Dirty Recommendations
 

In the vein of Headset's "Sola Sistims Favourite song of the day" and Bound's "I'm currently reading...", i thought Treatment might benefit from a hat where we can all throw recommendations people's way with varying degrees of explanation.


I'll start it off with Race with the Devil, starring Peter Fonda and Peckinpah staple Warren Oates as a couple buddies who take their wives on a RV vacation and accidentally witness a satanic ritual killing. The satanites then proceed to chase after them and this movie has perhaps the best tagline ever: When you race with the devil, you'd better be faster than hell.

Lots of car chase-y stuff, lots of Fonda and Oates being cool, lots of screaming wives and weird-looking yokels. There's even a rattlesnake scene and boy is it intense... so if you're bored and looking for a rental, consider this one watchworthy.

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I'll kick it off with three of my favorite totally obscure movies:

Cemetery Man (AKA Dellamore Dellamorte): Rupert Everett stars as a graveyard groundskeeper who, beknownst only to him and his grunting manchild assistant, is charged with the tiresome nightly task of re-killing and re-burying the ones that return from the dead (he doesn't report it because of the paperwork involved), meanwhile grimly pondering the meaning of life and death and quietly obsessing over a mysterious woman who keeps entering his increasingly odd life in increasingly odd ways. It's a combination of art film, dark comedy, and zombie gore flick the likes of which I've never seen. It's currently only available on VHS, but Anchor Bay has been dangling a possible DVD release in front of me for years, which keeps getting pushed back. Your local rental place might have it if you're lucky.

Extreme Prejudice: Nick Nolte and Powers Boothe star as childhood best friends who ended up on opposite sides of the law and fell for the same woman (a cheesy but venerable setup) in a rowdy, shamelessly testosterone-fueled modern-day western. William Forsythe is amazing in a small supporting role. Again, this lacks a decent DVD release. You can get it, but it's not even in widescreen!

Withnail & I: This one actually has a Criterion Collection release, thank the lord, but it still seems like nobody I meet has seen it. It's one of my all-time favorite films. It's a morose comedy about two out-of-work actors in 1969 London who decide to escape from their miserable life by taking a vacation to a rich uncle's country home... which leads to utter disaster. Filled with memorably eccentric minor characters and brilliant, quotable dialogue, it's one to watch over and over. (Trivia: Orbital sampled the line "Even a stopped clock gives the right time twice a day" from this film.)

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here's some fun stuff.

Spellbound: A documentary (actually true, however feels like a Christopher Guest movie) about the national spelling bee in the US. I think it's really really funny and disturbing--but keep in mind....it's actually true.

Welcome to the Dollhouse: Very funny. Very disturbing. I'm usually the one in the theatre that's cracking up when everyone else is disgusted. "how can he SAY that?"

The Shining: if you haven't seen it....hehe...watch the original trailer first. one of the best trailers i've EVER seen. period. movie is good too.

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You mean, this trailer?

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Sunset Blvd.

Creepy film that explores what happens to ex-stars.

Listen to 'Antarctica Starts Here' by John Cale after watching it for a musical wrap-up of the movie.

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just watched the 1978 take of
Invasion of the Bodysnatchers.
i forgot just how creepy that movie is.

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The last three films playing on my DVD player. They're also three of my favorite films that would be found on a list of my top 15-25 films.

Me and you and everyone we know: The first film by Miranda July that came out this past summer. A wonderful, humorous and touching film. It's being released on DVD October 11th. Here is a link to the thread discussing the film earlier this summer on the forums.

THX-1138 (director's cut and original cut): George Lucas's first film that is quite good. Thanks to the inventive and enterprising bittorrent community over at myspleen.net I was able to get a DVD copy of the original cut of the film before Mr. Lucas went back and meddled with the film about a year ago, releasing his new 'director's cut' of the film. However, it must be noted that this was the one instance where Mr. Lucas meddled with his film and it wasn't detrimental to the film as a whole like the original star wars films.

Chungking Express: Wong Kar-Wai's fourth film that made a large splash for him on the international scene. A very simple film split into two seperate stories dealing with desire, loss, and longing. I really like this film.

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Obscure in the states perhaps but we Brits love this film. So many classic lines. And all so fucking funny.

"We've gone on holiday by mistake."

"If you hit me, it's murder."

"We shall have cake and fine wine. The finest wines known to man."

"I shall have you even if it need be buglary!"

"MONTY YOU CUNT."

etc.

I like Midnight Run - "I've got 2 words for you. Shut the fuck up." and Glengarry Glenn Ross "Fuck you etc".

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Don't be a Menace starring the Wayans brothers

Great parodie on other "black" movies like "Menace to Society", "Juice" and "Boyz in the Hood". It's nothing like that shitmovie "Whitechicks"...were the Wayans also starred in.
Just a laugh!

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barfly with mickey rourke - so, so many good lines - a real tale of descent!

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I recommend Z One if the best political movies I've seen in a few years. I loved it.

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For a nice not-too-difficult-to-understand action movie, watch Boondock Saints, nice how you first see ''after the murder scenes" and AFTER that you can see how it happened.

Requiem For A Dream, watch a guy, his mother (or grandmother?), his girlfriend and a friend of his (one of the Wayans who also stars in Don't Be A Menace) going way too far into the world of drugs. I don't watch many films but this one REALLY REALLY grabbed me. When the movie is over I keep a depressed feeling, very weird that a movie can do that to me. Very impressive! A must see.

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I bought this dvd a few years ago, but have never finished it. Had to turn it off after 30 minutes because I thought it was too damn weird. Maybe I should give it another chance....
The thing that initially caught my eye was the Tarantino reference.... :o

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I'll second Me and You and Everyone We Know.

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Stephen I think you forgot GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN!

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I think the second story is better (at least more straight forward; maybe not better) than the first; so you really should go back and take a look.

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I second Requeim for a Dream!:cool:

and add:

>>DALLAS 362<<

It stars Scott Caan and Shawn Hatosy and it's a fucking blast. Very real conversations (like Tarrantino minus the nerdy hollywood stuff) and genuine laughs throughout. The supporting actors (Jeff Goldblum for one;) ) are all kick ass and wonderfully weird.

Check it out you'll be glad.:)

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fear and loathing in las vegas

probaley the best dope movie with "stars" in

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I'd like to think that most dirts have already seen Fear and Loathing, but I guess it's worth mentioning just in case someone hasn't, because it is one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of human expression. And also funny.

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The Last life in Universe... such a great weird film.

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hmm..
some of my favorite movies would have to be:
Anchorman: this is a rather funny comedy. soooo many good quotes.
Garden State: this is one hell of a weird/quirky movie.quite funny in parts.

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I follow this one.. gorgeous movie!!

and well for everyone interested on reach the top of the top and the meaning of existence.. My favorite new movie and one of the best all time!:

I *heart* Huckabees!!!!

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All anime recommendations:

Perfect Blue - very creepy film; deals with a falling pop star and the people dying all around her.
Spirited Away - Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece as far as I'm concerned.
My Neighbor Totoro - it may be a family film, but Miyazaki can make them absolutely amazing.
The Grave of the Fireflies - feeling too happy lately? Then watch this film and be utterly depressed. ;) (Seriously, this is a fantastic film about two Japanese orphans during WWII.)
Ghost in the Shell - watch the new edition on DVD (the one with the silver cover); it has a better dub, which helps in understanding this cyberpunk classic.
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie - just for the hell of it; can't go wrong with interplanetary bounty hunters. :cool:

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As long as we're talking Anime, we must not forget Akira, which still holds my prize for best animation ever, as well as being just a really good movie... especially now that you can actually get a decent translation. Miyazaki is cool and all, but don't forget the classics!

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HERE HERE!!

I LOVE THIS FILM as well and totally agree with Jerry. Such a great and amazing film. It's on the list.

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Yeah, I watched Akira for the first time when it was released on two-disc DVD however long ago, and to be honest, I wasn't impressed. Considering it was made in the mid-80s, the animation was superb and still holds up, but I wasn't in awe of it as I'm sure most people were when it came out. And I didn't think the story was that amazing either. I'm not saying it was a bad film or that it's not a classic; I just wasn't impressed by it in the 21st century.

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i still contend that the first half of Akira is great but I've never liked the second half much... too much yelling of names.


This post is gonna be several mini-reviews for a bunch of movies I saw recently that I liked. i recommend each one if/when you can see them.

Domino Tony Scott continues to explore his shotgun-blast style of coverage, going just as crazy now as Oliver Stone went when he did NBK and JFK and Nixon. So don't expect shots to last any longer than 5 seconds... but if you go for that particular style of storytelling, this is a really really fun movie. Hot Chicks, Guns, and mescalin... what more do you really need?

Wolf Creek This is an Australian horror film that's about a group of kids that... you know... get terrorized. What's great about this movie though is that it manages to avoid a good 90% of the cliches and pitfalls that are now racing through your head. Who knows, maybe it's because it's Australian, but it never devolves into the current hollywood cookie cutter of what horror films are like nowadays. I was reminded more of films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and especially The Hills Have Eyes for it's pacing and character. Really good film.

Strings This is a marionette epic... I think it's Dutch or Norwegian or something... somewhere up there but I managed to see a French print with an english audio track. From what I understand though, it's out on DVD and rentable. What makes this film so cool, and believe me it's REALLY cool, is that the marionettes have a complete mythology and belief system around their strings, tying them directly to their mortality. The film explores this concept as a worldview while simultaneously following this huge storyline with opposing armies at war and political strife and all kinds of stuff. There are these beautiful shots up at the sky, above the trees and everything, where you can see thousands and thousands of strings going down to control each marionette. You see how they die, how they are born, how they get hurt and heal, how they live in this world where they fully acknowledge their dependence on these strings but at the same time act with complete free will. It's a really wild ride and well worth seeing.

Feast The project greenlight movie... It's good fun for a midnight movie or a drunken movie or something like that. Don't expect shakespeare or anything, but if you let yourself open up to it and just enjoy it for what it is, it's a pretty fun time.

Zathura Favreau's new one from the same guy who wrote Jumanji and The Polar Express. It's certainly kind of like Jumanji in that there's a boardgame involved and kids play it and get into magical danger, but the tone of the movie, the theme of the movie and most importantly the quality of the movie are all much different (in most cases better). The two kids do an absolutely excellent job, especially the younger one, and the whole space/50s sci-fi theme to it works really well. Kids probably already want to check it out but it's still enjoyable for people like me (27).

P.S. I don't think anyone read them when i was at QT6 but just in case some of you did, I'm currently in the midst of something called FantasticFest that's going on here in Austin. It's basically a 4-day film festival showing only horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and post-apocalyptic films. These recommendations are basically what I saw during this first day (I saw Domino last Sunday). These mini-reviews came out of entries I made to my movie journal, so if you're at all interested in more details or more films in this vein then you can check them out by hittting up THIS PAGE throughout the weekend.

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That's funny, cos i have it the other way around.

I absolutely loved Akira, and i still do. The only bad thing about it is that every other Anime movie that i've seen later on has paled in comparison...
Nothing has made such an impact on me like Akira did.

TETSUOOOO!

KANEDAAAAA!

AAAAAAAAGH!

:D (that's for u, b. miller)

Re: Dirty Recommendations
 

I've waited for Wolf Creek ever since i first heard the reviews... It's supposedly very disturbing and shocking, which is pretty much up my alley. :)

Another horror movie that i desperately want to see is The Descent, which has enjoyed rave reviews. It's also a British movie so it might avoid the hollywood horror cliche bullshit, much like Wolf Creek did. I hear that 2005 has been in fact the best year for horror movies for ages... That's great.

As to Domino, i also want to see that one. I was a huge fan of Man On Fire, and i've always liked Tony's distinct visual style. Man On Fire appealed to me greatly cos of it's unforgiving nature, and also the acting was very first class IMO. (Dakota Fanning was stellar, and Denzel Washington slammed another powerhouse performance) Not too sure about Keira Knightley in Domino though, but i'm willing to give it a go.

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yeah give it a go... she's pretty badass as Domino.

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On the Japanese track it sounds like he's saying Canada.

Millenium Actress is a great anime. No dub though.

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if you have seen or not, it's a recommendation, isn't it :)

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I saw The Proposition today. It's a gritty, brutal western set in the early colonial days of Australia, and I found it to be an amazingly powerful film. The performances by everyone, Guy Pearce and Ray Winstone in particular, are fantastic.. the visuals, oh my god, the visuals are spectacularly beautiful, showing off an arid, hellish side to outback Australia.

It's quite a violent film, but it's seldomly gratuitous and it never revels in it. The ending shook me up quite a bit. Highly recommended.

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Same here. Other movies come and go, but I never get tired of Akira. To me, the second half is the best part. The scene where Kaneda and Tetsuo relive their childhood friendship after having tried to kill each other is in my opinion one of the most powerful scenes in film history. I've seen it over and over and it never loses its impact. I guess it's a personal thing.

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Fuck yeah I love anime...I have got Ghost in The Shell and it's fucking awesome.
Recenty I have been checking this anime called Naruto...great fighting scenes and some nice swearing in japanese.

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Withnail & I is my number one film of all time. There comes a point when you can quote the whole movie as almsot every line is funny and memorable (and its "monty you terrible cunt!" :p).

"You can stuff it up your arse for nothing and fuck off while you're doing it!" :D

"How should i know where we are. I feel like a pig shat in my head."

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I haven't seen it yet, but in Into The Blue, Jessica Alba spends the entire movie in a bikini.

Therefore, it's recommended.

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Even though many might have seen it already, i'll still recommend:

Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)

Directed by: David Mamet
Starring: Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, Jonathan Pryce and Alec Baldwin.


One of my fav movies ever, this is an "actor's film" if there ever is one.

Based on David Mamet's play, Glengarry Glen Ross revolves around four desperate real estate salesmen racing for clients (or "leads") as they do not want to get fired by the end of the week. Doesn't maybe sound that tight on paper, but on screen it gets very tense.

Glengarry has an all-star cast, and absolutely everybody is on superb form. Mamet's dialogue is also a standout.
(Who could forget that hardball sales pitch by Alec Baldwin?)

I love this film.

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one more movie that you probably won't see till next year... but hopefully when it comes out something in the back of your mind will go "hey! you heard this was good a long time ago!"

Hostel

From Eli Roth who did that movie Cabin Fever, this is about a couple of buddies backpacking through Europe in search of sex and end up... well... unhappy. There's a lot of hype going on about the movie right now about it being the goriest movie ever made and a new level in brutality and all that stuff... none of that's really true... but that doesn't keep it from being an absolutely kickass horror movie, compounded by the eery plausibility of the premise. I actually wouldn't be surprised if stuff like what's shown in this movie is actually happening somewhere in the World... which makes it all the more creepier. so yeah, Hostel gets a SOLID recommendation from me. Be sure to see it when it comes out!

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Yeah i actually heard about this just last week! My brother works in a movie distribution company and he's always scouting for upcoming films... (He loves horror in particular) Anyway he mentioned "Hostel" and said that it's rumoured to be pretty sick.

I'll definitely check this out, as there can never be too many good horror movies.

Thanks! :)