ROCKSTAR

Nothing new under the sun, huh? That's about right. But every so often comes a movie that challenges the notion that everything worth writing about has already been written.

One movie that quickly comes to mind is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The basic concept is that a man is so tormented by his turbulent relationship with his girlfriend, that he undergoes a treatment to totally erase her from his mind.

I want to be avoid spoilers, so I'll leave it there. But if you've seen the movie, you know the concept is refreshing, the visual representations are incredible and the emotional product just spectacular. The acting is of course praise worthy, and lets us enjoy the story and feel for the characters all the way through.

25th Hour is also fairly original because it deals with a man's (Monty) last 24 hours before going to prison, but it's not about crime. Monty tries to make his last day normal, but as the time comes closer, panic starts closing in. Monty doesn't exactly breakdown into madness, but the regret he feels is almost unbearable, and while he's a criminal that probably deserves going to jail, he's also a human being inches away from his biggest nightmare. This is also one of the first movies, if not the first, to deal with the subject of 9/11.

jackiehydelover

You figured with all the bitching I do around here about remakes and no original ideas in Hollywood, I would have thought of this thread! Two films that immediately come to mind are this years Juno and last years Little Miss Sunshine. I'll elaborate more tomorrow

ash515

Napoleon Dynamite (I love this movie, even though some people don't like it.)

Superbad, Knocked Up, Zoolander

Mean Girls (I count it as original since it was based on a nonfiction book that had no narrative.)

Lars and the Real Girl (I loved this movie)

mostly alot of original movies are comedies, I notice

mukooh

through out my whole life all i've ever wanted to do was get "off".....which in the past has gotten me into a whole lot of trouble......nowadays i get my thrills in more constructive ways.....through reading books, listening to music, helping other people and watching films......but in regards to films, so much of what i watch is just a rehash of the things that i've seen before.....this is particularly true of most of the films that i see at home....mostly shorts and documentaries that the vast majority of people never see.....so in regards to the films that i've found interesting in the last few years or so, at least in their originality....2 of my favorites are:

'twin falls idaho' which is written, directed and stars the polish brothers in a film about conjoined twins and a "hooker".....it's the first film, by the polish brothers, in a trilogy of films about lonliness in america.....



and

'wristcutters: a love story"......which is a movie about suicides who wind up in place much worse than the one that they've left.....i believe it's now on dvd.....i was given a copy that i've just re-watched at home recently...

ROCKSTAR

I agree with Little Miss Sunshine!

ash515 I really appreciated Napoleon Dynamite's type of humor.

mukooh I heard about Wristcutters and it does sound like a different concept! Some critics praised them for trying out something like that. I haven't seen it yet but I plan on looking for the DVD. I'm intrigued by some of the aspects I've read that the movie employs.

ROCKSTAR

I have to say Inception and Another Earth are really great movies based on original concepts.

BDavis

Inception is such a great movie. I love/hate how open ended things are. For example, how everyone originally met each other or why Eames & Arthur have that slight disliking for each other.

Another original concept I liked was Sucker Punch, however, I think it would've been better off as a plot for a video game or maybe even a comic book/ graphic novel as opposed to a movie.

ROCKSTAR

Right! Inception is just cool. It's a cool movie. I love that it resists the temptation to answer every question and fill in all the blanks.

mukooh

original concepts in movies......imo those are few and far between......but sometimes an old idea is "tweaked" just enough to make a film seen refreshingly new and different.....

two films that fall into that category....both of which focus on the theme of time travelling are....

'sound of my voice'

is she or isn't she from the future?....it's never clear at the end of the film either.....brit marling stars in and wrote this movie.......the 'sound of my voice' requires careful viewing.....for me so many of the events that occured in this film were "wtf" moments...



brit marling also wrote and stars in another film that's worthy of note 'another earth'......a film that's already been mentioned on this thread....



and the other movie with an emphasis on time travelling as it's theme is 'safety not guaranteed'

once again it has the type of ending where you have decide....do they or don't they go back in time.....



perhaps one of the most interestring and original films i've watched this year...that's been seen by only one other person on this board is.....

'beasts of the southern wild'


here i'll just repost my comments that i made a few months ago on another thread....




recently on another thread i'd posted about another film that i found to be original in nature and one that i gave a recommendation to and perhaps one day i'll mention it here......a couple of comments made by other posters after my post indicated that they thought the film sounded good but that they wouldn't see it because of the actors in it......that's kind of narrow minded isn't it?......to judge a film without even seeing it.....there's a quote that paraphased in that film and it would seem to apply in regards to those comments....that quote in it's entirety is......

"there is a principle which is bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance--that principle is contempt prior to investigation"
herbert spencer

ROCKSTAR

Nicely put! Beautiful recommendations.

hiddleskittlesღ

Waking Life was pretty amazing.

Buried (Ryan Reynolds) was so good.

Inception of course and Memento.

Black Swan, Sixth Sense...