Now then - 8 months of the year i live in New York. Around town, Requim for a Dream (dir by Darren Aronofsky)and Dancer in the Dark (starring Bjork, dir by Lars Von Trier) were pretty big deals when they came out, because they were indie movies that were beautifully done (maybe beautiful is the wrong word for requim-but...) by extremely talented directors. I have talked to many fellows from around the west coast, and none of these fools seem to have even heard of these movies. I wanted to know where people are from, and have they seen - or even heard of these films?

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No Joke

I have heard of both, but my uncultured self has yet to see either one.

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-Will

I have heard of both..and almost saw Requim for a Dream...it was playing at that Indie movie house in Westlake....the Westlake Twin http://discussanything.com/Ubb/smile.gif....

but unfortunately...i didn't http://discussanything.com/Ubb/frown.gif

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"The only thing i know is that i don't know"
-Socrates
http://worldwideadultdomains.org/sexpages/0164/mouse.gif

Okay lemme ask another question - actually 2 more.

a) Who has seen pearl habor?
b) I wonder why most movies are love / action adventures and not movies of intelligence?

(for the dum-dums- i am betting question a should explain question b.)

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No Joke

I haven't seen Pearl Harbor...but then, I *hate* movies like that. I never saw Titanic, either, and have no desire to. Not my cup of tea.
Movies like that sell, though...unfortunately. This weekend, my movies were 'This is Spinal Tap,' 'Dr. Strangelove,' 'The Hunger,' and 'Santa Sangre'...why don't they make more movies like those? So much more interesting than your average canned Hollywood crap.

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"I have no regrets. Regret only makes wrinkles." - Sophia Loren

see aphasia...you are just jaded..and extreamly opinionated...

there are people on the other side of the spectrum who would think that the movies you watch are "Hollywood Crap"

It's not "Unfortunate" that they sell...if a person likes a movie..then good for them...who am i to say that they are watching crap and shouldn't like it....



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"The only thing i know is that i don't know"
-Socrates
http://worldwideadultdomains.org/sexpages/0164/mouse.gif

I admit, I am extremely opinionated about movies...probably because the one leisure activity I do more than any other is watching movies...So I feel like I've got a fairly decent background to be able to say firmly exactly what I do and don't like. Maybe I am jaded, too, I don't know. I've seen enough mainstream Hollywood movies that, as a general rule, they don't do it for me anymore. Some, I like. Some are the same story done over and over again, and that I can do without.

As for the movies I watch...I doubt anyone would call them 'Hollywood crap' - They're not from Hollywood...the one I'm watching tonight is from Chilean director Alexandro Jodorowsky. Maybe some people would think they're crap, but that's probably because they've been conditioned to think that Hollywood movies are the only movies.

The reason I say it's 'unfortunate' that these movies sell is that, if Hollywood can get money out of them, they're gonna keep making them. And if they keep making them, they won't go out to look for original ideas. If the formula gets you money, why branch out? And that's what I think is sad - because Hollywood-style movies are where the money is, that's all they keep making. It's unfortunate, because that's not what I enjoy seeing - so bad for me, good for those who like that sort of thing, that's all.

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"I have no regrets. Regret only makes wrinkles." - Sophia Loren

Well thething is Scott if you judge a movie by its banality and the ease with which it is digestedthen sure a movie like Pearl Harbor is prolly master filmwork. The films Aphasia listed are all much more original and require much more thought to appreciate fully, the people that shun them usually do so because they dont understand them or are too lazy to think them through. That and they have no desire to branch out into genres above your basic Action, Adventure, Horror, Comedy, and Drama stock scripts. Sort of reminds me of The Fountainhead where Toohey, the ultimate critic and aesthetic advocate of the people, shuns anything original or extraordinary because its above the grasp of the average lay person.

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"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies." -Nietzsche

well see...contrary to popular belief...most movie go-ers know crap when they see it...

it dosen't take intellectuals like you to dictate to the "Lazy Minded" people to change film trends....

it happens naturally....

And the film companies aren't stupid...they pay attention to current trends and basiclly follow the main stream....they aren't going to cater their films to the small crowd who likes "diffrent" movies..

So every so often...the "hollywood" rehash-ment comes around...is this such a bad thing?...i mean..i go to the movies to be entertained....i pay my 8 dollars and sit there genuinely wanting to be happy. I know for the most part..the good guy is gonna win...there will be alot of explotions...and they will usually live happily ever after, and that is ok, because...that's fun...at least..i think it is..and most people do...

What i am trying to get at i guess is....people who don't follow the mainstream shouldn't act all "snooty" because they think that they are the only cultured ones when it comes to art/culture/music/theatre

***end of rant***

***begin flaiming now***

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"The only thing i know is that i don't know"
-Socrates
http://worldwideadultdomains.org/sexpages/0164/mouse.gif

Originally posted by Scott:
i go to the movies to be entertained....i pay my 8 dollars and sit there genuinely wanting to be happy. I know for the most part..the good guy is gonna win...there will be alot of explotions...and they will usually live happily ever after, and that is ok, because...that's fun...at least..i think it is..and most people do...


I go to the movies to be entertained, too...but from time to time, I want to have to think. I want to sympathize with the 'bad guy' (is there ever such a clear cut moral distinction in real life?). It's fun when they live happily ever after, but it's also fun when they learn something about themselves, and are maybe miserable for a while because of it. Happy endings tend to be a copout, in my experience. You've got your deus ex machina who comes along and makes the good guys win at the very last second (have you ever seen a movie where they turn off the bomb 20 seconds before it's about to explode? No, it's always at the exact time it's going to go off...and you know for a fact that they're gonna get it every time.)

There are days when I want to wonder if the main character is really crazy. There are days when I want to watch a film where everyone is weird or bad or just unlikeable, so that I can't give a clear-cut 'I don't like him, he's the bad guy, he's going to lose' reaction. Now, I admit, I like a good Disney movie from time to time. It's safe, it's funny, it's there to entertain. But if I had to pick one type of movie to watch for the rest of my life...it definitely wouldn't be sponsored by The Mouse.

I dunno, maybe I'm just feeling this way because I just saw an *amazing* movie that totally blew my mind and really made me think. (If you can find a store that carries it, go rent 'Santa Sangre' - it's got romance, murder, gore, incest, a circus/freak show, a psychotic mother, an insane main character, naked women rising from the grave, and a midget named Aladdin). It makes me sad to know that movies like that (really, as silly as it sounds, it was an amazing film) aren't made, because all the money is going to the big Hollywood formula films. (For example...Alejandro Jodorowsky, the man behind 'Santa Sangre' did the original 'Dune,' with Dali as the crazy emperor, sitting on a toilet throne. But Hollywood didn't want it - it was too different. So David Lynch did his remake, which is the version everybody now knows and loves. Now, I *love* David Lynch...but I really wish I could see Jodorowsky's version.)

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"I have no regrets. Regret only makes wrinkles." - Sophia Loren

Most people have no taste in movies. Point in case: my brother liked - actually LIKED - Big Momma's House. Movies don't get any worse than this people... And yes, I have seen Dancer in the Dark. It was good, but not great.

-Patrick

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"The difference between an individual terrorist and a government in some cases may be simply that the former has a bomb but doesn't have an air force."
-William Blum

Pat - We all know your brother is a black woman.

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No Joke

Austin, TX and I've heard of and seen both.

I hAvE NOt Herd dEM 2 MoVIes IN va yeT, bUT Im shorE Dat Dey aint tis gOOd aS Titanic!

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Winner of the "peoples Choice award" for supreme advocate for the people!

I'm not "always right", it just seems that way

Spelling is for kids! I think you got the point!

well dancer in the dark was on tv last night and i thought it was realy well done.at first it felt a bit blair witchy in that it kept panning around almost enough to make me feel kinda woozy but i kept watching and it turned out to have a really tragic but awesome story line.bjork did a stellar job and her character was captivating and felt very real.i just wanted to post a lil something about this movie cause i saw it last nite and im still thinking about it,which never happens,unless the movie touched me in some way.

Kenosha, Wisconsin ... heard of both. I passed on "Dancer", and saw "Requiem" ... on the strength of Aronofsky's "Pi" (which I felt was a better film). The most remarkable aspect of "Requiem" was the performance of Ellen Burstyn.

Aphasia admits to being "opinionated" when it comes to movies ... I proudly admit to being a "film snob". Why not? It's just a singular voice up against the hollywood marketing machine.

from Scott ...
And the film companies aren't stupid...they pay attention to current trends and basiclly follow the main stream....they aren't going to cater their films to the small crowd who likes "diffrent" movies..

You're absolutely right, and because the industry focuses on the gross, people such as myself are screwed. My partner and I drive 90 minutes to Chicago on a friday night just to see a movie, because that's what it takes to escape the cineplex fare that has it's sights trained on the 14-year-old audience.

The hollywood game is based on the lowest common denominator ... with a few exceptions. Afterall, even the studio sultans know they can't hand the Oscar for Best Picture to "Dude, Where's My Car?" Hence, "Saving Private Ryan", "Schindler's List", "Ghandi", and the like ... so that once a year the hollywood elite can stand before the world and portray themselves as the last bastion of socially conscience artistic endeavor.

Of course they forget to mention that 99% of their product is based on a car chase, an explosion, a kick in the groin, special effects, a fart joke and a safe, happy ending. You're right ... how dare anyone lay claim to the cultured high road in the face of such artistic brillance.

To steal a line from Chuck D ....
BURN, HOLLYWOOD BURN!

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"I would never join any club that would have me as a member."
- Groucho