Mindfak Movies

"I don't wanna be scared anymore"

Movies that save twist and surprise for the end are usually very effective for the first watching, but once you know the ending those movies lose their strength and stop being interesting. This one is an exception. Knowledge how the movie will end did not make the second watching boring. Quite the opposite, it made me want to watch this movie a few more times. Every few years I gladly get back to it and every time I discover some new details and experience it a bit different. Also, during every session, I am trying to find its flaws and holes, but so far I failed to notice any mistakes. A deeply emotional, slightly creepy, only seemingly linear, movie that provokes reflections on essential topics of life that bustle patterns of everyday life constantly sweep under the carpet. I am too biased to say if this movie is really one of the masterpieces of all time, but it surely is a great movie and definitely one of my favorites.

10/10

Chuck Palahniuk... even if it is not good it must be fun :D

I wouldn't align it with all-time masterpieces, but it definitely is a great movie. Brad Pitt and Edward Norton nailed the lead character, but from them, I didn't expect anything less. Meat Loaf additionally spiced winning combination. But my biggest surprise was that movie was based on Chuck Palahniuk novel. Although I saw it many times, that "detail" never caught my eye. Chuck is completely nutz, but the movie did not indicate his style to me. Now I definitely have to read the book. The movie itself is fast, entertaining and with good twists, although the main twist is somewhat predictable if you are watching the movie carefully enough. If there is anyone who didn't see it so far, you should correct that mistake urgently, and for others, it won't harm you to refresh your memory, there are always new details you missed before.

8,5/10

Do not let Arnold in leading role mislead you. Although this movie is an action, it's not just an action, it's a lot more than just that. It deals with serious topic and, although it is not too philosophical, it definitely doesn't banalize it. It is satisfactory intelligent and has just enough depth to challenge imagination and arouse thoughts. The biggest flaw, in my opinion, is that final twist is too predictable and if you watch carefully enough you'll know how it ends at the very beginning. It's a shame cause this story has serious potential for great mindfak. Then again, it would be too much to expect from Schwarzenegger movie. Even this way it's already surprisingly deep for an action movie.

7/10

Mesmerizingly confusing

This movie is hard to describe and even harder to explain and that's one of the main reasons I loved it. The other reasons are great visuals and an excellent cast led by young Jake Gyllenhaal, one of the best actors of today. But don't waste your time reading reviews. Go and see this awesome mindf**k as soon as possible.

8,5/10

Although it is not as unpredictable as they wanted it to be, it is a great movie that leaves strong impressions. I wouldn't expect anything less from a movie with Kevin Spacey in leading role.

8,5/10

Nice little mindfuck

"As I was going up the stair I met a man who wasn't there He wasn't there again today I wish, I wish he'd go away"

In my head, I shuffled through three or four different theories before I finally figured out what was going on. It's meant to be a surprise in the final scene, but unfortunately, I figured it out about half an hour earlier. It is not so predictable though, I think I just had a lucky guess. But even if you spoil it for yourself like I did, you won't be disappointed with this really good mystery thriller.

8/10

"A stupid game? Maybe so, but it was our game."

When I first saw this movie a few years ago, I was under the impression for days. Halfway through, it became one of my favorites and I rated it nine. This time the impression was somewhat weaker. Maybe due to the lack of a surprise factor, but I think that's exactly what allowed me to perceive it more objectively. The film follows the life of a couple, crazy in love with each other, ever since they met in early childhood. But instead of being together, they spend their lives as best friends who have devoted their entire lives to a completely wicked and at times sick challenging game. The story is original and full of surprises, but on the second watching, when there are no surprises and shocks, it loses quite a lot. I don't know the lead actor from before, and he didn't make much of an impression on me, though he was far from being bad, but Marion Cotillard nailed her role as usual. The directing and editing are extremely interesting and totally in the French style, and it would be obvious that the film is French even if it was made in English. I didn't like the ending, but it may be that the whole story makes sense only with such an ending. I'm not even sure I understood it well. I'm left with very mixed feelings, but the movie is definitely worth the attention. I think it's best not to try too hard to look at it objectively and analyze it, but just let its madness carry you. Warm recommendation.

8/10

Event Reborn

Someone in my FB movie group recently mentioned this movie and I couldn't recall it in my memory, so I went to take a look at my own review. But there wasn't one. When I saw it again, I understood why I didn't write anything after the previous watching. I had to sleep on it, for impressions to settle, before I was able to evaluate it, even subjectively.

"It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly's wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world." - Chaos Theory

And in essence, this is the basis of the film's plot. Ashton Kutcher plays a young man who finds a way to change the details of his own past, thus completely changing the present and the future. Unfortunately, every time he fixes one thing, he simultaneously messes up something else, embroiling himself in playing God more and more.

It's fun to watch actors from your favorite series ("That '70s Show", "Daredevil", "My name is Earl"...) all together in the same movie. When actors go from film to film, there is not enough time to connect them closely with the characters they interpret, as is the case with actors who interpret the character in the series from episode to episode for many seasons. And when they appear in a movie, after we've watched them for years as the same characters in a series, it is a bit strange. And when there are more such actors in the same movie... confusing.

For its relatively small $ 13 million budget, the film is technically great, the acting is good, and the story keeps your attention from start to finish. I mostly like the fact that the film has a mindfak charm, although it's not one, because everything's pretty much clear all the time. There are four alternative endings and both times I saw "director's cut", which has the most striking finale. I don't want to write spoilers, but if you saw or will see this version, pay attention to the relation between the scene where Ashton's mother tells him that she had a few miscarriages and the way our protagonist resolves the whole situation. When my brain linked these two things, the entire movie significantly gained strength.

8/10

Awesome

I don't know how to say anything about this movie without spoiling it. It is a mindf**k movie, which is my favorite genre. Industrial machinist with an extreme case of insomnia slowly but surely loses his weight and his sanity. The cast is excellent, but they are all in the shadow of ingenious Christian Bale, whose transformation for this role is almost unbelievable. He nailed it, and this role is Oscar material.

9/10

I was thrilled and I loved it :D

I have no idea how original this idea really is, but "Wicker Park" was something completely new to me. It combines romantic drama genre with mindfak mystery thriller, creating a sub-genre I would love to see more often. This mix nails both genres in such a hypnotizing way that I was glued to the screen and I was sad that it isn't a series instead of a movie. Warm recommendation.

9/10

Come out come out, whatever you are...

No rewards, bad reviews, low ratings on movie sites... but I liked it. The cast is excellent, the story perhaps is not so original, but it's very good, it's solid mindf**k. If nothing else, Robert De Niro is reason enough to see it.

7,5/10

Are you watching closely?

The story, the cast, the overall atmosphere, twists, all smooth, elegant and with style... and the awesome finale. Rarely good movie.

8,5/10

Awesome mindfak :D

8/10

What would you do?

This movie has the very interesting premise that will make you think about own morality and conscience, but the story should be developed much better. I liked it, but don't expect anything special or breathtaking.

7,5/10

1/10 and 10/10 at the same time... This movie should be watched on hallucinogens in the dark of movie theater. Unfortunately, I had to watch it on my computer while eating chicken wings. In the first case I would probably rate it 10, but completely straight I could not avoid being irritated by all its flaws. The idea is great, the story well developed, although told in a completely twisted way typical for Gaspar Noe. Camera and photography are works of genius, use of colors and strobe, bird's-eye view, unbelievable visual adventure. Though, epileptics and those with hypersensitive eyes should definitely avoid this ride or at least watch it in bright light. You risk a serious headache because, as much as it is beautiful, it is also very heavy for eyes. Unfortunately, it seems that Noe got into it too deep and lost control after a while. The movie is unnecessarily too long. Scenes of tripping on hallucinogens last five to ten times longer than it would be humane towards the audience. Also, astral flights, between every two scenes Oscar is watching, are too slow and too long. If he cut all of that in half, the movie wouldn't lose any of its meaning or visual poetics, but it would be cut down from almost three hours to under two hours and he would avoid the danger of having half of the audience leaving the theater before the movie ends. This movie definitely isn't for a mainstream audience. It is too long, too confusing, very explicit in showing drugs and sex, and extremely tiring for eyes. But although I was at the edge of giving up in the first half an hour, the movie slowly pulled me in its world and then it gave me two more hours of hypnotizing ride. It is very hard for me to rate it. When I have to force myself to watch it till the end, I give it 1/10 or maybe 2/10, depending on the successfulness of that forcing. And when a movie gives me such an amazing ride like this one did and leaves me under strong impressions, it is usually 9/10 or 10/10. But this is the first time I saw a movie that meets both criteria. Still, despite all the flaws, I think this movie is worth more than it seems at first glance. !!! SPOILER ALERT !!! At the very beginning of the film, when they mentioned reincarnation and explained how exactly it works and looks like, I instantly knew how this movie will end. And to be honest, it would be stupid to end it any differently. Although, I would make a slight change in it. I would reincarnate Oscar into his own incest child. Somehow it seems to me that movie this sick has to end even sicker. :D

8/10

Interesting, but mediocre and with weak ending.

7/10

One of the very best movies I have ever seen.

10/10

Overall impression + spoilers + my ideas to improve the story

Warning: Spoilers

Great idea but a weak realization. The story has strength and depth and, if it was made by the book, the book probably kicks ass, but the movie left me indifferent. I cannot say what is the issue, if it is acting or directing or music or what... but until just a few minutes before the end I had absolutely no emotions towards what I was watching and I was bored. For the idea and the very end of the movie... 9/10, but the overall impression is about 5/10.

!!! SPOILER ALERT !!!

Christian girl gets involved with a Muslim refugee and gets pregnant. Christian police kill the Muslim and her child is taken away at birth and sent to an orphanage. Many years later she gets revenge for the tragedy of her youth by killing the leader of Christian police. She ends up in prison where she is raped by the cruelest guard. She gets pregnant again and gives birth to twins. After she is released from prison, she takes her children to Canada.

After she died her testament sends her children in a quest to find their father and brother and deliver letters from her. The daughter goes to search for the father and the son searches for the brother and they both find the same person.

The orphanage was destroyed in the war and the child was adopted by attackers and trained to be a killing machine. He ends up as a prison guard where he rapes a female prisoner, not knowing it was his mother.

Twins first get to know that their father is not killed in the war, as they were told. They find out that they are a result of their mother being raped in prison while she was serving sentence for murder. Then as icing on the cake, they find out that she was raped by the long lost son. So, in adult age, you find out that your whole life was a lie. Your mother is a murderer, you are a rape child, the rapist is your older brother, and you are just a side effect of sadistic, incestuous rape, and now you are expected to continue with your life as a mentally stable person... yea, right, like it is possible...

So, I would like to improve this already sick movie by adding some epilogue to it:

a) Father/brother receives both letters and, when his brain finally realizes shocking truth, he drops letters on the floor and jumps through the window (shoot himself in the head), while twins end up in a closed section of a sanitarium.

or, for those who root for a happy ending...

b) Twins cry in embranchment, which ends up "horizontally", and father/brother accepts his newfound family and joyfully awaits the birth of his grandchild/nephew and they lived happily ever after.

P.S. Yup, I know, I'm sick.

7/10

Once upon a time, there were two little girls who lived in a house

I watched it for two reasons, because I love mindfuck movies and because I love Naomi Watts. Double disappointment. Mindfuck it is, but really nothing special, just decent mediocre mystery-thriller. And Naomi barely shows up. If you decide to watch it you won't waste your time, but if you skip it you won't miss much.

7/10

His best...

This movie is unbelievably sick. But it pulls you into the story so deep that all that sickness, instead of being shocking, seems like the natural flow of things. This might easily be the best Almodovar so far.

9/10

Ultimate mindfuck

After a car accident in which a family member is killed, a detective begins to live two parallel realities. In one reality, he lives with his wife and their son is killed, and when he falls asleep in that reality he awakens in another where he lives with his son and his wife is killed. In both realities he goes to a psychiatrist who convinces him that the other reality is just a dream and a way for his mind to cope with loss. But which reality is real, which is a dream, or both are real, or both are a dream... The series is phenomenally done and is a total mindfuck. I was very disappointed when it was canceled after the first season, but believe me, even unfinished, it's more than worth watching.

8/10

Everything can be faked

A lonely art expert falls for a mysterious heiress that hired him and whom he didn't even see. But what seemed like a promising romantic drama suddenly turned into a nightmare. Although I suspected how it will end, the ending still left me speechless. Technically, this is a mystery drama, but I prefer to classify it as a mindfuck horror, because real human drama is often more horrifying than any Jason or Freddy.

9/10

"Chaos is order yet undeciphered"

I have about a dozen movies downloaded and I chose this one because it was the shortest one. What a mistake! After ninety minutes film was over and I was in the biggest wtf state of mind than any movie ever put me in. It is far from boring, but it is completely confusing and I expected to finally get it at the end. But then the final scene left me shocked, disappointed, and really really angry. I was like - this is one of the biggest craps ever. I simply could not go to bed without a satisfying explanation of what I just watched. It took many hours of reading discussions and watching video analysis on YT and then watching it all over again until I finally understood it, or at least I think I did. And now I love it and I will surely watch it a few more times.

It's a masterpiece, once you put all the pieces in the right place. So many details that are crucial for understanding that simply cannot be noticed with just one watching. Every picture, poster, graffiti, sign, word, lyrics of background music, book on the shelf, every single word characters say and the way they say it, what they wear, every facial expression and every move they make, things that lay around on the tables ... literally every detail has its place and meaning and is necessary for the understanding of the story. Complete madness.

There are good but different explanations in YT but it is important not to check them before watching as they will spoil the movie completely. Watch the movie, then check out explanations, and then, maybe, watch it again. It's worth the time.

9/10

WTF I just watched?!

I didn't read the novel and I didn't even know this is an adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky until way after I saw the movie, but it does feel like him. Honestly, I'm not even sure what did I see, but even without fully understanding the film I must admit it has its charms. It is difficult to watch and quite entertaining at the same time.

7/10... I suppose... not really sure...

Sasha Grey, reason enough to watch this

Good idea, but a lousy realization. All in all, likable hacker thriller that kept me at the edge of my seat from time to time, but disappointed me with its excessive finale. Nothing in this movie is excellent, but everything is satisfying. I did not predict any of the twists and, for me, it was pretty much entertaining. The highlight of the movie is the scene with the lead female character getting naked in front of a camera. I have no idea how they persuaded her to lose her clothes, but after so many years of eager anticipation, finally we have a chance, for the first time in a movie, to see Sasha Grey naked.

7/10

P.S. OK, for the first time in a mainstream movie. :D <3

Story is one of the most boring and pointless ones I have ever had misfortune to see in a movie. But it would be hypocritical to hold it against this movie and use it as excuse to rate it in lower half of the scale. It would be unfair for two reasons. First, because everyone who has even basic knowledge about Lynch work knows what kind of nonsense they should expect from his screenplays. Although I said I won't see another Lynch movie ever again, the moment I decided to see this, partially because of majority of critics being extremely positive, and even more because of Naomi in leading role, I was ready to endure whatever nonsense Lynch passed off as an art this time. Second, because movie is not just about the story it tells, and this one has a lot to offer beside the lousy story.

Visually, this is work of art with very distinctive and striking atmosphere and, to me, very lovely details and cadres done as homage to cult TV show Twin Peaks. Even more than visual aesthetics, I was impressed by sound. And I do not speak only about soundtrack and legendary Badalamenti, who also did music for Twin Peaks, but also about sound effects throughout the movie. The strongest impression on me was left by Spanish version of Crying by Rebekah Del Rio and sound of frontal crash in the beginning of the movie. Excellent performance of Naomi Watts implies, cause she is the main reason I decided to see another Lynch. She is definitely worthy that sacrifice.

But the very strongest impression of all was made by sweet Naomi and super-sexy Laura Harring in the hottest lesbian scene I have ever seen outside a porn. Although it is very short and not explicit at all, it is so deeply emotional and sexually charged that it left me completely breathless.

All in all, I do not regret breaking my word and watching another Lynch. Overall impression:

7/10

YT link to song I mentioned above:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHQnb3HS4hc

Lesbian scene I mentioned is from 5:38 to 9:30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANZsh2RQL1c

Excellent audition scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl1T2DB0Oxw

And great analyses of the way Lynch manipulates expectations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXZK0Binfk4

I'm not sure to what extent I understood this movie, or if it is at all possible to catch everything from just one watching, and I really want to understand it fully. I think it would be best if I read the book. Complete mindfak, but not in usual way of inexplicability or unpredictability, but because story, although pretty much explained, is extremely complex and told in very unusual and original way. Movie follows six stories at the same time, switching from one to another every few moments, so in the beginning you have a feeling like someone is terrorizing your TV remote. Situation is further complicated by fact that all stories are placed in completely different epochs, six unrelated locations, and they even differ by genres, but the same cast is acting six different group of characters in all stories. Makeup and costumes are so believable that in some cases I did not recognize some actors in all their roles until end credits, while in other cases it's obvious but still beautifully done. Some transformations are bit raped but I didn't mind. Some actors even have roles in both sexes. There are four Oscar winners: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent and Susan Sarandon. At the beginning stories are seemingly unrelated, except for the cast of course, but as film progress, connections and coherence are more and more obvious, until at the end you realize that all stories make one rounded entirety, when even tragic moments gain meaning and make you smile. Whole construction is even more fascinating considering that stories are placed on 1849. boat, 1936. England, 1973. San Francisco, 2012. London, 2144. Seoul and 2311. post-apocalyptic Hawaii. Till today I never heard of this movie. I run into it by accident and I'm glad I did. This is one of rare examples of a movie that lasts 3 hours but holds attention strongly from beginning to the end. I warmly recommend it to everyone, regardless of your movie taste, because in this movie you can find overseas ship adventure, freeing of slaves, classical music, gay drama, intrigue, blackmail, 70's thriller, sex, violence, comedy, gore scenes, futuristic SF, post-apocalyptic tribal civilization, reincarnation, new worlds, romance and, well, everything you could possibly put in a movie.

8,5/10

Twin Peaks Diarrh... Diary

There's a chance David Lynch is crazy. But I honestly doubt it. I think it's much more probable that he simply screws with us. We are struggling to understand his movies where there's, in fact, nothing to understand. He just stuffs his films with everything and anything that comes to his mind, without any sense and meaning, and then he sits aside and laughs his head off on our pathetic attempts to explain his outburst of "genius".

****

The first episode was promising. Strange, mysterious, distinctive. I was hypnotized. But in the second episode I was already at the edge of giving up. I was held only by curiosity. Now, after the third and fourth episode, I can not take this seriously anymore. I have a feeling that I'm watching high-budget parody to "Twin Peaks" instead of the long-awaited third season. Unlike first episode that mesmerized me and kept me in suspense, through third and fourth I mostly laughed, partly from agony, partly from shame transfer to which the show abounds, although there were also few really good jokes. But overall it feels like spoof made by the principle "it's so bad that it's good." I'm more and more convinced that Lynch really is screwing with us. David, I have no idea what you're on, but give us a little so we could feel nice too.

****

• How the hell did this madman know that he will be able to make the third season after 25 years? How did he know, not only that he will be alive, but that the rest of the crew will also be alive, capable and willing to shoot... Did he simply risked and had luck?

• Why does almost every episode end in "Ally McBeal" manner?

I barely forced myself to watch it till the end. First time I thought about giving up was after maybe ten minutes or so, and that urge didn't left me throughout the rest of the movie. It mostly looks like bunch of piled up random pretentious crap that leads nowhere. Here and there you can see something interesting, but overall movie is pointless and boring. I endured to the end only because it was written and directed by author of great Donnie Darko, so I hoped it could be one more *beep* movie that pays off at the end. Yes, it was another *beep* and at the end I understood it, but wasting two and a half hours on this nonsense definitely didn't pay off. It's unbelievably stupid and the only thing in it worth seeing are Buffy the Vampire Slayer and several more interesting women.

2/10

What is life? What is consciousness?

29 December 2017

What is life? What is consciousness? Can artificial intelligence become conscious, and at what point does a machine cease to be a thing and become a life form? The series asks these questions and, rather than getting lost in trying to provide answers, it leaves its characters and its audience to decide for themselves where they draw the line.

After eight episodes of the "Westworld" series, although I am a big fan of the sci-fi genre, especially artificial intelligence and life-imitating machines, I must admit that I was not thrilled. I haven't seen the movie the show is based on, so I won't go into that part and I don't have any specific complaints to point my finger at. It's all nicely designed and packed. There are no obvious technical flaws or illogicalities in the story. Acting, directing, production, everything is top-notch and my brain tells me that this is a great series. And yet, it leaves me almost indifferent. It lacks something that cannot be pointed at. That something that moves you and that can sometimes be found even in bad movies because it doesn't depend on technical aspects. Let's call it a soul.

And then I watched the last two episodes and realized that the series is a mindfak and that during the whole season I actually had no idea what I was watching. From the beginning, it was clear to me that the story was not entirely linear, but to what extent it was non-linear and convoluted I could not imagine. The twists in the last few episodes are completely unexpected. Once they happen they become obvious and you wonder how you didn't foresee them, but you didn't, and with each new "revelation" the overall impression of the series is getting stronger and stronger. And the finale...

8,5/10

You can't play God without being acquainted with the Devil 22 February 2024

I finally watched the remaining three seasons. Technically, the series maintained the level. Essentially...

After the philosophical AI SF of the first season, "Westworld" has degenerated into an insane action rollercoaster, which holds attention, but I have no idea what it's for. Did the authors get lost in their own story, so it can't keep up with itself, or has the story become such a tangled mindfak that my intelligence can't follow it... However, the end of season four makes sense and I like how they wrapped up the story, but by the time we got to it, I was on the verge of giving up more than once.

I love mindfak, but I suppose the point of that genre is that it makes you brainstorm and wait eagerly for the solution, and not that for the whole season you have no idea what you're watching, to such an extent that it kills your desire to watch at all, and in the end you wonder if you are stupid or the script. In this case, I'm almost certain that it's the script, which has turned from the aforementioned philosophical AI SF into an AI SF bullcrap of epic proportions.

7/10

Montenegrin drama "Look at Me" from 2008 is a very strange film for this region. It's slow, it develops in several time lines and it's so vague and confusing that I'm not even sure how many timelines are in question. The film was so boring that I was on the verge of giving up on it all the time, and again there was a kind of hypnotizing atmosphere that kept me going little by little, step by step, to the very end. And then the story unreveled and everything I've been watching so far has become painfully clear and I was no longer sorry I "wasted" an hour and a half. An unusual and emotional movie, for its time and climate surprisingly well-acted and directed and followed by very atmospheric music. Nevertheless, although the ending puts the first hour in a completely different perspective, it does not change the fact that most of the movie is terribly boring and that many viewers will give up on it before they experience the powerful end. That's why I can not rate it higher than

7/10