I guess maybe so - the okay movies that are in your library.

Started by Mr. Merrill Lehrl, April 26, 2005, 11:52:28 PM

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Mr. Merrill Lehrl

It is rational to have conversation over one's favorite movies; or the movies that one most enjoys. This is logical and true to the nature of observation, as in I do not say "I mildly enjoy the view of the sky today" while driving together in a car with a friend. It is the most beautiful aspects of the world that get all the conversation.

I cannot stand it any longer. There are mediocre films that I want to talk about and they are as follows:

The Comfort of Strangers (1991), directed by Paul Schrader.
This movie is incredibly okay. Its major force is that it is weird and full of abrupt anti-social behavior. If the people in this movie walked around with bags on their heads it would not seem less fictional. The lack of any semblance between this movie and real life is what makes it awesomely average. When I watch this movie I imagine my life is full of strange and fascinating encounters that are really metaphors for social detriments.

Pet Sematary (1989), directed by Mary Lambert.
Stephen King is famously okay, and this movie is by far my favorite stupendously average adaptation of one of his books. It has great human qualities and deals with startling moral conundrums, it is just that its production values are quite shitty. This movie is best seen inbetween the screen and where you are sitting. To enjoy this movie you have to pretend that you never saw the movie at all but still pondered over its questions.

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), directed by Jim Jarmusch.
Jarmusch has created the perfect character in this movie. He is a gangster, assassin, samurai, librarian, bird training, little girl befriending, ice cream eating black man living in NYC. High concept movies dream of a character like this. The bad guys in this movie enjoy rapping to themselves in the bathroom and watching cartoons. It is impossible to not find this movie excitingly okay.

Joy Ride (2001), directed by John Dahl.
John Dahl is a really good okay director. His Red Rock West is an exceptional okay movie. He did Rounders, which frat boys all over America proudly display in their collection as a testament to the pinnacle of their tastes being okay. Joy Ride is my favorite of his. The atmosphere of this movie would be superb if not for the fact that what is happening is ridiculous. It is like holding your own dick in a candle lit room. It also has my favorite okay funny actor of all time - Steve Zahn.

Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989), directed by Steven Soderbergh.
If people like this move into a neighborhood they should be required to go around house to house to tell families the implications of their presence. This movie taught me that a movie can receive accolades for no apparent reason. It is talked a lot about for boosting the indie movie scene, but I have to agree with Soderberg himself in that it is a pretentious movie which sounds like the writer is going over his own head. It should be played on a double bill with The Comfort of Strangers however, because the people in the movie entice me into being desirable just by being weird people. Incredibly okay movie.

Citizen Ruth (1996), directed by Alexander Payne.
You know, making your first movie is hard.  It really fucking is.  Luckily, Alexander Payne was able to pull off a perfectly okay movie his first time around.  It has all the real life pratfalls that would make his later movies so exciting, but it also has political discussion.  Abortion is very topical in Citizen Ruth, way too topical for its own good.  For such a dumb person, Ruth sure can stand a lot of boring conversations.  Great characters and a fanstically okay story.

Code 46 (2003), directed by Michael Winterbottom.
The Claim is one of my favorite movies, absolutely.  There is nothing I enjoy more than a period piece that suggests the normality of everyday life long ago.  Code 46 does this in a futuristic sci-fi setting with a love story.   It is such a beautiful movie I just want to walk around with one of those television shirts, this movie playing on it; or better yet everyone else wearing one.  The only problem is that a normal love story makes for a pretty amazing okay movie.

The Exorcist (1973), directed by William Friedkin.
You can tell this is a religious horror movie right away because it is a lot like church - it gets boring in the middle but at the end somebody tells the priest that his mother sucks cocks in hell.  It also has one serious flaw, as no one ever says "This girl doesn't need a doctor, she needs an exorcist!"  Still, it scares girls and mothers so it can't be all bad.  It must be pretty okay.
"If I had to hold up the most heavily fortified bank in America," Bolaño says, "I'd take a gang of poets. The attempt would probably end in disaster, but it would be beautiful."

Ravi

Monsters, Inc.- Not a bad movie, but its the Pixar film I least like.
Reefer Madness- Pretty boring. I had $5 or $6 left on a gift card and bought it.
Trees Lounge- Thought it was okay, wasn't bowled over.  Will watch the commentary then decide on selling it.
Final Fantasy- Don't care about the story, and the characters are odd and lifeless.
When Harry Met Sally- Good movie, but not sure why I bought it.
Flirting with Disaster- Somewhat funny, not hilarious.  Better than Meet the Parents.

I have a few DVDs unwatched.  I'm happy with the vast majority of my collection, which includes some great stuff.

I bought Citizen Ruth on VHS once, but traded it in not too long afterwards.

meatball


Spun
Sleepy Hollow
Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2
My Own Private Idaho
The Bourne Supremacy
The Truth About Charlie
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

cowboykurtis

i disagree with exorcist and citizen ruth.

exorcist is much more than ok - citizen ruth is much less
...your excuses are your own...

meatball

Code 46 & Final Fantasy - Beautiful to look at, but not much there. They're both too self conscious of what they are, or what they're trying to reach for.

Sex, Lies, and Videotape - I liked this. It isn't great, but it's good. Strangely, doesn't feel like a 1989 movie to me. Seems much younger than that.

Mr. Merrill Lehrl

Quote from: cowboykurtisi disagree with exorcist and citizen ruth.

exorcist is much more than ok - citizen ruth is much less

I agree with Ryan Gilbey's observation on Friedkin:

"The finest directors communicate the medium's lightness along with its profundity.  Watching a William Friedkin's film is such a slog that you can just imagine the long hours, the on-set squabbles, the equipment being lugged out of the trucks each day.  It's not art or entertainment; it's hard labour."
"If I had to hold up the most heavily fortified bank in America," Bolaño says, "I'd take a gang of poets. The attempt would probably end in disaster, but it would be beautiful."

meatball

Quote from: sundown all over"...Watching a William Friedkin's film is such a slog that you can just imagine the long hours, the on-set squabbles, the equipment being lugged out of the trucks each day.  It's not art or entertainment; it's hard labour."

This applies to every Friedkin movie I've seen.

Alethia


life_boy

QuoteMovies Assholes Bitches Okay People Dig

Okay movies are so easy to buy because they're the ones that are usually only 5 or 10 bucks.  Here's some okay movies I own:

Mr. Saturday Night (1992) - Billy Crystal
Somewhere between okay and bad this one falls, maybe a little closer to okay since I'm posting about it in this thread.  It is the type of movie that I want to like because I want to like Billy Crystal but I can't like it because it just gets a little too schmaltzy and sentimental and Billy Crystal is rarely as funny as I wish he was.  I felt bad because the movie flopped and I bought it for a few bucks hoping to find what everyone else missed.  The sad truth is the movie is just okay and is hardly worth talking about at all.  I forgot I had it until this thread popped up.

Ghost World (2001) - Terry Zwigoff
I kinda feel bad for admitting it (considering I loved the movie when it first came out).  Man, I was blown away when I first saw this...and then I saw it again...and again...and it just didn't get better, it got okay.  I still like parts of it; Steve Buscemi's character is a sad and beautiful creation and the scene where he gets stood up at the restaurant is one of the most heartwrenching experiences I've had at the movies.  But, the whole "hooking up with Enid" turned the movie from the path of greatness to the path of mediocrity.  I put up with it the first time but on subsequent viewings the scene sticks out like a sore thumb.  Illeana Douglas is fun though as the art teacher.  It is a collection of some great moments that when added together (and seen repeatedly) don't equal anything spectacular for some reason.  Admittedly, it is probably closer to good than okay but I've already written this little blurb.

The Score (2001) - Frank Oz
Brando.  De Niro.  Norton.  Okay.  John Dahl is to sundown all over what Frank Oz is to life_boy.  I thought he was great when he was a puppeteer (Fozzie Bear, Grover, Yoda); as a director he is highly okay (What About Bob?, In & Out, Bowfinger).  This movie should be fun, but it's really not that fun.  It should be exciting but it's really not that exciting.  It should be well acted, but the performances really aren't that captivating.  You come out of this going, "That was okay."  It is fun in the sense that it's not fun and captivating in the sense that it's not captivating.  It is a strange thing indeed.


Top 5 Okay Directors[/u]
1.  Wolfgang Peterson
2.  Frank Oz
3.  Barry Sonnenfeld
4.  John Dahl
5.  Penny Marshall

Honorable Mention: Actor-Turned-Directors

meatball

Quote from: eward
Quote from: meatball
My Own Private Idaho

?

What?

Mr. Merrill Lehrl

Quote from: life_boyAwesome response here.

Top 5 Okay Directors[/u]
1.  Wolfgang Peterson
2.  Frank Oz
3.  Barry Sonnenfeld
4.  John Dahl
5.  Penny Marshall

Honorable Mention: Actor-Turned-Directors

Say, that's a good represenation of okay directors right there.  You really know your okay movies as well.

I'd put Paul Schrader at the top of the list though.  I fucking love the guy as a writer, but as a director his bag is mixed and overall "above average average".  If his Exorcist movie is what people say it is, however, I'd be willing to give him a permanent spot on the "above average" list.

I couldn't agree more on Peterson and Sonnenfeld.  Barry Levinson also seems to have an unusual, perhaps God given, talent at picking so-so projects, with some high points and stinkers thrown in.  I just recently saw Jimmy Hollywood and Envy for the first time and it cemented this idea for me.
"If I had to hold up the most heavily fortified bank in America," Bolaño says, "I'd take a gang of poets. The attempt would probably end in disaster, but it would be beautiful."

Alethia

Quote from: meatball
Quote from: eward
Quote from: meatball
My Own Private Idaho

?

What?

just wondering what a masterpiece was doing on an 'okay-movies' list.

meatball

Quote from: eward
Quote from: meatball
Quote from: eward
Quote from: meatball
My Own Private Idaho

?

What?

just wondering what a masterpiece was doing on an 'okay-movies' list.

I've watched it twice, and it's definitely good. But... I want it to be better, so I consider it okay. One day I'll accept it for what it is.

life_boy

Quote from: sundown all overBarry Levinson also seems to have an unusual, perhaps God given, talent at picking so-so projects, with some high points and stinkers thrown in.  I just recently saw Jimmy Hollywood and Envy for the first time and it cemented this idea for me.

Thanks.  Man, how could I forget about Levinson?!?  The dude has spent a career churning out okay movies.  Only Wag the Dog and Bugsy would I keep from throwing into the pile (I haven't seen Diner).  I think Rain Man is one of the greatest okay movies of all-time.  But Bandits, Sphere, Sleepers, and Good Morning, Vietnam are totally solid okay movies.  Wow, Good Morning, Vietnam is such an okay movie it hurts.  Robin Williams makes jokes on the radio, the army gets pissed because he's irreverent, Williams predates his Dead Poet's Society walk-out scene by two years.  Oh, and fucking Young Sherlock Homes is a great okay movie!  I'd probably put Levinson at the top of the list and move everyone else down a slot.

I kept thinking of more once you gave me Levinson.  Now I'm redoing the original list.

Top 10 Okay Directors (Updated)[/u]
1.  Barry Levinson
2.  Ron Howard
3.  Wolfgang Peterson
4.  Lawerence Kasdan
5.  Barry Sonnenfeld
6.  Frank Oz
7.  Rob Riener
8.  Penny Marshall
9.  John Dahl
10.  Taylor Hackford/Martin Brest (tie)

Honorable Mentions: Carl Franklin, Jon Avnet, Ron Shelton, Actor-Turned-Directors

Top 10 Okay Actors
1.  Charlie Sheen
2.  Richard Gere
3.  Alec Baldwin
4.  Gary Sinise
5.  Val Kilmer
6.  Bill Pullman
7.  Bill Paxton
8.  Danny Glover
9.  Kurt Russell
10.  Tim Curry

Honorable Mentions: Andy Garcia, Sam Neill, Keifer Sutherland, Cuba Gooding Jr.

cowboykurtis

Quote from: meatball
Quote from: eward
Quote from: meatball
My Own Private Idaho

?

What?

i agree with meatball - very uneven/under developed script with lackluster execution - river phoenix dug commonplace material out of a hole. i think van sant gets far more credit than he's due.
...your excuses are your own...