It’s easy to lose track of how many vampire movies there have been in theaters these past few years. Yet if there is one recent movie trend that is worthy of being replicated, it is the concept of time manipulation. Besides being thought provoking, time-twisting movies also make for particularly good entertainment; from lucid dreams to fighting alien invasions, the plot possibilities are as endless as the time loops in which time-traveling protagonists often find themselves.   

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As 2014 winds to a close, here is an overview of the top three time-twisting movies released in the past year:   

1. Interstellar

From Memento (2000) to Inception (2012) and now Interstellar, Director Christopher Nolan is no stranger to time manipulation. Rather than dealing with memories and dreams, however, Interstellar tackles the issue of time head-on in the form of black holes and physics theories. The movie follows the story of Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), an astronaut who is tasked with searching for a habitable planet in order to save humanity. In classic Nolan-esque fashion, the film is comprised of layers and layers of complex plot twists that will keep you thinking for days to come.   

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2. X-Men: Days of Futures Past   

The sequel to X-Men: First Class (2011), Days of Futures Past,  features Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) as his consciousness is sent back in time to the early 1970s to prevent a bleak future overrun by rogue robots known as Sentinels. The film makes clever references to historical events like the Vietnam War and the Nixon presidency and also ties into the events of X-Men: Last Stand (2006).   

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3. Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow   

A Hollywood adaptation of All You Need is Kill, a Japanese novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, the film depicts the invasion of Earth by alien robots known as “mimics.” Thrown into combat, protagonist William Cage (Tom Cruise) finds himself infused with alien blood that allows him to “reset” time, an ability that helps him on his journey to save humanity. The movie also features Emily Blunt, a veteran actress of movies related to time manipulation, as heroic soldier Rita Vrataski. Despite portraying a time loop scenario, Live Die Repeat is able to be fast-paced and minimally repetitive even while showing the same sequences (albeit with slight variations) multiple times.