Film Flam

[Dimocritus]

So, there's a topic for books that you are currently reading and topics for music you are currently listening to, so why not have a topic for sharing your favorite films? Anything goes: documentaries, foreign, independent, and I suppose even Hollywood, if that's your thing. A few I've watched recently that were pretty good:

Irreversible-A profound, thought provoking, yet disturbing film from a place where people can make movies without blowing all sorts of shit up. Directed by  Gaspar Noé.

The King of Kong: A Fist Full of Quarters-A documentary with some real life characters so screwy that it couldn't have been written any better. Directed by Seth Gordon.

POPaganda: The Art & Crimes of Ron English-Another documentary. Hi-jacking billboards for the betterment of mankind! Directed by Pedro Carvajal.


Please share some of your favorites!

[The Good Reverend Roger]

wut

[The Johnny]

"Natural Born Killers"

"The City of Lost Children"

"Die Nibelungen"


i know theres some more i like, but i always have a hard time remembering. (I have more of a musical memory)

[Dimocritus]

wut

Hrmm... Maybe you're more familiar with the term "talkies?" Anyhow...

A few quick ones before I forget:

Altered States

Dark City

Equilibrium 

[The Johnny]

Im really interested in Dune, but ive heard Lynch's version sucks @ss, and i have no idea where id find the televesion series version.

Anyone have a take on this?

[Jenne]

I just watched The Golden Compass and it was pretty kickass for someone who hasn't read the books yet.  I do hope they make the sequel just so the interest in the books gets kicked up some more.  All 3 of the dudes I live with ended up reading the whole story once the movie came out.

[BabylonHoruv]

His Dark Materials trilogy (the one in which Golden Compass is the first) is great, the movie is great also but they kinda changed the end, and because of that I doubt there will be any sequels.

My favoritiest movie ever is Cannibal Holocaust.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

His Dark Materials is an awesome trilogy.

[Suu]

Im really interested in Dune, but ive heard Lynch's version sucks @ss, and i have no idea where id find the televesion series version.

Anyone have a take on this?

Read the book.

[Dimocritus]

I just watched The Golden Compass and it was pretty kickass for someone who hasn't read the books yet.  I do hope they make the sequel just so the interest in the books gets kicked up some more.  All 3 of the dudes I live with ended up reading the whole story once the movie came out.

You liked The Golden Compass? I saw it in the theatre and was kind of disappointed. Though I always have a problem with watching movies intended for a younger audience. I tend to judge them based on the same standards I would judge a movie intended for a more "sophisticated(?)" audience, it's a bad habit. I've been trying to counter act it with Harry Potter movies. I may check out the books, though, the subject matter seems interesting. Don't they end up killing god or something?

"Natural Born Killers"

"The City of Lost Children"

"Die Nibelungen"


i know theres some more i like, but i always have a hard time remembering. (I have more of a musical memory)

"True Romance", if you haven't seen it.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I hate the name of this thread.

Wasn't there already a movie thread somewhere?

[Messier Undertree]

Yeah.

http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=19283.0

[Dimocritus]

Yeah.

http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=19283.0

Well, I suppose I could mosey on over there. My apologies for just assuming no one had made a thread like this. Although, not to say "Film Flam" is an awesome name or anything, but that topic's title isn't exactly what I would call creative 

[Z³]

The Blues Brothers
Encino Man
Eraserhead
Battles Without Honour or Humanity
Conan the Barbarian
Dark Star
Bad Lieutenant
Hard Boiled
Ghost Dog Way of the Samurai
Brother
Visitor Q
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
12 Monkeys
Fearless Vampire Killers
Shadow of the Vampire
Gingersnaps 2
Pans Labyrinth
The Elephant Man
American Splendor
City of God
Die Hard
Cemetary Man
The Gods Must Be Crazy
Strange Brew
Naked Lunch
Sword of Doom
Dead Man


also, I like the David Lynch version of Dune. Of his films, its his least favorite, and I can see why... but David Lynch does at least capture a mood thats appropriate to the story. I like the spacing guild a lot better in the lynch version, for example, and I prefer his approach to special effects rather than CGI. I think Lynch hates that film specifically because of the amount of meddling from the production end, and this is probably one of the major things addressed in Mulholland Drive (and Inland Empire, as well, perhaps). Not to mention the cast is awesome.

The Sci-fi version is closer to the book, but is a constant wave of climax/anti-climax that gets really really old after a while. The cast is nowhere near as good, and the special effects are ok, but still that cheesy made-for-tv cgi that still wasnt that great at the time. On the plus side, it does cover children of dune, which is cool. Makes it all the way up to the part where Leto II becomes that weird sand god thing, which truthfully, is about where you should stop reading the books. God Emperor of Dune was crap. 400 pages of the SAME FUCKING CONVERSATION OVER AND OVER AGAIN, not to mention overt homosexual overtones between Leto II and the various Duncans. I mean, it would be hilarious to set that book in an office, where Leto II is just the gross morbidly obese boss that CONSTANTLY sexually harasses the same underling.

Also, I really like talking about movies, so I think overtime I will revisit this list and thread and talk about why I like each individual film.

The Blues Brothers
Its possible that this might objectively be the best comedy ever made. First of all, the movie is singularly unique for being the only movie to ever assemble a cast including some of the greatest blues/etc musicans of all time. No other movie will ever assemble Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, James Brown, John Lee Hooker, and Ray Charles. Not to mention being one of the only SNL movies to be any good (I like the Coneheads movie too), and being one of the only John Belushi films. Good cross reference of talent between SNL and Second City. Some of the best driving in any movie, genuinely impressive and realistic towards the beginning but slowly building in its level of ridiculousness towards the end. At the time, I believe it was the most expensive film ever made (just for the sheer number of cars they wrecked, and probably some of the paychecks they had to write). Anyway, this is easily one of the most iconic films of the century. Certainly a landmark in comedy that was never surpassed by anything released afterwards.

Encino Man
Seriously. I find it hard to describe to people the quality I see in this film. Firstly, its interesting to note that this is probably Pauly Shores most serious roll. Firstly, the comedy in this film doesnt revolve solely around Pauly Shore, if anything he's probably more of a straight man in this film than anything. I mean, the main theme of this movie is Sean Astin acting like a total douche and trying to leech off of the personality of Brendon Frasier in order to gain some false sense of popularity, and PAULY FUCKING SHORE of all people is the moral counterpoint, teh one reminding us throughout the film that Sean Astin is being a douche and that everything he's trying to achieve is irrelevant bullshit. Brendon Frasier performs admirably in this film, showing that he's capable of physical comedy, and even manages to achieve pathos while performing lines that are mostly monosyllabic.

Also, the "culture clash" segment of the film is golden. While the set up for this, when Brendon Frasier steals a car and drives around the city inspired by the classic 3D arcade game Rad Racer, is very much ripped off from the movie Twins (where he pops the car up on two wheels, yeah, most definitely); its still a great setup for the next scene, where the assembled company goes to the fucking NORTENO BAR, Pauly Shore makes buddies with three pachucos, and Brendon Frasier disarms a potential conflict by speaking in broken spanish! As a matter of fact, Brendon Frasiers character relies on diplomacy primarily throughout the film, which is pretty fucking impressive for a neanderthal.

Anyway, I think you might be able to see what I'm getting at here. Give this movie a second chance. Stoney is easily the crustiest vato I have ever witnessed. So dont harsh his gig.Buddy.

[Faust]

The Sci-fi version is closer to the book, but is a constant wave of climax/anti-climax that gets really really old after a while. The cast is nowhere near as good, and the special effects are ok, but still that cheesy made-for-tv cgi that still wasnt that great at the time. On the plus side, it does cover children of dune, which is cool. Makes it all the way up to the part where Leto II becomes that weird sand god thing, which truthfully, is about where you should stop reading the books. God Emperor of Dune was crap. 400 pages of the SAME FUCKING CONVERSATION OVER AND OVER AGAIN, not to mention overt homosexual overtones between Leto II and the various Duncans. I mean, it would be hilarious to set that book in an office, where Leto II is just the gross morbidly obese boss that CONSTANTLY sexually harasses the same underling.

I disagree. I found God emperor to be the strongest of dune books because of its focus on the political intrigue rather then sci fi. I didn't see you're overt homsexual overtones, I saw him trying to get duncan to be subservient to his women through sex as Duncans flaw was supposed to be a glad eye for women.
If you had kept with the series the control of males through sexuality is actually a huge part and it was already an established bene gesserit thing to do.