Intelligent film / movie ??????

[Jenna]

Coucou If anyone can help I would be very, very, very grateful.. I am desperately searching for an INTELLIGENT film / movie to watch and but I am going round in circles looking for stuff.. Maybe someone would have an idea?? I am in urgent need of this stimmmmulating film like by the weekend.. My shelf is full of the wrong stuff.. Seagal and Jet Li, pffft.. By intelligent I am not being pretentious but am needy of something with a plot, some decent acting, whatever, any genre, even if I have not heard of it, any little obscure films or new stuff that slipped under radar.. anything just NOT 90 minutes of effects.. I mean I watched In Bruges and which is like 5star all the way and but I mean the likes of No Country For Old Men, Pi, The Bank Job, Memento, Green Mile, Shawshank, Brazil or even Usual Suspects, Bourne, LA Confidential, Heat that kind of thing??? Anyone??? I am on a desperate mission for this weekend aaahh!
Yr most obdt hmble srvt,
Jenna

 

[CuongNhuka]

V for Vendetta, Recount, American History X, Confederate States of America, Ong Bak (note: ther are very few actualy 'effects'), and really anything with Will Smith. I know there's more, but I cann't think of anyright now.

 

[Sukerkin]

"Twelve Angry Men". It's old, black and white, mostly set in one room and riveting as anything. Mind you, given the cast, that's not so surprising .

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050083/

 

[arnisador]

Lots of good choices! For old films, add Bad Day at Black Rock, The Days of Wine and Roses, The Thin Man, and Rebecca.

If you liked Heat then give The Insider and Collateral a try! A Beautiful Mind, The Sting, The Godfather I and II (surely you've seen them?) are also good choices.

 

[jkembry]

I just sent this one back to NetFlix and found it to be one of the most intelligent movies I have seen in a LONG time.

The Lives of Others

It is in German, but has english subtitles. It is about Cold War Berlin in the mid-80s and into the 90s after the Wall came down.

Excellent Movie...in my opinion.

 

[Makalakumu]

Soylent Green or Dr. Strangelove are good choices.

If you really want to mess with your mind, go with Eyes Wide Shut.

 

[CoryKS]

Came in here to recommend Pi and Memento, but I see you have that covered.

The Last Supper was a clever little comedy.

And if you like horror movies, I would recommend The Mist. Lots of special effects and gore, but the real story is the people trapped in a supermarket and how they respond to a situation beyond their control.

 

[Jenna]

V for Vendetta, Recount, American History X, Confederate States of America, Ong Bak (note: ther are very few actualy 'effects'), and really anything with Will Smith. I know there's more, but I cann't think of anyright now.

Ah my young friend these are all good shows indeed thank you for sharing.. any surprises that I might not have seen? Little sneaky clever films you like maybe? J

"Twelve Angry Men". It's old, black and white, mostly set in one room and riveting as anything. Mind you, given the cast, that's not so surprising .

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050083/

Oooh, thank you my friend I do actually recognise some of those folk. I know the name Jack Klugman??? Anyways, yes, thank you! If you have any others I am open to all your suggestions! J

Lots of good choices! For old films, add Bad Day at Black Rock, The Days of Wine and Roses, The Thin Man, and Rebecca.

If you liked Heat then give The Insider and Collateral a try! A Beautiful Mind, The Sting, The Godfather I and II (surely you've seen them?) are also good choices.

Hello my friend these are nice nice nice.. yes the newer choices I have seen The older ones are surely worth a look, ah thank you J

I just sent this one back to NetFlix and found it to be one of the most intelligent movies I have seen in a LONG time.

The Lives of Others

It is in German, but has english subtitles. It is about Cold War Berlin in the mid-80s and into the 90s after the Wall came down.

Excellent Movie...in my opinion.

Oooh, German, ahh nochmals vielen Dank! thank you my friend J

 

[Jenna]

Came in here to recommend Pi and Memento, but I see you have that covered.

The Last Supper was a clever little comedy.

And if you like horror movies, I would recommend The Mist. Lots of special effects and gore, but the real story is the people trapped in a supermarket and how they respond to a situation beyond their control.

Oooh I have heard of The Last Supper, a murder/mystery type??? Sweet.. I am no good with horror though *cowers* thank you my friend J

 

[pesilat]

Some that come to mind that I didn't see mentioned yet:

Jacob's Ladders (some effects but a damn good story line, too).
Manchurian Candidate (I think both versions ['62 w/ Sinatra and '04 w/ Denzel] are worthwhile).
Ghost Dog.
Seven Samurai (always a worthwhile movie).
Unforgiven (one of Clint Eastwood's best).

There some others that come to mind but if don't stop now I might miss class (5 hours from now )

Mike

 

[CuongNhuka]

Ah my young friend these are all good shows indeed thank you for sharing.. any surprises that I might not have seen? Little sneaky clever films you like maybe? J

Anything by Spike Lee is good.

 

[Jenna]

Soylent Green or Dr. Strangelove are good choices.

If you really want to mess with your mind, go with Eyes Wide Shut.

Nice choices and good taste I would take Vanilla Sky over Eyes Wide Shut though, no? Cool, thanks!! J

 

[Jenna]

Anything by Spike Lee is good.

Best Spike Lee film??? He Got Game??? I dunno.. J

 

[Live True]

This is an oddly quirky Dutch film, with a very black sense of humour that kinda grows on ya: Antonia's Line. For older films To Kill a Mockingbird and Streetcar Named Desire (for different reasons) are both good flicks. I'd also recommend Juno and Dogma if you're looking for something with more modern flair.

Let us know what you watch and if you like it! I love hearing your opinions Jenna!

 

[Sukerkin]

Hi Jenna, you probably recognise Jack Kligman's name because he used to play Quincy on TV.

Other great movies that depend on more than just SFX tend to be the older ones. The current availability of astounding effects and the general decline in peoples ability to follow plot means that most modern fare is 'popcorn' - well, most from Hollywood anyway. Nothing wrong with popcorn, I hasten to add, indeed many of my favourite movies would fit that definition.

Have you watched "Shane" recently? Perhap's targeted as a bit of a 'man's' film when it was devised but I don't think that themes of honour, physical and moral courage and the tenacity of past choices to shape your life need apply only to men.

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is another splendid morsel from times past, as is "To Kill A Mocking Bird" EDIT: Ah, I see Live True beat me to that one .

"Catch 22" and "MASH" are intelligent films with a military flavour whilst "Glory" is a wonderful delve into emotion and the bonds between soldiers when they are treated as the lowest of the low {I don't mind admitting that I always seem to get something in my eye by the end of that one :lol:}.

 

[Empty Hands]

The Last Supper was a clever little comedy.

Ha, I thought I was the only one to have seen that! Great movie. I liked Ron Perlman as the diabolical Rush Limbaugh stand in.

And if you like horror movies, I would recommend The Mist.

I loved it until the last 5 minutes. What an awful ending, they really butchered it compared to the book. I have no idea why they changed it.

 

[Flying Crane]

I was going to suggest The Usual Suspects, but you've already got it.

If you like twisted comedy, try The Big Lebowski, it's a Cohen Brothers film, and I think it's hilarious, but also intelligent, not just stupid humor.

Fargo also fits that same bill.

If you like Zombie films, try 28 Days Later, and the sequel, 28 Weeks Later, it's pretty compelling and gripping and disturbing at the same time.

I really liked Cloverfield, it's a new take on the Gigantic Monster Stomping Thru The City genre, pretty clever and filmed by a "participant" with a handheld camcorder in the same way the Blair Witch was done.

Kingdom of Heaven is a great movie if you like period pieces, it's a story set in the Crusades as a backdrop, with Orlando Bloom. Get the extended version. Very well done.

Desperado, with Antonio Banderas and Selma Hyack is one of my favorites, kind of dark comedy/action, kind of an unusual storyline, lots of fun. You could start with the original, El Mariachi, a low-budget film shot all in Spanish. Desperado was created as a sort of sequel, but you don't need to see the first one in order to enjoy the second one.

 

[Jenna]

This is an oddly quirky Dutch film, with a very black sense of humour that kinda grows on ya: Antonia's Line. For older films To Kill a Mockingbird and Streetcar Named Desire (for different reasons) are both good flicks. I'd also recommend Juno and Dogma if you're looking for something with more modern flair.

Let us know what you watch and if you like it! I love hearing your opinions Jenna!

Antonia's Line.. Nederland?? Wow now that is a truly leftfield choice I think and but yes, I like quirky!! I wonder how on earth you found this?? imdb says that it is "about exploring and celebrating femininity rather than just kicking men in the balls". Hey my friend that sounds all good to me.. Kicking men in the balls is not for me I think.. thank you very kindly I just could not get into Juno though the choons on the soundtrack were well good.. though I think I felt a little old watching maybe?? And Dogma is lovely too.. ahhhh, Matt.. I am not big on Ben Affleck. But yep I would suggest "In Bruges" if you have not seen it.. Colin Farrell is just a treat. The acting is totally wonderful and the script is very very very wry indeed thank you again! J

 

[Flying Crane]

Childred of Men was good, even if the ending was a bit abrupt. I liked it.

An excellent movie from the early 1970s is Dogday Afternoon, one of Al Pacino's early works. EXCELLENT acting, ZERO special effects, it's just dialog and a very tense situation in the form of a bank robbery gone bad on the hottest day of the year. High recommendations for this one.

 

[Jenna]

Some that come to mind that I didn't see mentioned yet:

Jacob's Ladders (some effects but a damn good story line, too).
Manchurian Candidate (I think both versions ['62 w/ Sinatra and '04 w/ Denzel] are worthwhile).
Ghost Dog.
Seven Samurai (always a worthwhile movie).
Unforgiven (one of Clint Eastwood's best).

There some others that come to mind but if don't stop now I might miss class (5 hours from now )

Mike

Hey Mike Wow, Ghost Dog is just one of the coooooooolest films ever. I never liked gangsta rap until I saw this I would rate this as one of the very best martial arts films EVER made and would argue with anyone bout that!! SO cool and so few folk have heard of it. Kudos for mentioning it!! Thank you my friend for these suggestions!! J