Your Favorite of John Waters's Favorite Films, 2007-2010

of the ones i've seen i liked The Headless Woman most and i didn't even like it that much.

he's really fond of late period Woody Allen! maybe it's a campy so-bad-it's-good thing.

don't like having to select Grindhouse as a single movie either but it's kinda between that and Mr. Lonely. Def a bunch of other stuff on here I eed to see

need

detested all of these to varying degrees:
Vicki Cristina Barcelona
World's Greatest Dad
Bruno
Mister Lonely
Savage Grace
The Last Mistress

indifferent:
In the Loop
The Baader Meinhof Complex

liked:
Dogtooth
Antichrist
Milk

i went with antichrist because it got (by far) the most undeserved rap.

My Winnipeg.

i watched whatever works yesterday. it's a movie made by a psychopath.

it makes no sense and there's no jokes

Antichrist is... difficult. It's a gorgeous, compelling film, but it's hard to get around that "women are evil" thing.

hated The Wrestler and all those Woody Allen flicks, but i just watched JW's commentary track on Pink Flamingos this morning so i'm reminded of how awesome dude is and he's entitled to his taste. probably will vote for Grindhouse i guess? been wanting to watch the Joan Rivers doc.

I've seen very few of these, but Man on Wire over Carlos, with Joan Rivers third. A good window into Waters the moviegoer is the "Guilty Pleasures" article he wrote for Film Comment in the early '80s, which I managed to find online (also collected in one of his books). Love the joke about art-film trailers and The Mother and the Whore.

probably btwn the 2 Guy Maddins, The Headless Woman, Milk and Carlos.

I liked the Joan Rivers docu a lot.

the John Waters book I have is amazing. the chapter on terrible "artsy" movies that he loves is classic

I was gonna write something like "wow that's almost entirely aspiring grotesquery and Woody Allen movies" and then realized the second grouping was redundant.

torn between My Winnipeg and Antichrist but I haven't seen Antichrist yet.

would so vote for Grindhouse if it wasn't for Death Proof, might go with the Joan Rivers doc

I'm wondering if he sees gross hollywood stuff too or just gross arthouse stuff

voted lust, caution imo

hated The Wrestler and all those Woody Allen flicks, but i just watched JW's commentary track on Pink Flamingos this morning so i'm reminded of how awesome dude is and he's entitled to his taste. probably will vote for Grindhouse i guess? been wanting to watch the Joan Rivers doc.

― some dude, Friday, January 14, 2011 8:18 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

why'd u hate the wrestler? is it a pearl jam thing......

The Baader Meinhof Complex

Whatever Works was ok. Maybe you have to like Curb Your Enthusiasm, as it is made by a guy who acts like a sociopath.

why'd u hate the wrestler? is it a pearl jam thing......

― Princess TamTam, Saturday, January 15, 2011 7:16 AM (42 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

just felt like i got nothing out of seeing the movie that i didn't get from seeing the trailer, i guess, like there was no meat on its bones beyond the basic premise. pearl jam thing?

man this guy is the last Woody-Stan on earth? saw about 20 of those favourites in no particular order Man On Wire, The Headless Woman, Mister Lonely, In The Loop.

weirdest inclusion, Ricky i guess, poor execution of a half baked idea.

can't believe some of John Waters's favourite movies of the last 3 years are not very good

Like a lot:
Carlos
In the Loop
Man on Wire

Like a bit:
Mesrine
Bruno
The Wrestler
Milk
Lust Caution

Gonna rep for the home team and vote In the Loop I think.

This has reminded me I need to see Buried.

milk

Vicki Cristina Barcelona
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Man on Wire
In the Loop

Brand Upon The Brain!, certainly.

aspiring grotesquery
good display name

i choose Guy Maddin films, Life During Wartime, Broken Embraces, The Wrestler
have a weird fondness/lol for the emotionally manipulative nature of Vicky Christina Barcelona
but haven't seen In the Loop or Man on Wire yet! (or several of these really, which wld require me to be in the mood for movies that mess me up for days after, so...)

i accidentally voted away from her (never seen it) thinking it was talk to her

my winnipeg!

A good window into Waters the moviegoer is the "Guilty Pleasures" article he wrote for Film Comment in the early '80s, which I managed to find online (also collected in one of his books). Love the joke about art-film trailers and The Mother and the Whore.

I'm sure I've said this a nonillion times but this is one of my fave pieces of film criticism ever. And his year-end lists function as de facto appendices to it. Which means that Waters is the only thing in the cosmos that would get me to watch those Woody Allen films.

My vote here is easy because it's on my top ten of the Aughts: Love Songs which advances the cause of the movie musical hundredfold.

his is the only year-end film list i anticipate, even if i'm baffled by his recent-woody love

from this list: my winnipeg or milk or dogtooth maybe

brand upon the brain! my winnipeg second, but i'm not sure why.

have enjoyed a number of the films on this list (joan rivers doc, jackass, in the loop, man on wire, milk, grindhouse), but the two maddins are the only ones i'd say i love. otoh, haven't seen the majority, so...

Don't bother seeing Buried. It's really creaky.

My Winnipeg.

― EZ Snappin, Friday, January 14, 2011 11:53 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

I'm sure I've said this a nonillion times but this is one of my fave pieces of film criticism ever.

I tried to find a joke I remember from the same piece, but Google removes pages from the books they post. It had to do with art films being above sequels, and Waters saying something like, "C'mon, Ingmar--how about Persona II?"

"Come on Ingmar, how about Brink of Life II?"

Have yet to see I! I'm assuming I wont dig it but it's on the list.

I have a pdf of the article if anyone wants it.

Wow--I've been misquoting that joke (many, many times) for 30 years. Thanks. (I might stick with Persona II, though, as very few people have ever heard of Brink of Life...as opposed to the box-office smash Persona.)

on the Pink Flamingos commentary he talks about at one point working on an idea for a sequel

Yes, Flamingos Forever, the script of which has been published in Trash Trio.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

i've seen 'brink of life', it's aight

Everybody, see My Winnipeg.

Everybody, listen to davek_00.

1. The Skin I Live In (dir. Pedro Almodóvar) "A dark, twisted, beautiful, and, yes, funny shocker from the greatest director in the world. God bless you, Pedro Almodóvar!"
2. Mildred Pierce (dir. Todd Haynes) "This elegantly shot, pitch-perfect made-for-TV melodrama makes everyone who watches secretly yearn to be a woman with issues. The best period film in decades—period."
3. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (dir. Jon M. Chu) "I'm not kidding. A well-made doc that proves the Bieb was a child prodigy. Wait until you see Justin stick his head into the audience and shake his hair in 3-D. I screamed."
4. Hadewijch (dir. Bruno Dumont)
5. Kaboom (dir. Gregg Araki) "Doomsday never looked so hot."
6. If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front (dirs. Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman)
7. The Tree of Life (dir. Terrence Malick) "You'd think I'd hate this film, and I almost did—until I realized it's the best New Age, heterosexual, Christian movie of the year."
8. I'm Glad My Mother Is Alive (dirs. Claude and Nathan Miller)
9. We Were Here (dir. David Weissman)
10. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul) "A spooky, witty, never pretentious meditation on the otherworldly lust of ghosts and wild animals. Aren't you glad art films don't get test-screened?"

2014:
https://artforum.com/inprint/issue=201410&id=49103

2015:
https://artforum.com/inprint/issue=201510&id=56221

I can almost hear his voice in my head when reading those descriptions

I didn't like Tom at the Farm, but Waters's "I thought it was sexy" is just so...him.

I don't actually remember the rimming scene in Love but if John Waters says it was there, I believe him!

https://www.artforum.com/print/201810/john-waters-on-the-best-films-of-2018-77686

Also 2017 and 2016 (previously paywalled):
https://www.artforum.com/print/201710/john-waters-72432

https://www.artforum.com/print/201610/john-waters-64773

His 2021 list.

A wise number 1.

I feel special that I’ve seen his top two films! I even liked Annette!