I Need a Quick Review
 

I think an interesting thread would be one in which people could ask advice on whether to watch a particular movie on TV or not. If they take people's advice and watch the movie they can then comment on whether they thought it was good advice or not.

I'll start. Should I wake up and watch Warlock(1959) tommorrow at 7:30 a.m. (ET) on AMC? Cowboy movie with Richard Widmark and Henry Fonda.

Eh.

Warlock is just OK. Not great, not terrible. It wouldn't be a complete waste of time, but it's no lost classic or anything.

How about Five Easy Pieces? I'm thinking about renting it. I've also been thinking about seeing The Royal Tenenbaums.

i guess The Royal Tenenbaums isn't a complete waste of time so u should definitly check it out if u get a chance

The Royal Tenenbaums is great. Kind of an emotional tone poem fused with a screwball comedy, a stylized ensemble charater piece with surprising depth and humor with the trappings of a modern Salinger-like fable, and Hackman is perfect as the wayward patriarch. See it ASAP.

Five Easy Pieces is also a great movie, a terrific character study. Jack Nicholson, in his first starring role, is magnificent. The diner scene where he tries to get his order the way he wants it without breaking any of the waitress' no substitutions rules, is the most celebrated and well-known bit in the movie, but there's much more to it than that. My single favorite moment is toward the beginning, when in a traffic jam he hops on the back of a truck. From the opening I'll wager you'll have no idea where the narrative is headed. But the narrative is secondary to the emotional and intellectual life of that man, which is examined so very well by Nicholson and Bob Rafelson.

So yeah, you should see it.

I've been really wanting to see Rushmore for quite a while now. Also, do you think it's worth it to buy both Criterion DVD's of Peeping Tom and Man Bites Dog? How are the films? I've been looking foward to seeing them, especially Peeping Tom.

Rushmore and Peeping Tom are both worth blind buys, yes. Especially the Criterion editions. Peeping Tom is a good and odd thriller, covering some of the same basic ground as Psycho (which came out later that same year), only with the actual psychology examined a bit more and a completely different milieu. Plus there's some fun movie industry stuff there.

Man Bites Dog is good, I like it, but I don't think it's quite as good as its rep. It wouldn't be a bad blind buy, but you might want to rent it first, see how much you groove on it personally. Between Peeping Tom and Man Bites Dog, it's no contest: get Michael Powell's film.

And Rushmore is simply one of my all-time favorite movies.

How about a movie called Ordet (1955)?

Never seen Ordet. But you can't go very wrong with Carl Theo Dreyer.

Its on Sunday 10PM (ET) on TCM. Looks interesting.

Yeah, I noticed that too. I'm definately going to check it out.

how about Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind? by what it seems to be about, i will give you movies in the same genre i like and dislike:

like - Memento, Fight Club, Usual Suspects
dislike - Pulp Fiction, Requiem For A Dream

i've never seen it but it looks interesting. any thoughts?

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind isn't anything like any of those movies you mentioned, really. A bit Memento-ish I suppose, in a way. But not really.

It's Charlie Kaufman. What more needs to be said? Eternal Sunshine is a great, great movie. See it soon, see it often.

a lot since i've seen parts of Being John Malkovich and nothing else from him.

Thanks, Holden.

Have you seen any Jacques Tati movies? What do you think, if you have?

Yeah, the Tati movies are all very good. I don't think one of the Monsieur Hulot flicks is any better or worse than the others, they're all incredibly warm and charming. But you may as well do 'em in order, starting with Monsieur Hulot's Holiday, then Mon Oncle, Playtime and finally Traffic (1971).

Still haven't seen these films...

Wonderland
21 Grams
Monster
Mystic River

I'm going to rent one this weekend, which is the best choice?

Monster is the only one I've seen. I'd recommend it heartily. The acting is incredibly detailed and convincing, and the story is fascinating and based on true events.

I've avoided Mystic River because Penn's over-the-top emotionalism makes my teeth itch. 21 Grams looks cool.

Anyone see Ulzana's Raid (1972). Looks good and I have never seen it.