Movies

[Tasslehoff]

I saw it advertised but havn't seen it... Is it rated R?

Most definetly rated R. Lots of blood and gore...but done that way as a tribute to the japanese samurai movies Tarantino likes. Actually, the whole theme of the movie is sort of to tribute those movies. The actor who plays Bill is from the old series "Kung Fu", which is what made kung-fu styled movies popular in America.
And that's right, I forgot! All of the Tarantino movies ("Resevoir Dogs", "Four Rooms", "Desperado", and especially "Pulp Fiction") are very good and have a unique style.
It amazes me sometimes the number of great movies I've forgotten to mention. I know that out of the thousands of movies I have seen and own, there must be at least several hundred worthy of mention here...but I just can't think of them off the top of my head!
The reason why I have so many movies, if you are wondering, is because that is how me and my dad bond. Some fathers take their sons fishing, my father and I collect movies at the rate of about ten a week. Go figure.
PS--
86) "Batman" Jack Nicholson is AWESOME as the Joker
87) "Batman Returns" Michelle Pfifer (is that right?) excellent as Catwoman
Sidenote: Batman is better than superman, if only because his villains are more interesting
88) "LadyHawk" more Pfifer
89) "Dangerous Liasons"
90) "A Time to Kill"
91) "Shawshank Redemtion" excellent
92) "Basic Instinct" sultry
93) "Edward ScissorHands" Vincent Price...oh yeah
94) "The Fall of the House of Usher" old version
95) "Faust" silent version
96) "El Mariachi" the guitar player, prequel to Desperado..."Desperado, why don't you come to your senses? You've been out riding fences..."

 

[KenHigg]

Most definetly rated R. Lots of blood and gore...but done that way as a tribute to the japanese samurai movies Tarantino likes. Actually, the whole theme of the movie is sort of to tribute those movies. The actor who plays Bill is from the old series "Kung Fu", which is what made kung-fu styled movies popular in America. .."

Not big on R stuff...

 

[Tasslehoff]

97) "The Labyrinth" one of my favorite movies of all time. David Bowie as the Goblin King, Jennifer Connelly as Sarah.
"You remind me of the babe."
"What babe?"
"The babe with the power."
"What power?"
"The power of VooDoo."
"Who do?"
"You do."
"Do what?"
"Remind me of the babe."
"I saw my baby, crying hard as babe could cry..."
98) "Requiem for a Dream" more Connelly
99) "A Beautiful Mind" even more Connelly
100) "The Hot Spot" and finally, Connelly

 

[Tasslehoff]

Not big on R stuff...

Understandable...but you shouldn't let the rating decide for you. For example, older movies did not have the ratings PG or PG-13--everything was simply R or G. They are still R, even though today they would not even garner so much as PG-13.
101) "Gettysburg" based on the novel The Killer Angels
I'm pretty sure this is R. It is about the Civil War and has little or no swearing. To be sure there is a lot of violence...but none that is up close and personal and there is no blood and gore at all.
102) "Gone With the Wind"
103) "The Wizard of Oz"

EDIT
I don't mean to sound preachy or anything...apologies if I did! I just don't want you to miss some of the excellent movies out there.
It also seems to me like the people rating movies nowadays are getting a little too involved. Once I saw "This movie has been rated PG-13 for Excessive Partying" Actually, what was in the movie wasn't excessive partying, and anyone who had been to a normal party, let alone an excessive party, would know it. People puking is absolutely normal. People having fights is normal. People tipping over a vase is normal. When people start diving through walls, kicking out the support beams to the porch roof, pulling chandeliers down by swinging on them, taking hammers to the drywall and relieveing themselves in the corner...all because there weren't any girls there...then you can call it excessive.

 

[KenHigg]

Understandable...but you shouldn't let the rating decide for you. For example, older movies did not have the ratings PG or PG-13--everything was simply R or G. They are still R, even though today they would not even garner so much as PG-13.

Suppose you're right with the older rating system...

Still, R today usually means a lot swearing and some sex/nudity...

 

[Kraj]

Gottcha, Ken. I'll try to focus my ideas on lighter fare.

Even more Connelly: Dark City. One of my all-time favorite Sci-Fi movies.
Civil War movie: Glory. Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Carey Elwes. I'm sure it's R for realistic battle scenes, but movies about war shouldn't sugar coat, IMHO. One of the best movies I've ever seen. Period.

It'll be hard to continue this list without repeating things, but I'll try.

If I remember correctly, this won't apply to your kids but maybe keep it in mind for the grandkids... Children's Movie: The Phantom Tollbooth. Plenty of stuff you'd have to be older to appreciate, though. My favorite movie as a kid, and I'd buy it now if they'd release it on DVD.

 

[KenHigg]

Please don't limit the discussion based on my taste! It's just that movies like Pulp Fiction are over the top for me...

I wonder if movies like Glory are in BlockBuster? If not, I wonder can/will they try to get them...

 

[Kraj]

I wonder if movies like Glory are in BlockBuster? If not, I wonder can/will they try to get them...

I guarantee you'll find at least one copy on the shelf at Blockbuster or any video store down to the 'mom and pop' places.

Some other suggestions inspired by reading through the list:

Allen Quartermane and the Lost City of Gold -AND/OR- King Soleman's Mines. Similar to the Indiana Jones franchise but not quite as good, these films are high-quality adventure nonetheless. And they have Sharon Stone before she was famous. The Mines was the first of the two but I like City of Gold better and you don't need to see the first one to enjoy the seond.

Hamlet - Mel Gibson version, also starring the unparalleled Glen Close. If you're interested in Shakespeare, this is a great telling of the story.

Moulin Rouge - Ewan MacGregor, Nicole Kidman. Visually stunning, funny, silly, and a tear-jerker despite the fact that you know how it ends within the first few lines of the movie. It takes contemporary music and weaves it seamlessly into a 19th century setting.

The Ref - Kevin Spacey, Dennis Leary, Judy Davis. One of my all-time favorite comedies. The language is awful, again, but I've seen it on TV without the bad language - and I don't mean edited or dubbed, I mean it appears they actually filmed a "clean" version of the movie - so you might be able to find a DVD where you can watch it without the language.

Spaceballs - Mel Brooks, Rick Moranis, John Candy, Bill Pullman, Joan Rivers. Crammed with bad language and crude humor, but this Star Wars spoof is one of the funniest movies ever.

And while I'm at it with Mel Brooks:

History of the World: Part I
Young Frankestein (this one is hilarious without bad language) - Gene Wilder, Teri Garr, Madeline Kaan

And - I know I keep saying this, but - I think this movie is my #1 favorite comedy and it has no bad language: Clue. Tim Curry, Madeline Kaan, Eileen Brennan, Christopher Lloyd, Martin Mull, Micheal McKean, Lesley Anne Warren, Colleen Camp.

The Cheap Detective is another great clean comedy that is a satire/spoof of film noir, though mainly making fun of Casablanca and the Maltese Falcon. Peter Falk, Eileen Brennan, Madeline Kaan, Sid Ceasar, Anne Margret, Stockard Channing, Dom DeLuise, Abe Vigoda.

Murder by Death is another one, although probably the weakest of the bunch I've listed. Plenty of hilarious moments, though.

BTW, Ken, if you'd like to know more about anything on the list I'd be happy to oblige.

Good grief, what am I thinking? The entire Pink Panther series (no, not the Steve Martin remake, the Peter Sellers originals).

 

[TessB]

Forget about your last sentence. What about your tagline!?

Only you, Greg.... only you....

 

[Tasslehoff]

104) "Office Space"
105) "The Red Violin"
106) "The Ghost and the Darkness"
107) "The Quick and the Dead"
108) "Ferris Beuler's Day Off"
109) "Escape From New York"
110) "Road Warrior"
111) "Dogma"
Urrgh! you beat me to Young Frankenstein, Kraj
but another Gene Wilder:
112) "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" better than the Depp/Burton version by far

Okay, now here are the top ten, Ken, that I think you would like from my list:
1) "City of God"--rated R...but this is just TOO good of a movie to pass up. Look it up...all of the reviews will be flatering.
2) "Amadeus"--this is about the life of Mozart. It won like a bazillion awards
3) "Spirited Away"--if you like Pixar, you'll like this
4) "Much Ado About Nothing"--my dad doesn't really get into the whole shakespeare-movie genre...except for this
5) "The Nightmare Before Christmas" like disney/pixar...but better. again, read the reviews
6) "Office Space" anyone who works in a cubicle must see it
7) "Fiddler on the Roof"--excellent history drama and musical
8) "Shawshank Redemption"--everyone loves this
9) "Seven Years in Tibet"--Brad Pitt's best movie imho
10) "The Lion in Winter" about Henry I. Peter O'Toole, Catherine Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins a million awards

I would have included movies by Stanley Kubrick, Akira Kurosawa, Quentin Tarantino, and the director of the genre "Rushmore" is in, as any movies by these guys are worth watching...but I don't think it would fit your taste. (from the little I know of it, that is )

PS--
113) "Meet Joe Black"
114) "Legends of the Fall"
115) "The Man from Snowy River"
116) "Excalibur" best king arthur movie ever

 

[KenHigg]

Thanks all - Think I'll check out Glory & Clue (?)... We really don't do many movies, maybe 2-3 a month and cupcake is harder to please than I am... Let's see lately we've seen Notebook (?), Walk the Line, The Green Mile, etc... They were all pretty good...

 

[Kraj]

3) "Spirited Away"--if you like Pixar, you'll like this

I agree this is a good movie, but I don't think it's even in the same ballpark as Pixar movies. Pixar tends to take reality and apply it to an unexpected situation. Ocean creatures, Monsters, Toys, etc., all have human-like behaviors, problems, adventures, etc.

Spirited Away is pure fantasy. You have to simply accept that in the world they present certain things happen and that's the way it is and not ask why or what it means to the story.

 

[lmnop7854]

Thanks all - Think I'll check out Glory & Clue (?)... We really don't do many movies, maybe 2-3 a month and cupcake is harder to please than I am... Let's see lately we've seen Notebook (?), Walk the Line, The Green Mile, etc... They were all pretty good...

I thought The Green Mile was a fantastic movie. Much better than the books. My BF is also hard to please regarding movies - but I told him that there are really no bad movies. Ok, there are a few - "Wolf" with Jack Nicholson & Michelle Pfeiffer, and I can't remember the other one - but there have only been 2 movies I have seen that were really bad. And I am the kind of person who just likes to be taken away by a movie, and in lost cases, that's what I get. So if you go into it that way, as an escapist route, you'll want to see many more movies.

Lisa

 

[KenHigg]

I thought The Green Mile was a fantastic movie. Much better than the books. My BF is also hard to please regarding movies - but I told him that there are really no bad movies. Ok, there are a few - "Wolf" with Jack Nicholson & Michelle Pfeiffer, and I can't remember the other one - but there have only been 2 movies I have seen that were really bad. And I am the kind of person who just likes to be taken away by a movie, and in lost cases, that's what I get. So if you go into it that way, as an escapist route, you'll want to see many more movies.

Lisa

The only thing with The Green Mile for me was that the fantasy part kind of catches you by surprise and my mind had to make the 'Could happen' to 'Couldn't happen' adjustment in midstream and it was a bit of a distraction. I think they should have done a little fanatsy bit earlier in the story...

 

[Tasslehoff]

I agree this is a good movie, but I don't think it's even in the same ballpark as Pixar movies. Pixar tends to take reality and apply it to an unexpected situation. Ocean creatures, Monsters, Toys, etc., all have human-like behaviors, problems, adventures, etc.

Spirited Away is pure fantasy. You have to simply accept that in the world they present certain things happen and that's the way it is and not ask why or what it means to the story.

Yes, it is indeed a pure fantasy...however, how are talking toys not also pure fantasy? Talking fish? Talking ants? A family of superheroes battling an evil sidekick? I do see what you are saying, though. Pixar takes a story that could be played with human actors and in a human setting, but changes those two factors to make it interesting (kind of a cheap trick). Spirited Away puts a human into an inhuman setting. BOTH of these presentations serve to high-light that which is truly human by taking away the banality of a normal setting. In other words, a human theme stands out in stark relief and is more potent when put into an inhuman setting. THAT is why I think they are very similar.

In both types, there are things that happen simply to revel in the setting...and don't really affect the story.

 

[dan-cat]

I watched Nanny McPhee last night on PPV and have to say it was one of the most enjoyable movies I've watched in a long long time.

It's got imagination, thoughtfulness, poise and magic all without being swamped with special effects. Would highly recommend it if you have unruly children.

 

[EmmaJane]

I watched Nanny McPhee last night on PPV and have to say it was one of the most enjoyable movies I've watched in a long long time.

You're forgetting it other asset, it's Colin Firth in it

 

[lmnop7854]

You're forgetting it other asset, it's Colin Firth in it

OOOOOHHHHH Colin Firth......my sister and I just love him.....and Johnny Depp. I can watch anything with either of them in it.

Lisa

 

[dan-cat]

You're forgetting it other asset, it's Colin Firth in it

Hmmm, it was more Kelly Macdonald who caught my eye

 

[Matt Greatorex]

BOTH of these presentations serve to high-light that which is truly human by taking away the banality of a normal setting. In other words, a human theme stands out in stark relief and is more potent when put into an inhuman setting.

Yeah, dude, and there were, like, also these ants that were, like, talking and stuff.