I was going to mention this. You should also get into Michael Haneke films, I have yet to see all his work but I would recommend Benny's Video and Funny Games.

Man, I haven't seen Flight of Dragons in probably fifteen years. Thanks for the reminder of that fantastic movie, fsm.

Just came back from the cinema. Went to see Iron Man 3 with the family. It was great; very balanced in regards to drama, humour, and action, and the climax was awesome. There was one thing that bothered me to the extreme though (WARNING: huge spoiler ahead):


They made up for it though.

Funny Games is insanely overrated.

I've been wanting to watch Enter The Void, as I enjoyed other Gaspar Noé movies, but the running time puts me off. Especially considering what the movie is supposed to consist of.

I enjoyed Funny Games. Even when it got all "art film" on the viewer (see: the 5 minute lingering shot of the living room with the son's dead body in it while the parents slowly take in what just happened) it was still good.

Oh, smoke a few bowls out of a makeshift tinfoil pipe and cowboy up, you pansy

I'll make it a double bill with El Topo

I didn't dislike either Cool World or (especially) Wizards as much as you, but that could just be because I last saw them before my voice changed (though that's not as long ago as you might think ). I actually re-watched Heavy Traffic just a few weeks ago and thought it held up just as well now as it did when I first watched it. It's certainly his weirdest film, often downright abandoning its (already very tenuous) main plot in favor of extended, esoteric, 70's flavored audio/visual assaults, yet in spite of that (or perhaps even for that reason), it may also be his strongest film overall. You should watch it .


There's never been a Hanake film I didn't think deserved a 10/10 and there's never been a Noe film I didn't think deserved castigation from the entire film community. Literally the opposite ends of the spectrum, far as I'm concerned.

Haneke is indeed a fascinating and masterful director. Still have yet to see Amour. I could see a case being made for Noé's stuff being rather style-heavy and shock-based, and yeah, it's usually pretty thin on writing, but I can't think of hardly any other director than makes such consistently, genuinely intense material. I feel like he doesn't deliver stories so much as experiences. Just a different concept on filmmaking, really. For what it's worth, I've always felt rather soul-searching and existentially..."dipped"... in the aftermath of his works.

Oh, Belial, I just remembered another one... Dans Ma Peau (In My Skin). Steel yourself...

Thank you all for these recommendations. I've got some stuff to check out it seems. I think I'll start with Blade Runner, I haven't seen it for years and I'm on some sort of "sci-fi" mood lately.
The Solaris I mentioned was the Tarkovsy one yes. I haven't seen the remake. I guess it was just the first part that bothered me. There was a scene where a man was driving his car for some minutes without any dialogue or anything happening at all. Such scenes were marvelous in A Space Odyssey because they showed how the future would actually look like. The music made it like whoever is watching was having a dream (while the change in the music where approchaing the monolith would make it more like a nightmare), but in Solaris there was nothing like that. But that's really my only complaint. The rest is excellent. The weird situation the main character was put in was well executed.

I've seen El Topo, The Holy Mountain and Enter the Void while being sober, it's worth trying them again. Lost Highway should be good too, I remember being scared the first time I watched it, during the first part. The idea of having someone getting into my house while I sleep, filming it and then sending me the videos is a nightmare.
I'll also take a look at Apocalypse now. I've read Heart of Darkness two years ago and I haven't seen the movie since then.
I'm not usually a fan of animated movies but that first clip failsafeman posted looks awesome (by the way the last two links you put are the same).
I've seen most of Haneke's movies and I liked them, but I don't know if they would fit.
Dans Ma Peau sounds very interesting too, I'll check it out next.

That was more than what I expected, thank you guys

Edit: forgot to mention Persona and The Seventh Seal in my first post. The Seventh Seal was huge. This is the second time I see it and I liked it mch more. Just like with A Space Odyssey everything made sense. Any other Bergman movies to recommend? From what I know he has a lot of existential movies and that's something I also like.

I'm back from Iron Man 3 too!

This is the last Iron Man for sure and a nice way to end the series, it's perhaps not the best, I think I enjoyed the first one a bit more but it was very good. I can't wait to see Thor: The Dark World and Avengers 2 now.

You guys can continue with Haneke now! Belial, you should watch Stalker too, one of my favorite movies.

The Place Beyond the Pines was pretty good. Ryan Gosling broods, as he's so good at doing, and his character has so much depth. Essentially the movie is an intense character study, and it's paced how you would expect. Except there's two changes in the central focus and by the end it starts feeling way too long. Still, it's a meditation on life, morality, and false heroes shot at gorgeous locations, with an enthralling soundtrack and Bradley Cooper yet again proving he's capable of not sucking. Eva Mendes though. Just ugh.

Evil Dead (2013) 7/10

Great sequel (it totally is) to the 80's classic trilogy, this new Evil Dead flick balances itself between seriousness and just plain having fun in a great way. It was not creepy or terrifying (the tagline obviously takes the piss) it was just a thrilling, exciting film and an unbelievable gorefest. Although I missed some crucial Evil Dead icons (like the taperecorder), the film definitely holds up. I have to give the screenwriters huge props for actually writing characters that are not tailor made to piss the audience off and actually defining a good reason for them to be in an isolated cabin in the woods other than to get drunk and have sex. There are no stoners, annoying blond bitch queens or 'DUUUUDE PARTEEEH' jocks (seriously fuck films like Cabin Fever, Hostel etc), the cast feels more real and it makes you care for them just a little bit more. More horrorfilms need a cast of characters that actually makes you root for the victims instead of the killer, it makes the difference between true horror and mindless dumb slasher). Evil Dead was over the top, but huge fun and its a great homage to the original Sam Raimi classic.

Well yeah, but they still were pretty poorly written overall. It was a nice effort though. Baby steps, I suppose.

Iron Man 3 - 4/5

Another big budget barn burner, Iron Man 3 is the strongest Iron Man movie yet. Mostly this is due to Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, as here he gives his best performance as the character yet. This was the first time I really ever felt sorry for Stark, due to the PTSD symptoms we see him exhibiting here. The action is flashy and fun, and the story is more involved and interesting than the other ones. This is pretty much movie junk food, but it's some of the better movie junk food we're likely to get this year, sort of the equivalent of MIB III from last year. There are a few silly moments, and a couple jokes that don't work, but overall this is respectably solid.

Bringing Out the Dead - 4.5/5

I was watching this film, about a paramedic who begins to suffer from mental insanity due to his job's harsh stress and his own messiah complex, and said to myself, 'this reminds me of Taxi Driver.' Lo and behold, this was a Scorsese movie, and one I had never actually heard of. Nicolas Cage does a great job in the title role, one of his last really good performances as he is constantly on the verge of a breakdown - but to be fair, some would argue that isn't really a performance for him, but reality. John Goodman, Ving Rhames and Patricia Arquette also deliver strong performances. Arquette as the bereaved daughter of a man on the brink of death is especially affecting. The film's blend of dark comedy with serious drama and real-life malaise comes out as something truly unique and engaging. Overall I got a big feeling of existential angst from this, and the film as a whole talks a lot about the daily grind and how a man who does a tough job deals with it. These themes are carried with dignity, grace and a human, down-to-earth dark humor that really works. Recommended.

Glad you liked it, Emp! It has many detractors on this board.

Having now seen the new Evil Dead (awesome movie, by the way), I am convinced that it's a stealth sequel to the original trilogy. The first scene of the movie sets it up like that for me.

I just watched this and I agree about it feeling overlong. It's three acts but each one feels long enough to be its own movie.

I'm still on the fence about Baby Goose's acting. Yeah, the guy can brood, but what else can he do? He plays the same brooding, stoic badass in every single movie (well, except that one about the blow-up doll, where he's a brooding, stoic crazy guy, which requires playing the same character anyway). I want to see him in some comedies or a role where he really gets to let loose.

It does? The only people I ever saw mention it were you and PhilFrog, both of whom said it was excellent...

I'm pretty sure at least two people on here disliked it. Might have been failsafeman and darkeningday (wouldn't be surprised).

Iambatman: I believe he plays a different type of character in Crazy Stupid Love.

Gosling in Crazy Stupid Love: <333333333

I watched Drive, and I honestly don't see why anyone liked that movie. Sure the soundtrack has it's moments but it has as much substance as a car commercial. People go on about how he conveys so much without talking, minutes with just silence and staring, but it's as interesting as watching paint dry. The opening chase scene was genuinely thrilling and I had hoped it would have become a grander heist movie, not some self-sacrifice drama in desperate need of narration with almost no story, trying to parade it's self off as insightful and thought provoking when it's superficial.

Gosling was pretty solid in Ides of March. But then, I didn't really like that movie for the acting, so much as the great plot and the intense thrills that kept getting higher and higher.

Drive was cool too. Certainly a better Nicholas Refn movie than either Fear X or Bronson - I'm on the fence whether that new one directed by him will be good, as these are the only three I've seen by him, and only one was good.

I'm as torn on Drive as I am on Gosling in general. The soundtrack was cool, the opening was cool, Gosling's character was kind of cool in that general "attractive, silent badass" kind of way. The sort of out-of-place B-movie gore was a strange addition.

I haven't seen either The Ides of March or Crazy Stupid Love. I guess I'll check those out and see where I stand.

I loved Drive. Yes it was stark, but I found it had quite the atmosphere. Everything that can be said has already been said, at any rate.

You should watch The United States of Leland. It's one of the earliest Gosling movies, and the first one I saw him in years ago. Kevin Spacey gives a great performance in that one too.

Doubt: I went in with very different expectations as to what the film turned to be about. An enjoyable movie all around. Well-written plot, superb cast though Hoffman's priest is left a bit two-dimensional as he mostly acts as a plot device. But rarely do you encounter characters with as much depth as the two nuns who are the main characters. The plot isn't as clear cut as it seems and it is all a bit ambiguous. I've been a bit iffy about watching films, wondering if I'd lost interest in the medium completely, but this has restored my faith for the time being. Not in the art form itself, since that never went away - Just my personal and subjective enjoyment of it.

Misery: No wonder Kathy Bates got nominated for this. Her portrayal of the maniac is very convincing. Writing her up as a serial killer is kind of a copout, I think, but well, you work with what you got. Can't fault the film much for that. Of course, it's all quite obvious how it will end, but it's the journey that matters. You feel bad for James Caan's character, but he doesn't seem like the nicest guy in general either. Rather petty and all that. I haven't actually read the novel, so can't say how much it matches what King wrote. The novel was a lash out against fans for not liking his fantasy piece, Eyes of the Dragon, and while it is a good book (Dragon) making his fans out as a mad serial killer who hold him hostage and make him write horror is a bit of a stretch. But well, I suppose it made for a good book. It's really too bad about the old sheriff - Definitely the most charismatic character in the film.

Les diaboliques: A French horror thriller from the 50s. Very Hitchcockian. Or was Hitchcock influenced by this? Difficult to say though he had made fairly similarly atmosphered films earlier as well. While the suspense is so thick you could cut it with a knife, somehow I was left a bit cold.

The Great Sinner: Gregory Peck in a film based on Dostojevski's The Gambler. Even without reading the book, you know how it is gonna go. It's more Hollywoodian than the novel definitely, and that is it's main downfall. Rather ho-hum all of it really. The romance and the main character's fall into the vice that he clearly sees in the others in the beginning is at the center. But it's all treated very superficially.

The Iron Lady: Thatcher's death brought about an interest in this film, but while Streep performs well, the rest of the film is very ho hum. Snippets out of her career here and there, touching on the big moments, barely scratching the surface of... Well, anything. Forgettable, definitely.

On the Beach: Classic post-nuclear apocalypse film from the 50s. Peck as the captain of a lone surviving US submarine, seeking solace in Australia with fallout approaching. It's all very somber and melancholic, looking for clues of surviving life, hoping for the best - Maybe there's a chance for survival? Gloomily enough, there isn't. Decadence at the fast approaching end is stated outright, even if it is all quite muted.

Sorcerer: Not a fantasy or horror-flick, but based on an earlier French film (55, this one is 77) about transportation of nitroglycerin through two hundred miles of jungle by four criminals on the run from... Well, whatever. Suspenseful and well-established, but the trip gets a bit tiresome with the encounters getting quite samey.

Oh yeah definitely, especially the blond chick and the nurse (can't remember their names). But at least they were not portrayed as wastes of human skin. Baby steps indeed.

Watched Oblivion yesterday and I'm pretty content. The visuals are simply awesome, it has the right kind of vast, hope-crushing yet somehow beautiful and bittersweet atmosphere and the story itself I'd describe as quite solid. Some twists and revelations I saw coming, others not. Nicely paced as well, which mainly translates to "did not lose interest at any point" for me. The action was passable, but not really the focus anyway.

So yeah, it's really nothing groundbreaking and overly fresh, writing- or concept-wise, but a very decent flick keeping you entertained in the form of a beautifully-styled piece of modern sci-fi that manages to still tell a story without regressing to a mere vehicle for fancy scenery shots and explosions.

I'm a Nicolas Cage hater but I love Bringing Out the Dead. I remember liking him in another movie, Kiss of Death. I've seen it like 10-12 years ago so I don't remember much about it, except Cage playing the role of a bad-ass and that I liked it a lot.

I don't like Drive though. I don't see anything special about it. Maybe because I don't like Gosling, he doesn't have the "tough guy" look and I found the whole character bland.

Cool; been meaning to watch both of these for a while. I actually have Sorcerer but haven't found the right mood/atmosphere to watch yet. Do you know what the real difference between the European and US cuts of Sorcerer are? I believe I've got the Euro one; I've heard there's actually a huge difference between the two, right down to the ending.

Blue Valentine: An amazing portrayal of a dissolving relationship. It's almost impossible to not identify with at least some of these conversations and the acting is pretty brilliant. For those who say Gosling always plays the same character, here we find an example to the contrary. It's a very tragic, complicated, and human film and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Collateral: You know, this movie has a generally high rating but I can't say I enjoyed it all that much. It certainly wasn't bad, mind you. It boasts one of the only watchable Jamie Foxx performances (the other being Ray) and Tom Cruise as a villain is an interesting difference from the archetypes he usually plays. It's also pretty stylish overall. But like most modern Mann, it left me cold at the end. The ending was lame, and I wanted it to go in a less predictable way, and it was really hard to get invested in the story. Just a run of the mill thriller that aims higher than it can hit.

Who says "Gosling always plays the same character"? I don't see how anyone could confuse his roles in Half Nelsen and The Notebook for the same character...

I'm not a diehard Gosling fan or anything, but he certainly mixes his roles up quite a bit. Compare to one Xtian Bale...

Also, Michael Cera and Jonah Hill.

I'm indifferent about Bringing Out the Dead, I neither liked it nor disliked it. I just found myself disinterested for most of the
runtime, but that could have been because I was sleep deprived when I watched it 8 years ago.

Currently watching Toys with Robin Williams. I remember nothing apart from the bizarre ending so I'm going to re-fresh my memory.

Well now that I look at it, I haven't seen most of his movies. I was just commenting on how he pretty much acts the same way in Lars and the Real Girl, Drive and The Place Beyond the Pines even though the characters are written very differently.

Dat amazing orchestral rendition of 'Welcome to the Pleasuredome'

Well, it's true that I didn't see Cool World or Wizards until much more recently (2-3 years ago) so it's quite possible that I missed the nostalgia train there. I'll readily admit that Wizards has some cool animation; I liked the red bounty hunter guy a lot (and actually met a chick at a metal fest with a tatoo of him on her arm, haha). It's just that in terms of plot it's so weak, and the heroes are so much less visually interesting than the villains. I guess at a younger age the animation makes a much bigger impact than the story; I admit to harboring nostalgia for the utterly bizarre Felix the Cat movie, which also has fantastic animation but a rather terrible plot.

However, this discussion reminds me of Twice Upon a Time, a gorgeous movie from the 80s shot in a combination of cut-out stop motion and live action in a style that reminds me a lot of Terry Gilliam's work with Monty Python. It's really wacky and entertaining, and reminds me of what Pixar might have done in the 80s. If you're interested in animation at all, you definitely need to check it out.

Wow, I've never even heard of that! I'll check it out.

Speaking of weird fucking animated movies, have you seen The Adventures of Mark Twain? This film absolutely terrified me as a kid, but it was the morish sort of terror; I couldn't stop coming back for more. It's not exactly El Topo or even Fantastic Planet weird, but its still sort of kind of pretty much batshit insane when paired again most of the safe, focus-tested, mainstream animation of today. This one too I haven't seen for years, though, so the standard salt granule caveat applies...

I've known about that movie forever but never seen it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_BhfXHEwVA

^Ender's Game trailer. I have absolutely no interest in the movie/book myself. I just wanted to see all the mods who hate it in action again

Rewatched Flight of Dragons just now. Funny how a movie you've seen a million times comes flooding back to you even after not seeing it for so many years. The whole pseudoscience-ish bit trying to explain the biomechanics of dragons, dragon fire and dragon flight was a little silly and leads me to think that the book the movie's based on is probably pretty lame, but the movie itself is rad. James Earl Jones as Ommadon was quite awesome. The music is really fantastic, too.

Honestly I'm really glad that Disney released fairly low-key animated movies in the late 70's through the late 80's (until The Little Mermaid came out in '89) since it gave other animation studios a chance to shine, like the Rankin/Bass movies and the wonderful stuff Don Bluth did during this time.