# Question for fellow movie snobs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 6, 2006, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543 "2006-10-06T19:40:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FaintlySmiling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FaintlySmiling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FaintlySmiling)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/21 "2006-10-08T03:25:05Z")
Well among the big budget movies, you aren’t missing too much. None are really worth seeing. At least not unless you have a sense of humor about them all, that’s when most of the funny stuff happens to come along, coming from the movie itself, or the people you’re watching it. ---
**Author:** ![staticau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@staticau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/staticau)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/22 "2006-10-08T03:46:07Z")
Matrix (all) Harry Potter (all) X-Men (all) Spiderman (all) Pirates of the Caribbean (all) Kill Bill (all) Pulp Fiction Fight Club Finding Nemo The Incredibles Saw (all) just a few ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/23 "2006-10-08T03:57:08Z")
[QUOTE=staticau] Matrix (all) Harry Potter (all) X-Men (all) Spiderman (all) Pirates of the Caribbean (all) Kill Bill (all) Pulp Fiction Fight Club Finding Nemo The Incredibles Saw (all) just a few [/QUOTE] Huh. Now, see, I’d advise people to skip the Matrix sequels like the plague. They were just dreadful. Proof that a good idea can be stretched way too thin. Also X-Men 3. The first two were good but not “snob conversion” material, the third was pretty dreadful. It’s not big budget, but had big stars and a wide release: Sin City. Incredibly stylish ultranoir. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/24 "2006-10-08T04:12:23Z")
[QUOTE=staticau] Saw (all) [/QUOTE] All three Saw movies combined cost less than $30 million. Horror movies in general are dirt cheap and rake in the cash, being one of the the most profitable genres. The Blair Witch Project was the ultimate example, but all the torture flicks (like Saw, The Hills Have Eyes, etc…) have seven digit budgets and eight digit box offices. Also, I’d be surprised if Pulp Fiction cost much at all. (They show it on IFC fer cryin’ out loud.) Your list is interesting in that it seems the younger the demographic, the more money gets dumped into the budget. Lots of kid-friendly titles. (Comic books, animated features and swashbuckling make up over half the titles, and the other half aren’t even all big budgets.) ---
**Author:** ![staticau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@staticau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/staticau)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/25 "2006-10-08T04:20:04Z")
yeah i should have removed fight club and pulp fiction ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/26 "2006-10-08T04:24:56Z")
A lot of recommendations in this thread seem to be straying away from Hollywood blockbusters, so I’ll suggest [City of God](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/city_of_god/) if you haven’t seen it. Not to be missed. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/27 "2006-10-08T05:46:45Z")
I have no idea if these fit your taste but “The Emperor’s New Groove” is an a really fun movie. Disney managed to tap into what made the 40s Looney Tunes so great. At 100 megadollars to make it qualifies. And don’t worry, it’s not a musical. And why not “Galaxy Quest” which is also really fun. But it’s quite likely our tastes just don’t match. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/28 "2006-10-08T15:24:09Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] **Charlie’s Angels 2: Full Throttle** soured me on big-budget movies for a long time, and halfway convinced me that those Dogme 95 guys had the right idea. A few movies have warmed me up to the big budget, though, but the best of them ( **King Kong, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkeban** ) really aren’t from America. What kind of budget was **Firefly** made with? [/QUOTE] I don’t know what the typical budget of an episode of \*Firefly \*was but _Serenity_, its movie sequel, was about $35M. Really low for a major studio sci-fi movie but I personally couldn’t tell. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/29 "2006-10-08T15:59:58Z")
And to actually answer the OP – looking at my four and five star rankings on Netflix and keeping it limited to major studio American movies made since 2006 with budgets over $50M (according to IMDb), I managed to come up with these: _Fight Club_ _After the Sunset_ \*\*\*\*\* \*Batman Begins \* \*Big Fish \* \*The Bourne Identity \* \*Catch Me If You Can \* \*Collateral \* _The Devil’s Advocate_ \*\*\*\*\* \*The Green Mile \* \*Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring \* \*Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King \* \*Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers \* \*Ocean’s Eleven \* \*Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl \* \*V for Vendetta \* _X2: X-Men United_ Way too many of the previous listed, while good movies, aren’t the big budget Hollywood pictures you asked for in your original post \*\*\*\*\* You can probably feel free to automatically discount these as I may be the only person to like either ever. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/30 "2006-10-08T16:21:49Z")
These aren`t within your time frame but ANGEL HEART ,will appeal to snobs but is an incredibly suspenseful film. An oldie 60s movie POINT BLANK,very chilling thriller .of course SAVING PRIVATE RYAN realistic and exciting war film and I enjoyed TRAFFIC about drug running but every one Iknew slated it !Oh and SCHINDLERS LIST though I suppose that would count as a snob film AND a big budget movie. ---
**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:** [October 8, 2006, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/31 "2006-10-08T16:31:22Z")
[QUOTE=Lust4Life] These aren`t within your time frame but ANGEL HEART ,will appeal to snobs but is an incredibly suspenseful film. [/QUOTE] I defy you to find me one “movie snob” who will defent this movie. [QUOTE=Lust4Life] An oldie 60s movie POINT BLANK,very chilling thriller . [/QUOTE] A masterpiece: op-art noir. John Boorman’s only truly great movie. [QUOTE=Lust4Life] of course SAVING PRIVATE RYAN realistic and exciting war film [/QUOTE] Irresponsible propaganda; war porn. [QUOTE=Lust4Life] and I enjoyed TRAFFIC about drug running but every one Iknew slated it ! [/QUOTE] Not bad; _Out of Sight_ is way better. _WAY._ [QUOTE=Lust4Life] Oh and SCHINDLERS LIST though I suppose that would count as a snob film AND a big budget movie. [/QUOTE] The Holocaust denier’s favorite WWII movie. [QUOTE=Stanley Kubrick] “The Holocaust is about six million people who get killed. Schindler’s List was about six hundred people who don’t.” [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/32 "2006-10-08T16:52:16Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] Irresponsible propaganda; war porn. [/quote] “We owe a lot to veterans of the second world war” is irresponsible propaganda? I beg to differ. Personally, I’d turn the film off after they got off the beach, but that’s because it turns into an utterly typical war flick. Not “war porn”. > [@](#): > > The Holocaust denier’s favorite WWII movie. It didn’t do all that much for me (although I admire it on a technical level), but I personally know several people who were able to really connect with the horror of the Holocaust on a more personal level because of this film. I don’t know where you’re coming from with this comment. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/33 "2006-10-08T18:40:38Z")
For anyone who hasn’t seen the powerful and moving Omaha Beach scene in _Saving Private Ryan_ - [Here it is](http://www.smugmug.com/photos/70712574-M.gif). It’s fair use, so no need to worry about the copyright. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/34 "2006-10-08T19:02:03Z")
[QUOTE=DaddyTimesTwo] in a sequential thread title sort of way your question has been answered. “The Departed - run don’t walk to see this movie.” [/QUOTE] Really? The reviews i’ve read of this film, mainly by folks who consider themselves serious movie critics (rather than just quote whores) have been decidedly lukewarm. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/35 "2006-10-08T20:37:44Z")
I want to third the suggestion of **Batman Begins**. I was surprised by how good it was – it actually had depth to 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:** [October 8, 2006, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/36 "2006-10-08T20:52:17Z")
[QUOTE=gallows fodder] I want to third the suggestion of **Batman Begins**. I was surprised by how good it was – it actually had depth to it. [/QUOTE] I agree; way better than it needed to be. Also, just watched _A Prairie Home Companion_. (Will be rentable on Tuesday.) Pretty dang good, and I’m not a fan of the radio show. Altman–when he’s good–is a very oldfashioned director. You can’t multitask watching an Altman movie, because there’s so much going on. With most modern movies, you can fold your laundry and do your homework while you’re watching, because the movie will grab your ass when it needs your attention. Movies nowadays are pretty much ALL “made for TV,” with the eventual rentability in mind ('fyask me). \*APHC \*rewards involvement, attention. Plus, it’s entirely about death, which is interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/37 "2006-10-08T21:03:10Z")
Has anyone mentioned _Unforgiven_ yet? A little out of your time frame but a good hollywood movie. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/38 "2006-10-08T21:05:59Z")
Not Hollywood, but how about _Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_? And then there are the various Bond movies. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/39 "2006-10-08T21:08:12Z")
[QUOTE=gallows fodder] I want to third the suggestion of **Batman Begins**. I was surprised by how good it was – it actually had depth to it. [/QUOTE] Great movie, although i think Christian Bale is great in just about anything. I haven’t seen him in Reign of Fire yet, though, which apparently sucked. ---
**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:** [October 8, 2006, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543/40 "2006-10-08T21:10:36Z")
[QUOTE=mhendo] Great movie, although i think Christian Bale is great in just about anything. I haven’t seen him in Reign of Fire yet, though, which apparently sucked. [/QUOTE] Good silly fun. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-fellow-movie-snobs/375543.md?page=3)