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Yeah, Infernal Affairs was great, I checked it out after I saw The Departed. Has anyone seen the sequels?

They showed parts two and three on a Swedish network abot a year ago, but I didn't watch either one. I tried to watch part two but I was too put off by the fact that it didn't starr the same actors in the leading roles. That, and the fact that I haven't heard anything good about the two sequals.

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How can a movie be good if you can hardly stay awake during it? That seriously boggles my mind.

You are right. I didn't like TWBB. I think it is a beautiful movie because of good acting, pictures, etc. But it is a boring movie because of the story, lack of action (and by action I don't mean bombs, guns, etc). It is almost a tribute to GVS.

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A friend from work handed me Seven Samurai to watch. A great old film and I suggest anyone with 3 hours or so to spare make themselves an audience for this film.

Still haven't seen Batman, yet. Waiting for my gf to get back from her trip to Calgary.

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A friend from work handed me Seven Samurai to watch. A great old film and I suggest anyone with 3 hours or so to spare make themselves an audience for this film.

Still haven't seen Batman, yet. Waiting for my gf to get back from her trip to Calgary.

Whereabouts is she?

I'll go and say hi. :D

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How can a movie be good if you can hardly stay awake during it? That seriously boggles my mind.

Anyways, my list would have to boil down to:

Braveheart

Star Wars Series

POtC: Curse of the Black Pearl

Star Trek: First Contact

Rudy

Hitch

Backdraft

Field of Dreams

The Tom Clancy movies (Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger)

Because art isn't measured in our many car chases are going on in each scene. Besides, it isn't a boring movie unless you're focusing on the story - and if you are, you probably missed the whole point of the film. It's all about the character study and the war between Daniel Plainview and Eli Sunday (and what they symbolize).

Stuff does happen in every scene and the only part I didn't find useful was the subplot with Daniel's "brother." There are no real plot twists or anything like that which is why it bores people who don't know what to expect from it and are waiting for something "exciting" to happen. But as I said, the plot is only needed to develop the internal struggle going on between the two main characters. Time just passes and we wait to see what happens next, there is no clear end in sight (while in Lord of the Rings, the goal is to throw away the Ring and we know that when that happens, the story is over).

I think that objectively this is probably the best movie made in at least a decade, if not two or three. Subjectively, most people would rather spend 80 minutes watching crap like Jumper than two and a half hours on There Will Be Blood. It isn't the type of movie that a mainstream audience enjoys but it will be almost universally considered one of the better movies ever made after a few years. Kind of like Goodfellas. Some movies age well and this one definitely will.

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You can go on and on about whatever movie you're talking about, I haven't seen it. I simply chimed in wondering how a person can find a movie boring and good at the same time. Boring equals not enjoyable. If someone didn't enjoy something, then why would that person still think it is good?

Take Training Day, for instance. It won awards and was highly praised. I won't deny acting was good and whatnot. But I was bored during the whole movie and didn't care what happened. I hated the movie.

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In Joe's defence, he never said it was good. He just described certain elements of the movie which he liked. Beautiful refers more to the cinematography rather then the whole movie. Speaking of which, I thought certain shots in Atonement were amazing. Nothing like There Will Be Blood but great nonetheless. Kind of unnrelated but it was something I was thinking about today.

Training Day is probably one of the movies that misses out on my list too, haha. My favourite movie when I was like, 14.

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In Joe's defence, he never said it was good. He just described certain elements of the movie which he liked. Beautiful refers more to the cinematography rather then the whole movie. Speaking of which, I thought certain shots in Atonement were amazing. Nothing like There Will Be Blood but great nonetheless. Kind of unnrelated but it was something I was thinking about today.

Training Day is probably one of the movies that misses out on my list too, haha. My favourite movie when I was like, 14.

thanks Jets you're right.

Training Day is probably in my top 20 or close to that. I just like the 1-day-thing. It is like a condensed episode of 24.

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You can go on and on about whatever movie you're talking about, I haven't seen it. I simply chimed in wondering how a person can find a movie boring and good at the same time. Boring equals not enjoyable. If someone didn't enjoy something, then why would that person still think it is good?

Take Training Day, for instance. It won awards and was highly praised. I won't deny acting was good and whatnot. But I was bored during the whole movie and didn't care what happened. I hated the movie.

I told you. Art isn't measured in how many car chases are going on. If the action and excitement is what determines which movies you think are "good" then you will have to face the fact that you will probably disagree with almost every Oscar decision and shouldn't go see movies because they won awards or were highly praised.

Besides, as I said, TWBB isn't even boring to begin with. If you were focusing on the plot, you probably misunderstood it anyway so it makes little difference. I could feel 5 times more entertained when watching it than when watching Clear and Present Danger, an "action" movie you put in your favourites that's boring as hell.

When you say 'How can a movie be good if you can hardly stay awake in it?" you're also assuming that your subjective opinion of it outweighs it's objective value. The Mona Lisa is pretty boring compared a lot of other paintings, I'm sure, but there can be no doubt which one is better. I think most people would even be drawn more to the Mona Lisa because you could just be dazzled by its perfection. Even the most boring pieces of art like THX 1138 or The Darjeeling Limited which I saw last night, are usually more interesting than more "entertaining" movies like Fool's Gold, Meet the Spartans, Hitch, ... You just have to be paying attention to the right things - if you aren't then that is your problem right there. Why not wonder why you didn't like the movie instead of why the movie was shit?

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I told you. Art isn't measured in how many car chases are going on. If the action and excitement is what determines which movies you think are "good" then you will have to face the fact that you will probably disagree with almost every Oscar decision and shouldn't go see movies because they won awards or were highly praised.

You keep going back to that car chase saying and it doesn't make any sense at all. When did I ever say anything about action or excitement? I said that I care about entertainment. Action and excitement can add to a movie, but they aren't mandatory. Look at my list, they're not all summer blockbuster action movies. In fact, I don't consider any of them straight action movies. Comedy, sci-fi, and drama are all there. I enjoy all of those movies because they have very good stories.

I'm already well aware of the fact that I will almost always disagree with the Oscar people. Just because the Oscar people say a movie is good doesn't mean I'm going to say the movie it good. If I don't like a movie than I'll say I don't like a movie. If a movie does not entertain me, then I will not like it, plain and simple. In a typical year, I probably like one of the nominees for best picture. Most of the others don't even appeal to me enough in previews to see them.

Besides, as I said, TWBB isn't even boring to begin with. If you were focusing on the plot, you probably misunderstood it anyway so it makes little difference. I could feel 5 times more entertained when watching it than when watching Clear and Present Danger, an "action" movie you put in your favourites that's boring as hell.

:rolleyes: For the second time, I haven't seen that movie, so you can stop talking about it. As for Clear and Present Danger, it is definitely the least of the three Clancy movies I listed, but I don't even consider it a straight action flick. I'm driven by the story. Jack Ryan being used as a tool of corrupt politicians, those same politicians betraying the insertion team, etc. I realize it's a dumbed down version of the book, but even so the story was very good. Action was simply a tool, not the driving force of the movie.

When you say 'How can a movie be good if you can hardly stay awake in it?" you're also assuming that your subjective opinion of it outweighs it's objective value . . . Why not wonder why you didn't like the movie instead of why the movie was shit?

Fine, let me rephrase: How can you think a movie is good if you can hardly stay awake during it? Is that better? If you're falling asleep during a movie, then you clearly are not enjoying it. If you're not enjoying it, then you must not like it very much. I've been known to fall asleep during boring hockey games that were no good. I've never fallen asleep during a good game unless I was completely tired and not even a loud concert could keep me awake.

As for that second point, the two are one and the same. I know why I don't like a movie, because I thought it was crap. Great acting and directing and cinematography can't save a story that I don't find interesting, compelling, or entertaining. That being said, I'm not condemning any movie (except for A Clockwork Orange) by saying I hate it or think it is crap. I'm simply stating my opinion.

The new Star Wars movies are great examples of my point. The first two had rather weak stories and heavily relied on the action sequences to drive the movies. I liked them because I love Star Wars, but I didn't love them. The third one had a much stronger story and used the action to compliment the movie instead of drive it. Thus I liked it more and placed it much closer to the original trilogy.

Even the most boring pieces of art like THX 1138 or The Darjeeling Limited which I saw last night, are usually more interesting than more "entertaining" movies like Fool's Gold, Meet the Spartans, Hitch, ...

I don't really think Hitch belongs in the same class as those other two movies, and for once I'm not in the minority. Fool's Gold and Meet the Spartans both were panned by critics and average Joes, while Hitch was generally well received. But, you don't like what you don't like.

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About to watch "Into the Wild". I hear it's a good one, anyone catch it yet?

Check a few pages back, I seem to remember Quebecois and BTH talking about it. Pretty sure they both loved it.

I STILL have to get around to watching it.

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Check a few pages back, I seem to remember Quebecois and BTH talking about it. Pretty sure they both loved it.

I STILL have to get around to watching it.

Gotchya, I'll check it after - I hate spoilers... lol.

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BTH, do the members of "The Academy" have guidelines to determine what movies are deemed the best?

It seems to me that arguing over which movies are great and which ones aren't pretty much comes down to personal opinion; from Joe Shmoe to the Academy.

And if how you view art is a personal matter, and I believe it is, I don't see how someone else can come in and say, "This movie is best, and be damned what you think."

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BTH, do the members of "The Academy" have guidelines to determine what movies are deemed the best?

It seems to me that arguing over which movies are great and which ones aren't pretty much comes down to personal opinion; from Joe Shmoe to the Academy.

And if how you view art is a personal matter, and I believe it is, I don't see how someone else can come in and say, "This movie is best, and be damned what you think."

Whoa, deja vu!

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About to watch "Into the Wild". I hear it's a good one, anyone catch it yet?

I did, I did !

It was a fun movie. Nothing great but not lame either. I think you'll enjoy it.

I watched In Bruges. I was suprised by how much I laughed in it and I liked the story very much.

To me, that is the perfect role for Collin Ferrell, a bit quirky but he does it so well. Much better then the "look at me, I'm so cool" character we've seen in the past from him.

BTH, do the members of "The Academy" have guidelines to determine what movies are deemed the best?

It seems to me that arguing over which movies are great and which ones aren't pretty much comes down to personal opinion; from Joe Shmoe to the Academy.

And if how you view art is a personal matter, and I believe it is, I don't see how someone else can come in and say, "This movie is best, and be damned what you think."

:clap:

Exactly

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why? was this said elsewhere? I just kinda stumbled into this thread like a drunk baby.

Multiple times, I know I've had this argument with BTH at least 3 times last year and I know Quebecois has had the same argument as well. Pretty sure Fanpuck has gone through it before as well.

It wasn't a slight against you, I just find it amusing the same argument keeps popping up and one side of it is always the same person. You like what you like and it's no one else's business.

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My top five (not necessarily in this order):

1. Brazil by Terry Gilliam. Twelve Monkeys is close but Brazil stands out among the rest of Gilliam's work. I do like most of the other movies of his I've seen though.

2. The Hudsucker Proxy by the Coen brothers. It's not easy to pick just one of their movies, I have yet to see a Coen movie I didn't love, from Blood Simple to The Man WHo Wasn't There. I even loved Intolerable Cruely, which I think is the most recent Coen movie I saw. They showed The Ladykillers on Swedish television two weeks ago but I didn't watch it. I've never heard anything good said about it and I have seen the original with Sir Alex Guinness and while I like many of Tom Hanks' movies (Cast Away, Private Ryan, Forest Gump to name a few), I don't think I want him to change the way I feel about the original movie. If he butchers it I don't want to know about it, and if he topped Sir Alec I don't want to know about it either.

3. Once Upon A Time In America by Sergio Leone and with the divine music of Ennio Morricone. The recognition Morricone recieved from the Academy was way overdue. I love all of Leone's westerns: the first two spaghetti westerns with Clint Eastwood were good, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was brilliant, Once Upon a Time In the West was fantastic and Duck You Sucker was outstanding. My favourite Leone movie changes from one day to the next, ...America wouldn't necessarily be my answer on any given day... but it's still freakin' great, a real master-piece if you ask me. Thee's a tone in Leone's movies that has always struck a chord in me for some reason.

4. Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa, featuring Toshiro Mifune (o God what an actor!!!) and Takashi Shimura. A briliant piece of movie-making, other Kurosawa must-sees include Seven Samurai, Yojimbo of course, Redbeard (with Mifune again), The Hidden Fortress (Mifune again, absolutely brilliant movie from which George Lucas got a lot of inspiration for the original Star Wars movie) and Ran.

5. OK, now it's getting realy, REALLY tough to pick one.Really tough. Since I've always been a huge fan of westerns I'll go with The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance by John Ford, American western movies at its best, with Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin and Woody Strode.

Honorary mentions:

How Green My Valley Was

The Searchers

High Noon

Johnny Guitar

Shane

The Great Escape

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and not just for Jack Nicholson's part but the rest of teh cast as well

The Lord of the Rings trilogy

Pirates of the Carribean trilogy too

anything and everything by Monty Python

The Shining

The Third Man

2001: A Space Oddysey

Lawrence of Arabia

Psycho

Vertigo

...well, that's all I can think of off the top of my head...

Edited by Doktor Kosmos
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My top five (not necessarily in this order):

1. Brazil by Terry Gilliam. Twelve Monkeys is close but Brazil stands out among the rest of Gilliam's work. I do like most of the other movies of his I've seen though.

2. The Hudsucker Proxy by the Coen brothers. It's not easy to pick just one of their movies, I have yet to see a Coen movie I didn't love, from Blood Simple to The Man WHo Wasn't There. I even loved Intolerable Cruely, which I think is the most recent Coen movie I saw. They showed The Ladykillers on Swedish television two weeks ago but I didn't watch it. I've never heard anything good said about it and I have seen the original with Sir Alex Guinness and while I like many of Tom Hanks' movies (Cast Away, Private Ryan, Forest Gump to name a few), I don't think I want him to change the way I feel about the original movie. If he butchers it I don't want to know about it, and if he topped Sir Alec I don't want to know about it either.

3. Once Upon A Time In America by Sergio Leone and with the divine music of Ennio Morricone. The recognition Morricone recieved from the Academy was way overdue. I love all of Leone's westerns: the first two spaghetti westerns with Clint Eastwood were good, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was brilliant, Once Upon a Time In the West was fantastic and Duck You Sucker was outstanding. My favourite Leone movie changes from one day to the next, ...America wouldn't necessarily be my answer on any given day... but it's still freakin' great, a real master-piece if you ask me. Thee's a tone in Leone's movies that has always struck a chord in me for some reason.

4. Rashomon by Akira Kurosawa, featuring Toshiro Mifune (o God what an actor!!!) and Takashi Shimura. A briliant piece of movie-making, other Kurosawa must-sees include Seven Samurai, Yojimbo of course, Redbeard (with Mifune again), The Hidden Fortress (Mifune again, absolutely brilliant movie from which George Lucas got a lot of inspiration for the original Star Wars movie) and Ran.

5. OK, now it's getting realy, REALLY tough to pick one.Really tough. Since I've always been a huge fan of westerns I'll go with The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance by John Ford, American western movies at its best, with Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin and Woody Strode.

Honorary mentions:

How Green My Valley Was

The Searchers

High Noon

Johnny Guitar

Shane

The Great Escape

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and not just for Jack Nicholson's part but the rest of teh cast as well

The Lord of the Rings trilogy

Pirates of the Carribean trilogy too

anything and everything by Monty Python

The Shining

The Third Man

2001: A Space Oddysey

Lawrence of Arabia

Psycho

Vertigo

...well, that's all I can think of off the top of my head...

I put all the movies I haven't seen in Bold.

WOW that's alot!

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How Green Was My Valley (sorry, I got the word order wrong the first time is a magnificent John Ford movie about a little boy who grows up in a small mining village in Wales. Drama doesn't get any better than this in my opinion. Perhaps too nostalgic for some, but I thought it was great.
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