movies

[ghostrunner]

I do recall once thinking people that went by themselves were weird, but after going a few times by myself I got over that. You go with someone else and you're at the mercy of whatever annoying quirks they have - loud eating, talking, etc... And for all practical purposes, unless it's a date, you may as well be by yourself anyway.

[vinsanity]

Watching a movie is one of the few things you can do on your own without feeling socially awkward. Not only are you not socializing when you do it; socializing is actually discouraged. Nobody wants to sit in a theater and listen to people discussing the action on the screen.

I'd say that I prefer watching by myself.

I should go more, I've missed a lot of good movies in theatres cause no one wanted to go.

Or didn't invite me.

[Maclowery]

I love going by myself to a spectacle movie, but prefer being with friends if I'm going to a comedy or something lighthearted.

[lukethedrifter]

Do you people watch these movies by yourself or do you have someone you normally watch with?

Why do you ask? Except for the bigger movies that my wife also wants to see, I watch most stuff by myself these days. Though I don't get around to it as much as I would like.

I'm just curious. My most recent ex gf fell asleep during every movie which is, of course, fine except that she then wanted me to tell her what happened. That was at home. If we went out she would pepper me with questions about how much I liked it etc even when I told her that I needed to digest the movie for a bit before I could decide what I thought overall.

I love having someone to watch movies with but it's got to be the right sort of person.

[The Third Man]

What do you have left off of the AFI Top 100? If you haven't done it yet, I very, very, very highly recommend "Sunset Boulevard". It's probably my favorite American movie. Or at least, if I made a short list of my 4 or 5 favorites, it's the first one I'd think to include.

Hell yes. Sunset Blvd. is in my top five.

[The Third Man]

Ok, let's see... I'm missing a few of those myself.

-Raging Bull is Scorsese. You can never ever ever go wrong with Scorsese. It's always about socially awkward, often violent male outsiders, and Raging Bull is a great example there.

-I was unimpressed with Bonnie and Clyde but I suppose it's cinematically relevant because of the way it employed anti-heroes, something that hadn't been done much in American cinema prior to that. And especially not in the years leading up to it. It dovetailed nicely with the anti-establishmentarianism of the 60's.

-Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Maltese Falcon, and African Queen are all John Huston films. Huston was a rebel at his very core. And thus, you find hard-core anti-greed themes in both Treasure of the Sierra Madre and the Maltese Falcon. The Maltese Falcon is also an excellent noir- oddly enough, influenced heavily (visually) by the classic Universal monster movies, of all things. Lots of rain, lots of dark imagery, etc...

-Lawrence of Arabia is long. (sorry, that's just about all I can offer on it; it didn't stick with me all that much beyond how incredibly long it was)

-I saw The Grapes of Wrath for the first time when the economy really went south a few years ago. The timing was prescient. Henry Fonda is excellent in it.

-If you're feeling really, really, really adventuresome, do a double feature of Casablanca with either Pépé le Moko or Grand Illusion (both 1930's French poetic realism films). Both had an influence. I sort of wish I'd seen the two French films before I'd seen Casablanca because it helps give it some cinematic context. But, obviously, it's not mandatory.

-Bridge on the River Kwai is incredible. It's a bit long but didn't feel like an epic at all (compared to Lawrence of Arabia, which sort of felt like an endurance test).

-Psycho is mandatory watching. And in fact, I'd almost say that if you're going to do the Hitchcock films off the Top 100, you'd be better off starting with Rear Window (themes of voyeurism and celebrity worship) or Vertigo (necrophilia). But you absolutely can not go wrong with any Hitchcock.

Moving beyond the top 30, I'd say that "High Noon" is my favorite Western (tied with Unforgiven), and has an awesome subtext about McCarthyism (from the point of view of the accused). To Kill a Mockingbird is fantastic- the Southern Gothic tradition put to film. The Third Man is incredible. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is hard to watch in a good way, primarily because it's sort of harsh to watch a married couple treat each other the way this pair treats each other. And then there are the classic comedies- Duck Soup and A Night at the Opera (Marx brothers films) are hilarious, and Keaton's The General is near and dear to my heart. The stunts he performs in The General (or any Keaton film, really) are mind-blowing. The guy pretty much put his life in peril hundreds of times over with the sole purpose of making people laugh. And that's awesome in ways I can't even begin to describe.

/film geekery

Of the stuff I've seen in this post, I agree with virtually everything you said. The only divergence is Lawrence of Arabia. This post gets 10 Taguchimakers.

[heyzeus]

Dude, it's a five Taguchimaker scale. You're devaluing the currency.

[MrCrowesGarden]

Dude, it's a five Taguchimaker scale. You're devaluing the currency.

But seven Taguchimakers just sounds so much better than three and a half.

[The Third Man]

Dude, it's a five Taguchimaker scale. You're devaluing the currency.

Five is too restrictive. I live on the edge.

Speaking of Huston I watched Fat City last night. Good movie, but it felt a bit flat and underdeveloped. The characters felt more like archetypes than living, breathing people and the movie relies on some well-worn boxing cliches. It's got that 70s realism that I love, and some good performances, though. And I dig the portrayal of California. I'd say a 7.5.

[ghostrunner]

I really liked Lawrence of Arabia.

Sunset Boulevard I've seen pieces of here and there, which is not how I'd prefer to see anything, but I've never felt compelled to watch the whole thing either.

As far as Hitchcock, I second the Rear Window and Vertigo recommendations over Psycho, which is close to my least favorite Hitchcock film. I feel like I should blame some of it on the fact that it's so often referenced, but I can get past that with other famous movies. Plus I can't hack the protagonist switcheroo.