Last Great Movie You Saw In This Category...

[Gail Simone]

COMEDY:

Role Models...an underlooked gem. I laughed all through it. Stupid and brilliant at the same time. Hysterical!

ACTION:

Taken. Love this movie. Bought the 'extended version' on blu-ray, sort of a waste because it seems nearly identical to the theatrical version, but a great, primal film.

HORROR:

Shrooms. Another little-known gem. I thought this was going to be a druggie movie. Suffice it to say, it's smart and packs a real punch.

ADVENTURE:

Star Trek, but we've talked about that.

DOCUMENTARY:

Man On A Wire, freakishly fascinating!

What about you?

[jamesfreeman]

Drama:

The Wrestler. If anyone hasn't seen it, go buy it now!

[KevinTBrown]

COMEDY:

Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

Yeah yeah yeah.... It was totally ridiculous, but damn I laughed my ass off throughout. I never would have gone if my mother and wife didn't want to go see it.

ACTION:

Quantum of Solace.

Bond kicks ass and take names later. Not the best Bond movie in the world, but it still hits on all levels.

HORROR:

None. Not the genre I enjoy watching.

ADVENTURE:

Star Trek.

To date, the best movie of the year. And the second best Star Trek movie of all time (Wrath of Khan wins).

DOCUMENTARY:

None.

[jamesfreeman]

horror:

Quarantine. That was the first time I'd ever been to a date movie where I was the one who almost crapped my pants.

[Ben Morgan]

Comedy: Observe and Report

Horror: Friday the 13th remake

Adventure: Star Trek

Documentary: Tie between King of Kong and Dear Zachary

[friginator]

COMEDY: Either Observe and Report or Burn After Reading. They were both great.

ACTION: Star Trek. Not much competition.

HORROR: Cloverfield. I don't know if I would call it a horror movie, but it's the closest thing to it I've seen in a while, and it was awesome.

ADVENTURE: Star Trek. Again, not much competition.

DOCUMENTARY: The Aristocrats. I haven't seen many documentaries lately, but this one is probably my favorite of all time.

[Corrina]

Man on A Wire is awesome!

Drama/Romance:
Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day.
I just saw this over the weekend. It's set in England just before WWII. Frances McDormand is a woman who's been ill-treated by life who gets to pretend for a day to be a secretary to a popular lounge singer.
Really sweet movie. Ciaran Hinds (Caeser, "Rome") is the one who sees the hidden gem inside Frances. Amy Adams (Enchanted) is the lounge singer and she's lovely again.

[jamesfreeman]

Ms. Simone, if you haven't seen Gran Torrino, you're really missing out. It's one of the funniest and most touching films I've seen in a long while.

[friginator]

Oh, and there's not really a category for this, but Changeling was probably the best movie of 2008. Amazing.

[LtMarvel]

COMEDY:

Forgetting Sarah Marshall which was pretty funny, even if a few of the characters were seriously flawed.

ACTION:

Star Trek

HORROR:

hmmm...don't reall watch horror....

ADVENTURE:

Star Trek, ummm how do you tell your Action from your Adventure (besides the age of Clark...)

DOCUMENTARY:

We Live in Public about the first guy to put people up on the net 24/7. I saw it at The True/False Film Festival, and I don't remember when it will go to theaters/DVD... but watch for it. This guy could have so easily been a real super villian....

[Red Jack]

COMEDY:

Role Models...an underlooked gem. I laughed all through it. Stupid and brilliant at the same time. Hysterical!

ACTION:

Taken. Love this movie. Bought the 'extended version' on blu-ray, sort of a waste because it seems nearly identical to the theatrical version, but a great, primal film.

HORROR:

Shrooms. Another little-known gem. I thought this was going to be a druggie movie. Suffice it to say, it's smart and packs a real punch.

ADVENTURE:

Star Trek, but we've talked about that.

DOCUMENTARY:

Man On A Wire, freakishly fascinating!

What about you?

Comedy-

The Eagle vs the Shark

Action -

Fast and Furious

Horror -

Splinter (the ONLY good made-for-TV film shown on SCIFI that wasn't series related). If you hated THE RUINS (and who didn't?) check this out and see someone with no money and limited locations knock the concept out of the park. Actually scary.

Adventure-

Star Trek. Please. No contest.

Documentary -

Born into Brothels

EDIT:

Drama

The Walker

[jamesfreeman]

Drama:

NOTORIOUS. If you have any interest in the Golden Age of hip-hop (before we had a bunch of idiots from the south talking about "Grillz") then you should see this. The actor playing Biggie is uncanny.

[thehod]

I don't get to see many movies nowadays (18 month olds and cinemas don't mix, and I'm not using up a baby sitter for a movie), but I did catch Vantage Point on the telly the other day which wasn't too bad, and watched Once Upon a Time in America on DVD again the other day, which is simply stunning.

[Thadeus Thunderwinkle]

COMEDY: Mystery Science Theater 3000-Space Mutiny: This is probably one of the best movies (or would it be worst?) spoofed by the MST3K gang. I was laughing from start to finish and might end up watching it again this evening.

ACTION: Finally caught The Incredible Hulk and thought it was pretty awesome. Never was into the comic, but Edward Norton is one of my favorite actors.

HORROR: Gangs of the Dead was on Showtime a week ago. It is a "D" movie about Latino and black gangs joining forces to fight zombie hordes. It was laughably bad, but also entertaining.

ADVENTURE: N/A

DOCUMENTARY: Cocaine Cowboys is a fascinating documentary about the drug wars in Miami during the 80's. I suggest checking it out.

DRAMA: I saw Doubt last week. It is very slow, but also well-acted. The movie doesn't really come to a very clear conclusion, though (hence why it is called Doubt).

[Infra-Man]

COMEDY:
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

ACTION:
Crippled Avengers

HORROR:
[REC]

ADVENTURE:
The Guns of Navarone

DOCUMENTARY:
Little Dieter Needs to Fly


EDIT:

If we're adding DRAMA to the mix...
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

[T Hedge Coke]

COMEDY:

This is Spinal Tap. Still does it for me. Not just funny as hell, but funnier than hell, hell's dials, only going up to ten.

ACTION:

Punisher: War Zone. Surprisingly unrelenting in its consistency of violent acts, in perpetual motion, and better-acted that the material required.

HORROR:

Devil's Rejects. Brutal, ugly movie, that you can tell was intended to be a brutal ugly movie.

ADVENTURE:

Bonnie and Clyde. And I'll fight on the sidewalk anybody who says it isn't an adventure movie. Rollickin', as they say.

DOCUMENTARY:

Maya Deren's Divine Horsemen... or, the divine Jessica Yu's rumination on Henry Darger, In the Realms of the Unreal.

[Ben Morgan]

Drama:

NOTORIOUS. If you have any interest in the Golden Age of hip-hop (before we had a bunch of idiots from the south talking about "Grillz") then you should see this. The actor playing Biggie is uncanny.

Agreed, excellent movie.

[mgs]

COMEDY:
Not sure where it ranks on my 'greatness' scale, but Waiting.... I'm fascinated by this movie.

ADVENTURE:
Conan the Barbarian. Still great.

HORROR:
Probably more musical than 'horror', I liked Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

ACTION:
Midnight Run. LOVE that movie! :wink:

DOCUMENTARY:
Using this term VERY loosely, Persepolis. The comics were good, so was this movie. I watched the original French language one.

[DarkCrisis]

COMEDY:

Role Models. Actually was better than I thought it would be.

ACTION:

Underworld 3. Better than the 2nd one.

HORROR:

Midnight Meat Train. Twist was disappointing but a good film.

ADVENTURE:

Star Trek. Yup yup.

DOCUMENTARY:

Sicko. Made me ashamed of my country.

[Arrogantcur]

Comedy: Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay

Horror: Underworld (the first one)

Adventure: Star Trek

Action: While I don't know what the difference is between this and "adventure", I can't very well say Star Trek. Soooo...Iron Man. (Yes, I only got around to seeing it just recently. :redface: )

Documentary: Last doc that was also a movie I saw would've been Sicko as well.

[fireSTRIKE!]

COMEDY... Get Smart with Steve Carrell... actually a whole lot better than I thought it would be...

ACTION... Shoot 'em Up with Clive Owen... this was mindless and GREAT... I LOVED this...

HORROR... See No Evil... with Kane... the usual shlockshit...

ADVENTURE... the new Star Trek... a really GREAT film...

DOCUMENTARY... can't remember the name of it, but it was about Las Vegas and the various forms of legitimate adult entertainment... the Follies, the clubs and such... don't know if it qualifies as documentary, but it comes close to it, I would think...

[Calvin Government]

COMEDY:
Not a movie, but I'm rewatching the last half of season 2 of Chuck. That show had a rocky start, but season 2 was easily the most consistently fun television of the past year.


ACTION:
Not a movie, but I'm burning my way through the Angel TV series, and it's vastly better than I had any reason to think it would be. Absolutely loving it.


HORROR:

Let The Right One In
Horror isn't quite the right genre... more like Coming of Age Horror. Still, it's a fairly chilling film, all in all.

ADVENTURE:

Star Trek

DOCUMENTARY:

Darkon
It's available on Hulu right now, and it's a documentary about a huge group of hardcore LARPers, basically.

DRAMA:
Synecdoche, New York
It's brilliant. If you like Kaufman's movies at all - Eternal Sunshine, Adaptation, Being John Malkovic - you have to watch this.

[FeminineMystique]

COMEDY

X-Cross. It's this truly insane little Japanese dark comedy about two friends at a spa that's the base of a foot worshipping cult. And there's a woman in Gothic Lolita pink babydoll lace with giant scissors, a homage to Pyramid Head, a fight involving giant scissors, a chainsaw and an umbrella and...it's just brilliant!

HORROR

Gutterballs. It's just one long love letter to the ludicrously over the top "Evil Dead" style eighties horror films. It's a film that can have you laughing one minute and wincing the next.

ADVENTURE

Star Trek. Absolutely perfect, from beginning to end.

DOCUMENTARY

Sadly the cinema near me rarely has any showing.

[4PointOh]

COMEDY:

I'm not much of a comedy person and usually don't like the comedies that I've seen, but I did like Margaret Cho's stand-up film, I'm the One That I Want.

ACTION:

The last really good action film I saw was probably Iron Man.

HORROR:

My BF doesn't like horror films, so I rarely get to rent or see them. But the last good one I saw was probably Cloverfield.

ADVENTURE:

Let me jump on the bandwagon and say Star Trek.

DOCUMENTARY:

If you haven't seen it, you need to see Outrage.

[Tobias March]

ACTION:

Taken. Believe it or not. Liam Neeson does good vengeance.

HORROR:

Dead Set. Technically not a movie, but I watched it in one setting so I'm counting it. Zombies meet Big Brother.

ADVENTURE:

Star Trek.

DOCUMENTARY:

Media Watch: 20 Year Anniversary. Fascination summation of the programme Media Watch, which critiques Australian news.

DRAMA
The Savages. Philip Seymour Hoffman is awesome.

COMEDY:
The Castle - I really need to get this Aussie classic for my dad. 'This is going straight to the pool room'.

The Boat That Rocked. See above.

[Jae Namkyoung]

COMEDY:

Madea Goes to Jail: I love Tyler Perry's Madea movies, they always have a nice touch to them while being massively funny.

ACTION:

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: I am a fan of the Mummy franchise, while I was sorely disappointed by Rachel Wiesz' not coming back on, I thoroughly enjoyed Maria Bello ased Evelyn O'Connell and it was as if Evie never left.

HORROR:

None: None, I don't watch horrors or slashers for that matter.

ADVENTURE:

Star Trek: Until I see Transformers/G.I. Joe, there's just not a whole lot this summer that's completely buzz worthy aside from that new Harry Potter flick. Ask me this next summer after Iron Man 2 comes out.

DOCUMENTARY:

Seoul Train: Concerning North Korean refugees who attempt to escape North Korea using an underground rail road into China, who then have to avoid Chinese to get into South Korea. It's disturbing to see how many of these refugees China has already sent back when they're caught.

DRAMA:

Gran Tornio: A particularly moving film, Clint Eastwood is a genius I highly advise watching this. I won't give it away but its nicely done and really pulls you into the story and the characters the way a good movie should.

[Merey]

COMEDY:

Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Puppet musical!

ACTION:

Iron Man

HORROR:

Don't watch a lot of horror, especially nowadays when most new "horror films" seem to be vehicles for torture porn.

Sweeney Todd

ADVENTURE:

Star Trek

DOCUMENTARY:

My Kid Could Paint That

DRAMA:

There Will Be Blood

[Infra-Man]

DOCUMENTARY:

My Kid Could Paint That

That was a solid doc, and there is no friggin' way that kid painted any of the good ones.

[Joe Rice]

Whoa, Crippled Avengers. It's been a while.

[Infra-Man]

Not to be confused with Crippled Masters (the movie with the stars that are actually missing limbs), which I also have a soft spot for (and may still have the VHS at my parents' place).

[oddballuk]

COMEDY:

I Love You, Man. Not as funny as Role Models but I still dug Paul Rudd and he has good chemistry with Jason Segal in what, I felt, was Segal's most likeable film performance yet.

ACTION:

Crank 2: High Voltage. Whilst incredibly offensive in places (I didn't appreciate the racial stereotyping and some of the dialogue/puns were blatantly offensive too), in terms of action it was the craziest, most inventive bit of action cinema since the first Crank. One fight scene even parodies Godzilla films.

HORROR:

Let the Right One In. More of a drama with a few horror elements/overtones mixed in, the film did what the bst horrors do in that, instead of trying to scare you with cheap jumps and OTT gore, it slowly gets under your skin and also develops it's characters beyond the one-dimensional norm for the genre.

ADVENTURE:

Star Trek. With Gail on this one. It just totally rocked on so many levels.

DOCUMENTARY:

Gonzo. Fascinating doc into the life of the late Hunter S. Thompson.

[RachelEvil]

COMEDY:

Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

ACTION:

... Does Watchmen count? Even then, I'm not sure about "great". I'm not a big action movie fan, to be honest.

HORROR:

Uhm... Ringu? It's been a loooong time. Don't much care for horror movies.

ADVENTURE:

Coraline. Does that count? There was adventuring in it... Sorta.

DOCUMENTARY:

We Jam Econo. Great damn movie about a great damn band.

DRAMA:

7 Pounds. Just watch this fucking movie. Don't watch a trailer, don't watch clips, don't read a synopsis, just watch it.

[BnL]

That was a solid doc, and there is no friggin' way that kid painted any of the good ones.

Agreed. Those parents were con artists.

COMEDY - Hot Fuzz

DRAMA - The Blossoming Of Maximo Oliveros

HORROR - Let The Right One In

DOCUMENTARY - The Lady In Question Is Charles Busch

As you can see, most of my choices are really out of date. I don't know if that means that I'm not seeing enough movies, or if most movies I've seen are shit.

[jesse_custer]

DOCUMENTARY:

Lessons of Darkness, directed by Werner Herzog. An incredible 50-minute film about the ramifications of the Gulf War on Kuwaiti oil fields (though Herzog never mentions the war or Kuwait). The footage is unbelievable.

I watched Man on Wire, too. Fascinating and unusual story, but a boring and one-sided documentary.

[Merey]

DOCUMENTARY:



I watched Man on Wire, too. Fascinating and unusual story, but a boring and one-sided documentary.

Agreed. My best friend who specializes in documentary film said that this was must see. I caught it on Instant Netflix and it was worth the watch. However, unless you fall under the spell of the eccentricities of Philippe Petit (the wire walker), then it's just a story about how some folks were able to pull off the mad caper of sneaking into a nearly completed WTC and setting everything up for Philippe's morning wire walk. It's all very impressive, but I think the presentation is hampered by the odd editing and of course, Philippe himself. They imbue so much Earth rippling importance to this stunt that I found their story telling to be disingenuous.

[jesse_custer]

Indeed. My thoughts while watching Petit? "What a self-important wanker." But the director of Man on Wire sucked him off as much as possible. In contrast, Werner Herzog gives an honest, multi-dimensional viewpoint of Timothy Treadwell in Grizzly Man. Herzog recognizes the bravery and amazing feats of Treadwell, but he does not hesitate to include interviews and footage that suggest Treadwell was simply an idiot.

Moreover, the heist-style dramatizations in Man on Wire were absolutely embarrassing. Almost like something I would see in a lame Discovery Channel documentary.

If I wanted to watch almost two hours of complete fellatio, well, it would certainly be more engaging than Man on Wire.

[Infra-Man]

As a defense of Man on Wire, the self-importance and braggadocio and hyperbole on display in the film are all parts of Petit's personality, which, as the film progresses, portends the inevitable end of his relationships with his collaborators. It's a glorious act of performance art--it is an absurd and breathtaking and stunning act, so let's not treat it like just another juggling act or magic trick by a street artist or another street-level happening--which I think needs to be filtered through the strongest point of view in the film, which is to say the point of view of Petit. A quotidian examination of Petit would perhaps miss out on the whimsy of the act and its execution.

Like The Cruise with its intense closeness to Speed Levitch and the inner working of his mind, I think Man on Wire needs to be close to its principle figure rather than break away from said figure, and I think the movie pulls that off admirably without falling into the unfortunate mire or self-service and self-fellatio (i.e., Morgan Spurlock's documentaries, Michael Moore's documentaries after Roger and Me).

On a related note, I'm interested to see how the relative success of Man on Wire will affect sales or interest in Colum McCann's new novel (excerpted in the Paris Review last year and centering around those watching Petit's stunt), which comes out in June

[jesse_custer]

Well, I didn't treat it like a juggling act. I was referring to the one-sided approach of the film, which was quite repetitious and uninteresting. Yes, walking on a wire between two incredibly tall buildings is amazing--in fact, there's no way it could be portrayed as quotidian. At the same time, if the viewer is aware of a possibility that the filmmaker conveniently downplays, the documentary has failed.

I wasn't suggesting that the film should have broken away from its central figure. If anything, I was suggesting it should have taken a closer, more honest, and three-dimensional look at him instead of boring me with obvious fellatio and tacky dramatizations.

[Gilda Dent]

COMEDY:

Bringing Up Baby. I've seen in perhaps a dozen times and it never ceases to make me laugh.

ACTION:

Doomsday. OK, so it's far from great, but as a pastiche of various sci-fi/fantasy/action movies of the past couple of decades, it's enormously fun.

HORROR:

Let the Right One In. Despite the crappy subtitles, it remains the best vampire movie in a long time. The dubbed track is better written, but not well acted. Until Magnolia releases the version with the theatrical subtitles, this is strictly a rental.

ADVENTURE:

Wages of Fear. A group of desperate men agree to transport truckloads of nitro across hundreds of miles of rough jungle and mountain roads. That it also works as a commentary on post-WW2 Europe and American imperialism is just a bonus to the amazingly effective set pieces.

DOCUMENTARY:

Man on a Wire.

DRAMA:

Cinema Paradiso. The original international theatrical version is better than the restored version.

[jesse_custer]

ADVENTURE:

Wages of Fear. A group of desperate men agree to transport truckloads of nitro across hundreds of miles of rough jungle and mountain roads. That it also works as a commentary on post-WW2 Europe and American imperialism is just a bonus to the amazingly effective set pieces.

I need to pick this up. I recently bought Clouzot's Les Diaboliques.

[Infra-Man]

I guess my last two cents is that I think Man on Wire succeeds in the examination of the fanciful individual and the fanciful event at the heart of the picture. I suppose I don't know what is downplayed in the movie since Petit's hubris and ego are on display and it can be inferred that these qualities ended some relationships in the film. With Treadwell in Grizzly Man, it's easier for Herzog to make a deeper commentary on his subject since his subject is not there, but that said, in some of Herzog's other docs the deeper commentary is expressed by the individuals themselves (e.g., The White Diamond, Little Dieter Needs to Fly). Both of those cited Herzog movies are celebrations as much as examinations of the subjects at the heart of those pictures; ditto with Speed Levtich in The Cruise.

I guess I think of Man on Wire in this way: Errol Morris doesn't really dismantle his subjects in Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control but rather celebrates their particular manifestation of genius. Morris succeeds in the celebration and the film succeeds as a celebration of these manifestations of genius. There is a lot about the subjects in Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control that is not explored, but the film succeeds for what is in it rather than what is left out.

That said, one fellatio-y doc I've seen relatively recently is DiG, which should have just been called "Why the guy from The Brian Jonestown Massacre is such a meanie and why the filmmakers think The Dandy Warhols are so cool."

I need to pick this up. I recently bought Clouzot's Les Diaboliques.

The penultimate scene of that creeped me the hell out the first time I saw it.

[jesse_custer]

in some of Herzog's other docs the deeper commentary is expressed by the individuals themselves (e.g., The White Diamond, Little Dieter Needs to Fly). Both of those cited Herzog movies are celebrations as much as examinations of the subjects at the heart of those pictures

Haven't seen The White Diamond, but another interesting aspect of Little Dieter Needs to Fly is the uncompromising tactics of Herzog. Putting the guy back in Vietnam is borderline hilarious and insane.

So yeah, I see the point you're making, but Herzog is a controversial and revolutionary filmmaker, whose own untamed personality adds more depth to the celebration. Can't say the same for James Marsh and his dramatizations.

[Infra-Man]

Haven't seen The White Diamond, but another interesting aspect of Little Dieter Needs to Fly is the uncompromising tactics of Herzog. Putting the guy back in Vietnam is borderline hilarious and insane.

So yeah, I see the point you're making, but Herzog is a controversial and revolutionary filmmaker, whose own untamed personality adds more depth to the celebration. Can't say the same for James Marsh and his dramatizations.

Yeah, Herzog is completely unthouchable. He is a treasure of a man.

Can't wait for Conquest of the Useless (Herzog's journal entries on the making of Fitzcarraldo). Buying it and reading it the day it comes out.

[jesse_custer]

I'm still slowly working my way through Herzog's filmography. It's quite intimidating (especially since I'm also going through Miike's filmography).

[Infra-Man]

In the time we've been discussing documentaries, Takashi Miike began and completed another movie.

[LewisH]

COMEDY:

Wall-E The cockroach and the cleaning robot crack me up

ACTION:

Angels and Demons. Much better than Da Vinci Code.

HORROR:

I'm not really a horror movie fan. I do like the trailer for Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus though.

ADVENTURE:

Coraline - Teri hatcher and Dakota Fanning were great


DOCUMENTARY:

Just rewatched Ken Burns Civil War still one of the best

[Sir Fury]

COMEDY: There Will Be Blood. Utterly hilarious film.

ACTION: Man of The West. Caught this last month. About as good as you'd expect from Anthony Mann + Gary Cooper, i.e. breathtakingly awesome.

HORROR: Let The Right One In. About a hundred times better than I thought it was going to be. Is now probably one of my favourite films.


ADVENTURE: Um...


DOCUMENTARY: Can't think... saw a TV one about string theory with Michio Kaku which was pretty good.

[jesse_custer]

COMEDY: There Will Be Blood. Utterly hilarious film.

A high score to you, my friend, for some people miss the laughs in that movie.

Now, if you had cited it in the WESTERN category, I would have laughed at you.

[bfrank]

horror:

Quarantine. That was the first time I'd ever been to a date movie where I was the one who almost crapped my pants.
From quarantine, the most un scary movie of all time?



HORROR: Let The Right One In. About a hundred times better than I thought it was going to be. Is now probably one of my favourite films.



Excellent and one of the best comedy's I've seen in a while.....Horror, not so much......

[Sir Fury]

DOCUMENTARY: Can't think... saw a TV one about string theory with Michio Kaku which was pretty good.

Actually, it's probably Of Time And The City, which was really good, though not one of Davies' better films. Here's a screenshot I really like:

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/2097/oftimeandthecity.jpg

[Sir Fury]

A high score to you, my friend, for some people miss the laughs in that movie.

Now, if you had cited it in the WESTERN category, I would have laughed at you.

When I'm being fairly contrarian, I'll think of the film as one massive joke on everyone who watched it. Kind of like Spider-Man 3, only, you know, good.

[Sir Fury]

Excellent and one of the best comedy's I've seen in a while.....Horror, not so much......

Well, as an Argento fan, I can see where you're coming from there. It's just the first thing I thought of.

[jesse_custer]

When I'm being fairly contrarian, I'll think of the film as one massive joke on everyone who watched it. Kind of like Spider-Man 3, only, you know, good.

Well, to a large extent, it is a joke on the audience, and a very excellent one.

You read a title like There Will Be Blood and come away with violent expectations. The "R" rating adds to this. But we don't really get blood until the end, and even then, it's not exploitative and not that enjoyable. Day-Lewis' line is delivered: "I'm finished!" But that's not just Plainview's character talking. It's P.T. Anderson. The title finally comes up before the closing credits to remind us that the promise of "There Will Be Blood" has been fulfilled--but not on anyone's terms but the director's.

It's the sick kind of shit that Stanley Kubrick and Peter Sellers would have loved to see.

[Sir Fury]

Well, to a large extent, it is a joke on the audience, and a very excellent one.

You read a title like There Will Be Blood and come away with violent expectations. The "R" rating adds to this. But we don't really get blood until the end, and even then, it's not exploitative and not that enjoyable. Day-Lewis' line is delivered: "I'm finished!" But that's not just Plainview's character talking. It's P.T. Anderson. The title finally comes up before the closing credits to remind us that the promise of "There Will Be Blood" has been fulfilled--but not on anyone's terms but the director's.

It's the sick kind of shit that Stanley Kubrick and Peter Sellers would have loved to see.

I'm pleased to find someone who shares my view.

I also have a theory the film is an adaptation of a prank war I had with my cousin when we were both five. We didn't get around to baptising each other or smashing each other's heads in with skittles, but the spirit and the general pattern of one-upmanship is pretty faithful.

[jesse_custer]

You could primarily view There Will Be Blood as a movie about evil men, but that isn't as fun. But yeah, it can work on multiple levels, including as a fascinating character study due to Day-Lewis' incredible performance.

I still prefer the joke interpretation, though.

[Sir Fury]

I try not to view any film character as evil, though part of the greatness of this film is its complete lack of subtlety: Plainview and Eli quite overtly represent aspects of Christian capitalism.

Something fun I only picked up recently is that the oil derrick is an inverse Babel tower.

[The Archivist]

The last great film I watched was Red Sun a couple of days ago on DVD. Samurais in the wild west. Brilliant. Unfortunately the film is cropped from its' original aspect ratio, but at least it is on DVD.

Some of the films already listed are amazing, but I'm not going to be watching Man On A Wire again. I... uh, had a bit of, er... multicolored yawning in the cinema.

[Sean Walsh]

Let's see what my Netflix says.....

COMEDY:
Ooh, I share one with Gail!

Role Models. Really did not expect to like it, but was blown away at how incredibly good and fun it was.

My Name is Bruce was also quite good & much better than I expected it to be.

ACTION:
The Mummy 3. Not so much great, but it was pretty good and really not as stupid as my friends (and many others) said. Doesn't hold a candle to the first 2 though.

HORROR:
The Fog. The original John Carpenter flick. Very good and legitimately creepy movie.

ADVENTURE:
Star Trek. Another one I share with Gail!

[Joshua Pantalleresco]

All time list. I haven't been to the theatres ever since Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

Comedy: Shrek 3. It was the last time I laughed out loud at the theatre.

Action: Transporter - very fun cotton candy flicks.

Adventure: Pirates of the Caribbean. Yeah, it's silly, but it's fun.

Horror: Hellraiser

Drama: The Dark Knight

Documentary: America: From Freedom to Fascism. You will laugh so hard at the beginning and at the end feel very somber with what's going on around you. Russo points out the biggest legal flaw in paying your income taxes and ends up showing some of the ugly underbelly of the political machine in the US in the process. Everyone should watch this documentary. You won't look at politics the same way again.