What was the last movie you've seen?

[Ack]

I believe he has great taste in movies.

I also believes he intentionally watches movies he thinks are shit.

Why though? Is it a hipster movie movement. Do you watch them ironically Ack?

Segueing into a totally different direction, I'll actually answer this honestly. The truth is, I watch a lot of movies that I just don't talk about here. I recently watched Captains Courageous for the first time last week, starring Spencer Tracy, Freddie Bartholomew, Lionel Barrymore, and Melvyn Douglas. I didn't mention it on this website. For one, I don't actually think too many of you would be interested in it(though I know some would be), but also because I don't feel I have much to say about it that hasn't already been said. And it just isn't as much fun to talk about as the garbage cinema that I admittedly watch a lot of.

But why do I watch garbage cinema? Because I have a surprising amount of respect for it and the people who make B-, C-, even Z-list movies. These are guys who take bad and basic scripts(or sometimes no script at all), terrible actors, and extremely minuscule budgets and make sometimes incredibly entertaining productions full of creativity out of it. They slap together a production, and suddenly a wooden wrestler in a crappy outfit made of slinkies is an alien overlord hellbent on destroying the Earth, or a common everyman is really a bad ass ninja flipping out and blowing stuff up. A backwards chair becomes a pilot's steering wheel, or a guy's dentist acts in the movie to fill a vital role or writes all the music. And they do this with some incredible visuals slapped together out of spit, sticks, and maybe some wood glue...if the budget allows. Hell, sometimes it's a bunch of basic ideas from a dozen movies I love, all mushed together into one production spurned forward by Reb Brown's high-pitched screaming.

Sure, it doesn't always work, but I like to think that I can learn something about cinema from the failures too and find something to appreciate about each film, just like how I feel about video games. And every now and again I find a treasure that I highly enjoy, which makes the whole adventure worth it. I also have a much higher tolerance for excessive sexuality, violence, and gore in my movies, which tempts me to try to push the envelope and find the things that others scoff at and label "in poor taste." Because sometimes the outsiders can make something entertaining and emotional beyond what I see from major studios, and sometimes they capture a segment of life that I had no idea about and let me explore it, or capture a dark side that I would only explore in this fashion to learn more about the limits of humanity. Movies like Dolemite and Maniac aren't your traditional fare, but they give people a voice and an opportunity to make statements outside of the norm and outside of my worldview and help to foster some kind of understanding, if not sympathy. Or a movie like Nemesis explores the future and the relationships between humanity in technology in a way far beyond what many of us think of.

And sometimes they just pair well with popcorn and let me relax.

[mjmjr25]

So it's not cool to like Dane Cook or Nickelback; even though both are awesome.

I am not cc'd on these memos :/

[fastbilly1]

A little known fact is that many of the biggest names in the movie industry watch these films for the same reasons that Ack touched on. To see what went wrong, how they would have changed things for the better, etc. Sometimes you watch them because they are a train wreck, sometimes you watch them to MST3k them, but often they are unique pieces of cinema history that may make you rethink how you are doing things.

[noiseredux]

A little known fact is that many of the biggest names in the movie industry watch these films for the same reasons that Ack touched on. To see what went wrong, how they would have changed things for the better, etc. Sometimes you watch them because they are a train wreck, sometimes you watch them to MST3k them, but often they are unique pieces of cinema history that may make you rethink how you are doing things.

To go beyond that I'm often drawn to really bad art and really great art equally, and tend to overlook the "just good." Which is to say, I find something that fucked up big time (be it a movie, album, video game, whatever) far more interesting than something that succeeded but did nothing unique or interesting.

I probably watch far more "bad movies" than "good movies," especially when taking horror into consideration. But I mean, I'm a Pauly Shore fan; have read books on film-making by Roger Corman and Lloyd Kaufman; have collected most every movie that Lindsay Lohan has been in; consider Wes Craven one of my favorite directors of all time. That last one might not sound so weird, but you're probably forgetting stuff like Killer Friend, Deadly Blessing, Hills Have Eyes 2, Chiller, Red Eye, Deadly Invitation, Summer Of Fear, Swamp Thing, Vampire In Brooklyn, My Soul To Take, or well, most things that he made that weren't called Scream or Nightmare On Elm Street. But man, I love his work.

[prfsnl_gmr]

So it's not cool to like Dane Cook or Nickelback; even though both are awesome.

I am not cc'd on these memos :/

I saw Nickelback live once. It was a pretty good show - they are professionals after all - and I only realy started hating them when they released the song "Photograph".

Also, Dane Cook has a terrible stand up routine, but I enjoyed him in...<checks Dane Cook filmography>...well...I guess he was in a pretty good episode of Louie.

To go beyond that I'm often drawn to really bad art and really great art equally, and tend to overlook the "just good." Which is to say, I find something that fucked up big time (be it a movie, album, video game, whatever) far more interesting than something that succeeded but did nothing unique or interesting.

Same here. IMO, "middling" is pretty much the worst thing you can say about a work of art.

[MrPopo]

Also, Dane Cook has a terrible stand up routine, but I enjoyed him in...<checks Dane Cook filmography>...well...I guess he was in a pretty good episode of Louie.

What about his scene stealing role as The Waffler?

[jp1]

Movie stuff.

Well, thanks for answering my question. That does make a lot of sense, and it touches on some points I had not considered. I might just watch a Z-list movie tonight.

I might as well. I sat through "Heathers" after reading on here it was good.

It wasn't.

@Noise, I feel you on the horror flicks. Maybe I just wasn't seeing Ack's viewing habits through that same lens. I am always more forgiving when it comes to horror flicks than any other kind of movie. I suppose if I were a martial arts, action, or sci-fi junkie then Ack's selections might not seem as bad as they do.

I watched "The Room" and "Troll 2". I'm not sure I could take more than one movie of that pedigree a week though. I do not share the same tolerance.

[jp1]

So it's not cool to like Dane Cook or Nickelback; even though both are awesome.

I am not cc'd on these memos :/

I'll buy that you like Nickleback. However, Dane Cook was a dead give away.

LiLo>Pauly Shore>Insert more people here>Nickleback>Dane Cook.

[noiseredux]

LiLo is > than most anything.

I am a Dane Cook fan tho. IDGAF. I laugh. Whatever.

[jp1]

LiLo is > than most anything.

I am a Dane Cook fan tho. IDGAF. I laugh. Whatever.

Stay true to yourself dude.

I think "Can't Hardly Wait" and "Four Rooms" are two of the funniest movies ever. I doubt many share in that opinion.