movie finds

[Sarah]

Last night, I finally watched a movie I had recorded back in March and ended up liking it more than many I've seen recently.  It's a Hungarian thing called Kontroll, filmed entirely in the Budapest subway system.  I enjoyed it a bunch, and this happy experience prompts me to ask all of you, what movies, obscure or otherwise, have you enjoyed a bunch (recently or not) so I can keep an eye out for them on my TV Guide screen?

P.S.  I'm now madly in love with Sándor Csányi.

P.P.S.  I see that Nimród Antal has made an English-language movie called Vacancy, starring, surprisingly, Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson?  Anyone seen it?  Is it any good?

[erika]

Dirty Filthy Love (not pornographic -- different kind of "Dirty")

[Sarah]

Seen it.  Liked it.  But not as much as Kontroll.

Another question:  can anyone remind of the name of a Canadian movie that's set entirely in a complex of buildings connected by walkways, in which the characters never go outside?  Kontroll made me think of it, and it's driving me crazy that I can't remember its title.

[Matthew_S]

At first I thought you were thinking of Cube.  http://imdb.com/title/tt0123755/

But I knew that was wrong.

I believe you are actually referring to Waydowntown. http://imdb.com/title/tt0219405/

Enjoy!

[Sarah]

Yes, it was Waydowntown.  Thank you, Matt.

[John Junk]

Jodorowsky's The Holy Mountain is pretty sweet.  Totally insane.  This is one you don't want to be having a T.V. Dinner while you watch.

[Gregory]

is that the one with the conquistador lizards?

[John Junk]

Yes!  And the Aztec frogs.

[Martin]

I love Jodorowsky. I couldn't be more happy about the new remastered editions of Holy Mountain and El Topo. My old bootlegs go out the window.

[Chris L]

Jodorowsky also gives Werner Herzog a run for the money in the entertaining dvd commentary sweepstakes.  I just listened to his track for this one and he takes credit for predicting everything from the internet to the Shining Path to rock stars wearing black nail polish.  He also talks about how George Harrison was supposed to star in Holy Mountain but dropped out because the one thing he didn't want to do was have his anus washed onscreen.  "That cost me millions of dollars," he says. 

Holy Mountain is also a lot better than El Topo.  

[Sarah]

I've only ever seen the obvious Jodorowsky film (El Topo, of course).  It ran all the time at the Academy Theatre in New Paltz back in my youth--along with the sickly sweet King of Hearts--and was widely hailed by my peers and elders as the deepest gosh-darn thing they'd ever seen.  I poked remorseless fun at it, though I'll admit now that it contained some nifty images.  Is The Holy Mountain as pretentious, portentous, and downright silly?  If so, I'd probably enjoy it.

[John Junk]

It's gotta be.  I never saw El Topo, but Holy Mountain was pretty brilliant and amazing.  And certainly pretentious and make-fun-able, although I also felt as if it was at least somewhat aware of its own ridiculous excess.

[Chris L]

I don't know if it's any less silly than El Topo, but I believe it's shorter (close to 90 minutes) and is so packed with religious symbolsim and WTF-ness that it kind of overwhelms you into liking it.  It's at least more fun than your average pretentious art movie.

[Gregory]

I remember my friend getting a copy and telling me something along the lines of "you've gotta see this, it's nuts."

It's totally weird and silly, but it's awesome and leaves you with that "who actually thought of this?" feeling

I'd say it's well worth a watch.

[Sarah]

If it ever crosses my TV screen, I'll be sure to tune in.  Actually, I would have regardless, if I knew it was Jodorowsky's, out of sheer nostalgia.