Maarika wrote:

Some of my favourites:
"Requiem For A Dream" Darren Aronofsky is one of my favourite directors and the way he shows the nature of addiction in this movie is just brilliant. This film is about different kinds of addictions, but mostly drug-addiction, and the way how the addiction takes over one's life. You can clearly see the fall down the spiral of destruction and in my opinion, this movie has one of the greatest climaxes I've ever seen. Plus, the soundtrack is a masterpiece on its own.  This is a sort of movie that you wouldn't especially want to watch more than once since it gets quite disturbing in the end and that's just enough to get the message across.

I agree. One of the best soundtracks of all time. I agree also that I don't know how many times I could watch the movie over and over. It was seriously disturbing. I loved the mother character though. There are so many films about young people's addiction but rarely about the average middle-aged person who leads a dull, disappointing life and gets sucked into addiction.

Heh. Never seen Requiem. I'm not much of a drama-movie person.

My personal favorites: Brotherhood of the Wolf, in it's original French. The English translation is awesome, but.... I just like French. The storyline is pretty terrific, and it has one of my all-time favorite pieces of weaponry. I want that sword.

Amelie. I may not like dramas, but I'm a sucker for pretty romance. And, once again, a French movie. The music is great, and I just got the CD for my birthday.  The color schemes of the filming, all warm orangey glowing, and the actual cinematography.... It's one I could watch over and over again.

Il Mare. Yet another pretty romance, Japanese (or Korean.... I know it's Asian, but I fail to remember what Asian country specifically), with a sort of sci-fi twist. It was recently remade into The Lake House in the US, but I think the original is just a touch better. Either way, the cinematography is also awesome, with the ways they get the two characters on screen at the same time despite the time-difference...

The Fifth Element. Oddly enough, I don't even know WHY I adore this movie so much. I just do.


Oh, and just about any movie with Mr. Depp in it.

It's an undebatable fact that the greatest movie of all time is Ghostbusters!

It is the pinnacle of mankind's achievement.

Well, my alltime favorite movie is Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  Everything about that movie works just right for me.  The science fiction and drama are balanced just right, and John Williams' score is one of his best.  This movie has been my alltime favorite for as long as I can remember.  Nothing's ever topped it for me.

I'm also a fan of the "big series": Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter (Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite of the bunch so far), .... Back to the Future

Along with Spielberg, Tim Burton is one of my favorite directors, especially movies like Edward Scissorhands and Big Fish.

On the lesser-known end of things, Niki Caro's Whale Rider is one of my favorites too.  Luc Besson's Léon (not the cut down The Professional, which I've never seen and never plan to) is another great movie.

How could I forget Labyrinth?!  Shame on me!

Last edited by Imaginary Bad Bug (11-17-2006 07:56:36 AM)

Casablanca, Secretary, A Knight's Tale (that is such a ridiculously guilty pleasure. I hate myself for liking it), Sabrina (the original. Harrison Ford could NEVER fill Bogie's shoes!), Hatari!, The Godfather (I'm a good Italian girl), Fight Club, The Royal Tenenbaums...aaah...I could probably go on. Anything with Jack Lemmon, Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains, Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn or John Wayne makes me happy.

I live for Old Hollywoodland.

Brazil and The Fisher King are really the only two movies with a special place in my heart.

I have a thing for Terry Gilliam, I think.

Cerise wrote:

I think my two favorite movies are Amelie and the The Princess Bride.  I love the fantastical feeling to Amelie.  It's so subtle, but it's there.  Not to mention Audrey Tatou's wonderful performance.  And as for The Princess Bride, it's really just a movie I've loved since I was a child.  So many cute moments, so many cheesy moments, and of course, Andre the Giant.

...I also dig Return of the Jedi.  Wedge Antilles rocks my world.

How on Earth did I forget to mention Millenium Actress?  It's one of the most intriguing movies I've seen--to the point that halfway through I forgot that I was watching animation. ;

GUILTY PLEASURES WOO.

I've seen Blues Brothers and Full Metal Jacket both over a dozen times.

I think I'm kind of proud of this. Both of those films cheer me up like crazy for some reason.

EDIT: Oh and Mystery Men too, but largely because I'm obsessed with Tom Waits and he makes the best mad inventor ever.

Last edited by Hinotori (11-17-2006 09:23:37 PM)

Giovanna wrote:

Dangerous Liaisons

I love the power acting in that movie and the malice of the characters.

Also related to Dangerous Liaisons, I just saw Crispin Freeman at the Anime USA con tonight. He's the English voice actor for Touga. He lives in L.A. now but he used to live in NYC and did a lot of plays, even Broadway. So an audience member asked him, if he could have any part in any play, which would it be? And he answered "Vicomte Sébastien de Valmont" from Dangerous Liaisons. He said that's the character he's always wanted to play but never got to. Then he thought a moment and said, "But wait, I DID get to play him in a way, because I got to do Touga Kiryu from Utena."

And thinking about it, they are similar characters in many ways. Anyway, Crispin Freeman is an encyclopedia of anime, engaging, funny and worth listening to if anyone gets a chance to hear him speak at a con. Oh yeah, a woman (cosplaying Anthy) asked him to do a Touga line from Utena. He did the Chick Speech. It was great. He did some great lines as Alucard from Hellsing too.

Giovanna wrote:

There are definitely similarities. Not the least of which being I think Touga would pimp the hell out of period outfits like those. But if he's Valmont...doesn't that make Akio Merteuil???

We're gonna need some curry, here.

Oh, yes, the period outfits! And duels! But Akio doesn't have to refuse sex, as Merteuil does, to manipulate him. And I guess Utena is Tourvel except that she doesn't cave. Okay, I'm re-watching that movie this weekend.

EDIT: Oh hey, I'm a retard when I'm tired. All links in this post are NWS.


I'm on a total gory flick kick.

Yeah, I feel a bit self-conscious about this for some reason, probably because it's so out of place compared to what the rest of you have talked about, but... violence does it for me, so long as I know it's fake. The real stuff sickens me.

But twisted violence with sexual overtones really gets my gears working. I'm currently on my way to becoming the biggest Takashi Miike fangirl I've ever seen (this means nothing; as far as I know, I'm the only fangirl Edmonton). I'm restricting this post to gushing about him for now.

On a less violence-oriented note, the guy is a really good storyteller if you have a strong stomach. He has a really good sense of pacing, a very black sense of humor, and while I might not agree with some of his choices for camera shots, he's definitely got style. And if you're like me, and you like your violence with a heaping helping of The Crazy, and two helpings of (sometimes kinky) sex, You Are Set For Life, Sir.

*ahem* Well, enough of that for now. Let's get on with the movies.

First, Ichi the Killer. Here is the tame trailer. You won't get a good sense of the movie from it, but as a summary, it's about yakuza. Specifically, the lieutenant of one yakuza syndicate (I think) named Kakihara, whose boss has mysteriously disappeared. Kakihara refuses to admit the possibility of his boss's death, and searches for him with almost maniacal fervor. To say much more would spoil you, but here are two facts. First, there is a character named Ichi. Second, the semen used in the opening credits of the film is real semen.

My opinion? Fucking brilliant. The movie is gory, but the gore is depicted in very darkly humorous fashion. The characters are likeable (although that's my opinion, and I find Akio and Touga likeable-- your mileage may vary). The issues and the examination of human nature are expository and surprisingly applicable to your everyday person, although no real conclusions are reached. But the big bonus for me? You feel like someone threw your brain in a washing machine after. I love it when movies do that to me. Oh, and for you people who like a bit of bloody stuff, here's a few more scenes from the movie. The american trailer, the cut in half scene, the tongue cutting scene, and a torture scene.

What can I say? I adore this movie, and I'd totally beat the hell out of Kakihara if he wanted me to

Other very notable flicks from Takashi Miike are Audition, a slow-paced movie that starts out like a romance flick and spirals straight into hell, Dead Or Alive, a gangster flick with an... interesting ending, Fudoh, with one of the weirdest sex scenes I've ever seen, and The Happiness of the Katakuris, a musical about a family who opens a bed and breakfast whose customers keep dying. I couldn't find a trailer for this one, so here's a musical number.

If you like horror movies, gory movies, black comedy, and surprisingly sensitive and sometimes philosophical examinations of human nature, Takashi Miike is your man. He's got his share of mindlessness, but I've never watched one of his movies and come away unsurprised or unimpressed.

Cerise wrote:

...I also dig Return of the Jedi.  Wedge Antilles rocks my world.

YES! Someone else in the world who likes ROTJ!!!!
(most Star Wars fans I meet tend to bash that movie cause of the Ewoks, but imo it's the greatest out of any of the SW movies )