So my fellow TiB members. I am a huge movie buff and Netflix being a gift from the Gods allows me to fufill all my movie dreams come true to rent 2 movies out at a time and instant queue for the low price of $15 a month. No I'm not trying to sell you all on Netflix (although I highly recommend at least getting the instant queue membership) but what I am asking you is this: Focus: What recommendations do you have for classic movies (you know-those movies EVERYONE knows the line but very few have actually seen the movie it comes from) under-rated films, documentaries, indie films, whatever you got. I got a list of movies I need to see but any suggestions for those ones you forget about or ones that are surprisingly great I am open to watch.
These two might not be your thing, but I have to suggest "The World According to Garp" and "The Hotel New Hampshire." Both amazing films, but are a little out there. For instance, one involves John Lithgow in drag and the other involves Jodi Foster and Rob Lowe as siblings who sleep together. They are both funny but in a bittersweet way. Edit: I recommend "Garp" first, it will set you up for "Hotel".
Like I said. I'm up for anything. I've actually heard of The Hotel of New Hampshire before and I remember thinking, "huh, that looks interesting.." and of course didn't write down the name of the movie and forgot about it. Thanks for the suggestions though.
This can probably be folded into the Instant Watch thread, as that's about Netflix anyway. I just this last weekend watched the entirety of "Sports Night", which I believe was Aaron Sorkin's first show. Once you get past the (extremely distracting and out of place) canned laughter (which is also sporadic to the point where I'm amazed they couldn't beat the network out of it), it's... well It's an Aaron Sorkin show. Wordy, brilliant, left-leaning, but in a humorous way... Loved it.
I think this is more of a 'classics I may have missed' thread since she stated she gets delivery, so it's not limited to Instant. Focus: Despite the fact that I usually agree with KIMaster's pop culture picks, I recently watched and really enjoyed Casablanca. I would definitely recommend it. I don't want to say anything about it since I can't really coherently explain it, but Big Trouble in Little China has got to be about the most random (in a good way) movie I've seen in a while. Also, if you're someone who likes to read the books first, they're both by John Irving.
The Quiet Man is one of the John Wayne's best works and is very out of character for him. It's a great film with a good story and it also has one of the longest mano a mano fight scenes in movie history.
I'm definitely one of those people that thinks books are better than movies. But I always run into that issue of I have so many books I want/need to read-do I really want to wait to watch the movie until after I read the book? A lot of times I keep thinking about the movie when I read or I see the characters in the book as the characters in the movie-a lot of times some of those key, subtle characteristics are changed which completely changes the character.
Blade Runner is great, especially considering a good two thirds of all cyberpunk owe their left nut to its imagery.
Let me parrot The World According to Garp. Let me also say I liked the movie better than the book. It's one of those rare instances where everything on screen clicks, transcending the book. They must have rationed Robin Williams' coke out for that one. Some others that might not necessarily be on everyone's lists: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (probably some of the finest acting ever.) Lawrence of Arabia Dirty Harry Dog Day Afternoon Apocalypse Now Streetcar Named Desire Last Tango In Paris (movie is bizarre, but Brando is goddamn amazing. Palpable charm. Dude is DANGEROUS in this.) Deliverance Straw Dogs (pretty rough to watch.) Aside from Straw Dogs those are all highly quoted. Such as Last Tango's "Get the butter."
Im on the flipside. Unless a movie/book has a big twist I usually like to watch the movie first then read the book. You get a much deeper experience of the universe that story takes place in this way. On this note I am trying to think if I want to watch the European version Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest thats on Netflix or just hold out for the Fincher version. Cue nose in the air Kimmaster style arguments. Was that dude banned I havent seen him on in a bit?
Nope, it was a single day ban, and he hasn't come back since. Same goes for BL1Y... he was turning every WDT into the BL1Y thread so I gave him a day off as well, hasn't come back.
At least Frank came back after his one dayer for mentioning [name redacted]. Focus: Chinatown, It's fantastic. The sequel, not so much.
I like TCM just for this reason. Classics I love and classics I hadn't seen. Some of my favorites: The Razor's Edge (the Bill Murray remake was pretty good, too) The Thin Man (all of them...Powell and Loy were chemistry) The Mr. Belvedere movies with Clifton Webb A Face in the Crowd The Best Years of our Lives Days of Wine and Roses Lost Horizon Mildred Pierce The Men The 39 Steps Already mentioned, but The Quiet Man is great and an outstanding cast Now Voyager The Hustler And that list doesn't even go beyond the 50's.
I'd never watched Napoleon Dynamite until last night. But lots of people who I considered intelligent, insightful and possessing taste and discernment had told me it was awesome, a classic, genius, and other words that made it sound watchable. Those people are dead to me now. I smiled maybe three times over the course of the movie. I might have laughed during the dance scene if I'd been less sober. What a fucking abortion. For under appreciated by fantastic - Human Traffic. Any time we've got a couple of hours to kill before a night out - it goes on. I could deliver every line for every part in that movie at this point. Clerks and Snatch are less under apprieciated I think. But they still have a cult classic feel to them - and are endlessly quotable. More obscure is He Died with a Felafel in his hand. It's an australian movie and even in Aus, it's a bit obscure - but one of my all time favourites. It's a true story, and I prefer to call them 'Politically Challenged' gets used in conversation daily with all my friends.
This is the douchiest thing I have ever said- I apologize profusely. If anyone ever has a chance to see the play of the above it is even better than the movie. Ahhh urge to be ironic and see art-house Eastern German movies on sexual awakenings rising...FUCK.
Good list, especially the bolded. Any Paul Newman movie, but Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is criminally underrated among his works. Adapted from the tensely emotional Tennessee Williams play, this film brings real life to the drama that surrounds Maggie the Cat, Brick the alcoholic, and the ghost of his dead friend that haunts every conversation he has. Obviously you are well served seeing it in person, but this movie is a great substitute. If KIMaster were here, I imagine he'd be raving about Network. "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore!" A Clockwork Orange is excellent. The book is better, but perhaps a little more polarizing, due to the language Anthony Burgess uses - the neo-Russian slang is a bit hard to crack.