OT: Movie Rental Recommendations

[ARCrider]

good for everyone to chuckle

and cyclists should certainly check it out.

I thought the frog scenes were hilarious

[Guest sunk]

napolean dynamite was very funny. I watched it many times. Meet the ****ers is pretty good. My personal favorite is Anchorman.

[Pat Donnelly]

EULOGY - (new release) Ray Romano, Hank Azaria, Debra Winger, Piper Laurie, Zooey Deschanel, Rip Torn.

WILD THINGS - (from late 90's) Neve Campbell, Denise Richards, Matt Dillon, Kevin Bacon, Kathleen Turner, Bill Murray, Robert Wagner.

[bobdea]

Originally posted by NateW

Amelie was a great movie. I agree. Speaking of foreign films:

Like Water For Chocolate

Tampopo (Tanpopo? I forgot)

Chocolat

And it seems to me there is at least one more Juliette Binoche movie that has escaped my memory...

is that the one about the noodles?

if so that is a great movie

I have a thing for japanese movies a good place to start is the seven samurai

the zatoichi <-- SP? movies are great they are about a blind swordsman who deadly

some people think of asian movies and think of the cheesy wire fighting martial arts flicks but there are some great well made movies from asia in particular japan from the 50s and 60s

Akira Kurosawa made a bunch of great movies check out anything of his you can get

[Jack M]

The Terminal.

I rented this from Netflix because it stars Tom Hanks and Catherine Ziti Jones. Tom Hanks generally does not star in crappy movies. Ms. Jones is rather easy on the eyes even if she is in a crappy movie. I also chose this flick because it was directed by Steven Spielberg, who generally does not make crappy movies.

This movie sucks. The ENTIRE conflict could be resolved with one simple act of intelligence (either on the part of Hanks' character or the Terminal boss). Therefore, the conflict would NEVER happen in real life.

This actually seems to be an entire moviemaking genre. It can either be a conflict that could be resolved with one simple act of intelligence, but instead the plot spirals around every other impossibly stupid solution while conspicuously avoiding the smart one - or - one simple act of honesty, but instead the plot spirals around one or many idiotic snowballing lies no smart person would ever tell. It consists of moronic films such as this, What About Bob, and Meet the Parents. Fortunately I can't think of any others at the moment. Sitcoms commonly fall into this sinkhole as well.

What I don't get is how these movies can be popular. Ebert & Roeper gave The Terminal two thumbs up. Netflix member ratings were also high (like 4.5 out of 5 stars)

[Neil Gendzwill]

Originally posted by Jack Michaud

Therefore, the conflict would NEVER happen in real life.

Actually, it did happen in real life. The movie was based on the story of a man who lived 11 years in Charles DeGaul airport in Paris. Initially it had something to do with a visa situation similar to the movies. Eventually it was resolved but by that time there may have been some mental illness issues and he is still living in the airport. See here for the details.

[Jack M]

I'll ammend my statement to say that it would NEVER happen in real life, except maybe in France. :p

Even so, the situation just defies logic, and does not support a movie plot at all.

Ehh - maybe if I had known the movie was based on a true story going into it, I would have liked it better.

[mikemcse]

Jack

I actually really enjoyed the movie. I had no idea that it was loosley based on a true story. I guess the first step is to accept the premise of the plot. If you can do that then the movie works. Since I travel to Africa every 6 months or so I spend alot of time in airplanes and airports and can relate. I dont have to imagine how it would be to survive in a terminal with no money since it has happened to me in germany with a 10 hr layover with no cash and locked out/maxxed credit cards. I liked some of the relationships between the various airport workers and It seemed like they must have filmed it in a real airport. I enjoy movies where you actually start to care about the charecters

I agree that the plot could have been much better.

just my 2 cents worth

PS

I am enjoying the El Tesoro anejo over the chamucos. Thanks for the reccomendations.

[Jack M]

mikemcse,

I agree the movie was well done aside from the plot. Tom hanks can execute a sight-gag extremely well, I wish there could have been more of that in this movie. And the dinner scene was great.

However, (SPOILER) after the point that Hanks refuses to sneak out of the terminal when the boss gives him the chance, it lost all credibility with me. And then again when he refuses to play along and say he is afraid of going home. Dumb.

Chamucos vs. El Tesoro discussed here:

http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6545

[skategoat]

I enjoyed the Terminal. I thought Hanks did a fine job and I loved the janitor character.

Bewitched. Now that was a waste of film. The only reason to watch this is if you really, really like Nicole Kidman. And who could blame you. But unless you have a major jones for NK, do not see this film. What a waste of 2 hours. Okay, I did enjoy the 10 minutes with the Uncle Arthur character.

Batman Begins - great film. Best action film of the summer. The villains are under-played. They are not cartoons like all the other Batman movie villains (God, I hated Jim Carey as the Riddler). Christian Bale makes a great Batman and Michael Caine deserves a Best Supporting Actor nod for his role as Alfred.

[FTA2R]

i see some posts were about current movies and i'm not about to read the whole thing, but Batman Begins is awesome! see it.

the batmobile is AWESOME. all the actors are cast really well and the pace is good.

===

Barry

[patmoore]

Has anyone suggested "Something Wild"? This 1986 flick starring Melanie Griffith, Jeff Daniels, and Ray Liotta starts out as a comedy but turns decidedly dark at the end. It actually works and is one of the more memorable movies I've ever seen.

[Guest johann]

Machinist

Mean Creek

[Baka Dasai]

Originally posted by reweston

I'm drawn to the more cult-like stuff....

Down By Law

Dead Man

Cannibal the Musical

Repo Man

Blue Velvet

We have similar tastes :) For Jim Jarmusch movies I'd add <b>Stranger than Paradise</b> which is one of of my all time faves.

And what about Spike Jonze?

<b>Being John Malkovich</b> - totally messes with your head.

<b>Adaptation</b> - takes messing with your head to a whole new level, is ridiculously funny, but also manages to be a serious movie about orchids. It works on so many levels that there's no way to keep up. You have to watch it a few times.

Spike Jonze and Sofia Coppola - an amazing couple, but I can't imagine what would happen if they made a movie together.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Eh, found Dead Man interesting but a little slow, loved Repo Man, Blue Velvet, Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, didn't see the other two. You mention Sofia, I thought Lost In Translation was the best movie I saw last year.

Livin' by the Repo Code,

Neil

[skategoat]

"Tae Guk Gi"

Korean with English subtitles. Best described as a Korean War version of "Private Ryan". Interesting plot that takes you through the twists and turns of a largely forgotten war. Well acted although a little too melodramatic, like all Korean films.

Very well shot with intense battle sequences. The director clearly studied Spielberg although he cranks up the gore factor to another level. Don't watch this if you are squeamish about blood, severed limbs or exploding heads.