PDA

View Full Version : Building a DVD collection update 2


Non_Comformist
11-29-2004, 12:20 AM
I tried to, as suggested, broaden The Collection this time to include more than recent releases.

Movies rated from 5-1 and must have a minimal rating of 3.0 to make The Collection


Recent DVD's Rated

Spinal Tap. I found this movie to be brilliant. You can see the influence it has had on the British comedy series The Office and the writing has some similarities with Seinfeld.

Rating 3.85


Airheads . “Don’t talk to me about Rock-N-Roll, I’m out there, out in the streets, I’m living it. I AM ROCK-N-ROLL.” Airheads doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not, which is a simplistic yet pleasing comedy. The movie loses steam after the first 30-45 minutes and in the end the characters try to be cool instead of taking the stupid/loser band member theme the whole way.

Rating 2.80

Godfather I . The best movie ever made. I have two dogs, brothers, which I named Sonny & Freido. There is no greater character than Michael Corleone.

Rating 5.0

8 Mile . I was all set to give this movie a 3.0 rating and a spot in The Collection but when I sat down the write out my review the first and only thoughts I had were of its problems. First the good. The battle rap scenes are good and the idea of a movie based on the Detroit underground rap scene is a worthy one. However the script has problems. Instead of dealing more with Rabbit’s (Eminem) family life, it spends time of some philanthropist/Arson night. Instead of building the relationship with his friends, we get some weird romance where he meets her, screws her at work, and then gets pissed when his friend does her. Yet he then sits and calmly has a discussion with her the next day. This after whipping his friend’s ass, which then gets his kicked and nearly killed. I think if 8 mile would have been an independent film made away from Hollywood it would have been much better.

Rating 2.85

Pale Rider . This is the first Clint Eastwood western I had seen and now it will not be my last. An awesome film that leaves you wanting more after watching it.

Rating 4.40

Godfather II Not so much a sequel as a continuation. There is nothing I could write about the first two Godfather movies. If you haven’t see them you need to. If you don’t like The Godfather, you have issues and need to seek therapy ASAP.

Rating 4.99

Hang ‘em High . Good premise but lost halfway through and drug on and on with seemingly 3-4 different stories none of which seemed to go any where. Anticlimactic ending.

Rating 2.3

Ace Ventura Pet Detective . Not as funny as when I first saw it but still plenty of laughs coupled with a fun plot. Note I mistakenly purchased the full screen version. I can't believe they would actually sell and people would buy such a thing. So the actual DVD does not have a spot in the collection but I will get a new widescreen copy ASAP and give it its rightful place.

Rating 3.25

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Another Eastwood western and while not as good as Pale Rider, it was much better than Hang ‘em High. The soundtrack alone was probably good enough to get it into The Collection. I didn’t understand why they called Eastwood, “Blondie” through out. The story was somewhat slow to develop and the film at two and a half hours was probably an hour to long. With great characters, superb acting and a triple threat shoot out ending it well worth it.

Rating 3.0

The Godfather III . I’ve watched this movie a few times now, leaving disappointed after each viewing. Because of that I made the decision to watch Godfather III two days after Godfather I & II, I usually watch it directly after, I wanted to be able to judge it on its own merits, not compared to the older siblings. Let’s face it Godfather III is problematic. The transformation of Michael is too much from when we last saw him having his brother hit. Also Pacino instead of playing the cold and reserved Michael, instead plays himself. The movie also seems obsessed with the name game from parts I &II, relies on too many flash backs, and other references. Yet merely passes over the absence of Tom Hagen, Mike's brother, most trusted friend, and consigliore, with just a he was a good lawyer. Huh? WTF? The movie really missed his presence. Also the casting of Ford Coppola’s daughter as Michael’s daughter was horrendous. She was abysmal.

Yet a funny thing happened on this last viewing. I came to appreciate Godfather III for what it is, instead of hating it for what it wasn’t. Besides the nonsensical incest between cousins , the story ,while hard to follow in parts, is actually pretty good. And the relationship between Pacino and Andy Garcia is great.

In the end I decided The Godfather part III is the Freido of the family, weak and stupid at times, but it has a good heart and most importantly is still a Corelone and still a part of the family.

Rating 3.10

That makes the collection currently as follows
1. Godfather Part I 5.00
2. Godfather Part II 4.99
3. Office Space 4.55
4. Braveheart 4.50
5. Pale Rider 4.40
6. Training Day 4.35
7. Swingers 4.25
8. Die Hard 4.00
9. Spinal Tap 3.85
10. Meet the Parents 3.75
11. Catch Me If You Can 3.60
12. Oceans Eleven 3.45
13. Fog of War 3.30
14. Ace Vnetura Pet Detective 3.25
15. The Godfather Part III 3.10
16. The Recruit 3.05
17. The Good The Bad and The Ugly 3.0

Note: Upon further contemplation and compared to surrounding movies in The Collection, I have reduced my rating on The Recruit by 0.20 points.

Thoughts, Comments on this batch of ratings, The Collection, or more recommendations?

I think its looking much stronger.

deacsoft
11-29-2004, 02:29 AM
If Pulp Fiction isn't in update 3 I'm going to slap you. /images/graemlins/smile.gif
Every collection should have a copy.

PoBoy321
11-29-2004, 02:34 AM
Get a DVD burner and a netflix subscription. My friend did and has a 382 movie DVD collection. Just get every movie you can and burn a copy. Illegal, yes. Amazing, definitely.

Thythe
11-29-2004, 02:50 AM
[ QUOTE ]
Get a DVD burner and a netflix subscription. My friend did and has a 382 movie DVD collection. Just get every movie you can and burn a copy. Illegal, yes. Amazing, definitely.

[/ QUOTE ]

Without the box and original disc I would hardly call that a collection. Real DVD collectors don't just want a pile of DVDs but also everything that comes with it.

PoBoy321
11-29-2004, 02:56 AM
Sorry, I didn't realize that he was a serious DVD collector. I just kind of a assumed that with "Airheads" and "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" in there, he was looking more for a large movie library, rather than a real "collection."

Oh, and just so that this doesn't degrade into some type of flamewar, I love Airheads and Ace Ventura, I just never really thought of them as "collectibles."

deacsoft
11-29-2004, 03:21 AM
[ QUOTE ]
Without the box and original disc I would hardly call that a collection. Real DVD collectors don't just want a pile of DVDs but also everything that comes with it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good point.

deacsoft
11-29-2004, 03:22 AM
[ QUOTE ]
Sorry, I didn't realize that he was a serious DVD collector. I just kind of a assumed that with "Airheads" and "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" in there, he was looking more for a large movie library, rather than a real "collection."


[/ QUOTE ]

Better point. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Non_Comformist
11-29-2004, 03:52 AM
For the record Airheads did not make the collection, as it failed to score the prerequisite 3.0 rating. As stated in my previous threads DVD's that do not score a 3.0 or higher must be disposed of (traded in, given away) as soon as possible as cannot be stored in The Collection.

I liked Ace Ventura but I post these to get feedback and enjoy the disagreements so thanks.

Blarg
11-29-2004, 06:18 AM
I think you under-rated The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly incredibly. That movie is a 5.0 all the way.

You also need to get For a Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More. Those three are all much better than Pale Rider.

I agree with the feller who said you really should get Pulp Fiction. That thing is amazingly watchable, again and again. Get the new version that came out, with all the great extras. Siskel and Ebert did a whole show on Tarantino, which I've never seen them do on anyone else, and it was included; lots of other cool extras too.

It's a lesser film, but you might want to try Reservoir Dogs too, and most guys seem to like The Usual Suspects a lot.

I would really recommend Heat a lot, by Michael Mann. Deniro and Pacino are in it, as two sides of the same coin, one a devoted professional thief and head of a crew, and the other the copy who is chasing him down. DeNiro's acting is fantastic in it. When he pulls off a freeway to go kill someone, watch the incredible things that go on in his face and the unbelievable timing, all without him saying a word. It's some of the most convincing and spectacular acting I've ever seen. Absolutely flawless and brilliant. Plus some of the best shoot outs and general action I've ever seen. DeNiro is a god in this movie.

Thief, with James Caan, is also an extremely good one by this director, and very re-watchable.

Oh, hmm...how about some Scorcese. Taxi Driver and Goodfellas.

And you need a good kung fu movie. I'd recommend Drunken Monkey in a Tiger's Eye, sometimes called just Drunken Master. The old 70's Jackie Chan one. There's a Columbia version out, I think, and on that one the commentary alone is worth the price of the DVD -- two Hong Kong cinema experts who know Jackie Chan and all about those films say one interesting thing after another; I could have listened to hours more of them alone. And the kung fu is phenomenal, and not just Jackie's.

Also, there's Once Upon a Time in China with Jet Li, parts 1, 2, and 3. I got a version that was I think 20 bucks on Amazon that has all three in excellent quality. Those movies are out in all kinds of versions, some very expensive. There are some slow spots and lame comedy, but the kung fu is usually really good.

And I got a DVD of three Muhammad Ali fights. They are very cool to watch - one was Foreman, one was Liston, one was Frazier.

And for horror -- The Evil Dead and The Hidden. The first Alien. I also liked Carpenter's version of The Thing a lot.

I don't know much about Anime, and I generally don't like the look of it, but try Spirited Away. I've never talked to anyone who has seen it who didn't think it was fantastic.

Foreign film that will make you laugh your ass off but might also break your heart - My Life As a Dog.

For comedy -- Fawlty Towers. By far the funniest thing John Cleese ever did, and that includes Monty Python. Your great grandkids will be busting a gut watching those long after you've kicked the bucket.

And get some Simpsons DVD's!

The nice thing about those mentioned above is that they are very watchable with friends, too, as most have either not seen lots of those films or haven't seen them in a long time.

Duke
11-29-2004, 06:28 AM
[ QUOTE ]
Thief, with James Caan, is also an extremely good one by this director, and very re-watchable.

[/ QUOTE ]

When I saw you mention Heat I was thinking: "I better respond to mention Thief."

Excellent movie.

Take a walk, flash.
[ QUOTE ]
I don't know much about Anime, and I generally don't like the look of it, but try Spirited Away. I've never talked to anyone who has seen it who didn't think it was fantastic.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good one. Akira is a great movie too. My 5 year old niece wants a red jacket with a white and blue pill on the back so she can be like Kaneda. Then again, she also wants to marry Spider-Man. It's older, and very "weird," but very good.

~D

Blarg
11-29-2004, 03:15 PM
Yeah, Thief was really, really good. Tremendously influential. You see that style copied a lot now, but Mann did it with not just incredible style but heart in that movie, because you genuinely care about the characters and really feel their plight. Supposedly based on a book by a professional thief, say the promotional materials, which I'd really love to read one day, if it's even in print.

I didn't quite warm up to Akira, but I did think Grave of the Fireflies was an incredibly good, deeply moving movie. It's about a boy in WWII Japan who has to take care of his sister on his own after his parents are killed in the war, and how he tries to try to keep the both of them alive. Not everyone likes movies that aren't just about car chases or fart jokes, so I don't recommend it to everybody, but it's very watchable and a really deep movie too. Good movie to watch with your girlfriend to show her you're really a sensitive guy too, without feeling like you want to puke, and then watch on your own later when nobody can see you, in case you tear up or something. This is one of the ones I think will be just as good 100 years from now.

I also had a really good time with Castle in the Sky and thought Kiki's Delivery Service was kind of fun, both by the guy who did Spirited Away. Spirited was far superior to the other two, though, not because they were bad at all, but just because Spirited seems like some kind of rare gift or something. I think you can watch all these movies and really enjoy them without knowing or caring a thing about anime really -- they're good according to the standards of any culture.

Non_Comformist
11-29-2004, 03:39 PM
[ QUOTE ]
I think you under-rated The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly incredibly. That movie is a 5.0 all the way.

You also need to get For a Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More. Those three are all much better than Pale Rider.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you may be right about The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The characters were really great in this film and the ending really was awesome. Looking at the rankings now I keep getting this gut feeling that The Recruit cannot be rated higher than TGTH&TU. A lot of doubt of my intitial ranking of The Recruit has crept in after reading the basically unaminous reaction of the board

I'll revisit both next update.

As for the other westerns, absolutely have been added to the lsit along with The Outlaw Josey Whales, which I have not seen either.

[ QUOTE ]
I agree with the feller who said you really should get Pulp Fiction. That thing is amazingly watchable, again and again. Get the new version that came out, with all the great extras. Siskel and Ebert did a whole show on Tarantino, which I've never seen them do on anyone else, and it was included; lots of other cool extras too.

It's a lesser film, but you might want to try Reservoir Dogs too, and most guys seem to like The Usual Suspects a lot.

I would really recommend Heat a lot, by Michael Mann. Deniro and Pacino are in it, as two sides of the same coin, one a devoted professional thief and head of a crew, and the other the copy who is chasing him down. DeNiro's acting is fantastic in it. When he pulls off a freeway to go kill someone, watch the incredible things that go on in his face and the unbelievable timing, all without him saying a word. It's some of the most convincing and spectacular acting I've ever seen. Absolutely flawless and brilliant. Plus some of the best shoot outs and general action I've ever seen. DeNiro is a god in this movie.

[/ QUOTE ]

The Usual Suspects & Resevoir Dogs are sitting in a stack of unwatched DVD's right now and Heat & Pulp Fiction are on my Columbia House wish list. No question all of them have a place in The Collection. Just a matter of time.


[ QUOTE ]
Thief, with James Caan, is also an extremely good one by this director, and very re-watchable

[/ QUOTE ]

Never heard of this one but will add it to the wish list.

the42
11-29-2004, 04:04 PM
Unforgiven I think is the best clint eastwood movie ever and actually the best western ever IMO. When clint holds a shot gun to gene hackman chest and gene says " i don't deserve to die like this " and clint says "derserves got nothing to do with it" and blows him away. oh man. LA Confidential is an awesome movie Kevin Spacey and Russel Crowe. Must have. Others Get Shorty. Hoosiers. The Natural.

beerbandit
11-29-2004, 04:21 PM
im gonna say pulp fiction again, just because it shouldnt be missed

tombstone, animal house and memento seem like they should make it in there eventually

looks pretty good so far -- i really like braveheart that is probably my favorite movie


cheers
beer

Allan
11-29-2004, 04:41 PM
Has Blade Runner been mentioned yet?


Allan

astroglide
11-29-2004, 06:19 PM
few dollars more is my favorite of the man with no name trilogy (fistful of dollars, for a few dollars more, the good, the bad, and the ugly)