[quote:5841ff0860="pazu322"][quote:5841ff0860="YenC"]Japanese - Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke[/quote:5841ff0860]

Yer a Miyazaki fan too eh? Those are indeed some of his best work ever. Altho my personal favourite is still [u:5841ff0860]Naputa: Castle in the Sky[/u:5841ff0860]. Let's just say there's a strong nostalgia factor.

... Pazu :wink:[/quote:5841ff0860]

UNG. I love both those films. Sigh

[quote:91f6ef9b8a="pazu322"][quote:91f6ef9b8a="YenC"]Japanese - Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke[/quote:91f6ef9b8a]

Yer a Miyazaki fan too eh? Those are indeed some of his best work ever. Altho my personal favourite is still [u:91f6ef9b8a]Naputa: Castle in the Sky[/u:91f6ef9b8a]. Let's just say there's a strong nostalgia factor.

... Pazu :wink:[/quote:91f6ef9b8a]

I'm not a fan of anime in general, but Miyazaki's films are just wonderful. Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke are my favourites but Laputa and Nausicaa are not far behind.

Anyone seen his newest film, Howl's Moving Castle?

I don't know that my list of films that have made me cry would give you any idea of their worth... It doesn't take much to make me cry. I cried when watching "The Terminal" because I hated how mean that airport guy was to Tom Hanks. I've even cried when watching Jerry Springer!!! so many broken people... :cry:

I don't watch "movies" very often, but if it is my choice, you'll usually find me in the foreign film section.

Personal Favorites:

I am Dina: AMAZING! Almost as good as the book.
[b:8b4485503a]The Cuckoo[/b:8b4485503a] (A Russian anti-war film... quite hilarious at times as well)
[b:8b4485503a]Tous Les Matins Du Monde[/b:8b4485503a] (What is art? What is music? What is love? How hot is Gerard Depardieu's son? These are all in question in this amazing film.)
[b:8b4485503a]Rabbit Proof Fence[/b:8b4485503a] (An Australian film about the injustices done to the aboriginal people there)
[b:8b4485503a]Amelie[/b:8b4485503a] It took me forever to finally watch it... but man, that film is sooo[i:8b4485503a] perfect[/i:8b4485503a]. Absolutely f*cking perfect... from the story to the actors to the orchestration. My gawd!
[b:8b4485503a]Great Expectations[/b:8b4485503a] This might not seem like it would fit on my list but ohhh... I have SUCH a soft spot for this film. Ethan Hawke did a fantastic job. The modernization of this story was well-done, and the actual filming is as artistic as the main character. I love the theme of green throughout. And the soundtrack. AWESOME!
[b:8b4485503a]The Labyrinth[/b:8b4485503a] gotta love Bowie hanging out with a bunch of muppets.
[b:8b4485503a]Willow[/b:8b4485503a] gotta love Val Kilmer in a dress. OMG! And the brownies! HILARIOUS!

~nicole g

Amelie
Jeux D'Enfants
Goodbye Lenine!
Belleville Rendez-vous
The Dreamers
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Tous Les Matins du le Monde
United States of Leland
Pumpkin
Clockwork Orange
Casablanca
Boondock Saints
Battle Royale
Spirited Away
Yi Yi
Eat Drink, Man Woman
Happy Accidents
Devdas

[quote:246292ed71="preciousthings"]
Battle Royale
[/quote:246292ed71]

Hehe...I really liked this one too. Too bad North American distributors are too freaked out by the subject matter to release it here.

Stay away from the sequel though, it's absolute trash IMO.

[quote:d811bc32f9="YenC"]

Hehe...I really liked this one too. Too bad North American distributors are too freaked out by the subject matter to release it here.

Stay away from the sequel though, it's absolute trash IMO.[/quote:d811bc32f9]

Yeah I know, tell me about it! NA can be anal about a lot of things, which I always find funny and hypocritical. Is it? What's so bad about it?

Recent faves on the film front;

Sideways - (paul giamati is brilliant!)
The Assassination of Richard Nixon (Sean Pean - awesome as usual, but thie was a bit too much like Taxi Driver and not quite as good)
The Motorcycle Diaries (Gael Garcia Bernal was so gorgeous in this movie, it made me question my hetrosexuality) :shock:

...jim

[quote:cbd99faf89="YenC"]Anyone seen his newest film, Howl's Moving Castle?[/quote:cbd99faf89]

I have - but it wasn't a good quality version. Firstly, the subtitles kinda ruined it for me. Not that they didn't translate well, but the timing of the subs appeared at the wrong time... it was often either too early or too late. So it never made sense as to what they were saying at the moment. It was tremendously annoying.

And I had read the book before hand. The movie didn't exactly meet my expectations either. Visually I could tell it had the typical Miyazaki brand of sweet-ass animation and eye-popping effects. But the story itself was quite lacking. I wouldn't even say the original book had a decent story progression either. You'd think the movie has gotta be much better than the book. Needless to say, I was very much disappointed. But I will give it another chance once it gets theatrically released in North America, which shan't be too long from now.

[quote:b90d33bfb4="joleary"]Recent faves on the film front;

Sideways - (paul giamati is brilliant!)
The Assassination of Richard Nixon (Sean Pean - awesome as usual, but thie was a bit too much like Taxi Driver and not quite as good)
The Motorcycle Diaries (Gael Garcia Bernal was so gorgeous in this movie, it made me question my hetrosexuality) :shock:

...jim[/quote:b90d33bfb4]

Good picks.. I watched all of them relatively recently. hahah Oh Gael.. he is so adorable! Man, if you think MD did that to you Jim, .... Gael AND Diego will blow your mind of sexiness in Y Tu Mama Tambien.. I watched it for the um... creative artistry.. yeah.. that's why hahaha :lol:

[quote:393d8caf5a="preciousthings"][quote:393d8caf5a="YenC"]

Hehe...I really liked this one too. Too bad North American distributors are too freaked out by the subject matter to release it here.

Stay away from the sequel though, it's absolute trash IMO.[/quote:393d8caf5a]

Yeah I know, tell me about it! NA can be anal about a lot of things, which I always find funny and hypocritical. Is it? What's so bad about it?[/quote:393d8caf5a]

The sequel takes place a few years after the first one. The main guy, Nanahara I think his name was, is now running a terrorist ring against the Japanese government. The opening scene of the film has two tall buildings (similar looking to WTC) in Tokyo collapsing. THe Japanese government wants to get rid of them so they send kids to go fight Nanahara's group. It tries to make some post 9/11 commentary, but comes out flat.

Lots of plot holes and some scenes which are just plain silly (a scene with a government official suddenly appears in the middle of battle in rugby gear comes to mind).

[quote:76f839620e="pazu322"][quote:76f839620e="YenC"]Anyone seen his newest film, Howl's Moving Castle?[/quote:76f839620e]

I have - but it wasn't a good quality version. Firstly, the subtitles kinda ruined it for me. Not that they didn't translate well, but the timing of the subs appeared at the wrong time... it was often either too early or too late. So it never made sense as to what they were saying at the moment. It was tremendously annoying.

And I had read the book before hand. The movie didn't exactly meet my expectations either. Visually I could tell it had the typical Miyazaki brand of sweet-ass animation and eye-popping effects. But the story itself was quite lacking. I wouldn't even say the original book had a decent story progression either. You'd think the movie has gotta be much better than the book. Needless to say, I was very much disappointed. But I will give it another chance once it gets theatrically released in North America, which shan't be too long from now.[/quote:76f839620e]

Hopefully it won't be too long, imdb lists the limited North American release as June 10, so maybe a few weeks after that for the rest of us.

for me, Miyazaki is alllllll about MY NEIGHBOUR TOTORO. I watched that movie like I was insane when I was a kid. The Cantonese dubbed version too (which is so wrong but I like it like that lol)

Insanely talented guy though.


Anybody like Richard Linklater here? Sarah mentioned his movie Waking Life on her vitamins page which made me very happy. I've seen a lot of his movies and they're all awesome and so broad too. Dazed and Confused, School of Rock (so awesome!), Tape, Before Sunrise/Sunset, etc.

His new movie A Scanner Darkly is done in the same animation style as Waking Life. I can't wait for it cause Winona Ryder in it, and even though she is a clepto I still think she is awesome, in spite of the fact that her career is totally dead.

[quote:ac321f200f="Jareed"]
Anybody like Richard Linklater here? Sarah mentioned his movie Waking Life on her vitamins page which made me very happy. I've seen a lot of his movies and they're all awesome and so broad too. Dazed and Confused, School of Rock (so awesome!), Tape, Before Sunrise/Sunset, etc.

His new movie A Scanner Darkly is done in the same animation style as Waking Life. I can't wait for it cause Winona Ryder in it, and even though she is a clepto I still think she is awesome, in spite of the fact that her career is totally dead.[/quote:ac321f200f]

Waking Life is one I've always seen on the shelf and been interested in but it hasn't come home with me yet... but Dazed and Confused is of course one I saw as a teenager and it still is fun to watch. Oh and School of Rock = tres fun.

Perhaps I should check out more of his movies.

I love all of Tim Burton's works, and of course I adore "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". I also love "The Prophecy", Monty Python's stuff, and "Se7en", things like that. But I have to say that my favorite film at this time is "Quills". It makes me laugh, and it makes me cry, and it touches me in a way that very few, if any, films have in the past. I really love it.

[b:d15d887cdc][size=18:d15d887cdc]Born Into Brothels[/size:d15d887cdc][/b:d15d887cdc]

Recently caught this at the local rep theatre. It had been on the periphery of my radar for awhile, but i wasn't completely sure about what it was all about.

I went in expecting a somber, sober tale of children growing up in horrible condtions - which they certainly are and the movie shows - but what i didn't expect was that this movie would end up being one of the most uplifting films i've seen in years, if not ever.

The movie (Oscar winner for Best Documentary) is based on the story of a small group of children of prostitutes living in the red-light district of Calcutta. It doesn't get much worse.

The producer, a teacher by trade, a photographer by passion, introduces the novel idea of giving the kids cheap little snap-shot cameras. Ostensibly to see the world through their eyes.

What unfolds is literally life-changing for these kids and uplifting for the hearts of all us viewers.

I'm not going to reveal much more - suffice to say everyone MUST SEE THIS MOVIE!

More details are available online if you're interested.

http://www.kids-with-cameras.org/home/

...jim

I think it's time to revive this post. Has anyone seen anything worth watching lately?

I've only been to the theatres twice this year, but both times were for very good films.

Paradise Now (in Arabic) is a film about two close friends who are recruited as Palestinian suicide bombers. The subject matter is quite controversial, some people accusing the film of validating suicide bombers. I don't believe that was the aim of the director. I think the film gives a human side to the terrorists and why they go through with it. I actually bumped into Jim at the theatre when I went to see this.

Water (in Hindi) is a film about an eight year old widow in 1930s India who is sent to live in an ashram following the death of her husband. I admit, I was fairly ignorant of the Indian caste system going into this film so it was quite eye-opening.

[b:efd61256ba]The Pink Panther[/b:efd61256ba] is okay. There are certainly funny parts, but it's nothing compared to the first series of films. Of course, it's a different era for movies, so they can't REALLY be compared. But Kevin Kline, who I normally like, wasn't very good. And Beyonce can't act. And why does she have to be a singer in EVERY MOVIE?!? Oh yeah, because she can't act.

I finally saw [b:efd61256ba]Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang[/b:efd61256ba], though, and it was phenomenal. Really, really funny (Robert Downey Jr. should've cleaned himself up years ago, not for his health and welfare but so he could do stuff like this!) and it also had a really good and interesting mystery. I highly recommend it to anyone with a sense of humour.

Any film featuring Beyonce gets the thumbs down from me...

I like The Constant Gardener, though the end drags a little.

As for old ones, has anyone ever watched [i:0b27eb2202]Withnail & I [/i:0b27eb2202]?

I saw brokeback recently...it was pretty good, just takes a lotta thinking on the viewers part
annddd i saw "birth" on tv yesterday, which was pretty good as well...but so far i'm still gathering my thoughts and deciding how i feel about it

First time I've seen anything semi-positive written or said about Birth. (I personally haven't seen it.)