Movie Recommendation Thread

[Edmond Dantès]

Hey Guys,

I wanted to start a movie recommendation thread, so here it is.

You can post here any movie, which you really enjoyed, but IMO would it be great if you guys post only movies that are
a) not in the cinemas right now
b) common known block busters (like Avatar, Twilight, or whatever)

This should be more a thread about movies which made an impression on you, but which are often not as known as they should be.

Alright here is my list:

-Waltz with Bashir (it is the first animated documentary I've ever seen, the movie made me speechless, give it a try or at least check out the trailer on Youtube)
-Infernal Affairs (one of my favourite films, it's the original film that "The Departed" is based on - it's in my opinion better than "The Departed"
-The Boat (one of the best german films, I don't know how known it is in the world)
-Life is beautiful (this movie made me cry, its funny, it's sad and it's worth watching)

[Gill]

I would say :

- the man from nowhere : best action movie of 2011. Takes you by the guts, great story, great acting, smart & nice movie I'll recommend



- Triangle from christopher smith : at first I thought it was another slasher / horror movie, but the storyline, along with the plot just blow your mind. Perfect acting with Melissa Georges. Based on the myth of sisyphy. Beautiful screening.



- Great happiness space : great documentary on the "host" in japan. Guys who service women pay to have a good "time" minus sex and tonguing. Nothing sentimental or overacting. Just normal people at the end doing their living sharing their stories.



- Tropa de elite : following the BOPE (brazilian elite police), and their not so political correct ways to handle situation in Rio de Janeiro. This tale is about how those people work and form new police officers.

[NDO]

I just LOVE...

City of God
Into The Wild
The Graduate
LOTR
Citizen Kane
Garden State
Swingers
Pulp Fiction
Forrest Gump

and many many more, there are just so much great movies.
But I'd say everyone has to have seen the above ones...
Heck, everyone has to have seen the whole IMDB Top 250 (My project...)

[And yes, those are well known movies and no secret recommendations,
but just in case someone hasn't seen all of them...]

[Mark]

City of God is a phenomenal movie.

I've been watching a number of Latin Movies lately. I highly recommend the following:

Los Secretos de sus Ojos (The Secrets of his Eyes)
Amores Perros (Love is a Bitch)
Y Tu Mama Tambien (And Your Mom Too)

[Chaos]

Mark, other great spanish movies are:
- Airbag
- El día de la bestia

both comedies...

another films I like a lot:
- The man from earth
- 3-Iron

Keep in mind that those are unconventional films, specially 3-Iron

[TheKaizenWay]

Gattaca

Gattaca is one of my favorite movies, where the main character Vincent - a “degenerate” - achieves the impossible in a world where genetics are everything

[The Notorious PhD]

Here's some documentaries I've really enjoyed:

1. The Power of Nightmares
This three-part documentary series from the BBC is an absolutely fabulous exposition of the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the East and the neo-conservative movement in the America. Highly recommended as a point-of-departure for understanding the current geopolitical situation.

2. The Fog of War
Robert McNamara (former Secretary of Defense; major architects of the Vietnam War; inventor of systems analytic thinking in defense) meditates on lessons he learned over his life and his career. Discusses both the good and the bad. It is exceedingly rare for a public servant of his stature to come out as honestly as he does in this film. (Related: David Halberstam's The Best and the Brightest; eye-opening book on why intelligence and wisdom aren't the same thing)

3. Man on Wire
A documentary about Phillipe Petit and his tight-roping between the two WTCs. Highly entertaining. Despite the fact that they have no ACTUAL footage of him doing it. Petit is a hilarious dude.

4. The Bridge
San Francisco's golden gate bridge is the most popular suicide destination in the world (in particular, the side of the bridge facing the city). This documentary surveiled the bridge for a month, recording almost all of the suicides over that period, and traced the lives of the jumpers. Profoundly heart-breaking. I really feel cheap saying this but I often hear people in pick-up bemoan how rude someone was to them, or how shittily they responded etc. Watch this movie and you'll understand how someone could be minutes away from suicide and you wouldn't know.

5. Menace II Society
I think everyone will derive a different message from this film. For me this movie single-handedly changed my stance on affirmative action in colleges by conveying the importance of having role models in one's life, and the vastly different reality some other people have to confront/overcome.

Can someone explain why City of God is considered good?

[Matty]

Wanted to make a final movie recommendation before I take a break from this forum. I just watched the Korean film "The Good, The Bad, The Weird" last night. Gill had originally recommended it as a film to watch if you wanna see how cool clothes are supposed to fit, which is most certainly true. Furthermore, it's complete badassery! Korean outlaws and bounty hunters in 1940's Manchuria chasing a treasure map. It's also required viewing for any Asian guys on here who think that being Asian means being doomed to a life of not being cool; these characters are probably the epitome of cool.

[Mark]

I'd like to add that I watched "Tropa de Elite" in Brazil and it's excellent. The English translation is "Elite Squad" and has subtitles.

[Dawson]

Watched 'The skin I live in' last night. Very fresh and original. Not easy watching though for the faint hearted out there.
Oh also Debbie does Dallas and Deepthroat - great cinematography

[Leo]

(05-09-2012 08:49 PM)Mark Wrote:  I'd like to add that I watched "Tropa de Elite" in Brazil and it's excellent. The English translation is "Elite Squad" and has subtitles.

I or II? I prefer I.

[Guyintheback]

Since no one mentioned it so far, I'm recommending "Drive".

I saw it a couple of months ago, and it immediately become one of my favorite movies.

I'm not going to say much about the story; basically it revolves around a young man about who's background we know nothing, and who is a stunt-driver by day and a getaway-driver by night. He becomes involved with his next door neighbor, which starts the plot.

The beautiful thing about the movie is its style and pace. It is beautifully photographed with an 80s retro feeling to it, has one of the best and most fitting soundtracks I ever heard in a movie, and at times moves very very slowly. The dialog of the whole movie was probably printed on two A4 pages; a lot more is said with looks, light, color and music.
If you're looking for something different, this is the movie for you.

Interestingly, the book has very very little in common with the movie; but in my opinion that doesn't make one or the other better.

[Dawson]

agreed guyintheback.

[Mark]

Drive is great.

[Edmond Dantès]

[Thor]

Training day was one of my favourite movies. Two alpha guys one with morals one without morals.

[Oli]

Lilja 4-Ever. Swedish/Russian film. Heart-wrenching.

[Plex]

Cloud Atlas.

The fact that it bombed at the box office is another sad reminder of the state of the film industry, and what gets advertised and "put out there". The fact that this film was made at all is good news though, and the Wachowskis are already working on their next film, so we'll at least get one more big release out of them.

No film that I've seen is more ambitious in expressing a simple and elegant idea in such a beautiful way.

[Cosmo]

totally agree, loved it.

[TheoJ]

Good Will Hunting (1997) can mean a lot to guys into self development. It's also relevant to some conversations that have been done here about lifestyle, education, second chances.
I would say it's a must see.

[Tim]

Life of Pi. It's use of 3D is fantastic, the visuals are impressive, and the central discussion of faith, realization through adversity, etc is very powerful. I've seen it twice in 3 days and had a wee tear both times.

[Luke]

Anything by Paul Thomas Anderson. Fave though is There Will Be Blood. Johnny Greenwood's score is pretty amazing. Same with the recently released The Master (which is on cinemas now sorry).

Has anyone seen Synecdoche New York by Charlie Kaufman? (guy who wrote Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). Tripped me the hell out like nothing else and also achieved that with zero special effects.

[Oli]

"Irreversible"... strange French movie.

[Mark]

Synecdoche was really fucking weird. It was cool, but I'm not sure what to take from it (or if there is anything to take from it).

Life of Pi was really good. Django was good but too over-the-top, even by Tarentino standards. Inglorious Basterds was much better (and will probably go down as his best movie ever).

[Cosmo]

nooooooooooooo. Pulp fiction was much, much better than Inglorious Basterds. I thought that movie was pretty lame.