+8
True Romance
So, I somehow had never seen this film before despite it being the Tarantino that Tarantino didn't direct. Which is exactly what it is too. There are a whole bunch of Tarantinoisms, but it also does miss some of that excitement a Tarantino. Which might sound wild, because there is plenty of excitement in this film, but there is a different vibe, a different thing. I don't think I'm a point in my life where this type of movie will ever catapult itself into my top, top tier, but there is a solid floor for it. Some good performances. Very enjoyable film.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
I've seen this before and I probably didn't really need to see it again. Still lots of fun, but still not a film that would have become anywhere close to this famous if my taste was the universal taste. The opening set looked surprisingly cheap to me this time around, but that was only a minor and temporary distraction. Not as enjoyable as True Romance, but a fun film. Still there are plenty of fun films that I'd induct before this one.
One Cut of the Dead
I probably could have bumped this film up a spot or two in my votes and been happy about it. This film, to me, was a much better family film that My Dog Skip. I was happy to see the daughter grow to respect her father more. I feel like that is probably more commonly fantasy than reality, but it works for me. Life experience has made me more sensitive to those type of relationships. This is also a great way to pay homage to all those things about the cheaper side of filmmaking that are usually appreciated more after you've already done them. When it all comes together, it's worth it. Really good stuff here, done in a fun way.
The Secret of Roan Inish
You'd be surprising me if you told me that I wasn't the high voter on this one. I loved this film. From the landscapes to the folklore to the ocean to the mystery to the music to the performances, every little bit really came together for me in this one. I don't think the story would work in many other contexts, but like I said, it all came together in this film. A selkie seems like a silly cryptid, but I was so bought in to this film that I was even in to that weirdness with the coat and everything. So make that two quality family films in a row that I wasn't too hurt by because they don't suck.
Cure
This was a rewatch and I'm glad I did it. It's still got this really cold atmosphere and air of mystery to it. Like a lot of other damaged people, I'm into serial killer stuff, and this is high end serial killer stuff. Criminal Minds, if they haven't already, should ape this movie. This has a Criminal Minds friendly plot, and some would see that as a negative, but the craftmanship behind this film blows everything Criminal Minds has done out of the water, and I don't hate that show. Cure also has a major advantage in that it goes two hours and takes its time building dread, it has an almost unbearable atmospheric tension at certain points. Also that hallucination Takabe has is maybe the greatest hallucination in the history of film. It was very effective. A lot of detective films have the whole "trouble at home" slant to them, but this film provides a bit of a deviation from that with the spouse being mentally ill. Which only adds to the that tension, because you forget about her when he's doing detective shit, but when you see him coming home or whatever, you remember that there might be some wild stuff going on here too.
It's not on the front page but early in the thread I had mentioned that I seen Demons recently enough to not need to see it again and C/Ped a post I made about it another thread.
My own nomination also didn't need a rewatch. Apocalypse Now is an all time great film, I don't know if it beats out the Human Condition trilogy as the best war film of all time, but I think (rewatch of Full Metal Jacket pending) it is safe as the best Vietnam War movie of all time. The opening Martin Sheen being a psychotic drunk dude nakedly attacking his mirror scene is awesome and the film never lets up from then on. I know it's based on Heart of Darkness, which I pretended to read in high school, but I can't imagine HoD being as interesting as AN. Surely there was no surfing or Napalm in that book. I also was reminded of Herzog at times, specifically I think about Aguirre and Nosferatu at times, but that is probably just because of the floating down the river aspect of the films. All three films are 5-star bangers tho.