Recommend 1 Movie

[BritishSteel]

Hello,

Could you perhaps recommend one movie to me (and the other Filmwurlders)?

Just pick a movie that you really enjoyed, perhaps one that the rest of us might not have seen - you know, something a little bit obscure, or a bit of a hidden treasure, or perhaps just something that bombed in theatres solely because of poor marketing and tell us all why you like said movie.

Thanks,

Charles.

[Johann]

BOONDOCK SAINTS

Willem Dafoe in a golden role.
Billy Connelly with guns
Tarantino overtones- it may even be better!
badass Boston 'tude

Loved it. It's one of those "why didn't it get recognition" flicks.
If you've seen it, ignore my post.

[tabuno]

One of my all time favorite movies is "Nomads" starring Pierce Brosnan.

[BritishSteel]

Thanks for both your contributions.

The guy serving us at blockbusters yesterday recommended Boondock Saints.
I have to see that movie now...

Nomads is another one I've not seen and I like PIerce Brosnan.

Those will both go on my list.

Thanks you guys, I really want to hear form other people on the forum as for their recommendations.

Regards,

Charles.

[oscar jubis]

Ignore the long, silly "sig" and thank BS for a thread that should live long: the hidden treasure, the under-exposed gem.
1994 was a remarkable year for quality cinema: Kieslowski's THREE COLORS trilogy, HOOP DREAMS, Atom Egoyan's EXOTICA, Yimou's TO LIVE, Peter Jackson's HEAVENLY CREATURES, PULP FICTION, ED WOOD, THE LION KING, my guilty pleasure NATURAL BORN KILLERS, crowd-pleasers IL POSTINO, SHAWHANK REDEMPTION and MURIEL's WEDING, a superb adaptation of LITTLE WOMEN, and film festival screenings of Wong Kar-Wai's CHUNGKING EXPRESS and the astonishing ASHES OF TIME. The film that had the strongest emotional impact on me was a made-for-Canadian-TV movie directed by John Smith: THE BOYS OF ST. VINCENT, which was released in theatres as a result of critical and popular acclaim in Canada.
The broadcast of BOYS OF ST. VINCENT was delayed by injunctions related to the trials of former Christian Brothers whose activities at the Mount Cashel orphanage in Newfoundland inspired most of the story. The film comprises two 93 min. parts. The first consists of accounts of the outrages and the events that bring the crimes to light. The second half succeeds as courtroom drama and something rarer: an engaging study of the effects of sexual abuse into adulthood, over a 15 year span. Without resorting to histrionics or melodrama, the film never shies away from strong emotions and thorny issues. Henry Czerny's performance as Brother Lavin inspires awe.
The film was released on vhs in 1996.

[BritishSteel]

"Ignore the long, silly "sig" "

What? My silly sig? Is it offensive?

1994 was a remarkable year for quality cinema:

Not forgetting the screen debut of one Natalie Portman, aged 12, in the classic Luc Besson masterpiece, "The Professional" (known in different parts of the world as "Leon".

THE BOYS OF ST. VINCENT

WOuld you know how one would get to view this lost gem?

Thanks,

Charles.

[oscar jubis]

The Boys of St. Vincent was released on vhs in 1996 in both NTSC and PAL formats. It is available for rental.

[HorseradishTree]

If anything, I'd say Dazed and Confused . This is probably the one movie to fully capture the essence of teenage politics and society. Even though it takes place in the 70's, things still ring true today.

Speaking of Richard Linklater, could someone please tell me what they thought of Waking Life ? I need some strong opinions before my decision to watch.

[oscar jubis]

Unless you hated Slacker and Before Sunrise, buy don't rent WAKING LIFE. The folks at deepdiscountdvd.com will ship the dvd to you for $7.18! It's loaded with features including Linklater's commentary, making-of featurette, etc.

[Johann]

I don't know why Waking Life is so cheap. (I bought it for $15 Can.)
Great dreamy film that is well worth every penny of the purchase price.
Modern philosophizing abounds. Some of it good, some of it ridiculous. Dazed and Confused was ok, but I would never watch it again.

[HorseradishTree]

All right, well, I think that's enough for me.

If I may recommend 1 more film, it would be The City of Lost Children. But everyone's seen that anyway.

Speaking of which, I've really had a pressing question about Ron Perlman. Was the guy born French, or does he just know the language? I'd imagine he's American, because he sure has the accent of one.

[oscar jubis]

Ron Perlman was born and raised in Washington Heights, New York. Have you seen the Mexican film CRONOS? Perlman spoke Spanish in that one. Cronos was directed by Guillermo del Toro, who directed Mimic and Blade II. Mr. del Toro is currently filming HELLBOY. Guess who stars in the title role??? R.P.

[HorseradishTree]

Yes, and Selma Blair stars as that pyro chick, whats-her-face. Ah, I never read that comic too much. Oh well. I'll still go see it. Ronnie's a fine actor.

By the way, did you know that that was him in Star Trek: Nemisis as the Viceroy? whoooooooaaaa...

[Skypilot]

The week of Sept.11 a wonderful movie called "Happy Accidents" was released here in Philadelphia, where I live. No one was paying much attention to it of course but I managed to see it with a friend in one of the post-9/11 reconnections. It is about a woman named Ruby Weaver (Marisa Tomei) who has a history of getting involved with screwed up guys and trying to "fix" them. She meets a guy named Sam Deed (Vincent D'Onofrio) who seems pretty normal except for a few quirks. That is, until he tells her that he is a time traveller from 470 years in the future and she has to decide whether he is telling the truth or if she's met another head case. It is a wonderful combination of romantic comedy and science fiction. It is not something that Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock could have been in. Check it out. It's an absolutely wonderful movie.

[Johann]

I have a few issues of Hellboy- Mike Mignola is an awesome artist. His run on Batman was genius. He's kind of a surrealist...

Ron Perlman is an often overlooked actor. I love the guy. He'll do Hellboy justice.
Maybe he'll get a little more limelight with all this comic-book craziness happening now.

[BritishSteel]

You mean Ron Perlman of Sarah Connor and the Beast fame?

[HorseradishTree]

Oh man!

Have you guys checked out the Hellboy website (www.hellboymovie.com)? It has two awesome photos of Ron Perlman as the title character. I never thought they could make the character look so realistic!

Hi guys,

This is my first post here. I’m Italian and I live in Switzerland. I love all style of films, as well if they are Europeans, Americans or Asiatics.

About the topic itself. There are many films that I could recommend, but if I had to make one choice, who is maybe not very known, it will be “punishment park” from Peter Watkins. If you liked such movies like “Bowling for Columbine”, then this is for you. I know that he has been banned in USA for many years, but actually, you can find it now on region 2 “NTSC” format.

This docu-drama is about a thing named “the punishment park”, it’s a place where all the people against the establishment went (during the Vietnam war). I still think that this is a fiction movie, but it’s still very interesting. Here is the IMDB link: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0067633

[HorseradishTree]

Well, now I'm intrigued! Too bad I live in this stinking country. I think I really need an all-regions DVD player. I know you can get them really cheap, and there' s a lot of stuff I want region 2, like Crimewave.

[BritishSteel]

Does anyone know if the famous or rather infamous shock thriller "Assault on Precinct 13" is still available on VHS and if it has made it to an American region DVD ?


I saw it when I was really quite young. Maybe because I was 14 and had just a little too much testosterone flying around I loved the movie, I don't know if it is actually good or not, but I'd love to see it again.

Shalom,

Charles

[HorseradishTree]

Is that the one directed by John Carpenter? I can't say I've seen it, but Carpenter is truly a master of action. Big Trouble in Little China is definitely one of the best, if just a little corny.

[bix171]

"Contempt" by Jean-Luc Godard.

Godard is a cineaste and this film about film is a great place to begin to think about film.

[BritishSteel]

Originally posted by bix171
"Contempt" by Jean-Luc Godard.

Godard is a cineaste and this film about film is a great place to begin to think about film.

What is it about, Bix?

Tell me a bit more.

Thanks,

Charles.

[pmw]

hmm... how about Being There

Comic wunderkind Peter Sellers stars as an illiterate gardener mistaken for a brilliant pundit well versed on everything from nature's inexorable cycles to the exigencies of modern politics. Adapted for the screen by Jerzy Kosinski from his short story.


P

[bix171]

BritishSteel,

Well, before I say anything about "Contempt" let me just say that Jean-Luc Godard is an acquired taste--a very acquired taste and most of his films are talky, dull, overly intellectual and filled with a fair amount of pretense. "Contempt" has all of thse characteristics (the center of the film is a 30-minute conversation about whether a marraige has failed) but it also has a feeling about it that I can't quite liken to being in another film.

Godard was one of the original French new wave filmmakers and he was a critic/philosopher before becoming a director (other New Wavers include Francois Truffaut, Claude Chabrol and Jacques Rivette) and "Contempt" is a direct discourse about film and filmmakers as well as marriage and how the topics intersect.

Briefly, it's about a French screenwriter (Michel Piccoli) hired by an American producer (Jack Palance) to hastily rewrite a troubled film version of Homer's "The Odyssey" which is being directed by a fabled filmmaker (Fritz Lang, playing a fictional character named "Fritz Lang"). Mixed into this is Piccoli's difficult relationship with his wife (Brigitte Bardot), who wants Piccoli to concentrate on their marriage (symbolically represented by references to a half-finished apartment in Paris).

The film ask a lot of questions on why people make films (they're not the reasons you think) and the relationship between the way we view film and the way we see the world (which is to say, totally differently). All this would seem of interest to only semanticists and philosophers except that Godard is in love with film and a true auteur; unlike other directors who operate in the same rarefied philsophical air (Tarkovsky comes to mind), Godard has a gift for visuals: "Contempt" is filled with ravishing scenes (especially Bardot-- ; ) -- and scenes that take place on the isle of Capri). And Godard is a great referentialist: the opening sections take place on the famous Cinecitta studios in Rome and scenes in and out of theatres have posters of films that influenced the New Wavers plastered all over them. It makes "Contempt" more of a delight that his other movies (and I'll admit there are a lot of his movies I haven't yet seen) and is quite an experience, whether one likes it or not. It certainly makes one appreciate one's own personal love of film.

[Chris Knipp]

I'd recommend The Cement Garden, which could also qualify as a "guilty pleasure," and if it was widely publicized I sure didn't notice.

Happy Accidents is a good choice. It is forgotten, but it was another triumph by the talented Vincent D'Onofrio, and Marisa Tomei is a good actress.

So is The Boys of Saint Vincent's, which was hard to find in theaters. (Thank you, Oscar Jubis, for your true dedication to film quality and to this site.) Maybe it should be pointed out that this is actually two movies, the first one depicting the original events, the second one a sequel occuring a decade or so later. They were, I believe, originally shown on Canadian television.

BritishSteel, you've got a right to any sig you like. But I guess a lot of us, including me, don't get why being gay and being British would often be confused. Where? By whom?

[BritishSteel]

Chris,



BritishSteel, you've got a right to any sig you like. But I guess a lot of us, including me, don't get why being gay and being British would often be confused. Where? By whom? [/B]

I owe you a bit of an explanation I suppose.

I'm British, I live in Minnesota with my Minnesotan Wife. My wife went to college at UW-Madison and so a lot of her friends are the "Cheesehead" types - Great guys, they often tease me about being British and say that my accent sounds gay.

The quote "I'm not gay, I'm British!" comes from an episode of "Just Shoot Me".. for some reason I find that show really funny.

My sig is really very much about me because my friends tease my wife about being American too.

Thanks for taking the time to post your recommendations, Chris. I appreciate it.

Much Thanks.

Charles

[Johann]

Good one, Bix. You've given a good synopsis of arguably Godard's best movie. Criterion put out a 2-disc set. It'l be my gift to myself for Christmas this year...

As a sidenote: Jack Palance told me that working with Godard was hell.

[Chris Knipp]

BritishSteel--Thanks for the explanation of your sig. I was just in London and nobody seemed to associate bring British with being gay. My sister was a long time resident of Minnesota and it's not a place I dis, but your Minnesota pals sound like they could use a bit of educating about both being gay and being British, hey.

[Frank56]

Terence Malick's "Days of Heaven"

Wonderous filmmaking.
Beautifully photographed.
Great soundtrack.
Hey, it's Terence Malick.

You'll love it.