[FrenziedFish]

I'm starting this thread because I believe that the previous movie recommendation thread was sadly deleted, If I'm wrong on this (or it can be brought back somehow) I'll delete this thread to avoid clutter.


Film is a common topic of discussion on the forum, I'd like this thread to be where films can be recommended with a little non-spoiler information given on them so people have a good idea of what they're getting into. Other threads such as the Kino Diary can be continued to be used for longer form analysis and discussion of specific films while deeper dives into certain artists, genres, etc can have their own threads like the Nicholas Winding Refn Rising thread.



I'd like to start this thread by recommending a couple of films:

Dead Awake (2001)



This is a low budget mystery-thriller made for TV film starring Stephen Baldwin as an insomniac who sleeps through his successful job during the day and goes on the same walk every single night, stopping at an all night diner where he meets the same few familiar faces, one played by Michael Ironside who does a great conspiracist. The film's plot is driven by a rather engaging mystery but it's more to serve as a vehicle for the atmosphere and characters of the film, one which is of contented outcasts and oddities in the strange warmth of a city at night.

Green Zone (2010)



This is an action film in a very similar style to the Bourne films of the 2000s, main difference being it's based on real events and stars Damon as a regular guy. The action is more grounded and takes place in more relatable and delineated scenarios which then gives that action more of an edge than the Bourne series. The plot presents a narrative of the invasion of Iraq and it's immediate aftermath as a conflict between realists and liberal idealists which is more interesting than the general Iraq war (or war on terror) film fare.

The Hunted (2003)



This is a more minimalist action-chase film with a focus on realism and hand to hand and knife fighting. It's plot is fast and direct while carrying interesting themes, most intriguing to me being human worthiness.

[anthony]

The Hunted is a very fun film. I strongly suspect it inspired MGS3. Even if it didn't it's still the Metal Gear movie.

Cop (1988)



Based on a novel by James Ellroy. James Woods is one of my favourite actors and I'm always happy when he gets to lead a whole movie. And Ellroy was always one of us. This is a very cool, edgy movie with an incredible energy to it (probably owed equally to Ellroy and Woods). Very fun viewing. To some extent it's a cross-section of LA, its people and cultures, like most of Ellroy's work, and it's also a character piece. The protagonist is great fun. The protagonist is a brilliant man with good intentions, balanced by extraordinary cynicism and weakness to certain passions and neurosis. A great James Woods character.

Salvador (1986)



James Woods again, playing a brilliant James Woods role and making the whole movie fun and worth watching just for that alone. But more than that this is an Oliver Stone film. It has been decided in higher places that we're all doing a big run of Oliver Stone appreciation now, so why not start here? This is Stone's Boomer-dissident war epic. A much better and more interesting film than Platoon if you ask me. And perhaps more interesting now that El Salvador is in the news again for turning things around. You want to know what that country's deal was? You could look here. But this isn't that kind of film. This is the Hollywood dramatic epic of the third world struggle of the 20th century. We have sides, cultural forces, the white man, human depravity and idealism, chaos and war, everything that ought to be here feels present and rendered interesting and cinematic. Despite the sensitive subject matter at no point was I annoyed at this film. You don't need to cut this film any slack. It's a masterpiece. Perhaps one of many for Stone.

The Boys Next Door (1985)



From Penelope Spheeris, whose key fascination throughout her career was always youth and youth culture. Documentaries on Californian subcultures and troubled kids, and feature films about much the same. On one hand coming of age dramas, and on the other she did Wayne's World. This one I only learned about recently, and I think it might be her most interesting film. Spheeris developed her fascination with troubled youth in a time and place when that actually meant empathising with rich souls in pain, rather than a euphemism for giving privileged treatment to dead-eyed violent criminals. Charlie Sheen and Maxwell Caulfield play a pair of no-good teenagers feeling burned out on life as they're graduating high school. They decide to take some chances and hit the road to have some fun and prepare for the bad lot their lives have in store for them. From here things take many turns and get out of hand. All through this movie the concerns of youth feel respected. And because Spheeris has such a thing for youth she can depict the concerns of young men specifically. And in this part of California. Young white men. The movie doesn't really take much of a stand, or even necessarily have much to say. Which I believe is just respect held for the subject matter. After all, what is there to say? Again, a film with extraordinary energy. Just very fast and easy viewing and you can feel that this meant a lot even if it's not saying a lot. It's nice to feel respected.

[isotope]

I'm starting this thread because I believe that the previous movie recommendation thread was sadly deleted, If I'm wrong on this (or it can be brought back somehow) I'll delete this thread to avoid clutter.

Weren't you thinking about Kino Diary thread?

[FrenziedFish]

Want to recommend the entire Taken series, they really are tremendous action films and each obviously follows in the general pattern/moves of the first but they're all distinct. I may also make a Kino Diary post later to expound on certain things. 

Taken (2008)



This first film started (or really resurrected) a whole genre of revenge thrillers with seemingly normal characters (usually with secret agent backgrounds) at the helm. If you're aware of the film I'm sure you're aware of the un-pc topic and how far it takes it. I'd recommend it wholly for it's strong action, serviceable stakes and build-up.

Taken 2 (2012)



Taken 2 was critically panned but still did extremely well at the box office, working off of the same budget the general scope of the film is about the same but it's far more focused. The film plays with the elements of the original to the point of abstraction, which is both funny without being off putting and really quite bold. The central ideological conflict is one that is also clearer, if you're looking for it.

Taken 3 (2012)



Another assassination by know-nothing critics, but another box office success. This one takes the abstraction from 2 and goes further to its very core elements, a character exists in this basically just to observe and marvel at Neeson's character. The action is nastier, smarter, crazier, even more tied in with the series' internal logic. It's a masterpiece.

[Promise-Ring]

Have you played 'Baroque'? In particular the Sega Saturn version. They all look a bit different. Baroque is a striking work of gothic science fiction visuals. A bit of aliens maybe, but the influences seem primarily French. Very gold on black. Dilapidated. Delicatessen, City of Lost Children, 12 Monkeys.





And of course, these styles, French/European and American converge in Alien: Resurrection.

Replying to Anthony in another thread here. 

While reading through interviews with the Baroque developers I came across Kin-Dza-Dza mentioned in a sort of off hand way.

As for films, I like science-fiction movies. I feel like I tend to be anti-Hollywood, more specifically, I enjoy slightly strange science-fiction like "Wondrous Planet Kinza・Za".
[*TN - Russian film originally entitled "Kin-dza-dza!"]

To me however this is seems like it understates the visual connection between the two:















(The lights on the metal hat spin around like the Crypt Angel's masks.)






(The hats in general remind me of this thing.)









SENSE organ of God/Game design item transport sphere = KIn-dza-dza FUEL CEL

Forgive me if there are other films from the time that look just as much like Baroque as this. The only 'films that look like this' I've watched are Kin-Dza-Dza and Twelve Monkeys, though I hope to see more soon.

[FrenziedFish]

Posting three more movie recommendations

Breakfast of Champions (1999)



Film adaption of the Kurt Vonnegut novel of the same name, a used car salesman becomes obsessed with a pulp writer who he believes holds the answer to the problem of life. It has some incredible visuals as it adapts over the graphical and humorous tilt of the novel into a dreamscape vision of an American nowhere land. The performances in this are nothing but top notch as each one comes to inhabit their characters to an almost predestined level, Finney though is the standout as the pulp writer grasping towards his faded youth.

Gamer (2009)



An action sci-fi film where a tech company has taken de-facto rule of the world via the wealth and influence created by their mind control technology used in an augmented reality second-life type game along with an augmented reality deathmatch game, slayers, in both humans are controlled by others, their gamers. The plot revolves around Kable, one of these mind controlled slayers, seeking to escape his increasingly lethal battles by appealing to his gamer so he can exact revenge upon the creator of the game. This film hits so finely upon the malaise of the era to the point it seems prophetic to where it'd "grow" to, fittingly outlandish action and alien dialogue (and performances) sell the world strongly.

I Come With the Rain (2009)



A mystery thriller where Kline, troubled former police detective, is hired to discover the whereabouts of a reclusive pharmaceutical executive's son. The film revolves around Kline's trouble to overcome an encounter with a serial killer he investigated as a police detective as he begins to uncover the possibly other-worldly nature of the lost son. Lovely use of digital cinematography here to produce striking imagery and flowing montage amongst the depravity paired along with the intentionally odd narrative and dialogue style end up coming together for a uniquely refreshing picture.

[kythustra]

Gamer (2009)



An action sci-fi film where a tech company has taken de-facto rule of the world via the wealth and influence created by their mind control technology used in an augmented reality second-life type game along with an augmented reality deathmatch game, slayers, in both humans are controlled by others, their gamers. The plot revolves around Kable, one of these mind controlled slayers, seeking to escape his increasingly lethal battles by appealing to his gamer so he can exact revenge upon the creator of the game. This film hits so finely upon the malaise of the era to the point it seems prophetic to where it'd "grow" to, fittingly outlandish action and alien dialogue (and performances) sell the world strongly.

I remember watching this at thirteen and feeling that it was so *raw*. Feeling like the world is malleable and there is actual danger in it. Partly because of the film itself, but moreso that *making* something so raw shows that you can go off the plantation.

[kythustra]

I picked these three because there's something fresh in each one. Something that you don't see in other places, and that hasn't been done before or since.

The Skin I Live In

This film looks as though you took Giorgio de Chirico's paintings and crafted the aesthetic into a movie. I believe there are direct references to his work. It looks unbelievably good; the color palette is cozy and dangerous.

It tells the story of an ambitious surgeon and a twisted love between himself and a patient. The violence is exquisite, and the feeling you get when watching it is alien. I would compare the mood to the second season of the White Lotus, wherein there is no moral center, but rather the clashing of titanic personalities. I usually find that "spoiling" a movie doesn't detract from its enjoyment, but in this case you should watch it without looking up anything beforehand. This one is a "BAP" kind of movie, with some subdued sadism, and at its height, an affirmation of intense human desire.













Day of the jackal

A classic spy assassin thriller. The story is rather straightforward, but it's always fun to see a competent white man get the job done. I love this one because it clings to reality. Often with newer spy movies, you get an untethered sense that the hero is invincible, or that there's no connection between cause and effect. Not with this. Each moment lands precariously, and the tension is subtle. I watched it because it was in the Mystery Grove film list.








Sorcerer

Another Mystery Grove recommendation. There is an overwhelming sense of dread throughout the film. It takes place in a jungle, and it really leans into the jungleness. The pacing is very unusual, it balances tight action with drawn out sequences of high tension. This is not a movie to fall asleep to. It's a remake of the film The Wages of Fear, but a very different take on the same plot.