Reality Is Not What You Think It Is
These movies look like reality for about five minutes. Then they politely remove the floor. Simulation. Identity. “What if everything you know is staged?” It’s the category for people who enjoy that specific kind of existential itch. Also a great way to ruin your ability to trust your own perception. Enjoy.
The Picks
Man discovers his entire life is a TV show. It’s funny until it isn’t, then it’s terrifying, then it’s inspiring. Jim Carrey in serious mode.
Official synopsis
In a picture-perfect seaside town, an insurance salesman begins to realize that his entire existence may be staged and observed by a vast unseen audience as part of a reality TV show.
Neon rain, existential dread, and the question ‘what counts as human?’ If you like vibes, this movie is a full meal.
Official synopsis
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.
A world where your DNA is your resume. One guy fakes his genetics and tries not to get caught by people who can literally test your eyelashes. It's like having sex with your neighbour on live telly and expecting your spouse not to hear about it.
Official synopsis
Vincent is an all-too-human man who dares to defy a system obsessed with genetic perfection. He is an "In-Valid" who assumes the identity of a member of the genetic elite to pursue his goal of traveling into space with the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation.
Honorable Mentions
A slow, hypnotic masterpiece that feels like watching the universe think. Not a plot, an experience. HAL is polite and terrifying.
Official synopsis
Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.