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[fqllve]

I watched Taxidermia with friends recently.

It was hysterical and horrific and I'm never watching it again. The climaxes of the first and last segments were brilliantly hilarious, but it was all awful and disgusting, especially the middle segment. And I couldn't shake the feeling that it was some twisted satirical allegory for Hungary. I know jack all about Hungarian history. So it was the way the characters were presented against their historical backdrop, particularly Kalman and Gizi. The protagonists are exceptional, and in the first two parts they represent Hungary on the world stage. But the movie itself hates them, just like the world hates them. It seems like the perfect setup to make a satire but if it is it's a vicious one.

[Ahasver]

1. Fistful of Dollars
2. For a few dollars more

I don't think I've ever met anyone who's seen those. How are they? I've heard that they aren't at all necessary if one plans on watch The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly but do they supplement it well?
I haven't really challenged my self to make a top ten list in a while, but here it goes...
1. "The Harder They Come"- Perry Henzel, 1972, Jamaican crime film.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Its probably not a masterpiece in the history of film, nor does it have a very deep plot, but I could see it dozens of times, enjoying the carefree and rebellious spirit of the film. The soundtrack really does it; Jimmy Cliff recorded it all for the film. The Jamaican accents are very charming and genuine (for the first third or so of the film has subtitles [at least on my copy] so that you can get used to the language, which is nearly Creole, I believe).

2. "Barry Lyndon" - Stanley Kubrick, 1975, Epic period film.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Cursed to dwell in the shadow of his other greats, but has a stunning soundtrack (there is no better fit than "Women of Ireland" and a shot of Barry Lyndon riding through the European countryside) and tells an incredible tale of a dishonest man during the 7 Years War. Its historical accuracy is questionable, but I'll write that off to artistic license.

3. "Falling Down" - Joel Schumacher, 1993, Black Comedy/Crime film.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A hilarious view the stress caused by American work life. The action is entertaining and the plot builds fairly well, reaching a meaningful conclusion.

4. "Oldboy" - Park Chan-Wook, 2003, South Korean Crime/Mystery film.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I can't say that I've seen many Asian films, but I was thoroughly impressed by Oldboy. The plot was twisting and building and was well supplemented by incredible fight scenes.

5. "Clerks" - Kevin Smith, 1994, Comedy film.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Charmingly low budget and amusing on several levels, Clerks is a go to film for me. Clerks builds on jokes to hilarious levels and surprises you with well written (but amusingly poorly delivered) monologues and gives a tragic air to a main character who has no future and lives in the armpit of the world.

6. "Being John Malkovich" - Spike Jonze, 1999,  Black Comedy film.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

This really isn't a very great film, but I've seen it so many times that I've learned to appreciate it. I've seen a couple Charlie Kauffman films (this, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and ,number 10 on my list, Synecdoche, New York), but this one stands out to me as different. The fusion of comedy and tragedy is note worthy and, hey, John Malkovich is a great punch line for any joke.

7. "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" - Hayao Miyazaki, 1986, Fantasy film.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I can easily narrow the appeal of this film down to one word: magical. I was debating over whether I should include this or Pan's Labyrinth for this very reason, but I did need at least one obligatory Studio Ghibli film on my list. The older animation and ridiculous characters (the air pirate grandma) give nostalgically childish appeal, and, as always, the inherent condemnation of the greed for power and the quest for saving a beautiful and sacred thing clash to form a sense of moral righteousness. I like the newer films by the studio as well, but this will always be my favorite.

8. "Lost Horizon" - Frank Capra, 1937, drama/fantasy film.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

This is my favorite pre-1950 film by far. Its plot and the fact that many frames were lost (in a studio fire I believe) cause this film to emanate with a haunting hope for heaven on earth. Essential for anyone interested in utopia (But honestly, Shangri-La would make a boring fortress).

9. "The Fountain" - Darren Aronofsky, 2006, Fantasy/Sci-Fi film.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The plot followed the tale of a modern day neurologist, a 16th century Spanish explorer and a space traveller straight out of the ending of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Like Lost Horizon, I really appreciated this film because of its promise of a cure with the looming threat of the end. I'm reminded of Slaughterhouse 5 with its treatment of time. The ending, horrifyingly serene and unavoidable, is not to be missed.

10. "Synedoche, New York" - Charlie Kauffman, 2008, Drama film.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

You've probably seen a trailer for it, but I'm pretty sure it was a bit of a box office flop. The film was very ambitious, but I sort of wish that Spike Jonze had directed this one, too. The film portrays the impossible complexity of life and what happens to a man who tries to recreate it. I'm still not really sure what I think about the ending, but if I had to decide I would say that it stays true to the spirit of the film without going out of its way to impress.

[Jopax]

Falling down was awesome really, i might have to rewatch it, do you guys know any similar going crazy movies?

[fqllve]

1. Fistful of Dollars
2. For a few dollars more

I don't think I've ever met anyone who's seen those. How are they? I've heard that they aren't at all necessary if one plans on watch The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly but do they supplement it well?

I think they're better, honestly. Especially Fistful of Dollars which is only the most awesome version of Yojimbo other than Yojimbo.

[atomicwinter]

1. Fistful of Dollars
2. For a few dollars more

I don't think I've ever met anyone who's seen those. How are they? I've heard that they aren't at all necessary if one plans on watch The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly but do they supplement it well?

I think they're better, honestly. Especially Fistful of Dollars which is only the most awesome version of Yojimbo other than Yojimbo.

Def worth watching if you enjoyed The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The story does not build on itself in either one, so they don't really supplement it in that respect. But they develop Clint's character just a bit more, but that's not saying much.. hes still a very mysterious man. I can't believe I forgot about Falling Down, I loved that movie. I really got attached to that guy, you just can't help but side with him.

[Ahasver]

Def worth watching if you enjoyed The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The story does not build on itself in either one, so they don't really supplement it in that respect. But they develop Clint's character just a bit more, but that's not saying much.. hes still a very mysterious man. I can't believe I forgot about Falling Down, I loved that movie. I really got attached to that guy, you just can't help but side with him.

I think they're better, honestly. Especially Fistful of Dollars which is only the most awesome version of Yojimbo other than Yojimbo.

Cool, I'll have to get to watching them. I actually haven't seen The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly yet, but I'm watching it pretty soon for a class that I'm taking, but now I think I'll watch all three.

Falling down was awesome really, i might have to rewatch it, do you guys know any similar going crazy movies?

Taxi Driver, definitely. I hadn't thought about that, but Taxi Driver must've been pretty major inspiration for Falling Down. And then there are other more mindfuck-y films like Fight Club, too.

I can't believe I forgot about Falling Down, I loved that movie. I really got attached to that guy, you just can't help but side with him.

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. It's almost like you're lead to believe that the main character has become more sane throughout the movie, and that it's really society that's going nuts.

[atomicwinter]

Never seen Taxi Driver, that has just been put on my list to watch tonight.

So far I'm doing the Godfather Trilogy which I have never seen.. yea I know 

[ein]

Goodfellas?

[atomicwinter]

Wow just watched Taxi Driver, great movie!

Really weird, but that's how I like them. The shooting scene at the end was worth the wait.

That traveling salesman was pretty funny.

[Earthquake Damage]

Really weird, but that's how I like them. The shooting scene at the end was worth the wait.

Sounds like Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels.

[Jreengus]

In no particular order:

Primer

Princess Mononoke

The Rocky Horror Picture show

The Fifth Element

Stardust

The Princess Bride

Weird Science

Serenity

Pans Labyrinth

Spirited Away

[Retro]

Wow just watched Taxi Driver, great movie!

Really weird, but that's how I like them. The shooting scene at the end was worth the wait.

That traveling salesman was pretty funny.

Good movie; wrote a paper on it last year. The travelling salesman was played by Martin Scorcese actually (the director, in case you didn't know).

[Jopax]

So i just watched HP and the Half blood prince, the last one i saw was HP and the prisoner of Azkaban a few years ago, so there where some WTF moments (actually a big part of the movie), now i need to finde the other two before i move on to DH.

All in all it's a nice movie, a bit long but that is mitigated by the rather nice pacing, it isn't exactly done according to the standard fantasy film formula, then again it's a part of a rather long series so it does things differently, still a good fantasy movie to fill a few hours

[Deadmeat1471]

My top 1

I've always loved John Carpenters 'The Thing', I believe it is a genre of horror which hasn't really been exercised properly; An Intelligent storyline. Some exceptions are; Alien, Predator, etc.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084787/

This is the original it was based on, now I personally prefer the sequel, and this is commonly believed to be one of the few films actually improved in a sequel.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044121/

If you love 'The Thing', watch this! It is interesting at least. If you like the old style 'B Movies', this is a good one.
If you haven't seen 'The Thing' DOIT. What are you doing on this forum, DOIT NOW! 

[Il Palazzo]

Moving some discussion from another thread:

Solaris [1972] is must-see for any scifi fan, really. But if you can't deal with the Russian Soderbergh did a more recent version with George Clooney (2004 about?).

You know, I've never seen the Soviet version of Solaris, I admit this freely. Perhaps because I heard of Lem disliking the liberties Tarkovsky took with the story, when I was a kid.
A failed affair with Stalker some years back didn't help either, I suppose.
To this day I feel almost repulsed at the thought of watching it, however irrational this feeling might be.

Man, I really need to break this spell, else my self-proclaimed status of an amateur film critic suffers. Do you think you could try and sell it to me?

Also, speaking of Soviet-era films, does anybody know "Ivan the Terrible"(~1944)? The thing really should be renamed "Invasion of Goatee Shadow Monsters". Seriously, the things they do with the camera and shadows is brilliantly outlandish.
It's also available for free on Google Videos.

And speaking of Blade Runner, Linklater's A Scanner Darkly [2006] is probably the best adaptation of a Philip K Dick novel.

Heh, there's not enough of Dick's "DADoES" left in Blade Runner to justify calling it an adaptation, I suppose.
But, yeah. Linklater's film is indeed one of the best. Personally, I also liked how "Screamers" approached the material(by no means a perfect movie, though).
I've also heard some people calling the "Minority Report" the best adaptation of a Dick's novel. Hmmm.

And if you consider another one of Linklater's movies, the "Waking Life", does it not strike you as being very much in the spirit of P.K.Dick too? The slipping reality, the contemplative hero, the "don't trust your senses" message, and somewhat mystical tint - the guy must be a real fan.