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laplace 
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 Posted: February 17 2007 at 08:37 |
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Kill Bill has my favourite kung-fu actor in it - both parts in fact, but in different roles. He's called Gordon Liu and he was in all the best shaw brother's films, like Master Killer (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin)
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MikeEnRegalia
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Posted: February 17 2007 at 08:40 |
I usually use imdb.com to get a general idea about what to expect ... I browse the collection of the dvd rental store for new movies and if the imdb rating is below 5 I usually keep away. But there are some movies that I really love which don't score much higher ... I guess that's a matter of personal taste. But if the imdb.com rating is above 7 it is a really good indication that the movie is really, really good ... so far I've never been disappointed. 
Edited by MikeEnRegalia - February 17 2007 at 08:41
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enteredwinter
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Posted: February 17 2007 at 11:54 |
 MikeEnRegalia wrote:
I usually use imdb.com to get a general idea about what to expect ... I browse the collection of the dvd rental store for new movies and if the imdb rating is below 5 I usually keep away. But there are some movies that I really love which don't score much higher ... I guess that's a matter of personal taste. But if the imdb.com rating is above 7 it is a really good indication that the movie is really, really good ... so far I've never been disappointed.
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Agreed 100% I've been using IMDB as I explore the movies I've been talking about in this thread, and my general standard is to only look at movies that have 7+ ratings. Of course, that will exclude some really good movies, but as a general standard it works well. My threshold is actually generally to look at movies that have 7.3 or above. That's the level at which you pretty much know with absolute certainty that it'll be a good movie, as long as you like the genre (I'm not about to watch any Hugh Grant romance movie, for example, even if it has a freakin' 8.0).
Edited by enteredwinter - February 17 2007 at 11:54
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BaldJean
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Joined: May 28 2005
Location: Germany
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Points: 10387
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Posted: February 17 2007 at 12:26 |
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some great movies are below your 7.3 mark; one of the best SF/horror movies ever, "Phase IV", only reaches 6.1. but then it is one of those slow-paced horror movies. one of the very best and scary (yes, scary!) scenes is of a single ant crawling up an arm (if I remember right; it might have been a leg). it is a single ant only, but at that point in the movie your nerves are already so much on edge that you feel threatened by it. now that's what I call true horror! and the ants really haven't done anything much so far, just showing a kind of intelligent behavior. it is as if not the scientists are studying the ants but the ants are studying the scientists. and this is what makes the movie feel "scary". but many people don't seem to get that, and the pace of the movie appears to be too slow for them
Edited by BaldJean - February 17 2007 at 12:27
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 A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta
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Falling Flower
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Joined: June 14 2006
Location: Belgium
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Posted: February 17 2007 at 13:13 |
kazansky wrote:
Les Miserables (1995)
it's a good movie  |
Agreed!
Another good one was Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain
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Tool makes the butterflies in my tumybox go woooooooosh
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sleeper
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Joined: October 09 2005
Location: Entropia
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Points: 16449
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Posted: February 17 2007 at 19:22 |
BaldJean wrote:
I just remembered "Blair Witch Project" again, one of the few movies that made Friede and me sit speechless in our chairs at the cinema for some time while all around us people streamed out of it. that does not happen very often, so that movie definitely hit a nerve with us
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I'll second the recomendation for Blair Witch Project. It feels so real that it really did scare me, one of very few films to do that (Hideo Nakata's Ring is about the only other one). Mike mentioned Kill Bill. The first film I found was very good but Kill Bill Volume 2 was very poor IMO.
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Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005
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The T
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Posted: February 17 2007 at 20:02 |
sleeper wrote:
BaldJean wrote:
I just remembered "Blair Witch Project" again, one of the few movies that made Friede and me sit speechless in our chairs at the cinema for some time while all around us people streamed out of it. that does not happen very often, so that movie definitely hit a nerve with us |
I'll second the recomendation for Blair Witch Project. It feels so real that it really did scare me, one of very few films to do that (Hideo Nakata's Ring is about the only other one).
Mike mentioned Kill Bill. The first film I found was very good but Kill Bill Volume 2 was very poor IMO.
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In this case I won't second....for my taste is utter garbage and the start of the "cheap thrills through no-story" movemente of horror flicks....
I'm not going against innovation... I'm not saying only films with good stories work... I'm not saying a good screenplay is absolutely necessary (Jean Luc G..?) but something is necessary... and Bliar Witch has none for me.
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laplace
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Joined: October 06 2005
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Posted: February 17 2007 at 20:08 |
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A lot of people find film perfection in empty spaces, striking locations or minimalism. you have to bear in mind that a critic will jump on a chance to advocate some unlikely flaw of a film as a new way of doing things and popularise something terrible.
I'm upset that Audition is Takashe Miike's most famous movie when it should be something like Dead or Alive 2.
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sleeper
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Posted: February 17 2007 at 20:50 |
laplace wrote:
A lot of people find film perfection in empty spaces, striking locations or minimalism. you have to bear in mind that a critic will jump on a chance to advocate some unlikely flaw of a film as a new way of doing things and popularise something terrible.
I'm upset that Audition is Takashe Miike's most famous movie when it should be something like Dead or Alive 2.
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Audition may be his most famous movie, but I doubt its his best. A lot of his other films (and there are a LOT) seem more to my taste, including the Dead Or Alive series, I just havent had the chance to see them yet unfortunatly.
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Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005
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sleeper
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Joined: October 09 2005
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Points: 16449
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Posted: February 17 2007 at 20:55 |
The T wrote:
sleeper wrote:
BaldJean wrote:
I just remembered "Blair Witch Project" again, one of the few movies that made Friede and me sit speechless in our chairs at the cinema for some time while all around us people streamed out of it. that does not happen very often, so that movie definitely hit a nerve with us |
I'll second the recomendation for Blair Witch Project. It feels so real that it really did scare me, one of very few films to do that (Hideo Nakata's Ring is about the only other one).
Mike mentioned Kill Bill. The first film I found was very good but Kill Bill Volume 2 was very poor IMO.
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In this case I won't second....for my taste is utter garbage and the start of the "cheap thrills through no-story" movemente of horror flicks....
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Personnally I see the start of that kind of flick to be Scream, which was OK but all follow-ups and other films in that mold are utter trash. I never did see it as cheap thrills as it never attempts to scare and shock by showing you the monster and gory scenes as many others do, but through building up suspense and through strange events. Something I do enjoy. I'm not saying you have to like it but its definitely not a "cheap thrills" film.
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Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005
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The T
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Joined: October 16 2006
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Points: 17493
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Posted: February 17 2007 at 21:19 |
sleeper wrote:
The T wrote:
sleeper wrote:
BaldJean wrote:
I just remembered "Blair Witch Project" again, one of the few movies that made Friede and me sit speechless in our chairs at the cinema for some time while all around us people streamed out of it. that does not happen very often, so that movie definitely hit a nerve with us |
I'll second the recomendation for Blair Witch Project. It feels so real that it really did scare me, one of very few films to do that (Hideo Nakata's Ring is about the only other one).
Mike mentioned Kill Bill. The first film I found was very good but Kill Bill Volume 2 was very poor IMO.
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In this case I won't second....for my taste is utter garbage and the start of the "cheap thrills through no-story" movemente of horror flicks....
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Personnally I see the start of that kind of flick to be Scream, which was OK but all follow-ups and other films in that mold are utter trash. I never did see it as cheap thrills as it never attempts to scare and shock by showing you the monster and gory scenes as many others do, but through building up suspense and through strange events. Something I do enjoy.
I'm not saying you have to like it but its definitely not a "cheap thrills" film.
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maybe not in the "i'll show you an open stomach, you'll get scared" kind of way... but I think the same effect is accomplished with the use of sound (or lack thereof), lightning (or lack thereof), and the appearance of "documentary"... No story, no building up suspense (there's no build-up but a constant "oh, oh!") and lame strange events...
But I'd agree that is better than most of the repugnant "hostels" of today... at least it was somewhat innovative... Sorry, I need my movies with some story. Even my horror flicks. Difference of taste, you know? Maybe I gave it the wrong name with "cheap thrills", but it's cheap anyway...for me.
You're right in blaming "scream" for the new wave of crap, though.... that one started it all. .. 
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laplace
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Joined: October 06 2005
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Posted: February 17 2007 at 21:33 |
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there's certainly a brainless resurgence happening, particularly in the Saw series of films. but I think there are a long line of gore exploitation films that go back decades.
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BaldJean
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Joined: May 28 2005
Location: Germany
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Points: 10387
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Posted: February 17 2007 at 21:47 |
The T wrote:
sleeper wrote:
The T wrote:
sleeper wrote:
BaldJean wrote:
I just remembered "Blair Witch Project" again, one of the few movies that made Friede and me sit speechless in our chairs at the cinema for some time while all around us people streamed out of it. that does not happen very often, so that movie definitely hit a nerve with us |
I'll second the recomendation for Blair Witch Project. It feels so real that it really did scare me, one of very few films to do that (Hideo Nakata's Ring is about the only other one).
Mike mentioned Kill Bill. The first film I found was very good but Kill Bill Volume 2 was very poor IMO.
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In this case I won't second....for my taste is utter garbage and the start of the "cheap thrills through no-story" movemente of horror flicks....
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Personnally I see the start of that kind of flick to be Scream, which was OK but all follow-ups and other films in that mold are utter trash. I never did see it as cheap thrills as it never attempts to scare and shock by showing you the monster and gory scenes as many others do, but through building up suspense and through strange events. Something I do enjoy.
I'm not saying you have to like it but its definitely not a "cheap thrills" film.
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maybe not in the "i'll show you an open stomach, you'll get scared" kind of way... but I think the same effect is accomplished with the use of sound (or lack thereof), lightning (or lack thereof), and the appearance of "documentary"... No story, no building up suspense (there's no build-up but a constant "oh, oh!") and lame strange events...
But I'd agree that is better than most of the repugnant "hostels" of today... at least it was somewhat innovative... Sorry, I need my movies with some story. Even my horror flicks. Difference of taste, you know? Maybe I gave it the wrong name with "cheap thrills", but it's cheap anyway...for me.
You're right in blaming "scream" for the new wave of crap, though.... that one started it all. .. |
but there clearly WAS a story to "Blair Witch Project". the movie is very reminiscent of the Sartrč play "Huis-clos" ("No Exit"), which contains the famos line "L'enfer, c'est les autres" ("hell are the others"). and that's exactly the way it is in "Blair Witch Project". "Huis-clos" is a 3-person play too (if you don't count the very marginal character of the waiter)
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A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta
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The T
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Joined: October 16 2006
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Posted: February 17 2007 at 22:47 |
BaldJean wrote:
The T wrote:
sleeper wrote:
The T wrote:
sleeper wrote:
BaldJean wrote:
I just remembered "Blair Witch Project" again, one of the few movies that made Friede and me sit speechless in our chairs at the cinema for some time while all around us people streamed out of it. that does not happen very often, so that movie definitely hit a nerve with us |
I'll second the recomendation for Blair Witch Project. It feels so real that it really did scare me, one of very few films to do that (Hideo Nakata's Ring is about the only other one).
Mike mentioned Kill Bill. The first film I found was very good but Kill Bill Volume 2 was very poor IMO.
|
In this case I won't second....for my taste is utter garbage and the start of the "cheap thrills through no-story" movemente of horror flicks....
|
Personnally I see the start of that kind of flick to be Scream, which was OK but all follow-ups and other films in that mold are utter trash. I never did see it as cheap thrills as it never attempts to scare and shock by showing you the monster and gory scenes as many others do, but through building up suspense and through strange events. Something I do enjoy.
I'm not saying you have to like it but its definitely not a "cheap thrills" film.
|
maybe not in the "i'll show you an open stomach, you'll get scared" kind of way... but I think the same effect is accomplished with the use of sound (or lack thereof), lightning (or lack thereof), and the appearance of "documentary"... No story, no building up suspense (there's no build-up but a constant "oh, oh!") and lame strange events...
But I'd agree that is better than most of the repugnant "hostels" of today... at least it was somewhat innovative... Sorry, I need my movies with some story. Even my horror flicks. Difference of taste, you know? Maybe I gave it the wrong name with "cheap thrills", but it's cheap anyway...for me.
You're right in blaming "scream" for the new wave of crap, though.... that one started it all. .. |
but there clearly WAS a story to "Blair Witch Project". the movie is very reminiscent of the Sartrč play "Huis-clos" ("No Exit"), which contains the famos line "L'enfer, c'est les autres" ("hell are the others"). and that's exactly the way it is in "Blair Witch Project". "Huis-clos" is a 3-person play too (if you don't count the very marginal character of the waiter) |
no need for the showing off here   ... maybe it's similar to a Sartre play, maybe it's similar to a Cervantes novel, to a Shakespearean drama, to a Icazaean (a writer from my country) popular tale, to whatever you want... that doesn't mean the story is good. that just means is similar to something, that's it.... Was Sartre mainly a novelist? Yes, he wrote a few, but his biggest work is in philosophy... so I think that "similar to Sartre" doesn't equal "good". In fact, thank God cinema and literature-writing are two different languages... one can drink from the other, but that's it.... in movies, you tell whatever you want to tell with images, with visuals (was it Francois Truffaut or Georges Sadoul that said: "a theater-play should be understood by a bilnd man; a movie by a deaf man"... so the two are different languages.... but to MY taste, I prefer my movies with at least something resembling an interesting story.... and even if we agree that Sartre himself wrote the story for "Blair Witch", for me it's bordering on crap. So there's no need to enlighten me, it's not a matter of education and culture (which I can see you have quite a lot my friend, and  ) but a matter of taste. And for my taste, the story is garbage. You can say it's a play.... well.... that movie so depends on lightining and camera-position, that I don't see any posibility of it being set on a stage... or maybe... I just know that I don't know anything... But I know what I like...
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video vertigo
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Posted: February 17 2007 at 22:48 |
I really really didn't like the Kill Bill movies. It seemed like the story line was thought up after all the action scenes, it was so predictable, I knew the ending of the 2nd before the 1st one ended and I was totally accurate in all my predictions as the movie progressed. No story all action completely 
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"The rock and roll business is pretty absurd, but the world of serious music is much worse." - Zappa
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Arrrghus
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Posted: February 17 2007 at 22:50 |
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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is amazing. I recommend that movie. It really brings the book to life.
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memowakeman
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Posted: February 18 2007 at 12:51 |
Vompatti wrote:
I haven't seen Amores Perros, but 21 Grams by the same director is great. |
ANd to complete the Trilogy you could watch "Babel" which is nominated to Best Picture and many categories including Best Director (Alejandro Gonzalez Ińarritu, Mexican BTW ), his 3 films are pretty alike, all are great IMO!
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Follow me on twitter @memowakeman
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MadcapLaughs84
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Joined: February 21 2006
Location: Mexico
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Points: 658
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Posted: February 18 2007 at 12:53 |
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He has this unique style of mixing the story in a very parallel way, he really rocks
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BaldJean
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Joined: May 28 2005
Location: Germany
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Posted: February 18 2007 at 13:22 |
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another movie I really loved was "The Usual Suspects". a great twist ending which completely floored me the first time I saw it
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A shot of me as High Priestess of Gaia during our fall festival. Ceterum censeo principiis obsta
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MadcapLaughs84
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Posted: February 18 2007 at 13:28 |
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Has anyone seen "9 Songs"???
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Recommend-a-Movie Thread
