A Glean movie guide
Mind-Bending Paradoxes
Don't let the timeline collapse.
Master the logic of causal loops and grandfather paradoxes with these sci-fi essentials.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Predestination
A shocking ontological puzzle where the protagonist’s past and future are inextricably linked.
Predestination chronicles the life of a Temporal Agent sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to prevent future killers from committing their crimes. Now, on his final assignment, the Agent must stop the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time and prevent a devastating attack in which thousands of lives will be lost.
- 02
Primer
The most scientifically rigorous and complex depiction of recursive time loops ever put to film.
A group of fledgling inventors discover a complex method to manipulate reality. At first, they successfully game the stock market with it, but the consequences of the invention start to catch up with them.
- 03
Timecrimes
A tight, suspenseful thriller that demonstrates the terrifying inevitability of a closed causal loop.
A 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.
- 04
12 Monkeys
A haunting exploration of the Cassandra paradox and the futility of trying to change a fixed past.
In the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to discover the origin of a deadly virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population and forced the survivors into underground communities. But when Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990 instead of 1996, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital. There he meets psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly and the son of a famous virus expert who may hold the key to the Army of the 12 Monkeys; thought to be responsible for unleashing the killer disease.
- 05
Looper
A stylish noir that tackles the physical and moral consequences of confronting your future self.
In the year 2044, time travel has not yet been invented but in 30 years it will have been. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target into the past where a looper, a hired gun, like Joe is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good until the day the mob decides to close the loop, sending back Joe's future self for assassination.
- 06
Triangle
A mind-bending psychological horror that traps its characters in a relentless, recursive loop.
When Jess sets sail on a yacht with a group of friends, she cannot shake the feeling that there is something wrong.
- 07
Tenet
A massive spectacle built around the concept of temporal inversion and simultaneous pincer movements.
Armed with only one word - Tenet - and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.
- 08
Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel
A witty meta-comedy that deconstructs the tropes and logic of temporal anomalies.
Follows three social outcasts -- two geeks and a cynic -- as they attempt to navigate a time-travel conundrum in the middle of a British pub.
- 09
The Infinite Man
An inventive and absurdly funny look at the logical frustrations of self-created time loops.
A man's attempts to construct the ultimate romantic weekend backfire when his quest for perfection traps his lover in an infinite loop.
- 10
Donnie Darko
A surreal masterpiece that blends teenage angst with the high-stakes physics of tangent universes.
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.