A Night of Great Cinema
 

So, another one of these threads of mine (I should organize a single thread... someday.) Instead of continuing the slasher theme from the last get together I had, I thought we'd break and go for something different (two weeks from now will be the second slasher installment.) The theme: classics. Both past and present. Aged or modern.

Three films. Here's the list of what I'm considering...
(I'd like variety, and foreign films are a big plus in my book.)

Volver
American Beauty
Adaptation.
Clockwork Orange
Ichi the Killer
A Tale of Two Sisters
Rear Window
12 Monkeys
Requiem for a Dream
Donnie Darko

I'm pretty sold on American Beauty. I am also a huge fan of Almodovar, so Volver seems like a sure-thing as well (my friends NEED to be familiar with his work, it's just great.)

I'm a BIG fan of multi-character indie dramas. Loaded with dysfunction and excellent visuals. I like arthouse films. Films where downright weird, symbolic, metaphoric things occur. Films about feelings or real life situations.

As far as foriegn films go... I love the feel of Asian horror. My favourites include: Anything by Almodovar, Run Lola Run, Amelie, Chocolat, Amores Perros, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Krampak, and a few others.

What would you recommend?

GUESTS:
1. Loves visual oddities. Weird, dream-like, drug-induced images. Images with deeper meanings. David Lynch-esque.

2. Loves foreign romance stories. Anything italian or french involving anything related to love.

3. Loves the realistic attitude indie/foreign films have towards sex. Likes his sex erotic, not just cum-worthy.

Have you seen Nimrod Antall's Kontrol? It's about a guy who pushes people in front of subways...really cool and weird.

Volver is great. So is Adaptation.

I'm really into French Crime cinema like Le Cricle Rouge, Le Samurai and Rififi.

And you've got to see The Battle of Algiers and Z at some point. They're both super cool.

My first thought there actually was Amelie. As a foreign romance fan, I loved it and it has a quirky attitude toward sex which i loved aswell.


How about The Virgin Suicides, or Brick. Both great indie films. I actually reeeeally highly reccommend Brick if you can find it.

"Venus Beaute Institut" was a pretty good french film that should fall into your second category. Nathalie Baye is amazing in it, Audrey Tautou, pre-Amelie fame has a second role in it as well.

Indie film with realistic sex... you can try "Lie with Me", if you haven't already seen it.

Virgin suicides... No Way, try city of Lost Children.

Never seen it, but I will cause it sounds good.

I just really liked Virgin Suicides cause I had no clue what was going to happen, nor when. The shock just pulled me in.

I had another one but the name escapes me.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112682/

Check it out, absolute classic....


I thought Virgin suicides was a bit typical realy... maybe different if I was a chick I guess...

yeah, probably. I've never really though about how the difference in sex would change your view on a movie.

Well it's narrated and it's a story about a bunch of sisters... I grew up with four brothers.... see my point?

We have all seen The Virgin Suicides, and I have seen Brick. I'm not sure about the others; I'm willing to watch it again. The specific noir-esque dialogue and overall feeling was what I enjoyed most. Especially it's modern context and subjects.

As for The Virgin Suicides, I think it works well with both sexes. The interpretation may differ, but the effect on both is potentially just as explosive. Your focal characters are female, however, the film itself is narrated by males. It's a story telling a female perspective through a male perspective, through the perspective of a female director, adapted from material written by a male authour. If that makes any sense.

Lie With Me is a little bit too shallow for my tastes. I'm sure my friend has seen this one, but I wouldn't exactly house it in this marathon. It's just too oriented on sex (and a specific relation between two people), and not much else. I don't mind this attitude on film, but I want it to explore the ideal of sex... rather then, well, just having sex broadcasted into my living room. I much prefer Shortbus.

I would really like to see City of Lost Children.

Was gonna suggest Shortbus as well, but was pretty sure you had seen it already. :)

Some weird visual mind fucks could be:

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Natural Born Killers
True Romance
Requiem for a Dream

Those are 4 of my favorites. :cool:

I can't find Requiem ANYWHERE! I'm really looking forward to seeing it, hopefully soon. I own True Romance but have yet to see it. I didn't think it would fit in with the theme I'm going for?

I guess what I'm mainly looking for is... (in keywords)

Character-driven. Multi-character. Dysfunctional. Drama. Black Humour. Visuals. Foreign. Sexual. Social commentary. Bleak. Depressing / Uplifting (extremes).

Have you seen Amorres Perros ? That one depressed me to no end.

Crash (Cronenberg's, not the other crappy one)... I still don't know what to make of this one after all this time.

The new crash was amazing. Your ridiculous.

And to Josh - True Romance definitely fits the dysfunctional, sexual, character driven, twisted scheme.

Hated it with a passion. And please don't address me. :)

Look harder Josh. It's a must see film. I saw it @ best buy for $9.99.

I loved 2005's Crash, it's one of my favourites. A film where the entire runtime is packed with pure adrenaline (I'm not talking intense action, just a great surge of emotional feelings. Another example would be the "you can't possibly know everyone in this file" scene in Erin Brockovich. Or the gunned-down Pedophile scene in Running Scared (I was SO glad someone finally just shot the fuck out of a villain rather then walking away and saying "Oh, I'm the better person.") I haven't seen Cronenberg's, nor really have any desire to do so.

I'll check out True Romance.
(I bought it to complete my Tarantino collection.)

American Beauty is definitely going to be one of the three.

My friends have been wanting to see Inland Empire since I listed it as one of my favourites on Facebook (LULZ!1!one!) but I'm not sure they'll dig it.

---

I don't have a Best Buy where I am. Futureshop, yes, but no Best Buy. The last time I saw it for sale, it was listed as being 35.99 (I believe... either way, it was just under 40$) and I'm not so eager to pay that much for a DVD of a film I've yet to see. (( And know I can get far cheaper. ))

Why what's wrong?

I found the new Crash cliched and contrived, but ah well... to each his own.

Loved that scene in Running Scared.

Don't blame you for not wanting to see Cronenberg's Crash, though... like I said, I've seen it twice and still have no idea what to make of it.

It's not that I think it will be horrible, or anything. Simply that I haven't looked into it much, and of the stuff I have seen, none of it really caught my attention. Just one of those films I instinctually look past.

Clockwork Orange
Requiem For A Dream
Rear Window

Best three ya got on your list.

Although I'd prefer Donnie Darko or American Beauty over Rear Window.

I think you should pick up a copy of the H.G Ballard novel it was based on... it will make more sense then, though it's not a light read.;)

Have always wanted to. What did you think of it ?

And it's not that I didn't get the movie, it's just that I have no idea what I feel about it !

I have seen Amores Perros, if I haven't yet posted that. :p

I hated it - crap film

Amen to that... and thank you.

And I loved Cronenberg's Crash even though it does sort of wallow in a sea of retarded sexuality, I thought is was really, really funny and the ultimate melding of man and machine, which is such a common theme in Cronenberg's flicks.

I think it is perverted Genius ...... You simply must read it.....

It has a lot more depth than the movie and even more graphic.

S o l d ! :p

No surprise there, usually the case.

You are not alone there, I've seen it several times, because Cronenberg is probably my all time favorite director.....I even insisted my husband watch it with me recently. But I have no idea how I really feel about it. Its not that I don't "get" it or understand it. And I can definitely appreciate it, but I am just not sure if I like it or not....;) But I obviously find it interesting, since I keep watching it.

Exactly !

Plus... James Spader. :)

To each there own I suppose.

It looks like America Beauty for sure. Volver second. Everyone wants to see Inland Empire, so we might watch that (depending on if they want me to shut it off after a while...) I am looking for Requiem for a Dream (if I can find it, definite addition.) Saving True Romance for another themed night.

I'm thinking of having a Grindhouse night in the future as well. All of those great B movies, not necessarily in the horror genre.