Movie/TV recommendations

[MrHoatzin]

Idiocracy is a kind of movie that has to be taken on its own terms. You have to come back to it later and watch it with no preconceived notions. I thought it was meh at first, but as I let it fester in the background of my consciousness for a few years, I've come to appreciate the biting satire that happens in the periphery of the utterly banal story. Works well as a double feature with Children of Men. They are both similar movies. Both feature a really stupid central story that weaves you in through these well-considered, preposterous set pieces which are the true point and driving force of the film.

And syntheticgerbil, as for Tati, I am pretty sure I Luv Video on Airport Blvd has all of his films. You live in Austin now, you have no excuse not having a membership there.

[elmuerte]

I really liked idiocracy. And not just because of it's over the top stupidity-humor. It also has some great jokes quite some people don't even get, like the dropping average IQ joke. There quite some jokes like that "hidden" in the movie, so it's really worth watching is a couple of times to find all gags. y

[syntheticgerbil]

Works well as a double feature with Children of Men. They are both similar movies.

Holy shit, I never would have thought of that. That's genius! :tup:

And syntheticgerbil, as for Tati, I am pretty sure I Luv Video on Airport Blvd has all of his films. You live in Austin now, you have no excuse not having a membership there.

Ah, the closest location is almost 20 minutes away from where I live though! That's so far for a rental place. There's no where to rent near me besides Blockbuster.

[ThunderPeel2001]

I've not seen Idiocracy, but I've heard that the released version wasn't Mike Judge's cut. I don't know how true that is, though. (The rumour seemed to hint there was a subversive masterpiece locked away in a vault somewhere.)

Also: http://www.brawndo.com/

[syntheticgerbil]

Idiocracy did get a ridiculously bad release. I think it may have been in theatres one weekend in some places if at all and then there was quick and quiet DVD release that was incredibly barebones aside from some extremely short deleted scenes.

I don't know if disagreements on cuts or reshoots had anything to do with the treatment of the movie, but if what you say is true, it seems to fit with the general idea of a movie studio's release of a "difficult" movie to me.

[ThunderPeel2001]

I think I read that Oswalt pitched a few ideas and Whedon picked one, and then consulted/finetuned a bit.

Yep, you're most likely right.

Also: What's going on with Secret Cinema? Can you make any of the dates I picked? Tickets are dwindling every minute, and the next one won't be for months.

[Ben X]

EDIT: oh shit, I didn't realise the £25 ones were student-only. I think £35 to watch a film I might have already seen or not like in a potentially very uncomfortable/cold/impractical venue, plus look at some cosplayers, is a bit steep for me, I'm afraid.

Edited April 13, 2011 by bbX1138

[Scrobbs]

Camelot. This is, you understand, a recommendation to STAY AWAY FROM IT! It is baws.

[Snooglebum]

This is so not current, but I recently watched Donnie Darko. What I expected was a weird, freakout horror movie thing. What I got was what I would describe as the strangest highschool drama ever. Funny, dark, and sad. I liked it!

[MrHoatzin]

This is so not current, but I recently watched Donnie Darko. What I expected was a weird, freakout horror movie thing. What I got was what I would describe as the strangest highschool drama ever. Funny, dark, and sad. I liked it!

Paging Mr. Remo...

[MrHoatzin]

Ah, the closest location is almost 20 minutes away from where I live though! That's so far for a rental place. There's no where to rent near me besides Blockbuster.

Don't think of it as just a place to rent movies, think of it as a PILGRIMAGE. Also, it is bizarre to me that anyone who up until recently lived in Houston sees a 40 minute roundtrip as anything other than a brisk excursion.

[syntheticgerbil]

Don't think of it as just a place to rent movies, think of it as a PILGRIMAGE. Also, it is bizarre to me that anyone who up until recently lived in Houston sees a 40 minute roundtrip as anything other than a brisk excursion.

Haha I just meant for a movie renting place it's sort of a long way to drive, since it means I'll have to drive there twice to rent anything. But I can do pilgrimage!

[MrHoatzin]

You can rent all their fancy Criterion Collections of Tati movies at once, watch them, then drive back and return them. It is really a Mecca for filmophiles. They have some really rare shit, some of it still on VHS because it was only ever available on VHS.

[oneshoeboxer]

I know half of it doesn't make any sense, like cutting of your hand not a pipe. But I want MORE!!!

[ThunderPeel2001]

I saw Scream 4 yesterday. Wasn't terrible, just

I also saw Limitless, which was highly entertaining, if flawed in many ways. (The behaviour of the drug doesn't match anything close to our bodies real relationships with drugs, and the ending wasn't really an ending. (Or at least I didn't understand it if it was.)) An enjoyable timewaster, but not brilliant.

[Roderick]

Internet, I am disappointed in you. Why didn't you tell me that Sunshine was so good?

Well, okay, I didn't care for the ending at all. But the road towards it was excellent. Sunshine has some truly breathtaking visuals and the first 80% of it was ridiculously good. Shame about the ending (do we really need the 'Enemy' in this movie?), but that's no reason to dismiss what came before it.

[elmuerte]

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned sunshine being good. Not sure if I was standing on my soapbox in internetsquare at that time.

Nothing... brilliant. By the guy that made The Cube and Cypher and Splice, but that one sucked. I love films like this, very minimal, with a strong story around a single concept. These movies are usually difficult to find :/

Mr Nobody, I don't get it. I think the whole movie fails in having an actual subject/goal.

[brkl]

Internet, I am disappointed in you. Why didn't you tell me that Sunshine was so good?

Well, okay, I didn't care for the ending at all. But the road towards it was excellent. Sunshine has some truly breathtaking visuals and the first 80% of it was ridiculously good. Shame about the ending (do we really need the 'Enemy' in this movie?), but that's no reason to dismiss what came before it.

Well, it sort of is... The last parts of the movie totally poison everything good that came before it. I can't watch that movie again because I know everything that's good in it is only a trap, and when it springs you're left with nothing but disappointment.

[Roderick]

I call for a director's cut without the ending! And also no shot of the Sydney opera house.

[MrHoatzin]

Hey, I liked it even with the weird ending.

[DanJW]

I don't think it's the

relativistic time slowdown

ending that people have a problem with. It's the

slasher movie

third act.

Rodi, just about averyone who has seen it feels the same way as you do. I'm sure we discussed it here. anyway yeah, some kind of alternate cut would be great.

[Roderick]

I wish I had been in either the script meetings or the test audience, and then I could've pointed it all out to them and they'd have listened

[MrHoatzin]

I think it is preposterous enough to work. I like how the

zombiefied freak is on a mission from god, for example. If you remove the primeval aspect of the slasher mystery involving an other, then it loses its abstract edge of science versus iron age superstition, which is a neat theme I've seldom seen explored in scifi flicks.

Sunshine's

we need to start up the sun because it will die, but some religious zealot wants to destroy mankind

makes a good double feature with Moon's

it is good for the corporate bottom line and the energy-insatiable way of life to keep slave labor in deep freeze until we need it on the far side of the moon

.

And both of these would make a great double-double feature with Solaris and 2001: Space Odyssey because they illustrate the fears and aspirations of two western societies at different times in history. The older ones are

outward looking and about transcendence, where do we go form here kind of stuff

, whereas the newer ones are

inward looking and about decrepitude and decadence and how our baggage is preventing us from transcending.

[Nappi]

I wasn't a huge fan of Sunshine's ending either but I don't know how it could have been handed any better. Cutting

the man who wished to be alone with god

altogether would have been a very poor choice, at least. Maybe they could have toned down the violence a bit but I don't think it was that over the top.

[Nachimir]

I saw The Room this afternoon. It did not disappoint. It's a soft-porn tragedy that turned out to be hilarious. The dialogue and body language of the actors is comedically stilted throughout, it has awkward sex scenes that feel like watching a nature documentary with a saxophone soundtrack, and all of the characters are like five year olds in adult bodies.

The friend who runs the film club summed it up well in the introduction he gave: "Ten minutes in you'll wonder why you're watching this, then at the end you'll feel your life is significantly better". Fun with: Alcohol, friends.

And both of these would make a great double-double feature with Solaris and 2001: Space Odyssey because they illustrate the fears and aspirations of two western societies at different times in history. The older ones are

outward looking and about transcendence, where do we go form here kind of stuff

, whereas the newer ones are

inward looking and about decrepitude and decadence and how our baggage is preventing us from transcending.

:tup: