What was the last DVD you watched?

[Stubblecat]

Here's a thread where we just let people know what we've been watching.

*Please note* This is NOT to be confused with the Movie Reviews thread! Feel free to critique the film you watched, but if you feel the need to start tapping out a dozen papragraphs, do it up as a formal review and give it a proper home.

This will just be the soundboard for what's been on our screens as of late.

[Stubblecat]

And I'll start!

Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (1998)



Hmm... Not entirely what I expected. Although I'm a big Terry Gilliam fan, I'm not exactly a huge Hunter S. Thompson follower.
It was definitely a challenge to sit through. Might have been better had I some chemicals in my system.

[Stubblecat]

Straw Dogs (1971)



I remember reading Roger Ebert's review a long time ago, and he dissented with most of the critics who hailed this film as a masterpiece.
I'm inclined to agree with Ebert.

First of all, I had a hard time feeling any sympathy for Susan George's character of Amy. It's hard to be shocked at a sexual assault when the character parades around topless in front of her (eventual) attackers and apparently enjoys the assault.

Secondly, the Sam Peckinpah-trademark bloodbath at the end feels like 20 minutes of contrived filmmaking. An excuse for lots of gun hits and blood spurts. The precursor to torture porn, in a way.

[Stubblecat]

Bottle Rocket (1996)



I've finally gotten around to seeing the very first Wes Anderson film!

After seeing this and recently Rushmore, I get a real appreciation for Owen Wilson as a writer.
Sure, this film is definitely a low-budget indie. But it has so many of those patented Wes Anderson nice character moments, that the shoestring budget and thin plot seem irrelevant.

Worth watching primarily for the awkwardly tender love story between Luke Wilson's character and the Spanish-speaking motel housekeeper, Inez.

[aperio]

My recent choices have been so much less interesting than yours (by the way, based on your recap above, I think I will give bottle rocket a go once i track down a copy).

Okay so tonight was a bit of a throwback to...

I told you, I love animated films and dumb comedies... tomorrow night will probably be #3 to finish it off. I actually managed to catch some subtle humor in both of these (particularly #1) that I missed the first time around. I can't help it, I'm a sucker for these films. (By the way, no - I didn't add that #1 Comedy Of All Time underneath the 2nd cover up there, it came that way..)

[Stubblecat]

Yes, the perils of trying to find a decent-sized jpeg of a DVD cover...

Here are Wes Anderson's 5 films in order:

Bottle Rocket
Rushmore
The Royal Tennenbaums
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
The Darjeeling Limited

I highly recommend all five, especially viewed in order. I love when directors get an ensemble of actors they love to work with. Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Jason Schwartzbaum, Angelica Houston & Bill Murray all appear in his films numerous times.

[aperio]

There's an order to them? Do I need to go rearrange my netflix queue (well okay, that's kind of misleading since i only have The Darjeeling Limited in the queue at this very moment)... but I was planning to go look for bottle rocket. Let me know if it really does matter and I'll watch bottle rocket first.

[Stubblecat]

I only suggest watching his films in order so you can see his style develop over five films. The last 3 are almost like a trilogy but can be watched in any order, really.

[mandarinpeel]

i just got done watching "joshua" with sam rockwell. and i'm very confused, the ending was not what i expected at all. but in a bad way, if that's possible. lol. i might write a full review on it, not sure yet though. i have to think about it for a bit still.

[mandarinpeel]

ps- love wes anderson movies. here is my list of favorite to least favorite: the royal tenenbaums, the life aquatic with steve zissou, bottle rocket, rushmore, and the darjeeling limited (and this one is only last as of right now just because it's the only one i've only seen one time. needs more viewings before i can make a true opinion as to where it places in my list. lol it's like a science experiment.)