Films - Hollywood or arthouse

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longtimelurker: Now that we've had the book, art and music discussions, I suppose the next logical step that doesn't require me to think too hard about an interesting topic is films.

Anyone seen anything good recently - or maybe an all-time favourite?

I've just seen Cypher, which for a US film has had suspiciously little advertising over here. It was quite a good, quirky little film though, dealing with industrial espionage and had some quite bizarre Clockwork Orange moments.

As for a favourite film, I'll need to sit on that a while and give it some thought, as it's very rare that I can watch something more than once without getting bored...

 

[Pecker]

I enjoy re-watching my copy of Wings of Desire in which Bruno Ganz is an angel who falls in love with a circus performer and must give up immortality to be with her.

It's far superior to the Nicolas Cage schmaltz that followed as City of Angels.

 

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awellhungboi: Great question, LTL, I've been meaning to start a topic like this!

Cinema is probably one of my favorite art forms.  I'm equally enthusiastic about both Hollywood and arthouse films.  Film just has so many pleasures, whether it's Enfants du Paradis or The Great Texas Dynamite Chase (two of my all-time faves).

So, I'm probably going to have to come back to this one.  My favorite directors are probably David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick.  Although with Kubrick the films of his I like the most are probably not the ones (with the exception of Paths of Glory) considered his best or most popular.  Barry Lyndon would probably be my absolute favorite film of his, with the widely misunderstood Eyes Wide Shut and Lolita being close behind.

My favorite actress of all time is Louise Brooks, no question about it.

Favorite actor is probably Cary Grant.

Good movies I've rented recently would be Time Bandits which I hadn't seen in twenty years, and which was just as magical as I remembered.  The Honeymoon Killers newly released and remastered on a deluxe and typically excellent Criterion Collection DVD, and Performance alas not on DVD.  And, gosh, so many more, but I'll stop now.

 

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longtimelurker: Ooh - I've just thought of my current favourite film.

It would have to be Mississippi Burning - the struggle of the characters in the storyline just really appealed to me, and it was quite a beleivable storyline (actually, wasn't it based on true events?).

Not least, another reason for liking it was that it got out of a sticky situation in my English Language GCSE exam (that's the exams taken at 16 in England) - where I had to write a story on-the-spot in exam conditions about 'someone who perseveres against struggle'. My mind was completely blank, so I was forced to do some blatant plaigarism on the storyline of the film. Still, helped get me my A!

Aren't I a bad role model

 

[Pecker]

How about

Twin Falls Idaho

Stand By Me

Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai

 

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7x6andchg: Ahh...Stand by Me....

I tend to really enjoy either slapstick type comedies (Airplane! leaps to mind) or the buildingsroman type - such as Stand By Me or Dead Poets Society.

I also have really liked ALL of Kevin Smith's films, even Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back..the irreverence just makes me laugh hysterically. Dogma, I thought, was especially good.

7x6&C

 

[Pecker]

Dogma had me blushing like those arthouse soft-porn films did when I was in college.

 

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Longhornjok: I like both, and my choice on any given day would be because of the personnel (cast and crew) or the subject matter and my mood. Big Hollywood movies don't have to be that Michael Bay crap and "indie" films don't have to be twee meditations on ennui where 4 people stare out a window and watch grass grow. Since this is my chosen field (filmmaking) I could list films for days, but I won't. I will say that, Hollywood or indie, the most refreshing thing that happens for me in a theater these days is when a movie actually takes me on a journey and I have to stay with it to see where it's gonna go (as opposed to sitting there being 15 minutes ahead of the characters). Some contemporary directors who get me jonesin' that way all the time are Spike Jonze, David O. Russell, and, of course, Master Lynch.

P.S. Does any one remember the Simpsons episode where Homer is (temporarily) smarter and he goes to a theater and gets thrown out for complaining about the plot holes in the movie?

 

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AnonyMs: Ah! Time Bandits! I had not thought of that film in a long time.

Best actor of all time for my money is Gregory Peck - his Atticus Finch is the best performance in a movie EVER!

One of my top two favorite art house films is "Hear My Song."

 

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Javierdude22: Cool subject (again)...

I see both blockbuster and art house movies and like them both for either characteristic - mindnumbing entertainment, or brain teasers. The luck you have in the US people! It is amazing how many cinema's there are there, and you guys get the opportunity to see a lot of alternative films.

My all time favourite director would have to be Tim Burton and especially the films starring Johnny Depp (great actor), my all time favourite film therefore would have to be 'Ed Wood' . Great cast, great performances, great film. But, another favourite is 'Terms of Endearment' . Shirley Mclaine is amazaing, and there's no stopping the tears, when she throws a fit in the hospital and screams:my daughter is in pain!. Oh well...

 

[Pecker]

Johnny Depp and the great Gary Farmer in Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man.

 

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inquiringmind: Hi,

You all have mentioned favorites of mine. With my friends, I love indies,foreign films, melodrama and chick flicks!
Where do I start... I love :

Tess,The Pianist, Orlando, Carrington, The Hours, Mrs. Dalloway, Wilde, Quills, Frida,Bride of the wind, Empire of the Sun, Hope and Glory,Enchanted April, The last Emperor,Washington Square, Love in the Afternoon, Summer and Smoke,The Nightmare before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow, The House of Elliott,House of the Spirits, Peyton Place, Prince of Tides,How to make an American quilt, The Joy Luck Club, Raise the Red Lantern, Farewell my Concubine, WElcome to the Doll House, The Godfather trilogy, Gigi,Daddy Long Legs, Fanny,The Great Gatsby Out of Africa,Room with a view, Ethan Fromme, House of Mirth, The Wings of the Dove,Portrait of a Lady, The Golden Bowl,Moll Flanders, Jude the Obscure, Far from the Madding Crowd, A Summer Story, Like Water for Chocolate,Chocolat,Gods and Monsters, Lord of the Rings, The Red Violin, The Old Maid,Valley of the Dolls, The Beguiled,Monster's Ball, The Dark secret of Harvest home,Marnie, Rear Window,Sabrina, The Thornbirds... the list is endless!

I do agree that Gregory Peck was at his most luscious as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mocking Bird. Louise Brooks...that hair, those eyes!

Inquiring mind

 

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longtimelurker: Was getting all confused then between David Lynch and Ken Loach.

Mr Loach has directed some really good movies, although not ones to see if you want something to cheer you up! . Don't know how much exposure he gets worldwide, but his most recent film was Sweet Sixteen, which was a nominee at Cannes a couple of years back (best actor, I think).

David Lynch - Dune: possibly one of the most bizarre films of all time (although going on the book series, it would be hard for it not to be!)

 

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hawl: I thought The Rules Of Attraction was a blast. It should have been more widely distributed. Excepting the gay stuff (which is toned down a lot from the novel), I'm obviously a survivor of the time period and general demographic it portrays. I lived to tell the tale !. Here's the fairest review I've seen of the movie-http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/move-1116282/reviews.php?critc=columns&sortby=default&page=1&rid=798088.

 

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Longhornjok: rrrrrrrrrrrr, personally, I saw it on cable and I kinda thought it was a mess, but I did miss the first 15 minutes or so. In any event, the link you posted for the review is "only available for AOL or EW.com members"

 

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hawl: Sorry about that link. These are also sane, sympathetic reviews, and at least one should be accessible:      1.http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/movie/review.asp?mid=2045118      2.http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/r/rules_attraction.html      3.http://www.laweekly.com/film/film_results.php?showid=2144&Sumbit.x=24&Sumbit.y=10