Job Discussion Forums

lagerlout2006 · Joined: 17 Sep 2003 Posts: 985

Lately we see endless posts about "Where are the good non-American movies?" Maybe it comes around every year when bunk wins the Oscar. (This year was a good line-up though.) I like foreign films as much as anyone but really I watch more US films. There are only so many unknown Japanese geniuses out there. Today I hit the DVD shop...They have 10 rooms and you can find almost anything there. (If you don't believe me they had the complete 10 TV episodes-the Decalogue-from the guy who mafde Red White Blue. ) That is obscure. Anyway I had the spare cash for 10 films and bought 2 Chinese and 8 American...

Some of my favorites...1st a few of what I found.
American Splendor

Swimming Pool

School of Rock

Duplex

Hollywood Ending

Buffalo Soldiers

Miracle (on ice)

That is not bad for a dirt road in PRC little shop is it? Now to the Biggies.. These mentioned I haven't watched yet.

Taxi Driver (started it all)

Manhattan

Fargo

Pecker

The People VS Larry Flint

Resevoir Dogs

Born On The 4th of July

Boogie Nights ( Wink

)

Heat

I might be leaving some out but the best ones you forget...Like if you remember the 60's you weren't there. Wink

lagerlout2006 · Joined: 17 Sep 2003 Posts: 985

Any thoughts on how the new ones stack up against the classics. ? I think movies get better all the time---like improving technology. Sure there is a lot of crap of course.

Lagerlout is logging out!!!

woza17 · Joined: 25 May 2003 Posts: 602 Location: china

Happiness US
Storytelling US
Mystic River US many many more

Capergirl · Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 12:36 pm Post subject:

As usual, Oscar time rolls around and I haven't seen four of the five movies nominated for best picture. I did see LOTR: The Return of the King - excellent movie (trilogy, really).

Hollywood isn't so bad. Some of my personal faves are: The Usual Suspects, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, Forrest Gump, A Few Good Men, Braveheart, Dead Man Walking, Jerry Maguire, Good Will Hunting, Seven, and many others I can't think of right now. Recently, I watched four excellent movies: The Butterfly Effect, Runaway Jury, The Italian Job (remake), and Pirates of the Carribbean.

I really want to see Mystic River, Monster, and most of all, The Passion of the Christ.

Wolf · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 1245 Location: Middle Earth

Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Sleeping Beauty, 2001, Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, Star Wars Episodes IV and V (the ones from 1977 and 1980), Lord of the Rings, Jaws, Men in Black (the first one. The second MiB movie does not exist. Uses neurolizer on readers... .

There are Hollywood movies I liked. Don't tell them that, though. I don't want them to get lazy overall and put even less effort into telling decent stories.

foster · Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Posts: 485 Location: Honkers, SARS

Must agree that Pecker was a great movie.

Mystic River was great as well.

I am a Thomas Harris fan, so the Hannibal Lecter series is on the list.

Ocean's Eleven, Green Mile, Apocalypse (sp?) Now, Usual Suspects, The Kevin Smith movies (Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma), Grosse POinte Blank (well, just about anything with John Cusack), Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink (80's Classics), Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Sound of Music, Taxi Driver and Home for the Holidays.

I only wish there were more of these movies available for rental.

Am currently trying to get Monster downloaded *ah-hem* but it is being difficult.

johnslat · Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 1:34 pm Post subject: The Yellow Peril Strikes Back

Bet none of you realized that "The Lord of the Rings" is actually an "anti-Chinese propaganda" flic. I found this amazing web site on the China (Off-Topic) Forum:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-03/03/content_311240.htm

My stars and garters - devilishly clever, those Occidentals.

Regards,
John

Wolf · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 1245 Location: Middle Earth

Heh, not to double post but here's what I just wrote on the China forum:

This ... is ... wierd. China has wierded me out before. The China Daily has wierded me out before. The China Daily has wierded me out with a way off-base review of LoTR before... .

Gollum is Asian? Hang on... .

Nope ... I'm not seeing it. Gollum, or Smeagol if you will, is a 500 year old Hobbit who has been unnaturally thinned out. I don't see a resemblence between him and any human beings. That's why they used CGI to put him in the film, eh?

Also, there is no army of goblins. Those be Orcs.

All the human (and Hobbit, Dwarf and Elven) characters are white guys. Um...duh? Tolkien based his story on myths and ledgends that came from Denmark, Iceland, England, Norway, etc.

Sara Avalon · Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 254 Location: On the Prowl

Wolf, I read the article that claims the little digital hobbit is asian.... can we say "I was a teenage drama queen?" Rolling Eyes

Oh, and last I checked, asians had naturally fair colored eyes on the blue/green side. *Cough*

khmerhit · Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2004 3:38 pm Post subject:

Uh, excuse me, Lagerlout--it is one ting to ask us to direct our attention away from foreign arthouse cinema and back to the US mainstream, but it is quite another thing to LIE!!!!! Swimming Pool dont come from Hollywood, it's way too literary.

credit where credit is due, and all that---

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

One of my faves is The House of Yes.. Also good: Buffalo 66 and The Opposite of Sex (although I haven't seen either of those two in a while).

And there are some comedies that will always reign supreme (and that I also haven't seen in a while): The Gods Must be Crazy, Spinal Tap,... I'm sure there are more...

d

denise · Joined: 23 Apr 2003 Posts: 3419 Location: finally home-ish

DUH...

The Gods Must be Crazy is not American, so I must remove it from the list... Damn!!!

d

Shaman · Joined: 06 Apr 2003 Posts: 446 Location: Hammertown

Some very good movies have already been mentioned. Some more to add would be Dances with Wolves, Unforgiven, Glory, Dead Poet's Society, Goodfellas, Last Temptation of Christ, The Exorcist.

Here are some other possibly lesser known options:

Gangster: Men of Respect (Macbeth retold as a mob story)
Western: Lonestar, Dead Man
Crime: Ghost Dog, State of Grace
Drama: Nobody's Fool, The Power of One

Regards,

Shaman

James_T_Kirk · Joined: 20 Sep 2003 Posts: 357 Location: Ten Forward

We've got a great list going! Some of my favorites that haven't been mentioned yet include Office Space, Fight Club, Dr. Strangelove, The Shining, West Side Story, Singing in the Rain, North by Northwest, Ghost World, American Beauty, the even-numbered Star Trek movies (you knew that was coming), The Talented Mr. Ripley, You Can Count on Me, Go, True Romance, Rain Man, The Blues Brothers...okay, that's all I can think of right now. Next?

Joachim · Joined: 01 Oct 2003 Posts: 311 Location: Brighton, UK

What about
Being John Malkovich?
Adaptation?
Far From Heaven?
Kill Bill?
Secretary?
Requiem For A Dream?
200 Cigarettes?
The Hours?
The Pianist?
Monsters Ball?
Girl With A Pearl Earring?
Lost In Translation?
Thirteen?
The Piano?
An Angel At My Table?
Secrets & Lies?
Who's That Girl?
LA Confidential?

Personally, I thought "Mystic River" was overrated