This is a collection of films where things are not what they appear. I love movies that present one world and then reveal a deeper, hidden world that is more complex.  When the movie begins it looks like one thing but then presents something else; the clues were all there from the beginning, but we made assumptions that weren’t true as viewers. One of the key tenets of our Film Appreciation class is that with quality films EVERYTHING on screen is there for a reason, and all dialogue spoken is a clue to the intentions of the filmmakers. Let’s watch these movies together and unravel the details!

This film appreciation series must be purchased in its entirety.

November 4 – The Spanish Prisoner (Released 4/3/97) directed by David Mamet, 110 minutes. Cambell Scott plays Joe Ross who has created “The Process” for the corporation he works for and is now worried about proper compensation.  Steve Martin, Ben Gazzara, and Ricky Jay co-star. This is an enjoyable, tautly written and directed movie from the playwright turned writer/director, David Mamet.

November 18 – The Game (Released 9/2/97) directed by David Fincher, 129 minutes. Michael Douglas is pitch perfect playing a rich snob who is enlisted by his dead-beat brother to play an all-encompassing game that encroaches on his life.  This film was much less successful than Se7en from 1995, but displays David Fincher’s meticulous attention to detail.  This movie keeps one engaged right up until the last shot!

December 2 – The Truman Show (Released 6/5/98) directed by Peter Weir, 103 minutes. Is there any privacy left in our world?  Is Truman Burbank just paranoid or does the world really revolve around him? He’s the star of the most popular television show in the world and doesn’t know it. EDtv came out a year later with a much different take on the phenomenon of people exposing their personal lives. The 90’s culture was full of self aggrandizement, and the beginning of reality television giving birth to MTV’s The Real World, Survivor and Big Brother paving the way for the advent of Myspace and Facebook.

December 16 – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Released 3/19/04) directed by Michel Gondry, 108 minutes. Our second Jim Carrey movie where he plays an introverted, jilted lover who only has the memory of his past relationship. But in this scenario, even his memories are threatened.  Kate Winslet co-stars in this odd film from the mind of Charlie Kaufman which blurs the line between what is real and what is remembered.

January 13 – Inception (Released 7/13/10) directed by Christopher Nolan, 148 minutes. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a thief who steals corporate secrets by entering their dreams. He’s now hired to implant an idea in the target’s unconscious mind, but the dream state has bizarre and dangerous rules of its own. If you watched this movie a while ago and couldn’t figure it out, you’re not alone; let’s try and decipher this puzzle together.

January 20 – The Adjustment Bureau (Released 3/4/11) directed by George Nolfi, 106 minutes. Matt Damon and Emily Blunt have terrific chemistry and try to fulfill their destiny together against a strange supernatural team hell bent on keeping them apart for their own good. This is yet another film based on the prolific writings and unique mind of Philip K. Dick and it  brings up interesting issues of fate and freewill.