Topic: Newbie looking for Friendly's to teach me the ropes of this site????

[Jimmy]

Goodfellas - another really good movie. Are you a fan of Casino?

Yes I've it too, not as good but this is almost the same movie set in Vegas.

[DVD4EveR]

One movie I've been pleasantly surprised with recently is The Quiet. A nice little drama.

Going by what I've seen, anything by Michel Gondry, IMO, is also very interesting: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind & La Science des Rêves

And I'm with you about Transformers: Loved the live-action adaptation! Can't wait for Chapter 2!

I think I like your taste - not that im judging this off of much information but...Eternal Sunshine actually appealed to me enough to buy it. What I mean by that is I actually enjoyed a movie with Jim Carey in it!

And ditto on Transformer 2, I am psyched! Hope they don't let me down!

I havn't hear of The Quiet, I will have to look that up!

Thanks for the info!

[DVD4EveR]

Goodfellas - another really good movie. Are you a fan of Casino?

Yes I've it too, not as good but this is almost the same movie set in Vegas.

Jimmy,
What did you think of American Ganster? Give me an honest answer please.

[Najemikon]

Understandable, but I like to hear other peoples opinions on films and find out what ones really stand out in their minds as great accomplishments or just all around amazing movies.

Myself for example, I could watch anyone of these movies over an over again:
Lord of The rings - The entire trilogy
From Dusk Till Dawn - Only the original
Reservoir Dogs - Basically any Tarantino movie is at the top of my list
The Rock - Nick Cage - really enjoyed this movie when it was first released and it stuck with me
Transformers - loved it!!
American Beauty - didnt expect me to say that one! Have to say, I was really impressed
Salton Sea - underrated, but realy good

Hey there, welcome to the forum! Get yourself on DVD Profiler, because you won't regret it and it makes your collection fun.

In terms of recommending, well, that's a decent list to start from, but the oldest movie there is Reservoir Dogs. So I suggest looking back a little further. My favourite decade for movies is the 70s.

Tarantino took some inspiration for Dogs from one of my very favourite films: The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. The thieves are colour coded (Mr. Blue, Mr. Green, etc) and the dialogue is just fantastic, plus one of the best endings ever. Don't be put off by Walter Matthau's awful shirt and see it before the remake!

You like Scorcese, obviously, so Taxi Driver? You like gangsters, so The Godfather Trilogy. American Gangster has roots in The French Connection and Serpico. If you like those you can bounce back to the 90s for Narc.

And how about foreign movies? You mind subtitles? Sticking with Scorcese for a moment, his The Departed was based on a Hong Kong movie called Infernal Affairs which I think is very like Michael Mann (Heat, Collateral). Highly recommended.

Finally, before your mind blows entirely(!) you say you like anything by Tarantino? Well when I saw Death Proof, I was inspired to look up all the classic car movies he referenced and I reviewed them in our Marathon sub-forum, so check it out Here.

That sound you hear is us trying to scratch the surface and failing. Miserably. This shit goes deep and it's fun drowning! So pull up a chair and join in...

[DVD4EveR]

...........WOW!......thanks.....u know your sh*t!

[Kathy]

Welcome! You might want to check your messages box; I sent you a note the first day because this topic was locked and I wanted to let you know.

I'm another fan of DVDP; it is a great way to keep track of your collection. The forums over there can be interesting too but I'm afraid that, at times, a lot of arguing and negativity can be found on certain postings/posters.

This forum and its posters are very interesting. I have found the members to be very knowledgeable and helpful. There is also a wonderful sick sense of humor that permeates these forums that I particularly get a kick out of!

It is great to see another poster and I hope that you will be a contributer and not just a "lurker"!

[Jimmy]

Jimmy,
What did you think of American Ganster? Give me an honest answer please.

I've not seen it. I don't watch mainstream Hollywood big budget movie, so I'm not the one that can help you with this one. Sorry

[Najemikon]

Jimmy,
What did you think of American Ganster? Give me an honest answer please.

I've not seen it. I don't watch mainstream Hollywood big budget movie, so I'm not the one that can help you with this one. Sorry

Ok, I'll bite. I think on a good day, Ridley Scott is one of the best filmmakers there is. I love Gladiator, and Alien and Blade Runner are simply perfect. But he can also be a bit average; his films used to be frequently pretty, but insubstantial (Legend: looks gorgeous, but terrible script). Lately with Black Hawk Down and American Gangster, I think his storytelling is superb, but it lacks the visual punch.

So American Gangster I think is merely very good when it should have been much more memorable in his hands. Apparently he was brought in late to replace another director, I think I heard, which might explain its workmanlike quality.

Also, in a general sense, Hollywood seems to opt for telling biographical stories like this in a very straightforward manner, whereas I prefer interpretation or mix the narrative up a bit to make it unusual.

[Jimmy]

Tarantino took some inspiration for Dogs from one of my very favourite films: The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. The thieves are colour coded (Mr. Blue, Mr. Green, etc) and the dialogue is just fantastic, plus one of the best endings ever. Don't be put off by Walter Matthau's awful shirt and see it before the remake!

I was sure that even this one was a complete copy of other movies by more talented director 
Yeah, I've forgot again when you copy every pieces of a movie from others one this is not a copy but an hommage 
Why I'm not surprise again? 

BTW thanks for the recommandation Jon, place it in my wishlist and will, probably, ordered it next month.

[Najemikon]

Tarantino took some inspiration for Dogs from one of my very favourite films: The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. The thieves are colour coded (Mr. Blue, Mr. Green, etc) and the dialogue is just fantastic, plus one of the best endings ever. Don't be put off by Walter Matthau's awful shirt and see it before the remake!

I was sure that even this one was a complete copy of other movies by more talented director 
Yeah, I've forgot again when you copy every pieces of a movie from others one this is not a copy but an hommage 
Why I'm not surprise again? 

BTW thanks for the recommandation Jon, place it in my wishlist and will, probably, ordered it next month.

 

To be fair, the only thing he took from Pelham was the colour names. However, I'm surprised you obviously haven't heard about the accusations he took stuff from City of Fire... I haven't seen it, so can't comment, but apparently it has a Mexican stand-off at the end that's very similar.

1 2 3 is definitely my favourite film for dialogue. It's set in New York and the banter is wonderful.

[Kathy]

I just got done watching American Gangster so I thought I'd throw in my thoughts; I thought it was merely better than average. It seemed to drag on a bit; I actually liked the bonus features almost as much as the film itself!

I agree with Jon that it should have been an outstanding movie but I don't think the change in directors was the problem. The movie was going to be released (with Denzel Washington in the lead) but the studio pulled the financing. Producer Brian Grazer liked the screenplay so much that he kept it in mind. It was some time later (a year or so if I remember correctly) that Grazer approached Ridley Scott to direct the new project. Washington was reluctant to recommit to American Gangster yet again but did so once he learned Scott was going to be the director.

Since you brought the topic up DVD4EveR , I would be interested in your thoughts about American Gangster.

[Achim]

To be fair, the only thing he took from Pelham was the colour names. However, I'm surprised you obviously haven't heard about the accusations he took stuff from City of Fire... I haven't seen it, so can't comment, but apparently it has a Mexican stand-off at the end that's very similar.

There is more than just the Mexican stand off that comes form City on Fire... It was very clearly the main inspiration for Reservoir Dogs. It is so similiar, that there are just about enough differences so it's not a remake

[DVD4EveR]

Since you brought the topic up DVD4EveR , I would be interested in your thoughts about American Gangster.

I was dissappointed with AMerican Gangster. Like you I found it really dragged on and there was not enough "Ganster Moments". It got me very interested from the start and then slowly bored me to death. I guess I was just expecting more death and shootings and actual gangster stuff, if that makes any sense?

Based on my scale of 5 chipmunks
I gave it:
3 chipmunks out of 5 chipmunks

[Najemikon]

Since you brought the topic up DVD4EveR , I would be interested in your thoughts about American Gangster.

I was dissappointed with AMerican Gangster. Like you I found it really dragged on and there was not enough "Ganster Moments". It got me very interested from the start and then slowly bored me to death. I guess I was just expecting more death and shootings and actual gangster stuff, if that makes any sense?

Based on my scale of 5 chipmunks
I gave it:
3 chipmunks out of 5 chipmunks

I saw AG around the same time as The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. That beautiful film demonstrates how a true story can be told. Then there is an old Preston Sturges movies called The Great Moment. It's subject is sadly not as memorable as it could be (a dentist who was the first to discover ether in pain management, but wasn't credited), but the way the story is told is quite brilliant. I wish they'd try doing more things like that with true stories. And book adaptations too.