I can't pick one, but here are a handful of candidates for an updated list of awesome movies that you (probably) haven't seen, with a definite bias toward the darkly fantastic:
City of Lost Children (La Cité des Enfants Perdus) - fantastical French film (level of realism similar to Mystery Men or a Tim Burton movie) in which a circus strongman (Ron Perlman) must rescue his kidnapped little brother. He's helped a street urchin, Miette, who pretty much steals the show.
The Devil's Backbone (El Espinazo del Diablo) - a ghost story set during the Spanish Civil War (a time frame Guillermo del Toro later reused in his more well-known Pan's Labyrinth). Beautiful and haunting. If you like the writing of Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Jorge Luis Borges, it has the same level of magical realism you might expect from those South American.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead - two minor characters from Hamlet have a strange time being themselves, being minor characters in a play (in Stranger Than Fiction, Harold Crick's life makes sense because he's a major character, so it has to). Brilliant writing by Tom Stoppard.
What Dreams May Come - based on a story by one of my favorite authors, Richard Mattheson (better known for his Twilight Zone episodes and horror short stories), it's a visually stunning movie of a man's afterlife starring Robin Williams.
The Fall - a stuntman in the hospital tells a story to a young girl who's also there recovering from a fall. Incredible visuals by Tarsem Singh, who had previously done the The Cell (in which psychologist goes into the mind of a serial killer - great visuals, though a bit on the disturbing side).
[Edit: I looked around for streaming options, and I'm not seeing any of these for free. All five appear to be rental options on Amazon's video service, and What Dreams May Come is included with their Starz premium subscription. It doesn't look like any of them stream on Netflix in the US; international options may vary. The Fall and What Dreams May Come are available on Blu-Ray, with The Fall getting the better transfer, I think - not that What Dreams May Come looked bad...I think my memories of it as vivid overshadowed the actual production.]
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City of Lost Children is a masterpiece! I haven't seen the others, but I'll have a look for sure!
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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead = Great, great movie. It looks 'stuffy' but it's alot of fun.
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Oh man, City of Lost Children is phenomenal. Have you seen Delicatessen, also by Jeunet? Great dark comedy.
I've seen and read the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead so I've never bothered to watch the film but it's on my list.
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I was going to mention Delicatessen in reply to dakata, in case he hadn't seen it. I also really enjoyed Micmacs - a more recent one of his that I have a sense flew under folks radar. CoLC is the most surreal (in part due to its dream sequences, but just as much due to its sets and technology), while Delicatessen is much more grounded. Micmacs is somewhere between, and probably the most mainstream of the three (maybe also not quite as dark - probably the best of the three to introduce someone to Jeunet). They all have a very Terry Gilliam-like feel to them that was their creators' intent.
On R&GaD, I actually prefer the film over the play (at least over reading it) and recommend you see it. Gary Oldman is gold in anything, and plays really well off Tim Roth. Richard Dreyfuss hams it up as the Player, which of course is the role. There's additional content in the film not in the play - I don't recall what, but I recall being surprised because it was dialog I fully expected in the play. There are couple of things about the production that make it feel modern (not quite sure how to put it), but it fits with the surreality of the situation the characters are in.
I've got to re-watch all of these again. It's been a while and I'm remembering how good they actually are. I just need to carve out the time, between work, my Steam backlog, my book backlog, family, friends, the house, and (the big one) frittering time away online.
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Never even heard of Micmacs, I will have to try and track it down. Cheers! Heck, I even liked his take on the ALIEN mythos.
I also will probably now watch the film version of RAGAD:)
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Have you seen Cinema Paradiso?
If not watch it. Slow film at the start, but you enjoyed Zodiac so I suspect that won't bother you.
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Aliens, Blade Runner, Mad Max, Scarface, Apocalypse Now Redux, Predator. Those are some of my favorite films.
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Now I feel ashamed because I forgot to mention Blade Runner. :(
One of the best sci-fi films of all time, plus "Do androids dream of electric sheep?" is my favorite from Philip K. Dick's novels.
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I havent read that book, It´s on the "Wishlist". I read "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. Francis Ford Coppola based on that book for Apocalypse Now Redux. Conrad has an amazing way to narrate details. And what better actor to impersonate a mad man than Marlon Brando. The Horror!
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I haven't heard of "Heart of Darkness" before, thanks for the heads up. This turned out to be an amazing thread, not only I've found some great films, but some books too!
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Heart of Darkness is available online for free as an ebook - Amazon has two free versions - one and two. When I 'bought' the second one, Amazon presented me with the option to buy an Audible audiobook version for $1. It's performed by actor Kenneth Branagh and runs 3 hours 51 minutes, which seemed like a deal.
Circling back to games, Heart of Darkness also served as an inspiration for Spec Ops: the Line. I recommend avoid reading hype and criticism about it to avoid possible spoilers and get a copy while it's availble cheap:
You can get it for $1/£1/€1 by voting in the Golden Joystick Awards. Not only does the deal also include Sid Meir's Pirates! and a mystery game (which might have been free at one point - don't pin too much hope on that), according to their site, "you’ll get your money back (£1/$1/€1) if you play Spec Ops: The Line." I'm not sure how that works, but the deal is through GreenManGaming, which runs something called Playfire, which gives store credits for in-game achievements.
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I already have Spec Ops, but I haven't played it. One euro is a great bargain, I'll pick another copy for sure. Plus, Pirates! is on my wishlist for some time, thank you! <3
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- equilibrium with christian bale and 2. butterfly effect with a serious ashton kutcher
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Yes, Equilibrium, a derivative but very cool dystopian sci-fi movie, and one of my favorite Christian Bale films.
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Well that's a hard one... Can I do favorite animated movie? I still can't really officially decide even then, but one of my all time favorites would be The Iron Giant.
Great movie. Watched it so many times when I was younger. and when I was older
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So.... the new bourne movie came just this july which makes this such a tough question. The new bourne movie is awesome...
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I can't pick one, so here are my top 5:
Ladybird Ladybird 1994
Memento 2000
Short Cuts 1993
The Seventh Seal 1957
Umberto D. 1952Comment has been collapsed.
We are digging deep in the cinema crates here, especially with classic Bergman and the neo-realist masterpiece, Umberto D (I always cry at the ending because I love dogs).
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My favorite is "Donnie Darko"
From your I've watched: Into the Wild, Paul, Spirited Away (one of my favorite Animes)
"Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel" sounds like an interesting movie, maybe I should watch it some time, since I love movies about time traveling :)
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Donnie Darko is definitely one of my favs as well.
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Not exactly favourite but i really loved it : Prestige(2006)
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Clerks, and Vantage Point.
Also, this: https://youtu.be/eRsGyueVLvQ
EDIT/ADD: And i almost forgot about American History X! Made me feel mentally exhausted by the end of it, but it is a very well done movie.
(Gonna stop now, or my favorites-list will become long, lol.
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Hey, don't know what to watch tonight so, just wondering what is your favorite movie(s) ?
My pick would be Fight Club and/or The Pursuit of Happyness.
Also here is my list from last year for some not that well known good movies:
10 Awesome Movies That You (Probably) Haven't Seen
If the post gets some attention, I will make a new list.
Giveaway!
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