FOT Forum
The Best Show on WFMU => Show Discussion => Topic started by: JonFromMaplewood on December 27, 2007, 01:42:04 PM
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For the holidays, a list of comedy recommendations for Producer Mike:
1. The Seventh Seal - Knight takes bishop. Rook takes pawn. Max Von Sydow takes funny bone. Check mate!
2. Ordinary People - Mary Tyler Moore's up to her old antics again. Yuk-master Timothy Hutton's along for the ride too! Dysfunctional family, fully-functional fun!
3. Black Hawk Down - That solider's not gutshot. He's doubled over with laughter!
4. Dead Man Walking - Not since his turn as Jeff Spicoli has Sean Penn inspired such mirth. A lethal injection of comedy!
5. Platoon - What do you know about humor? TOM BERENGER IS HUMOR!
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Songs From the Second Floor
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I've never seen "Songs from the Second Floor," but it must be a stitch: According to IMDB, if you liked it, then you'll also enjoy "The Big Lebowski."
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C'mon, those are all lightweights.
I suggest a one-two-three punch of
Nekromantik (Jörg Buttgereit's classic romcom: a love triangle between a man, a woman, and a corpse - bring a date!)
Diên Biên Phu (the French go to the battlefield in Indochina - they fight, they die, they go home; next day they're on it again - it's like the Groundhog Day of bleak war movies!)
and
The Promise (gritty/quirky social-realism drama by the Dardenne Bros - they're like Belgium's Farrelly Bros!)
(BTW: Songs is an amazing masterpiece and also very, very funny - see it.)
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Requiem for a Dream
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My fucking life.
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Pixote (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixote)
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That was going to be my recommendation, Omar! It was such a hoot!
Lots of Lars von Trier's output is pretty hilarious, too.
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City of God
Salo: The 120 Days of Sodom
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Lilya 4-Ever
Irreversible
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Wow! Tough crowd. City of God was a good one.
I'll see your City of God and raise you a Maria Full of Grace. Just try not to laugh! You'll be like the soldiers in "Life of Brian" trying not to crack up at Michael Palin's speech impediment.
-Jon from Maplewood
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That was freaky. Two "Life of Brian" references within seconds of each other.
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How about the laugh-fest to end all laugh-fests - Shoah?
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Thanks for the recommendations, everyone. I've already seen a lot of these, so I guess you've got my number. I'll be adding the few I haven't seen to my Netflix list (Songs from the Second Floor looks intriguing).
My recommendation is a documentary called Dope Sick Love. It's currently available on HBO On Demand.
http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/dopesicklove/index.html
It's about two junkie couples living it up on the streets of NYC. Needless to say, hijinks ensue. Enjoy!
P.S. Dope Sick Love makes Bubbles from The Wire (the grittiest, most realistic show ever conceived!) look like a poser (in fact, that's exactly what Matt from Dope Sick Love would call Bubbles).
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I'm going to watch this now to cheer me up.
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Sorry things aren't going well, Jason. I wish I could help.
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P.S. Dope Sick Love makes Bubbles from The Wire (the grittiest, most realistic show ever conceived!) look like a poser (in fact, that's exactly what Matt from Dope Sick Love would call Bubbles).
So would I, much as I love him. I have known some of the most wholesome junkies you could care to meet, and they were more depraved, depressing, and dishonest than Bubbles.
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Black Snake Moan always cheers me up.
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I've currently got Vengeance is Mine at home. If you thought the stabbing in Zodiac was funny... :D
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Tideland is a laff riot.
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WEll Sarah beat me to the Von Trier Punch
So how about that great family film Celebration thats is a non stop chuckles
Or better yet break out Boys Don't Cry the fun filled romp of a girl who dresses like a boy.
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L'ouvre du Todd Solondz.
Depressing to think about how hard he thought about ways to make you depressed, but you just ended up thinking, "eh."
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Maybe some chuckles from one of Britain's top comedians, Tim Roth?
The War Zone (join Ray Winstone and the gang, as they romp through the incestuous English countryside, in Roth's directorial debut!)
or perhaps...
Nil by Mouth (more hijinks with Ray and the gang, as they "tackle" the "issues" of drugs and domestic violence, in funnyman Gary Oldman's directorial debut!)
(I love them both.)
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[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=7iUlJrP5FXc[/youtube]
Watch this 60 times in a row.
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Funny Games.
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These are funnier than Lars von Trier-
La Pianiste (Michael Haneke)
Dumplings (Fruit Chan Gor)
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L'ouvre du Todd Solondz.
Depressing to think about how hard he thought about ways to make you depressed, but you just ended up thinking, "eh."
What shames me is how I laughed when I first watched Happiness and the ending of Storytelling. I remember telling the video clerk of my Solondz chucklefest and being answered with an awkward silence and look of concern. I had to take a long look in the mirror after that.
Some hilarious family-friendly French-Canadian offerings...
Léolo - I won't summarize but here are the IMDB plot keywords should tell you something (Urination Scene, Tomato, Young Boy, Surrealism, Masturbation, Defecation, Animal Abuse, and so on...)
The Peanut Butter Solution - A bizarre "kids movie" that gave horrible nightmares to every kid in my class. No joke, I've got real emotional scars from repeat rainy-day classroom viewings.
Takeshi Miike is another director with comedic chops. Watch Audition for its hilarious surprise twist.
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The Happiness of the Katakuris gave me the lulz.
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Lilya 4-Ever
Such a painful, horrifying movie. I mean, I didn't even think it was that great, but the story itself was so grim and unforgiving.
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. . . Tomato . . .
You go too far.
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Léolo - I won't summarize but here are the IMDB plot keywords should tell you something (Urination Scene, Tomato, Young Boy, Surrealism, Masturbation, Defecation, Animal Abuse, and so on...)
Yeesh. I don't think there's a frame of that one that isn't grotesque and/or disturbing. Perhaps most egregious of all was the overuse of songs from Tom Waits' Franks Wild Years album.
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This isn't a recommendation by any means, but Neil LaBute deserves a mention in this thread. In the Company of Men and Your Friends & Neighbors are as hateful and as unfunny as they come (they were supposed to be funny, right?).
While I'm at it, I think I'll throw LaBute into my personal hate pit.
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The original Solaris is a slow burn comedic tour de force.
Warning: Do not start watching this movie if sunset/dusk is within three hours.
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I love Solaris and the first cinematic adaptation. I'm sure it's hilarious by AP Mike's standards.
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The movie "Downfall" about the last days of the third reich might tickle Mike's funny bone.
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You can never go wrong with movies that have weird kids in 'em. Benny's Video is probably the best overall example of the weirdo-kiddie genre, but there are also pleasures to be found in Joshua. Once it comes out on video, I have a feeling that "I'll give you five dollars if I can throw a rock at you" will be this year's "You know how I know you're gay".
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This isn't a recommendation by any means, but Neil LaBute deserves a mention in this thread. In the Company of Men and Your Friends & Neighbors are as hateful and as unfunny as they come (they were supposed to be funny, right?).
While I'm at it, I think I'll throw LaBute into my personal hate pit.
Mike, don't take this in a stalkerish way, but this guarantees you a space in my love pit 4-eva. Every playwright in New York hates that fucking guy (seriously, he even edges out George W. Bush in the easy complaint olympics), possibly because we're all jealous, but really because he keeps writing the same shallow, boring, fraudulent, humorless, mean-spirited play over and over again and critics fall all over each other to praise him because he made a couple of mediocre independent films.
I actually hear that he's a really nice guy though.
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I actually hear that he's a really nice guy though.
Well, nice enough to cheat on his wife with a friend of mine while directing a play in London.
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I actually hear that he's a really nice guy though.
Well, nice enough to cheat on his wife with a friend of mine while directing a play in London.
Oh, snap! Jason, I owe you big for the gossip capital this will get me at New Dramatists (http://newdramatists.org).
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The Happiness of the Katakuris gave me the lulz.
That's a favorite of mine.
If you liked that, try "Battle Royale" or "Suicide Club". I particularly appreciate the glam-rock musical portion of suicide club. I was going to post the youtube clip of it, but after rewatching it decided that was a terrible idea.
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Almost forgot: The Great Santini. My parents took me to see it when I was 10. Why?! Was there any chance I would enjoy it? It was *not* The Gumball Rally, that's for sure.
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I actually hear that he's a really nice guy though.
Well, nice enough to cheat on his wife with a friend of mine while directing a play in London.
With friends like that.....
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Almost forgot: The Great Santini. My parents took me to see it when I was 10. Why?! Was there any chance I would enjoy it? It was *not* The Gumball Rally, that's for sure.
I'll top that one it was shown to me at sleep away camp. The following week we went back to watching Enter The Dragon again.
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Who can forget Leaving Las Vegas? I bet the girl I unwittingly took to see it 12 years ago on our first (and, uh, last) date can't. What a knee-slapper.
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If we're talking old movies, They Shoot Horses Don't They? is a laugh riot. Michael Sarrazin completist here.
In terms of more recent films, might I suggest, Julien Donkey-Boy? Made me queasy, but I'm sure Mike will find it hilar. And a total ROFL experience in the Foreign category could be Padre Padrone. Salo and other Pasolini directed films are a real hoot, too.
I'm trying to remember the title of a DVD I rented last summer that's about a guy documenting his childhood/life.
His mother has him as an unwed teenager then runs away, leaving him with his grandparents, who I think are mentally ill. She later returns, having been beaten by strangers. Her parents then place her in a mental institution, where she is given a lobotomy. They all live in squalor, their rooms filled with garbage.
He talks about trying to find himself, as a young filmmaker. He lives in a small town and I think he's a homeless teen for a while and gets into prostitution, which is pretty easy in his town but a lot harsher when he moves to New York. He recounts being brutalized on the streets then, later, we see that he may be hooked on drugs.
It's all done in a documentary style, pieced together with lots of family photos, super 8 and video - came out within the last 5 years, maybe (?).
I'm not sure if I have all the details right but it was probably the most depressing movie I've seen in a while. Does anyone know the title of the film I'm talking about? It's kind of driving me nuts.
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Wasn't that Tarnation? The weird thing is I didn't even see it.
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Wasn't that Tarnation? The weird thing is I didn't even see it.
Aah. Yes, yes, thanks, Jasongrote!
This has been bugging me for 3 or 4 days now. I knew a famous director was associated with it but I couldn't remember who. The friend I watched it with swore it was Gregg Araki so I did some searching but couldn't find it. Now I see that Van Sant executive produced it. FOTs to the rescue!
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Oh, a classic double-feature - bring some popcorn:
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills
Paradise Lost 2: Revelations
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I'd add to the list that side-splitting, hi-larious movie Bent, a story about two gay men who fall in love in a Nazi concentration camp (yes, they're prisoners, not guards).
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Nobuyoshi Araki > Gregg Araki
Actually, I don't know a thing about Gregg Araki. Are his movies any good?
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I think they're pretty great, Laurie. I'd start with Doom Generation which has a young, sexy Rose McGowan and two pretty boys. Her lips really do look like a red bow.
I like some of Nobuyoshi's pics, like Tokyo Novelle, 1995
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Anything with Dominique Swain or Bijou Phillips is a safe bet.
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Prevert.
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I think they're pretty great, Laurie. I'd start with Doom Generation which has a young, sexy Rose McGowan and two pretty boys. Her lips really do look like a red bow.
I like some of Nobuyoshi's pics, like Tokyo Novelle, 1995
Araki's hilarious Mysterious Skin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysterious_Skin) includes an amazing performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. His "stoner comedy" [Smiley Face], starring Anna Faris, is out on DVD this coming Tuesday. Reliable sources have informed me that Faris delivers one of the best performances of 2007. I thought Araki's early films were mostly not so good.
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I think they're pretty great, Laurie. I'd start with Doom Generation which has a young, sexy Rose McGowan and two pretty boys. Her lips really do look like a red bow.
No hyperbole: Doom Generation is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. No human should ever view it.
I've heard Smiley Face is quite odd - although probably not Adult Swim-level odd - so it's in my queue.
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Oh, a classic double-feature - bring some popcorn:
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills
Paradise Lost 2: Revelations
These are both classics. As you may know, new DNA testing/physical evidence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_Three#DNA_Testing_and_new_physical_evidence) has offered further proof of what we already knew: the WM3 are innocent.
I'd argue that PL2 is a legit (dark) comedy due to the hilarious "performance" of John Mark Byers, who now believes the WM3 are innocent. I actually laughed about 20 times during the film.
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I think they're pretty great, Laurie. I'd start with Doom Generation which has a young, sexy Rose McGowan and two pretty boys. Her lips really do look like a red bow.
No hyperbole: Doom Generation is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. No human should ever view it.
It's a terrible film. Of his early stuff, I was only able to tolerate Nowhere, but I can't recall why. According to the poster on its wiki page, it was "Beverly Hills 90210 on acid!" Ew buoy.
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I think they're pretty great, Laurie. I'd start with Doom Generation which has a young, sexy Rose McGowan and two pretty boys. Her lips really do look like a red bow.
No hyperbole: Doom Generation is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. No human should ever view it.
It's a terrible film. Of his early stuff, I was only able to tolerate Nowhere, but I can't recall why. According to the poster on its wiki page, it was "Beverly Hills 90210 on acid!" Ew buoy.
Yes, Doom Generation is awful x 100. Very much liked Mysterious Skin though. Had no idea he directed Smiley Face - saw the trailer and dismissed it offhand.
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Oh, a classic double-feature - bring some popcorn:
Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills
Paradise Lost 2: Revelations
These are both classics. As you may know, new DNA testing/physical evidence (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_Three#DNA_Testing_and_new_physical_evidence) has offered further proof of what we already knew: the WM3 are innocent.
I'd argue that PL2 is a legit (dark) comedy due to the hilarious "performance" of John Mark Byers, who now believes the WM3 are innocent. I actually laughed about 20 times during the film.
Yeah, Byers is unintentionally hilarious in PL2, when he's not unspeakably creepy (which he is like 99% of the time). Powerful stuff, those movies. They got released as a R2 DVD double-pack last year, by Warp(!), with tons of spec features - haven't had a chance to pick it up yet.
That is encouraging news about the DNA testing. What a goddamn mess from the start.
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Anything with Dominique Swain or Bijou Phillips is a safe bet.
Prevert.
Hey, I only saw Tart, Bully, Girl, The Smokers, and Alpha Dog - I didn't make 'em.
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I think they're pretty great, Laurie. I'd start with Doom Generation which has a young, sexy Rose McGowan and two pretty boys. Her lips really do look like a red bow.
No hyperbole: Doom Generation is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. No human should ever view it.
It's a terrible film. Of his early stuff, I was only able to tolerate Nowhere, but I can't recall why. According to the poster on its wiki page, it was "Beverly Hills 90210 on acid!" Ew buoy.
Yes, Doom Generation is awful x 100. Very much liked Mysterious Skin though. Had no idea he directed Smiley Face - saw the trailer and dismissed it offhand.
Aw, youse guys are crackin' me up. Geez, have a beer before you sit down to watch a film, why doncha'.
Next you're gonna tell me you don't like Cronenberg's Crash (hahaha).
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I think they're pretty great, Laurie. I'd start with Doom Generation which has a young, sexy Rose McGowan and two pretty boys. Her lips really do look like a red bow.
No hyperbole: Doom Generation is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. No human should ever view it.
It's a terrible film. Of his early stuff, I was only able to tolerate Nowhere, but I can't recall why. According to the poster on its wiki page, it was "Beverly Hills 90210 on acid!" Ew buoy.
Yes, Doom Generation is awful x 100. Very much liked Mysterious Skin though. Had no idea he directed Smiley Face - saw the trailer and dismissed it offhand.
Aw, youse guys are crackin' me up. Geez, have a beer before you sit down to watch a film, why doncha'.
Next you're gonna tell me you don't like Cronenberg's Crash (hahaha).
Welp, that Crash was pretty hard to watch. It made me uncomfortable. I really wanted to get inside the heads of the characters and give them a real talking to. A beer or a stiff drink would not have helped.
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yeah, ok, fine, fido. But at least it wasn't boring.
I dunno, saying you don't like Doom Generation is like saying you don't like Liquid Sky, The Man Who Fell To Earth, Andy Warhol's Bad, Performance, The Magic Christian, Easy Rider, Alphaville, Pink Flamingos, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Dazed and Confused, A Clockwork Orange, Billy Jack, Beneath the Valley of the Dolls etc. Were those movies necessarily great? Probably not but they were fun to watch and not to be missed films. Laurie's like 22 or something. Let's not deny Laurie her Doom Generation.
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I dunno, saying you don't like Doom Generation is like saying you don't like Liquid Sky, The Man Who Fell To Earth, Andy Warhol's Bad, Performance, The Magic Christian, Easy Rider, Alphaville, Pink Flamingos, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Dazed and Confused, A Clockwork Orange, Billy Jack, Beneath the Valley of the Dolls etc.
How dare you.
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How dare you.
Bwhahahaha
c'mon, crimestick. Work with me, here. Doom Generation is a little like cilantro.
If you don't like it the first time, give it another try.
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So you consider A Clockwork Orange to be culty, campy fare? I never thought of it that way (it used to be one of my favorite movies--I saw it when I was thirteen and fell in love with it--and may still be, for all I know; I haven't seen it in years). Certainly, I think it's in a different class from the rest of the films on your list (many of which I've enjoyed, by the way--including, I think, Doom Generation, though I can't remember it very well).
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So you consider A Clockwork Orange to be culty, campy fare?
It's not me, Sarah, it's today's viewing audience. Someone on another thread mentioned that people were laughing through Eraserhead. What a bunch of chimps, I thought. How dare people laugh through a movie that so genuinely affected me on a visceral level the first time I saw it. That movie gave me nightmares.
I went to see The Darjeeling thing the other night and noooo-one laughed through the Natalie Portman sequence. But they all nodded and heh-heh-hehed knowingly when they saw that it was a movie within a movie / prologue, or whatever it was. And, can we turn down the sarcastic, knowing laughter at movie theatres a notch. Tom mentioned the forced laughter throughout No Country For Old Men. Those moments were not that funny.
I recently saw a showing of Carnival of Souls and people were howling sarcastically throughout. It was really fucking annoying. Yes, the dialogue is corny and yes, the acting is bad and yes, the whole thing is over the top but just acknowledge that quietly and keep it to yourself.
/end rant
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Tom mentioned the forced laughter throughout No Country For Old Men. Those moments were not that funny.
Rant on! There was a lot of that nonsense when I saw No Country. I wanted to Chigurh (it's a verb now) those jokers.
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I recently saw a showing of Carnival of Souls
The original? Despite all its many, many flaws, it still has some of the creepiest moments going, don't you think?
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yeah, ok, fine, fido. But at least it wasn't boring.
I dunno, saying you don't like Doom Generation is like saying you don't like Liquid Sky, The Man Who Fell To Earth, Andy Warhol's Bad, Performance, The Magic Christian, Easy Rider, Alphaville, Pink Flamingos, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Dazed and Confused, A Clockwork Orange, Billy Jack, Beneath the Valley of the Dolls etc. Were those movies necessarily great? Probably not but they were fun to watch and not to be missed films. Laurie's like 22 or something. Let's not deny Laurie her Doom Generation.
you either mean Beyond the Valley of the Dolls or Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens. FUN FACT: both written by Roger Ebert.
also Alphaville is terrible. I love Godard but it's easily his worst film from that period. probably ever.
and yes most of the movies are really great. I think easy rider, performance, the man who fell to earth, a clockwork orange all go way beyond campy entertainment.
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So you consider A Clockwork Orange to be culty, campy fare?
It's not me, Sarah, it's today's viewing audience. Someone on another thread mentioned that people were laughing through Eraserhead. What a bunch of chimps, I thought. How dare people laugh through a movie that so genuinely affected me on a visceral level the first time I saw it. That movie gave me nightmares.
I went to see The Darjeeling thing the other night and noooo-one laughed through the Natalie Portman sequence. But they all nodded and heh-heh-hehed knowingly when they saw that it was a movie within a movie / prologue, or whatever it was. And, can we turn down the sarcastic, knowing laughter at movie theatres a notch. Tom mentioned the forced laughter throughout No Country For Old Men. Those moments were not that funny.
I recently saw a showing of Carnival of Souls and people were howling sarcastically throughout. It was really fucking annoying. Yes, the dialogue is corny and yes, the acting is bad and yes, the whole thing is over the top but just acknowledge that quietly and keep it to yourself.
/end rant
This kind of thing really depends on the setting you're in and the movie you're seeing
I live in LA, there's a few theaters here, most notably the New Beverly Cinema, who often have whole nights that thrive on this kind of thing. the fun is not going to study some old horror movie with bad acting in silence but to go see it with the experience of being in a theater full of people having fun.
on the other hand, I agree. A year ago maybe IFC in new york was showing the Holy Mountain. now there's a lot of intentionally hilarious stuff in that movie but its not meant to be a laugh riot throughout. I had to sit next to a bunch of drunk goons guffawing in my ear at every scene. It hardly ruined the experience for me but its was certainly annoying and i didn't understand what was so funny.
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But A Clockwork Orange is really seen as being on the same level as the others on jane's list? I mean, Billy Jack? Pink Flamingoes? If so, I simply had no idea.
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But A Clockwork Orange is really seen as being on the same level as the others on jane's list? I mean, Billy Jack? Pink Flamingoes? If so, I simply had no idea.
Of course it's not, from a canonical/critical perspective.
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Phew. Thank you, crimestick. I thought the world had gone even madder than I'd supposed.
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My parents took me to see The Man Who Fell To Earth when I was five. I'm not kidding.
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Phew. Thank you, crimestick. I thought the world had gone even madder than I'd supposed.
Sorry, Sarah. Didn't mean to turn your world upside. That list I put together was actually pretty personal. I guess those movies were all melded together in my mind 'cause they seemed to flow out quite freely as I was drinking my morning coffee while posting this A.M. I think I saw them all at about the same time and at rep theatres. Maybe it was that they were all about misfits, deviants, outsiders, which is what Doom Generation is about. And, yeah, they're probably all considered either culty, kitschy or camp. I certainly wasn't thinking about their calibre or whether one was at the same "level" as another. Nor was I thinking about any specific canon.
I think I was originally taken aback by the fact that three of this forum's most esteemed members would take the time to comment that Doom Generation is a crappy film, and to pile on in such quick succession. It seemed funny to me. I mean it's obviously a bad film that's fun to watch - especially if you're holding the loaded slurpee.
Anyway, I am curious as to why you so adamantly think that Clockwork Orange is in a much different league from the others. Is it because it's directed by Kubrick? Both Performance and The Man Who Fell To Earth were directed by Nicholas Roeg, after all.
Gee, even Russ Meyer, although working with marginal themes, is considered a competent director. I just wish his film titles weren't so similar and confusing. Colin, I mean the one with The Carrie Nations, but I'm pretty sure I've seen all of his work (that's available).
[youtube]VBQlnhuVSCE[/youtube]
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Speaking of Roeg, Bad Timing has more than a few laughs in it, although over 90% of them are thanks to the casting of Art Garfunkel.
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I really liked Bad Timing. I meant to pass it on to Tom, but I think this was around the same time he threw out Together, so I held off.
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I think I was originally taken aback by the fact that three of this forum's most esteemed members would take the time to comment that Doom Generation is a crappy film, and to pile on with such quick succession. It seemed funny to me. I mean it's obviously a bad film that's fun to watch - especially if you're holding the loaded slurpee.
I think in my case it was because I had completely forgotten about Doom Generation before you brought it up. In fact, this thread is probably the most it's been discussed anywhere in years! I'm still kinda shocked anyone would go to bat for it as a "fun" movie. Not only is it ineptly made in all respects, it ends with a neo-Nazi castration scene, if I recall correctly. Even more punishing than that are those Perry Ferrell and Heidi Fleiss cameos in the trailer. Ugh.
Speaking of Roeg, Bad Timing has more than a few laughs in it, although over 90% of them are thanks to the casting of Art Garfunkel.
Bad Timing is a fascinating flick. Matt's mention of it reminds me of a doc that would give any member of this board some great rental ideas: Z Channel - A Magnificent Obsession, about a great early 80's L.A. movie channel that made a huge impression on the likes of - you guessed it - Quentin Tarantino. The film clips in this thing are outstandingly incorporated; everything from Ford to Fassbinder and other alliterative combinations, I'm sure.
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Bad Timing is a fascinating flick. Matt's mention of it reminds me of a doc that would give any member of this board some great rental ideas: Z Channel - A Magnificent Obsession, about a great early 80's L.A. movie channel that made a huge impression on the likes of - you guessed it - Quentin Tarantino. The film clips in this thing are outstandingly incorporated; everything from Ford to Fassbinder and other alliterative combinations, I'm sure.
I second this recommendation. You get your cool obscure movie clips and the compelling story of Jerry Harvey, plus FX Feeney cracks a joke every now and then!
But Seriously Folks, Z Channel should be required viewing for anyone who has even a passing interest in film. Fascinating stuff.
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I agree, it's a great documentary!
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Anyway, I am curious as to why you so adamantly think that Clockwork Orange is in a much different league from the others. Is it because it's directed by Kubrick? Both Performance and The Man Who Fell To Earth were directed by Nicholas Roeg, after all.
Oh, dear, now you're asking me to think. Hell, I don't know. Maybe it's just a matter of my liking it more than any of the others. Maybe I'm making the mistake of equating my subjective appreciation of it with an objective evaluation of its worth. Or maybe I have all kinds of wonderful reasons that I just can't access right now. Who knows?
My brain don't not work too good these days, neither.
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One of the things I love about this thread is people (including me) saying, "My parents took me to see [kid-unfriendly film] when I was [young age]." I am waiting to see someone trump everyone else.
-Jon from Maplewood
P.S. About three months ago, a writer in Entertainment Weekly talked about how her movie-buff mom dragged her to see "The Exorcist" when she was frickin' five years old. I cannot think of a worse one than that.
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My parents took me to see Se7en when i was 6ix.
(that would be awesome if it was true, ...and I was that young)
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I Spit on Your Grave, age 3. I sat in a high chair.
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What's wrong with people? The worst offense I ever saw were the parents who took their 6-year-old to see Full Metal Jacket. I also saw a misguided mother with her young daughter at the South Park movie. To her credit, they left early (I wish I had as much good sense).
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Wait a minute, what the fuck? I just actually read this thread back from before the page I'm on right now (something I do less and less these days).
Alphaville is Godard's worst movie??? Clean your eyeballs, son! Haven't you seen Sympathy For the Devil?? Alphaville is awesome. He just walks around and films new-ish technology and corporate architecture and assigns them Bladerunner/Noir narration so that regular boring stuff is assigned futuristic status. What's not to love? Fucking executions at an indoor swimming pool. It's like something you'd make when you were twelve mixed with something you would make when you were a genius.
On the other hand, I think I know why A Clockwork Orange is in a different league than The Man Who Fell To Earth. Because TMWFTE is unwatchable and boring, and ACO is awesome and terrifying. That big list of movies was all over the map. Come on, play fair. Not only were these movies in different leagues, they were in different eras and different genres.
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Wait a minute, what the fuck? I just actually read this thread back from before the page I'm on right now (something I do less and less these days).
Alphaville is Godard's worst movie??? Clean your eyeballs, son! Haven't you seen Sympathy For the Devil?? Alphaville is awesome. He just walks around and films new-ish technology and corporate architecture and assigns them Bladerunner/Noir narration so that regular boring stuff is assigned futuristic status. What's not to love? Fucking executions at an indoor swimming pool. It's like something you'd make when you were twelve mixed with something you would make when you were a genius.
On the other hand, I think I know why A Clockwork Orange is in a different league than The Man Who Fell To Earth. Because TMWFTE Alphaville is unwatchable and boring, and ACO is awesome and terrifying. That big list of movies was all over the map. Come on, play fair. Not only were these movies in different leagues, they were in different eras and different genres.
fixed.
I agree, sympathy for the devil terrible but everyone agrees on that.
as for Alphaville, All of those reasons you stated are why it sucks. It's like he's not even trying.
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No. You.
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Alphaville is awesome.
Sympathy for the Devil (One Plus One version) is awesome!
Éloge de l'amour is not that awesome.
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My Dad (who was awesome, despite this one gaffe) took me to see Dirty Harry when I was 12.
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My Dad (who was awesome, despite this one gaffe) took me to see Dirty Harry when I was 12.
My friend Corbin growing up summed it up perfectly. My mom took us to see 48 Hr's his mom took us to see the non stop laugh fest Ghandi.
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My friend Danny has a great story about how when he was 8 years old and would go to his aunt's house in Queens to watch cable TV. One day they parked him in front of the TV to watch Gandhi and he was totally confused because he thought it was the movie adaptation of Dondi (http://www.toonopedia.com/dondi.htm).
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Alphaville is Godard's worst movie??? Clean your eyeballs, son! Haven't you seen Sympathy For the Devil?? Alphaville is awesome. He just walks around and films new-ish technology and corporate architecture and assigns them Bladerunner/Noir narration so that regular boring stuff is assigned futuristic status. What's not to love? Fucking executions at an indoor swimming pool. It's like something you'd make when you were twelve mixed with something you would make when you were a genius.
This is a great description, John Junk. Sorry, Colin, I do actually love this film although Masculin Feminin remains my favorite Godard film. I think I had to write a paper on it or something.
But yeah, Alphaville doesn't really belong on that list. It's more of a science fiction movie since it takes place in a futuristic city on another planet where an evil scientist has outlawed love and self expression. The l'etranger character, Lemmy Caution, does have some great lines in it though, like, "I refuse to become what you call normal", and "Fuck logic". It's also highly stylized and includes comic violence, features that remind me of Doom Generation.
Easy Rider also stands out as not belonging. It does have the road movie, alienated youth and outlaw qualities that define Doom Generation, and it is a low budget film (I watched a short on the making of it where the cinematographer talked about the fact that he had to use really primitive methods for shooting various scenes and almost lost an eye capturing the scene where the Dennis Hopper character gets shot by the rednecks in that pickup), but it actually became a popular film in its time and entered the mainstream; clips of it being shown in the Academy Awards montages etc. So in that respect, it doesn't really fit as an underground type of thing.
By the way, if you hated The Man Who Fell To Earth, you don't want to watch Just A Gigolo, a movie Bowie made that has Marlene Dietrich - ew boy.
Anyway, it's pretty rare to find any of these cult classics at rep theatres nowadays, sadly. These theatres seem to have changed their focus and their schedules right now are listing, pretty much, only foreign and small films made in 2007, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but the oldies and obscure things I used to see on the big screen in the early '90s were pretty awesome.
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ChrisL wrote:
"I'm still kinda shocked anyone would go to bat for it as a "fun" movie. Not only is it ineptly made in all respects, it ends with a neo-Nazi castration scene, if I recall correctly."
Yeah, but that's when the fun begins...
for Mike.
;)
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I watched Songs from the Second Floor over the weekend. Good stuff. Thumbs up. Depressing AND funny. Thanks for the recommendation, Matt.
Now the big question: do I pass it along to Tom?
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It's a gamble. I really, really love it, I think it's hilarious aswell as sad. But it's not for everyone.
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I watched Songs from the Second Floor over the weekend. Good stuff. Thumbs up. Depressing AND funny. Thanks for the recommendation, Matt.
Now the big question: do I pass it along to Tom?
I'm glad you liked it, Mike! I may be a complete nerd, but whenever someone genuinely likes a movie I recommend, it makes me really happy.
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It's a gamble. I really, really love it, I think it's hilarious aswell as sad. But it's not for everyone.
It wasn't my brother's cup of tea. He walked out at the half hour mark while I was sitting there yucking it up. Maybe there is something wrong with me.
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What about the movie "Hard Candy"? Not only does it turn the whole online predator phenomenon on its ear with some well-needed comedic lampooning, but it contains Best Show favorite Ellen Page.
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L.I.E
Silent Running (Like the Black Hole, without the fun!)
Rebels of the Neon God
The Elephant Man
The Sweet Hereafter
Grizzly Man
The Passion of Joan of Arc
Cannibal Holocaust
The Sorrow and the Pity
Winter Light
Vagabond
The Idiot
Umberto D
The Agronomist
and the funniest of all:
Derek Jarman's BLUE
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Ponette's another laugh riot.
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Ponette is dear. And the title character wears really sweet clothes.
I have a feeling that the movie I'm currently downloading might rank high on Mike's list: Themroc. I haven't seen it yet, but the description is promising.
later: I was wrong: Themroc has no place here. Incest and cannibalism notwithstanding.
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How about Patrick Garland's A Doll's House? After all, domestic violence is HI-larious! Not to mention it has a character named "Krogstad" which always brings out a tickle, being a silly old-world European name and all (eg: Stroszek, etc.).