Which Movies Should We Watch Next?

[pbuk]

Given

Early James Bond

... Too explicit.

don't even think about

Pulp Fiction

 

[kyphysics]

If you're into crime and action movies, I would suggest Heat by Michael Mann. Excellent writing and acting, possibly amongst the best crime movies ever made. The action sequences are iconic, having supposedly inspired the shooters in the North Hollywood shootout. The film also served as a major inspiration for The Dark Knight, according the Christopher Nolan.

The Departed is also really well made.

Interesting Dark Knight inspiration.

One thing I dislike about films like Heat and The Departed is the way the bad guys can get portrayed in seemingly likable, sympathetic, or even "heroic" ways. Do you ever feel that?

It's confusing and conflicting morally. I have to admit that I liked the bad guys in Heat. But, I know I'm not supposed to.

 

[Mondayman]

I didn't find the characters in Heat to likeable exactly. De Niro, Kilmer, and Sizemore all play professional criminals who don't hesitate to kill. Even the good guy played by Al Pacino is a raging a**, but that is understandable given the work he does.

 

[collinsmark]

We watched all the Rocky movies from the beginning to the end. To be honest, it was a fascinating experience. I think it is Stallone's best "series" ever (not sure if the term "series" is appropriate, but you understand what I mean, don't you?) The best part was that the faces remained the same over the entire series, and the story was closely knit together.

< Possibly off-topic, sorry: >

An interesting fact is that Sylvester Stallone wrote the screenplay for the original Rocky.​

​

My main computer, on which I am typing this very post, is named "Clubber Lang."​

</ Possibly off-topic, sorry >

 

[DaveC426913]

Interesting Dark Knight inspiration.

One thing I dislike about films like Heat and The Departed is the way the bad guys can get portrayed in seemingly likable, sympathetic, or even "heroic" ways. Do you ever feel that?

It's confusing and conflicting morally. I have to admit that I liked the bad guys in Heat. But, I know I'm not supposed to.

Or is it simply that they're not two-dimensional, cardboard-cutout plot-vehicle antagonists that have no discernible motive except the doing-of-evil for the shear evilness of it?

 

[Buzz Bloom]

I have a list of over 300 movies organized into four groups by my preferences. The following is my group #4 with 41 titles.

Tape #​	#​	Start H:M​	Len H:M​	Year​	Rating​	Title (Notes)​
67​	1​	0:12​	2:37​	1991​	4​	All Passion Spent (Brit – widow of prime minister)​
53​	1​	0:01​	1:30​	1954​	4​	Beat the Devil​
88​	1​	0:03​	1:53​	1982​	4​	Blade Runner (Dialog hard to hear)​
44​	2​	2:01​	1:42​	1950​	4​	Born Yesterday​
55​	1​	0:01​	1:41​	1979​	4​	Breaking Away (Color inconsistent)​
84​	1​	0:0​	2:00​	1988​	4​	Bull Durham​
60​	3​	4:07​	1:53​	1942​	4​	Casablanca​
8​	3​	4:05​	1:56​	1981​	4​	Chosen, The​
75​	1​	0:02​	1:37​	1988​	4​	Crossing Delancey​
63​	2​	2:05​	1:52​	1950​	4​	Cyrano de Bergerac​
76​	2​	2:07​	1:23​	1959​	4​	Devil’s Disciple, The​
105​	2​	2:17​	2:18​	1992​	4​	Few Good Men, A​
91​	1​	0:02​	2:59​	1971​	4​	Fiddler on the Roof​
56​	2​	1:34​	2:10​	1991​	4​	Fried Green Tomatoes​
13​	2​	2:02​	1:57​	1947​	4​	Great Expectations​
106​	2​	2:12​	1:55​	1974​	4​	Harry and Tonto​
16​	3​	4:07​	1:34​	1959​	4​	Horse’s Mouth​
37​	2​	2:05​	1:46​	1956​	4​	Hot Millions​
9​	3​	4:04​	2:00​	1985​	4​	Ladyhawke​
39​	3​	4:23​	1:28​	1952​	4​	Lavender Hill Mob​
96​	2​	2:06​	2:14​	1989​	4​	Lion in Winter, The​
19​	2​	3:15​	2:25​	1970​	4​	Little Big Man​
103​	2​	2:43​	2:15​	1992​	4​	Lorenzo’s Oil​
10​	1​	0:04​	1:24​	1951​	4​	Man in the White Suit, The​
85​	1​	0:00​	1:42​	1956​	4​	Man Who Never Was, The​
30​	1​	0:02​	1:56​	1985​	4​	Mask​
49​	1​	0:00​	2:53​	1964​	4​	My Fair Lady​
110​	1​	0:03​	1:43​	1986​	4​	Peggy Sue Got Married​
5​	1​	0:00​	1:32​	1972​	4​	Pretty Woman​
92​	2​	2:23​	1:38​	1987​	4​	Princess Bride, The​
117​	​	0:00​	1:36​	1938​	4​	Pygmalion​
26​	2​	2:01​	2:26​	1948​	4​	Quartet​
52​	3​	3:13​	2:13​	1947​	4​	Red Shoes, The​
6​	1​	0:00​	1:58​	1986​	4​	Star Trek IV – The Voyage Home​
73​	1​	0:00​	1:54​	1984​	4​	Starman​
65​	1​	0:00​	1:48​	1992​	4​	Stranger Among Us​
86​	3​	3:40​	2:00​	1987​	4​	Suspect​
77​	​	0:0​	6:00​	1979​	4​	Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy​
82​	3​	4:01​	1:59​	1977​	4​	Turning Point, The​
35​	1​	0:0​	1:52​	1985​	4​	Witness​
93​	2​	2:07​	1:53​	1989​	4​	Working Girl​

 

[DaveC426913]

Tape #	#	Start H:M	Len H:M	Year	Rating	Title (Notes)
77		0:0	6:00	1979	4	Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

 

[pinball1970]

Is that one a series? 6 hours?

 

[DaveC426913]

Is that one a series?

Oh!

Yes it is. I did not know there was a series, so I assumed he meant the film, and didn't bother to check the release year. You obliged me to verify, and indeed, there was a mini-series released in 1979.

 

[pinball1970]

I have a list of over 300 movies organized into four groups by my preferences. The following is my group #4 with 41 titles.

Tape #​	#​	Start H:M​	Len H:M​	Year​	Rating​	Title (Notes)​
67​	1​	0:12​	2:37​	1991​	4​	All Passion Spent (Brit – widow of prime minister)​
53​	1​	0:01​	1:30​	1954​	4​	Beat the Devil​
88​	1​	0:03​	1:53​	1982​	4​	Blade Runner (Dialog hard to hear)​
44​	2​	2:01​	1:42​	1950​	4​	Born Yesterday​
55​	1​	0:01​	1:41​	1979​	4​	Breaking Away (Color inconsistent)​
84​	1​	0:0​	2:00​	1988​	4​	Bull Durham​
60​	3​	4:07​	1:53​	1942​	4​	Casablanca​
8​	3​	4:05​	1:56​	1981​	4​	Chosen, The​
75​	1​	0:02​	1:37​	1988​	4​	Crossing Delancey​
63​	2​	2:05​	1:52​	1950​	4​	Cyrano de Bergerac​
76​	2​	2:07​	1:23​	1959​	4​	Devil’s Disciple, The​
105​	2​	2:17​	2:18​	1992​	4​	Few Good Men, A​
91​	1​	0:02​	2:59​	1971​	4​	Fiddler on the Roof​
56​	2​	1:34​	2:10​	1991​	4​	Fried Green Tomatoes​
13​	2​	2:02​	1:57​	1947​	4​	Great Expectations​
106​	2​	2:12​	1:55​	1974​	4​	Harry and Tonto​
16​	3​	4:07​	1:34​	1959​	4​	Horse’s Mouth​
37​	2​	2:05​	1:46​	1956​	4​	Hot Millions​
9​	3​	4:04​	2:00​	1985​	4​	Ladyhawke​
39​	3​	4:23​	1:28​	1952​	4​	Lavender Hill Mob​
96​	2​	2:06​	2:14​	1989​	4​	Lion in Winter, The​
19​	2​	3:15​	2:25​	1970​	4​	Little Big Man​
103​	2​	2:43​	2:15​	1992​	4​	Lorenzo’s Oil​
10​	1​	0:04​	1:24​	1951​	4​	Man in the White Suit, The​
85​	1​	0:00​	1:42​	1956​	4​	Man Who Never Was, The​
30​	1​	0:02​	1:56​	1985​	4​	Mask​
49​	1​	0:00​	2:53​	1964​	4​	My Fair Lady​
110​	1​	0:03​	1:43​	1986​	4​	Peggy Sue Got Married​
5​	1​	0:00​	1:32​	1972​	4​	Pretty Woman​
92​	2​	2:23​	1:38​	1987​	4​	Princess Bride, The​
117​	​	0:00​	1:36​	1938​	4​	Pygmalion​
26​	2​	2:01​	2:26​	1948​	4​	Quartet​
52​	3​	3:13​	2:13​	1947​	4​	Red Shoes, The​
6​	1​	0:00​	1:58​	1986​	4​	Star Trek IV – The Voyage Home​
73​	1​	0:00​	1:54​	1984​	4​	Starman​
65​	1​	0:00​	1:48​	1992​	4​	Stranger Among Us​
86​	3​	3:40​	2:00​	1987​	4​	Suspect​
77​	​	0:0​	6:00​	1979​	4​	Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy​
82​	3​	4:01​	1:59​	1977​	4​	Turning Point, The​
35​	1​	0:0​	1:52​	1985​	4​	Witness​
93​	2​	2:07​	1:53​	1989​	4​	Working Girl​

Can I have more detail on your groups. Is group 4 a type of film?
A few love interest films in the list? I don't know all of them.
OR is:
4 = Great
3= Awesome
2= Super awesome
1= GOAT

 

[Buzz Bloom]

Hi @DaveC426913 and @pinball1970:

I apologize for the confusion. I was referring to the 1979 series rather than the 2011 movie.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinker_Tailor_Soldier_Spy_(TV_series)​

​

Also: 4 = Great = Excellent. 3 = Very Good. 2 = Good. 1 = Fair/Poor.

Regards,
Buzz

 

[DaveC426913]

Buzz' list inspired me to mention that I am shopping around for a producer to pick up a screenplay I'm writing.

It's the remaking of the classic play and film (with Elizabeth Taylor) - but all the characters are played by members of the band B-52's who made the hit "Love Shack".

My screenplay is called

"Cat on a Hot Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin Rooof!
Rusted!"Ba-DUMbum-tssk^{Too obscure?
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051459/
https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-b-52s/love-shack}

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Got my hands on a few movies recently that we liked, so thought I should put them here too.

• Dirty Harry (all the movies, but the first one was probably the best. A few profane scenes, but they can actually be edited out almost without any impact on the main story.)
• Saving Private Ryan (1998)
• Bridge of Spies (2015)
• Captain Phillips (2013)
• The Post (2017)
• The Hunt for Red October (1990)
• The Terrorists (1975)
• The Siege (1998)
• The Siege of Jadotville (2016)
• The Last Stand (2013)
• The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)

The WW/Cold War movies starring Tom Hanks are literally on another level.

 

[gleem]

Many good films listed above. Some that left an impression or I enjoyed and did not see or missed above are:

Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Yojimbo (1961)
Seven Days in May (1963)
Z (1969)
The French Connection (1971)
All the Presidents Men (1976)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Unforgiven (1992)
My Cousin Vinny (1992)
Forsaken (2015)

Why don't they show more of these movies on TV instead of continually repeating the same movies?

 

[gmax137]

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Unforgiven (1992)

Anyone else taken back by these dates? I still think of "Unforgiven" as Clint's new western, and it seems like all of the D-Day vets were just talking about the opening scene in "Ryan." Yikes!

 

[pinball1970]

Many good films listed above. Some that left an impression or I enjoyed and did not see or missed above are:

Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Yojimbo (1961)
Seven Days in May (1963)
Z (1969)
The French Connection (1971)
All the Presidents Men (1976)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Unforgiven (1992)
My Cousin Vinny (1992)
Forsaken (2015)

Why don't they show more of these movies on TV instead of continually repeating the same movies?

We don't tend to get films from the 70s. Sky art played a lot of Hitchcock recently which was great.
Film 4 is quite good but rarely 70s.
A Clint Eastwood theme was on one channel recently too.
Dirty Harry is so good because there is so much justice and injustice at the same time.
He is just so good, just as great a director as he is actor.
Million Dollar Baby is in my top ten of all time.
My top ten has 50-60 films...

 

[pinball1970]

Anyone else taken back by these dates? I still think of "Unforgiven" as Clint's new western, and it seems like all of the D-Day vets were just talking about the opening scene in "Ryan." Yikes!

Unforgiven was THE new Western. Brilliant.
I would check out "Band of brothers" too. That's when I realized that young kids stared death, horror and hell in the face and continued to do their job.
Now today? I could not do it.
My younger self in the 80s when I was their age? Still no, I would not have stood up to scrutiny, not to those guys.
Then they came back to their lives and got on with life, no counseling, no drugs.
Unbelievable.

 

[vela]

I rewatched Argo and Spotlight just this past week and would recommend both. I had forgotten how good Argo was.

 

[strangerep]

Million Dollar Baby is in my top ten of all time.

But it's so depressing at the end.

 

[fresh_42]

But it's so depressing at the end.

... I think Gran Torino was at least equally good.

Has Eastwood a pattern when it comes to his ends?

 

[strangerep]

Has Eastwood a pattern when it comes to his ends?

Not that I know of -- but I'm not an Eastwood afficionado. I liked High Plains Drifter, and (to a lesser extent) Unforgiven, but I don't much care for Dirty Harry.

(Aside: what is it with the oversupply of awful-content films in recent years? E.g., "The Revenant" was certainly well-crafted, but geez it was horrible.)

I've never seen Argo, but since it's been mentioned here I'll give it a go.

 

[pinball1970]

... I think Gran Torino was at least equally good.

Has Eastwood a pattern when it comes to his ends?

But it's so depressing at the end

Yes they are bitter sweet. In both he is an embittered, old misanthrope. Detached with no hopes, dreams, a hatred of most of life around him and detachment from his family.
Someone from the outside breaks him down and makes him care again makes him human.
In billion dollar baby she gets the family she missed, the love of a father figure and gets her dream.
He gets his daughter back briefly and possibly a chance of reconciliation with his following that experience. We do not know how she will respond to the letter.
Torino he helps save a family and learns how to be a human being again but there is a great cost in both films.
He is great at making a viewer scream at injustice, brilliant director.

 

[fresh_42]

He is great at making a viewer scream at injustice, brilliant director.

He made a remarkable development from these old westerns and Dirty Harry towards his own movies as an actor as well as a director - from "well if nothing else is on tv" to "definitely worth watching".

 

[pinball1970]

He made a remarkable development from these old westerns and Dirty Harry towards his own movies as an actor as well as a director - from "well if nothing else is on tv" to "definitely worth watching".

There are few films I dislike, even the westerns were different. The Gauntlet is my favourite from the 70s probably.
'Play misty for me' is good too, years before fatal attraction.

 

[OscarCP]

I like many of the movies, new and old mentioned here, although no one I think has mentioned the old-old ones that are among the great: Chaplin's "City Lights", Welles "Citizen Kane", Fellini's "La Dolce Vita", Griffin's "Intolerance", Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai", among so many others.

But I want to bring here a kind of movies I believe has not been mentioned so far:
Cartoons, animation, anime.

Among the best, in my opinion, all those by Studio Ghibli and specially the masterworks of Miyazaki's "Princess Mononoke" and Takahata's "The Tale of Princess Kaguya" and "The Grave of the Fireflies". Also by the late and much lamented Satoshi Kon: "Paprika" and "Perfect Blue" in particular. An numerous others around the world, including Disney and Laika Studios plus great shows such as "The Last Airbender" and the three "Violet Evergarten" ones, all of which have contributed greatly with this hard to do, magic-like art form to our one popular form of entertainment that has characterized in various forms (theater, tape, DVD, streaming) for over one century by now our modern civilization around the world.