Tell Me What to Rent

here's a cut-and-paste from my "to-rent" list. but i have not seen any of them, so i don't know if they're worth it yet or not.

Distant (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
Round Up (Mikos Jancso)
Passions (Kira Muratova)
The Easy Life (Dino Riso)
The Scarlet Empress (Josef Von Sternberg)
La Cienaga (Lucrecia Martel)
The Naked City (Jules Dassin)
The Tree of Wooden Clogs (Ermanno Olmi)
To Sleep With Anger (Charles Burnett)
Greaser's Palace (Robert Downey)

10 movies that at one point or another in my life were my "favorite":

Jaws
Back to the Future
Die Hard
Apocalypse Now
8 1/2
Transformers: The Movie
A.I.
In the Mood for Love
Umberto D
The Thin Red Line

and here is the top ten on my greencine queue that i havent seen:

La Commare Secca (Criterion Collection) (1962)
When Will I Be Loved (2004)
Springtime in a Small Town (2002)
Last Life in the Universe (2003)
Ashes of Time (1994)
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)
Infernal Affairs 2 (2003)
Eureka (2000)
Chinese Odyssey 2002 (2002)
The Yakuza Papers vol.1: Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973)

Heart Like a Wheel (Jonathan Kaplan)
Comfort and Joy (Bill Forsythe)
California Split (Altman)
Goin' Down the Road (Don Shebib)
The Sound of Trumpets (Ermanno Olmi)
Welfare (Frederick Wiseman)
Straight Time (Ulu Grosbard)
The Straight Story (Lynch)
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (Martin Ritt)
Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey (Steven Martin)

Heart Like a Wheel (Jonathan Kaplan)
Comfort and Joy (Bill Forsyth)
California Split (Altman)
Goin' Down the Road (Don Shebib)
The Sound of Trumpets (Ermanno Olmi)
Welfare (Frederick Wiseman)
Straight Time (Ulu Grosbard)
The Straight Story (Lynch)
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (Martin Ritt)
Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey (Steven Martin)

Branded to Kill (Seijun Suzuki, 1967)
In typical Suzuki fashion, a cookie cutter studio script is used merely as the springboard for something bizarre, hallucinatory, and poetic. An assembly line plot about a yakuza assassin on the run from the enigmatic "No. 1 Killer" is elevated to a meditation on death that is equal parts homage to and parody of The Seventh Seal.

Pistol Opera (Seijun Suzuki, 2002)
Sort-of sequel to Branded to Kill. Plot synopses will tell you this has something to do with female assassins, but that's about as accurate as saying Hiroshima Mon Amour is about World War II. Suzuki uses elements of Noh and Butoh theater, and throws all forms of traditional film grammar out the window, resulting in one of the most mind boggling films I've ever seen. It's also an extremely gorgeous visual treat.

Matinee (Joe Dante, 1992)
At first glance, this might seem like any anonymous coming-of-age story, but like all of Dante's work, there is a lot more bubbling under the surface. All of Dante's films can be traced back, in some way, to his experiences growing up during the Cold War paranoia of the 50's. He turns these experiences into sharp satires, this time linking the exploits of a William Castle-type filmmaker played by John Goodman and the Cuban Missile Crisis, exploring the parallels between the scare tactics used by both the Goodman character and the American government. The ideas here have never been more timely than in today's climate of orange alerts and fear propagated by the media.

The Pornographers (Shohei Imamura, 1966)
Imamura sees the human anatomy as a metaphor for the structure of Japanese society, with the lower half (including the most dubious part of the human body) supporting the upper half; in short, the lowlife characters of his films are the embodiment of the supressed desires of Japanese "high society." The Pornographers isn't his masterpiece, but it's the best introduction to what Imamura is all about.

man you are right about Pistol Opera being mind-boggling. i didnt know WHAT the hell was going on, but it was great. the actress in that film is absolutely stunning to boot.

Booty Call (1995)

Thanks everyone!

Ones I've seen--

Jaws
Back to the Future
Die Hard
Apocalypse Now
8 1/2
Transformers: The Movie
A.I.
In the Mood for Love
Umberto D
The Thin Red Line
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

Ones I haven't seen--

Distant (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
Round Up (Mikos Jancso)
Passions (Kira Muratova)
The Easy Life (Dino Riso)
The Scarlet Empress (Josef Von Sternberg)
La Cienaga (Lucrecia Martel)
The Naked City (Jules Dassin)
The Tree of Wooden Clogs (Ermanno Olmi)
To Sleep With Anger (Charles Burnett)
Greaser's Palace (Robert Downey)
La Commare Secca (Criterion Collection) (1962)
When Will I Be Loved (2004)
Springtime in a Small Town (2002)
Last Life in the Universe (2003)
Ashes of Time (1994)
Infernal Affairs 2 (2003)
Eureka (2000)
Chinese Odyssey 2002 (2002)
The Yakuza Papers vol.1: Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973)
Heart Like a Wheel (Jonathan Kaplan)
Comfort and Joy (Bill Forsyth)
California Split (Altman)
Goin' Down the Road (Don Shebib)
The Sound of Trumpets (Ermanno Olmi)
Welfare (Frederick Wiseman)
Straight Time (Ulu Grosbard)
The Straight Story (Lynch)
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (Martin Ritt)
Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey (Steven Martin)
Branded to Kill (Seijun Suzuki, 1967)
Pistol Opera (Seijun Suzuki, 2002)
Matinee (Joe Dante, 1992)
The Pornographers (Shohei Imamura, 1966)
Booty Call (1995)

Altman, Suzuki & Imamura are top of my list right now. Any 2-3 favorites out of the list of "haven't seen"? "Pistol Opera" sounds pretty interesting.

Pistol Opera is really cool, but the only DVD I've found of it is full-frame, and it's a DEEPLY composition-heavy movie. I'd rent Branded To Kill first anyway - it's fun to watch movies echoed by a lot of other movies. Plus it has sex + butterflies.

Matinee is good, but The Second Civil War beats it with an oar. Every time I watch it, I can connect it pretty directly to something new in the real world. Bonus points: it's incredibly funny, probably moreso than any other Dante movie.

This thread is awesome by virtue of the Harold & Kumar suggestion. I always figured I'd be the only person sticking up for that movie.

Distant is splendid, Springtime in a Small Town very good...

Nick Ray's Bitter Victory w/ Richard Burton just came out, an unflinchingly grim WWII downer.

"Distant" sounds good, but it's not out on DVD until the 22nd. And considering 1) I don't go to theaters and 2) they wouldn't screen that film at theaters here anyhow, I guess I'll have to wait.

>La Cienaga (Lucrecia Martel)

i just watched this - it has a richly evocative atmosphere, a really dynamic sound design, revealing characterizations - a very vivid film. there's not much of your standard plotting, but from your previous comments jay i'm guessing that wouldn't bother you too much. so, this one comes recommended from me.

Sounds interesting. You hit the key word for me--atmosphere. I tend to prefer films that evoke the other senses (at least in a metaphysical way). A "tight plot" is usually (but not always) more of a turn-off for me, especially when it's trying to create a "realist" film. Life rarely has a plot; why should films?

I had a few rentals already out and some loaners, so I haven't had a chance to watch anything from this list yet, with the exception of "Branded To Kill" which I've only gotten halfway through. I'm kind of mixed on it so far, but I won't give a full review until I've watched to entire film.

Other than that, I watched "Hero", which I was blown away by (could have done without the cliched lovestory & the Rashomon references were a bit over the top)--the cinematography and direction were masterful. This is the kind of film that special effects are meant for--it enhances the story instead of trying to BE the story.

Also watched the "Kill Bill" movies & was much more impressed than I expected to be. There were still the hipster quirky crap (especially in dialogue and soundtrack choices) that really annoy me about Tarrantino films, and the spraying blood got a bit obsessive. But otherwise, the characters were interesting, the fight scenes were well done & Tarrantino didn't appear in either film! Bravo!

The "Superman" monologue was probably my single least favorite moment from a film I otherwise liked last year.

Stuff you mentioned not having seen above that I strongly second (or third or whatever):

Distant (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)... I mistrust this one "working" as well on video, though.
The Scarlet Empress (Josef Von Sternberg)
To Sleep With Anger (Charles Burnett)... though I can't remember hardly any of it.
California Split (Altman)... actually I haven't seen it yet, but it's sitting on my shelf.
The Straight Story (Lynch)
Matinee (Joe Dante, 1992)

I had "California Split" recommended to me by a buddy at the video store. I picked up "Short Cuts" instead, which I really enjoyed.