Films that make you say "My God, there are still great films being made"

my votes

Oldboy
The Mist (ok it was a bit cheap but it was more about the people than the monsters)
The Dark Knight

and by all accounts Moon and District 9 although i've not seen them yet, all reviews have been promising

Lives of Others

district 9..really??! looks crapola.

Got disagree, looks ace but will probably turn out to be crappola.

The dark knight & batman returns are all I can think of.. Very sad state of affairs really

Redbelt is a very good film, Inglorious Basterds is most excellent.
Off to see "The Hurt Locker" on Friday and "District 9" next week I am most excited.
It's not all too bad; do you hear that Michael Bay!

In terms of films that are all about blowing shit up, I'd say we are in a lull. Most of the films that have really impressed me recently have been documentaries – Grizzly Man for example.

i like the look of the new tron film.has anyone seen it,is it any cop?

Gran Torino

and by all accounts Moon and District 9 although i've not seen them yet, all reviews have been promising

Moon is just brilliant. It's the first film I thought of when I saw the thread title.

Shandy – agree on Gran Torino

Mr Agreeable – blowing shit up films?? you missed the new Terminator & Transformers films?

Transformers 2 was 2.5 hours of constant blowing shit up. If you like blowing shit up, you couldn't ask for a higher percentage of shit being blown up.

wristcutters

Gran Torino gets my vote too!

Peachos, the last Terminator film I saw was the third one I think, and it just didn't stick in my mind at all. Can't say I see that many films at all these days but action films in particular seem pretty tired. Visually they all seem to be generated on a computer, and plot-wise they rely either on well-worn cliches or knowing post-modern smirkiness. Blow shit up by all means, but do it with a bit of originality, conviction and style.

Another point is that there are plenty of great films out there already, and I'm not going to be spoon-fed the latest thing when access to amazing movies made over the previous 75 years has never been more easily available.

Sin City
28 Days Later

As a comic purist, Sin City was a little bit of a let down. Combining so many Frank Miller stories into a single film is asking for trouble and confusion. That said, it was _very_ well done and I enjoyed it.

I'd still like to see a film version of Hard Boiled though.

I'll get back to you with a recent decent film.

JCVD. A neat ironic take on a "real" action movie.

No Country For Old Men (albeit a strange ending). Just captivated me.

Little Miss Sunshine. Started watching it and was like wtf is this…but thoroughly enjoyed it.

Watched District 9 t'other day and wow, best film I've seen in ages!

Eagle v Shark, didn't have a clue what it was about but it left me with a smile…

Spongebob Squarepants the Movie, it made me cry.

Mr Agreeable – Member
Peachos, the last Terminator film I saw was the third one I think, and it just didn't stick in my mind at all. Can't say I see that many films at all these days but action films in particular seem pretty tired. Visually they all seem to be generated on a computer, and plot-wise they rely either on well-worn cliches or knowing post-modern smirkiness. Blow shit up by all means, but do it with a bit of originality, conviction and style.

Another point is that there are plenty of great films out there already, and I'm not going to be spoon-fed the latest thing when access to amazing movies made over the previous 75 years has never been more easily available.

i couldn't agree more in respect of access to loads of great films mate. LOVEFILM is ace and has allowed me to get around to viewing all those goldies that i never saw!

as far as blowing shit up films though – have they ever been original?

Juno, In Bruge, Little Miss Sunshine just off the top of my head.

The Reaping a few nights ago, great horror

Not much modern stuff I can say has left a lasting impression, so:

2001: A Space Odyssey
Aguirre: The Wrath Of God
Alien
Bladerunner
Das Boot
Belleville Rendez-Vous
The Thing
The Unforgiven
Les Mans
Anything with Jacques Tati

Off the top of my 'ead.

[In no particular Order]

as far as blowing shit up films though – have they ever been original?

In concept no, but The Wild Bunch, Hard Boiled or even Die Hard had a lot more impact on me than most of the recent ones.

I guess "No Country For Old Men" would count as an example of that sort of film but done well – and no big budget special effects required, just an extremely scary bloke in an even scarier wig. 🙂

z1ppy – Member
batman returns

😕 😆

tbf, it is a good film!

Gran Turino

Sin City

The Mist is one of the worst films I've ever seen.

Watchmen. Properly good. And i hate comic book bo11ocks normally.

Lives of Others

+1. A truly outstanding film.

Oops that wasn't the one I meant TFT!

Enjoyed Watchmen but thought most ppl would struggle with it

Pan's Labyrinth.

Agree with S_F on "No Country for Old Men", except I liked the ending It's what happens in the book, so it's a faithful adaptation. McCarthy novels often have no real resolution or end ambiguously.

Hunger

It was a bit of a cinematographic epiphany, and I've struggled to find a film having the same enveloping effect since.

Gran Torino came to my mind first. Batman Begins was the same after watching the first time. Juno, In Bruges, Little Miss Sunshine, Pan's Labrynth, yep yep yep yep

Orphanage was good too.

Angel Eyes

I enjoyed Seraphim Falls enormously. I like westerns, and that was a film which looked great, felt modern rather than just a pastiche and yet didn't hit any bum notes from the point of view of the genre.

The Prestige. Beautifully done, and remarkably creepy.

Man on Wire may be the best thing I've seen, I was absolutely captivated. Agreed that Grizzly Man is excellent too.

To those that District 9 might be fun..

the short file it's based on is on youtube.

The Departed. Watched it again at the weekend, just excellent.

Gran Torino
30 days of Night
Bladerunner
…and all the LOTR films I'm afraid….