98 replies to this topic

[Viper]

I was wondering what you guys thought of the movies that just came out or classics you've seen that you've enjoyed. I have a 130" projection HDTV from sony with surround sound and was looking at checking out some more great movies. Is the THE AVIATOR any good?

[Fuse]

I've got a 52" HD widescreen and 5.1 back home, and one of my favorite movies to watch is Gone In 60 Seconds. Flippin amazing on a big screen.

I also reccomend (as just good movies) The Big Lebowski, The Shawshank Redemption (A must see if you havent), SLC Punk!, Adaptation, Fight Club, and Super Troopers.

In terms of classic quality, if you havent seen Cool Hand Luke, you need to. It's probably one of, if not my #1 favorite old movie.

[taita cakes]

For all you foreign movie appreciators, I suggest Amelie [french], Tais Tou [french] and Bread and Tulips [italian].

Always funny are Australian films. Under-funded and especially lame, but absolutely hilarious. The Wannabee's, Thunderstruck, Take Away and even Under The Radar [Which I havn't seen yet].

Oh, and 28 Days Later is pretty McAwesome!

[Viper]

shaw-shank was a killer. I'll check out Cool Hand Luke. Adaptation? It was alright I guess.

[parmaster320]

On a huge screen like that I'd probably recommend action movies with lots of gunfire and explosions. A few I'd recommend personally are XXX, Behind Enemy Lines, Enemy at the Gates, and any recent Bond movies. And props to Fuse, I love Gone in 60 Seconds.

[Black Wrath]

"Life is Beautiful". Sounds like a chick-flick, but it's actually about and Italian Jewsih man and his family who are sent to Aushwitz in 1943. It is a great movie, very accurate, and very moving. Me and my girlfriend watched it together the other day, and I'm glad we chose it over "Anchor Man" even though that's a funny movie.

So yeah, check it out, it's worth it.

[The Infinite Shindig]

I would definitely recommend "Garden State" as a movie to try. It's probably the best movie I've seen in over a year. Natalie Portman definitely shows she can act, and isn't/wasn't just a pair of boobs, like she was portrayed in the Star Wars Prequels.

I'll award bonus points if you guys pick up the soundtrack as well.

[Suave]

Garden State rocked.

Hey Tait, are those French movies in French, or English?

And where might I obtain them?

[Fuse]

Some other goodies:

Leon (The Professional)
The Boondock Saints
The Transporter
Desperado
and it's prequil El Mariachi
and its sequil (by far the worst of the 3) Once Upon a Time In Mexico
Equilibrium
Romancing the Stone
Snatch (Definitely a must see.)
and along with that Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrles, which is by the same writer/director
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi
Ronin
Lawrence of Arabia
Mean Machine
Collateral
As Good As It Gets
Harvey

[cxwq]

Sorry for the mild hijack... I haven't seen anything more recent than ROTK which I'm sure everyone has seen by now.

Ep3 looks considerably better than 1 and 2 at this point. If you haven't seen all the screen shots floating around, have a SPOILER WARNING why dontcha.


Anakin and Obi-Wan vs Dooku:

[Talio]

I have extremely little faith in the EP3, let me explain.

First off, this could be the most kick ass Star Wars flick ever made, and it will still not save the trilogy. They have left out so many characters and forgot to explain so much stuff. They flat out changed some key points of the original trilogy. Such as Mon Mothma. Where the fuck is she? She's the god damn leader of the Republic in every definition, including Lucas's, yet the trilogy comes around and you've got some jerk off Chancelor! Why aren't you Mon Mothma mother fucker?! Not to mention, she's the bloody leader of the Rebellion, yet she hasn't even so much as reared her head.

Also, I don't care who you are, battle driods or driods of any kind is just flat out gay. Not to mention...why do they talk to each other? It would be awesome and rediculously scary if these guys worked entirely silent. What you would think would be absolutely astonishing killers turn out to be less threatening then a batch of blindfolded storm troopers.

Also, what the fuck is up with this wound caughterization? No blood at a lightsaber slash? You gotta be kidding me! Does anyone remember the furry guy in the Cantina that bit it. There was blood everywhere! And Luke lost his hand, they were able to cover it up, so you really couldn't see the blood. You just never got a good look at the stump. So why change it now? Why make something thats super hardcore and makes the damn movie so great by making Jedi's look like peaceminded pansies. I understand they are under control of themselves, but come on, a Jedi's got to do what a Jedi's got to do.

Also, after the travesty that was the Trilogy DVD box set, I'm really not sure I even want to see this flick. First, Greedo shoots first, then Boba's voice gets changed, they slap that pansy in Anakins place at the end of the trilogy, and now they put the same pansy in the Vader suit. You think we're not going to notice either A. Computer generated height exageration (and I think it's very clear that Lucas has no idea what he's doing as far as hiding the computer generated parts of his flicks) or B. A missing 5 inches?

Call me a fan boy, because I am, but it seems to me when you make the greastest scifi/fantasy film ever made, you shouldn't go out of your way and fund fucking it up. Worst part is, we're all suckers and bought it. I've seen Episode 2 three times. I regret seeing it that much and I won't buy it. I've done some extensive research on the historical line of the prequels, and it's actually pretty cool. I don't understand why they've turned the Jedi into detectives when they're really only the protectors of the Republic.

I am not without heart. I know everyone does not take it nearly as serious as I do, but I don't get it. I do wonder if Lucas really thinks anymore like he once did. It's nothing against him, I just think his priorities have shifted since the original flicks. Ever since Jedi, with the exclussion of Willow and the Jones Trilogy, everything he touches seems to turn to shit. I hear that Indy 4 is finally in pre-production, but first time around, Ford turned it down becasue he said the script was a joke. It doesn't surprise me. I mean, I know these guys are now in it for the money, but can't we choose some other franchise to fuck up? I mean, this is Star Wars guys....holy fucking trilogy.

So I'm hanging on the bandwagon here and partially hijacking this thread. I really think Lucas doesn't care too much for fans. Actually I know he doesn't. Problem is, you now see that the "genious" we once thought he possesed was really just limited foolishness. I have to snicker when he says, 'these are the movies I wanted to make' when commenting about the dvd release. Everyone I know who is a fan of this movie thought the changes were stupid. Everyone else just didn't care or likes "That 70's show", which automatically means they're about as smart as a bag of burning charcoal.

Stay smart, see it once, if it sucks, lets all be glad Lucas has said he won't do the sequel trilogy.

Talio.

[Pineapple]

Thanks for the link, cx...we don't get to the movies quite as much anymore, so I usually wait for it to come out on DVD, after everyone has seen it and gotten tired of it. So looking at spoilers was kind of a treat for me.

Talio, even if the storyline isn't faithful to the original, and yes, it is quite the sloppy work as far as keeping consistent from the very original (1975) picture, still it promises to be a treat to the senses...I could even sense the action from the spoiler shots.

But don't forget Lucas' other coming-of-age classic, American Grafitti.

And my contribution to great movies to stash for the big screen TV. Schindler's List.

-Piney-

[Viper]

I'm not a big garden state fan, nor a XXX fan. NEVER RECCOMEND XXX to anyone, its a classic worst movie of all time. Gone in 60 seconds rules, so do unpopular movies like The Pianist etc. I watched breakfast club last night and that is defineately a classic and I'm about to watch American Beuty all the way through. I heard american graffiti was sick and so are most of the star wars films. Episode 1 and 2 were actually pretty good, if not for the main characters acting abilities.

Edited by Viper, 23 February 2005 - 02:33 PM.

[Talio]

I suppose, but as far as I'm concerned, Star wars wasn't really much about the action anyway. It merely complimented what was a simple yet awesome fantasy story of good vs evil. Now a days, if you want to see action, I'd go anywhere but the prequel. It's a matter of how cool something is, and I really haven't seen anything in the prequels that I think looks all that cool. Final scene of EP 2 was close. They almost had it, but I think they really over did it, and it was more distracting, but they did a few things that I just thought was rediculously dumb. First off, This Janga Fett character goes down like a bitch. Why do they keep killing off the decent villians? First Darth Maul and now this?! There is no Vader in this movie! Vader was the epitimy of awesome bad guy, and I think what really heald the trilogy together, in this one, you can never be sure who the bad guy is. While sure this may fit into a rediculous storyline driven more by politics then an evil religious conqourer, it makes for a boring ass movie. Up untill the final fight of EP2, I was pretty much yawning. I don't like sand...real smooth numbnuts!

Next thing on the list of shitty desicions was the clone troops. They looked stupid, no way around it, and if these guys are the future storm toopers I have a theory about the cloning process. The only way I can see these bad ass killers turning into the bumbling blaster toating retards that the storm troopers really are is that they lose the original cloning speciman and they accidently take another sample from the troop that took a brick to the head in battle. Other then that, how these guys manage to go from absolute kick ass marksmen to novice in one movie is beyond me.

Something else that got to me was Dooku. Not only is this a stupid name, and that he's clearly wearing Vaderesque armor, it's Christopher Reeves for god sakes. He's Dracula and Sauruman only, what the hell is he doing hold a lightsaber that looks like a limp dick? And really, thats what it looks like. Good job Lucas for slipping in yet another phalus shaped weapon into your movies, ten points. He was way to powerful. Not even Vader fought like that. Anakin also went down like a bitch with a skinned knee. This guy is Vader? He cried after killing Tuskens? Who is this kid?! It would be cool if at this point you started to see the Anakin come out that really has absolutely no fear or resentment for what he does, but lets get back to the fight scene and why it really wasn't cool. Dooku can do force zap, which is the gayest dark side move ever, and absolutely cheap. Again, not even Vader had this kind of power. Not to mention, it's kinda dumb that Anakin got his arm lopped off. Can't the Skywalkers keep hold of their appedages? And how much must we beat to death that they can't? I didn't see Leah never had a name attached to her with the word the suffix plegic in it. Either way, not a big fan of this saber duel.

Lastly, and most of all what I think is the silliest thing, Yoda fight scene. As much as I killed to see this, I was grossly disappointed in the outcome of it. Yoda is almost 800 years old, why is this guy doing ballet? As much as I think Yoda could easily kick his ass, the idea that this Dooku character is strong then Yoda is absurd. Let me leave you with a quote from Yoda himself, "The force is my ally and a powerful ally it is." This guy doesn't need to muscle Dooku and frankly, if they are exact equal in force, then Dooku should have laid up some hurt on Yoda. Yoda's not strong, he admits it, he also says he doesn't need it. And the line setting up the saber duel was like getting fucked in the ear. Come on Lucas, you came up with some killer lines back in the day, couldn't you have thought up something hardcore for that?

Either way, I really think the action, storyline, special effects and characters in these flicks are lame.

Talio.

[merlinski]

Here's my DVD collection:
American Beauty
Best In Show
Black Hawk Down
Boondock Saints
Catch Me If You Can
Collateral
Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind
Dr. Strangelove
Fight Club
Garden State
Gladiator
Good Will Hunting
Goodfellas
Gone In 60 Seconds
Jackie Brown
L.A. Confidential
Lost In Translation
Memento
Mystic River
Ocean's Eleven
Once Upon A Time In Mexico
Pulp Fiction
Reservoir Dogs
Rounders
Saving Private Ryan
Snatch
Three Kings
The Usual Suspects
Wag The Dog

[NerfMonkey]

I would reccomend The Natural to anyone. It is about baseball. If you like baseball, you will LOVE it. I don't like baseball, and it is still one of my top five favorite movies ever. It's from the 80s, I don't know the exact date, though. Excellent movie.

Edited by NerfMonkey, 23 February 2005 - 05:33 PM.

[CustomSnake202]

Star Wars episodes IV-VI are very good, the dvd trilogy is a very nice package. Under the comedy section: Three Amigos and Pee Wee's Big Adventure are definitely in my top ten. If you can consider Snatch a comedy, that is one sweet movie as well. I really like the old Alec Guinness movies like Lavender Hill Mob and Lady Killers; any movie with Guinness in it is good. Gandhi is a great movie. I had to watch it for my history through film class and I was very moved by Kingsley's performance. A very powerful movie.

And about the Revenge of the Sith, I think its going to kick ass. This is the episode I've been waiting for: all the bad mofo's on the dark-side wipe out almost all the jedi and other people in the rebel alliance. I admit that the other two movies were a little, well, messed. Qwert if you will. All that crap with pod racing for twenty minutes and Yoda actually using a lightsaber pissed me off. But I don't think the storyline is pure crap, I mean, its got some good things going on. And as far as the cinematography and action scenes go in episode 1 & 2, I think Lucas is doing a great job. The Maul scene and battle at the end of episode 2 were amazing. I think now that a lot of people are going to die, the fact that there's going to be an army of wookies, and it happens to be the last Star Wars movie to be made (I sure hope Lucas doesn't make another), I think that Revenge of the Sith will do justice to its older trilogy. That's all I'm going to say because a bunch of people probably don't give a crap about Star Wars.

[Zero Talent]

I think now that a lot of people are going to die, the fact that there's going to be an army of wookies, and it happens to be the last Star Wars movie to be made (I sure hope Lucas doesn't make another), I think that Revenge of the Sith will do justice to its older trilogy.

If I wanted to admire rendered characters using a hive-mind AI, I'd play a videogame.

I just hope it fares reasonably as a movie, and doesn't require the "Holy Trilogy" to keep it afloat.

Maybe Lucas will return to the old, rustic cowboy image of the first few movies. Maybe Lucas will feel C-3PO and R2-D2 provide enough comic relief for the audience. Maybe Lucas will create a movie that doesn't explicitly depend on a fetish for digitally-rendered scenes.

Why not? Because this is the Old Republic, the paragon of law and order. Because Space Bunnies sell. Because Lucas likes using the newest cinematographic techniques.

As I said before, it still could be a movie that is good of its own merit; separate from the original trilogy. It's not going to cost me any more to see than something crappy like, say, Son of the Mask, so I don't really consider it worth debate at this point.

If they have a wookie/human sex scene, I might raise a disturbed voice.

[The Infinite Shindig]

In the interest in keeping this a movie thread and not a Star Wars one, I will post the rest of my reccomendations at this time. I would highly suggest watching most, if not all of these. I'd have more but Merlinski beat me to a lot of them.

A Beautiful Mind
Army of Darkness
Donnie Darko
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters II
Remember the Titans
Wayne's World

[TED]

I think two of the greatest movies of all time are Bullitt and Papillon both starring Steve McQueen.

[taita cakes]

Hey Tait, are those French movies in French, or English?

And where might I obtain them?

Amelie was the highest grossing foreign film ever and is able to be purchased on DVD at any K-Mart or most likely a Blockbuster or any other store. Tais Tou guarantees you to wet your pants indefinitely with some of its immature humour as well, but this is more recent.

Unforunately, you might think, these films are in French, but its barely noticable. I was completely against going to see Amelie [my first foreign film] and didnt actually need to read that deeply, the storyline is self explanatory, and the humour/action pretty well explained. The subtitles are short and easy to read, and you dont actually notice them, you end up still watching the movie.

Check your Guiness World Records under movies. There lies Amelie.




EDIT: Yeah, Black Wrath, I never saw it because I wasn't up for a good cry, but I've always wanted to see Life Is Beautiful. I mean, just look at the awards it got Nah, I know that's pretty meaningless, but it does look like an excellent film.

Edited by taita_cakes, 24 February 2005 - 12:32 AM.

[Suave]

if  not for the main characters acting abilities.

Lucas himself said both Anakin's actor's acting ability is not what made the characters the way they were. The characters "sucked" because that's the way they were written.

Anakin was never disciplined properly, therefore wasn't ready for the emotional stress and change of becoming a Jedi. That's why he fell to the dark side.

Anakin was written as a whiny bitch, was played as a whiny bitch. But the actors did fine.


By the way, Ender's Game is going to be a movie. Hell. Yes.

Card is signing on as a producer(maybe executive), the director of Troy is going to be the director of the movie. Card himself is overseeing the making of the movie, so we know it's going to be decently sticky. He said that it is not going to be the book in movie form, because they can't make an 8 hour movie. But we will get the storyline.

All they need is the right 10 year olds to play Ender and Bean.

Thanks tait. Can you turn the subtitles off on Amelie? I'm getting to where I won't need them after a while.

Edited by Suave, 24 February 2005 - 12:58 AM.

[Grumschnitz]

Tait has a point, australian films do have a fine tradition of sucking copious amounts of ass (Hard word *shudder*) In fact the only half-decent one I've seen is He died with a Felafel in his hand It's funnier if you've read the book, also has one of the coolest opening themes ever.

For war films I recommend the always classic Saving Private Ryan and Blackhawk down, a touching tale of a stupendous american military fuckup.

Don't listen to the people bagging Van Helsing, buy it and just skip virtually all the dialogue and every scene involving dracula's wives in a capacity other than getting killed. Also the friar is just hilarious.

Kill Bill? sure why not.

As to episode three, it will suck. Episode one was pointless, there was no tension at any point in the film which made it a boring suck-fest. Episode two features the most obvious and poorly done blatant-personality-engineering ™ ever done, (see, anakin is now all angry and stuff...yeah.) and so I hold out little hope for any redemption of the series in the third one. The first films will always be better (provided you didn't buy the latest boxed set, sucker)

If you're into anime then ninja scroll is fairly good, Ghost in the shell was a little artsy for me. I'd also recommend checking out the stupidly titled Appleseed which I have yet to get a hold of. Anyone else seen it?

hmmm, classics. Well, I liked Mr smith goes to washington, but that's probably just me.

[taita cakes]

Suave: Yeah, sure, there should be no reason why you shouldn't be able to. Mind you, Amelie is a bit fast paced and crazy, so yeah.

Grumschnitz: Yeah, but The Wannabees, Thunderstruck and Take Away have been so lame they were funny, mind you, Thunderstruck was an alright movie. We've got the DVD if you want a lend sometime soon. Oh, and add me sometime soon on msn

[Fuse]

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was a good movie.
So was Harvey.