[Closed] Films that shouldn't work but do.

The original Italian Job.

Dune, a right shambles. But visually awesome.

Both good suggestions.

should be seedy

The "Uncut International Edition" explores that somewhat more.

Cowboys And Aliens......Sounds stupid (and probably is) but I enjoyed it.

Leon was supposed to have them having a seedy relationship but they thought better of it.

Dusk til dawn

Leon was supposed to have them having a seedy relationship but they thought better of it.

That's why it works for me. The innocence of their relationship is more of a surprise than if it had been sexual.

Upstream Color. Utter nonsense, but still gripping, menacing and beautiful. Great sound design and just slightly less than too much lens flare.

LoCo: Dusk til dawn

Documentaries don't count.

Hudson Hawk. So sue me.

The Lego Movie.

So sue me.

If you're going to come out with that, I'm nominating Howard the Duck.

Any which way but loose.

Iron Sky

Watched it open mouthed....

Dusk til Dawn

Tequila.

Enough said.

Tremors

Brazil

Primer

Pi

Twelve Monkeys

I dropped out of university, but I saw some really interesting films. *ahem*

dog soldiers, just gets sillier and sillier but they must have been having fun!

Pitch Black
Snakes on a Plane

Troll Hunter - too much like The Blair Witch Project to be worth watching, very silly premise and frankly not all that great.

REALLY enjoyed it

Will watch agen...

+1 for Tremors. Also, Critters too.

13th Warrior
Stupid idea but very watchable

The fifth element...

Machete.

Wish you lot would stop mentioning some of my favourite films..

The princess bride

highlander

Cloverfield.

Enemy at the gates

Watching it now, accents ranging from posh-faux-cockney to borat for characters that are all supposed to be from the same country but must be decent enough for me to watch it again.

13th Warrior
Stupid idea

It might seem stupid but I believe that plot line has stood the test of time somewhat.....

Groundhog Day. It's a paper thin concept not thought through yet it's brilliant.

Cougar - Moderator
So sue me.
If you're going to come out with that, I'm nominating Howard the Duck.

Groundhog Day. It's a paper thin concept not thought through yet it's brilliant

Interesting point, I'd take on two levels:

1) If you consider it as a religious story it's perfectly reasonable.

2) A story is not a building, it doens't have to have a solid foundation all the way down. It's a piece of art, and it just has to resonate with something in the viewer's mind. You just need to think 'hey, that's cool, I can understand that' then you can suspend disbelief. Many of our favourite stories are preposterous, but that doesn't matter, they work.

Ghost Dog - awesome film

Leon - Loved it. Saw the Japanese cut of it, loved it a little less as it wasn't at all an innocent relationship

Donnie Darko - on paper just a weird idea
Inception - No idea if you could wright it down, sails the fine line of mind bendingly complex but not over the edge...

+1 for Primer, should be a complete mess but had me hooked.

Inception, on the other hand, only seemed complex because it set up a load of rules and then ignored them when they became troublesome and went 'because it's dreams'. Cop out city.

Kung Fu Panda.
I mean, a [i]panda[/i]! that does [i]kung fu[/i]!

So I Married an Axe Murderer - one of my all time faves. Mike Myers in a 'straight' comedy role.

Full of excellent cameo performances. Alan Arkin is superb. The Scottish father character is awesome. Some great lines.

Star Wars:
Terrorists fight the forces of law and order, assisted by a violent religious cult.

Casablanca:
Alcoholic collaborator fails to win back his ex.

James Bond:
Promiscuous alcoholic in a suit saves the day, aided by wealthy, possibly under educated villains.

Inception - No idea if you could wright it down, sails the fine line of mind bendingly complex but not over the edge...

Wow. You and I must have seen a different film. What I saw was a generic fight/flight action flick with some sixth-form-common-room sub-philosophy:

"hey - what if, like, when you woke up, you were, like, still dreaming?"

"Wow. Far out."

None of that embedded dreams stuff matters to the narrative anyway. The film's only emotional pull is "quick - the baddies are coming."

Oooh dose baddies. Dey soo baad.

+1 Donnie Darko

A knights tale.

Right, can any of you Donnie Darko fans honestly say that you understood the intricacies of the plot without recourse to the web?

I like it, but any film that requires research to fully understand the plot has a script, editing and direction that can only be considered as failures.

Inglorious Basterds , completely not what happened in WW2

I don't know about Donnie Darko.

I've read enough about it now for it to make sense, but whilst I'm all for a film being complex it should stand alone and not need a website to explain it.

Compare and contrast Momento. Proper noodle-baking movie that rewards a rewatch or twelve, but at least you [i]can[/i] unpick it, everything you need to know is in there.

EDIT: ie, what Rusty said.

Absolutely.

Complex films are fine.
But great complex films give you all the info required to understand the plot whilst letting you think you've done the hard work yourself.

Just for fun, try watching Pulp Fiction in chronological chapter order.
It's a very different film. 🙂

The Hairdresser's Husband.

5th element

a camp scifi comedy romp that somehow pleases everyone

mikewsmith - Member
Inception - No idea if you could write it down, sails the fine line of mind bendingly complex but not over the edge...

It can be written down, as [url= http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/blinkuldhc/news/?a=21055 ]Scrooge McDuck had already demonstrated[/url]

Utter nonsense, but still gripping, menacing and beautiful

Nice little homage to Thoreau's [i]Walden[/i], too. Really enjoyed it.

a camp scifi comedy romp that somehow pleases everyone

It didn't please me. The 5th Element has to be the most overrated film of all time, but I suppose that's a topic for another discussion.

Drac - Moderator

The Lego Movie

I'm still surprised that I agree with this. Saw it at the weekend with the kids, expecting a load of tosh. Instead it was well thought out, surprisingly profound (for the type of film it is) and in lots of places laugh out loud funny.

Would also nominate a Fish Called Wanda (clichéd characters, over-acted, Michael Palin's stutter) yet still has me weeping with laughter and anything with banjo strumming, ex-actor, Steve Martin in it that is actually funny (Planes/Trains, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Housesitter)..

The first Matrix film. Nice ideas, which ultimately turns into a superhero film.

Second film was ok, the third film needed a bit of concentration, and was ultimately disappointing.

Primer

Watched it and then read the IMDB synopsis after, but still didn't really know what went on. In my defence I did nod off once or twice.

In an 80 minute film?

I was sleepy* 😳

*it was on Netflix, so I'd not paid specifically to see it. It just took my fancy one evening when perhaps I would have been better just going to bed 😆

😀

completely not what happened in WW2

Just like 90% of the other WW2 films made by the Americans then.

the Straight story, tried explaining the plot to someone the other day, I don't think they've put it on their to watch list

1) If you consider it as a religious story it's perfectly reasonable.

The first Matrix film. Nice ideas, which ultimately turns into a superhero film.

Just for fun, try watching Pulp Fiction in chronological chapter order.

this stuff, makes no sense but is so usefull

pork pie approved too

[img] [/img]

Kimbers, here is you coat, the taxi is on its way. 😉

Back on topic.

Being John Malkovich

The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

aaaand yeah, pretty much anything by Terry Gilliam.

Nice ideas, which ultimately turns into a superhero film.

Especially when he flew away at the end, like superman.