I tried to write one when it came out and I don't even know where to start. It's just so broken and confused. Definitely will need to do a commentary.

It's sad because clearly Edgar Wright and I love the same movies and genres, so I think we'd be buds. But I haven't cared for anything he's made since SHAUN, nor understood why others are so up on them.

Shaun is still my fave Wright film too, by a country mile.    And Boogie Nights is my favorite PT Anderson, and Raising Arizona my fave Coen movie...    All of which - hmm, this might be important - were their early breakout hey-who-is-THIS-guy(s)? movies.

In all cases, for me their movies since then have been more "I see what you did there" than "I am entertained by what you did there".    Sometimes there's just something special about the energy when the new guy (or gal) gets their first shot at making the movie they really want to make.

Often they go on to make lots of money and even win Oscars, but still there's some spark that's not quiiiite there anymore.

*See also Spielberg, Lucas, Scorcese, Spike Lee, Shyamalan...

To be honest, I like Edgar Wright's movies less and less the more time goes by. I love Attack the Block more than all of Wright's films combined. I think the whole self-referential  thing has reached critical levels culturally and I kind of hate that stuff at this point. I wish he would just make a movie and tell a good story, instead of feeling the need to show me how much he loves X/Y/Z. This is why Tarantino is successful, he homages things, but still plays the stories he's making straight, tells good stories, and when he does rip things off, he tends to re-contextualize them in interesting ways.

Shaun of the Dead seemed fresh in the sense of "this is neat, I can't wait to see what this guy does when he makes a REAL movie", but he seems to be kinda stuck in that zone. Maybe Antman will be good for him.

Sure it does.  And for the same reasons.

Shaun of the Dead was actually Edgar Wright's second feature length movie. His first, A Fistful Of Fingers is rubbish by most accounts. ( it was released theatrically briefly in the UK and reviewed in magazines and TV shows at the time so it counts).  *runs away*

This is such an interesting convo. I think that the Coens are arguably the best American directors working, or at least Top 3. And I really enjoyed The World's End. I thought it made up for having fewer laughs than it's predecessors by having stronger characters and performances, not to mention a dark story and several interesting themes.

Do the Wachowskis go on the "greatest American directors? list?

Oh god no.

I don't know if I'd say Top Three, but I agree the Coens are among the best we have right now.   Whether I love a particular movie of theirs or not, I always find their stuff to be fascinating and beautifully crafted.

For example, INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS is just great from beginning to end - my only disappointment is that it doesn't have much of an "ending" and I tend to prefer a conventional story with a resolution.   Really, that's about the only thing that separates Coen movies that I love from ones I just admire.

So HUDSUCKER, ARIZONA, LADYKILLERS, yay.  NO COUNTRY, LLEWYN DAVIS... wait, that's it?  You're just stopping there? 

Hahaha, have you seen A Serious Man? It takes that "non-ending" thing to an extreme, and some people think it's basically a rebuke to all the people who complained about the ending of No Country.

If I had to pick my top 3 American directors working today, I'd probably go with the Coens, Paul Thomas Anderson, and...I dunno. Maybe Fincher, maybe Aranofsky, maybe Tarantino. Malick is the obvious choice just in terms of pure artistic ability, but I don't really enjoy any of his films so meh. Scorsese, Soderbergh, and Spielberg are masters, but they've been hit-or-miss in the past decade (and even their misses are still mostly good.)

Anyway, the Coens and PTA are at the top, imo.

Last edited by Doctor Submarine (2013-12-21 20:33:51)

I'd love to join this topic, however I don't think I've seen 5 movies I liked enough to put in a list. It's not that this year had especially terrible films, just that I've not seen many.

However, the list of 2013 films I'd like to see (good and not so good), but haven't yet would include:

12 Years a Slave
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
American Hustle
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Gravity
Her
Any fast and the furious movie after Tokyo Drift
12 years a slave
Kick-ass 2
Elysium
Pacific Rim
Despicable Me 2
Blue is the Warmest Colour
The Great Gatsby
Ender's Game

etc.

SO much better!