Dallas McLaughlin

Okay, well maybe these movies won’t change your life, but these are 10 movies that I think everyone should see.  I’ve seen a number of “Top 10″ movie lists, so I decided to compile my own, with my own theme.  I went for the “life changing” theme.  These are 10 recent movies (released after 2000) that, when viewed properly, can give you a different outlook on life.  You can take them as inspiration, motivation, or simple moral conducts of what not to do.  Either way, these are some movies I think are worth checking out, in no particular order.

Warning: I have included heavy spoilers for some movies

Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind (2004)

If you had a chance to permanently erase something painful from your past, would you?  This movie opens that door.  A couple falls in love, and like many relationships, things start to turn bad.  Kate Winslet’s character, Clementine, undergoes an experimental procedure that will permanently erase all memories of her former boyfriend, Joel, played by Jim Carrey.  Upon learning this, Joel is devastated and goes to the doctor to have the same procedure done. However, while unconscious, Joel has second thoughts and decides he wants to keep his memories of Clementine.

The film, which takes place mostly within Joel’s mind, follows his memories of Clementine backwards in time as each recent memory is replaced, and the procedure then goes on to the previous one, which is likewise seen, and then erased. Once the process starts, however, Joel realizes he doesn’t really want to forget Clementine, so he starts smuggling her away into parts of his memory where she doesn’t belong which alters other things about his memories as well.

The movie takes multiple twists and turns, many of which are caused by the “doctors” performing the procedures.  In the end both Joel and Clementine remember each other and realize that even if everything in life isn’t perfect, their relationship can still be worthwhile.

Requiem For A Dream (2000)

Drugs.  They consume the mind, body, and soul.  This is a movie about 4 people, 4 addicts, and how all 4 fail.  The main characters in the movie all have aspirations of greatness, and we watch as each one struggles to cope with addiction, and still attempt to reach their lofty goals.

As the film progresses, so do the debilitating effects of drug addiction.  You watch as two friends attempt to make it out of “the streets” by selling heroin.  The more heroin they acquire, the more then inevitably use.  Eventually, their relationship suffers as the need for drugs overcomes all sensibility.

We watch as another women who is obsessed by the glitz and glamour of Hollywood decides to take Speed to lose weight. Eventually she begins hallucinating and wandering the streets as if she were insane.  She is eventually apprehended and sent to a mental hospital. She refuses treatment and is then subjected to electro-shock therapy. Her friends visit her, but she is only a shell of her former self.

Despite being a movie for trendy teenage kids to get high and watch (and not understand), this movie has a much deeper meaning too it.  In fact, the message is just the opposite of what these kids think.

Donnie Darko (2001)

Donnie Darko is one of those movies most people just don’t understand.  It’s a movie that makes no sense as it’s being played out on screen, but when looked back on, makes complete sense…. well not complete sense, but more sense.

I’ll try my best to explain what I’ve figured out after many viewings.

The movie opens with Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) being woken in bed by Frank-Bunny.  Frank-Bunny leads him to a golf course and tells him the world will end in 28 days (and some change).  While Donnie is at he golf course, a jet engine crashes through his bedroom.  Donnie cheated death, he’s now a “Living Receiver”.  Since Donnie cheated death, he is in a “Tangent Universe” where he is alive, he died in the “Primary Universe”.  He is now in a 28 day loop… think of it like Bill Murray’s “Groundhogs Day”.

In his Tangent Universe, Donnie must discover how to end the loop and return to the Primary Universe.  Prior to the start of the movie, Donnie has already been through the loop many times, and failed.  We see only one cycle of the time loop, and the last.  With the help of “Manipulated Dead” (characters in place to help Donnie solve the time loop), Donnie eventually discovers he needs to send an “Artifact” (the jet engine) back to the Primary Universe, and to do so he must sacrifice himself.

It’s a great movie, but some what confusing.  This isn’t a movie you just sit down and watch, but I highly recommend it if you’re into movies that really make you think.

Into The Wild (2007)

A young man leaves his middle class existence in pursuit of freedom from relationships and obligation. Giving up his home, family, all possessions but the few he carried on his back and donating all his savings to charity Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch) embarks on a journey throughout America.

His eventual aim is to travel into Alaska, into the wild, to spend time with nature, with ‘real’ existence, away from the trappings of the modern world.

In the 20 months leading up to his Alaskan adventure his travels lead him on a path of self-discovery, to examine and appreciate the world around him and to reflect on and heal from his troubled childhood and parents’ abusive relationship. When he reaches Alaska he finds he has been insufficiently prepared for the hardships to come. Despite making it through the winter, he prepares to return home in spring, only to find the stream he crossed in the snow has become an impassable and that he is trapped. With no means of sustaining himself adequately he eventually starves to death in his so sought after isolation.

Throughout his epic journey the people he meets both influence and are influenced by the person he is and bring him to the eventual and tragic realisation that “Happiness is only real when shared”.

There are two outlooks to the story of Christopher McCandless.  Some put him on a pedestal, and consider what he did to be true heroism.  Others think he was a mentally disturbed man who eventually commited suicide, and maybe thats exactly what he wanted.  You would have to see the movie (or read the book on which its based) and decide for yourself.

King of Kong (2007)

King of Kong is about so much more than video games.

This excellent film has everything that a movie fan loves to see: the classic hero and villain story, action, suspense, drama, and comedy. Who would have thought all of this would come out of a documentary about Donkey Kong? The story follows Steve Wiebe, a family man from Washington trying to beat the arcade juggernaut Billy Mitchell’s world record score on Donkey Kong. The film is perfectly edited by introducing both characters, showing their history in the video game culture, and giving the viewers a sense of which person to root for. It’s hysterical the way this simple story is made out to look like an action adventure film. Steve is the underdog, the man that has a big journey ahead of him. But to overcome the challenges and try to claim the title of Donkey Kong master, he must face the opponent Billy Mitchell and his video game minions.

This is a definite must see movie for everyone.  Like I said, the video games are just what they are doing, not what it’s about.  It’s a much deeper moral story than that.

Waking Life (2001)

This is one of the most thought provoking films I’ve ever seen. It’s also visually stunning and perfectly acted: every single one of these people seem to be just giving their own opinions as if you were overhearing/having a meaningful conversation with them.

The film deals with the idea of lucid dreams and the nature of our existence and many other philosophical questions.  What struck me about the film was the way in which the superb animation was layered over the film.  What this achieves is indeed a sense of a dreamlike viewing experience.  Everyone has those dreams where they have a great sense of having gone somewhere and done something wonderful when they wake up.  It may be difficult to remember details of your surroundings or what exactly you did but you know you were somewhere doing something. The jumpy nature and fluid characteristics of the animation really help to create that very same feeling while viewing the film.

Don’t view this moving expecting to see a scripted story with a defined plot.  This movie is completely different from your typical blockbuster movie.  Imagine you’re a fly on the wall listening in on everyone’s different points of view, that’s what this movie is.

A Scanner Darkly (2006)

The story is about a under-cover narcotics officer (Keanu Reeves) who is in danger of becoming one of his own targets, since he has become addicted to a very popular and addictive hallucinogen – Substance D (AKA “Death”).  What the story is really about is the culture of recreational drug use and addiction. Its portrayal of this is on target, and though the subject is treated with some sympathy, the contradictory messages, denials, and complex rationalizations surrounding that culture also come through powerfully.

We are introduced to Keanu Reeves’ character, and learn that he is a government agent working to stop the distribution of Substance D. Like the others in his job, he must wear a “scramble suit” to conceal his identity on the job. This suit makes it impossible to know who the agent really is. When off the clock, they are actually junkies themselves, placed in the culture to set the addicts up and get a big arrest.

Reeves is perfectly cast as a man of ideals who has slowly gone off the deep end into addiction. He recalls to himself the wife and children once had, while at the moment he is a low-life named Bob Arctor, living with his user friends/suspects. Only Keanu can pull off the brains needed when he is assigned by his boss to watch Arctor, (yes, himself), to see if he slips and can be arrested. His employers know he must be in that circle of people, but there is no way of knowing which one he is, making this seemingly impossible assignment possible.

If you enjoy a good “mind-bender” of a film that doesn’t stop bouncing around in your head until days after you have seen it, then A Scanner Darkly is for you. If you go to the theater simply for spoon-fed entertainment, see this film anyway and hopefully you will wake up and have an original thought some time soon.

Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room (2005)

This movie is an excellent introduction for the general public to the scandal for someone who didn’t hear first-hand the warnings about the “New Economy” that laughed at the responsibilities of a public company; or read the articles in Fortune, Wall Street Journal, NY Times, or Business Week while it was all building up, then came tumbling down.

While the film leaves out some of the technicalities, it does an entertaining job of combining talking heads, lively graphics, news clips, company documents and whistleblower-obtained audiotapes, web broadcasts and video tapes to document how a major company could grow out of smoke and mirrors to become the largest bankruptcy of its time, bringing down countless victims with it.

While a lot of the video focuses on the downfall of the company, and other investment companies, the truth is hundreds of thousands of families (note: families, not just individuals) were bankrupt by the smoke and mirrors business tactics of Enron.  Enron had complete monoply over electricity among other things.  They could literally pick up the phone and request a black-out covering Los Angeles, simply to increase their own profit margins.  They were preaching “buy buy buy!” when all the investors and owners of the company silently sold off their shares.

Throughout the whole movie it’s reiterated that not a lot has changed in corporate America.  A hand full of these Enron guys paid for it, but it could definitely happen again.

Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006)

Wristcutters is about guy named Zia (Patrick Fugit) who commits suicide after his girlfriend breaks up with him. Once he does, he doesn’t die but goes to a place where others who have committed suicide live as well. It’s a bizarre tale of love, friendship, and the afterlife based on the short story “Kneller’s Happy Campers” by Etgar Keret. A funny, strange but very original film ensues…

This movie puts a whole new spin on the idea of a romantic comedy and does it perfectly. All the characters seem to connect as they interact with each other.  The movie at times is very dark and odd but it only adds to the originality and creative minds behind the film.

When watching this film, just sit back and enjoy the ride. This film takes you to a world that you have never seen before. Who would ever think you would see a movie about a world that exists only to those who have committed suicide? And the funniest thing is it’s the same thing as our world but a few minor differences. This is a movie that relies on imagination, something we as adults seem to forget to use anymore. This movie challenges Hollywood to take risks and go beyond the typical storyline and into something more creative and out of the ordinary.

If you’re a fan of dark comedies I highly recommend this film. If you like movies that dare to be different I recommend you see this film. Honestly, I don’t know the target audience for this film but it’s definitely a must for those who want to see something original and different from the norm.  I would have to say it’s probably the second best film I’ve seen all year maybe not for being powerful or moving but for being really original and creative.

Chumscrubber (2005)

Taking place in some manufactured instant suburb in sunny California, the story is based around Dean Stiffle (Jamie Bell), a kid who seemingly is alone among the high school kids who live through drugs/pills to alter their perception of a boring meaningless world. The source of their pills is Troy Johnson (Josh Janowicz) who in the first frames of the movie is discovered by Dean after Troy has comitted suicide.

Dean decides to not tell anyone ‘because who would care anyway’. Life just goes on among the parents of the teenagers, not allowing anything to disturb their shallow lives: Troy’s mother (Glenn Close) appears oblivious to her loss; while Dean’s mother (Allison Janney) is more concerned with cooking and is clueless about relationships with anyone including her author/psychologist husband whose world begins and ends in his latest book.

These shells of parents have no clue or communication with their aimless kids, but the kids, when discovering the source of their pills is dead, decide to go after psycho Dean to get the stash. In doing so they kidnap Charley who they think is Dean’s brother to convince Dean to raid Troy’s stash. The manner in which all of this plays out is a true horror story of the mindset of teenagers coping alone in the world with parents who elect to remain oblivious to their lives

This movie really impressed me by how realistically it treated teenagers and their capabilities. A lot of movies regard teens as immature or ignorant of “grown up” problems, but they aren’t. Age doesn’t dictate maturity or knowledge, it’s just the amount of time you’ve lived on earth. Another thing that I really enjoyed was seeing parents’ mistakes blown up instead. It’s crazy to think about, but a lot of homes really are like that and I think it’s horrible. The Chumscrubber was amazing in that it showed real problems with today’s society, without buffers to please the audience. The director had a message, and he said it, without reference to anyone else, or to how well the movie would do. I find that kind of honesty in a movie refreshing. Plus, the movie was awesome anyways.

Tags: Entertainment, Life, Lists, Movies

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