not a creation/evolution thread

[46AND2]

I realize that this thread is not in the right place, but this is where I have conversed over the last several years, and pretty much the only thread I frequent on these forums, so...

I enjoy finding diamond in the rough movies. I went to my brother's place the other day, and he and his fiance were watching The Legend of 1900. She asked, "Where did you find this movie?" And my brother replied that I had found it when I worked for Hollywood video. Tim Roth is awesome.

So, what say you? Have you seen an unheralded movie recently (or not so recently) which I should watch? I like all genres if the dialogue is good, and sci/fi, fantasy, comedy, action/thriller and horror even if the dialogue lacks. Here are a few more you probably haven't seen, but should:

Igby Goes Down--fantastic dialogue, good cast
Equilibrium--Christian Bale, Farenheit 451 type story
Rescue Dawn--another Bale movie...POW war flick
Brokedown Palace--young Kate Beckinsale, Claire Danes. Well acted. Bout a couple of girls who get framed for drug smuggling to Thailand (or some country extremely tough on such crimes; been a while, can't remember the exact locale.)
Enemy at the Gates--war movie with Jude Law and Rachel Weisz
Following--Believe it was by the director of Pi, which is also a unique, watchable film, but not everyone's cup of tea

 

[AV1611VET]

Them!
The Giant Claw
The Crawling Eye
The Forbidden Planet
Fiend without a Face
It Came From Outer Space

 

[46AND2]

Them!
The Giant Claw
The Crawling Eye
The Forbidden Planet
Fiend without a Face
It Came From Outer Space

Classic horror/sci/fi fan, av? I'd not have guessed that.

 

[AV1611VET]

Classic horror/sci/fi fan, av? I'd not have guessed that.

I grew up on those!

 

[46AND2]

I grew up on those!

I've heard of most of those, but have yet to watch any. I will put it on my weekend list to tackle some of your list. Thank you.

 

[AV1611VET]

I've heard of most of those, but have yet to watch any. I will put it on my weekend list to tackle some of your list. Thank you.

Wife says to watch The Music Man.

 

[46AND2]

Wife says to watch The Music Man.

lol@ the headslap emoticon.

But I even enjoy a good sappy musical, believe it or not.

 

[PsychoSarah]

My favorite horror movie is John Carpenter's The Thing. Circa de 1982, and its special effects still hold up well. Oh man, and when you see the concept art for the movie, it makes you wish so much that it was better funded, and amazed at how well they matched it despite budgetary problems and shortage of time. Heck, it withstands the HD barrier than the early Lord of the Rings movies by a landslide.

Just don't make the mistake of viewing the atrocious 2011 prequel. The CGI is terrible, most of the actors are lackluster, and they have freaking people wearing hipster style clothes in a movie that supposedly takes place in 1982. Even the writing ruins the entire concept of the antagonist by making it behave pretty randomly.

The Evil Dead series is pretty great too; The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, and even the more terror oriented 2013 Evil Dead are well worth watching, with the first giving that sort of low budget horror movie feel, and the two coming after it just having so much fun with the humor. The most recent one is actually pretty darn good as a straight up horror movie, and the references to the previous films, while noticeable, do not detract from the tension in the slightest.

What's nice about both the 2013 Evil Dead and John Carpenter's The Thing is that these horror movies are no less effective when watched with friends than they are when you watch them by yourself. In fact, I'd say The Thing is more disturbing when watched in a group.

None of these movies are for people that are squeamish, but they are great horror movies for people like me that hate the often gratuitous and unnecessary sex scenes that are so common in horror movies.

 

[PsychoSarah]

Wife says to watch The Music Man.

Oh god, where's the gun-pointed-at-head emoji when you need it? I hate musicals. Even as a kid, whenever the animated characters started singing, I'd awkwardly leave the room and peek in from time to time to see if it was over. It wasn't about the songs being good or bad, it's just that so many come out of nowhere.

 

[Subduction Zone]

lol@ the headslap emoticon.

But I even enjoy a good sappy musical, believe it or not.

I worked on lighting for high school plays so I too can appreciate a good sappy musical. I also enjoy stupid funny movies at times. I saw Pee Wee Herman's Big Adventure when it came out and it killed me. I knew that all of the jokes were appallingly idiotic, yet I could not help myself. I was actually relieved that the movie had a slow spot in the middle. I had been laughing so hard that my stomach muscles got tired. Would it still be funny thirty years later? Probably not. But I might give it a try.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Oh god, where's the gun-pointed-at-head emoji when you need it? I hate musicals. Even as a kid, whenever the animated characters started singing, I'd awkwardly leave the room and peek in from time to time to see if it was over. It wasn't about the songs being good or bad, it's just that so many come out of nowhere.

There are two approaches to music in a performance. They can be simply part of the performance, the singers show no sign that they are aware of their singing. This can range from high art to low art, from the Ring Cycle to the lowest budget animation that you can think of. Broadway musicals are somewhere in between.

 

[PsychoSarah]

There are two approaches to music in a performance. They can be simply part of the performance, the singers show no sign that they are aware of their singing. This can range from high art to low art, from the Ring Cycle to the lowest budget animation that you can think of. Broadway musicals are somewhere in between.

Even Disney can put me off. I left the room during the singing parts in The Little Mermaid. I'm less affected by it as an adult than I was as a kid, but I still don't usually like the singing parts, and I absolutely cannot stand it when the work is entirely in song.

My favorite type of film, which is horror, is nigh incompatible with musical numbers, and I can't think of a single pure horror movie (no comedy label) that has a musical number beyond characters in the film watching another film.

 

[Hoghead1]

I'm a well-schooled amateur musician (French horn and conducting). I've played many musicals. However, I prefer classical music. I like opera. To relax, I sometimes go to youtube and look at performances of Wagner, especially his Ring Cycle. Then I sit there and air conduct tight along. So [people play air guitar, I air conduct.

 

[sfs]

lol@ the headslap emoticon.

But I even enjoy a good sappy musical, believe it or not.

Not sappy, but a musical: The Last Five Years. Low-budget, two person show, but both are really good.

 

[essentialsaltes]

So, what say you? Have you seen an unheralded movie recently (or not so recently) which I should watch? I like all genres if the dialogue is good, and sci/fi, fantasy, comedy, action/thriller and horror even if the dialogue lacks.

[On AV's list, start with Forbidden Planet. I would add When Worlds Collide, the Day the Earth Stood Still, and War of the Worlds for stuff of that era]

PsychoSarah is absolutely right about John Carpenter's The Thing. I think it's now my favorite SF/F/H movie. Favorite movie of all time: Amadeus.

Others that leap to mind:

Moon (2009)
Session 9
The Wicker Man (original with Christopher Lee)
The Resurrected, based on The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by my main man HPL.
The Whisperer in Darkness (2011, but shot as though it were made in the 1930s) (more importantly, I'm an extra in the debate scene)
A Fish Called Wanda
Real Genius
Withnail and I
Primer (2004)

 

[46AND2]

[On AV's list, start with Forbidden Planet. I would add When Worlds Collide, the Day the Earth Stood Still, and War of the Worlds for stuff of that era]

PsychoSarah is absolutely right about John Carpenter's The Thing. I think it's now my favorite SF/F/H movie. Favorite movie of all time: Amadeus.

Others that leap to mind:

Moon (2009)
Session 9
The Wicker Man (original with Christopher Lee)
The Resurrected, based on The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by my main man HPL.
The Whisperer in Darkness (2011, but shot as though it were made in the 1930s) (more importantly, I'm an extra in the debate scene)
A Fish Called Wanda
Real Genius
Withnail and I
Primer (2004)

Thanks for the list. Good call on Primer. Was a surprisingly good movie.

 

[Subduction Zone]

I sometimes watch Japanese samurai movies. Not the newer ones, the older ones that were rather like westerns. I remember the first time I watched Yojimbo, as I watched it I knew that I had seen it somewhere before. I finally realized that it had the exact same plot as A Fistful of Dollars, the movie that launched Clint Eastwood's movie career. I found out later that Fistful was a copy of Yojimbo, without giving any credit or paying any fees to the makers and owners of Yojimbo. That suit caused a delay in the U.S. release of Fistful. And they rightfully lost and ended paying for their infringement. There are at least two other versions of this movie, Bruce Willis's Last Man Standing and one G-awful one by David Carradine of Kung Fu fame that you can see for free on YouTube. Please note, I did not use the term G-awful for the Bruce Willis version so you know how bad that Carradine one is going to be. If you like terrible representations of classics you will love that movie.

Still love Toshiro Mafune and Kurosawa.

 

[essentialsaltes]

I sometimes watch Japanese samurai movies. Not the newer ones, the older ones that were rather like westerns. I remember the first time I watched Yojimbo, as I watched it I knew that I had seen it somewhere before. I finally realized that it had the exact same plot as A Fistful of Dollars...

.

Similarly, The Magnificent Seven is a remake of The Seven Samurai. Both are great films.

Still love Toshiro Mafune and Kurosawa.

Yup.

 

[Subduction Zone]

.

Similarly, The Magnificent Seven is a remake of The Seven Samurai. Both are great films.



Yup.

Yup, and Hollywood learned its lesson. The Mag Seven acknowledges where they got their story from.

 

[AV1611VET]

True story:

Years ago my wife and I went on vacation, and the movie Mighty Morphin Power Rangers came out.

I insisted on going to see it, and my wife ... mortified ... wanted us to find some kid in line and pay his way into the movie so it would look like we were taking our son to a movie.

I vetoed her, and she sat through the movie about ten shades of red, while I cheered the Rangers on under my breath.