i think Mifune could stand to be on the list.
also, Birthday Girl
The Red Violin
Felicia’s Journey
Heaven’s Burning
and the 1957 version of The Ladykillers, with Alec Guinness
i also think classifying as great is very difficult because one guy’s great list has nothing to do with some other guy’s. i mean, even “Children of Men” got some bad reviews. !
and i think artists should just do their best, and not worry so much about critics. “A Scanner Darkly” is not, perhaps, a great film, but it is pretty good, and, if you like Phillip K. Dick, you should make an effort to see it.
and then, people will say how great “Blade Runner” is, but really, it doesn’t follow the Phillip K. Dick story worth a sh*t.
besides, great will change for you, over time. i used to love “Eraserhead”, for instance, but now i can’t even watch it anymore.
scenes about the father possibly being homosexual were rather pointed, i think. it means that Oskar’s mom had not let the right one in her life, and when Eli attacks the man in the snow, we learn he had been terribly close to another man, who was married to a woman, (who has not let the right one in her life, and is unsatisfied).
Eli knew intimate details about people’s lives: she destroyed people who were suffering from their poorly chosen relationships.
not, as it first seems, as an indictment against being gay, but if you are, get out and be gay; don’t marry a woman and waste her life.
it’s a cautionary tale, but, oddly, Eli herself benefits from the offspring of such star crossed relationships. which is to say, if you are the victim of such a relationship, you should not be treated like trash, and still have the right to find the right one for yourself.
totally agree that she needs a good director, cause too often she seems to be trying too hard, so that she looks like an actress, rather than just a real person.
but i loved her in Postcards From The Edge which is just an adorable little film, with a great script.
Dog Soldiers (Neil Marshall) UK, 2002
Alice (Jan Švankmajer) Czechoslovakia, 1988
Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa) Japan, 1950
A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater) U.S., 2006
Children Of Men (Alfonso Cuarón) UK, 2006
Mulholland Drive (David Lynch) U.S./France, 2001
Let The Right One In (Tomas Alfredson) Sweden, 2008
Coraline (Henry Selick) U.S., 2009
Repo Man (Alex Cox) U.S., 1984
The Host (Bong Joon-ho) S. Korea, 2006
oh. well, i once saw an Indian film where this this guy beat up another guy with his bare feet, then stepped on his face. i thought that was…different.
being a sci fi nut, i thought this was gonna be sci fi. well, it’s not.
and i was annoyed by the lead character’s endless smirking. i don’t like when Angelina Jolie does it, and that goes double for guys.
the story just drags on forever. wait: there is no story. just an epic series of seemingly unimportant events. luckily, i actually like epic story types, and the ideas presented ring very true. so, it’s not without its charm.
but she also has a bunch of really good songs. in fact, her best-of album, Pass in Time, is truly awesome.
also
Songs for Drella – Lou Reed & John Cale Celtic Voices – Connie Dover, and others The Mask & The Mirror – Loreena McKennitt Pod – The Breeders University – Throwing Muses I’m With Stupid – Aimee Mann Aenima – Tool Garbage – Garbage
Brokedown Palace Soundtrack – Nelly Furtado, Delerium, & others So Tonight That I Might See – Mazzy Star Becoming X – Sneaker Pimps Mezcal Head – Swervedriver
i walked out of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover in the first scene, and my boyfriend was not happy aboot it.
but i thought The Ring was ok, and i enjoyed The Golden Compass.
there are lots of movies i can’t get all the way through, including Crash, V for Vendetta, Tetsuo, Hard Candy, Primer, Ginger Snaps, Johnny Mnemonic (written by Gibson himself), Lemony Snicket, Beowulf, The Holy Mountain…
i do not appreciate any of Kubrick’s films, on the grounds they are heavy-handed, over-studied, and pretentious. uh, except for Full Metal Jacket. that one film, for me anyway, made all his life’s work a worthwhile endeavor. so, i do not despise him.
this has been my experience of art. you suck and suck and suck, and then finally, you rock. then you suck again. don’t let people’s opinions stop you, just keep working through your suckiness, and keep going.
Horror is not an inferior vehicle. it just happens to have lots of junk mixed in with the gems. what genre doesn’t?
i could only come up with eight:
1. Let the Right One In
2. Audition
3. Bram Stoker’s Dracula
4. The Haunting of Julia
5. Pan’s Labyrinth
6. The Host
7. Rosemary’s Baby
8. Shutter (Thai version)
Rachel is an android in the book, and she knows it.
the important thing is, how flexible and vulnerable the human psyche is. it can be taught to accept the idea of a divine entity, then, it can be told to shut out any ideas going against such an entity. so, it can be programmed. once programmed, it is then inflexible and close-minded.
the idea of consensus reality, whereby even highly implausible events such as virgin birth, forms a new reality which superimposes itself over one’s (already difficult) existing reality.
Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai – Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Lost – Gregory Maguire
Gravity’s Rainbow – Thomas Pynchon
Tess of the D’urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
Neuromancer – William Gibson
Sanctuary – William Faulkner
Seven Gothic Tales – Isak Dinesen
Short Stories – Anton Chekhov
Fathers and Sons – Ivan Turgenev
The House of the Seven Gables – Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Rosy Crucifixion – Henry Miller
The Shadow of the Torturer – Gene Wolfe
The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
The Sotweed Factor – John Barth
Invisible Cities – Italo Calvino
Beyond Good an Evil – Friedrich Nietzsche
Kidnapped – Robert Louis Stevenson
Josh S. said: Do you read any other philosophy/philosophers?
well, i spent lots of time trying to figure out how to replace god and religion, once i got that de-programmed from my brain. that study was primarily involved with Taoism, Vivekananda, and summary works that examine both eastern and western thought.
the main books i used were:
Tao Te Ching (the Stephen Mitchell translation is wonderful)
Esoteric Encyclopedia (Vernon Howard) this is not really original thought, but a compendium.
The Mystic Masters Speak (Vernon Howard) (again, Howard contributes little himself, but has compiled an amazing compendium of thought by Cicero, Vivekananda, Schopenhauer, and many others.
Josh S. said: Philosophy definitely seems like a more fascinating alternative to other kinds of ‘thinking’, doesn’t it? :)
About Schopenhauer, I’ve heard and a read a little about him, is there are good book to start with for him?
i try to stay away from philosophy at the moment. there was a time when i needed it badly, and i supposed i turned to it like pouring medicine on a wound. now i choose more fun books and films. though, of course, Beyond Good and Evil is extremely snarky and funny.
if you must read Schopenhauer, i would suggest that you start with some books or articles “about” him rather than his own work. he made some great insights, but the overall tone of his work can really be a downer.
I Am Curious said: “If you want a bridge between “manchildren in tights hitting each other” and “disaffected snobs in berets and turtlenecks,” he’s it.”
disaffected? that means rebellious. shirley you mean affected?
@Apursansar: i totally agree that Nietzsche went too far, and may have led to, well, you know. he failed to realize that one can be without religion, but still embrace many of the things that religion stole and tried to claim as its own.
Josh said: “I don’t understand the theater walkouts. While great trailers don’t always make great movies, there is enough information out there to help make a sound judgement call.”
you have got to be joshing me.
Critics loved Pi. i thought it was a doo-doo pie.
Beowulf got pretty good reviews and it sucked big-time.
not to mention Dogville, which got very high marks, but in reality was like battling the mean green weenie. Bleh!!
Which movies would you like to see on The Auteurs? almost 3 years ago
i think Mifune could stand to be on the list.
also, Birthday Girl
The Red Violin
Felicia’s Journey
Heaven’s Burning
and the 1957 version of The Ladykillers, with Alec Guinness
Go to Comment
can you name a truly great american film in the last 5 years... almost 3 years ago
i also think classifying as great is very difficult because one guy’s great list has nothing to do with some other guy’s. i mean, even “Children of Men” got some bad reviews. !
and i think artists should just do their best, and not worry so much about critics. “A Scanner Darkly” is not, perhaps, a great film, but it is pretty good, and, if you like Phillip K. Dick, you should make an effort to see it.
and then, people will say how great “Blade Runner” is, but really, it doesn’t follow the Phillip K. Dick story worth a sh*t.
besides, great will change for you, over time. i used to love “Eraserhead”, for instance, but now i can’t even watch it anymore.
Go to Comment
Let the Right One In almost 3 years ago
don’t read unless you’ve seen the film:
scenes about the father possibly being homosexual were rather pointed, i think. it means that Oskar’s mom had not let the right one in her life, and when Eli attacks the man in the snow, we learn he had been terribly close to another man, who was married to a woman, (who has not let the right one in her life, and is unsatisfied).
Eli knew intimate details about people’s lives: she destroyed people who were suffering from their poorly chosen relationships.
not, as it first seems, as an indictment against being gay, but if you are, get out and be gay; don’t marry a woman and waste her life.
it’s a cautionary tale, but, oddly, Eli herself benefits from the offspring of such star crossed relationships. which is to say, if you are the victim of such a relationship, you should not be treated like trash, and still have the right to find the right one for yourself.
Go to Comment
Meryl Streep Great Actress or Just an doing an inpression almost 3 years ago
totally agree that she needs a good director, cause too often she seems to be trying too hard, so that she looks like an actress, rather than just a real person.
but i loved her in Postcards From The Edge which is just an adorable little film, with a great script.
Go to Comment
Top 10 Favorite Movies First Seen in the Past Year almost 3 years ago
Dog Soldiers (Neil Marshall) UK, 2002
Alice (Jan Švankmajer) Czechoslovakia, 1988
Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa) Japan, 1950
A Scanner Darkly (Richard Linklater) U.S., 2006
Children Of Men (Alfonso Cuarón) UK, 2006
Mulholland Drive (David Lynch) U.S./France, 2001
Let The Right One In (Tomas Alfredson) Sweden, 2008
Coraline (Henry Selick) U.S., 2009
Repo Man (Alex Cox) U.S., 1984
The Host (Bong Joon-ho) S. Korea, 2006
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Is anyone else excited for Ridley Scott's return to the Alien series? almost 3 years ago
blah, no, not at all
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WHAT YOU THINK INDIAN CINEMA ? almost 3 years ago
i tried to watch Koi Mil Gaya, (heard it was sci fi) but the first song and dance number threw me. then i couldn’t get back into it.
but, i still have Krrish on my to-watch list.
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WHAT YOU THINK INDIAN CINEMA ? almost 3 years ago
oh. well, i once saw an Indian film where this this guy beat up another guy with his bare feet, then stepped on his face. i thought that was…different.
Go to Comment
YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT 2046 almost 3 years ago
being a sci fi nut, i thought this was gonna be sci fi. well, it’s not.
and i was annoyed by the lead character’s endless smirking. i don’t like when Angelina Jolie does it, and that goes double for guys.
the story just drags on forever. wait: there is no story. just an epic series of seemingly unimportant events. luckily, i actually like epic story types, and the ideas presented ring very true. so, it’s not without its charm.
Go to Comment
Best Albums of the Nineties almost 3 years ago
some Beth Orton songs are lousy, it is true.
but she also has a bunch of really good songs. in fact, her best-of album, Pass in Time, is truly awesome.
also
Songs for Drella – Lou Reed & John Cale
Celtic Voices – Connie Dover, and others
The Mask & The Mirror – Loreena McKennitt
Pod – The Breeders
University – Throwing Muses
I’m With Stupid – Aimee Mann
Aenima – Tool
Garbage – Garbage
Brokedown Palace Soundtrack – Nelly Furtado, Delerium, & others
So Tonight That I Might See – Mazzy Star
Becoming X – Sneaker Pimps
Mezcal Head – Swervedriver
Go to Comment
What films have you walked out on and why ? almost 3 years ago
i walked out of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover in the first scene, and my boyfriend was not happy aboot it.
but i thought The Ring was ok, and i enjoyed The Golden Compass.
there are lots of movies i can’t get all the way through, including Crash, V for Vendetta, Tetsuo, Hard Candy, Primer, Ginger Snaps, Johnny Mnemonic (written by Gibson himself), Lemony Snicket, Beowulf, The Holy Mountain…
Go to Comment
What is Kubrick's Most Under-Appreciated Film? almost 3 years ago
i do not appreciate any of Kubrick’s films, on the grounds they are heavy-handed, over-studied, and pretentious. uh, except for Full Metal Jacket. that one film, for me anyway, made all his life’s work a worthwhile endeavor. so, i do not despise him.
this has been my experience of art. you suck and suck and suck, and then finally, you rock. then you suck again. don’t let people’s opinions stop you, just keep working through your suckiness, and keep going.
Go to Comment
Top 20 horror films almost 3 years ago
Horror is not an inferior vehicle. it just happens to have lots of junk mixed in with the gems. what genre doesn’t?
i could only come up with eight:
1. Let the Right One In
2. Audition
3. Bram Stoker’s Dracula
4. The Haunting of Julia
5. Pan’s Labyrinth
6. The Host
7. Rosemary’s Baby
8. Shutter (Thai version)
Go to Comment
What is Kubrick's Most Under-Appreciated Film? almost 3 years ago
Frank P. Tomasulo said: “Those are no doubt words to live by, for art and Life.”
oh, thank you.
Go to Comment
Is Deckard a replicant? almost 3 years ago
Rachel is an android in the book, and she knows it.
the important thing is, how flexible and vulnerable the human psyche is. it can be taught to accept the idea of a divine entity, then, it can be told to shut out any ideas going against such an entity. so, it can be programmed. once programmed, it is then inflexible and close-minded.
the idea of consensus reality, whereby even highly implausible events such as virgin birth, forms a new reality which superimposes itself over one’s (already difficult) existing reality.
Go to Comment
Favorite Books almost 3 years ago
Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai – Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Lost – Gregory Maguire
Gravity’s Rainbow – Thomas Pynchon
Tess of the D’urbervilles – Thomas Hardy
Neuromancer – William Gibson
Sanctuary – William Faulkner
Seven Gothic Tales – Isak Dinesen
Short Stories – Anton Chekhov
Fathers and Sons – Ivan Turgenev
The House of the Seven Gables – Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Rosy Crucifixion – Henry Miller
The Shadow of the Torturer – Gene Wolfe
The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien
The Sotweed Factor – John Barth
Invisible Cities – Italo Calvino
Beyond Good an Evil – Friedrich Nietzsche
Kidnapped – Robert Louis Stevenson
Go to Comment
What film scenes really make you cry? almost 3 years ago
the ending of The Name of the Rose
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Favorite Books almost 3 years ago
i think it does, yes. Also, Thus Spoke Zarathustra is very good, and you might want to start with that one.
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Favorite Books almost 3 years ago
i like how he stood up against fake realities, and other consensus realities
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Favorite Books almost 3 years ago
well, yes, belief systems such as religion, that pretend to be reality
Go to Comment
Favorite Books almost 3 years ago
Josh S. said: Do you read any other philosophy/philosophers?
well, i spent lots of time trying to figure out how to replace god and religion, once i got that de-programmed from my brain. that study was primarily involved with Taoism, Vivekananda, and summary works that examine both eastern and western thought.
the main books i used were:
Tao Te Ching (the Stephen Mitchell translation is wonderful)
Esoteric Encyclopedia (Vernon Howard) this is not really original thought, but a compendium.
The Mystic Masters Speak (Vernon Howard) (again, Howard contributes little himself, but has compiled an amazing compendium of thought by Cicero, Vivekananda, Schopenhauer, and many others.
Go to Comment
Favorite Books almost 3 years ago
Josh S. said: Philosophy definitely seems like a more fascinating alternative to other kinds of ‘thinking’, doesn’t it? :)
About Schopenhauer, I’ve heard and a read a little about him, is there are good book to start with for him?
i try to stay away from philosophy at the moment. there was a time when i needed it badly, and i supposed i turned to it like pouring medicine on a wound. now i choose more fun books and films. though, of course, Beyond Good and Evil is extremely snarky and funny.
if you must read Schopenhauer, i would suggest that you start with some books or articles “about” him rather than his own work. he made some great insights, but the overall tone of his work can really be a downer.
Go to Comment
Favorite Books almost 3 years ago
Kant is very hard to read. even harder than Finnegan’s Wake.
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Favorite Books almost 3 years ago
well, Nietzsche said Kant was full of it, and, since Kant was often defending religion, i agree with Fred.
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Graphic Novels...do cinephiles like graphic novels? reactions to graphic novel adaptations to film? almost 3 years ago
I Am Curious said: “If you want a bridge between “manchildren in tights hitting each other” and “disaffected snobs in berets and turtlenecks,” he’s it.”
disaffected? that means rebellious. shirley you mean affected?
(puts on beret, and runs off)
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Favorite Books almost 3 years ago
Apursansar said: “I wonder what Nietzsche meant by Kant defending religion”
i didn’t say that Nietzsche said Kant was defending religion. i said he noted that Kant was full of it.
i said that Kant defended religion.
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Favorite Books almost 3 years ago
@Apursansar: i totally agree that Nietzsche went too far, and may have led to, well, you know. he failed to realize that one can be without religion, but still embrace many of the things that religion stole and tried to claim as its own.
Go to Comment
Graphic Novels...do cinephiles like graphic novels? reactions to graphic novel adaptations to film? almost 3 years ago
ok (calls off the karma police)
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My views on ending of lost in translation... almost 3 years ago
Roscoe said: “My views on the ending of LOST IN TRANSLATION — I was very glad it ended. I’ve seldom been so glad to see credits roll in my life.”
Haha! i agree.
i hated that flick. i thought it was in very poor taste for them to set it in Japan, and then go on and on about how they didn’t like Japan.
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Which Movies Have You Walked Out On? almost 3 years ago
Josh said: “I don’t understand the theater walkouts. While great trailers don’t always make great movies, there is enough information out there to help make a sound judgement call.”
you have got to be joshing me.
Critics loved Pi. i thought it was a doo-doo pie.
Beowulf got pretty good reviews and it sucked big-time.
not to mention Dogville, which got very high marks, but in reality was like battling the mean green weenie. Bleh!!
Go to Comment