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(Not the poster you’re asking) What sort of thing are you into? What are some movies you really like? Would help to tune any suggestions. [edit] Meanwhile, so

(Not the poster you’re asking) What sort of thing are you into? What are some movies you really like? Would help to tune any suggestions. [edit] Meanwhile, some shots in the dark: - The Green Knight — Based on the story by the Pearl Poet and expanded and adapted with a combo of other Arthurian tales and the filmmakers’ own twists. Basically, a lonely, somewhat psychedelic (but not in a bright-kaleidoscope-colors sort of way…) dark fantasy journey with tasteful hints of dozens of influences adorning it. A great Winter watch, too. Benefits from the best screen and system you can get in front of. - You Won’t Be Alone — Broadly horror-themed but not in a Hollywood monster movie or Halloween popcorn muncher sort of way. It’s not really aiming for scares, exactly. Comically similar themes and message to a major widely-lauded off-kilter film from the same year (2022) but approached from a very different angle. Macedonian language. You may worry in the first twenty minutes that you’ve stumbled into the Easter European Indie Movie Doldrums of Mediocrity, but persevere, it starts to come together and develop purpose before long. Hard recommend for fans of The Witch who liked the “historically accurate” grossness & mythology of that film, but it’s not as firmly in the horror genre as that was. On the lighter (and not quite as good, good) side: - The Kid Detective — Semi-comedy. Imagine the stereotypical middle-aged guy who’s never topped their time as a high school quarterback. Now imagine if instead of playing football, they were a kid detective (you know, Nancy Drew sorts of stuff) and that is the thing they peaked at in high school. That’s our protagonist. Film sags at times but the premise is so fun and relatively-well-used that it’s still a good time, if that blurb above piqued your interest at all. Certainly a sort of noir, with all that entails, so if Your Hero getting his ass kicked more than doing the ass kicking bothers you, avoid (as with lots of noirs) - Spontaneous — Dark high school romance-comedy. Also, people, all over the place, have started occasionally suddenly exploding for no evident reason. That’s the movie’s deal. It took me embarrassingly long to realize what it was really about (or, at least a major one of the things it’s about) and it punched me in the damn gut when I did. Oof.

quesera 3y ago
I'm open to genre. Mostly I'd like to spend a couple hours watching something that is either an impressive work of some kind (but not one that requires a film degree to appreciate), or has something mutilayered and interesting to say about people or the world. The latter seemed to be where GP was going, and I was curious to learn what films meet that criteria for them. I reliably enjoy films from Miranda July and Greta Gerwig. I think I'd enjoy Wes Anderson more if he was a bit less campy (but I get it, that's a big part of the point, so I guess I appreciate the other things he's good at). Thank you for the suggestions -- I have never heard of any of them. They are far afield from my known preferences, but sound like the better versions of the options that Netflix wants me to watch, which is great! I will check them out.
- wharvle 3y ago
  With those preferences stated (I almost listed Lady Bird!) I'd toss on: - Nomadland — Lonely older woman clinging to the bottom rung of the economic ladder is pushed into van-living and finds community. Basically positive-but-bittersweet vibes by the end, and with a similar strong reliance on setting and mood to something like a Wes Anderson work (though without the precise placement of every single element in frame), but definitely not "cute" like his are, and not about comfortable rich people. Includes many real people living in vans, blurring the lines between fiction and reality (and deftly almost-entirely avoiding the usual problems that come with including non-actors in a film). Lots of great outdoor shooting and lighting work. - Red Rocket — Struggling, middle-aged male porn star moves back to his small, blue-collar hometown in Texas. We learn about his still-evolving relationships with the people he left behind when he moved away to LA, and see him make some... choices. Probably the most into archetype and symbolism of anything I've listed except maybe The Green Knight. By the end, is very much about its protagonist as a kind of daemon, if you will, of a part of the American experience and spirit (and also a representation of one or more sorts of real person with whom one may be familiar from one's own experience). Great attention to detail for a certain kind of ordinary setting, in the way that Anderson or maybe Miyazaki pay attention to that kind of everyday detail, but employed to obtain perfectly-trashy environs that aren't at all pretty but are also entirely true-to-life, not caricature. If you've spent time in such places, the clutter, the way trash has accumulated, the way in which the miniblinds are broken just so, and the way the people exist in that space, will feel very familiar. - Eighth Grade — Bo Burnham's only film (I think?). Akin to something like Gerwig's Lady Bird, I'd say, but less heightened and more "real".
  - quesera 3y ago
    This is great -- all of these suggestions are new to me. With more time to dredge my memory, I also remember really enjoying Amelie and a most (not all) of Hal Hartley's movies. So I guess that boils down to "independent movies with interesting characters and/or dialogue"? Thank you again!

quesera 3y ago

I'm open to genre. Mostly I'd like to spend a couple hours watching something that is either an impressive work of some kind (but not one that requires a film degree to appreciate), or has something mutilayered and interesting to say about people or the world. The latter seemed to be where GP was going, and I was curious to learn what films meet that criteria for them. I reliably enjoy films from Miranda July and Greta Gerwig. I think I'd enjoy Wes Anderson more if he was a bit less campy (but I get it, that's a big part of the point, so I guess I appreciate the other things he's good at). Thank you for the suggestions -- I have never heard of any of them. They are far afield from my known preferences, but sound like the better versions of the options that Netflix wants me to watch, which is great! I will check them out.

wharvle 3y ago
With those preferences stated (I almost listed Lady Bird!) I'd toss on: - Nomadland — Lonely older woman clinging to the bottom rung of the economic ladder is pushed into van-living and finds community. Basically positive-but-bittersweet vibes by the end, and with a similar strong reliance on setting and mood to something like a Wes Anderson work (though without the precise placement of every single element in frame), but definitely not "cute" like his are, and not about comfortable rich people. Includes many real people living in vans, blurring the lines between fiction and reality (and deftly almost-entirely avoiding the usual problems that come with including non-actors in a film). Lots of great outdoor shooting and lighting work. - Red Rocket — Struggling, middle-aged male porn star moves back to his small, blue-collar hometown in Texas. We learn about his still-evolving relationships with the people he left behind when he moved away to LA, and see him make some... choices. Probably the most into archetype and symbolism of anything I've listed except maybe The Green Knight. By the end, is very much about its protagonist as a kind of daemon, if you will, of a part of the American experience and spirit (and also a representation of one or more sorts of real person with whom one may be familiar from one's own experience). Great attention to detail for a certain kind of ordinary setting, in the way that Anderson or maybe Miyazaki pay attention to that kind of everyday detail, but employed to obtain perfectly-trashy environs that aren't at all pretty but are also entirely true-to-life, not caricature. If you've spent time in such places, the clutter, the way trash has accumulated, the way in which the miniblinds are broken just so, and the way the people exist in that space, will feel very familiar. - Eighth Grade — Bo Burnham's only film (I think?). Akin to something like Gerwig's Lady Bird, I'd say, but less heightened and more "real".
- quesera 3y ago
  This is great -- all of these suggestions are new to me. With more time to dredge my memory, I also remember really enjoying Amelie and a most (not all) of Hal Hartley's movies. So I guess that boils down to "independent movies with interesting characters and/or dialogue"? Thank you again!