The best films of this kind don't manipulate you. They just point at something true.
Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.
You finish it and look up, and whatever room you're in looks slightly different.
All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.
You finish it and look up, and whatever room you're in looks slightly different.
A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time.
You finish it and look up, and whatever room you're in looks slightly different.
A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.
This film slows everything down in a way that makes ordinary things look extraordinary.
When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.
This film slows everything down in a way that makes ordinary things look extraordinary.
The afterglow of these films is the point. You'll know it when you feel it.
The relief at the end produces its own form of appreciation.
Works particularly well alone, with nowhere else to be.
Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. Somerset researches each sin in an effort to get inside the killer's mind, while his novice partner, Mills, scoffs at his efforts to unravel the case.
This film slows everything down in a way that makes ordinary things look extraordinary.
Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.
This film slows everything down in a way that makes ordinary things look extraordinary.
A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur's son but demand the ransom anyway.
This film slows everything down in a way that makes ordinary things look extraordinary.
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.
You finish it and look up, and whatever room you're in looks slightly different.
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
This film slows everything down in a way that makes ordinary things look extraordinary.
Some films earn their effect. These do.