I grew up watching cable television, which ran the same movies over and over again. As a result, my mind is pretty much programmed to rewatch movies. I only consider a movie as a favorite if I can watch it over and over without experiencing a decrease in my enjoyment level.
I’m only commenting on the directors that I’ve seen a decent number of movies by.
Fellini – NIGHTS OF CABIRIA
Bergman – VIRGIN SPRING
Godard – CONTEMPT
Antonioni – THE NIGHT
Bresson – AU HASARD BALTHAZAR
Bunuel – BELLE DE JOUR
Altman – MCCABE & MRS. MILLER
Polanski – CHINATOWN
Rohmer – CLAIRE’S KNEE
Kubrick – A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
Raquel Welch
Ann-Margret
Brigitte Bardot
Jeanne Moreau
Salma Hayek
Penelope Cruz
Yuliya Mayarchuk
Sharon Tate
Keira Knightley (I go through phases. Sometimes she seems odd looking, other times she’s striking.)
Delphine Seyrig
Anna Karina
Barbara Bouchet
Elke Sommer
Britt Ekland
Stella Stevens
Amy Adams
Marilyn Monroe
Shelley Duvall (ONLY in 3 Women, it seems.)
Ursula Andress (Sometimes.)
1 Raising Arizona (1987)
2 Suspiria (1977)
3 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
4 McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
5 Love and Death (1975)
6 Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The (1967)
7 Blue Velvet (1986)
8 Taxi Driver (1976)
9 Soylent Green (1973)
10 Nights of Cabiria (1957)
11 Cool Hand Luke (1967)
12 Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The (2004)
13 CQ (2001)
14 No Country for Old Men (2007)
15 Myra Breckinridge (1970)
16 Showgirls (1995)
17 Commando (1985)
18 Muriel’s Wedding (1994)
19 Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)
20 There Will Be Blood (2007)
21 Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
22 Snake Dancer (1976)
23 Valley of the Dolls (1967)
24 Vampyres (1974)
25 Girl on a Motorcycle, The (1968)
26 Clockwork Orange, A (1971)
27 Bluebeard (1972)
28 Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)
29 Wicker Man, The (1973)
30 Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, The (1975)
31 Elevator to the Gallows (1958)
32 Cheeky (2000)
33 Exorcist, The (1973)
34 She’s 19 and Ready (1979)
35 Chinatown (1974)
36 Three Women (1977)
37 Who Are You, Polly Magoo? (1966)
38 All That Heaven Allows (1955)
39 Tombstone (1993)
40 Foxy Brown (1974)
41 Vice Squad (1982)
42 Contempt (1964)
43 Grey Gardens (1975)
44 Pink Flamingos (1972)
45 Supervixens (1975)
46 Salon Kitty (1976)
47 Black Narcissus (1947)
48 Sans soleil (1983)
49 Gate of Flesh (1964)
50 ABBA: The Movie (1977)
I just think it’s anyone who cares about cultivating their own personal perspective on movies and is willing to put in the time and effort necessary to accomplish this goal. It’s not about liking the “right” movies so much as developing an understanding of what movies matter to you and why, and being able to articulate your perspective.
I think the only objective any movie really has is to make you feel something. Now, maybe the filmmakers behind the movie intend for you to feel something in particular, but no viewer is bound to follow the direction the movie appears to want them to follow. If I watch a movie and I experience a high level of positive emotions, then I consider it a good movie, regardless of whether I felt what the movie intended. I’d rather not know what the movie intended, in all truth. Like with American Beauty, which wants you to walk out of the theatre ready to embrace life or something similar. The movie, however, is so annoying and self-righteous that I could feel nothing but anger after seeing it. The objective was too obvious and poorly executed for me to find any other way to look at it but annoying.
What a Way to Go! with Shirley MacLaine is a fun, colorful movie. I like the Matt Helm movies The Wrecking Crew and Murderers’ Row, too. The Silencers and The Ambushers are quite poor, though.
The President’s Analyst is a pretty good one. Oh, and Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine.
I agree with 8 1/2, too. Rarely has a movie dragged along so mercilessly as that one. I would like to hear one person give me a genuine explanation as to why they like this movie from their own personal perspective.
Showgirls (smart) vs. Striptease (stupid)
Roseanne (TV show, stupid) vs. Juno (Movie, retarted)
Every Movie Ever Made vs. Powder (Lord fo Cinematic Idiocy)
It’s hilarious from start to finish, while Striptease is a groaner. Any movie as ridiculous as Showgirls that generates so much entertainment value is smart in my book.
These are some movies I consider favorites that people tend to call bad:
Myra Breckinridge
Showgirls
Valley of the Dolls
ABBA: The Movie
Pink Flamings
Female trouble
Mommie Dearest
The Pirate Movie
Bandidas
Bluebeard
Mighty Peking Man
Blood Freak
I don’t really think a movie can be overrated, at least if the people praising it are honest about why they are praising it. Once a bunch of people start parroting the virtues of some movie without forming their own personal perspective on it, that’s when I would apply the overrated label. Many people have the annoying tendency of liking a movie only because it is popular, or because there is an outdated critical consensus that is blindly accepted as The Gospel. There is no movie that everyone must like or dislike, but everyone should have their own point of view when it comes to liking or disliking a movie.
1. Raising Arizona (1987)
2. Suspiria (1977)
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
4. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
5. Love and Death (1975)
6. Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The (1967)
7. Blue Velvet (1986)
8. Taxi Driver (1976)
9. Soylent Green (1973)
10. Nights of Cabiria (1957)
11. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
12. Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The (2004)
13. CQ (2001)
14. No Country for Old Men (2007)
15. Myra Breckinridge (1970)
16. Showgirls (1995)
17. Commando (1985)
18. Muriel’s Wedding (1994)
19. Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)
20. There Will Be Blood (2007)
I’m not watching movies for anyone but myself, so there’s no point in making a seperate list. It is absolutely true that whatever movies one likes are good, because no one else is required to care but the person who likes them. It seems ridiculous to tell someone else to watch a bunch of “great” movies that you don’t necessarily like yourself.
These are at least in the neighborhood of worst ever.
Powder (1995)
Signs (2002)
The Other Sister (1999)
Boondock Saints (1999)
Blood of the Beast (2003)
Pay It Forward (2000)
Battlefield Earth (2000)
Gigli (2003)
Spawn (1997)
Wristcutters: A Love Story (2007)
pre⋅ten⋅tious
–adjective
1. full of pretense or pretension.
2. characterized by assumption of dignity or importance.
3. making an exaggerated outward show; ostentatious.
I think that the minute a person starts seriously believing that their tastes are more justified than those of other movie watchers, they start down the road to pretention. When they start pontificating to others about about art and which movies are acceptable, then they have become pretentious.
Cannibal (2005, Dir: Marian Dora)
A guy is gradually killed an eaten (willingly). That’s the whole movie. The scenes of genital violence are more graphic than I ever thought I’d see. NOTE: Sick: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist shows a man hammering a nail through his own penis (for real) and that movie doesn’t bother me at all. Imagine how nasty Cannibal is by comparison.
How many times do you watch a film? over 2 years ago
I grew up watching cable television, which ran the same movies over and over again. As a result, my mind is pretty much programmed to rewatch movies. I only consider a movie as a favorite if I can watch it over and over without experiencing a decrease in my enjoyment level.
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Best film by each of these directors over 2 years ago
I’m only commenting on the directors that I’ve seen a decent number of movies by.
Fellini – NIGHTS OF CABIRIA
Bergman – VIRGIN SPRING
Godard – CONTEMPT
Antonioni – THE NIGHT
Bresson – AU HASARD BALTHAZAR
Bunuel – BELLE DE JOUR
Altman – MCCABE & MRS. MILLER
Polanski – CHINATOWN
Rohmer – CLAIRE’S KNEE
Kubrick – A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
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WHO IS / WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FILM ACTRESS EVER? over 2 years ago
These are the ones that get me hot and bothered:
Raquel Welch
Ann-Margret
Brigitte Bardot
Jeanne Moreau
Salma Hayek
Penelope Cruz
Yuliya Mayarchuk
Sharon Tate
Keira Knightley (I go through phases. Sometimes she seems odd looking, other times she’s striking.)
Delphine Seyrig
Anna Karina
Barbara Bouchet
Elke Sommer
Britt Ekland
Stella Stevens
Amy Adams
Marilyn Monroe
Shelley Duvall (ONLY in 3 Women, it seems.)
Ursula Andress (Sometimes.)
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favorite films? over 2 years ago
The order after around #20 is iffy.
1 Raising Arizona (1987)
2 Suspiria (1977)
3 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
4 McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
5 Love and Death (1975)
6 Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The (1967)
7 Blue Velvet (1986)
8 Taxi Driver (1976)
9 Soylent Green (1973)
10 Nights of Cabiria (1957)
11 Cool Hand Luke (1967)
12 Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The (2004)
13 CQ (2001)
14 No Country for Old Men (2007)
15 Myra Breckinridge (1970)
16 Showgirls (1995)
17 Commando (1985)
18 Muriel’s Wedding (1994)
19 Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)
20 There Will Be Blood (2007)
21 Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
22 Snake Dancer (1976)
23 Valley of the Dolls (1967)
24 Vampyres (1974)
25 Girl on a Motorcycle, The (1968)
26 Clockwork Orange, A (1971)
27 Bluebeard (1972)
28 Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)
29 Wicker Man, The (1973)
30 Lost Honor of Katharina Blum, The (1975)
31 Elevator to the Gallows (1958)
32 Cheeky (2000)
33 Exorcist, The (1973)
34 She’s 19 and Ready (1979)
35 Chinatown (1974)
36 Three Women (1977)
37 Who Are You, Polly Magoo? (1966)
38 All That Heaven Allows (1955)
39 Tombstone (1993)
40 Foxy Brown (1974)
41 Vice Squad (1982)
42 Contempt (1964)
43 Grey Gardens (1975)
44 Pink Flamingos (1972)
45 Supervixens (1975)
46 Salon Kitty (1976)
47 Black Narcissus (1947)
48 Sans soleil (1983)
49 Gate of Flesh (1964)
50 ABBA: The Movie (1977)
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Last movie you saw and rate it over 2 years ago
Sunshine Cleaning 5/10
Pleasant, but that’s about it. Talking to God on the CB felt both poignant and annoying at the same time, depending on how one interprets the movie.
Love Amy Adams, though. Probably wouldn’t have watched it otherwise.
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Film quotes you love over 2 years ago
TRUE GRIT
“Quincy, he never played me false until he killed me.”
UNFORGIVEN
“Well, he should have armed himself if he’s going to decorate his saloon with my friend.”
“I meant I didn’t want a free one with Alice or Silky. Because of my wife back home. I reckon if I was to want a free one, it would be with you.”
VALLEY OF THE DOLLS
“Boobies, boobies, boobies. Who needs ‘em? I did great without ‘em.”
ROSELAND (1970)
“Clubs! I don’t know…clubs! Thank Heavens I had a horse.”
ROAD HOUSE
“You are such an asshole.”
COMING TO AMERICA
“I don’t care who you are. This is America, Jack. Say another word about Lisa, and I’ll break my foot off in your royal ass.”
KING OF NEW YORK
“I never killed anybody who didn’t deserve it.”
DEAD MAN
“You know I just, I can’t drink whiskey like I usetacould. My old belly just ain’t no count. I get the shits every time don’t you know.”
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Best 3 Consecutive Films by a Director over 2 years ago
Mary Harron
I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)
American Psycho (2000)
The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)
Russ Meyer
Supervixens (1975)
Up! (1976)
Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens (1979)
John Carpenter
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Prince of Darkness (1987)
They Live (1988)
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What's your definition of a "cinephile"? over 2 years ago
I just think it’s anyone who cares about cultivating their own personal perspective on movies and is willing to put in the time and effort necessary to accomplish this goal. It’s not about liking the “right” movies so much as developing an understanding of what movies matter to you and why, and being able to articulate your perspective.
Go to Comment
What defines a good film? over 2 years ago
I think the only objective any movie really has is to make you feel something. Now, maybe the filmmakers behind the movie intend for you to feel something in particular, but no viewer is bound to follow the direction the movie appears to want them to follow. If I watch a movie and I experience a high level of positive emotions, then I consider it a good movie, regardless of whether I felt what the movie intended. I’d rather not know what the movie intended, in all truth. Like with American Beauty, which wants you to walk out of the theatre ready to embrace life or something similar. The movie, however, is so annoying and self-righteous that I could feel nothing but anger after seeing it. The objective was too obvious and poorly executed for me to find any other way to look at it but annoying.
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What defines a good film? over 2 years ago
There is a surprising lack of black dick in movies I enjoy.
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THOSE DARN '60'S COMEDIES THAT YOU LOVE over 2 years ago
What a Way to Go! with Shirley MacLaine is a fun, colorful movie. I like the Matt Helm movies The Wrecking Crew and Murderers’ Row, too. The Silencers and The Ambushers are quite poor, though.
The President’s Analyst is a pretty good one. Oh, and Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine.
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Most Overrated Movies over 2 years ago
I agree with 8 1/2, too. Rarely has a movie dragged along so mercilessly as that one. I would like to hear one person give me a genuine explanation as to why they like this movie from their own personal perspective.
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The Theory of Dichotomy over 2 years ago
Showgirls (smart) vs. Striptease (stupid)
Roseanne (TV show, stupid) vs. Juno (Movie, retarted)
Every Movie Ever Made vs. Powder (Lord fo Cinematic Idiocy)
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The Theory of Dichotomy over 2 years ago
That would be “of” Cinematic Idiocy
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How many film do you think you've seen in your life over 2 years ago
Around 2,500 that I can remember.
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The Theory of Dichotomy over 2 years ago
“how is Showgirls smart?”
It’s hilarious from start to finish, while Striptease is a groaner. Any movie as ridiculous as Showgirls that generates so much entertainment value is smart in my book.
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The Theory of Dichotomy over 2 years ago
Intentional or unintentional doesn’t matter. Genius can happen by accident every now and again.
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Good Bad Films over 2 years ago
These are some movies I consider favorites that people tend to call bad:
Myra Breckinridge
Showgirls
Valley of the Dolls
ABBA: The Movie
Pink Flamings
Female trouble
Mommie Dearest
The Pirate Movie
Bandidas
Bluebeard
Mighty Peking Man
Blood Freak
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Most Overrated Movies, and WHY?! (min req. 1000 words) over 2 years ago
I don’t really think a movie can be overrated, at least if the people praising it are honest about why they are praising it. Once a bunch of people start parroting the virtues of some movie without forming their own personal perspective on it, that’s when I would apply the overrated label. Many people have the annoying tendency of liking a movie only because it is popular, or because there is an outdated critical consensus that is blindly accepted as The Gospel. There is no movie that everyone must like or dislike, but everyone should have their own point of view when it comes to liking or disliking a movie.
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What are the top 5 Films released in your Lifetime over 2 years ago
Raising Arizona
Suspiria
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Love and Death
Taxi Driver
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3 Favourite Movies From 5 Favourite Directors over 2 years ago
I don’t know if these are my exact favorites, but I really like some of their flicks.
RUSS MEYER
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Supervixens
Up!
DOUGLAS SIRK
Imitation of Life
All That Heaven Allows
Written on the Wind
SAM PECKINPAH
Ride the High Country
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Ballad of Cable Hogue
JEAN-LUC GODARD
Week End
Contempt
A Woman is a Woman
ROMAN POLANSKI
Repulsion
Chinatown
Fearless Vampire Killers
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put these movies in order of preference over 2 years ago
Here’s my Top 20 favorites, what would you say?
1. Raising Arizona (1987)
2. Suspiria (1977)
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
4. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
5. Love and Death (1975)
6. Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The (1967)
7. Blue Velvet (1986)
8. Taxi Driver (1976)
9. Soylent Green (1973)
10. Nights of Cabiria (1957)
11. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
12. Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The (2004)
13. CQ (2001)
14. No Country for Old Men (2007)
15. Myra Breckinridge (1970)
16. Showgirls (1995)
17. Commando (1985)
18. Muriel’s Wedding (1994)
19. Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)
20. There Will Be Blood (2007)
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Top 5 80's Horror over 2 years ago
An American Werewolf In London
The Evil Dead
Return of the Living Dead
Pieces
Prince of Darkness
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how arrogant are you? - a quick test over 2 years ago
I’m not watching movies for anyone but myself, so there’s no point in making a seperate list. It is absolutely true that whatever movies one likes are good, because no one else is required to care but the person who likes them. It seems ridiculous to tell someone else to watch a bunch of “great” movies that you don’t necessarily like yourself.
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cult? how does a film become a cult movie? And what is the best cult film?? over 2 years ago
“Defining Cult Movies” is a book that might interest you. It offers a variety of perspectives.
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Ten Worst Movies You've Ever Seen? over 2 years ago
These are at least in the neighborhood of worst ever.
Powder (1995)
Signs (2002)
The Other Sister (1999)
Boondock Saints (1999)
Blood of the Beast (2003)
Pay It Forward (2000)
Battlefield Earth (2000)
Gigli (2003)
Spawn (1997)
Wristcutters: A Love Story (2007)
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How often to you get accused of being pretentious? over 2 years ago
pre⋅ten⋅tious
–adjective
1. full of pretense or pretension.
2. characterized by assumption of dignity or importance.
3. making an exaggerated outward show; ostentatious.
I think that the minute a person starts seriously believing that their tastes are more justified than those of other movie watchers, they start down the road to pretention. When they start pontificating to others about about art and which movies are acceptable, then they have become pretentious.
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How often to you get accused of being pretentious? over 2 years ago
“People who use dictionaries to make their point… Pretentious.”
Hey, the word actually has a definition. Too many people try to twist its meaning around.
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The scariest or most disturbing film you have EVER seen. over 2 years ago
Cannibal (2005, Dir: Marian Dora)
A guy is gradually killed an eaten (willingly). That’s the whole movie. The scenes of genital violence are more graphic than I ever thought I’d see. NOTE: Sick: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist shows a man hammering a nail through his own penis (for real) and that movie doesn’t bother me at all. Imagine how nasty Cannibal is by comparison.
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which movie picks you up when you're down? about 2 years ago
Muriel’s Wedding
Triumph of a ne’er do well with ABBA as guardian angels.
Valley of the Dolls
A more inspiring downward spiral I have yet to see.
Suspiria
Death and mayhem with pretty colors and a rousing score.
Snake Dancer
The true story of a woman who was born to dance with snakes… and hand puppets.
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