Community Recommendations

Help Jim

2008 has been the worst year for movies that I can remember. Although I mean current releases, I mean even more the movies I’ve selected to watch on DVD. The problem could be the way I’m selecting movies. I usually consult three critics and check the Rotten Tomatoes rating. I found The Flight of the Red Balloon boring and pretension, The New World fakey and preachy, The Man Who Wasn’t There mannered and unnatural, Waitress charming and sexist, and so on. So I’m turning to Mavens for help. I will watch almost any genre except horror (too boring). My favs are probably Drama, Suspense/Thriller, Documentary, and that rare good Comedy. I tend to be serious and hold cinema to some of the same standards you’d hold a serious novel to. Thus, for example, I have really liked films adapted well from books e.g., The Princess Bride; The Age of Innocence. I like substantial thrillers such as Blood Diamond, and I enjoy old film noir such as Out of the Past and The Killers.  In documentaries I prefer a balanced approach rather than a gonzo journalism approach e.g., Who Killed the Electric Car? impressed me, but I did not want to watch Michael Moore’s Sicko. Although a comedy may be the most difficult movie to make, I’ve recently enjoyed Sunshine and Get Smart. What would you recommend I see next?

Re:Help Jim

This has been a great year for me, but my taste can be extremely questionable: I'm content to watch Dodgeball, Balls of Fury, Walk Hard, or anything else profoundly silly.

You don't say anything about foreign films, other than the balloon movie. I can recommend Red Road (Irish), Once (Irish), Starter for 10 (Scottish), Le Moustache (French), Cache (French), Offside (Iran), Persepolis (Iran), Madeinusa (Peru - the Maven movie), to name a few out of many many fine recent foreign films.

Starting Out in the Evening - Drama for the discerning.

Kabluey - Offbeat, but with heart.

I especially like small movies like "10 Items or Less" or "The Darwin Awards."

Re:Help Jim

2008 has been pretty bad, especially the film that came out this spring.  To save you time, avoid Smart People, Vantage Point, and Stop-Loss.  Any charm that their respective trailers showed failed to translate to the actual films.

However, I very much enjoyed In Bruges, Shine A Light, and Persepolis.  Charlie Bartlett was full of surprises for the first 2/3 of the film and then it flopped into conventional hell.  Still, it's worth a view.

But the best films I've seen this year (save for The Dark Knight, Iron Man, and Robert Downey Jr.'s performance in Tropic Thunder) have been documentaries.  I covered the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham, NC for The Daily Tar Heel and got to see 16 films in 4 days.  Of those, the best were:

The Order of Myths (segregated Mardi Gras festivals in Mobile, AL)

Trouble The Water (9th Ward resident grabs a camera and films her experiences during Hurricane Katrina; a film crew records the aftermath)

Man On Wire (Philippe Petit's 1974 walk between the World Trade Center)

Bomb It (graffiti artists from around the world --> deserves an Oscar for best editing)

Glass: A Portrait of Philip in 12 Acts (profiles the intriguing minimalist composer)

Of Shadows and Men (the dying art of Chinese shadow puppet theatre)

Trumbo (profiles the blacklisted screenwriter of Spartacus and Papillon)

The Black List (was on HBO in late August; intelligent conversations with prominent African-Americans on what's it's like to be black and famous)

Each depict their subjects in an honest manner and the audience never feels manipulated.  Let me know if you have any questions on any of the above and happy viewing.

Re:Help Jim

   So you find Horror films to be "too boring" , eh?   I'm afraid I would have to agree with you about MOST of the 'newer' films (and by 'newer' I mean later than 1990 or so).   But what about the 'older' classics?   Have you ever SEEN  The Exorcist  or  Rosemary's Baby  or  Psycho or  Jaws  or  The Sentinel  or  Wait Until Dark  ?   How about the original versions of  Night of the Living Dead  or  The Texas Chainsaw Massacre  or  Halloween  or  The Hills Have Eyes  or  The Haunting ?   I am afraid you are missing out on some true gems, my friend...

                                                                           < GOR >

Re:Help Jim

joem18b:

This has been a great year for me, but my taste can be extremely questionable: I'm content to watch Dodgeball, Balls of Fury, Walk Hard, or anything else profoundly silly.

You don't say anything about foreign films, other than the balloon movie. I can recommend Red Road (Irish), Once (Irish), Starter for 10 (Scottish), Le Moustache (French), Cache (French), Offside (Iran), Persepolis (Iran), Madeinusa (Peru - the Maven movie), to name a few out of many many fine recent foreign films.

Starting Out in the Evening - Drama for the discerning.

Kabluey - Offbeat, but with heart.

I especially like small movies like "10 Items or Less" or "The Darwin Awards."

Joem and Tenen,

I've added La Moustache, Madeinusa, Kabluey, Shine a lIght, Man on Wire, and Trumbo to my list. Thanks.

JIMBELL

PS.

I've seen Red Road (sure stayed with me), Once (wonderful chemistry), and STarting Out in the Evening (the kind of intelligent movie I love)

     

Re:Help Jim

Tenenbaums:

 

However, I very much enjoyed In Bruges ... and Persepolis.  

I second you on those.

Re:Help Jim

JimBell:

I enjoy old film noir such as Out of the Past and The Killers.

It's not from 2008, but Murder, My Sweet is the only film noir I like more than Out of the Past.