something new.

[steampunk42]

as a reviewer for a small understaffed independent newspaper I am constantly confronted with books, movies, and video games that after a while feel like repeats with minor character or scenery changes. what I'm currently looking for is an idea or plot that I've never seen before, or at the very least a story that isn't new but is being told in such a new and creative way that it completely refreshes the whole original idea. this was what Avatar so successful, it was a story we have all heard a dozen different times but it was told in such a new way and with very beautiful visuals that we were able to look past the fact that the story was not obvious and just enjoy this retelling of a timeless story. Anyway, here's what I'd like, escapees! Bring me a movie, game, or book that you think is an original story, something the world has never seen before...if you cant find me that then bring me a old story told in a new, fresh, and creative way. Good Luck! (And when i say "bring me" I mean bring this item to my attention, really I'm not sure how many crappy vampire romance novels, outdoor shooters, and stupid comedy romances I can take anymore.)

 

[Bobic]

'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' by the Coen brothers was pretty original and told in a unique sorta way. In fact most of their films could probably be considered quite unique.

 

[steampunk42]

'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' by the Coen brothers was pretty original and told in a unique sorta way. In fact most of their films could probably be considered quite unique.

this is actually one of my favorite movies, here is something you may not know but this is actually a retelling of the Greek epic the Odyssey. it is a good suggestion but i already watch this movie a lot. thanks for trying though

 

[Bobic]

'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' by the Coen brothers was pretty original and told in a unique sorta way. In fact most of their films could probably be considered quite unique.

this is actually one of my favorite movies, here is something you may not know but this is actually a retelling of the Greek epic the Odyssey. it is a good suggestion but i already watch this movie a lot. thanks for trying though

Ok attempt number two.

Bubba Ho-tep - a film where an ageing Elvis Presley teams up with a black wheelchair bound JFK to fight an ancient Egyptian mummy that is harassing their retirement home.

 

[Verlander]

I always reccomend the film Oldboy. I think visually at least, Park Chan Wook is at the top of the game.

 

[Kpt._Rob]

Well, many scholars have argued that there are only 7 types of stories in all of literature, all stories being some permutation or combination of these basic seven. I don't know that I would agree with that entirely, but the truth is that there probably aren't too many stories out there that noone has ever seen before.

Anyways, if you're open to the posibility of watching an anime, I would like to present my personal favorite, Mushishi. All the episodes of Mushishi actually tell stand alone stories. The premise is a little bit hard to explain, because you have to explain the concept of Mushi, but basically they're like distant evolutionary ancestors of all other life forms, so far removed from us that they are like spirits, meaning that many ancient legends were actually derrived from people misunderstanding their relations with these creatures. Ginko, the main character, wanders what looks suspiciously like ancient Japan, from village to village, helping people who have come into contact with Mushi, and as a result developed strange seemingly supernatural diseases. There's really nothing that the show compares to, though thematically I suppose it shares some elements in common with Akira Kurasawa's: Dreams. There's not a lot of action, but the show is quiet and contemplative, the aesthetic elements are spectacular and beautiful, and the plots of each episode are often quite interesting.

 

[similar.squirrel]

There's a film called 'Wristcutters: A Love Story' which you may find interesting. It's about an afterlife populated by suicide victims. Small indie thing, but pretty solid nonetheless. Great soundtrack, too.

 

[steampunk42]

'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' by the Coen brothers was pretty original and told in a unique sorta way. In fact most of their films could probably be considered quite unique.

this is actually one of my favorite movies, here is something you may not know but this is actually a retelling of the Greek epic the Odyssey. it is a good suggestion but i already watch this movie a lot. thanks for trying though

Ok attempt number two.

Bubba Ho-tep - a film where an ageing Elvis Presley teams up with a black wheelchair bound JFK to fight an ancient Egyptian mummy that is harassing their retirement home.

you are very good at naming my favorite movies, an interesting film....i actually like to think that the whole movie is itself merely a crazy dream the two men have even the mummy is in their heads....though i do think that it is elvis

 

[Blue_vision]

Book I'd like to introduce: I'm almost feeling ashamed about bringing this up, but there's a book series that I still love even though I've probably outgrown it by five or six years, solely because of it's completely unrelated plot. In case you haven't read the Keys to the Kingdom series, I'd hazard to recommend it to you if you're looking for an interesting and unique book. While it's written as one of those "young novels" I usually get past that flaw by the fact that the plot works like a steampunk fantasy novel on LSD. But it's interesting, existential, and actually has an intricate but follow-able plot.

Movie: My Name is Khan. If you haven't seen this, I strongly suggest it. A pretty unique movie (eye wateringly unique for a Bollywood film,) that's accompanied by amazing acting and camera work. The plot isn't completely new and unheard of, but it innovates quite a bit and the story's just epic and amazing enough that I don't see how someone could not like it.

Oddly enough, I have no suggestions for video games.

And I know what you mean. I'm really waiting for the massive global conscious shift that means instead of getting the same fucking thing released 10 times in a year, we get pure innovation and brilliance every 10 years. The media's way too saturated with bland and average at best material that's really just a massive time sink. It's important to have the really good ones sticking through.

 

[Spinozaad]

I'd say 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' is a nice inversion of the 'Tarantino/Ritchie Crime Flick'. But I wouldn't be surprised if you've seen this one already.

 

[Verlander]

Are we supposed to give a plot synopsis? Oldboy is about an arsey man who gets kinapped and trapped in a room for 15 years. One day he's randomly released, and is told by the man who had kidnapped him that he has 5 days to work out why.

General oddity commences.

 

[Bobic]

'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' by the Coen brothers was pretty original and told in a unique sorta way. In fact most of their films could probably be considered quite unique.

this is actually one of my favorite movies, here is something you may not know but this is actually a retelling of the Greek epic the Odyssey. it is a good suggestion but i already watch this movie a lot. thanks for trying though

Ok attempt number two.

Bubba Ho-tep - a film where an ageing Elvis Presley teams up with a black wheelchair bound JFK to fight an ancient Egyptian mummy that is harassing their retirement home.

you are very good at naming my favorite movies, an interesting film....i actually like to think that the whole movie is itself merely a crazy dream the two men have even the mummy is in their heads....though i do think that it is elvis

I go for him being elvis too, it's a much better ending for the king of rock n roll than dying on the toilet.

And attempt number 3 - Magicians - Though not a totally original idea (it's sorta like a modern British mitchell and webb comedy version of the prestige) it's told in quite a unique way.

 

[Tallim]

You should read the novels by Jasper Fforde. They are highly original and have the whole thing about similar stories at heart in some of the novels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eyre_Affair

 

[steampunk42]

Are we supposed to give a plot synopsis? Oldboy is about an arsey man who gets kinapped and trapped in a room for 15 years. One day he's randomly released, and is told by the man who had kidnapped him that he has 5 days to work out why.

General oddity commences.

hmm....this one intrigues me...i'll have to look it up...is it good though?

 

[steampunk42]

'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' by the Coen brothers was pretty original and told in a unique sorta way. In fact most of their films could probably be considered quite unique.

this is actually one of my favorite movies, here is something you may not know but this is actually a retelling of the Greek epic the Odyssey. it is a good suggestion but i already watch this movie a lot. thanks for trying though

Ok attempt number two.

Bubba Ho-tep - a film where an ageing Elvis Presley teams up with a black wheelchair bound JFK to fight an ancient Egyptian mummy that is harassing their retirement home.

you are very good at naming my favorite movies, an interesting film....i actually like to think that the whole movie is itself merely a crazy dream the two men have even the mummy is in their heads....though i do think that it is elvis

I go for him being elvis too, it's a much better ending for the king of rock n roll than dying on the toilet.

And attempt number 3 - Magicians - Though not a totally original idea (it's sorta like a modern British mitchell and webb comedy version of the prestige) it's told in quite a unique way.

i have not heard of this one...i'll have to look it up. thank you

 

[Bobic]

'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' by the Coen brothers was pretty original and told in a unique sorta way. In fact most of their films could probably be considered quite unique.

this is actually one of my favorite movies, here is something you may not know but this is actually a retelling of the Greek epic the Odyssey. it is a good suggestion but i already watch this movie a lot. thanks for trying though

Ok attempt number two.

Bubba Ho-tep - a film where an ageing Elvis Presley teams up with a black wheelchair bound JFK to fight an ancient Egyptian mummy that is harassing their retirement home.

you are very good at naming my favorite movies, an interesting film....i actually like to think that the whole movie is itself merely a crazy dream the two men have even the mummy is in their heads....though i do think that it is elvis

I go for him being elvis too, it's a much better ending for the king of rock n roll than dying on the toilet.

And attempt number 3 - Magicians - Though not a totally original idea (it's sorta like a modern British mitchell and webb comedy version of the prestige) it's told in quite a unique way.

i have not heard of this one...i'll have to look it up. thank you

Excellent, I knew I'd get one in the end.

 

[Verlander]

Are we supposed to give a plot synopsis? Oldboy is about an arsey man who gets kinapped and trapped in a room for 15 years. One day he's randomly released, and is told by the man who had kidnapped him that he has 5 days to work out why.

General oddity commences.

hmm....this one intrigues me...i'll have to look it up...is it good though?

It's excellent. There is quite a lot of conficted opinion on places like IMDB about it, but I would say it's one of the best films I've ever seen. You have to be able to watch subtitles though. Be warned- it's violent (some people say ultra violent, but I'm not sure) and has some shocking themes in it, but basically it's a trip into the human psyche, wrapped up in a mystery/thriller plot. EDIT: Film is Korean, so if you are living in America, you may have trouble finding it. Download it if you can't find it. Interesting fact, the (incredible) soundtrack was co created by the director in his search for perfection

Another film you might like is "A Cock and Bull Story". It's an attempt by British comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon to film the 'unfilmable' book "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman."

The film itself isn't amazing, but you will not have seen one like it. It's actually a film about them trying to film the film, which at some points actually is a film on the book. Make sense? Like I said, it's not the best film ever, but if you want unique, you've got it there

 

[Verlander]

Are we supposed to give a plot synopsis? Oldboy is about an arsey man who gets kinapped and trapped in a room for 15 years. One day he's randomly released, and is told by the man who had kidnapped him that he has 5 days to work out why.

General oddity commences.

hmm....this one intrigues me...i'll have to look it up...is it good though?

It's excellent. There is quite a lot of conficted opinion on places like IMDB about it, but I would say it's one of the best films I've ever seen. You have to be able to watch subtitles though. Be warned- it's violent (some people say ultra violent, but I'm not sure) and has some shocking themes in it, but basically it's a trip into the human psyche, wrapped up in a mystery/thriller plot.

In terms of cinematography, I loved Oldboy. In terms of themes, I thought it was pretty tame. Nothing new in that for me to go on. For me it was interesting but it certainly didn't explore anything new.

I personally disagree. I think it was an exploration of "what would you do?" in particularly messed up circumstances. Such as the ending. What would you do? Many people would disagree with a lot of the decisions made in the film. The reason the obvious plot (the mystery bit) wasn't very developed was because it was only used as a way to carry the characters through to the next conflict. It's the very opposite of a Hollywood film, where stars or in your face storyline are the main event, but then Hollywood keeps repeating the same storylines, and fail to make any sort of major breakthroughs (especially when you consider the quantity of films it produces, in comparison to a country like Korea). Oldboy may be a variation on theme, but it is knowingly so. As the films main message is imposing your will on others (or not doing so), it's justified in imposing it's own film on a used storytelling structure.

In my opinion.

 

[Confidingtripod]

"Origin" Its an odd book where it refutes and conferms evolution and creationism at the same time... I cant tell you more as the reader must try to figure out whats going on by themselves a pretty unique book.

EDIT:the author's name escapes me at the moment as when I search for it I only get the origin of species and so on when it is a semi sci fi

 

[steampunk42]

Are we supposed to give a plot synopsis? Oldboy is about an arsey man who gets kinapped and trapped in a room for 15 years. One day he's randomly released, and is told by the man who had kidnapped him that he has 5 days to work out why.

General oddity commences.

hmm....this one intrigues me...i'll have to look it up...is it good though?

It's excellent. There is quite a lot of conficted opinion on places like IMDB about it, but I would say it's one of the best films I've ever seen. You have to be able to watch subtitles though. Be warned- it's violent (some people say ultra violent, but I'm not sure) and has some shocking themes in it, but basically it's a trip into the human psyche, wrapped up in a mystery/thriller plot.

In terms of cinematography, I loved Oldboy. In terms of themes, I thought it was pretty tame. Nothing new in that for me to go on. For me it was interesting but it certainly didn't explore anything new.

OT: In terms of videogames, I felt American McGee's Alice was very different and new.

ok you my friend just named possibly my most favorite game of all time, when i first picked it up it literally blew my mind.