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Post by maxwellperfect on Jul 9, 2017 20:28:00 GMT
maxwellperfect Interesting question, and one that, perhaps, depends on what we mean by "mystery." (I've tried to tackle the subject in my "Favorite Mystery Films" thread, and it's a doozy, let me tell ya!) I'm trying to wrack my brain to see if I've seen a single great puzzle-plot movie since The Last of Sheila ('73), which I highly recommend. Perhaps Zero Effect ('98)? Interesting little independent movie but with some big stars: Bill Pullman as the Holmesian Daryl Zero and Ben Stiller as his not-so-loyal "Watson." I didn't find the plot all that surprising, but it's got some of the best clues I've seen in a cinematic mystery. Speaking of great clues, The Prestige is not a mystery but acts like one: the cluing is audacious and brilliant, and the plot delightfully surprising. My vote for Nolan's best picture, by far. Ditto for The Illusionist. Less well-clued than The Prestige, perhaps, but more of a mystery, with a brilliant variation on an old gimmick invented (as far as I know) by Israel Zangwill. One blog I follow recommends (of all things) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and The Simpsons' "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" as great mysteries. After some thought, I agree with Rich (the blog owner) on the subject. Excellent cluing and fair-play, surprising plots in what are (for mysteries) unusual settings, Hope that helps a bit! 'Zero Effect' was a fun S. Holmes pastiche. I have not seen 'The Prestige' yet, although I've heard many good things about it. |
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Post by Salzmank on Aug 31, 2017 14:12:53 GMT
I just found out that one of theravenking's suggestion on this thread, Contratiempo ( The Invisible Guest, '16), is now available on Netflix, if anyone is interested. I'm intending to take a look at it this weekend. |
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Post by lenlenlen1 on Aug 31, 2017 19:42:50 GMT
David Fincher's Zodiac
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Post by Salzmank on Sept 6, 2017 15:58:01 GMT
I just found out that one of theravenking's suggestion on this thread, Contratiempo ( The Invisible Guest, '16), is now available on Netflix, if anyone is interested. I'm intending to take a look at it this weekend. I watched this one on Netflix last weekend. Really, really good–probably the best cinematic mystery I’ve seen in a long time. (Then again, I suppose there’s not much competition, especially nowadays.) It’s very old-fashioned, both in plot and in filmmaking, which I loved, and the build-up is lovely: complex, many-layered, yet instantly comprehensible, which is exactly how I like detective-stories. (None of the old “green tie” business, as Carr would call it.) The acting–from Ana Wagener and José Coronado in particular–is excellent, and the whole thing was first-class both as a mystery and as a film. Flaws? Well, the against-time element is a bit underemployed. As one reviewer wrote, “We now and again get a shot of the stop watch, but otherwise the tension is not capitalised upon, which limits the urgency of solving the crime.") With that said, if they hadn’t included it, the hook would have been weakened in the very beginning–and, as that hook so rapidly draws us into a fine tale, I can understand the motive, even if the culmination is not as effective as we would wish. : I loved the first false solution, which was not any kind of grand illusion but a simple way of managing the effect under pressure, and probably the way that a real-life locked-room puzzle would genuinely be effected. I tend not to like the subset of solutions under which the real answer falls, but this one was fine just because the exposition built up to it, and it seemed to follow through with the characters’ real personalities. Indeed, in the end, one can certainly call this a locked-room mystery—butof a different sort than I expected, shall I say? I certainly saw one or two twists coming, but the final one is a doozy and completely caught me by surprise. In an era when every twist seems to have been done a million times before, this one definitely surprised me. Many thanks for the recommendation, theravenking. |
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Post by politicidal on Sept 6, 2017 16:07:24 GMT
It's more of an erotic thriller but I highly recommend The Handmaiden (2016). Others include "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and "Hollywoodland".
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Post by suarezthewitch on Sept 7, 2017 18:44:59 GMT
Se7en
Prisoners
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Post by theravenking on Sept 10, 2017 19:43:16 GMT
I just found out that one of theravenking 's suggestion on this thread, Contratiempo ( The Invisible Guest, '16), is now available on Netflix, if anyone is interested. I'm intending to take a look at it this weekend. I watched this one on Netflix last weekend. Really, really good–probably the best cinematic mystery I’ve seen in a long time. (Then again, I suppose there’s not much competition, especially nowadays.) It’s very old-fashioned, both in plot and in filmmaking, which I loved, and the build-up is lovely: complex, many-layered, yet instantly comprehensible, which is exactly how I like detective-stories. (None of the old “green tie” business, as Carr would call it.) The acting–from Ana Wagener and José Coronado in particular–is excellent, and the whole thing was first-class both as a mystery and as a film. Flaws? Well, the against-time element is a bit underemployed. As one reviewer wrote, “We now and again get a shot of the stop watch, but otherwise the tension is not capitalised upon, which limits the urgency of solving the crime.") With that said, if they hadn’t included it, the hook would have been weakened in the very beginning–and, as that hook so rapidly draws us into a fine tale, I can understand the motive, even if the culmination is not as effective as we would wish. : I loved the first false solution, which was not any kind of grand illusion but a simple way of managing the effect under pressure, and probably the way that a real-life locked-room puzzle would genuinely be effected. I tend not to like the subset of solutions under which the real answer falls, but this one was fine just because the exposition built up to it, and it seemed to follow through with the characters’ real personalities. Indeed, in the end, one can certainly call this a locked-room mystery—butof a different sort than I expected, shall I say? I certainly saw one or two twists coming, but the final one is a doozy and completely caught me by surprise. In an era when every twist seems to have been done a million times before, this one definitely surprised me. Many thanks for the recommendation, theravenking . Glad you liked it!  |
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