A Mind is a Wonderful Thing to Twist

By Chris Kavan - 02/25/10 at 11:43 AM CT

I'm not ashamed to admit that many of my favorite films involve that completely and utterly baffling me or just cause me to go WTF? at any given time.

Case in point: Memento. The running in reverse, memory loss, shady characters - it all adds up. It's especially fun to watch a second time - with someone else whose never seen it. The reactions are golden.

Another great is Fight Club - the testosterone is great, but the split personality makes it work. So what if the ending is kinda confusing. The actors manage to pull this one off, and it's no wonder so many people like it.

Even Pulp Fiction is kind of twisted. It's out of order - characters from one part show up in another - and Tarantino has fun the whole time. The dialogue is great, the intertwined stories are too.

Then you have the master of twisting - M. Night Shyamalan. Sure, his more recent effort have been pretty disappointing, but Sixth Sense and Unbreakable are too films with an undeniably great ending. They lose points for not standing up as well to repeat viewings, but that first time will knock you out.

Finally, my favorite twist of all: The Usual Suspects. You can to try to copy or spoof it, but you can't match it. That's why I a key quote appears on my profile - because it's that good. Such a finely-tuned story and a kicker that just continues to floor me every time.

It's not as easy as you think to get the twist right. Many have tried, many have failed, but for those few who succeed the price is worth it.

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