Memento (2000), directed by Christopher Nolan is a very underappreciated film. Nolan is a very decorated and well praised director, having made films that are widely considered masterpieces, such as Inception, Interstellar, and The Dark Knight. Memento is one of his earlier films before he found major success. Operating on a very small budget, this film still manages to be a phenomenal watch. While the story is a little difficult to follow, the acting is great and the story is very interesting. I think the fundamental film making techniques are the standout for this film however. While they are not as refined as Nolan’s later work, they are still very good and deserve recognition. While I would still recommend watching some of Nolan’s other films first, Memento is definitely worth watching. Another one of Nolan’s underrated films that I thoroughly enjoyed was Tenet (2020). This film has another plot that is hard to follow but is worth it. The film breaks a million storytelling rules, like not even giving the protagonist a name, simply calling him ‘The Protagonist’. The film however, is the epitome of showing and not telling. Instead of explaining the rules of time travel in the film, Nolan shows the audience exactly how it works through numerous mind bending scenes. The concept of the film is very interesting and fun to see play out. The main concept is that there are machines that allow people to travel backward through time. The people going backward still experience their lives as if they are going forward, but everything around them moves backward. This makes for some of the most visually interesting and mind boggling scenes. The fundamental film techniques are much more refined in this film and are a great way to see how Nolan has leveled up his film making over two decades. The film also features an amazing cast, while not as star studded with A-Listers like other films he has made, the cast features lesser known actors that are still phenomenal. John David Washington is an actor I think is severely underrated and has had some amazing performances. Including Tenet and BlacKkKlansman, Washington has been in a few major films but has mostly been a sleeper pick. I think Washington’s performance is a standout in this movie. He carries the role and makes the character work. A lot of people were critical of the movie when it came because of how confusing the plot was. But honestly, that’s what you get when you sign up for a Nolan film. Interstellar and Inception have very confusing plots for how acclaimed the movies are. I do like that Nolan has taken a step back from these brain busting plots with his most recent film, Oppenheimer, and I am very excited to see what he comes up with for his upcoming film, The Odyssey.