What Makes Drug Movies So Compelling?

[Gokul43201]

Watched any good movies lately, that you would definitely recommend ?

I haven't watched any movies in a while now, mostly because I haven't heard of there being that many good ones. I did watch one movie (dvd) this weekend - L'auberge Espagnole (2002) - I quite enjoyed it.

Time to catch up on all the good movies that I've been missing...suggestions, anyone ?

 

[recon]

I just watched 12 Monkeys which came out in 1995. It's a story about the vicious cycle of time. I am sure that you, Gokul, as sci-fi-trivia-master, should have seen the movie already. If not, I highly recommend it.

 

[Polly]

This is probably stating the obvious as well but I watched the remastered version of 2001- A Space Odyssey a while ago and enjoyed it immensely, totally fascinating and mind-boggling for me.

 

[Adrian Baker]

I loved 'Kill Bill' 1 and 2... but you need to be a bit of a Tarantino fan...

"The Last Samurai" was a fantastic film too - nothing like I expected, very informative, and well worth watching.

 

[arildno]

I'm planning to see "House of the Flying Daggers" soon..
That's the new film from the director of the amazing "Hero".

 

[Adrian Baker]

Did anyone here ever see Carpenter's Cult Classic "Dark Star"? I love that film - I laugh so much every time I see it!

The lift scene cracks me up... and as for the Alien! A big plastic blow up ball!

 

[quantumdude]

I just saw Kill Bill 2 (finally), and loved it. I also saw Man on Fire recently, and I enjoyed it a lot.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I recently saw a SciFi on TV called The Cube that surprised me a bit. Not only was it better than I expected, it actually had a plot, not just special effects, which is unusual these days for SciFi.

 

[dekoi]

Pulp Fiction.

Clockwork Orange.

Reservoir Dogs.

Team America: World...


All incredible movies. Practically perfect in every aspect.

 

[cragwolf]

It depends on your approach to films. I tend to avoid industry films and entertainment films. I'm not interested in cinema as a business or as a rollercoaster ride; I'm interested in cinema as an art form (even though I have serious reservations about the worth of art (an old PF thread)). I prefer films made by a single artist or a tightly knit group of artists. I would use the term "independent film", but that term has been abused in recent years.

I tend to agree a lot with the film critic, Ray Carney. I wouldn't say I agree with him about everything -- no way -- but I agree with him more than any other film critic. Read about some of his opinions on cinema here:

http://people.bu.edu/rcarney/independentfilm/

I think before you see the latest films, you need to catch up with what you have surely missed -- and that would include some very old films. If you're really keen, I would suggest working through the Criterion Collection:

http://www.criterionco.com/asp/browse.asp

Well-known directors I recommend include:

Andrei Tarkovsky
Ingmar Bergman
Robert Bresson
Yasujiro Ozu
Akira Kurosawa
John Cassavetes
Carl Dreyer
Mike Leigh

A couple of lists of mostly fine directors:

http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/index.html
http://www.filmref.com/directors/directors.html

Then there's various genres like silent films (chaplin, griffith, murnau), documentaries, and stop-frame animation (svankmajer, brothers quay).

Maybe I being cynical, but I think I may have just wasted my time with this post. The mainstream view on films is so incredibly entrenched. It's a far different story for music. Go figure.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Kafka with Jeremy Irons

 

[meteor]

I watched the remastered version of 2001- A Space Odyssey

I've seen the english version recently. It was a contrast for me to hear the soft tone of voice of HAL in this version, I was used to the raucous tone that has in the spanish version. I certainly missed that the protagonist didn't say "It's full of stars!" when he felt right into the monolite

 

[wasteofo2]

Casablanca is probabally the best movie ever. Every single scene means something, no filler, just a great movie.

I just watched 12 Monkeys which came out in 1995. It's a story about the vicious cycle of time. I am sure that you, Gokul, as sci-fi-trivia-master, should have seen the movie already. If not, I highly recommend it.

I second the sentiment that you sh\ould see 12 monkeys, great movie in general. My avatar is actually a shot of Brad Pitt from that movie.

Fight Club is another really great Brad Pitt movie.

 

[Chrono]

I also saw Man on Fire recently, and I enjoyed it a lot.

That was great.

I just saw A Few Good Men again yesterday. Man, that is a good movie. Got to love Tom Cruise.

It's been quite a while since I last went to Movie Gallery. Plan on taking a little trip there next week, however.

 

[tumor]

Did anyone here ever see Carpenter's Cult Classic "Dark Star"? I love that film - I laugh so much every time I see it!

The lift scene cracks me up... and as for the Alien! A big plastic blow up ball!

"Dark Star" is one of my favorite movies, funny like hell! I have that movie on tape and once in a while watch it. I also like Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" amazing movie.

 

[Chrono]

I also like Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" amazing movie.

Great movie. Have you seen the "Musashi" trilogy?

 

[recon]

I've seen Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon". I also have Kurosawa's "Ran", "Seven Samurai" and "Yojimbo" - all of them highly recommended by movie critics - but I have not had the time to watch them.

Gokul, even if you don't like Anime, I highly recommend "Grave of the Fireflies". It's a touching story set in WWII about a little girl and her brother who lose their parents to the war. I don't usually like anime, but this movie definitely struck a chord with me.

I didn't know there was a "Musashi" trilogy but I have heard of and played a Playstation game of a similar title. It was a great RPG game.

 

[Chrono]

I didn't know there was a "Musashi" trilogy but I have heard of and played a Playstation game of a similar title. It was a great RPG game.

A Playstation game with the same title? I've never heard of it. Anyway, it's just a movie based on the book of the same title by Eiji Yoshikawa, which is a great novel, by the way. However, it's quite expensive, $30 for each DVD on Amazon. Ouch!

 

[pace]

It's the first time since in a long time I'm going through Woody Allen movies, and I'm really enjoying them! First Take the Money and Run, which was really funny And then there was especially one scene in Everything you wanted to know about Sex but where afraid to ask, where that guy comes and says he's a love in a sheep, and there's this awkward silence. Then I just cracked up
Hannah and her Sisters were cute too.

 

[Gokul43201]

I enjoy Kurosawa.

I am not really into anime...but I'll give it a shot. I'm not sure though, that I'll find 'Grave of the Fireflies' at Blockbuster.

 

[PerennialII]

You guys seem to be getting on the right track ... any work of Takeshi Kitano is worthwhile.

 

[devious_]

I saw Man on Fire the other day. It was awesome.

 

[plover]

Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander is fantastic, as is Andrei Tarkovskij's Andrei Rublyov—IMHO two of the finest films ever.

For a more recent (and shorter and less depressing ) film, I recommend The Triplets of Belleville.

Since people are recommending Japanese directors, I'll mention Juzo Itami (Tampopo, A Taxing Woman, Minbo).

An obscure but fun movie is the Australian comedy Malcolm about a geeky inventor and some bank robbers who carry out a heist using (among other things) a wandering pack of remote controlled ashtrays. The movie also features a Volkswagen beetle that splits in half down the center and drives off as two separate vehicles...

 

[PerennialII]

Ingmar Bergman's Fanny and Alexander is fantastic

Hear you ... a masterpiece !

 

[jimmy p]

I recently saw a SciFi on TV called The Cube that surprised me a bit. Not only was it better than I expected, it actually had a plot, not just special effects, which is unusual these days for SciFi.

I saw that recently too! pretty crazy stuff wasnt it?

My two cents... The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy

Or how about 13th Warrior?

 

[tumor]

"Messenger" about Joan D'arc and 100 year war, lots of blood and gore but life in medieval times was like that.

 

[Nylex]

New films I've seen recently are "Saw" and "Collateral". "Saw" was very twisted, but ok and "Collateral" was pretty good. I also recently bought "Taking Lives" on DVD and that was great IMO.

 

[tribdog]

Wow, I must be in the wrong forum. Cause I would never want to hang out with a bunch of people who watched movies like these.
Are you sure we are talking about real movies? I think that not only do I not watch the channels that show these movies, but I erase the channel every time I reprogram my TV.
Give me a South Park marathon, the Matrix, Blazing Saddles and Nova and I'm a happy camper.

 

[Gokul43201]

I like most of Luc Besson's work (despite the blood) and the couple of Itami flicks I've seen...can't remember names. Will look out for Fanny...

 

[arildno]

Bergman's latest film, "Serenade" (it's from 2002-2003) is also a nice little piece from an old master.

 

[Leong]

"Tombstone of fire flies": quite a sad movie. i don't think Gokul will be able to find this in your place.
"Tears of the sun( bruce willis) : quite a good movie also. it answers the question "why does somebody risk his life to safe others when he knows that he is going to die ?".

 

[bjon-07]

Watch "Team America: World Police" It has to be one of the funnest movies I have ever seen. Beware; some of the content may be consider this movie to be "offisive". So don't say I did warn you.

 

[ProjectQuantumLeap]

Donnie Darko... good stuff.

 

[recon]

I like most of Luc Besson's work (despite the blood) and the couple of Itami flicks I've seen...can't remember names. Will look out for Fanny...

I've only seen Luc Besson's Leon The Professional, and it was AWESOME!

I decided to check out his profile at www.imdb.com and guess what I found out? These are the movies he is currently working on:


Flora Plum (2005) (in production) (producer)
Miss June (2004) (in production) (producer)
Spécial police (2004) (in production) (producer)
Filles du botaniste chinois, Les (2005) (pre-production) (producer)
Bandidas (2005) (pre-production) (executive producer) (producer)
Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, The (2005) (filming) (executive producer)
Arthur (2006) (filming) (producer)
Revolver (2005/I) (filming) (co-producer)
Texas n'existe pas, Le (2005) (filming) (producer)
Au suivant! (2005) (post-production) (associate producer) (co-producer) (uncredited)
Ze film (2005) (post-production) (co-producer)
Yeux clairs, Les (2005) (post-production) (co-producer)
Colour Me Kubrick (2005) (post-production) (co-producer)
Transporter 2, The (2005) (post-production) (producer)
Souffleur, Le (2004) (post-production) (co-producer)
Banlieue 13 (2004) (post-production) (producer)
Unleashed (2005/I) (completed) (producer)
À ton image (2004) (completed) (associate producer) (uncredited)

He must be some sort of mutant.

 

[tumor]

runaway train

 

[jimmy p]

Blazing Saddles

I love that film!

 

[marlon]

i really enjoyed Black Rain with Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia. also loved Last Tango in Paris (go go Marlon go) and Gladiator...

just to give some different genres...

oohh, also loved the Devil's Advocate (love Al Pacino) and A Few Good Men with a fantastic Jack Nicholson

marlon

 

[gazzo]

"Walking Life" & "Pi"

 

[pace]

You mean Waking Life gazzo? If so I really agree! Truly special american movie. A movie you just HAVE to see three times or more!

 

[tribdog]

you foreigners are just weird. lol jk

 

[hitssquad]

All incredible movies. Practically perfect in every aspect.

Well, there is http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&id=1808405432&cf=trailer Incredibles movie so far. Hopefully there will be more. I agree it's a great movie, at least as far as I can tell from the clips at Yahoo Movies.

 

[recon]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a pretty cool movie about memory erasure. Jim Carrey doesn't overdo his acting in this movie at all. Charlie Kaufman, the same guy who wrote Adaptation and Being John Malkovich, wrote the screenplay for this movie, so you can expect to find that the movie departs from quite a few Hollywood conventions.

 

[dekoi]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a pretty cool movie about memory erasure. Jim Carrey doesn't overdo his acting in this movie at all. Charlie Kaufman, the same guy who wrote Adaptation and Being John Malkovich, wrote the screenplay for this movie, so you can expect to find that the movie departs from quite a few Hollywood conventions.

The director of that movie is the one who really made it a spectacular film.
Although the screenplay was also great.

 

[hypnagogue]

I second Waking Life, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Pi. All must sees IMO. Another absolute must see is Mullholland Drive. You'll need to watch it several times to start to 'get' it, but it'll be worth it. I was more or less clueless the first time I watched it, but now I think it's one of the most brilliant things I've ever seen.

I'd also recommend Before Sunset if you haven't seen it (tho you'd probably want to see Before Sunrise first, if you haven't).

 

[check]

I just got around to seeing 'Almost Famous'. That's a pretty good movie. Very entertaining.

 

[hypnagogue]

Oh yeah, 'Jacob's Ladder' is excellent too.

 

[Chrono]

Well, there is http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&id=1808405432&cf=trailer Incredibles movie so far. Hopefully there will be more. I agree it's a great movie, at least as far as I can tell from the clips at Yahoo Movies.

It does look very funny, I can tell you that. I'd go see it.

 

[marlon]

a great movie : silence of the lambs...ssss

marlon, tah-tah

 

[tribdog]

How about anything staring either "Steven Seagal or Jean Claude Van Damme"

 

[Chrono]

How about anything staring either "Steven Seagal or Jean Claude Van Damme"

My favorite of Van Damme has always been "Kickboxer". Don't bother with the sequels, though.