Shortly after starting my new job, I signed up for Netflix. Getting movies in the mail is my idea of heaven. After 3 relatively dry years, it has been like water falling on parched earth. In the last 2 weeks, I have seen 10 movies.
In order, I have seen:
- Ran (Akira Kurosawa - retelling of King Lear set in samurai era Japan)
- City of God (Cidade de Deus) (Brazilian movie set in the favelas)
- Before Sunrise
- Before Sunset
- You Can Count on Me (I love Laura Linney!)
- Annie Hall
- Trainspotting
- Ma Vie en Rose
- Six Feet Under, Season 1, Disc 1
- Croupier (Clive Owen = yes, please. And he spends many, many scenes in a tuxedo. Swoon++)
Hopefully, I will watch Devdas before the weekend is out.
I will tell you about a small disappointment. My friend Betsy briefly dated an utterly useless guy (we called him Mark, but his name was actually Scott - or the other way around?) Anyway, one of the few things he was useful for is this little story: Betsy parallel parked the car, and asked Mark/Scott if she was in the spot. He replied "Well, we can walk to the curb from here."
Genius!! Unfortunately, that little wry moment has been undercut for me because, as it turns out, that is a line from Annie Hall. Sigh. It's still witty and all, but somehow less so when it is Woody Allen instead of Mark/Scott.
My Netflix queue currently has 148 titles in it. But what it's really yearning for? Your recommendations. I'm not giving you homework, but I'd love to hear a few (or more!) of your favorite movies.
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13 comments:
Ghost in the Shell. Even thought its anime, I highly recommend it for its though provoking ethical and moral aspects. Its like blade runner so check it out.
I love Laura Linney too!
Hmm... my favorite movies tend to be pretty bad. But have you ever seen The City of Lost Children? You might like that one.
Try 'Talk to her'. It's lovely!
Here's what's scary - I'VE SEEN (or will soon see) ALL OF THOSE!!
Ghost in the Shell I've seen twice, because I saw it the first time at 3 am. It was still trippy and amazing the second time.
City of Lost Children is high up the Netflix queue because it is a friend's favorite movie.
Talk to Her I watched because I love, love, love All About My Mother - another Almadovar (sp?) movie.
Ah so you like the anime :-)
They show a cartoon series of Ghost in the Shell on Cartoon Network these days and its pretty good too.
I've been doing the Netflix thing for awhile, and I've been watching a lot of TV series that are off the air (I don't want to get hooked on anything that may still be on TV).
I lurve You can count on me-- Laura Linney AND Mark Ruffalo. Le sigh.
Have you seen Il Postino? It's a big old pile of cheese, but it's one of my favorite movies nonetheless.
If you'd like to get yourself good and disturbed, I would also recommend Maria Full of Grace.
Son of a *$#@!?#... why must you have a cat?
oodles: There's no real danger of me getting hooked on TV - I don't have one. I watched the first season of 24 on DVD...and I kept watching past the point of severe sleep deprivation/nauseating headache/eyes bleeding. How do people watch one episode a week??? I'd tear my hair out!
brimful The cat's not the only impediment (although, it's a big one.) Unless you felt like snuggling up with me to watch my laptop screen - you'd be out of luck.
brimful, cont. - I *loved* Il Postino!! I've been very...wary of Maria, Full of Grace. I'm still recovering from my law school attitude of "nothing depressing, nothing with a "message"."
In that case, allow me to recommend The 40-year old virgin when it comes on Netflix. It's fantastico, non-depressing, although it might have some kind of message somewhere along there.
Take a pass on Maria until later.
I took a look at my old Netflix rentals to try to come up with some recommendations, and realized that I've disliked most of the movies I've rented recently. But here's what I came up with:
1. Etre et Avoir (this is really slow, but I loved it.)
2. Infernal Affairs (I haven't watched a lot of HK thriller-type movies, but I thought this was good.)
3. The Station Agent
These are a few movies that I liked, but that a lot of people would probably hate:
1. Eulogy
2. Blowin' Smoke
3. Elephant
4. Happy Accidents
5. Kal Ho Naa Ho
If you're looking for TV shows to rent, I love Freaks and Geeks. (I actually own it, if you want to borrow it.)
My taste is kind of weird, so sorry if none of this is helpful.
I'd love to have a Netflix account right now, but my head is being twisted this way and that (sorry for the lack of explanation - it really is!). Still, here are some picks that you might like:
1. Girl on the Bridge (French flick starring the inimitable Vanessa Paradis and craggy-faced Daniel Auteuil)
2. The Purple Rose of Cairo (the perfect Woody Allen film for movie-lovers, lovers of movies, love in the movies, etc.)
3. Strictly Ballroom (classic Baz Luhrmann)
4. The Lady Eve (screwball comedy #1)
5. It Happened One Night (screwball comedy #2)
6. Dark City (one of the few sci-fi type flicks I lurve)
7. Night on Earth (Jim Jarmusch at his best, IMO)
8. Belle de Jour (another Frenchie great with that face for the ages, Catherine Deneuve, paired with the great surrealist, Luis Bunuel)
9. The Third Man (cameo Orson Welles appearance nearly steals the show)
10. Touch of Evil (okay, okay - you can tell I'm a film theory geek, but this Orson Welles'-directed flick is really creepy)
11. A Room With a View (lush romantic period film from those who know best, Merchant-Ivory-Jhabvala)
12. and if you haven't seen it, please do because it's so silly it's bound to make you snort outloud: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
Any of you guys seen Steamboy? Definitely a fun anime must-see, along the lines of Akira, but without a lot of the disturbing imagery.
And how could you all skip my all-time favorite movie, Empire of the Sun? Spielberg at his purest, finest.
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