FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: Eric on March 14, 2007, 03:31:38 PM
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All this talk of movies in the chat last night got me wondering about what filmmakers are liked/hated here.
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Top 6: These aren't very edgy choices but I don't care. I see as many obscure movies as the next guy, but my list of true favorites hasn't changed in about ten years, though Ladykillers and Man on the Moon certainly put my faith to the test.
Paul Thomas Anderson
The Coen Brothers
Pedro Almodovar
Milos Forman
Sidney Lumet
Errol Morris
On the other side, and I don't want to start an argument, because it's an impossible one, but I really can't stand any of the David Lynch movies.
They're always lit and shot so beautifully, so I watch them all, and I always have three distinct thoughts:
1)What a beautifully lit and shot movie.
2)God, I wish I hadn't seen that awful movie. I hated that a lot.
3)Now I get to hear all of my friends dissect it for a year and a half! I'll make a face, they'll make a face. I can't wait.
There is a single exception: I loved The Straight Story and saw it twice in a row. Cried hard during the WWII discussion.
I guess that was the one that many saw as an "anti-Lynch" movie, ostensibly because that was the one that had human beings in it.
The Straight Story? My hardcore Lynch-fan friends didn't even fucking see it! Too busy watching Twin Peaks on VHS for the 20th straight year.
I just don't get it. We don't bring it up anymore.
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Consistent favorites, along w/ flick picks:
Ingmar Bergman (Winter Light), Andrei Tarkovsky (Stalker), Wong Kar-Wai (Chungking Express), David Lynch (Mulholland Drive), Werner Herzog (Stroszek), Errol Morris (First Person tv series), Hal Ashby (The Last Detail), Robert Altman (McCabe & Mrs. Miller), John Cassavetes (A Woman Under the Influence), Akira Kurosawa (Red Beard), Mike Leigh (Naked), Jean-Pierre Melville (Army of Shadows), Orson Welles (Magnificent Ambersons), Krystof Kieslowski (Double Life of Veronique), Luis Bunuel (The Exterminating Angel), Michael Powell (Life and Death of Colonel Blimp), Woody Allen (Hannah & Her Sisters)
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Ooh, Chunking Express is a favorite of mine, too. I also really, really like Takeshi Kitano's Kikujiro. It makes me cry, it makes me laugh. I love it. And you know, that's fairly atypical for a guy who brought you classics like Violent Cop, you know? It's a really touching movie, though. I saw its US premier for the Miami International Film Festival in 1999, I think. Takeshi Kitano was there, charming as ever. Awww, I wish he could be my grandfather or something.
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Chungking Express is amazingly, weirdly romantic. I remember reading about Kikujiro but I admit I pulled a "Straight Story" - I couldn't see Kitano in a "touching" movie. I'll check it out though.
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I love:
David Lynch
Godard
Richard Linklater (well, Slacker and Dazed in particular)
I hate:
Oliver Stone
Kevin Smith (duh)
Lars Von Trier (okay, maybe I only saw Breaking The Waves, so sue me)
I love to hate (meaning I love parts, but hate the whole):
Roman Polanski
Robert Altman (that's right, I said it)
I hate to love:
Woody Allen (Manhattan was one of my all time favorite movies when I was 18. So sue me. But holy moly--did anyone see Deconstructing Harry?)
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"Chungking Express" & "In The Mood For Love" are absolute favorites of mine. I highly recommend "Last Life in the Universe" to any WKW fans. Chris Doyle's cinematography in it is so very gorgeous.
And one of the funniest movies I've ever seen that doesn't get enough recognition: "How to get ahead in advertising". Here's a clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWUQixBeDtw
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Ooh, word on Last Life in the Universe. That's a beautiful looking movie. I love Noi.
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As usual when faced with questions like this, I can't haul any names to the surface. Thankfully, the rest of you are posting, so I can be reminded of whom I like.
So far, you've made me remember Pedro Almodovar, Mike Leigh, Michael Powell, and Lars von Trier. On my own, I've managed to come up with Ken Loach (got to love the politics). I know there are many more. Perhaps subsequent posts from others will either jog my memory or prompt my poor, tired brain to spit out some names on its own.
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I'm with Sarah on this one. Although I must say Peter Greenaway (sp?) has made some nice movies and some f-ing heinous awful horrid movies. The Infant of Prague being the worst of the worst. I, nor anyone else, shold be subjected to watching a 30 minute long rape scene.
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I must say Peter Greenaway (sp?) has made some nice movies and some f-ing heinous awful horrid movies.
Yes! Thank you, Richard. I was trying to remember him. I find his movies strangely fascinating, although I don't think the part of me that responds to them is particularly admirable. But they're so fraught, and perverse, and constructed, and pretentious, and, often, handsome that I just can't resist them. Besides, his A Zed and Two Noughts was the catalyst of a long and fiery correspondence about censorship I had years ago with the program director of Bravo, so I'm bound to think of him fondly for that alone.
P.S. A few more: David Cronenberg, Hal Hartley, John Sayles, and Michael Winterbottom.
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Jesus, I love Mike Leigh and Peter Greenaway.
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Oh and I hate Guy Ritchie.
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I loved The Straight Story still has the funniest Title cards ever Walt Disney Films followed by A film by David Lynch
Love Robert Altman, Sergio Leone, Sergio Corbucci, Akira Kurosawa, Hal Needham and of course Russ Meyer (Have seen it all except for Black Snake)
Hate and I do mean Hate Greg Akari, Whit Stillman, and Michael Bay
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Holy Cow I totally love Whit Stillman. I know there's probably some kind of cognitive dissonance with that or something. Pretentious and chatty Yuppies? --Who knew I could fall in love with them?! Stilted and unnatural dialogue plus C- acting? Somehow it works!
I also like Hal Hartley, but Velvet Goldmine ate it.
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I also like Hal Hartley, but Velvet Goldmine ate it.
Thats Todd Haynes who directed that, cant wait to see his Dylan film
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Andrew Bujalski is a young one to look out for. I like all the "weird!" directors like Lynch, herzog, elfman , et al. I like old european stuff like Jacques Tati and Fritz Lang. Gus Van Sant has made some real garbage but I really loved his "death trilogy." And I like a whole bunch of typical stuff like Wes Anderson, Coen Bros, Scorsese etc.
Oh, and I hate Brett Ratner, Zach Braff, Kevin Smith, Rob Zombie, et cets ra
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I also like Hal Hartley, but Velvet Goldmine ate it.
Thats Todd Haynes who directed that, cant wait to see his Dylan film
Oh right, my bad. I saw "Simple Men" and "Surviving Desire", but I can't remember much and I think I was way too young to understand them fully.
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Hey, I liked Velvet Goldmine! Well, mostly because of the pretty pretty, and not the actual content of the movie. Yeah. I'm shallow.
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I liked some of the Shudder to Think songs.
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Sarah:Peter Greenaway::Me:Gaspar Noe
I'm also an obsessive Lynch fan, although I don't think any less of anyone who doesn't happen to be drawn into that world. I've never forsaken my admiration for David Mamet, Jim Jarmusch or Quentin Tarantino (though I think QT would be better off working on Grand Theft Auto games these days). Orson Welles is an American hero - I'll never think of peas the same way again.
A lot of my favorite movies are documentaries. I love Errol Morris. American Movie might be my favorite flick, period.
I grew up loving Spike Lee, but he's brought a lot of useless pain into my life on balance. Him and Woody Allen. I hate Sofia Coppola and Harmony Korine to the point of migraines. I don't get Hal Hartley. Christopher Guest tires me. Vincent Gallo's work seems concerned exclusively with the glorification of Vincent Gallo. I could go on...
~EmD
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Oh and I hate Guy Ritchie.
You mean there are people who *don't* hate Guy Ritchie.
I have to think his real name must have been something like Herbert Sensengruber.
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Sarah:Peter Greenaway::Me:Gaspar Noe
I wish I could unsee Irreversible. I've been irreversibly damaged by that movie.
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I haven't seen enough movies to have too many favorite filmmakers.
Favorites: Carol Reed (Fallen Idol and the Third Man), Robert Bresson, Dreyer (for Ordet anyway), Tarkovsky (for Solaris), P.T. Anderson (all I've seen is Magnolia but I don't like it...), Hitchcock (recently saw The Wrong Man, scariest movie ever, I almost got sick), Tim Burton, and Wes Anderson (although there is a slight downward progression for me with him).
Unfavorites: Stephen Spielberg movies, especially the recent ones. I feel like I'm being lectured when I watch his movies, nothing against lectures, just not from him. I don't like Cassavetes, M. Night Shyamalan, or Woody Allen (I liked him for two movies and then it got to me). I don't like Jackie Chan movies either. Or Bernini lately either (I liked Johnny Toothpick).
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I used to think I really liked Tim Burton, but now I'm not so sure. Especially after Big Fish. That movie blew.
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Oh and I hate Guy Ritchie.
You mean there are people who *don't* hate Guy Ritchie.
Why bother? I've seen Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and was somewhat entertained. Hardly anything love-worthy or hate-worthy there, it seems to me.
Unfavorites: Stephen Spielberg movies. . .
I think it was E.T. that initiated my disdain for Stephen Spielberg. Don't get me wrong--it entertained me when I saw it (on a big screen with Dolby sound, when it was first released), but I was painfully aware of the way I was being manipulated throughout the whole sentimental event, which greatly interfered with my enjoyment. Heavy-handed music and light cues guaranteed a certain response that in almost immediate retrospect was entirely spurious. It was Schindler's List, however, that soldered my disdain into contempt. I'll still watch a Spielberg movie when it comes my way, but I'm always fully aware that I am responding to irrestible, visceral stimuli that have absolutely nothing to do with anything worth taking seriously.
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I used to think I really liked Tim Burton, but now I'm not so sure. Especially after Big Fish. That movie blew.
I am right there with you w/r/t Big Fish. Everyone in that movie is an asshole. And it makes no sense. And you can't even UNDERSTAND what the man is SAYING.
Also, Tim Burton just can't tell a story. At all. All he can do lately is make elaborate variations on his leftover childhood/adolescent fetishes and obsessions. Planet of the Apes phase? Oh, gotta remake that. Fan of the Ichabad Crane cartoon? I'll just do my own little no-story variation on that. How 'bout Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? That's a really good kid's movie that's also kinda weird. I'll do ANOTHER remake with Johnny Depp and disregard the fact that the performance of Gene Wilder in the original is at least half of what makes that movie a classic. It's not the orange face paint on midgets, Tim! It's not the wacky sets! It's called acting! Grrr.
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I hate Brian DePalma. Nuff said.
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Alright, this post is really long but I like talking about movies, awesome to see so many replies...
There is a single exception: I loved The Straight Story and saw it twice in a row. Cried hard during the WWII discussion.I guess that was the one that many saw as an "anti-Lynch" movie, ostensibly because that was the one that had human beings in it. The Straight Story? My hardcore Lynch-fan friends didn't even fucking see it! Too busy watching Twin Peaks on VHS for the 20th straight year.
I just don't get it. We don't bring it up anymore.
I pretty much agree 100%. I feel like I never get past intrigue with Lynch. I'm definitely intrigued by certain images and scenes in his films...I agree that his visuals/lighting are his strengths. But I can never completely give myself over to him beyond that. "The Elephant Man" is my exception, it's one of my favorites. I thought it was pretty shocking how much more humane and straightforward it was than his other movies. I never did see "The Straight Story", but I've heard from others too that it's similarly against the norm.
I've said it before so I won't harp on it too much - I just can't seem to get into surrealism, in general. I'm always afraid it makes me sound close-minded or lame and I do understand its appeal but it's just not for me. I guess I just don't have the patience for it. Even most of Kubrick's films are a bit over my head. As much as admire him, I can't count any of them among my favorites.
That said, I do think Lynch and Kubrick are (or were) probably the best there is at what they do. Despite not being totally on board, I can definitely recognize their talent. And I admire them extremely for making interesting films without ever really falling back on easy shocks or provocation for provocation's sake as I feel some they've influenced have. I'm somehow never left completely cold by their films, and I never regret seeing them.
Werner Herzog (Stroszek), Robert Altman (McCabe & Mrs. Miller), John Cassavetes (A Woman Under the Influence), Mike Leigh (Naked)
Agreed 100% with these, Mr. L, tho I'm torn between "Naked" and "Secrets and Lies" for Leigh (typical, I know). Still haven't seen any Bergman or Wong Kar Wai, I've been meaning to. I shall take note of your picks.
I think it was E.T. that initiated my disdain for Stephen Spielberg. Don't get me wrong--it entertained me when I saw it (on a big screen with Dolby sound, when it was first released), but I was painfully aware of the way I was being manipulated throughout the whole sentimental event, which greatly interfered with my enjoyment. Heavy-handed music and light cues guaranteed a certain response that in almost immediate retrospect was entirely spurious. It was Schindler's List, however, that soldered my disdain into contempt. I'll still watch a Spielberg movie when it comes my way, but I'm always fully aware that I am responding to irrestible, visceral stimuli that have absolutely nothing to do with anything worth taking seriously.
I forgive the manipulation in his early, family movies more readily. Especially having seen them before I really knew of a such thing as bad movies...nostalgia definitely factors into it, of course. I'm not a complete apologist tho, I hate Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan as much as the next guy. I only really like "Jaws", "ET", and "Close Encounters" when it comes down to it. I guess I think he's a good storyteller, even though he could be accused of the same nostalgic fixation as Burton when it comes to content. "Entertainment" is probably the best word for it, especially in Dolby sound. I liked "Catch Me if You Can" quite a bit too. He should obviously stick to the lighter stuff, it's kind of scary how terribly his style melds with war and suffering.
Also, Tim Burton just can't tell a story. At all. All he can do lately is make elaborate variations on his leftover childhood/adolescent fetishes and obsessions. Planet of the Apes phase? Oh, gotta remake that. Fan of the Ichabad Crane cartoon? I'll just do my own little no-story variation on that. How 'bout Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? That's a really good kid's movie that's also kinda weird. I'll do ANOTHER remake with Johnny Depp and disregard the fact that the performance of Gene Wilder in the original is at least half of what makes that movie a classic. It's not the orange face paint on midgets, Tim! It's not the wacky sets! It's called acting! Grrr.
Well-put, John. It's definitely getting harder and harder to be a Tim Burton fan. I'll always love "Edward Scissorhands", "Ed Wood", "Beetlejuice", and "Pee Wee's Big Adventure". But "Big Fish" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" are among the most annoying, tired, depressing, soulless movies I've seen. "Corpse Bride" was less offensive, but still completely uninspired and boring. He's sleepwalking at this point through this really tired formula that even he's bored with: Tortured main character, sympathetic love interest in an otherwise unsympathetic setting, weird secondary characters for comic relief and yes, dorky gothic imagery.
A lot of my favorite movies are documentaries. I love Errol Morris. American Movie might be my favorite flick, period.
I love it too. What do you think of people looking at it as a complete freak show tho? Like "man, these people are so STUPID!"...you know? Not to sound self-righteous but I think it's pretty lame when people reduce it to that. I think it's at least as sad as it is funny, which it totally is funny, I'm not denying that. It would probably be more condescending to look at it in complete pity, after all. But I can't imagine looking at it as this totally wacky comedy the way some people seem to.
Morris is good too. "Gates of Heaven" and "Vernon, Florida" are definitely among my favorites. They sometimes elicit that same freak show reaction, but I think they're insanely heartfelt apart from being funny.
Anyway, my other picks:
I love Martin Scorsese, Werner Herzog, Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, John Cassavetes, Orson Welles, Terrence Malick, Akira Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchock, Mike Leigh, Alan Clarke, Frederick Wiseman, and more.
I hate (as opposed to don't get) Todd Solondz, Larry Clark, Greg Araki, Oliver Stone, Sofia Coppola, and Crispin Glover.
Does anyone here have Netflix?
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Does anyone here have Netflix?
http://www.friendsoftom.com/forum/index.php/topic,88.msg472.html#msg472
(http://www.friendsoftom.com/forum/index.php/topic,88.msg472.html#msg472)
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I never did see "The Straight Story", but I've heard from others too that it's similarly against the norm.
The Straight Story is really good.
I used to work at this place called The Flying J Ranch (http://www.flyingjranch.com/ (http://www.flyingjranch.com/)) when I was a teenager and Richard Farnsworth would come by and hang out with the staff. I think he lived on a ranch nearby. The first time I saw him was actually in our local wal-mart. He was checking out T.V.s and I was playing Super Nintendo on the display set.
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I'm torn between "Naked" and "Secrets and Lies" for Leigh.
That's tougher than Sophie's Choice.
I know he's not strictly a filmmaker but does anyone like Dennis Potter? I think The Singing Detective is one of the finest things ever filmed.
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The Singing Detective is probably the greatest non-HBO show I've ever seen.
The Straight Story is really good. The only Lynch film I don't care for is Lost Highway.
I don't want to go all Armond White here but Spielberg has a pretty great track record overall. I thought Munich was quite good, except for that one really embarassing scene near the end (if you've seen it, you know which one). The murder of that female assassin was probably the most disturbing thing he's ever filmed, and he's filmed some fucking great death scenes (more talk of those in the comments section here: http://mattzollerseitz.blogspot.com/2006/01/5-for-day-death-scenes.html).
Also, Band of Brothers, which Spielberg and Hanks produced, was really great. It had all the good parts of Saving Private Ryan (i.e. the battle scenes), and virtually no bad parts over the entire 10 hours.
Oh, and Eric, you're in for some good stuff w/ Wong Kar Wai. Don't miss Fallen Angels, Days of Being Wild or In the Mood for Love. I have to say I thought 2046 was kind of a mess, but I don't know which cut of the film I saw (it was a version that was briefly on Netflix before it got yanked for the U.S. release).
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I know he's not strictly a filmmaker but does anyone like Dennis Potter? I think The Singing Detective is one of the finest things ever filmed.
More evidence supporting my theory that you and I are related, Jason. I am in complete agreement. The Singing Detective is one of the best things I've ever seen and without doubt the best thing ever made for television.
Who knew that psoriasis could be such a muse?
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This is probably worthy of another thread, but when I saw the words "Singing Detective" I immediately thought of Cop Rock:
[youtube=425,350]0hoCPLTA5wE[/youtube]
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This one is even better:
[youtube=425,350]Tp_coIHhBnY[/youtube]
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I love it too. What do you think of people looking at it as a complete freak show tho? Like "man, these people are so STUPID!"...you know? Not to sound self-righteous but I think it's pretty lame when people reduce it to that.
Their loss. Those people are shown in a more complex way than any fictional characters I can think of. It's funny and sad and (for me) fucking inspiring. I wish I'd thought of it on "inappropriate emotional responses to movies" night.
~EmD
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Wong Kar-Wai grows on me over time. I think I've seen "Chungking Express" and "Days of Being Wild" a few times each, and they don't really tire me. Most movies do after a few repeat performances. "Fallen Angels" is a flick that I can't miss anytime it shows up on cable, and it would have to be my fave of the lot. I concede, as Chris L mentioned, that "In the Mood for Love" and/or 2046 may have been kind of messy in certain respects, and I would argue that WKW's movies are not for everyone, or maybe even for most people. I always recommend them though.
Another realization today -- I was half-watching Magnolia while doing some work, one of those movies Tom brings up an awful lot. It was a pretty damn good film and is another one that stands up to repeat viewing and will stand the test of time, as far as I'm concerned. I'd be happy as a clam if a lot more movies like these were made.
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I don't know. I'm on the fence about Magnolia. When it first came out I was Way into it. There was an ongoing debate between me and everyone I knew for awhile. Magnolia, American Beauty, and Fight Club were in a heated battle for worst and/or best movie ever. My older brother HATED Magnolia and LOVED American Beauty. I Loved Magnolia when it came out, HATED American Beauty, and SORTA hated Fight Club but thought "at least this movie is OPENLY myscegenistic* unlike American Beauty". Then I saw Magnolia a second time and kinda started to hate that too, but I feel like Magnolia and American Beauty are like polar opposites. One is the antidote to the other. One thing I do like about Magnolia is that it is so relentlessly and fearlessly sincere, but I don't know if I'd even be able to stand it for ten minutes now that I live in southern California. There's a definite "Sad Yuppie" thing running through it. Still, I was always a defender of the Aimmee Mann montage when everyone in art school was like "no Way!" and calling it emotional pornography and whatnot. Anyway you slice it, Magnolia could've been a whole lot shorter, and Boogie Nights is kinda better, imho.
*no idea how that's spelled.
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"Misogynistic" (you had to know I wouldn't be able to pass that up).
As to the movies: loathed American Beauty, liked and still like Magnolia (and agree that Boogie Nights was better), and found Fight Club entertaining enough but likely will never bother to watch it again.
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oooohh... Fight Club. We can't afford to be "on the fence" about that one, now, can we? Otherwise a Certain Someone might come down on us awfully hard. I'd hate to see an FOT purge.
Boogie Nights was on one of my cable channels the other night. Now that is one movie I saw and was entertained/disturbed by, but can't watch again. The entertainment is gone, it's just just upsetting to me now. What's wrong with me?
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Since I mentioned him first, and nobody contested, I'm going to go ahead and assume that every single one of you feels that Paul Thomas Anderson is the greatest filmmaker of all time.
Love,
The guy who has heard so much Best Show in the last year, he starts talking like a poor man's Tom after 4 Heinekens. Shameful.
You know what else is shameful? No mention yet of Spike Jonze.
God damn it, I did it again.
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"Misogynistic" (you had to know I wouldn't be able to pass that up).
Unless he meant miscegenistic?
I don't know I didn't see the film.
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Since I mentioned him first, and nobody contested, I'm going to go ahead and assume that every single one of you feels that Paul Thomas Anderson is the greatest filmmaker of all time.
Well, that would be inaccurate.
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Unless he meant miscegenistic?
I promise he didn't.
I like Paul Thomas Anderson, but the greatest filmmaker of all time?
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Since I mentioned him first, and nobody contested, I'm going to go ahead and assume that every single one of you feels that Paul Thomas Anderson is the greatest filmmaker of all time.
Poor mans Robert Altman
Short Cuts + Frogs = Magnolia
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There is a single exception: I loved The Straight Story and saw it twice in a row. Cried hard during the WWII discussion.
I guess that was the one that many saw as an "anti-Lynch" movie, ostensibly because that was the one that had human beings in it
I think that humanism present in the Straight Story is something of a constant in all of Lynch's movies. More often than not you have to look beneath layers of pretension to find it, but I find it one the aspects of his filmmaking that separates him from others who deal in similar sureallisms. His fantasy indulgences are always anchored by a sense of genuine awe at the peculiar-ness of human emotion.
Whether it is the humor of Twin Peaks or the dread filled first half of Lost Highway, I never leave one of his movies feeling like he was (just) fucking around. There always seems to be something genuinely dimensional at stake.
For me, a fan of Lynch, the seeing the Straight Story really crystallized a lot of the reasons why I love the guy's work.
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Since I mentioned him first, and nobody contested, I'm going to go ahead and assume that every single one of you feels that Paul Thomas Anderson is the greatest filmmaker of all time.
Poor mans Robert Altman
Short Cuts + Frogs = Magnolia
It was a pretty good movie, but what the fuck was up with those frogs?
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A few years ago I heard a NPR interview with the guy who played the game show host in Magnolia, and apparently the frog thing is a natural occurrence in areas of the US where tornadoes are common (how stupid looking is the plural spelling of "tornadoes"?). What he said happens is when tornadoes (GAH!!!) pass over ponds or other bodies of water where frogs dwell, the creatures get swept up into the sky and end up raining down (presumably with other water dwellers) on the land when the tornado (THANK YOU) loses steam.
I am pissed now. Good job, plural tornado. Good job. Hey Mike, is this the kind of thing that triggers your rage-outs?
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Are you similarly distressed by "tomatoes" and "potatoes"?
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Here's my favourites:
Davis Lynch: Undohead and Outland Empire being my favorites.
Roman Pulaski: Everything from Annemarie's Fetus to Asiatown is tops. The Occupant is stupid though, where he jumps out of the window dressed up like a giant rabbit?
Jean Luc Stoddard: Especially "Los Mepris" and "Weekday Pleasure Drive."
Albert Hitchcock: East by Eastwestbeing my favorite.
Stanley Crotchrocket: Elbows on the Table, starring Julie Cruise and Rudyard Kipland, is a haunting journey into psychosexual morass caused by Leeloo's lack of a multipass. Gripping.
Sam Lesser: The Big Blue One + Fully Clothed Kiss
Wang Kar Drive: I especially love 2069 and In the Mood for Lovingtime, which are haunting journey's into sexual obsession and bright colors.
Tasi Mung-Liang: Conformists of the Sodium Vapor Lords is a haunting journey through the minds eye.
Dirk Jerman: His epic GREEN, with score by Brian Uno, is a haunting journey into the mind of a man turning green from cheap gold jewlery.
Those are all the films I can bemember.
:o :o :o
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Are you similarly distressed by "tomatoes" and "potatoes"?
Oddly, no. I can't quite figure out why it sets me off. It just does. (Hmm...)
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FAVORITE:
Kurosawa (The Bad Sleep Well, Ikiru, High and Low) -
He is my favorite filmmaker. I don't know why. =[
Yimou Zhang (Not One Less, Raise the Red Lantern)
His older films were better, but he is still alright. Not One Less is the one of the most touching stories ever :'(
The Coen Mothers
They made some pretty good movies.
Yasujiro Ozu (A Story of Floating Weeds, Tokyo Story)
The movies show life. =]
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Two favorites who are similar: Micheal Mann and Paul Greengrass.
Heat and The Insider are up there with my all-time favorite movies. I also loved Miami Vice, even though I find myself having to defend it so much.
Greengrass is amazing at building enormous tension in all of his films. United 93 and The Bourne Ultimatum were both great.
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favorite - malick, cassavetes, altman, pta, herzog
least favorite - prob gregg araki, kevin smith and tarantino
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least favorite - prob gregg araki
I would've agreed with this but then I saw Mysterious Skin. Dude's growing up.
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least favorite - prob gregg araki
I would've agreed with this but then I saw Mysterious Skin. Dude's growing up.
Yeah, I was beyond shocked that I enjoyed that one. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was pretty great.
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I'll say it loud and proud...I do not like Paul Thomas Anderson. His films have been consistently internally inconsistent.
-The second half of Boogie Nights was the same as the second half of Goodfellas: Downward spiral into debauchery - quick edits of coke use - etc. A great "Sister Christian" moment can't save it, in my opinion.
-I was okay with Magnolia...even the frogs...but the Aimee Mann singalong annoyed the hell out of me.
-Punch Drunk Love? Ew Buoy.
-I am sure many will defend the end of There Will Be Blood, but I thought it was overacted, overwritten, and just plain silly. Total nosedive from the heavens.
While I'm here, I want to praise The Straight Story along with others. Lynch does understatement surprisingly well. Beautiful, simple film.
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Favorites: Hal Hartley, J. Jarmusch, Coppola, Savage Steve Holland, Penelope Spheeris, Gondry, Spike Jonze...
Least Favorite: McG, Harmony Korine
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Favorites: Hal Hartley, J. Jarmusch, Coppola, Savage Steve Holland, Penelope Spheeris, Gondry, Spike Jonze...
Francis Ford or Sofia? :)
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Roman?
KTB, I like your list. It's not often you see Hartley's name being thrown around these days. He's definitely one of my favorites (if we only count his 89-97 ouevre or something).
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I usually relish being so freaking unhip compared to the average FOT poster, but I must honestly say that I think Akira Kurosawa is the best director in history.
Although maybe that's so obvious nowadays as to be unhip.
Whatever. If you haven't seen at least a couple of Kurosawa's films you are cheating yourself.
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Favorites: Hal Hartley, J. Jarmusch, Coppola, Savage Steve Holland, Penelope Spheeris, Gondry, Spike Jonze...
Francis Ford or Sofia? :)
Roman.
really, though: did anybody see CQ? a whole lot of not good.
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No one is really talking classical Hollywood here, so I'm gonna go ahead and pimp some of the greats (skipping Hitchcock and Welles, since everybody knows them).
Samuel Fuller, Nicholas Ray, Frank Tashlin, John Ford, Anthony Mann, Howard Hawks, Billy Wilder, Preston Sturges, Jacques Tourneur, John Huston, Otto Preminger, Jules Dassin, Vincente Minnelli, Douglas Sirk, Fritz Lang, Elia Kazan, Andre de Toth, Joseph H. Lewis, Robert Aldrich, and of course, early Stanley Kubrick (can't believe no one's mentioned him -- IMHO, his best stuff is the one-two punch from '56 and '57, The Killing and Paths of Glory.
This is just a sampling, but check out anything you can get your hands on by the above directors if you want to delve into the treasures of old-school Hollywood.
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Favorites: Hal Hartley, J. Jarmusch, Coppola, Savage Steve Holland, Penelope Spheeris, Gondry, Spike Jonze...
Francis Ford or Sofia? :)
Roman.
really, though: did anybody see CQ? a whole lot of not good.
I like CQ.
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Billy Wilder is probably my favorite. Along with a bunch of others that have been mentioned numerous times (PT Anderson, Coens, Kurosawa, etc.). Someone else I love is Brad Bird, who makes nothing but masterpieces. And David Gordon Green, he makes some beautiful films.
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Of the two Kenji Mizoguchi films I've seen, Ugetsu is fantastic and Sansho the Bailiff is one of the best films I've ever seen. Both are out from Criterion and Eclipse is releasing a box of his films later this year.
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Of the two Kenji Mizoguchi films I've seen, Ugetsu is fantastic and Sansho the Bailiff is one of the best films I've ever seen. Both are out from Criterion and Eclipse is releasing a box of his films later this year.
I just got both of those from Netflix, glad to hear they're awesome.
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You reminded me that I like Hal Hartley, KtB, and this prompted me to IMDb him to check how many of his movies I've seen. This in turn led me to the two-year-old news that Adrienne Shelly was murdered. Which made me sad.
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In conclusion, damn you KtB.
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Actually, I was going to begin that post with "Damn you, KtB" but then decided to be gentle.
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Favorites:
Bill Forsyth--"Local Hero" and "That Sinking Feeling" are great, but it's really "Gregory's Girl" that does it for me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWzynoJIr-g&feature=related
Juzo Itami--director of "Tampopo":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XyoAZFREnY
Robert Downey, Sr.--especially "Putney Swope"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQICkrOoy1g
Least favorites: David Fincher (though, to be fair, I haven't seen "Zodiac.")
Anything of the Michael Bay variety
Anything that has a screenplay written by Joe Ezsterhas
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My favorite is probably Martin Scorsese (and I say this in spite of the fact that it's going on 20 years since he did anything truly great)
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Ooh, Chunking Express is a favorite of mine, too.
That movie unleashed -- with a fury -- a savage love for the Mamas and Papas, just as Dean Stockton's lip-sync (in Blue Velvet) hipped me to the majesty of Roy Orbison.
I purchased "Pierrot Le Fou" this afternoon. I love:
* Godard - for his use of color.
* Truffaut - for his lyricism.
* Billy Wilder - for everything.
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Billy Wilder is probably my favorite. Along with a bunch of others that have been mentioned numerous times (PT Anderson, Coens, Kurosawa, etc.). Someone else I love is Brad Bird, who makes nothing but masterpieces. And David Gordon Green, he makes some beautiful films.
It's crazy how many classics Billy Wilder made. Love him!
After that Hitchcock thread earlier this week, I finally realized how I'd seen like 15 of his movies and so many are classic. He's up there.
Thinking of a worst is really tough. There's no highly revered director (that I can think of) that I've never appreciated somehow. My picks would probably just be the same that most people dislike. I guess I'd say Ron Howard (aside from Splash), Brian DePalma, and Abel Ferrara.
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It's crazy how many classics Billy Wilder made. Love him!
Yeah, I like almost everything I've seen of his. Even One Two Three, which seems like it should be a recipe for disaster, was great. And while The Fortune Cookie may be considered a minor work, I love it. Walter Matthau's performance is amazing. The way he says "Hello" when he answers the phone in that movie is enough to crack me up.
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It's crazy how many classics Billy Wilder made. Love him!
Yeah, I like almost everything I've seen of his. Even One Two Three, which seems like it should be a recipe for disaster, was great. And while The Fortune Cookie may be considered a minor work, I love it. Walter Matthau's performance is amazing. The way he says "Hello" when he answers the phone in that movie is enough to crack me up.
The best thing about Wilder was his range, you've got great comedies, fantastic dramas, he can do it all.
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I forgot to mention the late Taiwanese director Edward Yang, who died last year. His movie Yi Yi has become one of my all-time favorites, one that I've watched several times and appreciated more each time (a rarity for me). I doubt that he makes it onto anyone's list of favorite directors, but I always admired his stuff.
Bergman, Coen Bros., Hitchcock, Truffaut, Kurosawa, are favorites too. I've really appreciated every movie I can remember seeing by Krzysztof Kieslowski and Zhang Yimou (great call, Petey!). Also have to confess that I really admired Jim Jarmusch, although I don't think of him now as one of my favorite directors.
Kinda gotta hand it to: Scorsese, Coppola, John Ford, John Huston. Whatever.
I'm most conflicted about: Ang Lee, Gus Van Sant. Both have done movies I've loved and admired, and movies that I have thought were garbage. They don't seem to bring it consistently, however.
I'm dismayed/embarrassed that I like: Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Jacques Tati, John Waters.
Directors I can't stand: Clint Eastwood, James Cameron, M. Night Shyamalan (I didn't even like The Sixth Sense).
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I forgot to mention the late Taiwanese director Edward Yang, who died last year. His movie Yi Yi has become one of my all-time favorites, one that I've watched several times and appreciated more each time (a rarity for me). I doubt that he makes it onto anyone's list of favorite directors, but I always admired his stuff.
He might if more of his films were readily available. I loved Yi Yi but haven't seen anything else.
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I'm dismayed/embarrassed that I like: Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Jacques Tati, John Waters.
What's wrong with Tati? I can see being embarrassed about liking some of the others (although I too like Woody Allen), but Tati seems out of place in that list.
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Kinda gotta hand it to: Scorsese, Coppola, John Ford, John Huston. Whatever.
Now I don't know if this is John Ford or John Ford of Under Siege 2 fame.
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I'm dismayed/embarrassed that I like: Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Jacques Tati, John Waters.
What's wrong with Tati? I can see being embarrassed about liking some of the others (although I too like Woody Allen), but Tati seems out of place in that list.
What's wrong with any of them? All greats in my book.
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I'm dismayed/embarrassed that I like: Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Jacques Tati, John Waters.
What's wrong with Tati? I can see being embarrassed about liking some of the others (although I too like Woody Allen), but Tati seems out of place in that list.
What's wrong with any of them? All greats in my book.
I personally haven't enjoyed any of the John Waters movies I've seen (probably 7 or 8 of them) but I think he's a hilarious guy - I love his books and interviews with him are always entertaining. I'd put him alongside Henry Rollins and Ice-T as folks who are great as long as I avoid their artistic output.
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I'm dismayed/embarrassed that I like: Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Jacques Tati, John Waters.
What's wrong with Tati? I can see being embarrassed about liking some of the others (although I too like Woody Allen), but Tati seems out of place in that list.
What's wrong with any of them? All greats in my book.
I personally haven't enjoyed any of the John Waters movies I've seen (probably 7 or 8 of them) but I think he's a hilarious guy - I love his books and interviews with him are always entertaining. I'd put him alongside Henry Rollins and Ice-T as folks who are great as long as I avoid their artistic output.
I'd have to agree. The only Waters movie I've ever really liked was Serial Mom.
I'm most conflicted about: Ang Lee, Gus Van Sant. Both have done movies I've loved and admired, and movies that I have thought were garbage. They don't seem to bring it consistently, however.
Directors I can't stand: Clint Eastwood, James Cameron, M. Night Shyamalan (I didn't even like The Sixth Sense).
I think Ang Lee & Gus Van Sant have a really bad track record of hits/misses that I just can't say either is a fantastic director. I've never been a fan of any of the Eastwood directed movies (Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, etc) and same with Shyamalan. I love T2 and Aliens is great but Cameron seems like a loser now (especially since all he cares about is lame 3-D IMAX cameras).
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I used to think I really liked Tim Burton, but now I'm not so sure. Especially after Big Fish. That movie blew.
I am right there with you w/r/t Big Fish. Everyone in that movie is an asshole. And it makes no sense. And you can't even UNDERSTAND what the man is SAYING.
Also, Tim Burton just can't tell a story. At all. All he can do lately is make elaborate variations on his leftover childhood/adolescent fetishes and obsessions. Planet of the Apes phase? Oh, gotta remake that. Fan of the Ichabad Crane cartoon? I'll just do my own little no-story variation on that. How 'bout Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? That's a really good kid's movie that's also kinda weird. I'll do ANOTHER remake with Johnny Depp and disregard the fact that the performance of Gene Wilder in the original is at least half of what makes that movie a classic. It's not the orange face paint on midgets, Tim! It's not the wacky sets! It's called acting! Grrr.
What about Ed Wood?
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I'm dismayed/embarrassed that I like: Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Jacques Tati, John Waters.
What's wrong with Tati? I can see being embarrassed about liking some of the others (although I too like Woody Allen), but Tati seems out of place in that list.
What's wrong with any of them? All greats in my book.
I personally haven't enjoyed any of the John Waters movies I've seen (probably 7 or 8 of them) but I think he's a hilarious guy - I love his books and interviews with him are always entertaining. I'd put him alongside Henry Rollins and Ice-T as folks who are great as long as I avoid their artistic output.
If you havent seen it his John Waters: This Filthy World film is pretty good for a one man show.
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I don't know, I like John Waters. And David Lynch. And Tim and Eric for bringing those two worlds together.
Regarding Tim Burton, I really love Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. Though, that may be a testament to Paul Reubens and Phil Hartman more than anything.
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It's been 15 months since I posted in this thread, and I'd like to reiterate that David Lynch films not named "Straight Story" are awful.
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Here's a list I put together about 6 years ago; at that point in time, it purported to be the 500 greatest directors of all time.
http://gaughin.edublogs.org/2006/12/29/the-1000-greatest-directors-of-all-time/
Yah, I know the url says 1000.
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I don't know, I like John Waters. And David Lynch. And Tim and Eric for bringing those two worlds together.
Regarding Tim Burton, I really love Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. Though, that may be a testament to Paul Reubens and Phil Hartman more than anything.
Yeah, I love it too and it's great because Burton's style isn't exactly present throughout the film. It seems like Reubens and Hartman's movie, and I can't say much for Burton's role in making it.
Overall, I love Batman and Ed Wood and liked Sweeney Todd, but that's about it for Burton. I'd also say that I'm not sure how much credit Burton gets for Batman because the real mastermind behind the cool production was Anton Furst.
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Agreed re. Hal Hartley (who is awesome) and Tim Burton (who is pretty overrated).
My ultimate favorites are probably Lynch, Hitchcock, and Truffaut. Also like Bergman, Kurosawa, Jarmusch, The Coens, Fellini, Mira Nair, Robert Altman, John Sayles, a lot (but not all) of Jonathan Demme, Ridley Scott, and Spike Lee. As for older films, I like Billy Wilder and Ernst Lubitsch quite a bit. Just started getting into Ealing comedies thanks to the FOT.
These are kind of obvious choices, but I love Casablanca and The Bicycle Thief but haven't seen any other movies by those directors.
My hate list is pretty predictable: Tarantino, Kevin Smith, Larry Clark, Oliver Stone, all that self-important 90s bullshit.
Somewhere in the middle: I like most Steven Spielberg, Blake Edwards, and Ivan Reitman movies. Godard I just haven't been able to get into, as I've mentioned before, but maybe it's just me. Not a Matthew Barney fan. I think Sam Mendes is pretty overrated - his stage and film work are both all about pretty pictures but are mostly sterile, boring, and two-dimensional. I've only ever seen Women Under The Influence and couldn't hear a damn thing, so I'm pretty neutral on Cassavettes.
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I'm dismayed/embarrassed that I like: Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Jacques Tati, John Waters.
What's wrong with Tati? I can see being embarrassed about liking some of the others (although I too like Woody Allen), but Tati seems out of place in that list.
What's wrong with any of them? All greats in my book.
I was being too much of a damn film snob/wuss in my post before. What I really should be dismayed about is enjoying Jackass and repeatedly watching and laughing at The Andy Milonakis Show. I don't really care who knows it, though.
Why would I be ashamed of loving Tati's movies? 'Cause some French lady told me she thought he was totally cornball and a relic. Why would I listen to her? I'm too easily swayed sometimes.
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I'm dismayed/embarrassed that I like: Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, Jacques Tati, John Waters.
What's wrong with Tati? I can see being embarrassed about liking some of the others (although I too like Woody Allen), but Tati seems out of place in that list.
What's wrong with any of them? All greats in my book.
I was being too much of a damn film snob/wuss in my post before. What I really should be dismayed about is enjoying Jackass and repeatedly watching and laughing at The Andy Milonakis Show. I don't really care who knows it, though.
Why would I be ashamed of loving Tati's movies? 'Cause some French lady told me she thought he was totally cornball and a relic. Why would I listen to her? I'm too easily swayed sometimes.
Well, that's what you get for listening to French people, who are stupid.
Wait, this is in Chinatown, right?
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Hal Hartley can be pretty good, but I wasn't too into his monster movie, No Such Thing.
Just watched Diving Bell and the Butterfly: so Schnabel is ON THE LIST.
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I keep hearing that. I have to check that movie out. The last Julian Schnabel movie I saw was Johnny Mnemonic.
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I keep hearing that. I have to check that movie out. The last Julian Schnabel movie I saw was Johnny Mnemonic.
I'm probably missing some joke, but Johnny Mnemonic -- an underrated movie I think -- was by Robert Longo. Different painter. Before Night Falls was also really good.
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I keep hearing that. I have to check that movie out. The last Julian Schnabel movie I saw was Johnny Mnemonic.
I'm probably missing some joke, but Johnny Mnemonic -- an underrated movie I think -- was by Robert Longo. Different painter. Before Night Falls was also really good.
Nope, no joke. It's just a mistake I've been making for about a decade and this is the first time anyone's corrected me.
I also called Leni Reifenstal "Lina Wertmuller" for years (I think that was Lorraine Newman's pardoy name for her on SNL in the 70s).
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Hal Hartley can be pretty good, but I wasn't too into his monster movie, No Such Thing.
Just watched Diving Bell and the Butterfly: so Schnabel is ON THE LIST.
If not for No Country, TWBB, and Zodiac, it would've been my favorite movie of 2007. Turned me into a blubbering mess.
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Best filmmaker: Gus van Sant
Worst filmmaker: Also Gus van Sant
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Why would I be ashamed of loving Tati's movies?
Tati is wonderful and Playtime is a masterpiece. There is something very Newbridge-ian about the club where everything goes to shit. The waiter who tears his jacket and then gets the remainder of his uniform pilfered by the rest of staff; the "homeless" dish that no one ever gets served; the moment when the door glass shatters. Slowburn comedy at its finest (just like a certain radio show I am fond of).
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Best filmmaker: Gus van Sant
Worst filmmaker: Also Gus van Sant
How would the best/worst distribution break down for you? The only ones I've seen that I disliked were Good Will Hunting and Finding Forrester (I'm going to assume I would hate the Pyscho remake). Best would be: Drugstore Cowboy, Elephant, and Paranoid Park.
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Best filmmaker: Gus van Sant
Worst filmmaker: Also Gus van Sant
How would the best/worst distribution break down for you? The only ones I've seen that I disliked were Good Will Hunting and Finding Forrester (I'm going to assume I would hate the Pyscho remake). Best would be: Drugstore Cowboy, Elephant, and Paranoid Park.
GWH, FF, Psycho are are irredeemably terrible.
I pretty much like the rest of what I've seen. Not everything, but almost everything.
Gerry is neither good nor bad. It just exists, man.
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Hal Hartley can be pretty good, but I wasn't too into his monster movie, No Such Thing.
Just watched Diving Bell and the Butterfly: so Schnabel is ON THE LIST.
So far the guy hasn't made a bad movie. Basquiat is uneven, but overall it's okay. Before Night Falls is pretty amazing. Can't wait to see Diving Bell.
He also seems like a badass. And those yellow tinted sunglasses that he always wears actually look good on him.
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Best filmmaker: Gus van Sant
Worst filmmaker: Also Gus van Sant
So true!
Ang Lee is the same kind of deal for me. Loved: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Lust Caution, Eat Drink Man Woman, Brokeback Mtn. Liked The Wedding Banquet and Sense and Sensibility . Found the The Ice Storm interesting but mediocre, and The Hulk was an atrocity as far as I was concerned. I suppose I could say the same of a lot of directors, but the man has let me down before. But he always gets me into the theater.
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Hal Hartley can be pretty good, but I wasn't too into his monster movie, No Such Thing.
Just watched Diving Bell and the Butterfly: so Schnabel is ON THE LIST.
What, you never saw Basquiat and Before Night Falls?
Julian Schnabel is excellent.
Edit: oops, you mentioned Before Night Falls. Well then, we're in agreement!