# I'm out of movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 13, 2007, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037 "2007-09-13T05:40:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/1 "2007-09-13T05:40:55Z")
I’ve been watching 300-1,000 movies a year for roughly the last 10-12 years. And lately I find myself walking around the vidstore where I work, totally at a loss as to what to take home tonight. I’ve recently caught up on my midcentury Japanese–Mizoguchi to Kurosawa to Suzuki (Suzuki RAWKS!), I’ve completed the “oeuvres” of Sam Fuller, John Ford, Sam Peckinpay, Fritz Lang, Ingmar Bergman–even Michael Bay!–etc. etc. etc. I’ve combed the “classics” section for any movie that falls into the intersection of the two sets (movies I haven’t seen) and (movies I want to see). I’ve watched everything remotely intriguing on the New Releases wall. (_Offside_ RAWKS!) I’ve watched all the recent Korean revenge porn. I’ve watched way too many documentaries (_Okie Noodling_ RAWKS!) I’ve watched all of any of the TV series that interest me (_Foyle’s War_ RAWKS!). I’ve seen this year’s favorites twice (_Children of Men, Hot Fuzz, Idiocracy_). Recently I’ve been catching up on second-tier things I’ve never had a burning urge to see, but was vaguely curious about (_The Marine_’s tagline should be _Shit Blows the Fuck Up!_) I even watched \*AVP \*and _Chronicles of Riddick_ recently. (Neither rawked.) So please, tell me movies that you think might have been overlooked: movies with a bad reputation–or no reputation–or that look bad–but might actually be good. Movies that might have slipped past me. Tonight, I think I’m gonna have to take home _Gigli_. I hope that it is an enlightening experience; I’m already pretty cynical about that kind of monolithic critical consensus, as a fan of both \*Showgirls \*and _The Last Action Hero._ I’m also taking home some silent-era Soviet propaganda films, because, hey, why not? ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/2 "2007-09-13T05:55:59Z")
I doubt I can suggest much that you haven’t seen already (“Korean revenge porn”?). Nonetheless, here are a few suggestions. Vertov’s _Man with a Movie Camera_. _Joe Versus the Volcano_ is an oft-overlooked favorite of mine, as is _The Minus Man_. Documentaries: _Fastpitch_, _Genghis Blues_, _Cinemania_. Anything by Zhang Yimou is going to be worth watching. _To Live_ (not Kurosawa’s film of the same name) is in my all-time top five list. Don’t know if you dig the Cramps (the band), but if you do, you MUST see [The Cramps: Live at Napa State Mental Hospital](http://www.amazon.com/Cramps-Live-State-Mental-Hospital/dp/B00018D5RQ). Made in 1978 on a b/w proto-video camera. There’s only about 20 minutes of footage, but it’s fantastic. Last year’s documentary _American Hardcore_ lit up the screen for me. It wasn’t terribly well made as a film, but if you grew up (as I did) listening to Minor Threat under the covers at night so your folks wouldn’t hear, it’s a must-see. And if you can find it, try to check out [Titicut Follies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titicut_Follies). And if you do, e-mail me and let me know where you got hold of it. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/3 "2007-09-13T06:15:43Z")
[QUOTE=jackelope] I doubt I can suggest much that you haven’t seen already (“Korean revenge porn”?). Nonetheless, here are a few suggestions. Vertov’s _Man with a Movie Camera_. [/QUOTE] I’ve heard that. Will add to my list. [QUOTE=jackelope] _Joe Versus the Volcano_ is an oft-overlooked favorite of mine, as is _The Minus Man_. [/QUOTE] Seen both. Not favorites, but worthwhile. [QUOTE=jackelope] Documentaries: _Fastpitch_, _Genghis Blues_, _Cinemania_. [/QUOTE] Seen GB; will note the others. [QUOTE=jackelope] Anything by Zhang Yimou is going to be worth watching. _To Live_ (not Kurosawa’s film of the same name) is in my all-time top five list. [/QUOTE] Yeah, seen most of his, but not all. [QUOTE=jackelope] Don’t know if you dig the Cramps (the band), but if you do, you MUST see [The Cramps: Live at Napa State Mental Hospital](http://www.amazon.com/Cramps-Live-State-Mental-Hospital/dp/B00018D5RQ). Made in 1978 on a b/w proto-video camera. There’s only about 20 minutes of footage, but it’s fantastic. [/QUOTE] sounds interesting. [QUOTE=jackelope] Last year’s documentary _American Hardcore_ lit up the screen for me. It wasn’t terribly well made as a film, but if you grew up (as I did) listening to Minor Threat under the covers at night so your folks wouldn’t hear, it’s a must-see. [/QUOTE] Yeah, a good renter for us, for that kind of thing. I’ll check it out. [QUOTE=jackelope] And if you can find it, try to check out [Titicut Follies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titicut_Follies). And if you do, e-mail me and let me know where you got hold of it. [/QUOTE] I own it. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/4 "2007-09-13T06:23:05Z")
I’m watching Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy at the moment, and have Smiley’s People on order. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/5 "2007-09-13T06:23:48Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat] I’m watching Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy at the moment, and have Smiley’s People on order. [/QUOTE] Seen both. Excellent. Seen _The Perfect Spy_? Not \*as \*good, but good. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/6 "2007-09-13T06:27:54Z")
On re-reading your OP, this jumps out at me: > [@](#): > > I’ve been watching 300-1,000 movies a year for roughly the last 10-12 years. If that’s the case, you should put [Cinemania](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0281724/) at the top of your list. It’ll be either hilarious, eerily familiar, or a cautionary tale. ETA: And where the hell did you get a copy of _Titicut Follies_? Did you have to kill someone? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/7 "2007-09-13T06:29:16Z")
“My Summer Story”- the little known “sequel” to the much watched “A Christmas Story”. “Shultze Gets the Blues”. “Monster Camp”. Those are the three most obscure movies I liked, and can remember offhand. ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/8 "2007-09-13T06:32:24Z")
I doubt I can stump the band here, but one of my favorites is **Das Schreckliche Mädchen** – mistranslated as **The Nasty Girl** – by Michael (not Paul) Verhoeven. Local (Seattle) movies I’ve enjoyed: **The Business of Fancydancing** (Alexie is a guilty pleasure for me) and **Under Heaven** (Molly Parker is a, uh, different kind of guilty pleasure for me). Buncha early Chaplin shorts playing at the Paramount on Monday nights this month. ETA: Second **Schultze Gets the Blues**. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/9 "2007-09-13T06:35:08Z")
I just enjoyed a free stint in Blockbuster Online during a month with no classes, and made sure to only rent things I have never seen before: Deadwood Season 1 (amazing, fantastic, awesome HBO Western series – I got hooked and need to see the rest.) Children of Men (very powerful, but you saw it already.) Hot Fuzz (surprisingly, I didn’t find it that funny or memorable.) Boondock Saints (not very original as an action/crime movie, but good for fans of Tarantino and Guy Ritchie.) The Vanishing (creepy and unsettling Dutch suspense film. Unforgettable ending. I hear the American remake sucked, though.) Prince of Darkness (not very good, but catch up on other John Carpenter movies: The Thing, They Live, and In the Mouth of Madness.) District B13 (amazing French action movie highlighting parkour.) The Fisher King (I didn’t like it, but love other Terry Gilliam movies: Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.) Breakin’ (super-cheesy and fun '80s dance movie. I hear there is a sequel… 🙂 ) The Bourne Supremacy (I thought it was boring.) Casino Royale (the new one with Daniel Craig – surprisingly boring.) The Machinist (chilling, nightmarish Christian Bale movie. Very good.) Session 9 (truly scary, creepy horror from the same director of The Machinist.) Versus (Yakuza fighting zombies in the middle of a forest. What’s not to love?) ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/10 "2007-09-13T06:59:08Z")
I doubt you could find it, but Otomo Katsuhiro’s World Apartment Horror is almost definitely something you haven’t seen. “Japanese are… Japanese are WHITE PEOPLE!” ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/11 "2007-09-13T08:05:11Z")
How many of [Andrzej Wajda’s](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrzej_Wajda) have you seen? _Pan Tadeusz_ is a pretty good screen adaptation of the epic poem of Poland (or Lithuania, depending on who you ask) by Mickiewicz ---
**Author:** ![Martiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/12 "2007-09-13T09:29:04Z")
He loves me, he loves me not - starring the wonderful Audrey Tatou. If you liked Betty Blue, you’ll love this! Get the DVD with the alternative ending too - even better! ---
**Author:** ![AmalgramFour](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@AmalgramFour](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmalgramFour)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/13 "2007-09-13T09:36:09Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] I’ve seen this year’s favorites twice (_Children of Men, Hot Fuzz, Idiocracy_). [/QUOTE] If you enjoyed Hot Fuzz, have you seen the comedy series Spaced? It’s absolutely packed with film references, which you’d be very well placed to appreciate. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/14 "2007-09-13T12:51:41Z")
Maybe some European films: Lucas Moodyson (Sweden): _Lilja 4 ever_, _Fucking Åmål_, _A hole in my heart_ Michael Haneke (Austria): _Funny games_, _Benny’s video, The Piano Teacher_ and many more. Ulrich Seidl (Austria): _Hundestage, Animal Love_ All of the above are relatively new (1990-present), as far as older films go: One of my favorites: Hans-Jürgen Syberberg (Germany): _Hitler - A Film from Germany_ - Very long, but definitely worth it. Mallarmé (IIRC) (France): _Children of Paradise_ Alain Resnais (France): _Last Year in Marienbad_, _Hiroshima mon Amour_ And a whole lot more (Tarkovsky, Dreyer, Herzog, Angulobulos etc.) Oh - and if you can find it: von Stroheim’s _Greed_ in the remastered, restored version. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/15 "2007-09-13T13:09:08Z")
You saw _Chronicles of Riddick_, but have you seen its predecessor, _Pitch Black_? It’s a better movie. _Equilibrium_ is a pretty good dsytopian sci-fi thriller. I recently saw a small independent film called _Primer_ that had an interesting take on time-travel. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/16 "2007-09-13T13:11:18Z")
A movie I really like, and that not many people have seen:[Tune in Tomorrow](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100822/). Truly inspired wackiness, so much so that I forgive Keanu Reeves’s performance. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/17 "2007-09-13T13:22:39Z")
Ever seen **Dancign Outlaw**? Possible new arrival that you might have looked past (but I doubt it): **Vacancy**. I thought it was pretty tense, made more so because the villains weren’t actually superhuman, and the main characters weren’t total tards, and the director had the sense not to drag it out. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/18 "2007-09-13T14:15:40Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] Tonight, I think I’m gonna have to take home _Gigli_. I hope that it is an enlightening experience; I’m already pretty cynical about that kind of monolithic critical consensus, as a fan of both \*Showgirls \*and _The Last Action Hero._ [/QUOTE] I can’t imagine that I have seen anything that you haven’t–the most obscure film I have seen recently and can recommend is _The Reduced Shakespeare Company_–but I was wondering if you have see the blog [My Year of Flops](http://www.avclub.com/content/blog/flops) on The Onion. Nathan Rabin decided to spend a year seeing and reviewing 2 flops a week. I like reading reviews of terrible films, and I thought it might amuse or inspire you. His review of [Gigli](http://www.avclub.com/content/node/64264) , by the way, includes: “Gigli is essentially three terrible films crashing into each other and toppling over like defective bumper cars at a cut-rate carnival. It’s a post-Tarantino crime comedy filled with hyper-stylized dialogue, gratuitous profanity, and flashy monologues. It’s a romantic comedy about a mismatched couple that falls for each other while jointly facing a series of obstacles, and it’s a hopelessly maudlin would-be heart-warmer about a noble disabled man whose desire to fondle giant fake boobies brings out the best in his makeshift family” ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/19 "2007-09-13T15:13:25Z")
How much Ming-liang Tsai have you seen? _[Goodbye Dragon Inn](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377556)_ was one of my very favorite movies in its year. Very, _very_ slow, but not ponderous at all: rather, it’s as delicate as gossamer. There’s a shot toward the end, where the lights come up in a mostly empty auditorium, that’s as beautiful and moving as anything I’ve seen in many years. I suspect you’d get into it. ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037/20 "2007-09-13T15:48:37Z")
African cinema doesn’t get much attention. I dont know much about it, but I really enjoyed Djibril Diop Mambéty’s _Hyènes_ – it’s about a rich woman who returns to her Senegalese village, offering them a fortune if they kill the man who impregnated and abandoned her when she was 16. I also liked Ousmane Sembene’s _Guelwaar_ – I think his more recent film (ah, thanks Wikipedia, _Moolaadé_) got great reviews and some prize or other at Cannes, but I haven’t seen it. I’m pretty sure Netflix has all of these, so they’re on DVD. Does the USA have any kind of _local_ cinema scene, analgous to music? It sure seems like it doesn’t. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-out-of-movies/419037.md?page=2)