Topic: Give me a movie worth watching!

So since DiF started I have gotten introduced to alot of good movies (And more than a few bad ones) as well as being fully awoken to how very little I have seen. So here I am.

Give me some movies I should watch.

EDIT: In a after thought of perhaps this could could use some further clarification.

I want to know about movies like The Prestige. Not so much in content as in "I have never heard of that before, but so cool", (But if you have any more like the Prestige or Illusionist, I'm up for it).

Last edited by BigDamnArtist (2010-05-27 07:04:43)

ZangrethorDigital.ca

Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

"Network." 1976. One of my all-time favorite films, period. In a world where "satire" seems to have lost its meaning entirely, this is one of the few movies that really nails the concept. It's a masterpiece.

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Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

"That Thing You Do!" 1996. Love it like some folks love hamburgers.

Teague Chrystie

I have a tendency to fix your typos.

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Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

"Shadow of a Doubt," 1943.  One of my top 3 favorite Hitchcock films.  It's like a noir in a suburb and its rad.  Joeseph Cotton is at his best here. 

"Empire of the Sun," 1987.  Probably my favorite Spielberg movie after Jaws and Close Encounters.  A teenage Christian Bale in a WWII POW tale. 

"The Ice Storm," 1997.  This was my favorite movie of that year and one of my top 5 of the decade that spawned it.  Amazing performances from just about everyone who is in it (still Katie Holmes best acting role).  I liked Ang Lee before but became a huge nut after seeing this.

Eddie Doty

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Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

Oh, man, yeah. Seconding "The Ice Storm." Astonishing film.

Also, "The Girlfriend Experience," by Soderbergh.

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Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

At the last DIF session I was evangelizing about The Big Picture, Christopher Guest's first feature as director (and his only non-improvised one).  Starring Kevin Bacon, it's as accurate a movie about the ridiculousness of Hollywood as I've ever seen.   

Worth it for the first ten minutes alone, which perfectly skewers the various kinds of awful movies people make in film school.

Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

If you like DIF's choices so far, any of the better-known stuff of the Coen Brothers, Alfred Hitchcock, and Quentin Tarantino will probably interest you, at the very least. They're genre films that reward reflection and multiple viewings.

Also, think of a classic movie star and watch some of that person's stuff from their heyday—not their later, phone-it-in, maybe-I-can-make-a-comeback days. There is a really, really good reason why Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, James Cagney, Brigitte Bardot, and Ingrid Bergman were big stars: they were fucking awesome to watch.

Don't watch movies that are outside the genres you like just because they're considered great movies (unless you're really just trying to broaden your experience). You're not going to enjoy John Wayne's best western if you don't like horse opera or Astaire & Rogers' best musical if you don't like singing and dancing or Bette Davis' best bitch-out if you don't like melodrama.

Warning: I'm probably rewriting this post as you read it.

Zarban's House of Commentaries

Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

To Zarban you listen.   

However, on the topic of John Wayne specifically - while I'm not a fan of Westerns in general, Wayne's last three westerns are all worth watching.   The Cowboys, True Grit and The Shootist were '70's revisionist westerns that broke the established rules of the form.  And in all three Wayne played versions of himself - an old lion well past his prime, but who could still kick your ass if you crossed him.     

Even if those are the only John Wayne movies you ever watch, you can still see why he was the biggest star in Hollywood in his heyday.  The Cowboys might even get a slot on my all-time movie Top Ten List. If not top ten then darn close to it.

For the sticklers, yes, I left out Rooster Cogburn and The Lady, which is a sequel to True Grit and kind of a half-assed remake of the African Queen.    It might be worth a look but I don't think it's as good as the others.    However, it does co-star Katherine Hepburn, and she's another old-Hollywood actress who was truly one of a kind.

And for a glimpse of Wayne in his prime in an old-school Western, I think The Searchers still holds up surprisingly well.

Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

I still think Stagecoach does pretty good as well.  Something about the scene with the doctor trying to sober himself up is pretty awesome.  Plus, Yakima Canutt is possibly the greatest stuntman who ever lived and you can see why in some of these scenes.

Eddie Doty

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Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

Stagecoach is also very high on the list, sure - tho it can't help but be a bit dated now that it's more than 70 years old.    (Yikes, that hardly seems possible, but it's true.)   

But that would make a darn good John Wayne 101 trilogy:  Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Cowboys.     You can see him at the beginning, middle, and end of his career, and in fact he's practically playing the same character in each one, just at different ages.     But with very few exceptions, John Wayne's job as an actor was to show up and be John Wayne, and he was damn good at it.

And since Stagecoach and Searchers were both directed by John Ford - you really can't talk about Wayne without also talking about Ford and vice versa - they're also a good intro to what it means when film historians talk about "a John Ford film".

Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

Wow, thanks guys. keep em coming. In response to your question, it's a combination of wanting some new good stuff to watch that I've never heard of and also trying to broaden my knowledge of the film world.

"which perfectly skewers the various kinds of awful movies people make in film school."

I'm not sure if I should take this personally or not Trey tongue

ZangrethorDigital.ca

Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

Clue. One of the greatest assembled casts come together to create the funniest (and only) film based on a board game. Even better if you like your humor served tongue-in-cheek.

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Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

Hey, I went to film school too - in The Big Picture the movie that Kevin Bacon's character makes is the closest in style to my own awful film school movie. 

This topic is making me want to watch The Cowboys right now, but it's not on Netflix streaming, darn it.  (But The Big Picture is, hint hint.)   Also for those that care, The Cowboys was scored by that talented newcomer John Williams.

Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

Lol, alright, no offense meant.

Oh my, Clue, there was an interesting one. I haven't seen it in a while, but I remember it was sort of cool.

ZangrethorDigital.ca

Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

Fig is the only other person besides my dad to say they love the movie, but Sgt. Bilko is by far Steve Martins best movie IMO. (if anyone can tell I've been obsessed with this the last week)

Also, Heavy Metal.

Last edited by TrowaGP02a (2010-05-28 00:10:50)

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Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

I've loved The Cowboys since I was a kid.

Assuming you want things not already plugged in the request thread, I'm going to suggest the anime Whisper of the Heart. I just realized I can't really describe it, apart from saying it's an incredible small story of a middle schooler starting on the path of becoming a writer. Good animation, and the dub is great although it tweaks the end a bit (they also had to deal with the fact the main character couldn't be translating a song from English into English, so had her creating a new song to that music)

I write stories! With words!
http://www.asstr.org/~Invid_Fan/

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Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

Talking of which, the TV show "Lost in Space" was also scored by a very young Johnny Williams. He wrote the themes (including the absolutely kick-ass third-season theme) and a lot of the incidental music.

If you're in the mood for funny, get "Murder By Death." The cast will blow your mind. David Niven, Peter Falk, Maggie Smith, Peter Sellers, Alec Guinness and Truman fricking Capote. It's awesome.

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Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

Trey wrote:

Even if those are the only John Wayne movies you ever watch, you can still see why he was the biggest star in Hollywood in his heyday.

Brother, you ain't kiddin'. I don't think Wayne ever phoned it in, and he never made a comeback because he never left. Westerns are nearly dead now, but they ruled pop culture for about 70 years. And the Duke was on the top of that heap for about 25.

As long as I'm here, I'll shift gears and recommend '80s adventure DIF hasn't done: Midnight Run, The Rocketeer, and Beverly Hills Cop.

And if you're intrigued by film noir but wary about vintage "gray movies" (as my niece says) with The Big Sleep or Out of the Past, check out Chinatown, a later take and one of the greats.

Warning: I'm probably rewriting this post as you read it.

Zarban's House of Commentaries

Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

For anyone interested, over the last two days I have seen the following for the first time...

1)Girlfriend Experience...interesting movie, still not quite sure what to make of it (but hey you know Sasha Grey so woot! She really needs to do more actor actor type roles, shes really good)

2)Labyrinth...you know my thoughts on that one

3)Inkheart...better than I anticipated and I still heart Brendan Fraser

4)A Knights Tale....fucking amazing...totally not what I expected but fuckin awesome (And I now officially have a seriously major crush on Shannyn Sossamon, if you'll notice shes in 3 of the movies I watched...yah, shes cool)

5)What Dreams May Come- I had no clue what to expect going in and I was utterly blown away, very very good movie

6)Wristcutters: A love Story...Another one I watched only because it caught my eye on Shannyn Sossamon's imdb. But whatya know it's a great little indie flick. really cool concept and really well done, highly recommended.

7)Kiss Kiss bang Bang...oh Robert Downey Jr. how has it taken so long for me to find this?? This movie did nothing if not reaffirm my undying love for RDJ, and you know Michelle Monaghan was pretty good to I guess.

I'm really digging on this whole watching new movies thing, it's kinda fun.

PS. If you couldn't tell from the odd flow of movies. I somehow stumbled into a weird game in all this (namely you can thank Shannyn Sossamon, she started it). Basically you start with a random movie, you watch it, then you go to the Imbd page and find a memorable actor from said film (Not necessarily the main character or even a supporting character, just someone who caught your eye), find that actor, go to thier imdb page, scroll through til you find a movie you think might be good. Watch said movie. Repeat ad nausium.

(If the case arises that your actor does not have any credits you might find interesting, pick one at random. Or if they have no other credits period, you move to your second favorite actor, etc.)

Anyone else ever do this? So far I went from

Knights Tale->Wristcutters->kiss Kiss Bang bang-> It's a tie between Chasing Ghosts (leading from Shannyn again) or Scanner Darkly (Leading from RDJ), so I guess it's both

Last edited by BigDamnArtist (2010-06-02 08:55:54)

ZangrethorDigital.ca

Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

Someone mentioned Super Fly in another topic. A great no-budget movie with great music. The 'coke montage' is awesome. And that car!

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Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

maul2 wrote:

For anyone interested, over the last two days I have seen the following for the first time...

Okay. I see where you're coming from. You're clearly up for a challenge. Let me make these recommendations:

  • Brick

  • Hard Candy (did somebody say this already?)

  • Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

  • Ed Wood (at the least, see Plan 9 From Outer Space first)

  • Citizen X

  • Catch Me If You Can

  • Being John Malkovich

  • The Dreamers

  • The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

This list makes me realize that, apparently, I am a big Charlie Kaufman fan. So I guess I'd better see Synecdoche, New York.

Warning: I'm probably rewriting this post as you read it.

Zarban's House of Commentaries

Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

If we're gonna be like that:

• The Tracey Fragments
• Synecdoche, New York
• Un Chien Andalou
• The Wackness
• Dear Zachary
• American Movie
• Gates of Heaven

(Those last three only if you really love or think you really hate documentaries.)

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Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

Wow, awesome. Thanks guys.

I;ve already seen, Synechdoche, New York and Catch Me if You Can though.

Syn: confused the shit outta me and I have no clue what to think of it

Catch me: loved every minute of it

ZangrethorDigital.ca

Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

Just watched Far From Heaven on Netflix, on a whim, and loved it.

50's era melodrama (made in 2002) about the various social problems folks in white bred Connecticut faced in the 50's. Julienne Moore, the guy from the Allstate commercials, and Dennis Quaid. Lit, shot, performed, and scored for period. It won't surprise you, but it's astonishing to me all the things they got "right." Just a solid piece of work.

Teague Chrystie

I have a tendency to fix your typos.

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Re: Give me a movie worth watching!

If you liked Far From Heaven but want something completely different, check out one of Todd Haynes earlier films called "Velvet Goldmine."  Its like if Citizen Kane was made about David Bowie.  Its got Bale and McGregor along with Toni Collette and Eddie Izzard and its bat shit crazy in all the right ways.  Lot of exposed weiner, but lots of awesome music.   You get to see Placebo covering "20th Century Boy" as well.  Give it a looksy.

Eddie Doty

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