Whether currently in theatres, or on DVD, recommend a movie here.
Currently In Theatres:
Munich - Pretty interresting movie, doesn't really pull any punches on the Palestinian - Isreali confilt. Not the typical trite-ness of Spieldburg flicks.
Syriana - Great movie. Complicated at the beginning, but if you pay attention, it's a great showcase on how the oil industry is affecting the relations of the world.
Just Out On DVD:
Four Brothers - A John Singleton movie. A thinking-mans action movie with some cool twists in it. A fun movie, and a few nice lessons scattered throughout.
Older:
Snatch - A Guy Ritchie flick about the London underbelly. Think Britain's answer to Pulp Ficion, only even more stylized and a bit more flashy. A personal favorite of mine.
Rashoman - Got this for Christmas. Probably Akira Kurosawa's (my favorite director of all time) most famous film. A murder is told through 4 different perspectives. An absolutely fantastic look on how perspective is always a relative look on reality.
Add on. :brow:
Currently In Theatres:
Munich - Pretty interresting movie, doesn't really pull any punches on the Palestinian - Isreali confilt. Not the typical trite-ness of Spieldburg flicks.
Syriana - Great movie. Complicated at the beginning, but if you pay attention, it's a great showcase on how the oil industry is affecting the relations of the world.
Just Out On DVD:
Four Brothers - A John Singleton movie. A thinking-mans action movie with some cool twists in it. A fun movie, and a few nice lessons scattered throughout.
Older:
Snatch - A Guy Ritchie flick about the London underbelly. Think Britain's answer to Pulp Ficion, only even more stylized and a bit more flashy. A personal favorite of mine.
Rashoman - Got this for Christmas. Probably Akira Kurosawa's (my favorite director of all time) most famous film. A murder is told through 4 different perspectives. An absolutely fantastic look on how perspective is always a relative look on reality.
Add on. :brow:
Older - The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). Great cast (Gene Hackman, Ben Stiller, Danny Glover, Owen Wilson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Luke Wilson) and a really off kilter film. It's not made for the masses, but it runs with a strange vibe that is captivating to me.
Out on DVD (has been for a little) - Crash, has a great cast...chocked full of irony.
Older - Something the Lord Made - not a very well known movie but it is excellent. Is about a surgeon in the mid 1900s and his black assistant. Deals a little with racism.
Older - Something the Lord Made - not a very well known movie but it is excellent. Is about a surgeon in the mid 1900s and his black assistant. Deals a little with racism.
Crash is a good one. I have been meaning to see The Royal Tenenbaums.
Keep em coming people.
Keep em coming people.
Hero and House of Flying Daggers - Awesome fight scenes and not bad overall.
Hey if it’s a movie thread you know I’ll get in my two cents…
Loved Syriana. It was definitely not lite entertainment, and the plot is a little hard to follow, but the film is mesmerizing and whips past at light speed.
I didn’t like Four Brothers as much as you did. Don’t get me wrong I thought it was okay, a decent rental. But for some reason I’m still expecting more from Singleton, and he continues to disappoint.
I too share your passion for Kurosawa. I have to argue with your point about Rashoman being AK’s most famous film; I think that title still goes to Seven Samurai (which I watched on Boxing Day).
As far as recommendations go
In theatres, I haven’t seen much in current release other than Syriana, so I’ll have to defer to others.
On DVD: I, like KamikaZ, would highly recommend trying out some of Kurosawa’s works. Both Yojimbo (remade by Sergio Leone as “A Fistful of Dollars”) and Sanjuro are both extremely entertaining and fairly accessible. If you enjoy westerns, you should find these right up your alley. The same can be said of Seven Samurai (which was of course remade into The Magnificent Seven). This is one of my favourite films; highly entertaining and beautifully shot. I of course recommend it also, but at just over 200 minutes in length it might be a bit much for someone not used to reading subtitles. Recently reissued by those brilliant folks at the “Criterion Collection” is one of Kurosawa’s later masterpieces; Ran is AK’s treatment of Shakespeare’s King Lear and the newly remastered film is simply breathtaking. In my mind Ran has always been one of the most beautiful films ever made, but until this Criterion release the DVD versions have looked like garbage. Along with the improved image quality the latest offering also has Dolby 5.1 remastered audio, excellent feature length commentary by film historian Stephen Price and to top it off it also includes the brilliant feature documentary AK. Another Kurosawa title I’d highly recommend is Ikiru, it’s a more contemporary film (sorry no samurai in this one), but it features an amazing performance by Takashi Shimura and is truly an inspiring film that will haunt you for weeks after viewing it (if not longer).
A few perhaps lesser seen gems that I’d also like to HIGHLY recommend:
Audition (1999) Directed by Takashi Miike
Best in Show (2000) Directed by Christopher Guest
Bubba Ho-tep (2002) Directed by Don Coscarelli
Hell in the Pacific (1968) Directed by John Boorman
I Heart Huckabees (2004) Directed by David O. Russell
Last Action Hero (1993) Directed by John McTiernan
Miller's Crossing (1990) Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
Network (1976) Directed by Sidney Lumet
Once Upon a Time in America (1984) Directed by Sergio Leone
Once Upon a Time in the West (1969) Directed by Sergio Leone
Party, The (1968) Directed by Blake Edwards
Paths of Glory (1957) Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Pickup on South Street (1953) Directed by Samuel Fuller
Shaun of the Dead (2004) Directed by Edgar Wright
Starship Troopers (1997) Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Thin Red Line, The (1998) Directed by Terrence Malick
This Gun for Hire (1942) Directed by Frank Tuttle
Top Secret! (1984) Directed by Jim Abrahams and David Zucker
Touch of Evil (1958) Directed by Orson Welles
Time for me to.... "Shut up already....damn!" :smile:
edit: because I'm not the world's strongest typist. My fingers are all thumbs... Bwa ha ha ha! God I' just crack myself up sometimes.
Loved Syriana. It was definitely not lite entertainment, and the plot is a little hard to follow, but the film is mesmerizing and whips past at light speed.
I didn’t like Four Brothers as much as you did. Don’t get me wrong I thought it was okay, a decent rental. But for some reason I’m still expecting more from Singleton, and he continues to disappoint.
I too share your passion for Kurosawa. I have to argue with your point about Rashoman being AK’s most famous film; I think that title still goes to Seven Samurai (which I watched on Boxing Day).
As far as recommendations go
In theatres, I haven’t seen much in current release other than Syriana, so I’ll have to defer to others.
On DVD: I, like KamikaZ, would highly recommend trying out some of Kurosawa’s works. Both Yojimbo (remade by Sergio Leone as “A Fistful of Dollars”) and Sanjuro are both extremely entertaining and fairly accessible. If you enjoy westerns, you should find these right up your alley. The same can be said of Seven Samurai (which was of course remade into The Magnificent Seven). This is one of my favourite films; highly entertaining and beautifully shot. I of course recommend it also, but at just over 200 minutes in length it might be a bit much for someone not used to reading subtitles. Recently reissued by those brilliant folks at the “Criterion Collection” is one of Kurosawa’s later masterpieces; Ran is AK’s treatment of Shakespeare’s King Lear and the newly remastered film is simply breathtaking. In my mind Ran has always been one of the most beautiful films ever made, but until this Criterion release the DVD versions have looked like garbage. Along with the improved image quality the latest offering also has Dolby 5.1 remastered audio, excellent feature length commentary by film historian Stephen Price and to top it off it also includes the brilliant feature documentary AK. Another Kurosawa title I’d highly recommend is Ikiru, it’s a more contemporary film (sorry no samurai in this one), but it features an amazing performance by Takashi Shimura and is truly an inspiring film that will haunt you for weeks after viewing it (if not longer).
A few perhaps lesser seen gems that I’d also like to HIGHLY recommend:
Audition (1999) Directed by Takashi Miike
Best in Show (2000) Directed by Christopher Guest
Bubba Ho-tep (2002) Directed by Don Coscarelli
Hell in the Pacific (1968) Directed by John Boorman
I Heart Huckabees (2004) Directed by David O. Russell
Last Action Hero (1993) Directed by John McTiernan
Miller's Crossing (1990) Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
Network (1976) Directed by Sidney Lumet
Once Upon a Time in America (1984) Directed by Sergio Leone
Once Upon a Time in the West (1969) Directed by Sergio Leone
Party, The (1968) Directed by Blake Edwards
Paths of Glory (1957) Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Pickup on South Street (1953) Directed by Samuel Fuller
Shaun of the Dead (2004) Directed by Edgar Wright
Starship Troopers (1997) Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Thin Red Line, The (1998) Directed by Terrence Malick
This Gun for Hire (1942) Directed by Frank Tuttle
Top Secret! (1984) Directed by Jim Abrahams and David Zucker
Touch of Evil (1958) Directed by Orson Welles
Time for me to.... "Shut up already....damn!" :smile:
edit: because I'm not the world's strongest typist. My fingers are all thumbs... Bwa ha ha ha! God I' just crack myself up sometimes.
titanbuoy said:
I agree with you to a degree about Seven Samurai being his most famous; however I think Rashoman is right up there. No question that Seven Samurai is probably the most influential film to date (I can draw countless similarities between it and modern films).
I got the Criterion (thank God for them BTW) version of Ran for Christmas. Clearly, one of the most visually appealing film for the colors and the cinemetography. A personal favorite and in my top 10 ever (along with Seven Samurai and Yojimbo).
Buoy, have you ever seen Kagemusha? It was filmed right before Ran, and was basically the most expensive film ever made in Japan at the time. I'd HIGHLY recommend you check it out.
BTW, some real gems on that list. Most notably, Miler's Crossing and Once Upon A Time In America.
Yes I own the Crirerion release of Kagemusha as well. That film got quite a bit of hype here in North America when it was released. Kurosawa has never been as acclaimed in his own country the way he is around the world, this was mainly due to the Japanese film elite being unhappy with Kurosawa allowing western filmmakers to influence his work. Even Kurosawa's early works such as Seven Samurai and Yojimbo are greatly influenced by the films of John Ford. To both Japanese film purists and the Japanese ticket buying public this was really frowned upon. This resulted in dwindling box office for his films until finally in the seventies he found himself no longer able to get the financial backing required to make his movies in Japan. This is why Dersu Uzala the film prior to Kagemusha was a Japanese/Russian co-production, he simply couldn't get the money to get the film made. It wasn't until George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg decided to step up financially that Kagemusha was able to be produced and because of the notoriety those two directors brought with them the film received quite a bit of publicity in the US (and Canada). I'm sure it was an add in Rolling Stone (which at that point was already a tired old mag) that brought the film to my attention. It is a stunning film visually, but in my mind doesn't rank among AK's best works.
Kurosawa films in my collection:
Stray Dog (1949)
Rashômon (1950)
Ikiru (1952)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Throne of Blood (1957)
Hidden Fortress (1958)
Yojimbo (1961)
Sanjuro (1962)
High and Low (1964)
Kagemusha (1980)
Ran (1985)
Dreams 1990
all but Dreams are Criterion releases.
Have you seen Inagki's Samurai Trilogy (Musashi Miyamoto, Duel at Ichijoji Temple and Duel on Ganryu Island) or Okamoto's Sword of Doom? All four films have been released by Criterion and all are outstanding.
A couple of additions to my earlier recommendations:
One False Move (1992) Directed by Carl Franklin Great, gritty, crime drama and Franklin's first film.
TV.
Band of Brothers ... Awesome HBO mini-series, no amount of praise would be too much
Mr Show - Hilarious HBO sketch comedy series is still my favourite TV comedy (all four seasons are available on DVD)
Penn & Teller's Bullsh it! (annoying that I can't properly type the name of a TV series on these boards.... Come on it's frickin' BULL****... I think I was five years old when I first said that, but apparently it's still just tooooo much) It has lots of great fodder for critical minds. I've often thought Rolltide would particularly love this (if he hasn't seen it already). (First season available on DVD)
Kurosawa films in my collection:
Stray Dog (1949)
Rashômon (1950)
Ikiru (1952)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Throne of Blood (1957)
Hidden Fortress (1958)
Yojimbo (1961)
Sanjuro (1962)
High and Low (1964)
Kagemusha (1980)
Ran (1985)
Dreams 1990
all but Dreams are Criterion releases.
Have you seen Inagki's Samurai Trilogy (Musashi Miyamoto, Duel at Ichijoji Temple and Duel on Ganryu Island) or Okamoto's Sword of Doom? All four films have been released by Criterion and all are outstanding.
A couple of additions to my earlier recommendations:
One False Move (1992) Directed by Carl Franklin Great, gritty, crime drama and Franklin's first film.
TV.
Band of Brothers ... Awesome HBO mini-series, no amount of praise would be too much
Mr Show - Hilarious HBO sketch comedy series is still my favourite TV comedy (all four seasons are available on DVD)
Penn & Teller's Bullsh it! (annoying that I can't properly type the name of a TV series on these boards.... Come on it's frickin' BULL****... I think I was five years old when I first said that, but apparently it's still just tooooo much) It has lots of great fodder for critical minds. I've often thought Rolltide would particularly love this (if he hasn't seen it already). (First season available on DVD)
Not that I watch a lot of movies, but "Memento" freaked me right out. By the time it was over, I had short term memory loss!
I understand that the DVD has a setting that allows you to watch it backwards. Gotta try that sometime.
I kinda like those types of mindfreak movies..."The Butterfly Effect" and "Being John Malkovich".
I understand that the DVD has a setting that allows you to watch it backwards. Gotta try that sometime.
I kinda like those types of mindfreak movies..."The Butterfly Effect" and "Being John Malkovich".
Why can I imagine Kami walking around the streets of D.C in a ninja suit. :ha: :chuck:
Gunny said:
:ha:
I'm a sucker for kung-fu/Japanese flicks. I just love the style they bring.:grrr:
Gunny said:
When I saw the 2nd one, my mind was numb from the amount of violence.
Cinderella Man was excellent. I bought it for a few people for xmas.
KamikaZ said:
That scene with the needles got to me.
Saw I was much better then II I reckon.
Woody81 said:
As an amauter fighter, the boxing was fairly well done. Raging Bull remains the best IMO. I just felt like I had seen the movie before. Pretty cliched.
Gunny said:That scene with the needles got to me.
Saw I was much better then II I reckon.
I actually didn't see the ending to the first one coming. I was actually :hmm: to see Danny Glover get killed.
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