Deception (2003)

Unrelentingly funny, highly entertaining, and ridiculously absurd, My Movie Starring Paul Dano is, according to its creator, Joe Bartone, a tribute to the willful ignorance of independent filmmaking found in the late '70s in New York City. Developed through open discussions with the cast at the reading table, the mockumentary follows a delusional and fame-starved indie director, Herman Rumowicz, through the process of making his very first feature movie starring Paul Dano.

I suppose you could argue that the story wasn’t what Director James Cameron was aiming for, it was the visuals. The spectacle of it all was the point, and it certainly shows.

This is not a film, it’s a drop tower.  A drop tower that you don’t get off of for the vast majority of its 106-minute runtime. 

Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing is a gritty, darkly funny thrill ride through 1998 New York, with Austin Butler delivering a raw, magnetic turn as Hank Thompson—a washed-up ex-ballplayer turned bartender whose life implodes after cat-sitting for his punk neighbor drags him into a violent underworld of gangsters, crooked cops, and chaos. Brutal yet unexpectedly hilarious, the film blends noir grit with midnight-movie absurdity, proving Aronofsky can reinvent himself while Butler cements his status as a true movie star.

Frozen II is not quite direct to DVD Disney sequel level, but if it wasn’t for the spellbinding animation and budget, it certainly would be.

This is a movie that combines a ghost story, revenge tale, and serial killer obsession into a cinematic experience that uses your fears against you.