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Film Fanatics - Chat Thread II

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So I've been keeping a list of all the films I've had conversations about/read something on and was interested in but didn't have the time to check it out at the time. It's only been about 6 weeks and the list is already huge. Has anyone seen any of this to recommend?

Films: Chasing Amy, Man of the year, Kingpin, Sophie's Choice, Sliding Doors, eXistenZ, Ghost in the Shell, WarGames, Office Space, Diner, Sideways, Synecdoche New York, The Right Stuff, Antichrist, A Barefoot dream, The Next Three Days, Lost in Translation, Secretary, Apocalypto, The Passion of the Christ, Total Recall, Blue Blood, The Great Dictator, Big Trouble in Little China, Gattaca, Ed Wood, For Your Consideration, Best in Show, Thank you for Smoking, Ocean's Eleven (Original), Buried

Documentaries: Overnight, Sweetbox, Revolution OS, Rise and Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story, Paradise Lost, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmakers Apocalypse, RKO 281, The Centure of the Self

The Right Stuff - it's quite long and slow
Total Recall - how have you never seen this? lol... see you at da party, Phalange
Ed Wood
Big Trouble in Little China

Reply 5821

Ape Gone Insane

Synecdoche, New York is a strange but good film. It reminded me of David Lynch films in some ways.

Pootie Tang. Ergh.

Original post by Phalanges

Thanks. Ones I'm most interested in are Big Trouble, Synecdoche, Secretary, Diner, Paradise Lost and Thank you for Smoking. I'll be sure to check out Big Trouble then!

I've been depriving my film viewing recently. :sad:

Dissertations do that. Want to get back on it though; fancy a trip to the cinema soon.

Be sure to check out Lost in Translation as well. It's fantastic (imo). :yep:

Films I've watched over the last few weeks:

Raiders of the Lost Ark - First time I've watched an Indiana Jones movie ( :eek:

). I have to say, tbh, I was pretty disappointed. I think I failed to connect with the film at all; I liked the cinematography, but that was it. :dontknow:

Scott Pilgrim vs the World - Really enjoyed this, thought it was a very good adaptation of the comics. The only parts I thought were a bit off were

Spoiler

Shutter Island - I liked this as well. It wasn't perfect, some of the cinematography seemed a bit off (not the art/photographic direction, though), but I thought it was a pretty good story exposed in a pretty good way. A couple of the more far-fetched elements were... well, far-fetched. :redface:

The People vs Larry Flint - Loved it. Woody Harrelson is immense in this.

Reply 5824

Phalanges

Original post by noggins

Total Recall - how have you never seen this? lol... see you at da party, Phalange

It's an area sadly absent in my watching history. There's a couple of Rambos I've not seen as well that need to be corrected...

Too busy watching highbrow nonsense. :p:

Reply 5825

Jace Falco

Original post by Phalanges

I recommend both Thank You For Smoking and Gattaca.

Original post by Abiraleft

Scott Pilgrim vs the World - Really enjoyed this, thought it was a very good adaptation of the comics. The only parts I thought were a bit off were

Spoiler

Reply 5826

Ruin.

Total Recall is definitely worth a watch.

Arnold Schwarzenegger films were my childhood.

Reply 5829

zjs

Original post by Phalanges

Thank you for Smoking - Eckhart is excellent in the role. A genuinely thought-provoking film, for the most part. One of the best films in recent years in terms of its ability to portray someone coming to terms with something and making a change. It's actually done realistically, unlike so many other films.

Apocalypto - Gibson was slated somewhat unduly. Yes, it's essentially just a relatively brainless chase movie, but the special effects and Aztec/Mayan (I forget which the film focuses on) scenery and backdrops are stunning. Like House of Flying Daggers, it's worth it for the visual spectacle alone.

Kingpin - The Woody Harrelson comedy? I remember finding it particularly funny when I first saw it in my early teens. Having watched it recently, it's nothing all that special, but Harrelson's character is something of a grumpy anti-hero, and relatively funny.

Sliding Doors - The concept is interesting. It's one of those sentimental films that's 'quite nice', and somewhat 'heartwarming'. Personally, I think it is a good watch, but you have to like that sort of film. I think it's fair to say that it's very British, but it does what homegrown cinema does well: presents the everyday with an interesting enough twist and allows everything to be acted subtly, with equally subtle humour. It seems very true to life, in many ways.

Office Space - This is definitely a comedy that you need to see. It's one of the comedies that actually manages to avoid the majority of the slapstick and lowest common denominator humour. The opposite of White Chicks, in other words. Stephen Root definitely steels the show, but John M. McGinley (and others) cameo is also excellent.

Lost in Translation - A film that tries to be very 'art house'. A lot of minimalist scenes and moody scores, without all that much happening. The romance does build in a realistic way, but then, that's all there is to the film.

Reply 5830

noggins

That DVD commentary clip is very funny, but I think it spoils the story for those who haven't seen the film before, lol

Reply 5831

Jace Falco

Original post by noggins

That DVD commentary clip is very funny, but I think it spoils the story for those who haven't seen the film before, lol

It's a DVD commentary. A commentary about the film. What did you expect?

Reply 5832

Phalanges

Original post by Jace Falco

It's a DVD commentary. A commentary about the film. What did you expect?

Speaking of commentaries, does anyone know where you can buy (non-Rifftrax) commentaries? I feel like in the age of digital distribution commentaries are very much something that's fallen by the wayside recently.

I've always wanted to listen to the Matrix commentary made by the philosophers taking the piss out of it but I'm damned if I'm going to but the 10-disc special edition of a trilogy I own multiple times over, and that's the only place I've ever seen it available.

Reply 5833

Ape Gone Insane

Man on a Ledge - not sure. It was your average run of the mill 'thriller'. Predictable.

The Grey - Liam Neeson's latest film. This really surprised me. It's similar to Planet of the Apes in that it's not the film it appears to be from the trailer. It looks like Liam going all commando in the snow/wild. It's not that at all. I quite liked it. It had a few 'philosophical' undertones as well regarding death/life.

Looking forward to checking out John Carter now.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 5834

Phalanges

Original post by Ape Gone Insane

The Grey - Liam Neeson's latest film. This really surprised me. It's similar to Planet of the Apes in that it's not the film it appears to be from the trailer.

It really disappoints me when films sell themselves short to inevitably disappoint their targeted audiences. I saw a TV spot yesterday that genuinely pitched Ides of March as some kind of action thriller. Madness.

Reply 5835

Phalanges

Original post by zjs

Office Space - This is definitely a comedy that you need to see. It's one of the comedies that actually manages to avoid the majority of the slapstick and lowest common denominator humour. The opposite of White Chicks, in other words. Stephen Root definitely steels the show, but John M. McGinley (and others) cameo is also excellent.

I just gave it a go and I didn't really find it funny at all. A lot of it seemed to be like the lazy Peter Kay-esque observational comics - it made a lot of observations about things, but it never made any jokes about them. On top of that I didn't find anything about it particularly engaging, and was pretty bored throughout. Definitely the worst movie I've seen this year so far.

Reply 5836

zjs

Original post by Phalanges

How far into it did you actually get? I found the concept itself was the primary source of the comedy, especially the way in which this developed and ridiculousness of some of the scenarios. You're not a big fan of comedy anyway though, are you?

Reply 5837

Phalanges

Original post by zjs

I watched it all. And if that's the case, then it may just be that I can't really relate to that situation, having never worked in an office a day in my life.

I wouldn't say that necessarily. What I often have a problem with is appreciating pure comedies beyond a superficial level. Airplane is hilarious, but beyond telling people whether I laughed or not there's not a whole lot else I can say. I prefer comedies with a bit more bite, something like Four Lions is a perfect example. The ending of that is just brilliant. I also think that comedy is much more suited to half hour TV shows, where they can explore a much wider range of ideas and themes without it seeming like a jerky transition or each one overstaying it's welcome.

Reply 5838

Complex Simplicity

Just saw the film Hanna starring saorise Ronan (from Atonement) and Eric Bana (from Munich and Troy). The film was very good, fast pace, decent story very good acting. Although I do feel a little disappointed because it had the potential to be an outstanding film but a few decisions made in the plot hampered the story. Excellent film though and I would definitely recommend it.

Reply 5839

TheMagicRat

Original post by Phalanges

I agree with zjs. The humour comes from the absurdity of office politics that is portrayed in the film. I also understand your points as well though. It's no surprise, however, that the film has a cult following. A lot of people work in offices and it says what they probably want to say.