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SALT LAKE CITY — Movies can truly be an amazing thing. They can elicit tears and laughs, they can help you come to a realization or they can just help you tune out for an hour or two. But once in a while a film makes your brain hurt and leaves you sitting on your couch or in the theater until the credits are over and you're yelling at yourself, "What just happened?"
This list is a tribute to those brain melters. Here is a list of seven films that either blew our minds from the get go, turned our world upside down at the end or just left us with that "No way" feeling.
12 Monkeys (R)
"12 Monkeys" starts with you confused and ends with you in awe of what just happened. The film can be tough to follow and will turn your mind in knots, but the it manages to keep you enthralled the whole way through.
Monkeys tells the story of a convict, Bruce Willis, who travels back in time to 1996 to try and figure out the origin of an epidemic. Willis seems genuinely as confused as the rest of us and Brad Pitt received his first Academy Award nomination for his turn as the insane son of a famous scientist.
Monkeys takes a great level of focus, but the payoff is well worth it.
The first time I saw "The Usual Suspects" I was literally saying out loud, "No way! No Way!" as the film wrapped up. The whole movie is a tangled web of deceit, misdirection and brilliant writing and the end will make you stop the DVD player and take a minute to absorb what just happened.
"The Usual Suspects" tells the story of five career criminals who "randomly" end up together and what went wrong with the job that would have paid out $91 million.
The film won the Academy Award for best original screenplay in 1996 and earned Kevin Spacey his first Oscar.
The Spanish Prisoner (PG)
It's a shame more people have not seen this film, but much like "The Usual Suspects" this movie will leave you in shock as the credits role.
At its most basic level "The Spanish Prisoner" follows an employee of a lucrative company who tries to entrap a millionaire but ends up being framed for murder. But the levels go so much deeper and intricacies get more and more complex.
When I first saw Prisoner on my good old VHS, I honestly rewound and watched the end about three times to make sure I saw what I thought I'd just seen. And if you think you need more motivation to see this film, do it just to see Steve Martin in a role you'd never expect to see him in and watch him knock it out of the park.
Inception (PG-13)
"Inception" is the brain child of writer/director Christopher Nolan and it left people little more than a pile of mush at its conclusion.
There are no real twists or surprise endings here, just a complex, well executed heist film.
In its barest form "Inception" is the story of a team of thieves who enter people's minds through dreams and steal their secrets and ideas. For anyone who has seen it you know that doesn't really scratch the surface.
"Inception" requires your full attention and repeat viewings, but it manages to please on so many levels. Some people didn't like the movie saying it was too complex, and in a way they're right. But depending on your taste, the more complex the better.
The Jacket (R)
Not too many people saw "The Jacket" and those who did were mixed on their feelings. But whether you loved it or hated it, one thing is for sure: it will mess with your head.
Here's the simple plot synopsis from IMDb.com, "A Gulf war veteran is wrongly sent to a mental institution for insane criminals, where he becomes the object of a Doctor's experiments, and his life is completely affected by them."
Sure, we'll go with that, but know full well going into this film that it is a mind trip.
Adrien Brody is solid in the lead and you'll be sitting there just as uncomfortable and lost as he is.
Buried (R)
I will be the first to admit that this film is not for everyone. If you have claustrophobia you will most likely have a panic attack before the end of the film.
In "Buried" Ryan Reynolds plays a man who has been kidnapped and buried in a small coffin. The entire 95 minute film takes place in the tiny confines of the coffin. The movie is terrifying and brilliant with an almost Hitchcock vibe to it.
The film has no special effects or trippy story lines, it's straight forward but it messes with your head as you inject yourself in the horrifying situation. The film ended and I sat in my basement alone for nearly 20 minutes before I moved. The movie literally stuck with me and consumed a good majority of my thoughts for days afterwards.
Memento (R)
This is the second Nolan film on the list, but it's probably the film most deserving to be called a "Mind Melter."
In its simplest "Memento" is the story of a private investigator trying to solve a crime. But what makes this film different from other private eye films is that the P.I. has short-term memory loss and the movie starts at the end and moves to the beginning.
Keeping everything straight can be a chore at times, but watching it all unravel is truly an incredible movie experience unlike any other you've encountered.
"Memento" will leave you thoroughly entertained and in desperate need on an Aspirin.
Now I know people are already compiling emails to tell me of all the great films I left out. I know there are some great ones I didn't touch on, not because they're not great films, but I just happened to pick these seven. So, I've decided to make a list of some more great headache inducing (in a good way) films below.
What else did I miss? Let me know on the comment boards and on Facebook.
The Matrix (R)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (R)
Fight Club (R)
The Sixth Sense (PG-13)
A Beautiful Mind (PG-13)
Source Code (PG- 13)
Frailty (R)
The Prestige (PG-13)
The Game (R)
