Movie Madness Described
As everyone knows, I have become a NetFlix junkie. It was Dariano that got me started on it last November, and I haven't looked back. I'm paying roughly $18 a month for this service, which makes it cheaper than Blockbuster if I can go through about 6 discs a month. Also around this time last November (I believe it was over Thanksgiving break), I had a conversation with Steve in which I said that I was hoping to expend my movie horizons beyond the "Fast and the Furious" movies of the world. I think Steve was so happy to hear this that he volunteered to put together a list of 87 movies that he had seen that were not in the "Hollywood formula." Hence, Steve's List was born.
Movie number 16 on Steve's List ("Bully") will be arriving in the mail today and I hope to see it soon, possibly over the weekend. However, I just also sent back "The Italian Job" this morning, certainly not a movie recommendation from Steve! My point is, that although I am continuing to see movies that I always wanted to see ("Italian Job" last night, "SWAT" sometime next week) I also am genuinely interested in seeing movies that maybe I wouldn't have normally picked anyways. The great thing is, NetFlix is allowing me to both at a fraction of the cost (yay for broke college students!).
So, OK, you're thinking, who cares? All you really want to know is what type of movies are on each list. Well, Steve's list has movies that include "The Godfather," "Requiem for a Dream," "American Beauty," and "Kill Bill." My list has movies that I have always wanted to see, such as "SWAT," "Das Boot" and "Open Range." Additionally, my list has recommendations from friends. Justin has recommended "Spirited Away" and "Secret Window," Failor recommended "The Recruit" and "Ronin", Ted recommended "Seven Samurai" and "The Man Who Would Be King," and Tim Campbell recommended "Igby Goes Down" and "The Virgin Suicides," and all of these recommendations, as well as the others that they have suggested, have been included on my 89-film list.
So basically, the hope with NetFlix is that I will get to see all sorts of movies from all sorts of genres made in all sorts of styles that I have never seen before, instead of watching the same movies over and over. This also is not a competition to determine who has better taste in movies. I'm just enjoying watching movies, and I appreciate everyone who has helped me find the ones I've watched already and the ones I'll watch in the future.
For complete Steve's and Brad's lists, please IM me with your preferred email address.
Movie number 16 on Steve's List ("Bully") will be arriving in the mail today and I hope to see it soon, possibly over the weekend. However, I just also sent back "The Italian Job" this morning, certainly not a movie recommendation from Steve! My point is, that although I am continuing to see movies that I always wanted to see ("Italian Job" last night, "SWAT" sometime next week) I also am genuinely interested in seeing movies that maybe I wouldn't have normally picked anyways. The great thing is, NetFlix is allowing me to both at a fraction of the cost (yay for broke college students!).
So, OK, you're thinking, who cares? All you really want to know is what type of movies are on each list. Well, Steve's list has movies that include "The Godfather," "Requiem for a Dream," "American Beauty," and "Kill Bill." My list has movies that I have always wanted to see, such as "SWAT," "Das Boot" and "Open Range." Additionally, my list has recommendations from friends. Justin has recommended "Spirited Away" and "Secret Window," Failor recommended "The Recruit" and "Ronin", Ted recommended "Seven Samurai" and "The Man Who Would Be King," and Tim Campbell recommended "Igby Goes Down" and "The Virgin Suicides," and all of these recommendations, as well as the others that they have suggested, have been included on my 89-film list.
So basically, the hope with NetFlix is that I will get to see all sorts of movies from all sorts of genres made in all sorts of styles that I have never seen before, instead of watching the same movies over and over. This also is not a competition to determine who has better taste in movies. I'm just enjoying watching movies, and I appreciate everyone who has helped me find the ones I've watched already and the ones I'll watch in the future.
For complete Steve's and Brad's lists, please IM me with your preferred email address.
posted by Brad at
11:52 AM
5 Comments:
Please send them to my hotmail account.
Ebert's "Great Movies" list is also a very good list if you want to become well-rounded in film. It goes from the "400 Blows" to "Groundhog Day."
I've seen around half of his suggestions by this point, and think I have a pretty good historical and critical context when approaching any new film.
If you watch "Open Range," make sure you also watch either "Good, Bad, Ugly..." and/or "Unforgiven." If you watch "SWAT," you should watch "Serpico." Justin is right about "Spirited Away," and if you like that, skip "Secret Window" (please) and watch "Princess Mononoke."
Ted has classy film taste, so watch anything he recommends. Tim Campbell seems to have an anti-Hollywood sensibility, but you won't like either of the movies he recommended.
Chris, I'll get those lists out to you as soon as I get back to Bloomington.
Steve, thanks for the additional film ideas. I think you and Tim have similiar tastes in that both of you enjoy those independent, against-the-grain type movies. I actually emailed him your suggestions back around Christmas time and he raved about a number of the same ones you swear by (Being John Malkovich and some others I can't remember). I'll have to look and see what were some of the others he recommended.
"Me and Brad agree, Bully is the worst movie ever. We wished you were there while we were critiquing it." -Failor
Failor, for some reason, I suspect your critique went like this:
Explosions: 0
Robert De Niro: 0
Denzel Washington: 0
Pirate references: 0
Bob Dylan songs or cameos: 0
"Bully" Total Score: 0
You lecturing me on film is much like if I were to lecture you on chess. You're just completely naive and out of your element.
Steve,
What exactly are any "good" elements of bully?
-Mike
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