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Post by Shovelman on Jul 22, 2009 18:51:09 GMT -5
Seen two of those, liked one of them. And they are?
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Post by Mr. Emoticon Man on Jul 22, 2009 19:28:59 GMT -5
Seen two of those, liked one of them. And they are? Can't you guess, based on previous comments I made which reflect my experience with and taste in movies?
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Post by Shovelman on Jul 22, 2009 21:05:50 GMT -5
#33 Memento Making a movie where the hero is mentally challenged is a bit difficult. Making a movie where the hero has short-term memory loss is almost suicide. Then again, this is Christopher Nolan we are talking about here. Before his genius was established with Batman Begins and The Prestige there was Memento. It was made with the intention of putting the audience into the same shoes as Guy Pearce, our memory-challenged hero by having two time-lines, one going backwards and one going forwards eventually crashing at some point. Also, there are characters where you're not sure to trust like Pearce isn't sure about someone. We follow the clues that he follows even if we don't have a clue on where they would lead to. It's disorienting, but it all comes to head and by the end, it hits with a certain force to it. Awesome Moment 1: "No, he's chasing me." Awesome Moment 2: The story of Sammy Jenkins Awesome Moment 3: Carrie-Ann Moss tricking Guy Pearce
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Post by Shovelman on Jul 22, 2009 21:10:01 GMT -5
Can't you guess, based on previous comments I made which reflect my experience with and taste in movies? Well I'm guessing you've seen Mulan and Empire...and you liked Empire
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Post by Mr. Emoticon Man on Jul 22, 2009 21:29:36 GMT -5
Correct.
I like all of the Star Wars films, whereas I don't care for most Disney films.
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Post by Shovelman on Jul 22, 2009 22:09:07 GMT -5
#32 Do the Right Thing Whatever your opinion of Spike Lee is, one thing that he never is is boring and he definitely hit his stride with Do The Right Thing. It's a pretty unflinching look on racism and how it a massive heatwave can boil over into a full-scale riot by the end of the night. What really makes this is it's sense of hyper-reality. The movie stops for non-sequitors, the block is full of warm colors, and the town retard should be in a sanitarium, not in the public. It would be easy for Spike to blame anyone for the riot but Spike doesn't play that game, he might now but he didn't then. In the end, it turns out to be everyone's fault and that's why I think Spike can never top it. He bought into his own hype and starting feuds with Clint Eastwood among other whites...sigh. Awesome Moment 1: Radio Raheed telling the story of Love and Hate Awesome Moment 2: opening credits Awesome Moment 3: "We want some motherf***ing black people on that motherf***ing wall!"
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Post by Shovelman on Jul 22, 2009 22:11:12 GMT -5
#31 Alien In space, no one can hear you scream. That was the legendary tagline for one of the most terrifying movies I've seen. Yes, it is pretty much a haunted house in space, but Ridley Scott had the style and the smarts to make it more than that. Everyone was a blue-collar worker, concerned about getting home and getting full shares from salvaging stuff. Yes it's a bit slow, but there's a method to it. It's a slow-burn simmering until the infamous chestburster scene where the slow-burn explodes into a claustrophobic nightmare. To say anymore would be criminal but it introduced Ridley Scott as a force to be reckon with...even he did blow it with crapfests like Thelma and Louise & GI Jane. Awesome Moment 1: chestburster Awesome Moment 2: "Ash is a robot, a goddamn robot!" Awesome Moment 3: That little Tai Chi move the Alien does after it either kills Lambert or Parker
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Post by Shovelman on Jul 22, 2009 22:11:30 GMT -5
And that's it for the night
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Post by Mr. Emoticon Man on Jul 22, 2009 22:13:41 GMT -5
I've never even heard of that first one. I've seen Alien, though, and thought it was alright.
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Post by bob on Jul 22, 2009 22:32:20 GMT -5
#32 Do the Right Thing Whatever your opinion of Spike Lee is, one thing that he never is is boring and he definitely hit his stride with Do The Right Thing. It's a pretty unflinching look on racism and how it a massive heatwave can boil over into a full-scale riot by the end of the night. What really makes this is it's sense of hyper-reality. The movie stops for non-sequitors, the block is full of warm colors, and the town retard should be in a sanitarium, not in the public. It would be easy for Spike to blame anyone for the riot but Spike doesn't play that game, he might now but he didn't then. In the end, it turns out to be everyone's fault and that's why I think Spike can never top it. He bought into his own hype and starting feuds with Clint Eastwood among other whites...sigh. Awesome Moment 1: Radio Raheed telling the story of Love and Hate Awesome Moment 2: opening credits Awesome Moment 3: "We want some mothersmorking black people on that mothersmorking wall!" I own this....I had to buy for a class project in 2004 haven't watched it since
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Post by Kermit The Hulk on Jul 22, 2009 23:56:48 GMT -5
#32 Do the Right Thing Whatever your opinion of Spike Lee is, one thing that he never is is boring and he definitely hit his stride with Do The Right Thing. It's a pretty unflinching look on racism and how it a massive heatwave can boil over into a full-scale riot by the end of the night. What really makes this is it's sense of hyper-reality. The movie stops for non-sequitors, the block is full of warm colors, and the town retard should be in a sanitarium, not in the public. It would be easy for Spike to blame anyone for the riot but Spike doesn't play that game, he might now but he didn't then. In the end, it turns out to be everyone's fault and that's why I think Spike can never top it. He bought into his own hype and starting feuds with Clint Eastwood among other whites...sigh. Awesome Moment 1: Radio Raheed telling the story of Love and Hate Awesome Moment 2: opening credits Awesome Moment 3: "We want some mothersmorking black people on that mothersmorking wall!" It amazes me that a bad movie about racism like "Crash" could win the Best Picture Oscar while a good movie about racism like "Do The Right Thing" couldn't even get nominated.
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Post by Shovelman on Jul 23, 2009 7:39:33 GMT -5
#30 12 Angry Men At the surface this may seem boring. It's 12 guys talking...in the most boring room ever created, the jury deliberation room. Sure, one of them is Henry Fonda, another is the voice of Piglet, another is Pops from Dirty Work and another is Oscar from The Odd Couple TV show but the premise is a bit iffy for entertainment purposes. Enter Sidney Lumet, literally, this is his debut film, and his inherent awesomeness to make this a classic. It almost doubles as a study of shot composition and lighting, especially near the end when it all comes to a claustrophobic feeling of dread. Lumet is so sure of his direction that even when Henry Fonda has a couple missteps when he preaches instead of acts we barely notice. And yes, this is a damning view of the justice system and whether the boy was guilty or innocent is irrelevant and that's all well and good & needs to be said but I love this mostly for the direction and writing...sue me. Awesome Scene 1: Juror 10's racist rant and everyone ignoring him, one-by-one Awesome Scene 2: Juror 8 showing an exact replica of the murder weapon Awesome Scene 3: When Juror 2 is broken down and votes non-guilty
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Post by Shovelman on Jul 23, 2009 9:44:16 GMT -5
#29 Airplane! Airplane is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing for it brought in the golden age of Saturation Comedies like the Naked Gun series but a curse for bringing all the other movies that usually end with "movie". However, there are three clear difference between those movies and this: Airplane's funny, focused and has a plot. Sure it doesn't have a strong plot but it's there instead of what happened in the last 6 months in pop-culture. This is full of opportunity for laughs that the team of ZAZ have no trouble finding. I don't want to give away too much but there is Lloyd Bridges and Robert Stacks lampooning their image of the straight-laced hero in many ways and visual word puns like when reporters says "Let's take some pictures", they literally steal some photos from the nearest available wall. As for Airplane II, it's alright but it only has real awesome line and that's apparently in the TV cut, "Looks like I picked the wrong week to be senile!" Oh, and if you can track down Zero Hour, it's Airplane! but older and I guess more serious but it's mostly older. Awesome Moment 1: Robert Stack vs. Buddhist Monks Awesome Moment 2: The voice of Nanny from Muppet Babies translating jive talk for a stewardess Awesome Moment 3: "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking/amphetamines/sniff
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Post by bob on Jul 23, 2009 10:46:21 GMT -5
haven't seen your last 2 picks
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Post by Mr. Emoticon Man on Jul 23, 2009 11:36:55 GMT -5
haven't seen your last 2 picks Same here.
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Post by Shovelman on Jul 23, 2009 11:58:53 GMT -5
#28 Brazil This movie is more famous for the behind-the-scenes battle of control than for being Terry Gilliam's best movie. It's a mad juxtaposition of the dystopian future, fantasy and hundreds of miles of ducts in buildings. Even at times, the movie is on the verge of breaking down in its own madness but somehow always recovers from the brink. It also helps that everyone involved is at the top of their game from Jonathan Pryce to Robert DeNiro to Michael Palin and it cemented Terry Gilliam as one of the most visionary directors, a reputation he cemented with The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys and The Brothers Grimm. Now for the Battle of Brazil, try to find the 3-disc Criterion collection and take a look at the Love Conquers All edit. It's about 40-50 minutes shorter, a love story and happier making it into a travashamockery of the original but an important lesson in the power of editing. And yes, Gilliam won the battle. Awesome Moment 1: The Samurai dream sequence Awesome Moment 2: The Police bursting into a peasant's house cause a clerical error labeled him a terrorist Awesome Moment 3: the explosion at the restaurant
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Post by bob on Jul 23, 2009 13:07:22 GMT -5
never heard of this one
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Post by Shovelman on Jul 23, 2009 15:39:29 GMT -5
#27 Batman (1989) Batman was the next logical choice for the next Superhero Movie franchise after Superman IV killed the original Superman franchise. At the helm for the Batman movie was Tim Burton, whose dark sensibilities was in line with Batman and you had a good feeling of how this was going to turn out. Get Jack Nicholson as The Joker and it's greatness was certain to be cemented(I didn't mention Michael Keaton for the sheer fact that before Batman, he was Mr. Mom and how did Mr. Mom is Batman sound back then). Yes, this does focus on The Joker more than Batman but somehow it feels more right in this case. The villain is always more interesting and Tim Burton somehow captures that idea and uses it to make Joker more of a threat and since it IS Jack Nicholson, he needed all the help he can get. As for Michael Keaton, he did fine and he shook off his Mr. Mom label to take on the Batman label to be best Batman at the time....that is not high praise. Val Kilmer and George Clooney had the unfair advantage to be in Joel Schumacher's reign of terror on the Batman franchise(even though I kinda like Batman Forever for it's over-the-topness). Awesome Scene 1: "I have given a name to my pain." Awesome Scene 2: The establishing shot of Gotham Awesome Scene 3: The reveal of the Joker
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Post by Shovelman on Jul 23, 2009 16:54:17 GMT -5
#26 Chasing Amy I had a friend in high school whose, at the time, movie knowledge was comparable to mine. We had an argument over the merits of Chasing Amy when he said it was Kevin Smith's worst saying it wasn't funny and I said he wasn't meant to be and Kevin Smith was trying something new and he succeeded. It became an angry argument when I said Mallrats was his worst(and it is, only Jason Lee was awesome in it). At least I have the college degree instead of the alleged rampant alcoholism. Alright history lesson over, but I still will defend Chasing Amy. It is a touching love story....at least an unrequited love story keeping in Smith's theme of underachievement. Also, it does try it's hand at answering some question about lesbian sex, mainly what's done during lesbian sex. But the main point of Chasing Amy is to prove that Kevin Smith really did have a heart and he could make us care about characters in a human way instead of "I wish I was that guy" way he did in Clerks. So, all you haters do your worst I make no apologies of my love for Chasing Amy. Awesome Moment 1: Afflecks declaration of love Awesome Moment 2: Silent Bob's Amy story Awesome Moment 3: Jason Lee and Joey Lauren Adams comparing sex scars
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Post by Shovelman on Jul 23, 2009 18:21:49 GMT -5
#25 Aliens You wanna know how awesome James Cameron is? Fox commissioned him to write an Alien sequel, Cameron wrote 90 pages but he had to make The Terminator. Here's the awesome part....Fox WAITED for Cameron to get done with The Terminator so he could finish the script and then direct it, those 90 pages were that awesome. Cameron also knew that trying to replicate Alien would've been disastrous so he made it into an action movie with lots of aliens and things to kill them with. The end result was that Cameron made a sequel that surpassed the original in every way. It is relentless, scary, gory and tense as Cameron will perfect his formula for awesome action movies here. Then it was followed by Alien 3 which was "Hey, let's make a generic slasher!" and Alien Resurrection which was "Hey, let's make a generic action movie!" but despite being generic they were still kinda watchable but come on, We demand better than this! One last thing, try to watch the special edition if you can, yes there's more emotional underpinning between Ripley and Newt but I like it because Bill Paxton says more things and that's always a good thing. Awesome Moment 1: The aliens reveal themselves Awesome Moment 2: The marines shooting the glass at medlab and Michael Biehn jumping through it in the most badass way possible Awesome Moment 3: "Maybe you haven't been keeping up with current events but we just got our asses kicked!"
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