In Search of "Good" Movies

[AndyC]

Just signed up for zip.ca, the Canadian equivalent of Netflix. Good rentals are hard to come by in our new home. Besides, I figured this would be a good way to settle what we watch in an evening. In theory, Lori and I each fill the list up with all the movies we want to rent, and watch whatever shows up.

The problem is, I can browse the lists and come up with any number of movies to rent. Lori has to see the cover before she even knows she's interested. So, there are about 60 of my movies to about ten of hers currently on the list, and our first shipment consists of a Hope/Crosby road movie, two Marx Bros. comedies and a Godzilla flick, which is great for me, but not the best example of the variety I promised.

So, I figure I'd better help her out. I've been going through the site already and picking acclaimed dramas, foreign films, higher quality romances, period stuff, etc., but I need more to balance this list.

So, I'm asking the guys with an appreciation of fine film as well as shlock to recommend some more titles. I'm looking for the artistic, the dramatic, the visually stunning, chick flicks with brains -- whatever. They can be in English or subtitled.

[plan9superfan]

Let's see...

-Father of the Bride (El hijo de la novia, a cool Argentinian movie)

-Nine Queens (Nueve Reinas, another good Argentinian movie)

-Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns

-Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch

-Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

-Men in Black and Men in Black 2

-Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2

-The Woodsman

-Crash

-The Corporation (Le Couperet, a badass French film that's the thinking man's Fun With Dick and Jane)

-The Dice is Cast (La suerte esta echada, yet another good Argentinian movie)

-Lords of Dogtown

-Jimmy Neuton: Boy Genius

-Spider-Man

-The Godfather

-The Eye

-Open Water (HILARIOUS "so bad it's good" B-movie!)

-The Matrix

-The Beach

[Ash]

I suggest this title:




I watched it the other night.  I've owned it on DVD for quite a while but only watched it once when I first got it.
Damn, this movie's a thrill ride!  :)

[The Burgomaster]

* THE TIN DRUM - A great foreign film set during World War II

* THE WAGES OF FEAR - One of the best action/suspense movies ever made.  Also a foreign film.  It is about a group of guys in South America transporting truckloads of nitroglycerine through the jungle to extinguish an oil fire.  The scenes of the trucks trying to carefully travel over rough terrain so that the nitro won't explode are about as suspenseful as anything I've ever seen.  William Friedkin remade it as SORCERER during the 1970s.

* M - An early Peter Lorre movie about a German child murderer.  It is still unsettling, even by today's standards.

* PAPER MOON - A great (and somewhat forgotten) movie about a con artist and his daughter traveling through rural America during the depression.  It was a big box office and critical success during the 1970s.  The stars are Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal, and Madeline Kahn.

* ON THE BEACH - Possibly the best "end of the world" movie of all time.  After a nuclear war, the entire world is wiped out except for the inhabitants of Australia and the crew of an American submarine (led by Gregory Peck).  The survivors can only count the days until a radioactive cloud reaches Australia and destroys them.  A great, yet depressing movie.  It also stars Ava Gardner, Anthony Perkins, and Fred Astaire.

 

[ulthar]

The Final Cut is definitely worth a watch if you have not seen it yet.

[dean]

Hehe, On the Beach is an unsettling, yet somehow reassuring film, since it's based in my home city.  It's somehow bittersweet being told [via ' good realistic' film] that your hometown is so far out of it that it's the last to die off.  They also remade it with Bryan Brown [from memory].

Also, AndyC, is there any limits for what there is to watch?

I only ask because it's good to know what's off limits when reccomending things [or attempting to at least]

Anyway, some good bad and ugly films that I think people should have a look at once, regardless of whether they are good or bad:

Down With Love An odd romance film with Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor which, if you can last to the end, has one of the nuttiest monologues I have ever seen.  It's unusual in it's style and as such is very different in pace to how most romance films run, so I think it's worth a look-see.

2046: I have this on DVD but have yet to watch it.  It also happens to be my favourite dvd case [as in how it was made] but that hardly tells you what the film itself is like.  But I've heard mostly good things about this dramatic film about a science fiction writer and his various affairs and loves.  Foriegn film, but I'm sure that will not be a problem.

Dead Man:  Great Jim Jarmusch film about a man on the run from the law in the wild west and the various people he comes across.  Brilliant film really.

Um, if you want some true crap, but 'good' crap, I'll have to think more carefully, since these just jumped out at me at the outset of potential films to watch 'with wife.'  But like I said, limits and reccomendations on types of films enjoyed help with the process, plus allows us to get to know your viewing habits so we get to know more about ya!  [ain't that a scary prospect??]

[Ash]

I agree with ulthar.
The Final Cut with Robin Williams was really good.



I'd definitely add that to your list.

[Derf]

For intelligent romance, there's Truly, Madly, Deeply with Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson. It's along the same lines as Ghost, but better.

For classics, you're starting off well with Hope/Crosby and the Marx Brothers (but you knew that already). I'd also recommend Bogart/Bacall flicks for cool/smart stories and crisp dialog and any of the Huston-directed Bogart films. There's also classics like To Kill a Mockingbird, Twelve Angry Men, Harvey, etc., that tend to be good for both male and female audiences.

My wife tends to like much of the Hollywood drivel (Legally Blonde, Runaway Bride, Miss Congeniality, etc.) that many men find unwatchable (although I kind of enjoyed those I listed, even though I know they're not particularly good), but we can both easily agree on the classics.

[Neville]

If she likes "The final cut" there are other thinking man (or woman) sci-fi flicks out there, like "Code 46" or "Solaris" (Soderbergh version) she may like. Most girls I know also have a soft spot for Hammer films, and there are quite a lot of good ones.

And speaking of quality films, we are just discussing in another thread about Charles Bronson's best movies, so... ;-)

[trekgeezer]

Like dear old Scott I am a lover of westerns, many of which tell relevant tales about human nature.

Here are some you should try:

 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre with Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, and Tim Holt. Directed by John Huston

The Searchers  with John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, and a very young Natalie Wood. Directed by the great John Ford.

John Ford's Calvary trilogy - Fort Apache with Henry Fonda and John Wayne; She Wore a Yellow Ribbon with John Wayne, John Agar, and Ben Johnson; Rio Grande with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.

Another good John Ford made movie is the WWII story They Were Expendable, about the introduction of the PT boat and the Japanese Invasion of the Phillipines.

These are good recommendations to mix in with the many others I'm sure you'll get.

[ulthar]

Also on the subject of classics:

The Black Swan with Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara.  Great swashbuckling/daring priate stuff for the guys and romance for the ladies.

The Caine Mutiny with Humphrey Bogart, Van Johnson, Fred McMurray. I love this movie and watch it every few months.  In a way, it is like a predecessor to A Few Good Men.  Hose Ferrer's final speech at the very end is, to me, one of the most poignant in all movies on the subject of honor.

Operation Petticoat with Cary Granite (oops, too much Flintstones), Tony Curtis and Joan O'Brien. Funny romance set on a WWII submarine.  It's not really a war picture, though.  Cast includes Gavin MacCleod before he captained The Love Boat, Dick Sargent before he married a witch and a young, busty Marion Ross (Mrs. Cunningham).

I also like all versions of The Mutiny on the Bounty.

If she enjoys, or at least can be pursuaded to watch, old 50's sci fi, Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers is a good movie that will introduce her to Ray Harryhausen's genius at Fx.  This might set the stage to further explore more in the genre.

The Day the Earth Stood Still would also be a good introduction to 50's era sci fi.

As for newer flims, I'd add Wind with Mathew Modine, Jennifer Grey and Stellan Skarsgaard.  It's about a fictional quest to win the America's Cup and has some great cinematography and a romance subplot.

My wife and I both enjoy Six Days, Seven Nights with Harrison Ford and Anne Hecht.  I guess it holds a special place for us since it was one of those movies for which we had very low expectations and it was pleasantly enjoyable.

National Treasure was also fun, if you have not seen that one yet.

[AndyC]

There have been some good suggestions. I've added pretty well every movie suggested, except for those we've seen and a few mainstream Hollywood titles that were not really what I was looking for.

Something else that Lori likes is documentaries, preferably more recent ones. We've got quite a few on the list already, but I'd love some suggestions that might add more.

[Mr_Vindictive]

Documentaries you say?

Control Room - Amazing doc about the Aljazeera news network in the Middle East.  

Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room - An enteratining doc that takes the very complicated Enron situation and lays it all out in quite an understandable way.  

Murderball - One of the major docs this year.  It's about a team of wheelchair rugby players as they try to win the Paralympic Games in Athens Greece.  Very good film.

The Kid Stays In The Picture - Not so much a doc as a biopic about the legendary producer Robert Evans.  He gets a bit cocky at times during the film, but fascinating none the less.


Artsy/Foreign films:

Tae Guk Gi - Amazing Korean film about two brothers who are forced to fight in the Korean war.  The film is surprisingly powerful, and quite emotional.  It's at the top of my list when it comes to war films.

2046 - Dean mentioned this one, but I'll have to do so again.  Kar Wai Wong's 2046 is something that is hard to describe.  It's sort of a passive progressive romance film....if that makes any sense.  Very beautiful film.

Oldboy - Rent this one if you're looking for something a bit dark.  It's about Oh Daesu, a Korean man who is kidnapped and locked in a room for 15 years without being told why he is there.  He is eventually released, and must find out who locked him up and why.  It doesn't get much better than this one.  Dark, funny, and thorougly entertaining.

Love Liza - Caught this one yesterday on IFC and watched it again.  I had originally rented it last year.  Great movie with the now Oscar winning Phillip Seymour Hoffman.  His wife commits suicide and leaves a sealed note for him to read.  Instead of reading the letter, he lets his life fall apart and eventually becomes addicted to huffing gasoline.  Great, slow film with understated performances.  

I Heart Huckabees - Great, strange comedy about existentialism and how everything is tied to everything.  Best to go into this one blind, but it's a great dramadey.

[Mofo Rising]

I'd second DEAD MAN.  It's not for everyone but it's one of my favorite movies of all time.

Documentaries:

Touching the Void (2003) - Harrowing reconstruction of a mountain climbing expedition gone horribly, horribly wrong.

The Endurance (2000) - Harrowing retelling of a Antarctic expedition gone horribly, horribly wrong.

The American Nightmare (2000) - Harrowing recount of American cinema gone horribly, horribly. . . alright, I'll stop.

Grizzly Man (2005) - There is a lot of flawed people in the world.

Pseudo-Documentaries

24 Hour Party People (2002) - Hilarious movie about the rise and fall of the Manchester music scene, with pompous ass Tony Wilson.  I don't even listen to most of the music in the film and I loved the hell out of it.

American Splendor (2003) - Best Picture of 2003, if I had my way.  Cantankerous file clerk Harvey Pekar writes about his life in comic form.

Just Good Movies

Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972) - Klaus Kinski slowly goes mad in the jungle.  What's not to like?

Himalaya (1999) - Fantastic movie I never hear anybody talk about.

Intacto (2001) - Quite a strange little Spanish thriller.

Miller's Crossing (1990) - From the Coen brothers.  About as close as one can get to the perfect movie.  (The perfect movie is SEVEN SAMURAI.)

The Night of the Hunter (1955) - Required viewing.

Save the Green Planet (2003) - If you like OLDBOY then sign yourself up for the pure insanity of SAVE THE GREEN PLANET.

The Sweet Hereafter (1997) - This is the saddest movie I have ever seen.  Ian Holm gives a performance that is almost too painful to watch.

You might as well put yourself on the list for anything by directors like Akira Kurosawa, Martin Scorsese and Hayao Miyazaki.  Or if you in the mood for something offbeat, David Lynch, David Cronenberg, Jim Jarmusch and Terry Gilliam.  I have a friend who swears by Krzysztof Kieslowski.

Or you could do what I'm doing and make your way sequentially through the Criterion collection.  I wouldn't recommend that for everybody, though.  They're not all winners.

[Mr_Vindictive]

Mofo,

Good call on American Splendor.  Fantastic film.