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

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As listed in Artforum.

Poll Results

OptionVotes
My Winnipeg 8
Milk 4
Man on Wire 3
Brand Upon The Brain! 3
In The Loop 3
Grindhouse 3
Dogtooth 3
Antichrist 2
Life During Wartime 2
Away from Her 2
Broken Embraces 1
The Wrestler 1
Lust, Caution 1
World's Greatest Dad 1
Enter The Void 1
Love Songs 1
Jackass 3D 1
The Baader Meinhof Complex 1
The Last Mistress 0
Taxi to the Dark Side 0
Zoo 0
Cassandra's Dream 0
Before I Forget 0
Vicki Cristina Barcelona 0
Savage Grace 0
Domain 0
Buried 0
Ricky 0
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work 0
Carlos 0
Mesrine 0
Import Export 0
Bruno 0
Lorna's Silence 0
Whatever Works 0
The Headless Woman 0
Mister Lonely 0
An American Crime 0


like launch the globs and strands (Eazy), Friday, 14 January 2011 23:36 (fourteen years ago)

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

jed_, Friday, 14 January 2011 23:40 (fourteen years ago)

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

ex-heroin addict tricycle (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 14 January 2011 23:42 (fourteen years ago)

need

ex-heroin addict tricycle (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 14 January 2011 23:42 (fourteen years ago)

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.

(The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Friday, 14 January 2011 23:47 (fourteen years ago)

My Winnipeg.

EZ Snappin, Friday, 14 January 2011 23:53 (fourteen years ago)

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

difficult listening hour, Saturday, 15 January 2011 00:07 (fourteen years ago)

it makes no sense and there's no jokes

ex-heroin addict tricycle (Shakey Mo Collier), Saturday, 15 January 2011 00:12 (fourteen years ago)

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

circa1916, Saturday, 15 January 2011 00:23 (fourteen years ago)

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, Saturday, 15 January 2011 01:18 (fourteen years ago)

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.

clemenza, Saturday, 15 January 2011 01:29 (fourteen years ago)

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

kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 15 January 2011 01:52 (fourteen years ago)

I liked the Joan Rivers docu a lot.

Stop Non-Erotic Cabaret (Abbbottt), Saturday, 15 January 2011 01:59 (fourteen years ago)

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

ex-heroin addict tricycle (Shakey Mo Collier), Saturday, 15 January 2011 04:36 (fourteen years ago)

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.

da croupier, Saturday, 15 January 2011 12:08 (fourteen years ago)

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

I'll make you bang, combinating with smang (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 15 January 2011 12:09 (fourteen years ago)

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

da croupier, Saturday, 15 January 2011 12:10 (fourteen years ago)

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

da croupier, Saturday, 15 January 2011 12:11 (fourteen years ago)

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......

Princess TamTam, Saturday, 15 January 2011 12:16 (fourteen years ago)

The Baader Meinhof Complex

you got your TV, you got your dinner, you got your TV dinner (DavidM), Saturday, 15 January 2011 12:33 (fourteen years ago)

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

xyzzzz__, Saturday, 15 January 2011 12:38 (fourteen years ago)

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?

some dude, Saturday, 15 January 2011 13:17 (fourteen years ago)

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.

Ludo, Saturday, 15 January 2011 14:22 (fourteen years ago)

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

I'll make you bang, combinating with smang (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 15 January 2011 14:25 (fourteen years ago)

Like a lot:
Carlos
In the Loop
Man on Wire

Like a bit:
Mesrine
Bruno
The Wrestler
Milk
Lust Caution

Rejoice that you weren't eaten (chap), Saturday, 15 January 2011 14:28 (fourteen years ago)

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

Rejoice that you weren't eaten (chap), Saturday, 15 January 2011 14:29 (fourteen years ago)

This has reminded me I need to see Buried.

Rejoice that you weren't eaten (chap), Saturday, 15 January 2011 14:30 (fourteen years ago)

milk

piscesx, Saturday, 15 January 2011 14:31 (fourteen years ago)

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

progressive cuts (Tracer Hand), Saturday, 15 January 2011 14:39 (fourteen years ago)

Brand Upon The Brain!, certainly.

I can't wait to understand these arguments! (R Baez), Saturday, 15 January 2011 15:04 (fourteen years ago)

aspiring grotesquery
good display name

obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Saturday, 15 January 2011 15:28 (fourteen years ago)

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...)

obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Saturday, 15 January 2011 15:33 (fourteen years ago)

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

johnny crunch, Saturday, 15 January 2011 15:55 (fourteen years ago)

my winnipeg!

another al3x, Saturday, 15 January 2011 16:22 (fourteen years ago)

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.

Kevin John Bozelka, Saturday, 15 January 2011 19:23 (fourteen years ago)

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

oOoOO on the TLC tip (donna rouge), Saturday, 15 January 2011 19:27 (fourteen years ago)

from this list: my winnipeg or milk or dogtooth maybe

oOoOO on the TLC tip (donna rouge), Saturday, 15 January 2011 19:28 (fourteen years ago)

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...

normal_fantasy-unicorns (contenderizer), Saturday, 15 January 2011 19:52 (fourteen years ago)

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

Alba, Saturday, 15 January 2011 20:50 (fourteen years ago)

My Winnipeg.

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

Gukbe, Saturday, 15 January 2011 21:02 (fourteen years ago)

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?"

clemenza, Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:14 (fourteen years ago)

"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.

Kevin John Bozelka, Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:25 (fourteen years ago)

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.)

clemenza, Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:28 (fourteen years ago)

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

some dude, Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:29 (fourteen years ago)

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

Kevin John Bozelka, Saturday, 15 January 2011 22:37 (fourteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Wednesday, 26 January 2011 00:01 (fourteen years ago)

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

System, Thursday, 27 January 2011 00:01 (fourteen years ago)

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

opeth winfrey (donna rouge), Thursday, 27 January 2011 00:05 (fourteen years ago)

Everybody, see My Winnipeg.

Davek (davek_00), Thursday, 27 January 2011 00:14 (fourteen years ago)

Everybody, listen to davek_00.

Kevin John Bozelka, Thursday, 27 January 2011 00:40 (fourteen years ago)

eleven months pass...

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?"

do you not like slouching? (Eazy), Monday, 16 January 2012 15:55 (thirteen years ago)

two years pass...

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

forbodingly titled It's True! It's True! (Eazy), Thursday, 11 December 2014 15:54 (ten years ago)

eleven months pass...

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

my harp and me (Eazy), Tuesday, 1 December 2015 19:50 (nine years ago)

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

μpright mammal (mh), Tuesday, 1 December 2015 21:26 (nine years ago)

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

Fetty Wap Is Strong In Here (cryptosicko), Tuesday, 1 December 2015 21:32 (nine years ago)

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

μpright mammal (mh), Tuesday, 1 December 2015 21:35 (nine years ago)

three years pass...
two years pass...

His 2021 list.

... (Eazy), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 20:12 (three years ago)

A wise number 1.

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 1 December 2021 22:02 (three years ago)

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

A Pile of Ants (Boring, Maryland), Wednesday, 1 December 2021 23:14 (three years ago)


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