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It’s a tough one for me, and I haven’t seen it since the night PSH died, but I have to go with Synecdoche, New York. There’s just so much packed into those two hours, it’s ambitious as gently caress and pretty much nails everything, the central concept is a perfect metaphor for how people live our lives, and as many have said before it’s basically a horror movie about life and regrets. Plus it has one of PSH’s best performances, as well as all-timers from many others including Samantha Morton and Tom Noonan, the production design is great, and it’s also funny as hell. I’ve had a poster of it above my bed for 8 years. There were plenty of potential others, though - Fargo, Her, Eraserhead, 2001, and Apocalypse Now for English films, and All About My Mother, Fanny & Alexander, loving Amal/Show Me Love, and Solaris for non-English.
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Jul 23, 2018 20:34
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Escobarbarian posted:It’s a tough one for me, and I haven’t seen it since the night PSH died, but I have to go with Synecdoche, New York. My fuckin dawg. 
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Jul 23, 2018 21:44
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I know it's considered by many to be a flawed film but my favourite is Cloud Atlas. The way it cuts between the different story arcs with increasing speed to bring it to a final crescendo is just breath taking. The different story arcs and their entwined nature also really really helps feed unto a whirlwind of emotions. I don't often cry at films but I found myself crying at the end of Cloud Atlas and I couldn't even say if it was happiness or sadness that I was feeling in that moment. It is by no means the best film ever made in my opinion, but it's ability to pull on so many emotions makes it my favourite.
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Jul 23, 2018 22:02
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Barry Lyndon There is something special about a movie that moves at a glacial pace but captivates me the whole time. It's incredibly funny, and the narration gives you enough distance so that even when it's tragic you're not totally absorbed. I also adore the setting, the lighting, the acting, the absurd baroque quality to it all, and the ending card is perfect.
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Jul 24, 2018 05:01
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mary had a little clam posted:Kinda want to take the afternoon off work and go watch it again to see what it has to say to 35 year old me now. It's a movie that legit does grow up with you. I was kind of in your boat where I first saw it as a teenager, and kept coming back to it as I aged up to my early thirties. A couple of years ago it was on Netflix for a season, and I watched it on three separate occasions. It's an interesting movie in that it doesn't waste any time meandering, and even stuff that seems superfluous on an initial viewing kind of unmasks on repeat. Like the first time I saw it I couldn't square the Mike Yanagita scene, because it seemed to be totally disconnected from the rest of the plot. It was only later on that I made the connection that it's what tips Marge off that Jerry is worth questioning again: it's the moment that Marge, who defaults to seeing the best in people, realizes that even seemingly good-natured folks can lie right to your face. And it can't be said enough that the main theme is legit one of the best themes in all of cinema. What's really awesome about it, because nothing in Fargo is what it is at face value, is that Carter Burwell adapted it form a Norwegian folk song called "The Lost Sheep". And considering it's a movie about the kidnapping of an innocent woman, it's all the more impactful of a choice.
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Jul 24, 2018 05:09
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Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is such a beautifully simple story it feels like it should have already been an Aesop fable or somesuch. It's one I've always loved since my youth but still never fully appreciated until later on when I could better relate to it.
lizardman fucked around with this message at 21:31 on Sep 7, 2018 |
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Jul 24, 2018 08:44
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d3c0y2 posted:I know it's considered by many to be a flawed film but my favourite is Cloud Atlas. The way it cuts between the different story arcs with increasing speed to bring it to a final crescendo is just breath taking. Whoa, I have the same opinion. I can't even pin-point exactly what it is about Cloud Atlas I love so much. I've seen the movie at least 5 times. I wouldn't say Cloud Atlas is my favorite film of all time (I have several I would seriously need to think about), but it is my favorite film that I feel like I have to defend. I think I enjoy how it feels like several separate individual films that, somehow, are told within the same universe and film. You get a 70s thriller, a dystopian cyberpunk action film, a black comedy, mad-max Hawaii edition, a love story / drama, and a redemption tale all in the same movie, with the same actors/actresses playing different roles. It was fun watching all of the vignettes and seeing little clues scattered about as to how they are all tangibly tied together. Also seeing the different actors/actresses not just play different characters in the different vignettes, but different races/sexes too. I know it was and still is hugely controversial, and the yellow face makeup makes some of them look like Vulkans, but It never really bothered me. Cloud Atlas is such a unique film and is absolutely visually stunning, with a moving score to boot. I immediately fell in love with the film, and was shocked at how so many people seem to hate it?  It's probably one of the more polarizing movies of recent times. Everyone I talked to, every review I read, is either glowing with praise (such as mine) or just tears the film apart. Solaris 2.0 fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Jul 24, 2018 |
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Jul 24, 2018 21:15
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I've posted in CineD about Cloud Atlas in various threads before, typically as like a troll(but an honest one) where I'll just say "Cloud Atlas is a near masterpiece" and wait for the incredulous replies. But I really do feel that it's a great film, and like others have mentioned I often struggle to put into words why exactly that is, aside from the obvious(most people agree Cloud Atlas is visually stunning). I think it's because the fantasy that Cloud Atlas presents is so universal. The idea that souls, if they care about each other enough, can find each other through the time past the constraints of our own lives as we know them. That standing up for what is right will always mean something, even if you can't see it right now. The Sixsmith and Frobesher story tears me up every single time. That Sixsmith came so close to having the closure of knowing he'd finally found a way to help his soul mate, when he failed to do so all those years ago, only to be murdered before he could see anything good come out of it, it just breaks me. But the film gives you hope in all that despair, because Frobesher and Sixsmith's spirits(however literally you want to consider that term) go on to spark a revolution in the future.. It's one of the most emotional films I can think of, in terms of how affecting it is when I watch it and how little of that power seems to be lost on repeat viewings.
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Jul 24, 2018 21:32
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Cloud Atlas is insanely good.
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Jul 25, 2018 02:41
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Because of all of you, my wife and I started watching Cloud Atlas tonight, for the first time, not realizing it was three hours long. I think we got an hour into it before she crashed for the night, but we liked it and look forward to picking it back up tomorrow. It's very much our kind of movie, so I'm shocked we never saw it when it came out, much less at any point along the way.
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Jul 25, 2018 04:59
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Big Bad Voodoo Lou posted:Because of all of you, my wife and I started watching Cloud Atlas tonight, for the first time, not realizing it was three hours long. I think we got an hour into it before she crashed for the night, but we liked it and look forward to picking it back up tomorrow. It's very much our kind of movie, so I'm shocked we never saw it when it came out, much less at any point along the way. The film can be a bit much for one sitting, I remember it taking me three nights to get through first time I watched it ( at the time, I was working full time + night classes meant I had maybe an hour - hour/30 of free time before waking up at 5am again) but the film kept me so engaged I was willing to treat it more like a mini series than a movie. In fact, that may be the best approach when first viewing it. Like forums poster Basebf555 said. I think the main thematic appeal of the film is this idea that the impacts and connections we make in our short lives don't end after we die, but somehow our "souls" or "essence' or whatever continue to have an impact even far into the future. Even finding ways to connect with the ones we have loved. Also if you were an evil bastard in a previous life, you will continue to be a lovely human in a later life as well. It's incredibly heartening to think about. Also the Sixsmith story is  Also the acting in general is fantastic. Especially Jim broadbent, Ben Whishaw, and Bae Doona. Though Tom Hanks has my favorite scene where you get to watch him play a gangster and throw a book critic off a building All together it is a fantastic, unique film that i doubt will ever be replicated. I may have to watch it again tonight.. Also to keep this from becoming the "Cloud Atlas Appreciation thread" if you put a gun to my head and demanded my favorite movie of all time I would blurt out "Raiders of the Lost Ark" I can sum it up in one scene. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YyBtMxZgQs Solaris 2.0 fucked around with this message at 15:06 on Jul 25, 2018 |
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Jul 25, 2018 15:04
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Solaris 2.0 posted:The film can be a bit much for one sitting, I remember it taking me three nights to get through first time I watched it ( at the time, I was working full time + night classes meant I had maybe an hour - hour/30 of free time before waking up at 5am again) but the film kept me so engaged I was willing to treat it more like a mini series than a movie. In fact, that may be the best approach when first viewing it. I'm glad so many people enjoy the film as well! I thought I was going to get skewered for my opinion on Cloud Atlas. To add to this post though I have a few points that I'm gonnaput behind spoilers because they discuss twists etc in the film One of the things I really enjoy is that if you view the characters as being reincarnations of the same soul, then the soul Tom Hank's portrays undergoes a redemption arc throughout the film. In his final reincarnation he still suffers from alot of the negative aspects of his character that his previous incarnations had suffered from; avarice, fear, pettiness. But in this final time he's able to master/overcome these parts of himself. I think thats one of the beauties of Cloud Atlas, it simultaneously looks at the overarching weight of entire history and the deeply personal stories of people within it and their own choices. Its probably the only film I've seen thats managed to stitch both narratives together, and in doing so it's almost holistic.
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Jul 25, 2018 15:48
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Other movies that aren't quite my favorite but are unique: Chappie City Slickers Conan the Barbarian Amelie Akira Princess Bride I could gush about each movie as long as their running time, needless to say they've all been influential to me.
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Jul 25, 2018 16:29
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got any sevens posted:Other movies that aren't quite my favorite but are unique: Chappie is another favourite of mine. I like the way it tackles difficult and complex questions; whilst dropping that into such a grounded and real aesthetic and society.
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Jul 25, 2018 16:32
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Chappie was ok but I didn’t have anyone to explain to me which one was Chappie so it was a little confusing
Escobarbarian fucked around with this message at 16:36 on Jul 25, 2018 |
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Jul 25, 2018 16:34
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I've only seen Cloud Atlas once but it's very near the top of the list of movies that have most sincerely enraptured me.
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Jul 25, 2018 18:00
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Cloud Atlas is indeed magnificent, but it has this really painful uneasy quality to it the whole time, much like 'Into the Void' does as well. There are happy moments and redemptive arcs, but I can't help but feel like I'm perpetually sinking against the weight of despair these films conjure up when I watch them.
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Jul 25, 2018 21:21
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I'm not too enamored with Cloud Atlas, but I do respect its ambition. It's like a modern reimagining of Griffith's Intolerance, a kind of epic filmmaking you generally don't see anymore these days.
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Jul 27, 2018 01:23
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Samuel Clemens posted:...22 are from the US, 5 from the UK, 1 is from France, 1 from Ireland, 1 from Japan, and 1 from New Zealand. Hey, Hobo with a Shotgun is a Canadian production. For the record in my top 5 films you'd find the experimental bilingual film Yes Sir, Madame. I don't even know how to explain that movie. It's the biography of a bilingual man made from fake home movies, real home movies, and news archival footage, and every piece of dialogue and sound effect is voiced by the narrator, who introduces the reels like he's jeffrey dahmer about to confess to his murders. The entire thing is a thinly veiled metaphor for Quebec and Canada's political relationship. And it's amazing. Lurdiak fucked around with this message at 06:23 on Jul 27, 2018 |
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Jul 27, 2018 06:18
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Skull Knight posted:This. So. Much. The soundscape of that scene was incredible. It's pretty rare that movies actually capture the sense of just how loud and powerful rifles are. Plus, while it was a great and heart pounding action scene in it's own right, the actions and choices of the characters all show what kind of people the characters are. The way Hanna (Pacino) ruthlessly pursues them actually does a show, not tell, of how single minded and obsessive he is, and how actual public safety takes a big backseat to his desire to just win at all costs. Then, the difference between Cherrito and McCauley in that Cherrito tries to use a small girl as a human shield in desperation while McCauley refuses to leave his wounded friend no matter how bad it gets. The amount of thought that went into that movie is just absurd.
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Jul 27, 2018 09:12
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Michael Mann is notoriously obsessed with little details. There is a reason why the shootout scene from HEAT is probably the greatest in cinema history. From the character choices you mention, and the loudness of the action (notice how there is no music, no over-the top explosions), to the desperate feel of the whole scene. Apparently Michael Mann had the actors practice firearms with real SWAT members to get them holding and re-loading them right. I've had people in the military, with combat experience, tell me the way Val Kilmer reloads his rifle in the middle of a firefight is exactly how you would do it in real life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b60-sEXUPBY Speaking of Michael Mann, Last of the Mohicans has my favorite ending sequence of all time. I can't mention much without spoiling it, however the sequence is about 10 minutes long. It features the deaths of some very important characters which lends to the emotion of the scene, a wild chase along a cliff, Daniel Day Lewis dual-wielding muskets like a badass, and a final fight against the main antagonist (West Studi) that's just dripping with anger and revenge. You get the sense that our protagonist, as he is chasing Wes Studi down, is thinking to himself gently caress you motherfucker, I've spent this whole film being harassed by you, you've killed my friends, my family, this ends NOW as he engages him in single-combat. The whole sequence has 0 dialogue, and the amazing soundtrack is at full volume which really captures the mood. You can listen below! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tjdswqGGVg *edit* Also to back up Michael Mann's detail obsessiveness. I had a professor of colonial American history tell me the scene showing the Siege of Fort William Henry is a mostly accurate portrayal of what 18th century siege warfare would have looked like. Solaris 2.0 fucked around with this message at 16:34 on Jul 27, 2018 |
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Jul 27, 2018 15:12
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The climax of Last of the Mohicans has several all-time great scenes(or I guess you could consider it one great long scene). Like Alice's death, or Uncas' father taking on Magua in what has to be one of the best moments of revenge in film history.
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Jul 27, 2018 15:21
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Basebf555 posted:The climax of Last of the Mohicans has several all-time great scenes(or I guess you could consider it one great long scene). Like Alice's death, or Uncas' father taking on Magua in what has to be one of the best moments of revenge in film history. It's truly great. Chingachgook just demolishes Magua (Wes Studi) and just proceeds to hack into him, pouring all of his rage and anger, hell the rage and anger of the whole film up to that point, in that one scene. What makes it more powerful is they are not even out to rescue anyone at that point in the film. There is no more damsel in distress, or captured hero or whatever. The whole motivation at that point in the movie is pure, unrelenting, hatred and revenge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dhrg6SH9yvE Spoilers obviously in the clip.
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Jul 27, 2018 16:28
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Basebf555 posted:The climax of Last of the Mohicans has several all-time great scenes(or I guess you could consider it one great long scene). Like Alice's death, or Uncas' father taking on Magua in what has to be one of the best moments of revenge in film history. loving this. And god drat, that score. The entire finale to LotM is goosebumps inducing, no matter how many times I see it.
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Jul 27, 2018 16:30
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Fart City posted:And it can't be said enough that the main theme is legit one of the best themes in all of cinema. What's really awesome about it, because nothing in Fargo is what it is at face value, is that Carter Burwell adapted it form a Norwegian folk song called "The Lost Sheep". And considering it's a movie about the kidnapping of an innocent woman, it's all the more impactful of a choice. This is the quality content I come here for. Seriously, cool find! And you're right. The Fargo theme (and now The Lost Sheep) give me Them Big Feels every time
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Jul 27, 2018 20:38
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Spatulater bro! posted:Critical study may provide someone with an appreciation of a piece of art, and that appreciation may (or may not) contribute to his general opinion of the art. But regardless of the basis for the opinion, it's still a purely subjective thing. The sentiment of "it's a great movie but I disliked it" is just asinine. "I don't think my favorite movie is actually the best." "Yes you do, and if you say otherwise you're lying and an rear end." Jesus, dude. Not only are you completely wrong about this, you have to assume people don't know their own mind to maintain it. Anyways, subjectivity and taste are not interchangeable terms. One can have an aesthetic theory by which one categorizes things (which is subjective) and also have an emotional reaction to certain things they experience (also subjective) but the theory and the experience are not the same thing.
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Jul 27, 2018 21:25
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This is especially important if you want to preserve the ability to distinguish between craftsmanship and ideology; I hate The Fountain for ideological reasons -- it is probably my least favorite film of all time -- but I also think that Darron Aronofsky is an incredibly talented filmmaker, as is evident from his work (including The Fountain).
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Jul 27, 2018 21:33
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Tuxedo Catfish posted:"I don't think my favorite movie is actually the best." It's not that I assume people don't know their own mind, it's that I think people very often lack the confidence to boldly own their opinion, due to their perceptions of what they "ought" to like. It's safer to say "I like Transformers more than Vertigo" than it is to say "Transformers is better than Vertigo." Even though they mean the exact same thing. But honestly, this is a pretty simplistic semantic argument that I'm making that only applies to the most superficial of film discussions. e: I edited my example quotes to make my point clearer. Spatulater bro! fucked around with this message at 22:00 on Jul 27, 2018 |
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Jul 27, 2018 21:55
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Tuxedo Catfish posted:This is especially important if you want to preserve the ability to distinguish between craftsmanship and ideology; I hate The Fountain for ideological reasons -- it is probably my least favorite film of all time -- but I also think that Darron Aronofsky is an incredibly talented filmmaker, as is evident from his work (including The Fountain). So would it be accurate for you to state "The Fountain is a bad movie"?
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Jul 27, 2018 21:57
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Tuxedo Catfish posted:I hate The Fountain for ideological reasons ???
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Jul 27, 2018 22:22
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Bicycle Thieves, Au Hasard Balthazar, and The 400 Blows are all very good movies that I find incredibly boring.
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Jul 27, 2018 22:33
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Antonioni made an entire career out of boring not being the same thing as bad.
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Jul 27, 2018 22:59
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Spatulater bro! posted:So would it be accurate for you to state "The Fountain is a bad movie"? Maybe, but that's the wrong question. The point is that I could accurately call it a good movie, as grudging as my stamp of approval might be, and it wouldn't be because I'm afraid to voice my opinion (seriously, have you seen me post?) -- it would be because I don't have to like something to respect it. And it's fine that "good" or "bad" can mean both, and it's accurate to use "favorite" and "best" to talk about enjoyment vs. respect. If you want to be really precise, well, that's why explanations of how you got to a label are more important than the label. The Fountain mocks its protagonist for thinking that death is obscene. Tuxedo Catfish fucked around with this message at 00:06 on Jul 28, 2018 |
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Jul 27, 2018 23:58
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Taintrunner posted:Also the whole concept of dreams, and the idea of breaking into loving dreams, in order to rob information, in some greater modern international corporate struggle. Say what you will about Nolan, but Inception is such a sharp loving film that feels so untouched since then, it's basically a high concept action blockbuster that feels so original I could watch it every day and never grow tired of it. Anyone who likes the multilayered world of Inception should eventually watch The Saragossa Manuscript. got any sevens posted:Other movies that aren't quite my favorite but are unique: My favorite by decade at the moment: 1930s - Bride of Frankenstein 1940s - The Big Sleep 1950s - Sunset Blvd. 1960s - Red Angel 1970s - Zardoz 1980s - Come and See 1990s - Three Colors: Blue 2000s - Mulholland Dr. 2010s - The Other Guys (I haven't seen many recent movies). So in conclusion I like films with street names and with colors.
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Jul 29, 2018 00:27
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Robocop. I saw it when I was twelve, dad rented it not knowing anything about it, drat we were in for a ride. It is just perfect. Close second Aliens
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Jul 29, 2018 13:59
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Zogo posted:My favorite by decade at the moment: 1920s: Seven Chances + The Fall of the House of Usher (short) 1930s: M + The Fourth Dimension (short) 1940s: Unfaithfully Yours + Blood of the Beasts (short) 1950s: North by Northwest + Window Water Baby Moving (short) 1960s: 2001 + Allures (short) 1970s: Being There + Hedgehog in the Fog (short) 1980s: Akira + The Dante Quartet (short) 1990s: Magnolia + Outer Space (short) 2000s: Me and You and Everyone We Know + The Heart of the World (short) 2010s: Margaret (3-hour cut) + Soft Palate (short) e: updated to add shorts 
china bot fucked around with this message at 15:02 on Jul 30, 2018 |
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Jul 30, 2018 04:54
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1920s: Passion of Joan of Arc 1930s: Grand Illusion 1940s: Citizen Kane 1950s: The Night of the Hunter 1960s: 2001/The Apartment 1970s: Eraserhead 1980s: Fanny and Alexander 1990s: Fargo 2000s: Synecdoche, New York 2010s: Her
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Jul 30, 2018 11:22
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It’s hard picking out just one from a decade, but if I went purely on what I enjoy the most... Pre-1910: A Trip to the Moon 1910s: Intolerance + The Cure (short) 1920s: Safety Last! + Cops (short) 1930s: City Lights + The Fatal Glass of Beer (short) 1940s: Fantasia + Begone Dull Care (short) 1950s: The Night of the Hunter + NY, NY (short) 1960s: Playtime + Pas de Deux (short) 1970s: F for Fake 1980s: Amadeus 1990s: Goodfellas 2000s: The Fall 2010s: Phantom Thread
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Jul 30, 2018 12:02
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I would like to give the decade picks a try also: 1920s - The General 1930s - Duck Soup 1940s - The Third Man 1950s - Anatomy of a Murder 1960s - In the Heat of the Night 1970s - Blazing Saddles 1980s - Raiders of the Lost Ark 1990s - Total Recal 2000s - Wall-E (Also my most favourite film of all time) 2010s - Blade Runner 2049 I am unable to explain why I love Wall-E as much as I do because I launch into hyperbole. The story stirred something in me that has yet to be matched by another film. I love that two bots who barely speak make so much noise in every other way and that the romance between them is so pure. I love the music of Thomas Newman and Peter Gabriel. I love the way that a small spark starts off a huge chain, just from an innocent being who they have always been. I love how funny it is. I love how dynamic and action packed many of the scenes are - the opening light dot chase is still shot like a real awesome movie chase. I think it is weird how much it gets overlooked. Whenever I see Pixar stands and Disney stands I always see so many of the other film characters, but never Eve or Wall-E. The blu-rays and DVD shelves contain almost all of the other films too except for this one. It is a shame, I feel but does fit in line with him being left on Earth alone. I just love the entire package and despite Pixar having made some cracking films since then, none of them compare for me.
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Jul 30, 2018 12:43
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WALL-E is 100% the best Pixar and I do find it weird I never see it mentioned anywhere
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Jul 30, 2018 14:02
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