Top Ten Mysteries

In continuing my movie lists, I have decided to do a list for my favorite mysteries. This is only my opinion.

#10 Donnie Darko (2001) - The sleeper hit/cult classic was a wonderful surprise to me. I've mentioned this at least twice before, but I have a thing for movies that deal with time travel (possible future top ten list?). Donnie Darko is no exception. The style, tone, and story all make for a great film. It's a shame that Richard Kelly let all his talent go to his head and make a the piece of crap that was Southland Tales. I'm not going to get my hopes up on his next movie, The Box. And I'm extremely disappointed with 20th Century Fox and Newmarket Films for making a sequel our of Donnie Darko called S. Darko, of which Kelly will not be involved. They're turning the series into what The Butterfly Effect is today.

#9 Vertigo (1958) - Many would consider Vertigo to be the best mystery film of all-time. In fact, the American Film Institute recently did their 10 Top 10 and named Vertigo as their favorite mystery. The film is widely considered a work of art by Alfred Hitchcock. What I love about this film is all the cool camera techniques that were used for the sense of falling or being high up.

#8 The Prestige (2006) - The Prestige made #2 on my Top Ten Movies of 2006 and was barely beat out by another movie that you will see later on in this list. It's funny how much I favor mysteries over other films, but I think the reasoning lies within the endings. Pretty much all of these films have surprise endings or little twists. The Prestige is no exception.

#7 Se7en (1995) - I'm not trying to be cute with making Se7en my seventh favorite mystery film. It's just coincidence, I swear. What makes Se7en unique for me is how it builds up so much to the fantastic ending. Each killing is increased a degree up until the very end. There are some brilliant performances by all of the actors and great directing by David Fincher.

#6 Rear Window (1954) - Rear Window made it to #6 on my Top Ten Movies That Are Older Than I Am list, and it remains at #6 on this list. Once again, Hitchcock makes a piece of art rather than your typical movie. The tenseness felt throughout most of the film has never been generated any greater than it is in this film.

#5 North By Northwest (1959) - Another movie you've seen me talk about before. North by Northwest is my absolute favorite Hitchcock film. My grandpa W. was the one who first introduced me to Hitchcock and this was the first film that I saw by him. I adore the style and suspense of this movie. Alfred Hitchcock truly is the master of suspense.

#4 Brick (2005) - I don't know why I like Brick more than most people. Maybe it's because I feel really smart that I understand everything that they are saying. Maybe it's the neo-noir feel to the film. Maybe it's the brilliant writing and directing by Rian Johnson. It was my #1 film of 2006. I just hope that Johnson continues his good work in The Brothers Bloom.

#3 The Usual Suspects (1995) - I was a little surprised to see the AFI actually put this on their top mysteries list. Even though it's at #10 on their list, I think it goes to show how great of a mystery/thriller this film really is. The surprise ending is one of the biggest of all-time and was pulled off perfectly.

#2 Memento (2000) - Is Christopher Nolan the new Alfred Hitchcock? No, but I still think he's really good and has the potential to be just as great. Memento ended up being a sleeper hit and spread across the world like wildfire. The uniqueness of the backwards story-telling and the neo-noir style of hearing Leonard's thoughts leads to an amazing experience.

Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for...





#1 - Dude, Where's My Car? - Sike!


#1 Oldboy (2003) - You should have seen this coming a mile away. To be honest though, I did not have this movie in mind from the beginning of this list. Oldboy just seems to fall into so many categories. It's definitely a mystery. The main character needs to find out who kidnapped him and held him in an empty room for 15 years. Then, he needs to find out why the person did it. It leads to the biggest surprise ending I have ever seen. Go see this movie now! I promise not to do a list that will contain Oldboy next month.