So you liked The Usual Suspects, Inception, Memento, or Edge of Tomorrow...
A couple months ago I got a hankering to watch some Memento type movies. I did a search online watched a lot of movies and tried to distill the good ones here. I broadened it from just Memento to Inception, Edge of Tomorrow and the Usual Suspects as well.
If this list has been helpful to you or you have any thoughts or recommendations for me leave a comment and let me know :)
If this list has been helpful to you or you have any thoughts or recommendations for me leave a comment and let me know :)
List activity
43K views
• 23 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
22 titles
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsChoi Min-sikYoo Ji-taeKang Hye-jeongAfter being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.The back cover description doesn't do this movie justice. I know its a foreign flick and you have to read the subtitles but its amazing. Plenty of dark humor and plot twists.
- DirectorDuncan JonesStarsSam RockwellKevin SpaceyDominique McElligottAstronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet's power problems.Beautiful outer space cinematography and a great performance by Sam Rockwell. This movie is a slow burner. Don't expect a lot of action. Just a smart, nuanced sci-fi mystery that gets better each time you watch it.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsLubna AzabalMélissa Désormeaux-PoulinMaxim GaudetteTwins journey to the Middle East to discover their family history and fulfill their mother's last wishes.Amazing foreign movie with great acting and incredible plot.
- DirectorShane CarruthStarsShane CarruthDavid SullivanCasey GoodenFour friends/fledgling entrepreneurs, knowing that there's something bigger and more innovative than the different error-checking devices they've built, wrestle over their new invention.A cult classic that was made with a $7000 budget. Its a time travel movie that is going to require repeated viewing to completely understand. Worth it though. Especially if you are a fan of intricate and non-linear storytelling like Memento.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleHugh JackmanScarlett JohanssonAfter a tragic accident, two stage magicians in 1890s London engage in a battle to create the ultimate illusion while sacrificing everything they have to outwit each other.Another Christopher Nolan flick. Most likely you know Christopher Nolan directed Inception, and Memento as well as the Batman movies. I've seen all his movies. He is my favorite director. This is one of his best and has some great performances by Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and the rest.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsEmily BluntJosh BrolinBenicio Del ToroAn idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.
- DirectorMorten TyldumStarsAksel HennieSynnøve Macody LundNikolaj Coster-WaldauAn accomplished headhunter risks everything to obtain a valuable painting owned by a former mercenary.Hard to find a good english subtitle version of this movie but its definitely worth the effort. It's a smart crime thriller with more emotional depth than your typical American film. Highly recommend!
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioMatt DamonJack NicholsonAn undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.Another crime/drama with a wicked smart script. It won best picture at the Oscars. Love it.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsBruce WillisMadeleine StoweBrad PittIn a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.For fans of movie endings in the vein of The Usual Suspects. This movie is based on a short movie called La Jetée and I think this is one of the few cases where the new version is better than the original. Brad Pitt gives my favorite performance as a crazy guy.
- DirectorNacho VigalondoStarsKarra ElejaldeCandela FernándezBárbara GoenagaA man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.A quirky but fun foreign time-travel movie. Like Memento you and the protagonist start out trying to figure out whats going on and it gets more clear as well as complicated from there. Huge elements of the plot from this movie were lifted to make the movie Triangle (listed below).
- DirectorChristopher SmithStarsMelissa GeorgeJoshua McIvorJack TaylorFive friends set sail and their yacht is overturned by a strange and sudden storm. A mysterious ship arrives to rescue them, and what happens next cannot be explained.This movie is a bit of a remake of "Timecrimes" (listed above) for American audiences. Timecrimes is a bit more logical/believable while Triangle relies on a sort of magical element. However, both employ the same time travel mechanics. Triangle also blatantly steals one of the key features of Timecrimes so once you watch one movie you're going to recognize what is happening in the other. Even so there are a lot of elements I enjoy in Triangle more than Timecrimes. I recommend watching both and am willing to bet that whichever you see first will color your opinion of the one you see after ;)
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsBrad PittEdward NortonMeat LoafAn insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.A cult masterpiece.
- DirectorSpike JonzeStarsJohn CusackCameron DiazCatherine KeenerA puppeteer discovers a portal that leads literally into the head of movie star John Malkovich."Being John Malkovich" is about a puppeteer who "discovers a portal that leads literally into the head of the movie star, John Malkovich." This movie is a drama not a thriller but its sheer creativity makes it a trip.
- DirectorSpike JonzeStarsNicolas CageMeryl StreepChris CooperA lovelorn screenwriter becomes desperate as he tries and fails to adapt 'The Orchid Thief' by Susan Orlean for the screen.Also, from the writer of 'Being John Malkovich' and more of a drama than a thriller. This movie employs a plot twist halfway through that I don't think you've ever seen in another movie.
- DirectorMichel GondryStarsJim CarreyKate WinsletTom WilkinsonWhen their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories forever.In some ways the opposite premise of Inception. Instead of planting new memories in someone the movie asks "what if you could erase a person from your memory?" A sad drama with great performances.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsKeanu ReevesWinona RyderRobert Downey Jr.An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.Based on a novel by Philip Dick who wrote all sorts of trippy stuff. If you like these kind of movies read some of his books like "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch", " Now Wait till last Year", "Ubik", etc... This movie is also not a thriller but a drama that looks at the lives of a group of parnoid drug addicts.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsHarrison FordRutger HauerSean YoungA blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.A sci-fi classic. If you haven't seen the movie yet its important you watch the "Final Cut" version that came out in 2007. Its the only one Ridley Scott had complete control over. Also, based on a novel by Philip Dick.
- DirectorHarold RamisStarsBill MurrayAndie MacDowellChris ElliottA narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.A romantic comedy from the 90s. It's on here because it employs time travel and its a classic. Funny and sweet. Bill Murray is great.
- DirectorDoug LimanStarsTom CruiseEmily BluntBill PaxtonA soldier fighting aliens gets to relive the same day over and over again, the day restarting every time he dies.Included in the title but worth seeing...even if you're not a Tom Cruise fan :). Its a smart big budget Hollywood production. Basically the Sci-fi version of Groundhog Day.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsGuy PearceCarrie-Anne MossJoe PantolianoA man with short-term memory loss attempts to track down his wife's murderer.Included in the title. This is the movie that got me started down this path originally. A classic and the movie that kicked off Christopher Nolan's career.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsLeonardo DiCaprioJoseph Gordon-LevittElliot PageA thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O., but his tragic past may doom the project and his team to disaster.Included in the title. But for those that haven't seen it its worth repeated viewing. Amazing movie. Reminds me of the book "The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch," by Philip Dick.
- DirectorBryan SingerStarsKevin SpaceyGabriel ByrneChazz PalminteriThe sole survivor of a pier shoot-out tells the story of how a notorious criminal influenced the events that began with five criminals meeting in a seemingly random police lineup.Included in the title. Its a great crime drama with a famous plot twist. If you haven't seen it watch it.