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ANYONE HAVE ANY FAVORITE FILMS, THEY WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS?
Posts
lonestarluigi
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CloseTitle should be self explanatory. Any films that anyone wants to talk about? And anyone have any favorites? I guess I'll do the same I always do and list some of mine. (No particular order, and these aren't ranked)
1. Scott Pilgrim vs the world
2. Planes Trains and Automobiles
3. Space Balls (Where do you think I got the Lonestar in my user name?)
4. Django Unchained
5. Kill Bill
6. To kill a mockingbird
7. Mad Max series
8. Star Wars episode 5 (yes cliche, but I liked this the most of the original trilogy. 4 and 6 are great too! The prequels are pure freaking garbage though at least in my opinion)
(Also once again if theirs already a topic on this, feel free to lock this one)
1. Scott Pilgrim vs the world
2. Planes Trains and Automobiles
3. Space Balls (Where do you think I got the Lonestar in my user name?)
4. Django Unchained
5. Kill Bill
6. To kill a mockingbird
7. Mad Max series
8. Star Wars episode 5 (yes cliche, but I liked this the most of the original trilogy. 4 and 6 are great too! The prequels are pure freaking garbage though at least in my opinion)
(Also once again if theirs already a topic on this, feel free to lock this one)
Priscella: Queen of the Desert was definitely one of my favourites.
It's about drag queens going out in the Australian desert to perform at Alice Springs and other reasons, it's fuckin' hilarious, but touches on real issues too!
Lego Movie gets a gold star just because they managed to seamlessly tackle at least five political standpoints in one 2 and a half hour movie and it didn't feel off or congested.
There was Totalitarianism, Anarchy, Democracy twisted into the Totalitarianism and Socialism.
And the Meta shit in that, my mind was blown!
Yet all these existed outside of the films dialogue, it was done subtly enough to not be in your face, but clearly enough to make you ask questions.
It's Toy story on fucking steroids.
It's about drag queens going out in the Australian desert to perform at Alice Springs and other reasons, it's fuckin' hilarious, but touches on real issues too!
Lego Movie gets a gold star just because they managed to seamlessly tackle at least five political standpoints in one 2 and a half hour movie and it didn't feel off or congested.
There was Totalitarianism, Anarchy, Democracy twisted into the Totalitarianism and Socialism.
And the Meta shit in that, my mind was blown!
Yet all these existed outside of the films dialogue, it was done subtly enough to not be in your face, but clearly enough to make you ask questions.
It's Toy story on fucking steroids.
I was wondering when you would make this thread (your "favourite" threads have been quite enjoyable thus far).
As a guy who owns a shitload of movies (270+ on VHS, 60+ on DVD, some on Blu-Ray) I'm gonna try my best to do a legit top 10 here:
1. Castle in the Sky: Perhaps not the Miyazaki movie anyone would expect someone to pick as their favourite, but I can't help but love this movie. It feels like the stories I would write when I was a kid- always filled with war machines, ancient treasures, magical secrets, and a fun adventure. I really can't completely describe why I love this movie so much, I guess it just gels really well with me. It's one of those movies that I could watch anytime and still enjoy it just as much.
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey: I don't think I really need to explain this one, honestly. It's the mother of all sci-fi movies. The atmosphere in the movie is brilliant, and super inspirational to me. The kind of movie you can't leave your seat during. The visual effect in the beginning of "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite" is probably my favourite visual effect of all time, which, I know, is a weird thing to have a favourite for:
I still get chills every time I watch it. It's fucking incredible.
3. Goodfellas: Even though it's only third on my list, crime is probably my favourite movie genre, and IMO there's no better crime film than Goodfellas (not even The Godfather). I don't have a lot to say about it though- it's not a movie I can watch anytime, I really need to be in the mood for it, because of it's length and the depth of its story. I probably enjoy it so much because I love stories that take place over the course of years upon years and show the characters growing and changing.
4. The Land Before Time: My personal favourite of the Bluth movies (The Secret of NIMH is a close second), lots of nostalgia at work here. I still think it's a really damn good movie though- I love the painted backgrounds, I love all the animation, and James Horner's score is just excellent. It's still one of the only movies that I tear up a bit at, during the ending narration usually.
5. The Shawshank Redemption: Again, I probably like this a lot because of the story being set over the course of a long period of time. Offers a really, truly terrifying portrayal of prison life near the beginning, and a really engaging character arc for Andy Dufrane. Probably has my overall favourite cast of characters in a movie, generally speaking. I can't help but love Red, the Warden, Clancy Brown, The Librarian, like Tunnel Snake-esque kid who Andy tutors through high school education. I can't think of any other movie where I find so many characters enjoyable. Also, the score is fucking excellent.
6. The Shining: Really, just the same reasons as Space Odyssey, but for a horror movie. It's just a really incredible movie to watch, and the only horror movie I've seen that actually manages to be pretty terrifying and haunting at times.
7. The Fox and the Hound: My favourite Disney movie. Huge tearjerker for me (I've never actually cried watching it, but I basically spend the entire runtime on the verge of tears). Don't have much to say besides that- it's just a really touching, well animated, well drawn movie.
8. Interstellar: My second favourite sci-fi film. I wish more people made sci-fi movies that weren't about shooting (or being shot by) evil aliens or whatever. I like Interstellar so much because it seems almost believable in its depiction of the future and space exploration. Hans Zimmer's score is of course, great, and the main cast of characters is extremely likeable. The robot designs are super interesting, and the different types of planets they go to are again, presented very believably. The "water planet" scene is one of the most truly thrilling moments I've ever seen in a movie, and the aftermath? One of the most terrifying.
9. Disney's Robin Hood: Second favourite Disney movie, my favourite "furry movie" (of which there pretty much are none, so whatever). Probably the only Disney movie, and really, one of the only movies in general where I still legitimately laugh at the comedy every time I see it. I love the characters, love the score, just love everything about it.
10. Planet of the Dinosaurs: Alright, this movie isn't actually "good". I watched it a lot as a kid, and because of that I have an extreme amount of nostalgia for it. It's basically just a shitty 70s B-Movie about astronauts fighting dinosaurs, but it has killer stop motion effects and a pretty baller score. This is another one of those "watch it anytime" kind of movies.
Alright. That took about a fucking hour.
Some other stuff I like (quickly):
The RoboCop series. It's pretty incredible when a series is made of mostly excellent movies- that's something even Star Wars can't claim. The only bad Robocop movie is RoboCop 3, but 1 & 2 are intensely good action/sci-fi flicks, and the remake is a pretty interesting action/drama, and all around a cool take on the concept.
The Terminator is fucking awesome. Just the first one though- 2 & 3 are okay, but they're more big budget summer blockbusters. I enjoy the horror/thriller/dark mood the first one has more. Plus, the stop motion Terminator is incredible.
My other favourite Miyazaki Movies, which are more expected: My Neighbour Totoro, Princess Mononoke and Nausciaa of the Valley of the Wind. I personally think Spirited Away is hideously over-rated. It's great but... Not as great as everyone says, IMO.
In terms of non-Miyazaki animated stuff, I really enjoyed Redline, Summer Wars, Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis, The Last Unicorn, and the two Spongebob Movies.
I also really like sword and sorcery type movies like Excalibur, Krull (yes, I like Krull), and, uh... The names of the other ones escape me at the moment.
I'm gonna cut it off there. I have a lot more stuff I could talk about, but it's long enough for one post.
As a guy who owns a shitload of movies (270+ on VHS, 60+ on DVD, some on Blu-Ray) I'm gonna try my best to do a legit top 10 here:
1. Castle in the Sky: Perhaps not the Miyazaki movie anyone would expect someone to pick as their favourite, but I can't help but love this movie. It feels like the stories I would write when I was a kid- always filled with war machines, ancient treasures, magical secrets, and a fun adventure. I really can't completely describe why I love this movie so much, I guess it just gels really well with me. It's one of those movies that I could watch anytime and still enjoy it just as much.
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey: I don't think I really need to explain this one, honestly. It's the mother of all sci-fi movies. The atmosphere in the movie is brilliant, and super inspirational to me. The kind of movie you can't leave your seat during. The visual effect in the beginning of "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite" is probably my favourite visual effect of all time, which, I know, is a weird thing to have a favourite for:
I still get chills every time I watch it. It's fucking incredible.
3. Goodfellas: Even though it's only third on my list, crime is probably my favourite movie genre, and IMO there's no better crime film than Goodfellas (not even The Godfather). I don't have a lot to say about it though- it's not a movie I can watch anytime, I really need to be in the mood for it, because of it's length and the depth of its story. I probably enjoy it so much because I love stories that take place over the course of years upon years and show the characters growing and changing.
4. The Land Before Time: My personal favourite of the Bluth movies (The Secret of NIMH is a close second), lots of nostalgia at work here. I still think it's a really damn good movie though- I love the painted backgrounds, I love all the animation, and James Horner's score is just excellent. It's still one of the only movies that I tear up a bit at, during the ending narration usually.
5. The Shawshank Redemption: Again, I probably like this a lot because of the story being set over the course of a long period of time. Offers a really, truly terrifying portrayal of prison life near the beginning, and a really engaging character arc for Andy Dufrane. Probably has my overall favourite cast of characters in a movie, generally speaking. I can't help but love Red, the Warden, Clancy Brown, The Librarian, like Tunnel Snake-esque kid who Andy tutors through high school education. I can't think of any other movie where I find so many characters enjoyable. Also, the score is fucking excellent.
6. The Shining: Really, just the same reasons as Space Odyssey, but for a horror movie. It's just a really incredible movie to watch, and the only horror movie I've seen that actually manages to be pretty terrifying and haunting at times.
7. The Fox and the Hound: My favourite Disney movie. Huge tearjerker for me (I've never actually cried watching it, but I basically spend the entire runtime on the verge of tears). Don't have much to say besides that- it's just a really touching, well animated, well drawn movie.
8. Interstellar: My second favourite sci-fi film. I wish more people made sci-fi movies that weren't about shooting (or being shot by) evil aliens or whatever. I like Interstellar so much because it seems almost believable in its depiction of the future and space exploration. Hans Zimmer's score is of course, great, and the main cast of characters is extremely likeable. The robot designs are super interesting, and the different types of planets they go to are again, presented very believably. The "water planet" scene is one of the most truly thrilling moments I've ever seen in a movie, and the aftermath? One of the most terrifying.
9. Disney's Robin Hood: Second favourite Disney movie, my favourite "furry movie" (of which there pretty much are none, so whatever). Probably the only Disney movie, and really, one of the only movies in general where I still legitimately laugh at the comedy every time I see it. I love the characters, love the score, just love everything about it.
10. Planet of the Dinosaurs: Alright, this movie isn't actually "good". I watched it a lot as a kid, and because of that I have an extreme amount of nostalgia for it. It's basically just a shitty 70s B-Movie about astronauts fighting dinosaurs, but it has killer stop motion effects and a pretty baller score. This is another one of those "watch it anytime" kind of movies.
Alright. That took about a fucking hour.
Some other stuff I like (quickly):
The RoboCop series. It's pretty incredible when a series is made of mostly excellent movies- that's something even Star Wars can't claim. The only bad Robocop movie is RoboCop 3, but 1 & 2 are intensely good action/sci-fi flicks, and the remake is a pretty interesting action/drama, and all around a cool take on the concept.
The Terminator is fucking awesome. Just the first one though- 2 & 3 are okay, but they're more big budget summer blockbusters. I enjoy the horror/thriller/dark mood the first one has more. Plus, the stop motion Terminator is incredible.
My other favourite Miyazaki Movies, which are more expected: My Neighbour Totoro, Princess Mononoke and Nausciaa of the Valley of the Wind. I personally think Spirited Away is hideously over-rated. It's great but... Not as great as everyone says, IMO.
In terms of non-Miyazaki animated stuff, I really enjoyed Redline, Summer Wars, Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis, The Last Unicorn, and the two Spongebob Movies.
I also really like sword and sorcery type movies like Excalibur, Krull (yes, I like Krull), and, uh... The names of the other ones escape me at the moment.
I'm gonna cut it off there. I have a lot more stuff I could talk about, but it's long enough for one post.
Darken
3952
Castle in the Sky is also my favorite Miyazaki movie as well (also same with Spirited Away being overrated). It seems way more popular with ghibli fans in japan than overseas. I believe this movie really inspired airships and stuff in JRPGs mainly because it released just before Final Fantasy 1. It just seems so fundamental that a lot of fantasy adventures start in an old town and ends up in an ancient ethereal city and this movie became a monolith for that. Fun trivia:
author=wiki
The most tweeted moment in the history of Twitter was during the airing of Castle in the Sky on August 2, 2013 when fans tweeted the word "balse" at the exact time that it played in the movie. There was a global peak of 143,199 tweets in one second
author=Darken
Castle in the Sky is also my favorite Miyazaki movie as well (also same with Spirited Away being overrated). It seems way more popular with ghibli fans in japan than overseas. I believe this movie really inspired airships and stuff in JRPGs mainly because it released just before Final Fantasy 1. It just seems so fundamental that a lot of fantasy adventures start in an old town and ends up in an ancient ethereal city and this movie became a monolith for that. Fun trivia:
author=wiki
The most tweeted moment in the history of Twitter was during the airing of Castle in the Sky on August 2, 2013 when fans tweeted the word "balse" at the exact time that it played in the movie. There was a global peak of 143,199 tweets in one second
The tweeting thing is definitely cool, but I never realized (or rather, put it together) that the movie could have had such a big effect on JRPGs. I can definitely see that, now that you mention it.
The Dark Knight series is among my favorite film series' of all time. Everything from the acting to the dialogue is near perfect imo.
ubon
66
Castle in the Sky is really nice. Miyazaki is always amazing with cozy, idyllic details, and I think out of most of his films Castle and Porco Rosso show that off the best -- hell, it's because of Castle in the Sky that a fried egg on a slice of toast has come to be widely dubbed 'Laputa bread'. and what a name, yeah?
also Dola is basically my favourite character archetype. grumpy hypercapable pirate grandma with a heart of gold!
I don't know if I even have a favourite, but I could gush about Ghibli films forever, basically.
also Dola is basically my favourite character archetype. grumpy hypercapable pirate grandma with a heart of gold!
I don't know if I even have a favourite, but I could gush about Ghibli films forever, basically.
SnowOwl
5188
One of my favourite movies, that probably not alot of people have as a favourite, is Gattaca. One the few science fiction movies that does not rely on special effects to make a great movie (not that I don't like special effects). I recommend anyone that hasn't seen it to do so asap, because it's a really thought-provoking movie.
Another great movie is Sphere. Probably my favourite action movie ever, partly due to nostalgia, I admit. Probably helps that it also has Sci-Fi in the mix. It also has a great plot, and believable characters. I also love underwater enviroments. Basically it has alot of stuff that I love. The ending is so-so though, but I'll forgive it for that.
Another great movie is Sphere. Probably my favourite action movie ever, partly due to nostalgia, I admit. Probably helps that it also has Sci-Fi in the mix. It also has a great plot, and believable characters. I also love underwater enviroments. Basically it has alot of stuff that I love. The ending is so-so though, but I'll forgive it for that.
Pirates of the Caribbean 1 & 2 are the most fun I've ever had at the movie theater. Ever.
If I ever get around to seeing Fury Road that might be able to topple them.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame has one of the best scores in the Disney lineup and everything from the characters to the background art is so well done and amazing and wonderful except for those three gargoyles. But hey, Disney has to have comic relief, its in the contract. And they could have been worse, for sure.
But my favorite movie as of right this moment, huh?
I love love LOVE A Knight's Tale. I have a soft spot for buddy-buddy roadtrip movies. But put it in an anachronistic medieval era and I'm like a teenage girl at a boy band concert. The reason I didn't like The Hangover is because this movie exists and it is ten thousand times better. Its not stupid comedy, its fun comedy. One might even say, family friendly comedy. Also knights! Jousting! Rivalries! Tearful reunions! Naked men trudging the desolate wilderness! Gambling! Toggles! Patents of Nobility!
I've seen so many good movies they all kind of run together, if I'm to be honest. Hard to pick one out. I was gonna mention Braveheart and Saving Private Ryan and The Truman Show and No Country For Old Men and Toy Story and....you get the idea. But DOY everyone knows those are good.
I will say I liked There Will Be Blood head and shoulders more than No Country. The desolation and character study of Plainview resonated with me in a way the latter film did not.
If I ever get around to seeing Fury Road that might be able to topple them.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame has one of the best scores in the Disney lineup and everything from the characters to the background art is so well done and amazing and wonderful except for those three gargoyles. But hey, Disney has to have comic relief, its in the contract. And they could have been worse, for sure.
But my favorite movie as of right this moment, huh?
I love love LOVE A Knight's Tale. I have a soft spot for buddy-buddy roadtrip movies. But put it in an anachronistic medieval era and I'm like a teenage girl at a boy band concert. The reason I didn't like The Hangover is because this movie exists and it is ten thousand times better. Its not stupid comedy, its fun comedy. One might even say, family friendly comedy. Also knights! Jousting! Rivalries! Tearful reunions! Naked men trudging the desolate wilderness! Gambling! Toggles! Patents of Nobility!
I've seen so many good movies they all kind of run together, if I'm to be honest. Hard to pick one out. I was gonna mention Braveheart and Saving Private Ryan and The Truman Show and No Country For Old Men and Toy Story and....you get the idea. But DOY everyone knows those are good.
I will say I liked There Will Be Blood head and shoulders more than No Country. The desolation and character study of Plainview resonated with me in a way the latter film did not.
Davenport
5200
My favorites often overlap between horror and sci-fi genres.
I always like a mystery film that is thought-provoking and interesting.
---------------------------------------
1. Ninth gate
2. Sphere
3. Space Odyssey 2001
4. Panic Room
5. Hypercube2
6. Interstellar
7. Mean Creek
8. The Core
9. Pirates 3
10. Tomb Raider
I always like a mystery film that is thought-provoking and interesting.
---------------------------------------
1. Ninth gate
2. Sphere
3. Space Odyssey 2001
4. Panic Room
5. Hypercube2
6. Interstellar
7. Mean Creek
8. The Core
9. Pirates 3
10. Tomb Raider
I liked Howl's Flying Castle. Studio Gibli is pretty darn good.
It was my first real anime movie, but the dub didn't suck because they got british VA's, this worked really well.
Like don't get me wrong, there are some phenomonal American VA's, too. Just they seem to have a much larger wellspring of, well... absolutely intolerable VA's.
Like watch the dub for One Piece or Naruto and you already know what I'm talking about.
It was my first real anime movie, but the dub didn't suck because they got british VA's, this worked really well.
Like don't get me wrong, there are some phenomonal American VA's, too. Just they seem to have a much larger wellspring of, well... absolutely intolerable VA's.
Like watch the dub for One Piece or Naruto and you already know what I'm talking about.
UPRC
5516
Awakenings and Good Will Hunting. Common link, Robin Williams. LOVE those movies so much.
My Dog Skip will always have a special place in my heart because I saw it literally in the same week I put my dog of 17 years down. That movie made me bawl like a baby.
If I just want to laugh and not take a movie seriously? Happy Gilmore, nine times out of ten. My favourite comedy ever even to this day. I smile and chuckle at it even more than the likes of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Also a very deep fan of the Rocky series, though I am adamant that there is no such thing as Rocky V.
Other random movies I'm extremely fond of:
Airplane!
Anchorman (still upset over that lackluster sequel, too)
Dumb and Dumber
Kung Pow
Million Dollar Baby
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Green Mile
The Shawshank Redemption
The Wolf of Wall Street
The Truman Show
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
Hobbit/LotR/Star Wars movies are all good as well (except Phantom Menace).
My Dog Skip will always have a special place in my heart because I saw it literally in the same week I put my dog of 17 years down. That movie made me bawl like a baby.
If I just want to laugh and not take a movie seriously? Happy Gilmore, nine times out of ten. My favourite comedy ever even to this day. I smile and chuckle at it even more than the likes of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Also a very deep fan of the Rocky series, though I am adamant that there is no such thing as Rocky V.
Other random movies I'm extremely fond of:
Airplane!
Anchorman (still upset over that lackluster sequel, too)
Dumb and Dumber
Kung Pow
Million Dollar Baby
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Green Mile
The Shawshank Redemption
The Wolf of Wall Street
The Truman Show
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
Hobbit/LotR/Star Wars movies are all good as well (except Phantom Menace).
No real order for me but -
Kill Bill ( that 88 Yakuza fight... Dayum. And the choreography )
Up ( probably the only movie that made me tear up within the first FIVE minutes ), Toy Story, but 3 especially, Lion King ( because I was like six when I watched it back in 1994 and yeah... )
Lord of the Rings ( but Return of the King gets props for making me cry every single darn time towards the end, from the moment Samwise helps Frodo destroy the One Ring, to Aragorn's coronation. So... much... epic-ness )
Star Wars IV - but Phantom Menace was painful. ><
Bridesmaids: - Just... omg. It's R-rated for a reason but its brilliant. Melissa McCarthy steals the shows as Megan. XD My favourite comedy atm.
And all the Harry Potter films. Well, not 5/6 so much...
I probably have more, like Princess Diaries, Devil wears Prada, Miss Congeniality etc. etc.
Kill Bill ( that 88 Yakuza fight... Dayum. And the choreography )
Up ( probably the only movie that made me tear up within the first FIVE minutes ), Toy Story, but 3 especially, Lion King ( because I was like six when I watched it back in 1994 and yeah... )
Lord of the Rings ( but Return of the King gets props for making me cry every single darn time towards the end, from the moment Samwise helps Frodo destroy the One Ring, to Aragorn's coronation. So... much... epic-ness )
Star Wars IV - but Phantom Menace was painful. ><
Bridesmaids: - Just... omg. It's R-rated for a reason but its brilliant. Melissa McCarthy steals the shows as Megan. XD My favourite comedy atm.
And all the Harry Potter films. Well, not 5/6 so much...
I probably have more, like Princess Diaries, Devil wears Prada, Miss Congeniality etc. etc.
From all movies cited here only one stands as one of my favourites: Interstellar. For all the amount of happy coincidences and plot convenience it sure is an AMAZING movie, with a touching story and a veryyyyyy interestingly realistic depiction of space. (let's see if holds its stand as realistic 30 years from now)
The last third of the movie was particularily mindblowing, and the acting was great too! It's a must watch! And yeah pizza i feel you. All scifi movies are stupid horror cash-ins featuring green (pre 90's) or silvery (post 90's) aliens pointing guns at us. It's kind of better when they're drawn by Giger though.
Hypercube (2?) or cube or whatever, I remember watching some of these movies when I was a 7 yr old kid or something, and I got real scared. My flashbacks of it paint it as really gimmicky and just outright bad, but in a good way. I'd like to give it a rewatch.
And I totes wanna watch Priscilla!
EDIT: also Seven Pounds starring Will Smith. I watched it with mom ~5 yrs ago. By the movie's end I pretended I had diarrhea and locked myself in the bathroom. To cry. A whole fucking lot.
The last third of the movie was particularily mindblowing, and the acting was great too! It's a must watch! And yeah pizza i feel you. All scifi movies are stupid horror cash-ins featuring green (pre 90's) or silvery (post 90's) aliens pointing guns at us. It's kind of better when they're drawn by Giger though.
Hypercube (2?) or cube or whatever, I remember watching some of these movies when I was a 7 yr old kid or something, and I got real scared. My flashbacks of it paint it as really gimmicky and just outright bad, but in a good way. I'd like to give it a rewatch.
And I totes wanna watch Priscilla!
EDIT: also Seven Pounds starring Will Smith. I watched it with mom ~5 yrs ago. By the movie's end I pretended I had diarrhea and locked myself in the bathroom. To cry. A whole fucking lot.
Yeaster
6164
My all time favorite film is the original Nightmare on Elm Street. A) my favorite genre is horror and B) I love the way it blended horror with fantasy. It's a really unique movie, and the first death scene will always be my all time favorite.
Blind
2262
I found descriptions that are probably more interesting than what I'd have to say. XD
"..But for many people, Lost in Translation holds something beyond a love story or an exploration of the short serendipitous moments in life. Some mystery seems to be lurking beneath the glittering city, something enigmatic, like the Japanese people and their culture. The attempt at understanding these seeming subliminal messages (which Sofia Coppola might not really understand herself) has created a type of cottage industry and continuing conversation."
In essence, Lost in Translation might really be a film about the media of life, about all the images and symbols of postmodern life that perpetually attack from all sides like frenzied hornets. In effect, this is a movie about the modern assault of multimedia on the senses and sensibilities."
Loved this movie back in 2003, and even more-so as an adult. xD Incredible, subtle performances, a visual hard-on for Tokyo, and sleepy ambient rock soundtrack.
"I think that no small part, [American Beauty's] cinematic greatness came from a merging of two forces that had been gathering steam for the previous century: 1) the increasing tendency of cinema, as both a medium and as a physical environment, to replace the cathedral in its place, purpose, and meaning in daily life, and 2) the increasing fear, loneliness, and alienation that Americans felt as a result of their increased wealth, technology, and supremacy in the post–Cold War order. I believe these two trends collided to create a cinema of profoundly honest spiritual yearning that was surprising, beautiful, and powerful.
You could almost feel how powerfully embarrassing it was when, not two years later, the teen-angst satire Not Another Teen Movie created a Ricky Fitts (from American Beauty) parody character dubbed “The Beautiful Weirdo.” The parody character was necessary because Ricky Fitts had been a little too beautiful, a little too honest, and in retrospect many felt like it had to be gotten over quickly."
A timeless, if over-lauded, classic. I saw American Beauty when I was only 13, and something powerfully haunting has always stuck with me about it.
"Like Alice in Wonderland who falls through a rabbit hole into a strange realm, or Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz who follows the yellow brick road, Chihiro together with her parents walks through a tunnel-like passage, across a dry river bed, into a realm characterized by disorientation, ambiguity and a sense of otherness. For an engaged audience, the film itself, through its own artistry, can effect a sense of disorientation and liminal space."
(Is there an anime-lover who DOESN'T like this film? xD) Miyizaki weaved so much nuance into this masterpiece, a film that shows both incredible artistry and Japanese cultural values of generations past, that it stands as a true testament to the power of hand-drawn animation.
"What is The Matrix? It’s the Technological Society come to its full fruition. It’s Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis for the 21st Century, in which we don’t simply work for the machine (rather than the machine working for us), but we are created, given life, and used by the machine exclusively for the machine’s purposes.
It’s a modern pastiche of Hollywood’s latest special effects combined with John Woo kung-fu and more bullets, explosions, and gothic horror than Batman meets Bruce Lee under the aural assault of a cranked up electronica. But don’t let the packaging fool you. Because far more than the eye-popping special effects and ear-shredding soundtrack, it is the ideas and the dialogue that dazzle in The Matrix."
There's not much to say about this movie that hasn't been said 1000 times. It's been copied to the point that the original essence has perhaps become stale, but the 1999 original remains a classic.
"Koyaanisqatsi's formula is simple: combine the epic, remarkable cinematography of Ron Fricke with the swelling intensity and repeating motifs of Philip Glass's celebrated original score. There's your mood bomb, right there. But Reggio's directorial vision is key, too. He was the one who drove the project for six years on a small budget as he travelled with Fricke across the US in the mid-to-late 1970s, filming its natural and urban wonders with such originality.
Personally, I view the film as the quintessential environmental movie – a transformative meditation on the current imbalance between humans and the wider world that supports them (in the Hopi language, "Koyanaanis" means turmoil and "qatsi" means life). But Reggio has rightly refused to define the film's specific meaning; he even fought unsuccessfully with the distributor for the film to have no title."
A "documentary" that most people either love or hate. As someone who appreciates and has studied cinematography, I always loved its enormous ambition.
"Terminator 2 is a complex film that explores a number of different themes. The religious allegory is an underlying subtext. The ideas of fate and destiny, determinism and fee will, the empowerment of the individual and the ability of every person to change the course of the future are analysed on the screen. An overt supertext of the film is that every human being has a compassionate and angelic as well as a violent and beastly side: we can construct a hopeful future for ourselves if we allow our positive component to come to the fore."
Another film I saw at a very young age (6 or 7?). As a kid, I understandably loved this movie simply for its break-neck action and FX/CGI breakthroughs; its overall "cool" factor. But even today, it stands as a very human story beneath the gloss of the spectacle. It's a film that defined a genre for many films that followed in its footsteps, even if not in the way they should have. It was also one of the first real mainstream films to explore the ideas of Trans-humanism, A.I., etc in a digestible way.
"It’s become a cliché for Tokyo to get destroyed in various animes, though few have done so as artfully as did Akira. The shadow and influence of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey hangs over the ending sequences, however, and in that film perhaps we can begin to see where some of the appeal of Akira comes from. Both are, for one, partly cautionary tales about the dangers of science run amok: artificial intelligence in one, the irresponsible channeling of psionic powers in the other. Both offer violent catharsis leading to cosmic rebirth, though the bloody messes in Akira are far more graphic than apes beating each other with bones or an astronaut shutting down a computer. And both films express the anxiety in modern society that something great and terrible is going to happen soon, something beautiful, perhaps, but also awful: in short, an apocalypse."
"Boyhood is an experience of the life cycle in under three hours, and its concept is its story: The project is remarkable, but the plot isn’t meant to be. Even when important things happen, time moves on at a steady side scroll, as it does in life. Boyhood is as moving as you’ve heard it is. It’s also horrific, depending on how you look at it, because the life cycle is all there is, as far as we know, and it derives meaning only from itself. Considering this stirs up either a sense of grace or desperation. In one of the film’s most affecting scenes, Arquette breaks down as she watches her son pack for college. “I just thought there would be more,” she says."
"Very often does this happen, but rarely so effectively. American History X is no doubt the most successful attempt in cinema to counter racism, condemn neo-Nazism and bring forward themes of equality and justice. However, while offering this valuable American History lesson on screen, a number of racist crimes are committed, a series of racist remarks are made and plenty of disturbing narrow-mindedness becomes evident. In other words, it takes a highly racist film to make a point against racism."
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"..But for many people, Lost in Translation holds something beyond a love story or an exploration of the short serendipitous moments in life. Some mystery seems to be lurking beneath the glittering city, something enigmatic, like the Japanese people and their culture. The attempt at understanding these seeming subliminal messages (which Sofia Coppola might not really understand herself) has created a type of cottage industry and continuing conversation."
In essence, Lost in Translation might really be a film about the media of life, about all the images and symbols of postmodern life that perpetually attack from all sides like frenzied hornets. In effect, this is a movie about the modern assault of multimedia on the senses and sensibilities."
Loved this movie back in 2003, and even more-so as an adult. xD Incredible, subtle performances, a visual hard-on for Tokyo, and sleepy ambient rock soundtrack.
"I think that no small part, [American Beauty's] cinematic greatness came from a merging of two forces that had been gathering steam for the previous century: 1) the increasing tendency of cinema, as both a medium and as a physical environment, to replace the cathedral in its place, purpose, and meaning in daily life, and 2) the increasing fear, loneliness, and alienation that Americans felt as a result of their increased wealth, technology, and supremacy in the post–Cold War order. I believe these two trends collided to create a cinema of profoundly honest spiritual yearning that was surprising, beautiful, and powerful.
You could almost feel how powerfully embarrassing it was when, not two years later, the teen-angst satire Not Another Teen Movie created a Ricky Fitts (from American Beauty) parody character dubbed “The Beautiful Weirdo.” The parody character was necessary because Ricky Fitts had been a little too beautiful, a little too honest, and in retrospect many felt like it had to be gotten over quickly."
A timeless, if over-lauded, classic. I saw American Beauty when I was only 13, and something powerfully haunting has always stuck with me about it.
"Like Alice in Wonderland who falls through a rabbit hole into a strange realm, or Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz who follows the yellow brick road, Chihiro together with her parents walks through a tunnel-like passage, across a dry river bed, into a realm characterized by disorientation, ambiguity and a sense of otherness. For an engaged audience, the film itself, through its own artistry, can effect a sense of disorientation and liminal space."
(Is there an anime-lover who DOESN'T like this film? xD) Miyizaki weaved so much nuance into this masterpiece, a film that shows both incredible artistry and Japanese cultural values of generations past, that it stands as a true testament to the power of hand-drawn animation.
"What is The Matrix? It’s the Technological Society come to its full fruition. It’s Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis for the 21st Century, in which we don’t simply work for the machine (rather than the machine working for us), but we are created, given life, and used by the machine exclusively for the machine’s purposes.
It’s a modern pastiche of Hollywood’s latest special effects combined with John Woo kung-fu and more bullets, explosions, and gothic horror than Batman meets Bruce Lee under the aural assault of a cranked up electronica. But don’t let the packaging fool you. Because far more than the eye-popping special effects and ear-shredding soundtrack, it is the ideas and the dialogue that dazzle in The Matrix."
There's not much to say about this movie that hasn't been said 1000 times. It's been copied to the point that the original essence has perhaps become stale, but the 1999 original remains a classic.
"Koyaanisqatsi's formula is simple: combine the epic, remarkable cinematography of Ron Fricke with the swelling intensity and repeating motifs of Philip Glass's celebrated original score. There's your mood bomb, right there. But Reggio's directorial vision is key, too. He was the one who drove the project for six years on a small budget as he travelled with Fricke across the US in the mid-to-late 1970s, filming its natural and urban wonders with such originality.
Personally, I view the film as the quintessential environmental movie – a transformative meditation on the current imbalance between humans and the wider world that supports them (in the Hopi language, "Koyanaanis" means turmoil and "qatsi" means life). But Reggio has rightly refused to define the film's specific meaning; he even fought unsuccessfully with the distributor for the film to have no title."
A "documentary" that most people either love or hate. As someone who appreciates and has studied cinematography, I always loved its enormous ambition.
"Terminator 2 is a complex film that explores a number of different themes. The religious allegory is an underlying subtext. The ideas of fate and destiny, determinism and fee will, the empowerment of the individual and the ability of every person to change the course of the future are analysed on the screen. An overt supertext of the film is that every human being has a compassionate and angelic as well as a violent and beastly side: we can construct a hopeful future for ourselves if we allow our positive component to come to the fore."
Another film I saw at a very young age (6 or 7?). As a kid, I understandably loved this movie simply for its break-neck action and FX/CGI breakthroughs; its overall "cool" factor. But even today, it stands as a very human story beneath the gloss of the spectacle. It's a film that defined a genre for many films that followed in its footsteps, even if not in the way they should have. It was also one of the first real mainstream films to explore the ideas of Trans-humanism, A.I., etc in a digestible way.
"It’s become a cliché for Tokyo to get destroyed in various animes, though few have done so as artfully as did Akira. The shadow and influence of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey hangs over the ending sequences, however, and in that film perhaps we can begin to see where some of the appeal of Akira comes from. Both are, for one, partly cautionary tales about the dangers of science run amok: artificial intelligence in one, the irresponsible channeling of psionic powers in the other. Both offer violent catharsis leading to cosmic rebirth, though the bloody messes in Akira are far more graphic than apes beating each other with bones or an astronaut shutting down a computer. And both films express the anxiety in modern society that something great and terrible is going to happen soon, something beautiful, perhaps, but also awful: in short, an apocalypse."
"Boyhood is an experience of the life cycle in under three hours, and its concept is its story: The project is remarkable, but the plot isn’t meant to be. Even when important things happen, time moves on at a steady side scroll, as it does in life. Boyhood is as moving as you’ve heard it is. It’s also horrific, depending on how you look at it, because the life cycle is all there is, as far as we know, and it derives meaning only from itself. Considering this stirs up either a sense of grace or desperation. In one of the film’s most affecting scenes, Arquette breaks down as she watches her son pack for college. “I just thought there would be more,” she says."
"Very often does this happen, but rarely so effectively. American History X is no doubt the most successful attempt in cinema to counter racism, condemn neo-Nazism and bring forward themes of equality and justice. However, while offering this valuable American History lesson on screen, a number of racist crimes are committed, a series of racist remarks are made and plenty of disturbing narrow-mindedness becomes evident. In other words, it takes a highly racist film to make a point against racism."
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