Jingus Posted July 18, 2008 Report Posted July 18, 2008 Nosferatu the Vampyre I wanted at least one Werner Herzog movie here, and couldn't decide which one. So I fell back on my oldest rule of thumb: when in doubt, go with the horror flick. This is just about the only remake I can think of which received unanimous critical praise, with even the snootiest snob admitting that it didn't rape the memory of the original movie. Plus it stars the most beautiful woman in history, Isabelle Adjani, at her most preciously fragile peak.
Jebus Posted July 19, 2008 Author Report Posted July 19, 2008 Dumb & Dumber Stupid as hell but just as funny too. Another movie I can recite line by line.
godthedog Posted July 20, 2008 Report Posted July 20, 2008 Aguirre, the Wrath of God surprised this one wasn't taken yet, especially after it was mentioned in the comments that didn't warrant a thread. i kept meaning to pick it up, just didn't get around to it till now. herzog is alternately awe-inspiring and frustrating, usually within the same movie. this one i think has by far the best story to prop up the kind of surreal images he does so well(the monkeys, the ship in the tree, etc.), and when he's doing that, there's nobody else like him.
Jingus Posted July 20, 2008 Report Posted July 20, 2008 That was the one I couldn't decide over with Nosferatu. What an awesome movie. Even more awesome than Herzog's Fitzcarraldo, which revisited a lot of the same themes and was pretty awesome in its own right, but it's got nuthin' on Aguirre. It's the best Evil White Guys Ruin The New World movie ever. Also clearly had a lot of inspiration on Apocalypse Now, which warms my heart towards it even more.
The Mandarin Posted July 21, 2008 Report Posted July 21, 2008 Great picks. Kinski was a genius. The Wages of Fear The set-up to this is kind of slow, but once the trucks get going the movie quickly builds a palpable intensity. There's also a tremendous scene of existential despair. Sorcerer is an okay remake.
Jebus Posted July 22, 2008 Author Report Posted July 22, 2008 Corey, Jorge & Darth have picks to make up. Craig is on the clock.
Craig Th Posted July 22, 2008 Report Posted July 22, 2008 Wristcutters: A Love Story I totally forgot about this movie. It is really a great love story.
Corey_Lazarus Posted July 22, 2008 Report Posted July 22, 2008 Brick - Rian Johnson (2005) Joseph Gordon-Levitt's announcement that he can actually act after years wasted on 3rd Rock From The Sun and teen-oriented flicks like Halloween H20 and 10 Things I Hate About You, and a great modern update on classic film noirs. The pacing is deliberately slow early on, the characters intentionally dry at first glance, but once you get further into the movie...it all starts to unravel, and little things you thought were maybe just one-liner's are expanded upon.
Guest Tzar Lysergic Posted July 23, 2008 Report Posted July 23, 2008 Great picks. Kinski was a genius. The Wages of Fear The set-up to this is kind of slow, but once the trucks get going the movie quickly builds a palpable intensity. There's also a tremendous scene of existential despair. Sorcerer is an okay remake. Oh man I love this movie. The setup is a-ok with me, because it shows what motivates those nutcases to willingly drive a giant rickety bomb over the worst roads imaginable. Plus, Vera Clouzot scrubbing the floor=oh my god.
godthedog Posted July 23, 2008 Report Posted July 23, 2008 i just finished watching that today. the french have this weird thing about drawing out tense moments as long as possible with no music. i also found the ending really funny. is that bad?
Craig Th Posted July 23, 2008 Report Posted July 23, 2008 The Lookout JGL has really broke out the past few years. I didn't think the kid from 30 Rock would be this good of an actor.
Jebus Posted July 24, 2008 Author Report Posted July 24, 2008 ON THE CLOCK: CM Funk PICKS TO MAKE UP: Jorge (2 picks) Darthtiki (2 picks) Canadian Brandon (2 picks)
The Mandarin Posted July 24, 2008 Report Posted July 24, 2008 Interiors I wanted a standout Woody Allen film but the two really obvious ones were taken and I wasn't a big fan of Crimes and Misdemeanors. Everyone seems to dislike this but I found it really neat. It's a flawed film with one or two contrived plot developments but I thought the acting, dialogue and mise-en-scene (particularly the lighting) were really effective in creating a bleak, Bergmanesque picture. And the scene with the sisters walking along the beach with the uneven fence in the foreground just floored me. Now that I think about it, this is a particularly dangerous film for someone trapped on a island.
Guest Tzar Lysergic Posted July 24, 2008 Report Posted July 24, 2008 i just finished watching that today. the french have this weird thing about drawing out tense moments as long as possible with no music. i also found the ending really funny. is that bad? No. It's hilarious. All of the disastrous things in that movie are funny.
Corey_Lazarus Posted July 25, 2008 Report Posted July 25, 2008 Beyond The Mat - Blaustein (1999) This, Wrestling With Shadows, and the Rise & Fall of ECW are the three best wrestling documentaries made to date. Proof? This opened the floodgates to fans wanting to delve into the real lives of their on-screen icons. It opened the eyes of non-fans to just what being a pro wrestler is: the pain, the isolation, and the triumph. I have an alternate pick if I skipped over somebody else who took this, but I don't think anybody else has.
godthedog Posted July 25, 2008 Report Posted July 25, 2008 looks like i'm free to pick. Notorious got my favorite color hitchcock AND my favorite black-and-white hitchcock. this, for me at least, is the peak of the hollywood studio system's powers in the 40s.
Jingus Posted July 26, 2008 Report Posted July 26, 2008 Past the limit. Jebus is out of town and sent me his picks, so I'll be doing those til he gets back. His next pick: LOTR: The Return of the King PICKS TO MAKE UP: Jorge (3 picks) Darthtiki (2 picks) Canadian Brandon (2 picks) Chilly Willy (1 pick) Next USC #55 (1 pick)
Jingus Posted July 26, 2008 Report Posted July 26, 2008 Tokyo Fist And now it's time for my "I seriously doubt anyone here has ever even heard of this movie" pick. Tokyo Fist comes from the sick mind of Shinya Tsukamoto (the guy who did Tetsuo: The Iron Man), and is often erroneously described as "a Japanese Fight Club" by people with utterly no imagination. It's the story of a middle-aged man who is in such despair that he quits his job in order to start training for a career in boxing. Meanwhile, an old classmate of his is trying to steal his girlfriend. And since it is a Tsukamoto film, pretty much everyone ends up sickeningly mutilating their own bodies in truly vile manners. The reason I pick this one is that, despite the fact that it's about boxing, it also perfectly captures the almost obsessively masochistic and self-destructive ambience which defines almost every pro wrestler I've ever known.
The Ghost of bps21 Posted July 26, 2008 Report Posted July 26, 2008 Scream. I know Jingus loathes the movie...but it's an obsession of mine.
treble Posted July 27, 2008 Report Posted July 27, 2008 The Birds Want some more Hitchcock and this is a decent one.
PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! Posted July 27, 2008 Report Posted July 27, 2008 Robocop How has this not been taken yet? Shit's a straight-up classic. Effective satire + wanton violence + Kurtwood Smith is a recipe for success.
CanadianChris Posted July 27, 2008 Report Posted July 27, 2008 The Fugitive (1993) The Naked Gun (1988) No time to explain either of these, other than they're both favourites of mine. Even OJ couldn't ruin The Naked Gun for me.
Darthtiki Posted July 28, 2008 Report Posted July 28, 2008 Goldfinger - Dir. Guy Hamilton 1964 Gold Diggers of 1933 - Dir. Mervyn LeRoy 1933
Jingus Posted July 29, 2008 Report Posted July 29, 2008 Past time for treble and bps, hell probably for me and Jebus too. Living in Oblivion I don't think I've ever seen much else from director Tom DiCillo that was very good. But it's made up for by this movie, which was very good. It's like a less broad, somewhat more realistic version of Christopher Guest's mockumentaries. Steve Buscemi plays an incompetent indy film director who's going crazy while trying to put together what looks like the lamest, most pretentious low-budget movie of all time; Catherine Keener is his leading lady (who he's secretly in love with). And of course, "oh my God, it's A FUCKING DWARF!"
Jingus Posted July 29, 2008 Report Posted July 29, 2008 And Jebus's next pick he sent me: LOTR: The Two Towers
Coffin Surfer Posted July 30, 2008 Report Posted July 30, 2008 Tokyo Fist And now it's time for my "I seriously doubt anyone here has ever even heard of this movie" pick. Tokyo Fist comes from the sick mind of Shinya Tsukamoto (the guy who did Tetsuo: The Iron Man), and is often erroneously described as "a Japanese Fight Club" by people with utterly no imagination. It's the story of a middle-aged man who is in such despair that he quits his job in order to start training for a career in boxing. Meanwhile, an old classmate of his is trying to steal his girlfriend. And since it is a Tsukamoto film, pretty much everyone ends up sickeningly mutilating their own bodies in truly vile manners. The reason I pick this one is that, despite the fact that it's about boxing, it also perfectly captures the almost obsessively masochistic and self-destructive ambience which defines almost every pro wrestler I've ever known. Well, shit. I was actually going to pick that but there are other Shinya movies I find just as interesting to use on my list. Still, probably the best balance of Shinya's visual and narrative talents. Yeah, the "Japanese Fight Club" thing makes no sense since this movie actually pre-dates the Fight Club novel by a year and the movie by several more. I can see similarities but I often wander if Fight Club is really an "American Tokyo Fist" though it made a wonderful film in its own right.
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