Movie Thread -- Happy Stuff (Non-Wizards)

[Zerocious]

Where's that Movies thread...

Here's a post "upgrade" incarnation of the movie thread

There's a lot of great recommendations in this thread that I want to follow up on when I have the time so hopefully the Mods can move the relevant posts in this thread to that one.

Mods I'm gonna bump the movie thread.

If you can can copy/cut and paste the movie posts from the this thread to the movie thread that would be great (not sure if the interspersed "non movie" discussions cause a problem though but this is your chance to earn the dough that we pay you for ).

As if the Mods are going to even try to get that done.

I took 3 mins for ya...

I have an emergency. I need suggestions for cult classic films (even foreign flicks) that would make good date flicks. My girl is my equal in terms of knowledge of cult classics and I want to surprise her. Normally, I'm the one "introducing" chicks to the new world of Being Theres and Harold and Maudes. This girl has seen them all. So, please a list... Looking specifically at Doc, Band, Dallas, Bullet, etc... You know the type of indie flicks I mean that would impress the cultural snobs. Think Memento. Not, you know, Nemo lol.

I had great success with True Romance in college a couple of times. Adaptation is my favorite CHarlie Kaufman flick; not sure if that's your cup of tea though...

Eraserhead.

How about: 'Double Indemnity'

Off the top of my head, not in any particular order. Some properly "cult" but others just somewhat outside the mainstream. Maybe you've seen some or all.

Sonatine, Dir. Takeshi Kitano (Japan) (or Fireworks)

Audition, Dir. Kiichi Takashi (Japan)

Battle Royale, Dir. Kinji Fukasaku (Japan) (this really is cult)

Fitzcaraldo, Dir. Werner Herzog (Germany) (maybe not cult, I think it was nominated or won best foreign film, or Aguirre the Wrath of God)

Pink Flamingos, Dir. John Waters (USA) (maybe not for a date? you've probably already seen?)

Hard Boiled, Dir. John Woo (Hong Kong) (maybe not cult, just a great action movie from John Woo before he came to America)

Angel Heart, Dir. Alan Parker (USA)

Mulholland Drive, Dir. David Lynch (USA)

Speaking of Japan. My girlfriend has me hooked on Japanese anime cult movies. Made me watch the original Blood, Ghost in the Shell and some other flick called Armage or Army something. Can't remember right now.

[Zerocious]

Some cool "indieish" films:
"My Life As a Dog"
Anything by Jarmusch
Jesus of Montreal
"Once"
"Clean, Shaven" - creepiest film ever, probably not a date movie, unless the chick is sort of psycho
the Three Colors trilogy by Kieslowski is usually a hit with chicks
Anything by Pedro Almodóvar

I really liked the FLCL series (3 dvds). I think Akira just came out in a redone version for Blu ray. Also Satoshi Kon's work (Paprika, Perfect Blue, Paranoia Agent).

Also, while they're for kids and aren't cult at all, I always enjoy Miyazaki. My Neighbor Totoro is one of my top ten favorite movies.

Argentinian heist flick: 'Nine Queens'. Twists turns etc. Sexy.

My wife and I are liking scandinavian flicks:

Elling -- gentle sweet funny flick about two mentally challenged guys learning to live together out in the real world outside the confines of a mental hospital. Funnier than it sounds.

Buddy -- three pals live together in a housing complex filming their life in a video journal doing jackass stunts (only less obnoxious). During one stunt a tape is dropped in the offices of a tv studio. Naturally the tape is picked up and the guys are approached about putting their life on norwegian tv. Chick moves in, love happens. Emotional twists occur, if not hijinks. Love story plus a meditation on friendship. Not especially highbrow except that you're, you know, reading a movie.


Other foreign movies:

Caramel -- Three women run a Lebanon beauty salon -- their lives loves etc.

Il Postino. Monsoon Wedding. City of god. But she probably knows about all that.

Documentary:

'I like killing flies'. About a hole in the wall restaurant in the West Village in NYC and the wacked out family who runs it, plus the improbably delicious food.

Indy movies:

Lars and the Real Girl. Paralyzed with introversion Lars orders a realistic sex doll for company. His brother thinks he's nuts when he squires her around as though she were alive, but somehow 'she' becomes an integral part of the community.

Where's that Movies thread...

Wow, nice list all. Thank you. Of those, I grabbed:
Three Colours
Nine Queens
Jesus of Montreal
Once
Angel Heart
'I like killing flies'.
True Romance
Eraserhead
Double Indemnity

I think those best represent what I'm shooting for. Now, I have a tougher Sudoku (since you all were so good at the first). It's Halloween. I need good cult horror movies. And by that I mean either Ed Wood type, or Session 9 type (amazing modern indie flick horror), or Race with the Devil type (from the 1970's about a group in a van who witness a virgin sacrifice while camping), or Mr. Frost type (Jeff Goldblum is the devil wanting a therapist to kill him to prove to the world he exsts). Not really looking for anything overly gory. More psychological horror that are indie and classic. Angel Heart and the Believers are great examples of what I'm looking for (but less well known). '

The second puzzle is a more sexualized version of the indie flick. What are some good non-gushy romance flicks with artistic sexuality. Quills would do though it doesn't have an artistic sex scene in it.

Have at it.

OMG are you serious? I was just joking about Eraserhead.

Cult non slashy but really scary:
Psycho, The Shining
Jacob's Ladder

Sexy:
Blue (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Colours:_Blue)
Tampopo
The Lover (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lover_%28film%29)
Trying to remember the name of that Spanish director who's been coming out with a lot of good stuff lately, argh whatsisname... gimme a second...

[Zerocious]

Almodovar
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/top ... -Almodovar

Talk to Her
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0287467/

Live Flesh
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118819/

Woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095675/

^Yes, and Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down was pretty good, too.

as for cool non-mainstream scary movies, check out:

"henry:portrait of a serial killer" - good acting and low budget adds to the creepiness. If memory serves, the violence is very graphic and realistic-seeming.

"Videodrome" - was the first scary movie I ever saw (on beta in the early 80s). and it stuck with me.

the original (1974) "texas chainsaw massacre" still holds up, too.

Ed Wood as a director was campy as all get out. In that vein:

Ever seen 'Fido'?

Boy with a dog flick -- only the 'dog' is a zombie that the boy's mom buys from Zomcon. Trouble is the zombie's control collar malfunctions and Fido keeps eating people who threaten the boy...

I also loved 'Slither'. Typical alien invasion flick where slugs from space start taking over townspeople en masse. But the movie is hilarious as the characters react precisely as you and I would if zippy banana slugs started chasing after us trying to invade an orifice. Gore, solid 'ick' factor, good humor of a similar stripe as 'American Werewolf in London' and 'Shaun of the Dead'. Sort of a sexual panic metaphor, clearly the directorwas freaked out by pregnancy or something. The scene with the chick in the barn will give you the creeping ookies for a long while afterward.

I'd second the nomination on Evil Dead 2. Hilarious, gory, suspense, the whole nine.

Plus the (original) classic Dawn of the Dead is a favorite, Zombies at the shopping mall. Biker invasion, etc.

As for suspense and non-gory:

Not underground enough I suppose but 28 Days Later is one of my all time favorites. Most of the actual blood and guts happens offscreen. The tension is a clear and present danger at all points.

City of Lost Children ain't quite horror but it's an interestingly creepy dystopian vision, like Delicatessen or Time Bandits/Brazil in terms of the visual inventiveness.

I'll think more on the suspense tip.

Another weird one to check out in the cult/horror genre is "Santa Sangre" here's the imdb synopsis:

A young man is confined in a mental hospital. Through a flashback we see that he was traumatized as a child, when he and his family were circus performers: he saw his father cut off the arms of his mother, a religious fanatic and leader of the heretical church of Santa Sangre ("Holy Blood"), and then commit suicide. Back in the present, he escapes and rejoins his surviving and armless mother. Against his will, he "becomes her arms" and the two undertake a grisly campaign of murder and revenge.

Rosemary's Baby for horror.

Saw VI. Kidding.

Other randoms to impress your girl:

Indie: Goodbye Solo - just saw this. Awesome.

Blood Simple (early Coen brothers)

Bubble (low-budget Soderbergh)

Sexy artisitc (both are Woody Allen: Vicky Cristina Barelona, Match Point
Y tu mama tambien

Foreign awesomeness:
The Sea Inside (Javier Bardem was great No Country for Old Men. bump this to the topic of your netflix queue now)
Dear Frankie
Paradise Now
Amores Perros
Run Lola Run
The Lives of Others

Classics:
The Conversation
French Connection
The Warriors

TV Series:
Twin Peaks (I can't recommend this enough if you haven't seen it).
True Blood (halloween theme)

[bulletproof_32]

Gracias, senor. Thanks for doing the heavy lifting.

[ZonkertheBrainless]

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover

Spooky, culty, sexy, gross, food -- it has everything.

+1 for Y tu mama tambien!

[W. Unseld]

Back to TV, when the heck is Breaking Bad on? I liked Mad Men but I mostly have to watch TV w/my wife and it always led to lectures about how awful the characters were to woman so it just wasn't worth it. Loved "True Blood" and "East Bound & Down" not a big fan of "Bored to Death." Supernatural was entertaining for the first 2 seasons but has clearly jumped the shark now.

[MJG]

Back to TV, when the heck is Breaking Bad on?

The last season started in March and ended in May, so it's probably safe to assume something similar for the next one.

New shows I'm watching this fall:

+ Community: not truly amazing, but pretty funny and in a timeslot where I really want to watch something, so I'll be sticking with it.
+ Bored to Death: I don't feel like it has its footing yet, but I generally enjoy the whole understated humor thing, so I like it all the same.
+ Modern Family: probably my favorite new show, just very funny, but with some heart behind it as well, which is nice.
+ Cougar Town: more miss than hit so far, not sure I'd watch if it weren't adjacent to Modern Family.
+ White Collar: okay, this one premiers tonight, so I haven't watched yet, but I love the whole spy/grifter/caper type of show, so I'm sure I'll enjoy.
+ Off the Hook: UK show, I'm also a bit of a sucker for the "freshman year at university" genre, generally fun but not quite can't-miss.

I'm also watching about a million returning shows: Always Sunny, Dexter, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Psych, House, How I Met Your Mother, Californication, The Office, Criminal Minds, Mythbusters, The Mentalist, Dirty Jobs, and probably a few more. For the most part, they all are about the same as they were last year I think. Also looking forward to some returning shows the next few months, mainly Big Love, Chuck, Breaking Bad, and Hustle.

Yes, I'm a TV fiend.

[lupin]

veering from Movies, but at the root of the Cult tree: watch the original The Prisoner series from the 1960s. and, as a follow up, tune in starting in November to AMC and watch the new version of The Prisoner starring Ian McKellan and Jim Cavaziel.

[closg00]

veering from Movies, but at the root of the Cult tree: watch the original The Prisoner series from the 1960s. and, as a follow up, tune in starting in November to AMC and watch the new version of The Prisoner starring Ian McKellan and Jim Cavaziel.

Re-makes of classic films/shows are almost always a mistake IMO.

[barelyawake]

Thanks again for all the recommends all. Jm your classics are mine as well. And I loved Twin Peaks even the Fire Walk with Me movie.

[BanndNDC]

Here's a few more:

Sinful Dwarf (1973)
http://mmmmmovies.blogspot.com/2008/01/ ... danes.html
make no mistake this is a truly disturbing movie that leaves you disgusted with yourself for even watching it. the plot is relatively straight forward. a young couple gets drawn into the schemes of a demented dwarf who kidnaps young women, hooks them on heroin and forces them to become part of a sexual slavery ring. it comes off like a 70s porno and is so bad it was "lost" for awhile. truly cult but would probably scare off any reasonably decent woman/person.

Straight to Hell (1987)
kinda weird Alex Cox (Repo Man/Sid and Nancy) western. but if you like the pacing of repo man and are a Clash and Pogues fan it's a great pick since it stars Joe Strummer and Shane MacGowan (as well as Courtney Love). has really good "indie cred" from its pedigree and is a decent enough flick.

another cult movie that's name is burned in my head from being disturbed watching it almost twenty years ago is Make Them Die Slowly. I dont remember it very well but what I do remember makes it a solid halloween choice.

as for indie movies that are enjoyable you can't really go wrong with anything by Aki Kaurismaki or Jarmusch.

two recent British movies I liked:
Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel - it's just a simple little movie about 3 nerds in a pub and time travel paradoxes. i liked it a lot but im a bit of a sci fi geek. just a good solid little movie.

The Boat That Rocked (Pirate Radio) - cant recommend this enough. it's not a piece of art but it's a funny silly really entertaining movie with a fantastic soundtrack. glad to see it's getting a theater release here now (though i dont get why they changed the title).

[closg00]

Thanks again for all the recommends all. Jm your classics are mine as well. And I loved Twin Peaks even the Fire Walk with Me movie.

BA, you and & I appear to share the same taste in movies so these films come with high recommendations.

Horror:
Let the Right One In is a triple hit, it's foreign, indie, and horror.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICp4g9p_rgo

Romantic Comedy:
Adventureland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xykI3kkM9l4

Adult Drama:
Elegy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2qTmdKfSjY

[Zerocious]

Thanks again for all the recommends all. Jm your classics are mine as well. And I loved Twin Peaks even the Fire Walk with Me movie.

BA, you and & I appear to share the same taste in movies so these films come with high recommendations.

Horror:
Let the Right One In is a triple hit, it's foreign, indie, and horror.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICp4g9p_rgo

Romantic Comedy:
Adventureland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xykI3kkM9l4

Adult Drama:
Elegy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2qTmdKfSjY

let the right one in is phenominal

adventure land was okay, micheal serra look/act-a-like

not yet seen elegy.

i might soon post a list of my digital collection

[Zerocious]

so i am enjoying 3 mo's free cinemax and hbo and took some of your advise and checked out bored to death. watched to episodes but was laugh out loud!

[ZonkertheBrainless]

veering from Movies, but at the root of the Cult tree: watch the original The Prisoner series from the 1960s. and, as a follow up, tune in starting in November to AMC and watch the new version of The Prisoner starring Ian McKellan and Jim Cavaziel.

Blu ray version of this is in the mail for me...

[closg00]

The first disc of season one of Breaking Bad arrived from Netflix yesterday, I'm looking forward to seeing what all the hype is about.

[lupin]

Who is Number 1?
You are Number 6.

I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered.

[barelyawake]

Thanks for the recommends, closg. Will certainly take a look at those. For Halloween, here's the trailer for one of the kitschiest, horror movies ever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHz_HvpOHO8

[ZonkertheBrainless]

woohoo! arrived yesterday!

[closg00]

Thanks to whoever was recommending Breaking Bad, I just received disc 2 of season 1 yesterday.