Hollywood sucks, help me find good movies.

December 17, 2007 7:06 AM

Most movies released lately are bad, unoriginal, trying to be good but failing at it, remakes of good movies, etc, etc. Look at the list of movies I really like, and suggest me some good movies in similar genre. I like many different types of movies but I don't like purely romantic movies or movies that are too slow paced. I don't like movies dealing with war or combat (action is very ok). The below list is not all the movies I've ever seen, it's just a selection of the movies I enjoy the most. They don't have to be older movies, as long as they are quality movies. Thanks!

10th Kingdom
Braindead
Brazil
Cat Soup
Death Race 2000
Equilibrium
Eraserhead
Evil Dead 1, 2, 3
eXistenZ
Grandma's Boy
House
Office Space
Shaun of the Dead
Surf Nazis Must Die
Suspiria
Terror Firmer
The Thing
Toxic Avenger 1, 4
Trainspotting
V for Vendetta
Videodrome
Idiocracy
Pulp Fiction
Memento
Clockwork Orange
Alien
Requiem for a Dream
Blade Runner
Indiana Jones
Everything Monty Python
Duck Soup

French
Delicatessen
Dobermann
La Cité des Enfants Perdus
Le Pacte des Loups
Leolo
Maléfique
Vidocq
Taxi
Wasabi
Diner de Cons

Japanese
Battle Royale
Kairo
Ringu
Ju-On
Meatball Machine
Tetsuo
7 Samurai
Princess Mononoke
Ichi the Killer

Other
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Cidade de Deus
Metropolis
Oldboy

posted by PowerCat to media & arts (34 comments total)

Leon
De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté
Syriana
Irreversible
13 (Tzameti)
Seul contre tous
The Proposition
Amores Perros
Haute Tension
Dirty Pretty Things
Manderlay
This is England
The Lives of Others
posted by fire&wings at 7:16 AM on December 17, 2007

Cat People
M
Taxi Driver (also "Deer Hunter" and "Raging Bull")
anything by the Coen brothers (except "Hudsucker's Proxy)
Betty Blue
Tatie Danielle
posted by caddis at 7:22 AM on December 17, 2007

are you my long-lost sibling?

Night Watch
Day Watch
Hot Fuzz
Grey Gardens
posted by Lucinda at 7:23 AM on December 17, 2007

You Listed "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly." If you liked that, you should check out other films by Sergio Leone. My favorite is "A Fist Full Of Dynomite" (which also goes by the title "Duck You Sucker"). There are the Clint Eastwood ones, "A Fist Full of Dollars" and "A Few Dollars More"; And the "Once Upon a Time..." series.

Leone wanted to call "A Fist Full Of Dynomite" (the first one I mentioned), "Once Upon a Time in Mexio." As such, it was meant to be a companion piece for "Once Upon a Time in the West" and "Once Upon a Time in America."
posted by grumblebee at 7:26 AM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

Hey, pretty eclectic taste! Here's a few of my favourites, that you might like:

A History of Violence
Dogma
Everything is Illuminated
Fargo
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Happiness
I heart Huckabees
Spider
Storytelling
Transamerica
True Romance


BRITISH
Me, You and Everyone we know
The Rachel Papers
Human Traffic
Withnail and I

BELGIAN
Man Bites Dog

GERMAN
Run Lola Run
The Princess and the Warrior

FRENCH
Amelie
La Haine
The Piano Teacher

JAPANESE
Visitor Q
Spirited Away

I predict many answers from Mefites on this one...
posted by Blacksun at 7:27 AM on December 17, 2007

What with your love for Monty Python, "Brazil," "Videodrome," etc., I see an interest in surreal, satiric, fantasy, Lewis-Carrol-influenced stuff. Here are some that come to my mind:

"After Hours"
"The Naked Lunch" (same director as "Videodrome")
"Amacord", "And The Ship Sails On", "Satyricon," "Juliet of the Spirits" and "8 1/2" by Fellini.
posted by grumblebee at 7:34 AM on December 17, 2007

Here's a few ...

Once Upon a Time in the West
Once Upon a Time in America
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover
Bad Lieutenant
Kill Bill
Reservoir Dogs
Repo Man
The Godfather (I and II)
Black Christmas
Traffic

Japanese
My Neighbor Totoro (animated)
Zatoichi

French
À bout de souffle
Jules and Jim
The Triplets of Belleville

British
Made in Britain
Scum
posted by Koko at 7:43 AM on December 17, 2007

The Fountain (as well as Pi and Requiem for a Dream, also by Darren Aronofsky).
Love, Actually (a great Christmas movie and romantic comedy)
posted by gauchodaspampas at 7:44 AM on December 17, 2007

Reviewing your list some more, you might enjoy some of the camp classics such as:
Eating Raoul
Motel Hell
and the films of John Waters

on preview - seconding Repo Man (also try Brother from Another Planet).
posted by caddis at 7:46 AM on December 17, 2007

I'm not much of a movie snob, but I find that other people's recommendations are never satisfying (maybe that does make me a snob). I'm slightly obsessed with MovieLens. Some of my friends swear by the NetFlix algorithm or by Criticker, but I have yet to find MovieLens wrong. Maybe it's a self-fulfilling prophecy, though....
posted by BenzeneChile at 7:55 AM on December 17, 2007 [3 favorites]

Requiem for a Dream - ever notice how often the music from that movie gets used elsewhere. Whenever I hear it I am reminded of the film which is amusing when it gets used on TV shows like X Factor (UK version of American Idol). Them: Battle of the singers! Me: Junkies and dildos!

Seconding Night Watch and Leon.

In a similar vein to your favourites:
Donnie Darko - theatrical release on the first go, not the directors cut.
Grosse Point Blank
The Prestige

Not in at all similar vein to your favourites but one of my favourites:
Empire of the Sun - its a war story (but focusing on civillians) its hollywood, its Spielberg but it has some lovely fantastical elements, superb acting and it makes me cry like a baby.
posted by Ness at 8:03 AM on December 17, 2007

You mentioned a few directors that have made other movies.

gauchodaspampas mentioned The Fountain. It's a little slow but it's great.

If you like A Clockwork Orange you'd probably like The Shining. For some reason those two movies are connected in my head.

Japanese movies:

Watch Gozu by Takashi Miike, director of Ichi the Killer. Best movie I've seen in a long time. Someone else mentioned Visitor Q, also by Miike and also very good. Pretty much anything he does has some redeeming value to it. Also try Suicide Circle and Cure.
posted by kpmcguire at 8:03 AM on December 17, 2007

Wow, your list contains some of what I consider the worst movies ever made and numerous titles I shut off out of pure boredom or frustration. So... take this with a grain of salt:

The Wild Bunch
Straw Dogs
Funny Games
Mulholland Drive
Miracle Mile
Le Trou
Laws of Gravity
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Ferpect Crime
The French Connection
Serpico
Dog Day Afternoon
The Exorcist
Panic in Needle Park
Vanishing Point
River's Edge
Metal Skin
Easy Rider
Parallax View
Big Trouble in Little China
Purple Noon
Bourne Ultimatum
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
Miller's Crossing
Barton Fink
Midnight Cowboy
The Graduate
Hail the Conquering Hero
Terminator 2
The Limey
Bonnie and Clyde
Rosemary's Baby
David Holzman's Diary
The Killing
Notorious
The Big Sleep
His Girl Friday
Bringing Up Baby
Double Indemnity
Cat People (original)
Casablanca
Philadelphia Story
Les Diaboliques (original)
12 Angry Men
Sweet Smell of Success
Crimes and Misdemeanors
The Rapture
The Player
JFK
La Jete
Lawrence of Arabia
Repulsion
The Tenant
Seconds
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Point Blank
Heat
Body Heat
Raising Arizona
Spoorloos
The Cook The Thief His Wife and Her Lover
Do the Right Thing
Q&A
LA Confidential
Marathon Man
Jaws
Unforgiven
Mad Max
City of God
After Hours
Snatch
Breaking Away
The Jerk
Airplane!
Carrie (original)
Network
Toy Story
Taxi Driver
Halloween
Goodfellas
Fight Club
The Long Goodbye
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
The Conversation
Get Shorty
Chinatown
Performance
Clockwork Orange
Klute
The Heartbreak Kid (original)
Deliverance
Badlands
Mean Streets
posted by dobbs at 8:07 AM on December 17, 2007

You like Eraserhead, so you should check out the rest of David Lynch's work. I've not seen Dune, and I found The Elephant Man to be a little slow, but I've enjoyed everything else he's done.

Funny Games is a good, but sometimes difficult, watch.
posted by owtytrof at 8:10 AM on December 17, 2007

You've got some great advice here but my advice is get your butt in the seat. Great movies come out all the time, but often we miss them because we a) want to see what we want, not what's good/in the theater; and b) we think we know how it will be, so we skip it.

Going to a movie is an exercise in hope. You have to suspend your own interests to a point and be willing to see what someone else thinks a good movie would be. So, given that, this:

Go see Dan in Real Life. It is excellent. Not what you'd expect (if you didn't see it). More than worth your time.

Juno is coming out soon, and I think it will also be a surprise.

I'm very curious about Charlie's War. I don't know if I'm curious enough to see it given that it's about war and that's on tv all the time right now... but Hanks in a interview talked about the comedy in the ridiculousness of history... which sounds promising.
posted by ewkpates at 8:14 AM on December 17, 2007

Have you tried just following the filmography of specific directors/studios that you like? You listed Japanese director's most popular/well-known films; have you tried other films by Miyazaki, Kurosawa and Miike. I can suggest other films by them (Spirited Away, Ran and Audition respectively), but you'd almost certainly have more luck just checking out descriptions/reviews of their other films and picking ones that sound appealing to you.

There's a lot of prolific directors on your list that have make relatively iconic films. Check out: Chan-wook Park, David Lynch, David Cronenburg, Danny Boyle, Guy Richie (specifically, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch), Quentin Tarantino, Darren Aronofsky and just about anything by Troma.

And finally, because I saw it about a month ago and I'm still amazed and its awesomeness, Black Sheep.
posted by Nelsormensch at 8:16 AM on December 17, 2007

Wow, I should have proofread that better. Apologies for the nightmarish grammar ... it's still early out here.
posted by Nelsormensch at 8:17 AM on December 17, 2007

There are a jillion movie recommendation sites out there that can do this for you automatically.
posted by mkultra at 8:18 AM on December 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

Oh, and Rififi. :)
posted by dobbs at 8:26 AM on December 17, 2007

you must see wild zero.

japanese punk rock zombie movie. hilarious and awesome.
posted by kneelconqueso at 8:30 AM on December 17, 2007

Save the Green Planet
Six String Samurai
Dr. Strangelove
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 8:32 AM on December 17, 2007

Stacy! Awesomely bad Japanese zombie movie...definitely derivative of Battle Royale but takes it to next level.
Also: Natural Born Killers, Dark City, The Professional (with Jean Reno, not the Rock.)
posted by tatiana wishbone at 8:48 AM on December 17, 2007

Calvaire
Sheitan
Hot Fuzz
Versus
Aragami
Alive
Oldboy
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
The Yakuza Papers, Battles Without Honor and Humanity
The Yakuza Papers, Battles Without Honor and Humanity II: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima
The Yakuza Papers, Battles Without Honor and Humanity III: Proxy War
The Yakuza Papers, Battles Without Honor and Humanity IV: Police Tactics
The Yakuza Papers, Battles Without Honor and Humanity V: Final Episode
Cure
posted by anansi at 8:52 AM on December 17, 2007

I don't have advice as to titles. But Netflix has a rather beefed-up recommendation engine. I'd go in, rate those as high five-stars, and see what it has to say.
posted by WCityMike at 9:13 AM on December 17, 2007

Everything from Luc Besson, the Fifth Element is (imho) one of the most enjoyable sci-fi/action/comedy movies of the 1990s. Also, everything from Jeunet and Caro and J.M. Jeunet alone (you listed a good deal yourself, though).

Also, you might like Nirvana from Gabriele Salvatores, alongside his more famous movies as Mediterraneo.

Some flicks from Takeshi Kitano, you might like Zatoichi, other ones have a slower pace which you might (or might not) enjoy.
posted by _dario at 10:05 AM on December 17, 2007

Some others that have not been mentioned:

Zero Effect
Cowboy Bebop (TV show first, then the movie)
Unbreakable
The Usual Suspects
posted by Caviar at 10:14 AM on December 17, 2007

At this point, adding another title is adding salt to the sea, but I just saw The Trial (Le Procéss, I think) and it was really good. No, really good. Orson Welles only got to have full control over two of his movies--this one, and Citizen Kane--and you know, he's pretty damn good. It has Anthony Perkins and Romy Schneider and... it's just so beautiful! Based on the Kafka, as are many good things.

I mention this because I saw Brazil in your list. Brazil, certainly one of my favorite films ever, seems more than merely inspired by the Trial. And now I'm just rambling, but I was really impressed with it.
posted by Squid Voltaire at 11:00 AM on December 17, 2007

French
36 Quai des Orfèvres (soon to be Hollywoodized)
Ne le dis à personne (Tell no-one)
Après Vous

German
Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run) - Franka Potente (The Bourne Identity) is superb.

Belgian
Toto le héros

Other
You might also enjoy Peter Greenaway's films such as A Zed and Two Noughts or The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover.
posted by ceri richard at 12:28 PM on December 17, 2007

12 Monkeys
posted by sad_otter at 12:33 PM on December 17, 2007

Eeek, I'll be perusing these lists forever! In the meantime, why don't you get yourself an account at criticker.com, rate some movies, and take a look at their automatically-calculated recommendations? They're helpful often.
posted by bkudria at 1:21 PM on December 17, 2007

Japan:
Ballad of Narayama
Akai Megane
Wings of Honneamise

Conflict in Faraway Places:
Lawrence of Arabia
Last King of Scotland
The Constant Gardner
The Dirty Dozen

Gritty, Punch-In-The-Gut American Cinema:
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Taxi Driver
The King
Ghost Dog

Needs more Kubrick:
Full Metal Jacket
Barry Lyndon
2001
posted by Alison at 2:16 PM on December 17, 2007

Thanks for all the awesome recommendation. I'll be "buying" a lot of these in the near future!
posted by PowerCat at 2:21 PM on December 17, 2007

You liked Brazil? You should also then enjoy the other two members of that trilogy, "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" and "Time Bandits". In some ways, I found them even more enjoyable, maybe because they both have slightly goofier, less bleak endings.

Black Cat, White Cat is a really enjoyable film set in the Balkans. Actually, some of Emir Kusturica's films are war based and a bit slow but also so enjoyable that they're still worth watching. Emir Kusturica. Possibly one of the better filmmakers out there today.

Again, you say you don't want war, and I have another war recommendation but it's fantastic and somehow very funny while also being bleakly serious: No man's land is a very interesting look at the war in Yugoslavia over the passing of a few hours when a man's comrade ends up lying on an live mine. Somehow funnier and more enjoyable than it sounds.
posted by Deathalicious at 4:59 PM on December 17, 2007

Seven, Usual Suspects, Fight Club, Midnight Run, Iron Giant.

Mr Deeds Goes to Town, Philadelphia Story, Rear Window, North by Northwest, the Apartment

Based on the Seven Samurai pick, I'd suggest other Kurosawa/Mifune stuff like High and Low, Stray Dog, and The Hidden Fortress. And Yojimbo, unless that's an obvious pick you've already seen.
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 10:48 PM on December 17, 2007