2009-11-15, 03:06 PM
Shawshank Redemption is probably the single best film I've ever seen; it's based on a novella by Stephen King, and is the only movie that I've ever seen that is much better than the literary work it's based on. Shawshank is one of those movies that wasn't noticed when it came out, but its reputation steadily grew and it became a hit as a VHS. It has a lot of excellent talent, (Tim Robbins, Morgan Freedman, Bob Gunton and Clancy Brown,) and it somehow pulls off being elegant, thoughtful and inspiring while being a prison movie where the main character gets raped by bull queers.
Devil's Advocate is an excellent movie because it's well-researched and very well-written. There are little tidbits in the movie that show this quite well -- for example, they used Donald Trump's apartment to shoot the scene where the main character is talking to one of the wealthiest and prominent men in New York in his dwelling. DA is also peculiar (and brilliant) in that it has no good guys -- every prominent character is a bad guy in that movie. You get a feel for the wealth and power of legal and corporate fat-cats, but the movie doesn't hide how corrupt and disgusting it is.
Terminator 2. Yeah, you've probably seen it, (it was more of a hit than the Matrix when it came out,) but at this point it's getting old enough that maybe you haven't. Seriously, I only watched the first Terminator to understand what was going on in the second, it is one of the best action movies ever made, and is one of the few that combines brilliant writing and acting with tons of $hit blowing up in a spectacular manner. I was really sad when they came out with the POS third Terminator, because it ruined the series, both by being an extremely bad film and by ruining the closure created at the end of the second Terminator.
Revenge of the Nerds: this is a classic, and in my opinion the best fraternity flick in existence. I think it's better than Animal House. While everything in the movie is a spoof and exaggerated, it shows the basic American dynamic where image is taken over substance. Also, as a fraternity guy, I can say that while it does not portray fraternities that accurately (it IS a spoof,) there are things in there that are 100% true.
Army of Darkness: the first movie of this series was called Evil Dead, being an okay horror flick. The second was Evil Dead II, half-way between horror and comedy. The third was Army of Darkness, which is pure comedy. The movie features some of the most epic one-liners I've ever seen in a movie, and it is also chauvinism at it's finest. I do not recommend watching this one with your girlfriend unless she loves the lulz.
Devil's Advocate is an excellent movie because it's well-researched and very well-written. There are little tidbits in the movie that show this quite well -- for example, they used Donald Trump's apartment to shoot the scene where the main character is talking to one of the wealthiest and prominent men in New York in his dwelling. DA is also peculiar (and brilliant) in that it has no good guys -- every prominent character is a bad guy in that movie. You get a feel for the wealth and power of legal and corporate fat-cats, but the movie doesn't hide how corrupt and disgusting it is.
Terminator 2. Yeah, you've probably seen it, (it was more of a hit than the Matrix when it came out,) but at this point it's getting old enough that maybe you haven't. Seriously, I only watched the first Terminator to understand what was going on in the second, it is one of the best action movies ever made, and is one of the few that combines brilliant writing and acting with tons of $hit blowing up in a spectacular manner. I was really sad when they came out with the POS third Terminator, because it ruined the series, both by being an extremely bad film and by ruining the closure created at the end of the second Terminator.
Revenge of the Nerds: this is a classic, and in my opinion the best fraternity flick in existence. I think it's better than Animal House. While everything in the movie is a spoof and exaggerated, it shows the basic American dynamic where image is taken over substance. Also, as a fraternity guy, I can say that while it does not portray fraternities that accurately (it IS a spoof,) there are things in there that are 100% true.
Army of Darkness: the first movie of this series was called Evil Dead, being an okay horror flick. The second was Evil Dead II, half-way between horror and comedy. The third was Army of Darkness, which is pure comedy. The movie features some of the most epic one-liners I've ever seen in a movie, and it is also chauvinism at it's finest. I do not recommend watching this one with your girlfriend unless she loves the lulz.