Recommend some movies, please!

If you haven't seen Children of Men, do it. Now. Its basically an art film spliced with action/slight sci-fi that got it right. The main character is an incredible badass who doesn't ever touch a gun.

I must second Lucky Number Slevin and Serenity. Both are top-notch. This may be a bit off topic, but if you haven't seen it yet, buy the season of Firefly. Well worth all ten hours or so. I almost cried afterwards because of the series' cruel fate.

thechosen2nd wrote:

If you haven't seen Children of Men, do it. Now. Its basically an art film spliced with action/slight sci-fi that got it right. The main character is an incredible badass who doesn't ever touch a gun.

And the cinematography is freaking amazing. It is definitely a movie you want to see in high def.

I had to come back just to say that Children of Men and Serenity are two of my favorite movies ever made, and Firefly is so good that I get sad every time I watch it because I know it'll never have a Family Guy-style revival. The world is such a cruel place.

I made my girlfriend watch Children of Men and she got angry at me for making her watch such a depressing movie. She actually wouldn't talk to me for the rest of the day.

MechaSlinky wrote:

I had to come back just to say that Children of Men and Serenity are two of my favorite movies ever made, and Firefly is so good that I get sad every time I watch it because I know it'll never have a Family Guy-style revival. The world is such a cruel place.

I made my girlfriend watch Children of Men and she got angry at me for making her watch such a depressing movie. She actually wouldn't talk to me for the rest of the day.

Don't feel bad about the lack of a Firefly revival. I'm convinced that such a revival would have been disastrous. Like the fifth seasons of Quantum Leap or The A-Team. The seeds seemed to be sown in the final episodes-- I could see network pressure making the show into something other than what Whedon intended (what was with Mal getting all Noble at the end of the bordello episode?)

Better that the show was really good and end well than to have it start well end up twisted into something that some suit thought would be a "crowd pleaser."

But getting back on topic, I'd like to second the recommendation for 300. You might also look at The Three Hundred Spartans, which is a 1962 vintage Richard Egan vehicle that is less stylized and more historically faithful, but still a good movie.

Also, I was remiss in my previous post: Oscar is a fine comedy if you're in the mood for something silly.

MechaSlinky wrote:

The Protector needs to be seen! A little over halfway through the movie, a four and a half minute fight sequence that takes place during one continuous shot, followed by, "WHERE'S MY ELEPHANT!?" The rest of the movie, no more dialogue. Just fighting.

Oh man, I almost forgot about this film! Some truly amazing fight choreography, ridiculous set pieces (burning church, giant elephant skeleton), and the fact that he's going on a killing rampage to rescue a baby elephant makes the movie about a million times more awesome. Besides, any movie in which a speedboat collides with a helicopter in midair simply cannot be missed.

MechaSlinky wrote:

Speaking of good horror movies, I recently watched Pulse 1 and 2. They're not good horror movies, so that was a horrible transition. But, I went into them expecting them to completely suck in every way, much like The Ring, One Missed Call, Shutter, The Grudge and every other movie that is exactly like those movies.

While the Americanized versions of these movies are lacking the orignal Japanese versions are some of the creepiest, get under your skin, freak you out, no happy ending type movies around.

complexmath wrote:

And I'll throw in a few more horror films: Phantasm

Was a grip for a indie film last summer and we had Angus Scrimm in it. He's like 81/82 and a pure delight. He ate a sardine/peanut butter sandwich! Director told him he didn't have to eat it and Angus told him "Nonsense... people would expect me too!"

Since you mentioned action films, The Killer is worth watching. I liked The Professional (Leon) too, though it's a bit less edgy than a lot of other stuff mentioned so far.

ranalin wrote:
MechaSlinky wrote:

Speaking of good horror movies, I recently watched Pulse 1 and 2. They're not good horror movies, so that was a horrible transition. But, I went into them expecting them to completely suck in every way, much like The Ring, One Missed Call, Shutter, The Grudge and every other movie that is exactly like those movies.

While the Americanized versions of these movies are lacking the orignal Japanese versions are some of the creepiest, get under your skin, freak you out, no happy ending type movies around.

Some of these movies also have to be taken in context to be truly appreciated. Take The Grudge, for example. In Japanese culture, about the only power a woman traditionally had was to say she'd curse the house on her death. And this is a threat that was taken very seriously because of its roots in Shinto belief. In the US however, this same idea just doesn't have any of the same cultural roots and as a result I think a lot of the impact of the movie is lost.

And just because we're on the topic of horror films, I've got to say that White Noise is probably the worst horror film I've ever seen. It's not even bad in a good way. But I did like the US version of The Ring. What can I say?

More horror recommendations: The Orphanage. Creepy and atmospheric ghost story, in the vein of Guillermo del Toro. Speaking of which, if you haven't seen The Devil's Backbone, pick it up. It's another ghost story in a Spanish orphanage, set during the Spanish civil war. It's a sibling movie to Pan's Labyrinth's, albeit not *quite* as good.

Also, a classic: Dario Argento's Suspiria. A twisted fairy tale about witches at a ballet school, it's gorgeous to look at when the violence isn't brutal and has a really memorable and disturbing score.

Almost completely off-topic: During the Battlestar Galactica Miniseries (3 hours of pilot), right before they introduce the Secretary of Education, you can see a Firefly-class ship flying along the top of the screen. Star Wars has made me scan shipping lanes for things that aren't where they ought to be...

Layer Cake
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

complexmath wrote:
ranalin wrote:
MechaSlinky wrote:

Speaking of good horror movies, I recently watched Pulse 1 and 2. They're not good horror movies, so that was a horrible transition. But, I went into them expecting them to completely suck in every way, much like The Ring, One Missed Call, Shutter, The Grudge and every other movie that is exactly like those movies.

While the Americanized versions of these movies are lacking the orignal Japanese versions are some of the creepiest, get under your skin, freak you out, no happy ending type movies around.

Some of these movies also have to be taken in context to be truly appreciated. Take The Grudge, for example. In Japanese culture, about the only power a woman traditionally had was to say she'd curse the house on her death. And this is a threat that was taken very seriously because of its roots in Shinto belief. In the US however, this same idea just doesn't have any of the same cultural roots and as a result I think a lot of the impact of the movie is lost.

And just because we're on the topic of horror films, I've got to say that White Noise is probably the worst horror film I've ever seen. It's not even bad in a good way. But I did like the US version of The Ring. What can I say?

I actually don't hate The Grudge. It has some genuinely creepy moments. And I don't think the problem lies in cultural differences. It's a haunted house. I would say The Grudge is actually worth watching at least once. I've seen it twice and it wasn't nearly as creepy the second time, but maybe that's because I didn't let enough time pass between both times. I don't know.

White Noise made me sad, because I love Michael Keaton and I wish his career still existed. I was hoping White Noise would help bring him back, but it's so terrible that there's almost no chance of ever seeing him in anything ever again.

I've watched a handful of the movies suggested so far, and so far I haven't been led astray. Admittedly, I'm pretty easy to please. Stand-out favorites so far have been The Machine Girl (hilarious), Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (I'm too lazy to go look, but whoever suggested that is a genius. Thank you), and Hard Candy (holy crap!).

I have a feeling I'd really like Casshern, but I can't seem to find it in English, either dubbed or subbed.

The Ring was suspenseful, and it had the luxury of being the first real J-horror remake to hit mainstream, and was the first one I saw. It instantly became cool when the little kid sits up with a nosebleed and demands to know why they released her. It's nice to see a movie that doesn't cop out.

The Grudge gets a pass due to the body count. Ghost stories usually don't have too high a body count, but The Grudge seemed hellbent on ruthlessly seeking out every person who happened to even pass by in the street and butcher them. I can respect that in a movie.

And a guy at work says that the book version of The Ring is COMPLETELY different than even the Japanese movie. Different in a better way.

Thin_J wrote:
heavyfeul wrote:

I movie I saw recently and really liked is Black Snake Moan. It is by the same guy who did Hustle and Flow. I didn't expect much from it going in and was pleasantly surprised about how good it was.

complexmath wrote:

Black Snake Moan was excellent.

The first 90% was excellent and then... well there's the ending, which is hollywood style saccharine garbage. It's like the movie up until then hadn't gotten the point across enough for the writer so he decided to drop his point in your face with all the subtlety of a dumptruck.

Agreed. It definitely changes tone/style at the end. It all gets wrapped up a little too sweetly. Although, the very end, when the couple are in the car, helped redeem it for me.

I'm looking forward to finally watching "The Bridge" someday, but I fear it will be one of the more depressing things I'd seen when I finally do.

Also:
- another vote for both Slither & Idiocracy.
- Dark Star - John Carpenter flick, very weird sh*t there.
- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
- Very Bad Things - nothing good about this flick, as in, nobody to pull for
- Night Hawks - Wulfgar?
- Grandma's Boy - vulgar, immature, hilarious

RISE BEAST OF THE DEEP!

I want to do an anti-recommendation.

This is 40.

I liked most of Judd Apatow's movies, so seeing this, I was anticipating some funny wit and enjoyable characters.
I generally like most of the actors in his movies so I was looking forward to it.

Instead I got a drama, and a not-fun one. It was actually pretty depressing and left me feeling kind of ripped off.

I don't recommend it unless you wnat to see the life of a generally screwed up family with bad habits, terrible child-rearing skills and horrible inter-personal communication skills.

If that's what you want out of it, go for it.
It was a big miss from Apatow.

They kind of lost me at the trailer. Can I say that I do not think Leslie Mann is funny at all? And while it is fine if Judd Apatow or Tim Burton want to give their spouses roles in their films, it detracts from my enjoyment if they do not feel right for the role.

KingGorilla wrote:

They kind of lost me at the trailer. Can I say that I do not think Leslie Mann is funny at all? And while it is fine if Judd Apatow or Tim Burton want to give their spouses roles in their films, it detracts from my enjoyment if they do not feel right for the role.

And daughter! Leslie and Maude Apatow was the older daughter. (just realized when I looked up pics.)

Pitch Perfect lives up to its title. It's got so much wit and a couple of really good performances, so it really doesn't matter that that the story is nothing new.

Alien Love Gardener wrote:

Pitch Perfect lives up to its title. It's got so much wit and a couple of really good performances, so it really doesn't matter that that the story is nothing new.

People keep saying this but I can't make myself believe it enough to actually watch it.

Thin_J wrote:
Alien Love Gardener wrote:

Pitch Perfect lives up to its title. It's got so much wit and a couple of really good performances, so it really doesn't matter that that the story is nothing new.

People keep saying this but I can't make myself believe it enough to actually watch it.

if you're in the mood for a light hearted comedy, then 2 thumbs WAAAAY up for Pitch Perfect.
a very solid 8 out of 10.

Fat Amy steals the show.