OT: Let's talk about movies (and TV shows)... Part X

[Lshap]

Some of you are seriously overrating the oscars.

They're not picking the best movies. They pick movies pretending to be great like Silver Linings Playbook, Hurt Locker, The King's Speech or apparently Birdman, Slumdog Millionaire, Crash, The Artist etc.

Nobody remembers The Artist three years later. Slumdog Millionaire is now routinely dismissed as poverty porn.

Stanley Kubrick anfld Martin Scorcese have always been snubbed by the Oscars.

Given these factors, the fact better movies like Dark Knight, Wall-E, The Wind Rises, etc have been snubbed is not defensible.

Scorsese won the Best Director Oscar for The Departed. A bit of a makeup award for Casino, Goodfellas, etc., but still an excellent film and an acknowledgment from the Academy.

No argument about Kubrick being snubbed.

Also, it's way too soon to pass judgment on The Artist or Slumdog (although I happen to agree they were both flavour of the day).

 

[Kriss E]

Some of you are seriously overrating the oscars.

They're not picking the best movies. They pick movies pretending to be great like Silver Linings Playbook, Hurt Locker, The King's Speech or apparently Birdman, Slumdog Millionaire, Crash, The Artist etc.

Nobody remembers The Artist three years later. Slumdog Millionaire is now routinely dismissed as poverty porn.

Stanley Kubrick anfld Martin Scorcese have always been snubbed by the Oscars.

Given these factors, the fact better movies like Dark Knight, Wall-E, The Wind Rises, etc have been snubbed is not defensible.

The oscars aren't about which movie will become a classic. That's impossible to know.
Heck, Scarface was a flop but then it became a cult classic. Fight Club, Blade Runner, Shawshank Redemption, the list goes on.

The oscars have always bee about the flavor of the day.

 

[LaP]

Anyway who cares about the oscar? It looks this this oscar discussion started after my post but i was not even talking about the oscar. I do think a movie should always be rated based on its technical merits because taste is personal. Personal taste should amount for only a tiny portion of a review or score.

Like i personally liked The Tree of Life a lot. I dunno maybe i was just in the mood when i watched it but i'm a soon to be mid life guy and the movie spoke to me. I think it was a great journey into someone else mind. Maybe the fact i was high helped dunno but i liked it. I still would not say it's a great movie cause technically it's not. Acting was good and cinematography too but the rest was a mess (despite what the oscar guys might think). The same pretty much applies to Enter the void.

Anyway i'm just tired of all those 10 and 1 star rating on the internet. I liked it 10 stars. I disliked it 1 star. Really that's so stupid. I'm also tired of those comments saying a movie is self indulgent, pretentious or too much artsy. It doesn't matter if the movie is otherwise well made. It's like saying a movie is bad only because there's too much explosions. It doesn't matter if it's good. I remember having a discussion with someone saying Cashback was bad cause it was a pretentious artsy movie. It was his only argument against it. I was like wtf it's a good (not great) well made movie who cares about the rest. You might not like it but it doesn't make it bad.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

You're describing the "People's Choice Awards", not the Academy Awards. Giving awards for films like Guardians of the Galaxy is like calling McDonalds haute-cuisine because lots and lots of people go there. Popularity and quality are two entirely different yardsticks. Sure, I'd never say the Oscars measure quality perfectly, but at least they make the attempt. On the other hand, there's nothing more meaningless than awarding a film for attracting gazillions of 15-year-olds.

Nice.

I haven't seen any of the Oscar nominated films yet except for Whiplash btw, and I thought that movie was excellent.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Cast having fun on the set of Suicide Squad.

This is the comic book movie I'm most looking forward to. Unlike Ant Man, Fantastic Four, and Avengers, it looks like it has genuine personality and creative vision and aptitude behind it.

Somewhere in my garage is the first three or four issues of Suicide Squad. I bought it way back in the day.... It's probably worth ten bucks now.

BTW, anyone see the movie Enemy? Saw it last week and it was seriously messed up, esp the ending. One of those movies that stays with you. After I was finished I didn't know what I had just watched but then the next day I found myself thinking about it and constantly re-interpreting it's meaning. It's worth a watch.

 

[hototogisu]

Yeah, the Oscars are what they are. They reward a certain, small, subset of movies every year and that's it. They're fun but they're not the gospel.

BTW, anyone see the movie Enemy? Saw it last week and it was seriously messed up, esp the ending. One of those movies that stays with you. After I was finished I didn't know what I had just watched but then the next day I found myself thinking about it and constantly re-interpreting it's meaning. It's worth a watch.

Yeah I had the same reaction as you. I loved the movie but will freely admit the ending completely baffled me. And I found myself unable to stop thinking about it even weeks afterward.

I read some theories and watched the popular Youtube video that explains the ending and, while it's not a conclusion I likely ever would have reached myself, it satisfied me. I keep meaning to watch it again but I haven't yet.

 

[DAChampion]

The oscars aren't about which movie will become a classic. That's impossible to know.
Heck, Scarface was a flop but then it became a cult classic. Fight Club, Blade Runner, Shawshank Redemption, the list goes on.

The oscars have always bee about the flavor of the day.

The oscars are a narrow definition of what's good in the moment.

Action, scifi, horror, romcoms, animation, documentaries, are all excluded for example. The genres the academy loves are:

1) Historically inaccurate fluffy biopics like The King's Speech, American Hustle, and Imitation Game;
2) Movies about movies like The Artist and Birdman;

 

[LaP]

Yeah, the Oscars are what they are. They reward a certain, small, subset of movies every year and that's it. They're fun but they're not the gospel.



Yeah I had the same reaction as you. I loved the movie but will freely admit the ending completely baffled me. And I found myself unable to stop thinking about it even weeks afterward.

I read some theories and watched the popular Youtube video that explains the ending and, while it's not a conclusion I likely ever would have reached myself, it satisfied me. I keep meaning to watch it again but I haven't yet.

I've seen some very good analysis of the movie on the net. Some of them are really worth a read and makes you see the movie from a very different perspective.

I want to watch it again too but i'll wait a couple of years to do do. Some time watching a movie again after many years make you see it from a different perspective.

 

[Alex514]

Enemy was great! But not everyone agrees. It has some Lynchesque weirdness that I personally love. Like hototogisu above, I had a hard time understanding the ending. Sometimes a second viewing is what it takes.

 

[Kriss E]

The oscars are a narrow definition of what's good in the moment.

Action, scifi, horror, romcoms, animation, documentaries, are all excluded for example. The genres the academy loves are:

1) Historically inaccurate fluffy biopics like The King's Speech, American Hustle, and Imitation Game;
2) Movies about movies like The Artist and Birdman;

Didn't Titanic win for best movie?..That's all you have to say really..

 

[Redux91]

This debate has been going on for ages. When I was young, Gandhi won the Oscar for Best Picture. And while it was (and still is) an epic film, it came out the same year as ET.

Needless to say that when the first movie won the Oscars over the latter, A LOT of people (including myself) screamed injustice. Nothing against Sir Attenborough's movie. But the fact of the matter is 35 years later, EVERYBODY knows ET. While the first movie has been forgotten by the masses. And as a movie critic, ET did more to the evolution of movies as a whole than Gandhi. Not even close.

The same debates erupted at the time between Art (with a major A) and Entertainment (with a major E). Plus the fact that Spielberg, at the time, was not part of the Old Boys' Club called the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. At the time, Spielberg was seen as 'an outisder' making popular and financially sucessful movies (commercial movies, as they were called), while the Elite was more into the Deer Hunter/Taxi Driver/all movies that related to a depressing America post-Vietnam.

People can criticize Spielberg all they want, but the fact of the matter is him and Lucas went against the grain in the 70's and early 80's. Having FUN at the theater wasn't as fashionable amongst movie's Elite snobs at the time. Today they might look like commercial junkies, but it doesn't tell the true story. They were mavericks in a world of depressing intellos.

Today, at 48, perspective is a great tool. Movies that last in the minds of moviegoers over decades are movies that have become classics. Pulp Fiction broke out of the mold. It became a classic. To me, with the soundtrack, it's still Tarantino's best one. It will be the most enduring one for sure. Can we say the same about the movies that won the Oscars last spring? I have some doubts, really.

I dont' want 'commercial successes' being instant favorites at Oscars. But I surely don't think they should ALL be barred from winning BECAUSE of the success.

Question for you movie buffs: the year Titanic won all of its Oscars, which movies were in competition?

Attenborough himself thought E.T. was the better film :

"Diana (Diana Hawkins) and I went to see E.T. in Los Angeles shortly before all the awards and we used language, when we came out, to the extent of saying 'we have no chance - E.T. should and will walk away with it'. Without the initial premise of Mohandas K. Gandhi, the film would be nothing. Therefore it's a narrative film but it's a piece of narration rather than a piece of cinema, as such. E.T. depended absolutely on the concept of cinema and I think that Steven Spielberg, who I'm very fond of, is a genius. I think E.T. is a quite extraordinary piece of cinema. [on the competition between Gandhi (1982) and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) at the 1983 Academy Awards]"

 

[Redux91]

Somewhere in my garage is the first three or four issues of Suicide Squad. I bought it way back in the day.... It's probably worth ten bucks now.

BTW, anyone see the movie Enemy? Saw it last week and it was seriously messed up, esp the ending. One of those movies that stays with you. After I was finished I didn't know what I had just watched but then the next day I found myself thinking about it and constantly re-interpreting it's meaning. It's worth a watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9AWkqRwd1I

guy explains it amazingly. it was definitely a bit bizzare to me but after the explanation im gonna give it another watch

 

[Guilliam]

Part X sounds wrong Sounds like his thread is gonna be about X-rated movies...

Anyway... I finally got to watch Interstellar yesterday. What a sepctacular movie! At some point I felt some spit in the corner of my mouth and realized that I've been staring at the screen with my mouth open for like 5 minutes The part where they enter the other galaxy is my favorite I think. I was mesmerized.

Spoiler alert:
Apart from the visuals, it's a good movie too. I'm not wild about that "new dimension" twist at the end but it didn't ruin the movie for me either. I like how they used the concept of relativity of time though, that was interesting.

 

[CanuckBeSerious]

Don't know if this has been discussed here before, but A Most Violent Year was probably one of the most underrated film of the year.

 

[overlords]

I watched the Tribe the other day.


Don't watch it on a date.

 

[ChemiseBleuHonnete]

The oscars are a narrow definition of what's good in the moment.

Action, scifi, horror, romcoms, animation, documentaries, are all excluded for example. The genres the academy loves are:

1) Historically inaccurate fluffy biopics like The King's Speech, American Hustle, and Imitation Game;
2) Movies about movies like The Artist and Birdman;

There's some of those "inaccurate biopics" that I'd call in french docu-fiction like Rush, Imitation game, Hurt Locker, American Sniper that I really really enjoyed. I was watching a hollywood movie, not a documentary, so I enjoy the movies for what they were and I liked them a lot. Especially Rush, since I'm a hugeee F1 fan and the acting and visuals were incredible in that movie.

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

Good rule of thumb, if you prefer 'popular' movies don't watch BP winners and at least the 1st couple of movies for any best actor/esses following their wins as they're above 'popular' movies for a year or 2 - especially true for supporting roles

 

[GoodKiwi]

Hey guys,

I've got nothing to watch tonight with the Jays being off, so can someone please recommend a short list of recent (last few years) movies I can give a try? The genres I like are as follows: crime, drama, thriller.

I don't like - any superhero/comics movies, horror or comedy.


Thank you.

 

[Habsawce]

Hey guys,

I've got nothing to watch tonight with the Jays being off, so can someone please recommend a short list of recent (last few years) movies I can give a try? The genres I like are as follows: crime, drama, thriller.

I don't like - any superhero/comics movies, horror or comedy.


Thank you.

I rewatched Edge of Tomorrow with Tom Cruise and still think it's good. If you haven't seen it. Also, a bit older but a great movie is "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

Those movies I've watched recently (not the first time for either). But a couple others that are worth a watch if you haven't seen them or want to watch a goodie for the second or third time are:

Mad Max Fury Road
The Game
The Departed
The Usual Suspects
Snatch
L.A. Confidential
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Lord of War

Just to name a few. As you can tell, I like movies that have been around a bit.

 

[mitchmagic]

Hey guys,

I've got nothing to watch tonight with the Jays being off, so can someone please recommend a short list of recent (last few years) movies I can give a try? The genres I like are as follows: crime, drama, thriller.

I don't like - any superhero/comics movies, horror or comedy.


Thank you.

Prisoners.

 

[RealityBytes]

I rewatched Edge of Tomorrow with Tom Cruise and still think it's good. If you haven't seen it. Also, a bit older but a great movie is "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

Those movies I've watched recently (not the first time for either). But a couple others that are worth a watch if you haven't seen them or want to watch a goodie for the second or third time are:

Mad Max Fury Road
The Game
The Departed
The Usual Suspects
Snatch
L.A. Confidential
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Lord of War

Just to name a few. As you can tell, I like movies that have been around a bit.

If you watch "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" make sure to watch the Swedish version that has English subtitles ... it is much better than the American version.

Then watch the two follow ups of the trilogy: The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest." ... and make sure to watch them in order.

 

[DangerDave]

Some of you are seriously overrating the oscars.

They're not picking the best movies. They pick movies pretending to be great like Silver Linings Playbook, Hurt Locker, The King's Speech or apparently Birdman, Slumdog Millionaire, Crash, The Artist etc.

Nobody remembers The Artist three years later. Slumdog Millionaire is now routinely dismissed as poverty porn.

Stanley Kubrick anfld Martin Scorcese have always been snubbed by the Oscars.

Given these factors, the fact better movies like Dark Knight, Wall-E, The Wind Rises, etc have been snubbed is not defensible.

Wall-E should have won even though No Country was incredible. Could not believe it did not even get nominated for best picture. Just because it was animated I bet. It was beautiful, innovative, funny and had a fantastic message. It was extremely risky and the fact that it even got made is surprising. It actually made me much more conscious about my health and that of the planet we live on. If a movie can change my lifestyle, mindset and habits then it has to be powerful. At least UP and Toy Story 3 got well deserved nominations the following years.

 

[GoodKiwi]

I rewatched Edge of Tomorrow with Tom Cruise and still think it's good. If you haven't seen it. Also, a bit older but a great movie is "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

Those movies I've watched recently (not the first time for either). But a couple others that are worth a watch if you haven't seen them or want to watch a goodie for the second or third time are:

Mad Max Fury Road
The Game
The Departed
The Usual Suspects
Snatch
L.A. Confidential
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Lord of War

Just to name a few. As you can tell, I like movies that have been around a bit.

Thanks for your suggestions.

I saw all of the movies you listed (unless you're referring to the remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). Liked all of them to different extents except Snatch that just didn't sit well me for some reason.

I used to watch a lot of movies, but have stopped watching quite as many in the last few years. Hence most everything before say 2013 I have probably seen.

I don't typically like sci-fi, but I loved Edge of Tomorrow. Thought it was edited amazingly.

Another favourite of mine is Sunshine. Too bad the last third of it disappoints so badly, otherwise it'd be probably my favourite movie of all time. The first two thirds are breathtaking IMO.

So, I guess I'm looking for less popular and/or newer suggestions.

Prisoners.

Thanks, but I saw this one as well.

 

[DangerDave]

Also, a bit older but a great movie is "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

Yeah I loved that flick. Wish Jim Carrey could get more roles like that. He's a great actor and not just a comedian like everyone else thinks he is. Wish he's step away from the kid's comedies to movies like that.

Cable Guy is also super underrated. It showcases his ability to switch from funny to serious and remain believable. His performance in that movie is incredible.

Also, Truman Show is absolutely amazing and one of the greatest movies of all time in my opinion. Must watch for anyone who missed it.

 

[GoodKiwi]

Yeah I loved that flick. Wish Jim Carrey could get more roles like that. He's a great actor and not just a comedian like everyone else thinks he is. Wish he's step away from the kid's comedies to movies like that.

Cable Guy is also super underrated. It showcases his ability to switch from funny to serious and remain believable. His performance in that movie is incredible.

Also, Truman Show is absolutely amazing and one of the greatest movies of all time in my opinion. Must watch for anyone who missed it.

Hehe, I was just about to ask a question on people's pick between Eternal Sunshine... and Truman Show.

Both are brilliant, but IMO Eternal Sunshine... doesn't quite reach the heights of the other. Truman Show is a masterpiece.