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?
