The All-Things Cinema thread

[Amentep]

Mad Max Fury Road and Dredd were almost on my list.  I prefer Porco Rosso for Miyazaki films, but Mononoke was the first I saw (and in the theater to boot, but I had to travel to an independent cinema to see it).  

I saw Inception for the first time a few weeks ago and was kind of disappointed.  Maybe I'd like it better if I saw it in 2010...?

[Raithe]

Inception is one of those high brow films that you do kind of expect from Nolan.  It's got some amazing visuals, some great cinematography, good actors doing serious work with oomph. But it can tend to feel a bit more style over substance coated over some artistic philosophy.

Also, not one that you'd go back and re-watch again and again.

[Sarex]

3 minutes ago, Amentep said:

Mad Max Fury Road and Dredd were almost on my list.  I prefer Porco Rosso for Miyazaki films, but Mononoke was the first I saw (and in the theater to boot, but I had to travel to an independent cinema to see it).  

I saw Inception for the first time a few weeks ago and was kind of disappointed.  Maybe I'd like it better if I saw it in 2010...?

Mononoke is what got me in to manga and anime, so it's special for me. Never saw Porco Rosso, will give that a go.

Inception you either like of dislike, or at least that has been my experience with people regarding it.

1 minute ago, Raithe said:

Inception is one of those high brow films that you do kind of expect from Nolan.  It's got some amazing visuals, some great cinematography, good actors doing serious work with oomph. But it can tend to feel a bit more style over substance coated over some artistic philosophy.

Also, not one that you'd go back and re-watch again and again.

I have to be honest it's the only movie on my list that I haven't rewatched that many times. I think I saw it at the movies once and once or twice at home. But it left a very good impression on me. It's my favorite of the Nolan movies.

[Keyrock]

1 hour ago, KP the meanie zucchini said:

Stray Dog

Great movie and it doesn't even make my Kurosawa top 3, but that's no knock against it. That man made a lot of really great movies.

[Amentep]

I'd probably give The Prestige the nod for favorite Nolan. 

Kurosawa is a filmmaker who I really I need to watch more of his work.  I have some of his films I haven't seen in my watch queue I haven't gotten to.

EDIT:  Porco Rosso is more on Miyazaki's whimsical side; Mononoke was more on his serious, if that matters.

[Raithe]

The Prestige gets the nod from me as favourite Nolan.

Combination of multiple factors. The story, the way it's told, the balance of Jackman and Bale. Early Scarlett Johanssen, and above all else...  Bowie as Tesla.

[Amentep]

8 minutes ago, Raithe said:

The Prestige gets the nod from me as favourite Nolan.

Combination of multiple factors. The story, the way it's told, the balance of Jackman and Bale. Early Scarlett Johanssen, and above all else...  Bowie as Tesla.

You also get a great bunch of supporting actors - Rebecca Hall, Piper Perabo, W. Morgan Sheppard, Andy Serkis, Roger Rees and even a bit for the late magician Ricky Jay.

[Achilles]

The Prestige is probably my favorite Nolan, also. Memento is probably close second. Insomnia, while not amazing, is noteworthy for Robin Williams' performance. I don't know that I get terribly excited about anything else he's done.

[Sarex]

The Prestige was my first Nolan movie and my second favorite. Inception just hit me right I guess.

 

edit: I have to say Big trouble in little China held up great for its age.

Edited October 14, 2021 by Sarex

[Achilles]

6 minutes ago, Sarex said:

Inception just hit me right I guess.

Inception was fun, but I don't think the ending is as ambiguous as I've heard some people argue. Which left me with a big, fat "well then what was the ****ing point?" at the end.

Edited October 14, 2021 by Achilles

[ShadySands]

My top ten would probably include

• The Last Dragon
• SW:TESB
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail 

I'm tired and going to go take a nap

[Hurlshort]

Memento seems like his most fun movie. I probably should re-watch The Prestige. 

The 5th Element is a good choice, Sarex. I re-watch that one all the time. I actually tried to rewatch a Chris Tucker movie recently, the buddy cop flick he did with Jackie Chan. It didn't age well.

[Achilles]

3 minutes ago, Hurlsnot said:

The 5th Element is a good choice, Sarex. I re-watch that one all the time.

5th Element is a great movie to watch while you're drinking. As is Boondock Saints.

Neither is very good sober. And I like both.

[Sarex]

8 minutes ago, Achilles said:

Inception was fun, but I don't think the ending is as ambiguous as I've heard some people argue. Which left me with a big, fat "well then what was the ****ing point?" at the end.

As far as I know it's pretty much been figured out that the end is

Spoiler

the friends we made along the way

Spoiler

based in reality and that the spinning top was not his totem but the wedding ring.

 

  

2 minutes ago, Achilles said:

5th Element is a great movie to watch while you're drinking. As is Boondock Saints.

Neither is very good sober. And I like both.

Blasphemy.

Edited October 14, 2021 by Sarex

[Keyrock]

Rich Evans has great taste in movies. 

Edited October 14, 2021 by Keyrock

[Achilles]

26 minutes ago, Sarex said:

As far as I know it's pretty much been figured out that the end is

  Hide contents

he friends we made along the way

  Hide contents

based in reality and that the spinning top was not his totem but the wedding ring.

I think I read that too.

Different conclusion:

Spoiler

Every flashback to his kids, they're in the same place, in the same clothes. He gets to the end and sees his kids...

Same place, same clothes. Haven't aged even though he's been gone for years. We're all busy watching the top.

Not based in reality. He's dreaming.

 

[majestic]

I'm having a hard time coming up with a top 10 list. I've seen a lot of films, and a good deal of them are either of a genre I enjoy or do something well enough to not be considered bad, but as someone once asked me after the umpteenth time we watched something at the theater and my reaction was "It was fine, really": Do you like movies at all? Why yes, I do, why else would I spend money on watching them.

Do I define this based on my greatest appreciation for whatever reason, then that list suddenly includes films that based on any objective criteria shouldn't even have been made. Like the Masters of the Universe live action film. Should I focus on watershed movies in film history that I happened to like? If so, there's a place for For a Fistful of Dollars, even though I very much prefer Once Upon A Time In The West.

Ultimately, throwing out any non-subjective reasons to appreciate something beyond pure enjoyment to make this manageable, but it will also mean that a lot of films that normally are on these lists aren't in it (like Termintor, Alien, Indiana Jones movies that aren't Crystal Skull, etc.). I'm also going to include animation, because I can. It's also something based on my current mood and place in life, sprinkled with a couple of all time classics. Tomorrow it might be different, but here goes nothing:

Indien (1993) or Wanted (1999) - good idea to include year of release, because writing Wanted would otherwise leave people dumbfounded. Wanted - the one with James McAvoy - is terrible. It's so bad it crosses from so bad it's good back to just awful. Wanted on the other hand is a great, both funny and thought provoking film about someone escaping from reality, and Indien is a tragicomedy road movie. Who knows, since I'm not exactly planning this post this might not even be an "or" but a both - depends on how many films I really loved I can come up with.

Masters of the Universe (1987) - the obvious guilty pleasure. This is just bloody fantastic, and I was sort of surprised that nobody else seems to be of my opinion. Has an absolutely great Skeletor philosophizing about the loneliness of heroes and villains, cheesy special effects and soundtrack, totally ridiculous plot elements, an early role by Robert Duncan McNeill. I will never say good bye to this, only good journey.

Once Upon A Time In The West (1968) - not only the best of Sergio Leone, but the best Western. Keep your John Wayne, and yes, it wins out over The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Period. Fantastic soundtrack too (but what else would you expect from Morricone), great use of the actors and even a great performance of Charles Bronson. The only way to make this better would be to have Clint Eastwood play Harmonica (the role, not the instrument).

Violet Evergarden (2020) - so now everyone who is a regular at the obviously best thread on this board will wonder why this is here after I've spent hours writing what amounts to a 25 page essay on how much I hated the ending, but that's five minutes out of it's two hours and twenty minutes runtime. Has the obvious disadvantage of being a film based on a series. It might still work as a standalone film, but won't be as effective. I'm honestly not sure if this should be here, or not, but it sure left a mark that barely any other film can claim to have. Could be substituted for Marriage Story.

Dark Star (1974) - this film does have a cult following that enjoys it in spite of its flaws, while I like it for its flaws. Honestly, the absurdity of it all makes this so much worthwhile - or utterly boring, depending on how much you appreciate when really nothing happens for an hour in the most absurd of ways, followed by the 20 minutes that everyone else likes.

Cardcaptor Sakura - The Sealed Card (2000) - Where Violet Evergarden might work as a standalone film for fans of romantic drama (and B-plots involving terminally ill children) there's no way this works at all without having seen the series, as it is the capstone that ends it. Or should have ended it, because just like so many things these days, it got an unnecessary and terrible sequel series. This film is probably as close to a 10 out of 10 you can get, but it does that simply also because there are 70 episodes establishing these characters. In a way, that's close to cheating. Movies based on a series more often than not end up being an overly long standalone episode never utilizing the strength of the series to create a worthwhile film. Not so this one. Paid with having no appeal for non-fans.

Star Wars, original trilogy (1977 to 1983) - no real need to separate these. I could, but then I would have to say that Empire is the best of the three, but Return is the one I like the most - very much in spite of its many flaws. Also the film I saw the most. Easily. Not just a couple of times, more like hundreds. I killed a bunch of VHS tapes watching and rewatching this, like daily.

Whisper of the Heart (1995) - I'm just going to agree with @Bartimaeus and say that this has become my favorite Studio Ghibli film.

Iron Sky (2012) - if it weren't for Iron Sky, Starship Troopers would be here. Expected nothing going to the theater, found absolutely biting satire that got way too real back in 2016. Charming performance by Udo Kier, as always. Has a really bad sequel. Stay clear of that. Has an extraordinary amount of negative votes in IMDB by people who simply didn't get it. I bet a whole bunch of them would bite their own butts today for saying it's way too unrealistic to have a Sarah Palin stand-in as president. *snort*

The Big Lebowsky (1998) - @Gromnir might say that films should have a plot, and he likes to cite this one as proof, but I'll just disagree even if I in principle agree with the argument. This is the best film about nothing ever made, and it's all down to three perfect performances where you can't quite shake the feeling that everyone is just playing themselves, not roles.

Well, that's ten films (13 if we count Star Wars as three separate films and both Indien and Wanted). I could add more, I guess, but a top ten it was supposed to be. A fair amount of new additions removed some others from what I normally would have. The list also leaves out a few films that I really enjoyed but are all on a similar level with nothing to elevate them in a subjective way. There's the fantastic Terminator, for instance. Alien. Nightmare on Elm Street 3, which is my favorite slasher film (actually, the Nightmare on Elm Street series is the only slasher series I have any sort of appreciation for, and that's 100% down to Robert Englund - the third movie also has the kookiest premise and is just overall good fun to boot). It's leaving out the fantastic works of Luc Besson and Roman Polanski (both of which are very problematic filmmakers for obvious reasons) which probably deserve a mention too.

These are all films I would watch to the end if I happened across them, as would obviously be The Thing, or Escape from New York. There are more local films (Muttertag, an absurd black humor satire with the five actors of the main cast playing well over 20 roles). Many french films starring Jean Reno or Alain Delon. Any of the older Asterix films. Various Disney films, several Pixar ones.

The dour but impressive works of Michael Haneke, like The White Ribbon or Amour. Shortbus, that @KP the meanie zucchini mentioned, certainly was a great little film, although this is so far out of mainstream (and @Bartimaeus in case you don't know what it is about but got curious after us mentioning it, I don't know if there's a censored version, perhaps. An uncut version is, I think, out of the question - it has several scenes of unsimulated intercourse, but even a cut for TV version is not really... compatible, I think).

Bunch of guilty pleasures that are missing too. Like the third Starship Troopers film. Other cult films like Cube, or classics Casablanca. I have probably forgotten to mention a whole bunch of films. I've just seen way too many to count. Most of them were... not good. Still, with the sheer volume, there are too many that I liked for whatever reason to not make an overblown post here, even with being picky. Because for as many films that I seem to have really liked based on this post, the ones I hate are legion. The lot of the American Pie films. @Hurlshot's favorite The Hangover is so offensive based purely on its premise that I don't need to watch it at all to know I'd hate it. Anything that has Adam Sandler in it.

And lastly, because as if this post wasn't offensive enough, there's a huge amount of absolutely overrated films and people. Like virtually everything by Quentin Tarantino. Natural Born Killers. From Dusk 'Til Dawn. What did KP say? Have at me.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

3 minutes ago, majestic said:

From Dusk 'Til Dawn.

@Bartimaeus will have company in the well.

[Sarex]

My guilty pleasure is so guilty I couldn't bring myself to post it. I need to rewatch that movie and see if I will cringe as much as I think I will.

[Keyrock]

4 minutes ago, Sarex said:

My guilty pleasure is so guilty I couldn't bring myself to post it. I need to rewatch that movie and see if I will cringe as much as I think I will.

It can't be THAT bad. I mean, my avatar is Neil Breen. Is it worse than a Neil Breen movie? And by "worse" I mean more awesome.

Edited October 14, 2021 by Keyrock

[majestic]

2 minutes ago, Keyrock said:

It can't be THAT bad. I mean, my avatar is Neil Breen. Is it worse than a Neil Breen movie? And by "worse" I mean more awesome.

Nothing will ever be as awesome as Neil Breen's ballsack.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

12 minutes ago, Sarex said:

My guilty pleasure is so guilty I couldn't bring myself to post it. I need to rewatch that movie and see if I will cringe as much as I think I will.

Is it Naruto or the Overfiend?

4 minutes ago, majestic said:

Nothing will ever be as awesome as Neil Breen's ballsack.

What about two of Neil Breen's ballsacks? Coming soon in Twisteder Pair 2.

[Keyrock]

16 minutes ago, majestic said:

Nothing will ever be as awesome as Neil Breen's ballsack.

[Raithe]

I suppose when you break it down that there's that list of films you consider great cinema and are on your lists of enjoyment that you re-watch, and then there's the list of films that are comfort entertainment that you just sheerly enjoy and re-watch again and again that just satisfy something in your soul.

Case in point, Masters of the Universe is a dire film that's more about the humans from Earth, but Frank Langella's Skeletor was utterly divine and perfect and I want a film that was just him as the lead.

[Bartimaeus]

2 hours ago, Sarex said:

Mononoke is what got me in to manga and anime, so it's special for me. Never saw Porco Rosso, will give that a go.

I have a friend with the a similar reason for why they love Mononoke so much - it was the moment they realized that cartoons didn't have to be just silly kids stuff. Of course, I then replied to them "yeah, that movie was a pile of dogcrap". ...We're no longer friends for some reason I can't discern.

...Okay, only the first sentence was true, but you get the idea, .

45 minutes ago, majestic said:

I'm just going to agree with @Bartimaeus and say that this has become my favorite Studio Ghibli film.

Yeah, I wasn't going to get into animated stuff, since most people in here wouldn't have any idea what most of it was, plus animated stuff is a pretty different medium from live-action. But yes, Whisper of the Heart is the best Ghibli...followed by Only Yesterday, and then Grave of the Fireflies, . But everything else you said that wasn't Sakura were all terrible choices. How embarrassing!

...I'm trying to think of what the movie I've watched the most is, not accounting for stuff I watched a lot as a young kid just because it was on. Most of the movies I listed I've seen between 1 and 2 times...I guess I've seen 12 Monkeys and Heathers around 4-5 times, so probably those. I don't make a habit of re-watching stuff very often - movies are not really my natural outlet for "comfort entertainment", as @Raithe put it. Though I do sometimes watch very specific stretches of a movie or show a number of times, usually parts that make me emotional for when I need an emotional kickstart. I'm not a hundred percent sure why I do that.

Edited October 14, 2021 by Bartimaeus