We are cancelling our netflix account. I am tired of feeling like I have to watch the movies as soon as possible or I'm not getting my money's worth. "But why don't you not worry about that, and just watch at your own pace?" you might ask. I just can't.
Instead, we've decided to just buy the TV series that we want to watch. That's 95% of what we use Netflix for, anyway. If we buy one season of TV every other month, we'll be spending about the same as for netflix, as long as we don't buy anything overpriced, like ST.
Hwaet*, we have three weeks until our Netflix month is up. We are going to spend these three weeks watching movies from Netflix.
But Mary and I don't watch enough movies. We have about three movies we really want to watch in our queue. The rest is up for grabs.
To you. Tell us what movies we need to watch.
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
The Machinist w/Christian Bale The Final Cut w/Robin Williams Amelie with Audrey Tautou
Posted by ludosti (Member # 1772) on :
What are your tastes like? What kinds of movies do you tend to enjoy (or tend to hate)?
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Downfall (Der Untergang) is pretty good. I agree with The Machinist (good dark mystery/thriller).
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
OK, to give you our tastes.
First of all, we're big nerds, hence our presence on Hatrack.
Movies that I can watch over and over: Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Hudsucker Proxy, Princess Bride, Raising Arizone.
Not too interested in most main-stream "guy" or "chick" movies.
Being the prude that I am, sexual content is much more problematic than violence. That's not to say that it is verboten, but it is an issue.
To give you an idea about that, I was pretty darn uncomfortable with all the sex and how willing they were to portray it in season 6 of Buffy. It made it almost impossible to really enjoy the whole season.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
You've seen Pirates of the Carribean, right? Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Hmmm, we like Cohen brothers movies, if that gives some idea. Movies that make you think, feel.
Neither one of us is big into romance or chick flicks, unless they are really good. But we aren't into big, dumb, guy-action flicks either.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Dude, I typed my response not having seen Porter's! Are we married, or what?
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
We saw Pirates and to tell you the truth, I wasn't all that impressed. It was fun and all, but it obviously didn't penetrate my soul like it did for so many people on this board.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
KQ, yes.
Haven't seen The Machinist, The Final Cut, Amelie, or Downfall.
Anyone recommend Grave of the Fireflies?
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Maybe it's cause you ain't hot for Jonny Depp.
Posted by T_Smith (Member # 3734) on :
Bullets Over Broadway, if you haven't seen it yet.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Hmmmm. Looking at movies we've rated "5 stars" that you may or may not be interested in (and have probably already seen):
Fried Green Tomatoes Lois and Clark: Season 1 The Mighty Ray Secondhand Lions Whale Rider
The others either you've already mentioned, or I don't think you'd be interested in.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Secondhand Lions is, like, my Mom's favorite movie *ever*.
We will probably watch it at her house at Thanksgiving. In fact, I'm not sure we can avoid it.
I haven't seen Bullets Over Broadway, The Mighty, or Ray.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
I can recommend Grave of the Fireflies. It's massively sad though.
Watch it in the original Japanese.
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
For movies that touch your soul I'll recommend Life is Beautiful and second Ray.
--Enigmatic
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Should we see Moulin Rouge or Coyote Ugly?
Posted by Treason (Member # 7587) on :
American History X, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, Cube, Last Night (some sex in there though. Well, what would YOU do your last night on earth? ) The Fifth Element, Crybaby, Johnny Dangerously, Stand By Me, The Shawshank Redemption, Run Lola Run, The Green Mile, Heathers, Donnie Darko.
There is a few of my favourites. If you've seen a few of them then you can get a feel for my taste. Crybaby and Johnny Dangerously are campy cheesey funny like Princess Bride sorta. Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
I tried watching Moulin Rouge once, and didn't get past the first scene. Add to that the fact that I dislike Kiddman, and I'll have to vote no.
When it came out, the ads made Coyote Ugly look about like the Victoria Secret's "fasion show" on TV about a year back -- a thinly-veiled excuse to ogle hot chicks. But somebody here on HR (was it PSI Teleport?) said it was her favorite romance ever.
I absolutely adore The Fifth Element. I'm going to have to buy that whenever they release a decent DVD for it.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
We adore The Fifth Element! One of the strangest movies, and so well done.
Treason, I've seen about half of that list, but I'm looking into the other half now. Posted by ludosti (Member # 1772) on :
Grave of the Fireflies is a good movie (I would recommend it), but it is difficult to watch (it is after all about children in Japan during WWII).
Other movies I really enjoyed (read the summaries on netflix and see if you would also enjoy them): Life is Beautiful Amelie Hero How to Steal a Million The Court Jester Sneakers Whale Rider Hotel Rwanda Finding Neverland
Movies you can watch with your kids: Spirited Away My Neighbor Totoro Kiki's Delivery Service Castle in the Sky
[Edit: Oh yes Shawshank Redemption definitely!! Coyote Ugly, I'd say not. I also love Office Space.]
[ August 30, 2005, 12:27 PM: Message edited by: ludosti ]
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:I absolutely adore The Fifth Element.
quote:We adore The Fifth Element!
This is getting weird.
Posted by MyrddinFyre (Member # 2576) on :
You guys are precious
If you loved that movie you might like other Luc Besson films. The rest aren't quite as silly as Fifth Element but they're good stuff. Just stay away from Taxi (the two main characters are a bit like rabbits, let's say.)
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
Arrested Development.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Yes, I know, JB. You don't own the DVDs of that by any chance, do you?
Posted by Jon Boy (Member # 4284) on :
Not yet, but someday. We just checked them out from the library.
<—loves the Salt Lake County Library System
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
Dark City. This movie is SO AWESOME! So is Donny Darko.
You should try and finish Moulin Rouge, it's like Rocky Horror Picture Show on acid for the first bit, but it becomes really really beautiful after that. (Not that RHPS on acid is a bad thing mind you )
I also highly recomend Grave of the Fireflies. Again, watch it in the original Japanese. Oddly, it's the last movie that my mom and I watched together.
The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, The Secret of NIMH, Legend (special edition), Rock & Rule, Heavy Metal, Titan AE.... these are all fantasy/sci-fi favorites of mine that you guys might like.
Some mind expanding movies: The Velocity of Gary, Better Than Chocolate, Jeffery, It's My Party... Porter, you might have problems with these because they are about gay folk and as a result deal with sex and has some sexual scenes. But it isn't unwarranted, the sex helps tell the story.
Shadow Lands is a good one about CS Lewis. (I wish there was a movie about JRR Tolkien)
The mini series Pride & Prejudice is REALLY good as is the series Dead Like Me.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:You should try and finish Moulin Rouge, it's like Rocky Horror Picture Show on acid for the first bit
One of only two movies I have ever walked out of. (RHPS, that is)
Titan AE? My image of you is crumbling, Telp. I thought it was extremely mediocre (if that's possible).
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
Hehe... yes Titan AE in general was very mediocre... but the death of Earth was very moving and the ice crystal scenes were out of this world. I like any movie that has falls of civilizations. I try and imagine how humanity or our cultures/religions could survive such a thing. Our religions are tied to the Earth... how would they deal with it's utter destruction? A catastrophy like that would prove there are no God/gods/goddesses. Just imagine the poor nature worshipers...
And I like how they show humanity dying out.. because we as a species are so connected to the biosphere of Earth, it's gravity, air mixture, etc... that we probably could not survive very long away from it. Unless we had some really advanced starships that could perfectly mimic the environment of the Earth.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
The ice crystals did look awesome.
I remember wondering "Why do those aliens want to destroy all humans?" The only answer that I came up with was to create dramatic tension.
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
LOL! Well they were like the galactic gardeners. They saw humanity as a threat with our ever advancing technology and power...they they decided to wipe us out while they still could. It was kinda neat, they created a backstory with comic books and stuff...telling about the Titan Project and how the Drej came into the picture and the years of war as they beat down our fleets and defences back to the homeworld. I wish they would have filmed that... much more interesting to me. But having read all that made the first 10 minutes of the movie actually emotional. That's why I loved Titanic...because it was a microcosm of the end of the world and how people reacted to it.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Thanks guys. Some really good suggestions here, some I've never heard of.
Its funny, I often check out the "questionable" content of movies on websites that spell them out. You can read about all the profanity, violence, and sex that a movie contains. It is funny to read a long list of detailed sexual situations and acts, then it says "a man touches a womans hand". I nearly laughed aloud at that.
Posted by Amanecer (Member # 4068) on :
quote: Should we see Moulin Rouge or Coyote Ugly?
Probably not. They're both rather sexual which is something MPH said was a problem. I thought Moulin Rouge was fun because of the zany songs, but as a movie it's really not that good. Predictable plot etc. Coyote Ugly is extremely mediocre. It is indeed a thinly-veiled excuse to ogle hot chicks.
My recommends are: About a Boy, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Good Company, Mars Attacks, and Galaxy Quest.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
OK. The reason I asked about those two is that a lot of gals on the forum really enjoyed them.
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Hmmm, could someone tell me a bit more about "The Machinist"? I am having trouble finding a lot of info on it, but I am seeing it described as a "horror flick". Neither of us tend to enjoy that genre.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Actually, what I've seen of "The Machinist" looks pretty interesting.
Oh, and it stars Christian Bale, who was pretty darn good in Batman Begins.
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
Christian Bale is also darn good in American Psycho. Posted by MyrddinFyre (Member # 2576) on :
He is also pretty darn good looking.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
That's not going to convince me.
Posted by Parsimony (Member # 8140) on :
It's funny that almost every movie I own has been mentioned up here so far, so I'll throw in three I own that aren't mentioned.
The Last Castle Garden State Memento
--ApostleRadio
Posted by ludosti (Member # 1772) on :
Mary, you'll really dig Moulin Rouge. Make Porter watch it. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Garden State is really good. All of Miyazaki's movies are extremely good if you haven't seen those, I'd particularly recommend Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle (I'm not dissing Spirited Away, just wasn't my favorite).
I assume you've seen the Monty Python films? Holy Grail and Life of Brian are personal favorites of mine.
Also, not sure how much of a dork you are, but I really love the cartoon movies of LOTR Return of the King and The Hobbit. But that's mainly because of the voice acting of John Huston as Gandalf, whose voice I ALWAYS hear in my head when I read the books, and always will.
Downfall was very powerful, I'd recommend that as well. As was Hotel Rwanda. Though I caution against buying them without having seen them. They are both dark films, Downfall more so, and you might not get a lot of use out of them. You can rewatch a comedy or dorky sci-fi film a lot more than a serious dark film like those. One can only take so much genocide.
When it comes out on DVD, I would highly recommend March of the Penguins. Good film for all ages. Madagascar and Robots I thought were really funny films too.
Posted by plaid (Member # 2393) on :
Some stuff I've gotten through Netflix you might like =
-- Kung Fu Hustle (action, but good sense of humor and style) -- Wonderfalls (TV, by some of the same folks who did Firefly) -- Gilmore Girls (don't know if you'd consider it to be too much of a chick thing, mph, but it's funny and has GREAT dialogue)
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
Oh, yes I second About a Boy .
Also another vote for Life is Beautiful - original italian with subtitles. Have tissues on hand.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
I'll put in a vote for "Grave for the Fireflies". It's an excellent film but be prepared. It is the only movie I can remember that made me break down and sob. I'm kind of a sentimentally ninny so I tear up at all kinds of things, but this was way beyond that. My husband and I just hugged each other and sobbed for a god 5 minutes or more after the end of the film.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I'll Third About a Boy. I hate Hugh Grant but I sure do love that movie. Chicago is good. But you don't want to see Sin City because it has too much violence, but I loved that movie anyway. Violence makes me dizzy. Also, A Very Long Engagement was good... But don't see Cold Mountain unless you want to be depressed even though it has great music.
Posted by divaesefani (Member # 3763) on :
quote:Originally posted by ludosti:
Other movies I really enjoyed (read the summaries on netflix and see if you would also enjoy them):
The Court Jester [/QB]
I second that one! It's one of my favorites, and no one seems to know about it until I make them watch it. And then they love it! Danny Kaye is brilliant.
Posted by Treason (Member # 7587) on :
I saw The Machinist the other night....eh
Posted by kojabu (Member # 8042) on :
I'm going to third Donnie Darko and Life is Beautiful. I'd also recommend Chocolat and I Heart Huckabees.
Posted by Rico (Member # 7533) on :
- About a boy - Garden State - Boondock Saints - Donnie Darko - Band of Brothers (if you think you can stomach it/enjoy it, personally I loved the series but it's not for everyone) - Shawn of the Dead - Galaxy Quest - Almost any movies produced/written by Mel Brooks - I'd recommend a lot of Quentin tarantino's films but it sounds like you might not enjoy them. If you do, Pulp Fiction and Sin City (not Tarantino but similar style) are good choices. - Without a Paddle (better than I expected) - Elf (has some memorable lines) - Fight Club - Leon (also known as "The Professional") - The Sixth Sense - Twelve Monkeys - Snatch - Office Space
Lot's of movies there... I hope you'll find at least a few in there you'll like
[ August 31, 2005, 03:02 AM: Message edited by: Rico ]
Posted by ambyr (Member # 7616) on :
I've been sitting on the same Netflix movie for about a month (I'm on a one-at-a-time plan), and I've gradually stopped feeling guilty about "wasting" my account. I'll return it when I'm good and ready -- and when I've shown it to everyone who needs to see it.
The movie in question is The Twilight Samurai, btw, which I highly recommend if you find appealing the idea of a slow-paced samurai movie that focuses on interpersonal relationships over swordsmanship while managing to paint a surprisingly accurate (for a movie) historical picture of Japan on the edge of cataclysmic change. (It is a Japanese movie, so you have to not mind subtitles.)
Posted by Eruve Nandiriel (Member # 5677) on :
My Big Fat Greek Wedding, especially if you like Everybody Loves Raymond.
I had more in mind, but they all just went *poof*.
Posted by MyrddinFyre (Member # 2576) on :
quote: Leon (also known as "The Professional")
*Luc Besson alert goes off*
Just to clarify, Leon the Professional is the French version and The Professional is the version released in the states. The big difference is that The Professional took out a lot of scenes that suggested something close to pedophilia, and the scene where the little girl drinks wine in a restaurant. Personally I do not think there was anything truly inappropriate in Leon the Professional, but since the little girl's only female mentors in life were her trampy (I think a prostitute too) mother and the older teenage sister, the girl shows confusion as to her role in society as a woman. Perhaps they could be a little uncomfortable. Anyway. I'll shush now Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Thanks, all. My Netflix queue had been dropping dangerously close to 40, but it's back up to almost 50. Posted by Rico (Member # 7533) on :
MyrddinFyre:
Yeah I know, I've actually seen both versions of the movie. I thought both versions were pretty good and I merely referred them to the other name in case they couldn't find the uncut version Nice to see you're familiar with the movie!
I do agree that it was more of a mentor relationship bordering more on her seeing Leon as her adopted father rather than some twisted love affair.
Anyways, it's a great movie, very different from the stuff you usually see out there.
*thumbs up*
Posted by MyrddinFyre (Member # 2576) on :
Agreed!
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
Hmm... "The Fifth Element" is the movie I've seen most times. I *do* love it, but the real reason for the multiple viewing is that it happened to be on TV on different channels exactly at a time when there was nothing else to watch and I wasn't interested in doing anything else. Maybe it's a sign?! o_O
Oh, and if you haven't seen Shawshank Redemption, you should! It's just one of the best movies I've ever seen.
About Donnie Darko: the first time I saw it I had problems understanding parts of it. The second time, I really liked it. The third time I started wondering if there weren't in fact too many untold stories just to make it look "intelligent"... (third time was because of a friend who hadn't seen it)
Sixth Sense and Unbreakable might just be Bruce Willis' best movies. I suggest you watch them both.
Run Lola Run has quite an interesting concept. And if you like it, you might also be interested in Sliding Doors.
You *have* seen Contact, right? I shouldn't even ask you about Gattaca.
For some light & romantic, though not extraordinary cheesy movies, watch Hitch and Love Actually.
I had some other ideas, I'll post them when I remember them.
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
Mmmmm... Gattaca... *drools*
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
quote:Originally posted by Eruve Nandiriel: My Big Fat Greek Wedding, especially if you like Everybody Loves Raymond.
I had more in mind, but they all just went *poof*.
But that movie's 50 billion times better than Everybody Loves Raymond. And Dharma and Greg too, both of which are shows that I HATE even though they have the same theme as that movie.
Posted by kojabu (Member # 8042) on :
quote:Originally posted by Corwin: About Donnie Darko: the first time I saw it I had problems understanding parts of it. The second time, I really liked it. The third time I started wondering if there weren't in fact too many untold stories just to make it look "intelligent"... (third time was because of a friend who hadn't seen it)
If you watch the Director's Cut of Donnie Darko, it's much easier to understand.
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
I'll try to find it and hope it's clearer.
Btw, what's the reason behind having a standard version and a director's cut one for movies in general?!
Posted by beverly (Member # 6246) on :
Rivka, that's cool that you've been benefitting from this thread. I hope some others are too.
*continues taking notes*
Posted by arevoj (Member # 7347) on :
How about The Ref with Denis Leary and Kevin Spacey? Also, I second Office Space, Fifth Element, and Galaxy Quest .
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