Movies You Might Enjoy

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[quote]MinotaurXXX wrote:

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
I actually got to see Pan’s Labyrinth in a small private screening a couple of weeks before it was released to the public. A good buddy was the gm of a small arthouse theatre and he threw a little viewing party. It wasn’t what I thought it was going to be so I was initially disappointed, but have seen it a couple of times since and it is legitimately a pretty damn good film.[/quote]

It’s often best to go in with a tabula rasa mindset. I’ve caught myself in the “this ain’t what I expected…I’m out” trap only to later (sometimes much later) realize I was mistaken.
[/quote]

I watched Pan’s Labyrinth thinking it was a movie for kids! I was really fucking wrong about that…

Great movie though, really enjoyed it. I’m a big fan of Guillermo Del Toro

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Where you from Minotaur, just by the way?

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[quote]Yogi wrote:
Where you from Minotaur, just by the way?[/quote]

California, United States.

btw, watched A Bittersweet Life the other night. That thing kicks ass. Good call on that one.

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[quote]Yogi wrote:
Great movie though, really enjoyed it. I’m a big fan of Guillermo Del Toro[/quote]

It is TRULY a pity that he’ll never (probably) be able to do “At the Mountains of Madness” as he wants to.

That would be the greatest fucking genre film of all time if he managed it to actually get it made.

I wish I was a billionaire. I would toss millions at Guillermo Del Toro so that he can make whatever movie he wants to make.

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[quote]magick wrote:

[quote]Yogi wrote:
Great movie though, really enjoyed it. I’m a big fan of Guillermo Del Toro[/quote]

It is TRULY a pity that he’ll never (probably) be able to do “At the Mountains of Madness” as he wants to.

That would be the greatest fucking genre film of all time if he managed it to actually get it made.

I wish I was a billionaire. I would toss millions at Guillermo Del Toro so that he can make whatever movie he wants to make.[/quote]

I had those day dreams about commissioning a director I really admire IF I had obscene $$$.

Then I remember what happened with Michael Cimino and Heaven’s Gate. Similar (to a lesser extent) with Sergio Leone and Once Upon a Time in the West.

Both films have brilliant moments yet the total sum was bloated and unfocused.

These directors’ earlier works, made with limited budget, are superior. Also, I have a theory that directors, like writers, have a creative lifespan and by the time they reach god-like status, most of them have already passed their artistic peak.

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The Marinovich Project

With the Hall of Fame game around the corner and the NFL season not too far behind, I’m reminded of an excellent documentary about not just football but the often heart breaking chase for perfection.

30 for 30 is a documentary series from ESPN, each episode covering a different subject. Although most are good, it’s one in particular - The Marinovich Project - that resonate with me. As someone interested in improving himself physically, the subject matter is fascinating. Just as importantly, this one serves as an example for how enlightening a first rate documentary can be.

Marv Marinovich, a former USC star, NFL lineman, and strength+conditioning coach for the Oakland raiders, took it upon himself to create the perfect athlete. When his wife was pregnant with Todd, she had a specific dietary regime. When Todd was an infant, Marv designed exercises. This strict training and eating lifestyle was indoctrinated into his youth.

On the surface, Marv’s grand design appeared to work. USC recruited Todd. Then the Oakland Raiders drafted him in the first round.

Yet from his high school days, it was clear this super athlete was also a time bomb.

Todd and Marv Marinovich story borders on Greek tragedy and the film makers bring forth an honest and objective view.

A note on the rating system. I’m no longer going to provide IMDb ratings as I find it inconsistent and, many times, plain inaccurate. I’ve noticed it usually falls victim to changes in popular opinion. And this is exactly what I dislike about it. If I chose my meal on what’s popular, I’d go to the golden arches and order a Big Mac. Fuck that.

I will continue to list Rotten Tomatoes rating. For all its flaws, it at least lists the critics and their reviews so you have a glimpse into the critic’s thought process.

Rotten Tomatoes rating: n/a

MinotaurXXX rating: 4 minotaurs out of 5

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I watched The Guard last week and it was one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen!

Brendan Gleeson’s character in it is incredible. Everything that comes out of his mouth is genius.

Very watchable, infinitely quotable and highly recommendable

EDIT: my picture didn’t work…

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The Guard is entertaining… though, I didn’t find it funnier than most other movies.

Speaking of funny… how hard is it to find a decent comedy that isn’t insultingly stupid? My girl wanted to watch some recent eddie murphy movie the other night… RIGHT! I ended up settling for Couples’ Retreat… zzzzz

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City of god was a very good movie.

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[quote]Yogi wrote:
I watched The Guard last week and it was one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen!

Brendan Gleeson’s character in it is incredible. Everything that comes out of his mouth is genius.

Very watchable, infinitely quotable and highly recommendable

EDIT: my picture didn’t work…[/quote]

Brendan Gleeson is one of my favorite character actors - those unsung heroes that aren’t quite A-listers but damn they contribute significantly.

[quote]1 Man Island wrote:
The Guard is entertaining… though, I didn’t find it funnier than most other movies.

Speaking of funny… how hard is it to find a decent comedy that isn’t insultingly stupid? My girl wanted to watch some recent eddie murphy movie the other night… RIGHT! I ended up settling for Couples’ Retreat… zzzzz[/quote]

There’s a quote I love: “Dying is easy. Comedy is hard.”

IMO, comedy is more subjective than drama, suspense, and horror combined.

My theory on why so many comedies are usually lame is: 1) they cater to the lowest common denominator; 2) the asshat executives then use test audiences to further dilute the product and the end result is bland and mildly amusing with the rare lol moment.

I do enjoy it when a movie has unexpected moments of levity that take me by surprise. This, to me, is like life itself. Last week, I recommended Generation Kill. Within the chaos, some of the characters bust each other’s balls in ways that made me literally laugh.

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[quote]Justliftbrah wrote:
City of god was a very good movie. [/quote]

I meant to watch this but always found something else.

I’m actually burnt out on movies and shows that romanticize what are essentially street punks who use poverty as an excuse to ruin lives. It doesn’t matter that many of these movies and shows have didactic endings. Any moral message tend to be too little, too late, and too ineffectual.

Thanks anyway and feel free to contribute any other movies you like.

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[quote]MinotaurXXX wrote:

[quote]Justliftbrah wrote:
City of god was a very good movie. [/quote]

I meant to watch this but always found something else.

I’m actually burnt out on movies and shows that romanticize what are essentially street punks who use poverty as an excuse to ruin lives. It doesn’t matter that many of these movies and shows have didactic endings. Any moral message tend to be too little, too late, and too ineffectual.

Thanks anyway and feel free to contribute any other movies you like.
[/quote]

that’s not really a fair assessment of city of god, you come away believing very firmly that the assholes are assholes.

There’s a good mix of hero/anti-hero. You should definitely watch it.

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[quote]1 Man Island wrote:
The Guard is entertaining… though, I didn’t find it funnier than most other movies.

Speaking of funny… how hard is it to find a decent comedy that isn’t insultingly stupid? My girl wanted to watch some recent eddie murphy movie the other night… RIGHT! I ended up settling for Couples’ Retreat… zzzzz[/quote]

I’m right there with you brother. I am SO hard to please when it comes to comedy. I’ll happily watch any old horror shite; as long as there’s sufficient blood splatter and menace I’ll be entertained. The same goes for action; give me a handful of explosions, a few punches in the face and a one liner or two and I’ll be satisfied.

Comedy, on the other hand, rarely ever impresses me. I think that in my lifetime I’ve seen less than ten genuinely funny movies.

And it’s not like I’m even hard to make laugh! I’m the weirdo you see walking down the street laughing to himself because I’ve thought of something funny and can’t contain myself. I’m always smiling and giggling away at something, so it doesn’t seem much to ask that a movie tickle my funny bone…

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Locke with Tom Hardy

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[quote]Yogi wrote:

[quote]MinotaurXXX wrote:

[quote]Justliftbrah wrote:
City of god was a very good movie. [/quote]

I meant to watch this but always found something else.

I’m actually burnt out on movies and shows that romanticize what are essentially street punks who use poverty as an excuse to ruin lives. It doesn’t matter that many of these movies and shows have didactic endings. Any moral message tend to be too little, too late, and too ineffectual.

Thanks anyway and feel free to contribute any other movies you like.
[/quote]

that’s not really a fair assessment of city of god, you come away believing very firmly that the assholes are assholes.

There’s a good mix of hero/anti-hero. You should definitely watch it.[/quote]

Yeah the bad guys are definitely bad. I have this on DVD and will have to watch it again as I can’t remember how it ends. I love the soundtrack, too, especially this by Raul Seixas:

Staying in Brazil, I recently watched and enjoyed Elite Squad and Elite Squad: Enemy Within about the Brazilian police unit tasked with taking out the drug gangs in the favelas. It’s the same guys shown on TV in the run up to the World Cup!

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[quote]MinotaurXXX wrote:

[quote]Justliftbrah wrote:
City of god was a very good movie. [/quote]

I meant to watch this but always found something else.

I’m actually burnt out on movies and shows that romanticize what are essentially street punks who use poverty as an excuse to ruin lives. It doesn’t matter that many of these movies and shows have didactic endings. Any moral message tend to be too little, too late, and too ineffectual.

Thanks anyway and feel free to contribute any other movies you like.
[/quote]

The way the film was marketed can be misleading. It’s a very raw, energetic and funny film with very dumb characters doing very dumb things. Kind of like Snatch on steroids.

97

[quote]Yogi wrote:

[quote]MinotaurXXX wrote:

[quote]Justliftbrah wrote:
City of god was a very good movie. [/quote]

I meant to watch this but always found something else.

I’m actually burnt out on movies and shows that romanticize what are essentially street punks who use poverty as an excuse to ruin lives. It doesn’t matter that many of these movies and shows have didactic endings. Any moral message tend to be too little, too late, and too ineffectual.

Thanks anyway and feel free to contribute any other movies you like.
[/quote]

that’s not really a fair assessment of city of god, you come away believing very firmly that the assholes are assholes.

There’s a good mix of hero/anti-hero. You should definitely watch it.[/quote]

Whether they’re romanticized or not, the whole ‘two bit thugs doing what they can to survive in the ghettoes’ is a theme I’m burnt out on.

Intelligent and objective viewers will, as you put it, “come away believing very firmly that the assholes are assholes.”

I have a theory that there are warped minds out there that will actually project themselves as the villains and romanticize the behavior, with the only exception being that these viewers will never believe they’ll get caught and punished.

I recall an interview with Oliver Stone from a while back. When the original Wall Street came out with Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen, Stone talked about how some very wealthy financiers approached him and empathized with the Michael Douglas character, Gordon Gekko (a great reptilian name for the slimeball). And you just know there are douchebags in finance that secretly (or not so secretly) idolize Leonardo De Caprio’s character on a more recent movie with similar themes, The Wolf of Wall Street.

Give me the reluctant protagonist who is forced to do heroic things, such as the pawn shop owner in The Man with No Name. Or the failed hero who must come to terms with his defeat, such Todd Marinovich. Now that’s a theme more interesting to me when discussing hero/anti hero.

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[quote]Marzouk wrote:
Locke with Tom Hardy[/quote]

This one went under my radar for some reason. A little surprised I never heard of it.

And the premise about a man who is thrust into a situation that forces him to visit his past sins is what I’m referring to in my previous post about interesting characters and themes.

Added to my list. Thanks.

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If you haven’t watched The Seven Samurai by Akira Kurosawa put it on your list. also ad Yojimbo and the Hidden Fortress.
you’ve probably watched some movies inspired by his work. he kinda started entire genres.
Seven Samurai- The Magnificent Seven, The Guns of Navarone, and The Dirty Dozen to name a few. some say that this was the first film in which a team is assembled to carry out a mission.
Yojimbo- A Fistful of Dollars. spaghetti westerns were born
Hidden Fortress- inspired some dude named George Lucas to do a relatively unknown series. think it was called Star Wars.

also one of the coolest posters

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Anyone here seen “Take Shelter” with Michael Shannon? Thought it was awesome. It’s done by the same guy who did “Mud” with McConoughey. Both are definitely worth watching asap.