5 "More" Films That "Blew My Mind" "First Viewing" "In Theater"!

[b]#5-REQUIEM FOR A DREAM ![/b] Directed By: Darren Aronofsky Written By: Hubert Selby Jr. & Darren Aronofsky Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/LT.HIGHTIMES/1a1dream13.jpg[/img] The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island individuals are shattered when their addictions become stronger. ...I wish everyone I care about would see Requiem for a Dream. Not because they will like it, or that it will teach them something they did not already know, but that it's a rare piece of work that will challenge and probably change them. It's a film that has never been made before, with nothing to compare to it - a rarity these days. I often find myself recommending films to people that I am unable to briefly describe. These are usually the most involving and affecting ones. I'd like my family to see this, but can't *recommend* it to them. I've recommended it to two friends, and they both had the same reaction: I am glad I watched it, but I doubt I'll be in the frame of mind to watch it again, knowing what you feel. As I sat watching the credits roll, I began crying, but I'm still not sure why. Partly in reaction to the devastatingly tragic ending, partly the beauty (yes) of the film, partly my gratitude for good things in my life. I watched it again the same night with my girlfriend, not because I wanted to upset her, but I felt that I had to share it. After the credits rolled, we both were silent for a good ten minutes. I found that I had thoughts I wanted to express, but could find no words. This is one of the few films that are painful to experience, but I feel compelled to share with people I care about. Some others in that short list include The Thin Red Line, Happiness, River's Edge,and The Deer Hunter. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/LT.HIGHTIMES/1a1dreamy.png[/img] These films all share a quality that's difficult to name. No one likes feeling disturbed or shattered by a film, a work of art, a piece of music, but I feel experiencing these emotions and being asked to think, not just be entertained, is important now and then. "Favorite" does not apply to this for me - this isn't about entertainment. One of the most devastating and beautiful experiences I've had watching a film. One of the top five films I've ever seen. ~From Eric226 @ IMDB [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgo3Hb5vWLE]RequiemForADream[/url] The Moment I saw The Way Aronofsky Filmed Drug Use in the film, I knew I was watching an [b]"Instant Masterpiece"[/b] [b]#4-DUCK YOU SUCKERS-{"A Fistful of Dynamite"}-1971[/b] Directed By: Sergio Leone Written By: Sergio Leone, Sergio Donati, Luciano Vincenzoni, Roberto De Leonardis, Carlo Tritto Starring: Rod Steiger, James Coburn, Romolo Valli, Maria Monti [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/LT.HIGHTIMES/1a1sucker1.jpg[/img] In Mexico at the time of the Revolution, Juan, the leader of a bandit family, meets John Mallory, an IRA explosives expert on the run from the British. Seeing John's skill with explosives, Juan decides to persuade him to join the bandits in a raid on the great bank of Mesa Verde. John in the meantime has made contact with the revolutionaries, and intends to use his dynamite in their service. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CokNB7goNOw]Dynamite[/url] I saw this movie as "Duck, You Sucker" in the theater in 1972 or '73. I still have images and haunting music burned in my brain from it. It has, for one thing, one of the biggest real explosions ever filmed, an absolutely awesome blast using real high explosives that makes today's fiery spectacles pale. I think the whole production company was stunned by it, certainly Sergio Leone was, because he gives it the full treatment: multiple cameras and angles, wide shots, lots of screen time giving us lots of looks. And it's worth it. If you're not a war veteran, you've never seen anything like this. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/LT.HIGHTIMES/1a1suckers2.png[/img] But this film is much more than its fx. It's a deep, moving story told on the grand scale, with Oscar-class cinematography. It is both a major outdoor adventure and a small, intimate story. It has some of the quirkiest scenes, blackest humor and darkest betrayals, too. Don't look for it on TV, unless Turner Classic Movies shows it "uncut." It was horribly mutilated in editing for television, and therefore unpopular and rarely shown. Get the original theatrical version, and watch it undisturbed. A party atmosphere would ruin it for you. It's on my top-20 all time list! ~ From SquirePM @ IMDB [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/LT.HIGHTIMES/1a1coburn.png[/img] The Moment I saw Coburn Do That I knew I was watching an [b]"Instant Masterpiece"[/b] [b]#3-Cinema Paradiso-1988[/b] Directed By: Giuseppe Tornatore Written By: Giuseppe Tornatore, Vanna Paoli Starring: Antonella Attili, Enzo Cannavale, Isa Danieli, Leo Gullotta, Marco Leonardi A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2-GX0Tltgw]CinemaParadiso[/url] [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/LT.HIGHTIMES/1a1toto2.jpg[/img] Movies can wield a strange power over those who sit in the darkened seats of a theatre. The truly great ones manipulate your perception of reality, suspend your disbelief, and ultimately either alter or affirm your view on life. NUOVO CINEMA PARADISO is just such a movie. It is the near-perfect melding of direction, acting, script, sound track, and cinematography. Phillipe Noiret and Salvatore Cascio give the kind of performances usually associated with much more recognizable actors. The supporting cast looks like they could all be full-blooded Sicilians. The location shots add depth and realism to the entire production. Ennio Morricone's music is simply the most appropriate and emotive I have ever had the pleasure to hear in a theatre. Tornatore's script and direction are a joy, a breath of fresh air. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/LT.HIGHTIMES/1a1toto1.jpg[/img] I will not spoil this story by repeating it, nor will I give away the ending, although it matters not a whit. I could disclose fully everything in this movie, and in seeing it, all my words would evaporate. There is nothing like the experience of sitting through it, becoming engulfed by it, and in the end, being changed. ~From MichaelsJMurphy @ IMDB [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/LT.HIGHTIMES/1a1paradiso.jpg[/img] From The Moment I saw That Kid In This Thing I knew I was watching an [b]"Instant Masterpiece"[/b] {This is one is must see, the ending is Mind blowing and it's on my list of best ever made!} [b]#2-Close Encounters Of The Third Kind-1977 [/b] Directed By: Steven Spielberg Written By: Steven Spielberg, Hal Barwood, Jerry Belson, John Hill, Matthew Robbins Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon After an encounter with UFOs, a line worker feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/LT.HIGHTIMES/1a1cenck.jpg[/img] Steven Spielberg has made huge popcorn blockbusters that gross more money at the box office (i.e. "Jaws," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," or "Jurassic Park") and are more exciting on a visceral level. As he as aged and matured as a director, he has also made movies that are more important and will hold a more solid place in the chronicles of film as an artistic document of history (i.e. "Schindler's List," "Saving Private Ryan," and "Munich"). For my money, his best film will still always be "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." This film is Spielberg's humanistic and heartfelt answer to Kubrick's intellectual and cerebral look at man's first contact with life from elsewhere in the universe in his 1968 opus "2001: A Space Odyssey." [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/LT.HIGHTIMES/1a13rdkind.jpg[/img] "Close Encounters" came early on in Spielberg's career, made in 1977, and has all the hallmarks of his later films played just right before he became so self-referential. Here we have his typical bag of tricks long before they became so typical: familial strife, coming to terms with something bigger than oneself that challenges the male protagonist's view of the world around him, little kids in jeopardy, superb build up of suspense, fantastic visual effects, and a memorable score from John Williams. From the first UFO sightings in Muncie, Indiana to the fantastic finale at Devil's Tower in Wyoming, this is grand entertainment. Lots of films have emulated this movie to varying degrees of success, from Robert Zemeckis' earnest "Contact," to the shameful scam that was M. Night Shymalan's "Signs," and even Spielberg himself recently did the dark natured flip-side to benevolent alien encounters with his remake of "War of the Worlds" (which makes a fantastic double-feature with this). However, nothing compares to this true original. No other film has made me want to believe in aliens more, and I'll never look at a plate of mashed potatoes the same again. ~From David H. Schleicher @ IMDB [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDSFfphswpY]CloseEncounters[/url] From The Moment "Roy Neary" started building things in his "Mashed Potatoes", and and the second little "Barry" opened that door knew I was watching an [b]Instant Masterpiece[/b] [b]#1-THE HOST-2006[/b] Directed By: Joon-ho Bong Written By: Joon-ho Bong, Won-jun Ha, Chul-hyun Baek Starring: Kang-ho Song, Hie-bong Byeon, Hae-il Park, Doona Bae, Ah-sung Ko A monster emerges from Seoul's Han River and focuses its attention on attacking people. One victim's loving family does what it can to rescue her from its clutches. Funny, scary, emotional, intense, thrilling, sad. And then funny some more. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/LT.HIGHTIMES/1a1host4.jpg[/img] What else is there to say? The Host elicits every feeling, every sense of urgency, dread, sadness and happiness with ease. And somehow it manages to cram all of that into the first fifthteen minutes. After that it speeds along and doesn't let up. I was with it till the end, laughing when I was supposed to, crying, and even cheering. It is one of those rare films that blends all the respective genres into one with an almost scary simplicity. I shouldn't be surprised, it is from writer and director Joon Ho Bong whose last films the equally brilliant Memories of Murder and the excellent black comedy Barking Dogs Never Bite featured a similar feeling. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/LT.HIGHTIMES/1a1host1.jpg[/img] How does the man do it? Like with his other films particularly Memories of Murder he manages to break the conventions of the genre by frequently poking fun at the rather stale "monster" genre and by taking a fresh, appealing perspective. It's funny at all the right moments and even in moments when you feel you shouldn't be laughing you cant help but laugh. It's full of vibrantly realized characters, who each have their "moment" that make you laugh at the ridiculousness or gasp at the coolness. It is written with care and love, the pace never stagnates and the dialogue is never forced. The CG monster effects are nice and appropriately unrealistic in appearance. Perhaps too unconventional for American audiences but it really works in the context of the films rather serious yet quirky atmosphere. The acting is excellent, Kang Ho-Song continues to impress, star in the making Ah-sung Ko gives a very good first performance, and the rest of the cast give great performances. All managing the frequent dips into serious and comical and even both at the same time. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/LT.HIGHTIMES/1a1host3.jpg[/img] The Host is a brilliant, brilliant film. I'm so pleased I had the pleasure of seeing it at the cinemas, the way it deserves to be seen. Despite fitting into a rather common genre, The Host is an original. It is a unique and refreshing film, full of charming characters, awesome action sequences and even an emotional poignancy that weaves itself into the film at the most appropriate of times. [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v234/LT.HIGHTIMES/1a1host2.jpg[/img] The Host is undoubtedly my favourite film of the year and one of the most entertaining films I have seen in recent years. If you like your films to be highly enjoyable, but also smart and even emotional, you will love what The Host has to offer. ~From Hoban-W @ IMDB What I loved most was how much I learned about South Korean Culture, and the minute I got a load of the Family Business in this film I knew I was watching an [b]"Instant Masterpiece"[/b] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKZ55OiHl9w]TheHost[/url] [b]Please keep 'm Coming, It's Keeping Me Busy and there's Only 1 More Day Till I See Prometheus !!![/b]