HoldenMartinson

I'd love to do all three as one, but if I had to pick one, I think I'd nominate Red. It's a film that encapsulates most themes across Kieślowski's filmography. Which makes sense. It is, after all, hisfilm about unification--hence its core theme of "fraternité." That said, I looooooooove Blue, and would happily vote that sucker in. Blind Chance is great. If I'm ranking Kieślowski films, it falls a little lower, but I adore this film. Would love to hear an episode on it. As for Kurosawa, I agree. Maybe do one of his lesser-known films. Utamaro and His Five Women are great. Like I said on the Kurosawa thread, my pick would be Stray Dog, which is my favorite of his films. I'd also put up High and Low, and Drunken Angel. He has such a diverse filmography, and has so many terrific films. There's a Ran versus Throne of Blood thread around here, as a Shakespeare adaptation faceoff suggestion. That'd be cool. Seven Samurai, The Hidden Fortress, Red Beard, Rashomon, and Yojimbo are all great, but I'd rather start elsewhere as well.

If There Will Be Blood wins, it'll be the first time the audience goes completely against both hosts.

Do it as a versus with, say... Gone With the Wind. Otherwise, it's no fun.

Showgirls versus Heaven's Gate. Give it a few years, but that could make for an interesting episode.

As I mentioned at the top of the indulgence picks thread, Kieślowski is among my favorite filmmakers. Devin has mentioned The Decalogue on a couple of occasions, but you could do almost any of his films. I'd go with the Three Colors trilogy, but I'd also submit The Double Life of Veronique, No End, and Blind Chance. Again, both Short Film expansions on the adultery and murder episodes of The Decalogue are up for discussion. Maybe a three-way versus of the trilogy? The only problem is that this would devolve into Red versus Blue. But yeah. His films are legitimately watchable, textually dense, and brutally human works of filmmaking.

Listening to this pushed me closer to There Will Be Blood, weirdly enough. I'm really torn. I think that I'll go with Boogie Nights for now, but I'm gonna sit on this.

Nearly 300 votes, and the margin is 2 votes. Jesus...

Plainview says he's finished, but it looks like your analysis is just getting started.

Not even sure which one I prefer, but Saving Private Ryan is just too iconic not to win.

Well, Boogie Nights is so clearly living in its 70s setting that even a lot of the camera techniques are being used like they would in a film from that period. So, for it to emulate Nashville seems justified.

I would argue that Hot Rod is canon. It's one of the great homage pictures of the last ten years, this is The Lonely Island's greatest achievement, and this is one of the defining cult films of this newer generation. This is a picture that knows what it's lampooning, and does it with a lot of observation, and with a lot of adoration for these films. I also believe in the argument that quotability is a legitimate factor for canonization, and when half of the script is that recitable, that's the mark of a really memorable picture. Any movie that can take its villain, and make them almost sympathetic through the repetition of "BABE!!!" is worth remembering. Hot Rod is incredible. I mean, you're right. It probably wouldn't make it, but I think it'd be a fun addition into the canon.

I love the theme of The Shining: "I'm Not a Family Man, Not Yet an Axe Murderer."

I'm Boogie Nights right now, but both are among my hundred favorite films of all time. I love these films, and I am so sad this is what's happening. We should have been more careful about what we wished for.

This is a great picture, and this is a clear YAS, KWEEN. This was a really frustrating episode. This could have been a lot of fun, but then it devolves into "The Fly didn't get in, so this shouldn't get in." Next week, either There Will Be Blood or Boogie Nights will be denied entry into the canon, and both of those films are far better than either The Fly or Re-Animator. Again, The Road Warrior and The Empire Strikes Back--legitimately important films--do not exist in the canon, but Working Girl and Two-Lane Blacktop are in the canon. It's a futile argument to say that, just because one movie didn't get in, the other shouldn't either. Also, Evil Dead II and Re-Animator don't even feel like the same films. Also, Re-Animator comes before either that or The Fly. Boring argument, maybe, but worth discussing, because film doesn't exist in a vacuum, which is why you can only really have a big canon.

I think that, as per the description provided by Devin, indulgence picks are just pictures that aren't immediately obvious. Or just films that you think are brilliant, and maybe have been sort of forgotten. Something like that.

Todd Solondz is so interesting. I'd definitely give it up for Happiness, and I'd be up for Welcome to the Dollhouse. That said, some of his films are really terrible--Dark Horse and Storytelling are not great.

Those were the two things Devin liked about American Beauty: Conrad L. Hall's cinematography is great, and Re-Animator gets a shout-out.

The first two have some truly inventive segments--my personal favorite being "Ride in the Park"--but Viral is pretty horrific at times, and it's only out of love for those first couple entries that I even want to like this one. But yeah. It's mostly awful.

[REC 2] is a really interesting follow-up, because of how it re-contextualizes the first film to the extent of changing it from a zombie film to a possession story, which I think is one of the best moves a horror sequel could make. That said, the story is pretty weak, and you could almost cut out the subplot with the kids, which doesn't make a ton of sense anyway. I really like the V/H/S series. The second film is much better than the first, but I think that Viral has a really cool wrap-around segment that almost works, and the parallel universe segment is pretty good--though the other two are quite terrible. It's sort of how lots of Pink Floyd fans enjoy The Division Bell, even though it's a really weak effort in their discography.

You know, you mentioning Cartoon Network makes me realize that we probably have shows like Steven Universe because of Miyazaki. In which case, Kiki is 100% canon.

I'm down to clown. Re-Animator is a horror gem. Really excited to hear what Amy thinks of it, because Devin is gonna have some interesting, excited things to say for sure.

No. It's fine to disapprove of a movement or scene of some kind. To say Devin is racist is an overstatement, and to argue about it is really tedious.

I've already said my piece on the matter in the homework thread. We could do a lot better, not just with Miyazaki, but in terms of filmmakers of anime. Whatever the case may be, I appreciated Film Crit Hulk's arguments, but I kinda feel the same as Devin. This is a film that should speak to me, but it leaves me a little emotionally empty. I still vote yes, but so softly. We need anime, and Miyazaki is as good of a representative as any., and Kiki's is a fine film as well.

I know Spotlight was pretty significant, winning Best Picture and everything, but it still feels like kind of an undervalued film. It's really terrific. It's the same argument I would apply to Marathon Man: Spotlight is not breaking any new ground, but it inhabits the space carved out by other great films about journalism quite beautifully. It's just a damn well-made picture, which is worth as much discussion. We can talk about influential films all day long, but it's way more interesting to talk about the beneficiaries of great pieces of cinema, that use their influences in interesting ways. This is why we talk about someone like Tarantino, and others that just celebrate film with a rabid passion. I think Spotlight is quieter in that regard, obviously, but is still worth mentioning. As for those other two films, in another world, that would make for a versus episode on par with Thing vs. The Fly. Do you vote for the elegant, fatalistic folktale, or do you vote for the achingly honest portrayal of passion and accomplishment? It's just so hard to choose.

You know, subs is the way to go. But I think dubs get a bad rap. Disney ones are reliable, even if they don't surpass the performances of the original voice cast.