1. Adaptation (2002)
I’ll tell you, Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze make a really great team. In Charlie Kaufman’s best film, Nicolas Cage plays Charlie Kaufman and Charlie Kaufman’s fictional brother, Donald. Charlie Kaufman is adapting the real book, The Orchid Thief, but has severe writer’s block, while his brother, Donald, is a budding screenwriter who wants to write banal action fluff that eventually makes its way into the climax of the film. It’s super meta, but in a way where you don’t feel excluded from the actual story, and even feel a little smart for being able to follow it completely. Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper also fill in key roles.
