Movie/Books/Etc list

[Oxymoron]

Given I don't intend to really be that much present on SDN anymore, I'm saving that list here :



[Film] - Pan's Labyrinth, 2006, Guillermo del Toro
[Film] - Melancholia, 2011, Lars von Trier
[Film] - The Fountain, 2006, Darren Aronofsky
[Film] - Sunshine, 2007, Danny Boyle
[Film] - The Fall, 2006, Tarsem Singh
[Film] - Gattaca, 1997, Andrew Niccol
[Film] - Moon, 2009, Duncan Jones
[Film] - The Mill and the Cross, 2011, Lech Majewski
[Film] - Immortel (ad vitam), 2004, Enki Bilal
[Film] - Brazil, 1985, Terry Gilliam
[Film] - Solaris, 2002, Steven Soderbergh
[Film] - Solaris, 1972, Andrey Tarkovskiy
[Film] - Stalker, 1979, Andrey Tarkovskiy
[Film] - 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968, Stanley Kubrick
[Film] - 2010, 1984, Peter Hyams
[Film] - Forbidden Planet, 1956, Fred M. Wilcox
[Film] - Cube, 1997, Vincenzo Natali
[Film] - AI: Artificial Intelligence, 2001, Steven Spielberg
[Film] - Rashômon, 1950, Akira Kurosawa
[Film] - The Island, 2005, Michael Bay
[Film] - Blade Runner, 1982, Ridley Scott
[Film] - The Tree of Life, 2011, Terrence Malick
[Film] - Alien 3, 1992, David Fincher
[Film/Musical] - The Wall, 1982, Alan Parker / Pink Floyd
[Series] - The Twilight Zone, 1959-1964, Rod Sterling
[Book] - The Left Hand of Darkness, 1969, Ursula K. Le Guin
[Book] - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, 1968, Philip K. Dick
[Book] - Foucault's Pendulum, 1988, Umberto Eco
[Book] - The Diamond Age, 1995, Neal Stephenson
[Book] - Julian, 1964, Gore Vidal
[Book] - Neuromancer, 1984, William Gibson
[Book] - Finch, 2009, Jeff VanderMeer
[Book] - City of Saints and Madmen, [omnibus], Jeff VanderMeer
[Book] - Roadside Picnic, 1972, Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
[Book] - The Master and Margarita, 1966–1967, Mikhail Bulgakov
[Anime] - Neon Genesis Evangelion, 1 season of 26 episodes (~22 minutes), 1995-1996, Hideaki Anno / Studio Gainax
[Anime] - Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, list of episodes, 2002-2003, Kenji Kamiyama / Production I.G
[Anime/Film] -The End Of Evangelion, 1997, Hideaki Anno & Kazuya Tsurumaki



Note that there is no guaranty that any of these works would be to everyone's tastes.

Use your own judgment. Discussions over the merits of such and such works are encouraged.



Feel free to add your own recommendations.

[evilsoup]

did you ever get around to watching evangelion?
also, for completeness, can you add the film 'the end of evangelion' to the evangelion line.

[Oxymoron]

I did.

Only the original series, tho : I haven't watched either "The End of Evangelion" or the "Rebuild" movies (even though I have EVA 1.01 & 2.22 DVD's gathering dust on my shelve)

[evilsoup]

man, you need to watch the film, it rounds out the series.

I mean, I found the TV ending pretty good for wrapping up Shinji's character, and it's an impressive use of their lack of budget, but it doesn't explain anything about the plot & pretty much abandons Asuka.

[Oxymoron]

also, for completeness, can you add the film 'the end of evangelion' to the evangelion line.

done

[Agent Bert Macklin]

I re-watched Solyaris (1972) yesterday morning .It's simply phenomenal.

[evilsoup]

I saw & quite liked the 2002 version, though I felt it could have done more with the concept.
I then read the book, and felt the same thing, except this time the characters all felt dead.

Is the 1979 film really good then?

[Agent Bert Macklin]

The 1972 version is fantastic. Here's something I recently wrote about it.

MINOR SPOILERS (nothing specific):

What makes us human? Is it our ability to be sentient? To hold memories? Our consciousness? Love? This question along with why we are here are topics broached by Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solyaris. I adored this movie when I first saw it three or so years ago. I remember it instantly surpassing every science fiction film I had seen up to that point, including the much-revered 2001: A Space Odyssey. I have not seen it since but I did distinctly remember these thoughts of praise and they remain after my second viewing.

The best stories are those that are human in nature. What I mean by this is that they appeal to us directly and allow us to empathize with the various characters presented to us. Solyaris succeeds here perfectly. Just like Benjamin Button has a relatable romantic story, Solyaris does as well. The difference is that Tarkovsky’s film is more entrenched in its themes. Kelvin’s story is more tragic than Benjamin’s and Daisy’s due to his circumstances. He is followed by and haunted immensely by regret everywhere he goes. He cannot escape it, no matter what scientific advances are at his disposal. He may be able to deploy radiation on the surface of the planet causing phenomenon to happen aboard his ship, but it will not help him if he cannot help himself. This point is true to everyone: if you are burdened by the past, face it head-on instead of stuffing in down.

While I was witnessing the themes of regret in the film, I was hit with a revelation that this film would not work the way it does if it wasn’t a slow build. Many complain that it’s too slow and that ultimately results in boredom. I can understand that view, but once you reach the first hour of the film, it picks up and becomes riveting. If this film contained more action, you’d get… well, you’d get Inception, an infinitely inferior film along the same lines thematically. Solyaris’ strengths lie in the dialogue and the character development that invoke emotion into the audience. There is just no room to be had for more “exciting” events to take place aboard the space station. What we have is eventful enough and has stood up to the test of time over the last four decades.

I've said before that I consider this film to be the Soviet Union’s answer to Kubrick’s 2001. From my recollection, Tarkovsky saw 2001 and disliked it quite a bit. I can definitely see this. While 2001 is a decent science fiction film, I do not think it has the same level of emotion that is on display in Tarkovsky’s work. Solyaris is a more personal film, where better-developed characters exist and allow immediate connection with the audience. This is why I consider 2001 to be inferior. I could not connect with a single character there but here I connect with every protagonist on screen. I understand their grief. I understand their pain. I understand their regret. I understand their love.

[Agent Bert Macklin]

You need to get on seeing Tree of Life as well. It's the best thing I've seen in a decade. It's knee-deep in themes and has one of the most spectacular breaks in a narrative I've ever seen.

[evilsoup]

OK, you've made me want to see solyaris. Can you go more in-depth as to why you like tree of life, though? What themes does it have that resonate with you? I'll probably get around to watching it anyway, mind, so no spoilers please.

actually, do we have spoiler tags yet?

[Oxymoron]

Re Tree of life : Added it.


So many things to see and read, so little time...

actually, do we have spoiler tags yet?

spoiler : no

write to your nearest congressman administrator site owner ADR so he or she can address this important matter

[evilsoup]

is that a particularly hard thing to add or is adr just lazy?

[Agent Bert Macklin]

OK, you've made me want to see solyaris. Can you go more in-depth as to why you like tree of life, though? What themes does it have that resonate with you? I'll probably get around to watching it anyway, mind, so no spoilers please.

actually, do we have spoiler tags yet?

I like its meditation on life and death and how for many people, death creates a crisis of faith. I like the nature vs. grace theme, even though it leans toward the latter. I love how it shows life in the 1950s at the height of the American Dream. I love the cinematography (I can't believe that piece of crap Hugo won the Oscar). I love how 99% of the effects are practical. It's a brilliant movie. However, if you don't have experience with Terrence Malick, it may be something difficult to sit through even though it's a little over two hours long.

[Agent Bert Macklin]

It's cool to see a Michael Bay film on the list. It's definitely his art movie.

[Agent Bert Macklin]

Also, I'd remove Melancholia from the list. It's a movie devoid of any interesting themes whatsoever,. Unless of course you want to see the chick from the Spider Man movies walk around like a zombie in the director's feeble attempts to portray depression.

[Oxymoron]

I'll add a note that it may be subpar

[adr-admin]

it ain't really hard

[evilsoup]

thank you, your majesty

[Agent Bert Macklin]

Also, I'd remove Melancholia from the list. It's a movie devoid of any interesting themes whatsoever,. Unless of course you want to see the chick from the Spider Man movies walk around like a zombie in the director's feeble attempts to portray depression.

Spoiler for melancholia.

Shes so riddled with depression that she pisses on the golf course, in a wedding dress, and eventually fucks some dude on the same course later in the film. The problem with this movie is that it could work if you cared about the characters. You dont because they are poorly developed.

The spoiler tag doesn't work.

[Nietzslime]

I'll add a note that it may be subpar

don't do it just for tucker's incredibly idiosyncratic taste, 'may be subjectively subpar' is the kind of bullshit that could be levelled at any of these movies for any or no reason

melancholia is a really beautiful film

[Agent Bert Macklin]

I'll add a note that it may be subpar

don't do it just for tucker incredibly idiosyncratic taste, 'may be subjectively subpar' is the kind of bullshit that could be levelled at any of these movies for any or no reason

melancholia is a really beautiful film

SPOILERS
Thanks for that non-defense.

Beautiful in what manner? Sure, it looks good, but it sucks thematically. You don't care about any of the characters because they're poorly developed. Why should I care that what's her face is a sad sap depressed nutcase when I'm not given a reason to? The characters have no depth. The only character you can make a case for for liking is Sutherland's character, but in the end he was a piece of shit scientist who lied to protect the feeble women in his family. The misogyny Trier is known for is on full display here, just like it is in Antichrist. Both female characters are hysterical nutjobs. Note that the planet itself only affects the women. Gotta love it!

[Nietzslime]

if you want me to fight you on this, i suspect i can level more guns on the artlessness and poor development of concepts in the island than you can on the same in melancholia

but my point is that if either of us try to redact THE LIST based on subjective tastes it'll become as worthless as any other nerd recommendation project

shit we have evangelion up there

it's not like that's never borne criticism for its character-work

[Agent Bert Macklin]

Oh, fuck off. Your response to my criticisms is to say LOL THE ISLAND IS WORSE LOL.

And yes, you have a point about removing items from the list. I was just airing my non-detailed dissatisfaction with Melancholia in a facetious manner. No reason to get buthhurt that your favorite misogynist filmmaker has to take some jabs by a Michael Bay fan. Yes, that was a joke. Want to get on my case for liking Armageddon too?

[Nietzslime]

i frankly don't care about the island

i saw it once and it left little impression

it's only an example of a. why this is not the place for us to debate melancholia's merits and b. why saying 'remove this from the list plz' can cut many ways, and you're doing something really silly by trying to open that door

[Oxymoron]

Everyone, chill-out, 'kay ? I think we've all got the point across.


Anyway, I amended the OP a little. No censorship (you'll never see me remove an item from this list anyway ), just a disclaimer pushing people to use their brains.

Any remarks or complaints ?