drive hypnotizes the audience into a state of euphoria, all the while crafting an allegory about the beaten corners of Hollywood to deliver commentary on the very nature of cinema itself. Every scene groans with oppressive apprehension, peppered with moments of pure horror and balanced by black humor, which unfolds into a concoction of dream-like sequences that thrills the viewer beyond rational explanation.
1 'Pulp Fiction' Is A Seminal Piece Of Filmmaking
Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction is widely regarded as one of the most influential films of all time. Its genuine audaciousness and violent intensity capture an era of post-modern America with magazines, drugs, alcohol, sex, and swearing. (Tons of swearing).
Tarantino's witty banality of dialogue, dedicated to its own cleverness, provides ground for the most unforgettable moments in Pulp Fiction. It boasts groundbreaking screenwriting, cinematography, and direction with an ensemble cast of actors, including John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Christopher Walken, and Bruce Willis.