When Things Aren't What They Seem

Tonight's marathon is to put it bluntly, thrilling. It's greatness stems from it simply not being what it appears to be and a lot of hidden secrets and plot twists lie deep within this one. For the theme of things aren't being what they seem, some of the most iconic psychological and supernatural thrillers of all time are chosen to help carry out the theme of tonight's marathon. What makes this one special and ultimately an unforgettable experience is the great acting that's done by many of the actors in these films along with the great directors helming them. When you think you figured out the twist of the whole story, the rug gets pulled from underneath you and something else presents itself that's far more shocking than what you originally thought. For tonight's wonderful and thrilling marathon, we have on the following menu:

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho 1960, Shutter Island 2010, Unbreakable 2000, Memento 2000, and Fight Club 1999

      This one is incredible, it's epic, it's exciting, and carries with it a very emotional punch at the end. There is no real happy ending to any of these films but there is an underlying connection going on with each of them. Themes such as mental illness, lies, deception, supernatural power, murder, anarchy, and betrayal are present here with the bread crumbs beginning to unfold throughout each films story. The first movie of the night is Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 classic titled Psycho starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh in the title roles. Generally considered one of the greatest horror movies of all time and the finest hour of Alfred Hitchcock's prestigious film career, Psycho centers on a secretary from Pheonix named Marion Crane who ends up stealing $40,000 from her employers client. She goes on the run paranoid that everyone has caught onto her scheme and checks herself into the Bates motel run by a young man named Norman, who takes orders from his mother. When the woman disappears after a night at staying at the Bates motel, her sister and former lover go on the search for her whereabouts after the police notify them of her disappearance. Psycho is essential to the theme of tonight's marathon because it's all about suspense, and making you forget about what you thought you knew and what's actually reality. Hitchcock crafts a masterpiece of a film where a tormented young man is being dominated by his mother...or is he?

      The second film of the evening is Martin Scorsesse's critically acclaimed deep psychological and supernatural thriller titled Shutter Island starring Leonardo Dicaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, and Max Von Sydow. The story centers around a U.S Marshal who investigates the disappearance of a murderess who escaped out of the hospital for the criminally insane on an island. While conducting his investigation, the US Marshal Teddy played by Dicaprio begins to discover that the hospital is conducting experiments that are cruel, unethical, to downright sinister and is convinced he is not being told the truth about what's going on at the hospital. A hurricane emerges leading to the cutoff of communication on the island and the further escape of several other criminals, prompting Teddy to question everything that's happening before his eyes and what he thinks he knows. He questions his leads, his partner, his memory, and ultimately himself in regards to his own sanity. Shutter Island is filmed in Hitchcock style with a similar feel of suspense building like Psycho and convincing performances from the lead actors that sell the idea that there's something seriously sinister going on at Shutter Island...or is it?

      The third movie of the evening is M Night Shaymalan's critically acclaimed Psychological thriller titled Unbreakable starring Bruce Willis and Samuel Jackson. Added with a touch of a supernatural feel to it, Unbreakable centers around a normal everyday joe played by Bruce Willis who mysteriously survives a trainwreck without a scratch. When he comes to, questions began to arise about how he didn't get harmed during the wreck and if he can ever remember a time where he was hurt or sick in his life. The security guard named David who survives the trainwreck is contacted by an obscure comic book store owner named Elijah who presents him with a theory that the reason David survived the trainwreck is because he's a superhero. Unbreakable comes right off the phenomenal and overnight success of M Night Shaymalans career breaking film titled The Sixth Sense. Unbreakable succeeded as a psychological thriller due to strong performances from Samuel Jackson and Bruce Willis along with M Night Shaymalan's touch for creating a dark and mysterious atmosphere. Shaymalan directs in a style very similar to Hitchcock and creates a similar feel to Psycho where you realize there's something looming below the surface of the story that's going to present itself in a big way by the film's end.

      The fourth movie of the marathon is Christopher Nolan's stunning debut film titled Memento starring Guy Pearce, Carrie Anne Moss and Joe Pantoliano. The story centers around a man creating a unique system to help him remember things in order to hunt for the man who killed his wife without his short-term memory loss getting in the way of things. Even though Memento is an independent film, it was an enormous success upon it's release in 2000 generating two Oscar nominations for Best Screenplay for Christopher and Jonathan Nolan as well as Best Film Editing. What makes Memento such a special kind of film is the way the story is told where the film begins at the end of the picture and slowly rewinds back to the beginning. It is the skillful direction of a up and coming masterful filmmaker that guides the audience through the wavy plot as everything unfolds backwards until we get to the beginning of the movie that includes one of film's greatest plot twists. Memento is a powerful intro into the 21st century in regards to being a psychological thriller and essentially being regarded in pop culture as "the birth of Nolan." It is a powerful stamp on filmmaking and halts any kind of doubt that independent films with low budgets can't be great movies. This one says yes they can and it proves you don't need a 100 million budget to conduct great storytelling.
      The fifth and final movie of the marathon is David Fincher's 1999 cult classic and defining movie of his career titled Fight Club starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt. Nominated for Best Sound Effects, the story centers around an insomniac office worker played by Edward Norton who looks for a way to change his life. Upon doing so, he crosses paths with a devil-may-care soap maker and forms an underground fight club that evolves into something much bigger than that by the films end. Fight Club feels like the perfect finale to this marathon because it goes directly back to Psycho in terms of the plot twist between the two films. What the audience is led to believe in Fight Club isn't exactly what things really are like at the end of Psycho. Fight Club is the pop culture phenomenon that it is today because of the strong acting between the two leads, the slick direction by David Fincher, and great production design and cinematography. The end of the film is so large in scope that it feels like the appropriate finish to the marathon as well as a proper sense of closure. Fight Club came at the end of the 20th century, making the theme of anarchy in the film feel a bit revolutionary at the time

      So what is the message behind all of these films when you put them all together as one for an evening? The message is when you think something is what it looks to be, there's a very good chance that the real truth is still out there. Sometimes looking for the truth can be a stressful, intense, and scary revelation but it's also necessary to find out reality for yourself. Sometimes the truth can be so hard to bear that you reject it and intend to look the other way. Sometimes the truth can be a scary thing but also is something that ultimately needs to be heard and seen to believe.

Our characters for this evening: