Ꮛง𝒆ຖ ๓໐ཞɛ ๓໐งiēŞ ค๖໐นt ๓ค∂ຖēŞŞ!

“Apocalypse Now” and “The Silence of the Lambs” have advanced from “The Deranged Lunatic Region” of the Bracket. Thank you to all who voted and commented.

. . . and the MADNESS MARCHES on!

Which Movies best represent the Madness Theme? Let me know in the comment section below.

Our journey continues with the Right-hand side of the Bracket, in “The Bat-Shit Crazy Region” and “The Non Compos Mentis Region”.

First up, we have a couple of my personal favorites: “Psycho” vs. “Jacob’s Ladder”.

“Psycho” (1960), is an Alfred Hitchcock classic. When secretary Marion Crane (played by Janet Leigh) embezzles money and goes on the run, she checks into the wrong Motel, a remote roadside motel run by Norman Bates (played by Anthony Perkins), a quiet young man under his mother’s iron-fisted control. The story is frightening enough, but the score is one of the all-time best.

Have you seen “Psycho”? What are your favorite scenes or quotes from this film?

“I think that we’re all in our private traps, clamped in them, and none of us can ever get out. We scratch and we claw, but only at the air, only at each other, and for all of it, we never budge an inch.” – Norman Bates

In “Jacob’s Ladder” (1990), directed by Adrian Lyne, Vietnam War Veteran Jacob Singer (played by Tim Robbins) is haunted by PTSD and a life of nightmarish pain and dark hallucinations. The story spirals downward with Jacob’s life as he attempts to sort reality from delusions and understand his own life . . . and death! The film’s name is a reference to a passage from Genesis 28:12 in the Bible: “ And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.”

“The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won’t let go of life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they’re not punishing you, he said. They’re freeing your soul.”

Have you seen “Jacob’s Ladder”? What did you think of it?

Next up is “Fatal Attraction” vs. “Fight Club”.

“Fatal Attraction” (1987), is another Adrian Lyne classic starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close. When successful married lawyer and family man Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas) has a business trip fling with the beautiful Alex Forrest (Glenn Close), he never imagines just how far Alex will take this. This story is deeply disturbing and a dire warning to all who endeavor to have an “innocent fling”.

“Well, what am I supposed to do? You won’t answer my calls, you change your number. I mean, I’m not gonna be ignored, Dan!”

“Fight Club” (1999), is a brilliant film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter. It is based on the Chuck Palahniuk novel by the same name. When an insomniac automotive recall specialist who is disenchanted with his life meets free-spirited Tyler Durbin (Brad Pitt), they strike up a friendship and begin an underground fight club. Fight Club grows and eventually morphs into Project Mayhem, a group intent to disrupt social order. The competitive rivalry between the two main characters sets the stage for great unrest.

“This is your life and it’s ending one minute at a time.”

Which of these brilliant films best represents the theme of Madness?

Our next intriguing matchup is “Joker” vs. “In the Mouth of Madness”.

“Joker” (2019), directed by Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix and Robert De Niro, is a psychological thriller based on the DC Comic character. It follows the descent into mental illness of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a failed clown and stand-up comedian who inspires a violent revolution in a decaying Gotham City.

“ I used to think that my life was a tragedy, but now I realize, it’s a fucking comedy.” – Arthur Fleck

“In the Mouth of Madness” (1994), is an underrated Twilight-Zone-esque film directed by John Carpenter. It pays tribute to the dark works of H.P. Lovecraft in its exploration of madness. John Trent, a freelance insurance investigator, is hired to find horror writer Sutter Cane. Trent soon discovers that the author’s books have the power to drive men to madness.

“A reality is just what we tell each other it is.” – Linda Styles

Our final opening-round matchup is “Taxi Driver” vs. “Shutter Island”.

“Taxi Driver” (1976), directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster, is described as a neo-noir psychological thriller film. Travis Bickle (De Niro) is a Vietnam War Veteran and taxi driver, and the film follows his deteriorating mental state as he works nights amidst the moral depravity of New York City. What are your favorite scenes and moments?

“I’m God’s Lonely Man.” – Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)

“Shutter Island” (2010), is also directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo. This story follows a U.S. Marshal and his new partner as they travel to Boston Harbor’s Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island, to investigate the disappearance of a patient who drowned her three children, but things are not what they seem . . .

“Crazy people – they’re the perfect subjects. They talk, nobody listens.”

What are your favorites? What films would you have included that I have left off this Bracket?

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I am going to wrap this up with “The Shining” and “Psycho” as the final pair of movies. Thank you all for participating!