Movie Recommendations

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

I think there are serious SF films still being made; K-Pax, The Island, Equilibrium, Gatacca, Frequency, District 9, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Avalon etc.
How about Wall-E? I thought that was a great film (though my nephews hated it) - it had some serious ideas.
I'd also say the Matrix films are thought-provoking.
I watched '9' the other day and that was pretty good.

The only film I even remotely enjoyed in that list is Gattacca, and even then I admired it more for its mis en scene than I did the story (I'm a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright). Wall-E annoyed the hell out of me. Haven't seen 9 yet.

[Spoon Man]

Probably one of my favorite movies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_aogdzi0gQ

[Moejoe]

Originally Posted by Spoon Man

Probably one of my favorite movies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_aogdzi0gQ

Gran Torino was amazing. Eastwood has always commanded attention, but in Torino it was like watching a volcano slowly erupting over time. As though you were privvy to Dirty Harry in his later years. There's a similar film set in England with Michael Caine, but it's far more disturbing. It's called Harry Brown.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Javed

I liked K-Pax and have previously read all the K-Pax books before seeing it.

I also saw 9 the other day and thought it was quite original. How each number was an aspect of the creators soul was quite interesting. It was different and I rather enjoyed seeing it. They represented all that was left of humanity.

I saw K-Pax the other day and enjoyed it. It was very similar to the fantastic 1986 Argentine film, Man Facing Southeast, which was also about a man in a mental institution who claimed to from another planet. (Man Facing Southeast predated both the K-Pax novel and movie.)

[Sparrow]

An excellent recent documentary was 'Man on Wire'.

[Mindy]

I saw Avatar last night (in 3D). Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Not exactly original, but so well put together (and absolutely stunning) that you can overlook that.

The 3D trailer for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland looked fab too.

[Javed]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I saw K-Pax the other day and enjoyed it. It was very similar to the fantastic 1986 Argentine film, Man Facing Southeast, which was also about a man in a mental institution who claimed to from another planet. (Man Facing Southeast predated both the K-Pax novel and movie.)

Tom, thanks for recommending Man Faces Southeast. I looked up more about it at wikipedia and it seems like it will a very interesting psychological sci-fi to see. Indeed, it seems this is the more original concept of an alien in a psych ward.

Little known outside Argentina, Man Facing Southeast received wider exposure upon the 2001 release of Universal Pictures' K-PAX, whose similarity to the Argentine title (whose author and director, Eliseo Subiela, was not credited) was unmistakable to film enthusiasts and critics, among them Robert Koehler of Variety and Bob Strauss of the Los Angeles Times, both of whom expressed surprise at K-PAX author Gene Brewer's contention that Man Facing Southeast was unfamiliar to him. Film critics at MSNBC, for their part, commented that "both films are quite similar, though Man Facing Southeast is more ingenious and enigmatic.

I will be watching this movie soon. Hopefully it will be "ingenious and enigmatic".

[Javed]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

An excellent recent documentary was 'Man on Wire'.

I have seen Man on Wire and can also say it is excellent. The lengths this man and his team go to just to get on top of the building are astonishing in themselves. He really pushes beyond the limits of fear, self-doubt and externally imposed boundaries. Seeing him up so high between those towers is truly a remarkable feat; this man is truly inspiring!

[hidari]

PINK FLAMINGOS

DIRECTED BY JOHN WATERS

Originally Posted by Javed

I have seen Man on Wire and can also say it is excellent. The lengths this man and his team go to just to get on top of the building are astonishing in themselves. He really pushes beyond the limits of fear, self-doubt and externally imposed boundaries. Seeing him up so high between those towers is truly a remarkable feat; this man is truly inspiring!

[Laz116]

Lot of good movie suggestions here... in particular I'd like to see Man on a Wire.

a recommendation:



I think, it's the most visually creative and profound movie I probably have ever seen. It may not be the best, but the creativity used to tell the story is just amazing.


Oh yeah and I hated Wall-E btw. Hope UP is better.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Javed

Tom, thanks for recommending Man Faces Southeast. I looked up more about it at wikipedia and it seems like it will a very interesting psychological sci-fi to see. Indeed, it seems this is the more original concept of an alien in a psych ward. I will be watching this movie soon. Hopefully it will be "ingenious and enigmatic".

Check out this post as well. K-Pax wasn't the only movie to borrow from Man Facing Southeast. The 1993 movie Mr. Jones flat-out ripped off the famous scene from Man Facing Southeast where Rantés goes to a Beethoven concert and takes over the conductor's duties. The producers of the Richard Gere film even used that scene in their promos!

[WT Sharpe]

I just found a clip from Man Facing Southeast that includes that AWESOME scene where Rantés conducts the Chorale from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony!!! I guess I should have been looking for it by its Spanish title all along: Hombre Mirando al Sudeste.

The real fun starts 2 minutes and 16 seconds into the clip.

[Solitaire1]

Off the top of my head, there are two movies I can recommend:

- They Were 11: An anime sci-fi mystery movie. Ten cadets are sent aboard a space station for a test. But after they arrive, they find out there are 11 of them, and no one among the 10 cadets knows who the extra person is (when the arrived on the station each cadet was wearing head-to-toe space suits that completely hid their appearance), or why they are there.

- Moontrap: An excellent sci-fi movie starring Walter Koenig. Although it's not a massive epic movie, it tells a great story and I found this movie very engaging to the very end.

They Were 11 has been released on DVD, but as far as I know Moontrap has only been released on VHS and Laserdisc.

[Javed]

@Laz116
I looked up Hunger after seeing the youtube clip you posted.

Hunger follows life in the Maze Prison, Northern Ireland with an interpretation of the highly emotive events surrounding the 1981 IRA Hunger Strike, led by Bobby Sands. With an epic eye for detail, the film provides a timely exploration of what happens when body and mind are pushed to the uttermost limit.

This seems like it will be an interesting movie to see. Thanks for mentioning about it.

[Javed]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I just found a clip from Man Facing Southeast that includes that AWESOME scene where Rantés conducts the Chorale from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony!!! I guess I should have been looking for it by its Spanish title all along: Hombre Mirando al Sudeste.

The real fun starts 2 minutes and 16 seconds into the clip.

I watched the entire youtube clip you posted. It was amazing how he first got everyone dancing and then how he got up to conduct. When he first started I thought the musicians weren't going to respond to him. Au contraire, not only did they respond but the entire audience and the entire psych ward went crazy (not sure if they were already crazy). I will definitely be seeing this soon. (I have a copy of it now )