Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

Preferably not ones I've already seen, although I'm always happy to view a film again with a new perspective. Most times I'll actively welcome it, since a majority of my higher ratings are movies I haven't watched since my beleaguered year of film school. I like to think my taste has improved since then. I've been slacking in my film consumption lately and I would like to change that.
I'll likely throw blurbs of my own opinions in here after I watch films since Letterboxd is a cesspool. First person to recommend Bio-Dome gets ignored for the whole thread.

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

I'm not really a movies watcher, but right now I'm trying to go and watch some classics that everyone else has watched. Right now I'm watching The Dark Knight

In terms of movies... The Boy In Striped Pajamas?

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

Wow, you watch a lot of movies!! I might use your list if I ever need suggestions, as we seem to have compatible tastes. :) You have watched a lot more movies than me. I'm glad you gave Synecdoche New York such a high grade: it's also one of my faves.

I had to search deep, but here are notables films not already on your list (in the order than they came to mind):

- The Wizard of Oz
- PlayTime
- Mommy (2014)
- C.R.A.Z.Y.
- Braindead
- The Exorcist
- Possession
- Eraserhead
- Mulholland Drive
- Blue Velvet
- Le Dîner de cons
- Boyhood
- Lion


P.S. searching for movies in your list is a pain, is there a way to export your list in text form?

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

Easiest way to do this on letterboxd is to simply follow him and look up movies you like and see if he has a rating on it.

Here are some of my faves that I see you don't have a rating on:

Roma
Mary and Max
Come and See
The Handmaiden
The Act of Killing
Taste of Cherry
Le Samourai

Shameless plug for my own letterboxd if anyone wants to follow.

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

Amadeus. Up to you if you wish to see the original or director's cut. In my opinion a fantastic film, albeit fictional, about Antonio Salieri's jealousy and fixation with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Also wanted to acknowledge your 5 star rating for Birdman: Or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance. It's honestly one of my favorite films and it took me a couple of viewings to really appreciate it.

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

I appreciate that you took the time to give me those recs! I've been meaning to get around to some of those for a while. Most are in my watchlist, but since you have pointed those out I will prioritize them! I have been meaning to get around to Mommy for a while, and I am vastly disappointed at my lack of Lynch.
Regarding your spoilered films, I have had Climax at the top of my list for some time. I watched A Serbian Film a while back, but it's not rated and I have mostly forgotten it. In order to provide a true assessment, I'll have to rewatch it. It's not the sort of film with any rewatchability, but alas, I will do it for art. Salo will be one I watch with others. I'm not sure what viewing that alone would say about me.

Here's my diary, exported to csv and poorly converted into a Google Sheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

Most of these are already in my watchlist, but again, I'll prioritize the ones you listed. I'll also add the ones that aren't already in there. I'm particularly attracted to Roma and The Handmaiden. Actually, I'll just get around to watching Roma tonight. I've been dying to watch it and simply have not for reasons I do not understand.
Also, thanks for following my worthless page! I have returned the gesture.

In my watchlist, but will be prioritized. I promise that means something and that I'm not simply stalling! Do you have a preference for the original or director's cut? I'd like to share the experience you had as much as possible. I'm pretty indifferent toward runtime if it's under five hours, especially if that length is justified.

It's definitely a masterpiece. Iñárritu's uncanny ability to pull such rich, genuine performances from his cast while also letting that masterful script unfold like the most effortless, organic play imaginable is a rather rewarding experience. The long-take execution is more meaningful than something like Victoria, where it plays a role in the story instead of just existing as a marketing ploy.

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

<3

you don't need to watch Serbian Film again btw lol

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

There's a difference of about 20 minutes between the two, making it nearly 3 hours long. I realized that one of the scenes removed from the theatrical cut makes a later scene moot without the full context. One or two more scenes in the director's cut give more context and depth to Salieri's character and one regarding Mozart giving private lessons. I would personally recommend the director's cut.


Well said! I can't get enough of that film, honestly. The choice to do long takes makes sense in the context of the Broadway plot. It is as ambitious as the choice to limit the score of the film to just a drum kit. Self-referential, comedic at times, depressing at other times. I especially love the scene between Riggan and the critic. There's a breathtaking audio transition with the pianist playing at the bar, cut by the close of the door and then hearing the cello with the piano along with the fitting MacBeth quote.

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

Spider Man into the Spider Verse :) :) :)

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

Roma (2018), dir. Alfonso Cuarón.
Recommended by Psychotik.
Unfolding as a series of vignettes rather than a traditionally cohesive feature film, Alfonso Cuarón's Roma is a visually striking and immaculately directed affair that suffers from narrative remoteness. While it's abundantly clear that every scene is staged with an incredible amount of foresight and choreography (Cuarón's trademark orchestrated chaos has never been more apparent), such visual theatrics usually take priority over emotional resonance. While the perambulating structure of the story isn't inherently bothersome, its refusal to get close to its protagonist eventually begins to weigh down the film.
Any wide tracking shot photographed from the side is a microcosm for this reality: Cuarón simultaneously wants to capture his subject and the carefully curated circus unfolding behind her, ultimately sacrificing most intimacy in favor of exhibiting his craft. If I were capable of composing scenes like this, however, I wouldn't choose to be humble about it, either.
Still, there is plenty of poignancy to be mined from this film, and much of it is quite compelling despite Cuarón the screenwriter's myriad attempts to sabotage Cuarón the director. I can't deny that some of it felt Machiavellian, however.
It's probably a hell of a lot better than Belfast.
7/10 (3.5/5)

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Well, then, I will seek out the director's cut. If it's not sitting on any streaming services or I can't find a torrent, I don't mind just buying a Blu-ray copy. It will likely make a nice addition to my collection!
Yes, the tonal shifts are handled with such aplomb, it's really quite astounding. The fact that Iñárritu was able to pull off such a tricky balancing act while juggling the quasi-long-take structure is really a testament to his skill as a filmmaker. Some could argue the execution is masturbatory (especially when contextualized with my criticisms of Roma), but when there's a richly textured and affecting story to back up the style, then I'm willing to excuse a little self-indulgence. I'm going to listen for that audio transition next time I watch the film, nice catch!
I actually watched this with my partner two winters ago. I don't remember being particularly moved by it, unfortunately, and I wasn't sure if the film was as clever as it thought it was. Maybe I'll have to revisit it.

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

Amadeus is a great movie. I have the director's cut. It's cool to see other people talk about it.

I had to watch this for my college film class. I watched it with a friend in one of the open conference rooms in my dorm and we got some strange looks from people at our initial reactions to it lol.

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

If you think you would enjoy an anime movie, I highly recommend the work of Satoshi Kon. Particularly Perfect Blue and Paprika. They are not "anime" films that have the tropes of anime, and are not associated with any series. They are regular films in the medium of animation so technically anime but they are very good

Afterward you could watch Black Swan and Inception which were inspired by the respective films

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City of God by Fernando Meirelles
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie by Luis Buñuel
Man Bites Dog by Rémy Belvaux
Possession by Andrzej Żuławski
Snatch by Guy Ritchie
Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky
The Black Tower by John Smith
The Taste of Tea by Katsuhito Ishii

My must sees from my screenwriting years, or at least the more modern and celebrated picks, with Tarkovsky and Zulawski being the obligatory film buff listens.

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

Added 2 titles to my first post.

Interesting that there's now 2 people suggestion Possession :)

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

There is a noticeable dearth of animation in my diary. I tend to be averse to 3D animated films, but I do need to get into more anime. I have seen a lot of Perfect Blue during my time on Letterboxd, so I'll add both to my watchlist. I also understand that I need to watch more Miyazaki. Or any Miyazaki, actually. I've seen a third of Howl's Moving Castle and that's all. Would I be incorrect in assuming you have some knowledge of Studio Ghibli, and would therefore be able to provide a recommendation or two?

Adding all of the ones that aren't already in my watchlist. I adored Solaris, and I have never heard anyone say anything negative about Stalker. I actually own City of God despite never having seen it, so that will certainly be easy to find!

Does Lion transcend traditional Oscar bait tropes? I've heard nothing but good things, but I'm usually wary of films that look tailor-made to win awards.
Also, one of my co-workers recommended Possession to me back in October, so there are actually three people that have told me to watch it.

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

Lion ticks all the bait boxes but I still think it's pretty good. Still worth seeing.

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

For Ghibli in particular, a specific recommendation beyond the generic ones is kind of impossible. That said, Castle in the Sky is my personal one I'd recommend.

But also I'd *strongly* recommend the A Silent Voice anime movie. It's extremely good if you're ok with some darker topics.

If you're looking for a hard avoid though, I'd say ignore the Your Name movie. I dunno why that gets the hype it does. I'd also say Weathering With You may or may not be a miss depending how the ending goes for you. (I saw it in a theater, and while I think it's animated super well, and I absolutely love the concept, I just don't really like the ending.)

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

a silent voice is probably the best anime movie i've watched, so i definitely second that if you haven't seen it yet.

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

Some recommendations that I think you'd like, from highest priority to lowest:
- Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky)
- It's Such A Beautiful Day (Don Hertzfeldt)
- Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio)
- Eureka (Shinji Aoyama)
- All About Lily Chou-Chou (Shunji Iwai)

Stalker seems like the most obvious recommendation given your thoughts on Solaris. I like Solaris a bit more than Stalker (8/10 vs. 7/10), but I enjoyed both films. I'd also suggest The Handmaiden (Park Chan-Wook) for a similar reason, but Oldboy was a much more visceral watch in comparison to Handmaiden for me... but you might find more merits in Handmaiden than I would, I feel like.

I find it hard-pressed to recommend anime films to you because you don't seem to be the type to enjoy in-your-face drama/melodrama, and a lot of my favourite anime movies tend to be quite saccharine. I do feel that a lot of canonical anime movies focus more on (melo)drama, and as a result I don't think a lot of Japanese animation for you. There are many clear seminal exceptions to this (mostly sci-fi ones like Akira or End of Evangelion), but most contemporary anime films that are received well tug more on the heart in explicit ways. I wouldn't recommend any of them (including Your Name and Weathering With You, even if the films came from my favourite director).

If you're looking for animation in particular, I feel that Howl's Moving Castle (Hayao Miyazaki) and Perfect Blue (Satoshi Kon) are best up your alley, though I wouldn't consider Perfect Blue my favourite film from Kon (Millennium Actress resonates more with me). Howl's Moving Castle in general feels like one of Miyazaki's most ambitious but also laser-focused given the motivations behind making the film, and I feel that Howl's Moving Castle also really shows what Miyazaki is like both as a director and person. I think Jin-Rou: The Wolf Brigade (Hiroyuki Okiura) is also a good shout.

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

I haven't really watched a movie in years but I will say I really enjoy Zombieland, and the Animal Crossing movie (Doubutsu no Mori) if you can find a fandub of it (that's what I did, anyway) or find a subbed version of it is worth a watch imo.

I have no idea how to navigate letterboxd and I can't ctrl+F to find titles so I have no idea if these are on there but I think 9 is definitely worth a watch. There's a few more I can't think of right offhand but I'll see if I can remember them

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

I +1 mellon's suggestion of Paprika. The film does things that would only work through its animation style. It's a memorable and pleasing watch.

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

You would not be incorrect at all! I love Studio Ghibli

My personal favourite Ghibli film was not directed by Miyazaki. It's called Whisper of the Heart. It is very slice of life, slow pacing, it's got fantasy elements but for the most part it is realistic boring school days of youth. Which is why I love it. It was directed by Yoshifumi Kondō who was meant to be Miyazaki's successor, but he tragically died at age 47

Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away would be my #1 suggestions otherwise

Also though I think everyone needs to watch Grave of the Fireflies. It's based on an IRL survivor of WWII's account of the nuclear bomb. It's one of those films you can't forget after you watched it

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

This is a phenomenal and remarkably comprehensive list of recommendations. I greatly appreciate that you took the time to narrow down a few that you think I would enjoy based on what you know about my personality, and then further justified them. While I am certainly no fan of didactic cinema, I don't mind a bit of treacle. Not even the most weathered soi-disant cinephile can survive on a diet of downtrodden, anxiogenic films alone. One of my favorite films, Margaret (2011), is a contemplative pendulum that explores the swells and nadirs of human emotion, and it ends on a tender hug at the end of an opera. I can scarcely think of something more nominally saccharine than that.
I will admit that when my partner attempts to explain the merits of Japanese animation to me, she does it in terms that do not quite appeal to me. That may simply be a difference in value judgments, however, and I could extract meaning in ways she doesn't and vice versa. I'm loath to immediately disregard a film based on its initial presentation (unless it's a comedy with a poster that contains a white background behind the cast, in addition to the film's title with a pithy tagline written in red, 3D text. Those are uniformly trash.)
I watched Oldboy a while ago, but I would definitely benefit from a second viewing. I have been thinking about watching that and The Handmaiden on two consecutive nights. My watchlist may be precipitously ballooning here, but I trust your judgment enough to just watch both films.

I figured you would have some advanced acquaintance on the matter, but I didn't want to be presumptuous. Thank you for the recommendations. This is a genre of film that is wildly out of my wheelhouse, but again, I would hate to dismiss a potential surfeit of good cinema because I am not accustomed to Japanese animation.

I am immensely grateful for everyone's suggestions, and I'm adding them all to my watchlist. Sometimes, however, I'm busy, and I'll even be out of town next week, so I'll progress through them rather slowly. I look forward to watching them all, though! I mean this sincerely, and not in the corporate email way that my parlance may communicate.

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

I run a plex server with 35 TB and I still don’t even watch everything that gets put onto it.

Probably the most recent films I’ve seen this year (in no particular order of quality) is recent Spider-Man film, death of the Nile, American underdog, the 355, coda (this is actually really good one), the tomorrow war, latest scream film, encanto (this movie isn’t that great to me), and dog (movie is hella cheesy).

Been meaning to watch Moonfall.

Out of the list I would say the latest Spider-Man film was the best one simply because of nostalgia.

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

Everything Everywhere All At Once. It has a little something in it for everybody, it's amazing. Such an eclectic film with a lot of different things to appreciate. The cinematography, the off-the-wall smorgasbord of scenes, the action sequences, etc. It'll make you laugh and make you cry. It replaced Donnie Darko (which I love for all the different interpretations it can have) as my favorite movie. Definitely a must-see, and I absolutely plan to watch it many more times in the future.

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

Try the new apple tv series, severance is a great series

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

After I've been in film hell for a while I think I can give more recs that aren't in your watchlist and are more targeted towards what you're into and are also distinctly what I'm into.

- Sound of Metal (Darius Marder)
- Shoplifters (Hirokazu Kore-eda) / Nobody Knows (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
- Harakiri (Masaki Kobayashi)
- Joint Security Area (Park Chan-wook)
- The Chaser (Na Hong-jin)
- The Wind Rises (Hayao Miyazaki)
- A Better Tomorrow (John Woo)

As far as I know, Sound of Metal is already on your watchlist, but I felt that you'd resonate with that quite a bit, and you should push it up in your priority list. Pick your poison for the Kore-eda film! I heard that his newest film (Monster) was really good too, but I'm waiting for it to be on home video so that I can see it for myself. I'd also mention Infernal Affairs again since you're quite into The Departed, but you've heard me mention that film more than three times, so no need for me to mention it again I think.

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

Let It Shine, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Maleficent, Greyhound, A Quiet Place Part 2

Re: Recommend me movies you enjoy
 

Oldboy is a Korean film I watched last year that I would highly recommend if you can tolerate subtitles as there is no English translation, however, there appears to be a Western remake of the movie but we all know what happens when the West tries to make an English Adaptation. Please do note that I've never actually seen the Western adaptation of the film so I don't actually know if it's actually trash or not, I'm just basing this off of past experiences.

I've added both the short and long versions of the synopsis depending on much you want to know before watching it.
The longer one obviously gives you more details about the movie as a whole but I don't think it really spoils anything other than just giving you a better idea of what it's about, but maybe it's best to just read the short version or neither of them if you want as little information as possible.

Please bear in mind this movie is uncomfortable to watch at times.