Movie Recommendations?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>My husband tends to control the Netflix list and subsequently we get a lot of serious thrillers, which I like, but don’t provide me with enough “soulfood.” Can anyone recommend some thoughtful, not overly brutal films to put on our list? </p>

<p>My memory is really bad, but some films I have enjoyed over the past few years include: Golden Door, The World’s Fastest Indian, Once, 3 Burials of Melchiada Estrada (brutal, yes), the Neil Young and Bob Dylan films (I love music), Il Postino, Everything is Iluminated. </p>

<p>I keep vowing to be more organized and write things down after I read good reviews in the paper, but haven’t made that intention a reality yet.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Cinema Paradiso, The Choir Boys (Les Choristes)…</p>

3

<p>For a music movie try “Festival Express”</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372279/[/url]”>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372279/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I saw this on TV the other night. It’s a documentary about a concert tour through Canada in the summer of 1970 with Janis Joplin, The Greatful Dead, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Buddy Guy, The Band, and a host of others. I had never heard of either the concert or the movie. What a great historical treat it was!</p>

4

<p>Favorite French epic…along the lines of Victor Hugo in scope–all star cast…beautiful settings, great story
Jean de Florette and its even more fetching sequel Manon of the Spring </p>

<p>Wings of Desire for a great German film</p>

5

<p>drama+soulfood: Pan’s labyrinth. Also Cold Mountain (altho not nearly as good as the book).</p>

6

<p>Pan’s was good. I saw a movie the other night called “Stay” and I did not get it. I was so completely lost by the end of the movie. </p>

<p>I’ll list some of my movies, I’m sure some or most of them have been seen - About Schmidt, Amelie (If you don’t mind subtitles), Before Sunrise, Before Sunset (Both are very good if you don’t mind slow-moving films - the second is done in real time… I would watch them in their correct order though - sunrise then sunset.) Buffalo 66 (I absolutely love this film), Crash, Everything is Illuminated (which you saw), Garden State, The Graduate, Love Actually, Magnolia, Memento, The Royal Tennenbaums, Run Lola Run (Same thing with subtitles, the Dub is awful), Punch Drunk Love, Say Anything, The Virgin Suicides, Transamerica, Clockwork Orange.</p>

<p>If you want to try some comedy’s - Spinal Tap, Knocked Up, Fletch, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Zoolander</p>

7

<p>Watch a movie called ‘The Grave of the Fireflies.’ </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Grave-Fireflies-Tsutomu-Tatsumi/dp/B00070Q84U/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-3494067-7394053?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1191693846&sr=8-1[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Grave-Fireflies-Tsutomu-Tatsumi/dp/B00070Q84U/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-3494067-7394053?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1191693846&sr=8-1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It may be an animated film from the 80s, but the message it leaves is just so sad and desperate. The most poignant movie I’ve ever seen. </p>

<p>Note: Get the original Japanese w/ subtitles; it just isn’t natural otherwise.</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>I second this. They are absolutely brilliant, moving, and beautifully filmed.</p>

9

<p>Wings of Desire is a wonderful Wim Wender film ( with " Columbo");)</p>

<p>One of my favorite movies is [Days of Heaven](<a href=“Days of Heaven (1978) - IMDb”>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077405/&lt;/a&gt; )
Gorgeous Terence Malick film
Ive also enjoyed Almodovar’s Talk to Her-
The Sea Inside ( also Spanish)
and Motorcycle Diaries
( Che Guevera)</p>

10

<p>Joyeux Noel is a wonderful foreign film about an informal truce between soldiers in WWI on Xmas eve…</p>

11

<p>Kingdom of Heaven – but you MUST get the Director’s Cut. The theatrical cut was terrible.</p>

<p>This is Ridley Scott’s underrated but brilliant movie about the Crusades. Plenty of violence for your husband, but plenty to think about and some interesting and complex characters for you. Eva Green is much more than a Bond girl in this one (though her part was ruined in the theatrical cut, which is one of the main reasons why the Director’s Cut is superior).</p>

12

<p>I second Kingdom of Heaven (the Director’s Cut) and Love Actually. Two good Liam Neeson movies. (Although, to be fair, he was only in the former for about 20 minutes.)</p>

<p>In the comedy department:
The Producers (technically a musical comedy?), Wedding Crashers, anything in the Will Ferrell school of comedy. Two Weeks Notice? (Bit of a comedy-romance), </p>

<p>More serious movies:
The Family Stone (… maybe not the right season?), Something’s Gotta Give (I’m way too young to have enjoyed this movie…), Sabrina (Hepburn/Bogart, not the Ford version), A Beautiful Mind, A Few Good Men… Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Pianist, Little Miss Sunshine, Breakfast at Tiffany’s?, Good Will Hunting, can’t think of any more at the moment.</p>

<p>P.S.: I looked through the IMDb Top 250 for some inspiration, only to find that a majority of the movies on that list were pretty depressing. Not much “soul food” there.</p>

13

<p>The Wedding Date (comedy)
Liar Liar (oldie but goodie)
The Mask of Zorro (oldie but goodie)
Take the Lead (Antonio Banderas! in a very entertaining role as Pierre Dulaine)
The Incredibles or Finding Nemo (the Disney fix)</p>

14

<p>If you like Kenneth Branaugh and Emma Thompson, you might like Dead Again- a thriller but with a twist.</p>

<p>Not really" thrillers" but with a lot of action- & or Drama
Kenneth Branaugh in Henry V , Peter O’toole as Henry II in The Lion in Winter ( fantastic script) , Russell Crowe directed by Peter Weir in Master and Commander ( it was so good I saw it by myself & then dragged my family to it- I don’t know how it would be on a small screen though- it is definitely made for a big screen with the shipboard shots)
And since you are doing Netflix, I would recommend * Second Sight* a mystery theatre production as Clive Owen as a DCI who is losing his sight and is keeping it a secret from his coworkers</p>

<p>If you like Jeff Bridges, I would also suggest a Bridges retrospective- Fabulous Baker Boys, Against All Odds which I really like even though it sounds like a tv movie, Fearless & the Big Lebowski :wink: oh and Cutter’s Way with John Heard.</p>

15

<p>Thanks everyone! I am making a great list based on your recommendations. Some I have seen and loved. Keep them coming! Also, does anyone know of a good website listing of best films? I know it’s subjective, but it can be helpful, too. </p>

<p>The movie that has “stayed with me” most since I saw it 20+ years ago is Gallipoli.</p>

16

<p>rottentomatos.com or is it tomatoes? had a great offering of film reviews…very useful.</p>

17

<p>You could do worse than watch the American Film Institute’s Top 100 - I don’t agree with some of the choices, but there are lots I haven’t seen: <a href=“http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/movies.aspx[/url]”>http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/movies.aspx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

18

<p>How could I forget Eternal Sunshine and Little Miss Sunshine? Those are both must see’s. Also, Better off dead and High Fidelity are two good Cusack films that I like a lot.</p>

19

<p>Thank You for Not Smoking.
Very Funny.</p>

20

<p>“crash” is a great movie</p>