I came in expecting it to be bad across the board, but was really surprised by how fun and inventive it was. It doesn't work as a serious movie, but if you embrace how silly it is, it's really entertaining.
Similarly, I just watched Congo for the first time and had a similar takeaway. That's a flat out bad movie, but it's so damn fun.
A couple other gems he directed: The Outsiders (stay golden Ponyboy), and The Rainmaker. Underrated movies IMO.
He produced all his major successes, but also put out a lot of other notable films only as a producer. A couple highlights:
American Graffiti
Kagemusha (a later work of Kurosawa)
Koyaanisqatsi (and other similar sequels)
The Secret Garden
Mary Shelly's Frankenstein
Sleepy Hollow
Kinsey
The Good Shepherd
All Sophia Coppola movies (Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette, Lost in Translation).
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An underrated Coppola film imo is One From the Heart. Calgary Cinematique recently had a showing for it and it was fantastic. The whole thing is shot on a sound stage which is pretty incredible when you see an airplane fly overhead in one shot. Plus it was partly financed by Calgarian Jack Singer.
Was watching Once Upon a Time in America last night and I've got some mixed feelings about it - it was beautiful to look at and had an excellent soundtrack (the Leone-Morricone duo never fails) and the cast was fantastic. But I got lost in the plot a few times and it did seem too long. Length has been as issue with this movie since it was released - North American version was 2 hours long and it bombed critically and commercially, but the European cut (now seen as the "official cut) is FOUR hours long and hailed as a masterpiece. I thought it could stand some editing, but I guess that's the nature of art. Definitely a movie worth watching.
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Was watching Once Upon a Time in America last night and I've got some mixed feelings about it - it was beautiful to look at and had an excellent soundtrack (the Leone-Morricone duo never fails) and the cast was fantastic. But I got lost in the plot a few times and it did seem too long. Length has been as issue with this movie since it was released - North American version was 2 hours long and it bombed critically and commercially, but the European cut (now seen as the "official cut) is FOUR hours long and hailed as a masterpiece. I thought it could stand some editing, but I guess that's the nature of art. Definitely a movie worth watching.
You just can't get the scope of the story without it being 4 hours long, but in the same breath that's a remarkably over-fluffed runtime.
I remember enjoying the film, but I also remember feeling exhausted by the end of it.
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Pleasantville is a hidden gem. What a great movie. Every role is cast perfectly. Tobey and Reese, Jeff Daniels, William H Macy, Joan Allen. It has a simple but meaningful plot. It’s also every bit as relevant now as when it came out.
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Pleasantville is a hidden gem. What a great movie. Every role is cast perfectly. Tobey and Reese, Jeff Daniels, William H Macy, Joan Allen. It has a simple but meaningful plot. It’s also every bit as relevant now as when it came out.
Thats one out of left field. Yeah, that was a good movie. I havent watched that in ages.
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On the surface it seems like a really lame teen comedy. But it’s really not. As much as it’s a pretty straightforward wholesome movie, it’s got some interesting themes and is better than it has any business being.
On the surface it seems like a really lame teen comedy. But it’s really not. As much as it’s a pretty straightforward wholesome movie, it’s got some interesting themes and is better than it has any business being.
It was definitely a good little hidden gem.
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If you thought this season would have a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention.
Was watching Once Upon a Time in America last night and I've got some mixed feelings about it - it was beautiful to look at and had an excellent soundtrack (the Leone-Morricone duo never fails) and the cast was fantastic. But I got lost in the plot a few times and it did seem too long. Length has been as issue with this movie since it was released - North American version was 2 hours long and it bombed critically and commercially, but the European cut (now seen as the "official cut) is FOUR hours long and hailed as a masterpiece. I thought it could stand some editing, but I guess that's the nature of art. Definitely a movie worth watching.
Watched this over last xmas when me and the roommate did a Sergio Leone stint. It's my least favourite, personally. We watched the 4 hour version and it's definitely a haul. Everything about it is pretty much great, but the story drags and is much more just a following of a person's life (albeit, a very eventful one) than things with more of a story-like narrative. Every character is pretty irredeemable with some bad mistakes and actions and a very human existence. I feel like the point of it was to do just that, show how it was to try and make it in America (or specifically New York) in that time as a 1st generation immigrant without glossing over the ugly side of it, so it hits that mark. It's an epic for sure.
Once Upon A Time In The West is a level up IMO.
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I watched the original 1920s silent version of Nosferatu, and I loved it so much I watched it again the next day (I never do that). For a 100 year old horror movie it's not particularly scary (although a few scenes are very unsettling) but I found it oddly captivating. The score and the look of the film was totally engrossing to me. Now I really need to see the remakes
Last edited by Nadal Fan; 01-01-2025 at 09:43 PM.
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I watched the original 1920s silent version of Nosferatu, and I loved it so much I watched it again the next day (I never do that). For a 100 year old horror movie it's not particularly scary (although a few scenes are very unsettling) but I found it oddly captivating. The score and the look of the film was totally engrossing to me. Now I really need to see the remakes
Make sure you watch the 1979 version. It's really slow-moving, but it's engrossing.
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Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was good silly fun, it's interesting to have two concurrent Godzilla series running that are serious / scary allegory (current Toho films) and dumb / ridiculous sci-fi kaiju mashups (American Monsterverse). Though it's definitely a bit of a downgrade to go from King Ghidorah to Mechagodzilla to... the Scar King in this movie. Hope for the next one they bring in one of the classic baddies that hasn't got big budget screen time yet like Gigan or Destoroyah.
Does anyone have any idea where I can watch the Brutalist in theatres?
No where, yet. That Dec. 20th "release" was a super limited release in a few major US cities just to qualify for this year's Oscars. It's supposed to go wide sometime this month though, then you should be able to find it at a few regular theatres around town.
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