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Enjoyable Movies

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Feel free to list of any movies that you have seen and thought were of value to you. Here is my list, off the top of my head.

The Fountainhead

Sea Biscuit

Apollo 13

October Sky

Miracle

Rocky 1 (this is my favorite, but the others are good)

The Matrix 1 (#2 is good too)

James Bond (nearly all of them)

Life is Beautiful (foreign film)

Field of Dreams

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Without repeating any already listed:

The Shawshank Redemption

Dangerous Beauty

Strictly Ballroom

This Land is Mine

Proof of Life

Executive Suite

Glory

Lawrence of Arabia

The Winslow Boy (original is best)

Queen Christina

Jean de Florette

Manon of the Spring

Stealing Heaven (my personal all-time favorite)

The Cutting Edge

High Noon

Shane

The Big Country

A Town Called Alice

Courage Under Fire

Pretty Woman

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It has been a while since I saw The Virgin Suicides, but from what I recall it was not very good at all.  Itsn't it about how all the sisters kill themselves?

On the surface, yes. But I found it to be an inspiring movie because essentially it was about a group of young sisters who would rather die than 'live' under the oppressive conditions posed on them by their parents. Their suicides at the end were actually pro-life, because they acknowledged that living life without freedom corrupts the idea of life. It was also beautifully shot with a great soundtrack.

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I'd like to add Secondhand Lions and Chocolate to the list.

However, I think the Fountainhead movie was an embarrassment to the book. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but I never felt the slightest empathy for the characters. The We The Living movie was fantastic on the other hand.

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I'd be interested in hearing why people liked: Mulholland Drive and The Fountainhead.

I thought Gary Cooper's Roark was laughable. I cannot *dis*reccomend that movie highly enough, personally, because I think it's so badly done. The acting blows.

Secondhand Lions *was* cool! Very original.

I don't think anybody mentioned Braveheart, which is one of my favorites. For some highly amusing comedy, check out Kenneth Branaugh in How To Kill Your Neighbor's Dog.

Also, loved Center Stage, Air Force One and Girl, Interrupted (which not everyone would id w/)

I loved the story and the characters in Strictly Ballroom, but the dancing is SOOOO bad! It is to ballroom dance what Moulin Rouge is to singing: a disgrace. Vomitous. Absurd.

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I thought Cooper did a great job, for the most part. The leading actress on the other hand would vary from good to bad. Ellsworth was a little over the top, I pictured him as more of a sly evil doer rather than so forward with his evil plan. One thing that really bothered was the music, it was too loud. I don’t think you should notice the music too often while watching a movie, it should flow with the film. But the reason I like that movie so much was simply a great story with a great theme. It raises my spirits when I watch it.

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I'd be interested in hearing why people liked: Mulholland Drive

Because Mulholland Drive was a brilliantly directed film with great atmosphere throughout the whole film. Its main purpose was to illustrate the life of a person who was unwilling to accept reality, and the dangerous consequences of this. And in the end, reality wins.

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I agree with many of the recommendations already made (Braveheart, Shawshank, Inherit the Wind, Chocolat, etc...)

Here's a few that I remember enjoying off the top of my head:

The Patriot (Yea, I know - it's just like Braveheart. But, it's still really good.)

Shakespeare in Love

Rebecca (A Hitchcock film - definitly my favorite thriller)

Miracle

&

Return of the King

I think the whole Lord of the Rings series was awesome. Return of the King was definitly my favorite, I had goosebumps half the time. (I'm sure someone will bring up the environmentalist tone in parts of Two Towers as well as how some of the heroes are not always rational. However, I think the heroic portrayal of good vs. evil completely outweighs these negative aspects.)

That's all for now. I love threads like this - they make visits to Blockbuster 30 minutes shorter than usual. :)

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Walker, I agree with your analysis of Return of the King. ARI has endorsed the Harry Potter series despite its elements of magic. The Lord of the Rings series is truly heroic, and its main point is the importance of struggling against evil. I also don't think it's coincidence that the heroes are the "men of the West" - the series is endorsing the values of life that make the West superior. Plus, the film versions so effectively evoke the heroic in man that I can't imagine anyone disliking them.

Another great series, and I'm surprised no one's mentioned it, is the Star Wars trilogy! Few other films have such a fantastic combination of drama, adventure, great characters and acting, and intelligent, unique storyline. All three movies are fantastic, and I can't praise them enough.

It's interesting how people interpret the same films differently. There's a debate on this forum about whether A Bug's Life (and its far superior precedessor, Seven Samurai) resonates with Objectivist themes, or is socialist propoganda. The movie is clearly an attack on the exploitation of the productive, and pro creative individualism. That seems pro-capitalism to me, but some completely disagree, seeing it as championing an "oppressed proletariat". What standard do you use to judge a film's philosophical quality? Is there an objective method of determining authorial intent? I would argue that unless the author of a script explicitly states his thematic intent, the best we have is individual interpretation.

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I'm somewhat surprized Pleasantville hasn't been mentioned. In my opinion, its astronomically better than some other movies that have been.

Sure, it has some bad themes - some nonsense about "change" as a basic good. Which is forgiveable and even respectable in some contexts, but not totally in this movie. As well as a few other imperfections, but on the whole I thought this movie was wonderful. The feeling I have while watching it is just euphoria and wow. The sense of life that some of the characters have, life in the movie in general is just inspiring.

And its not just fluff. I mean that its not just words with positive emotional properties divorvced from any real meaning. It does a good job of making things very real.

The way in which characters gain their "color" is consistent with great ideas. And I was quite impressed with the treatment of the characters, especially the main two, as integrated beings of body and mind.

I really, quite literally, can't say enough about this movie. Its just that good and I'm just that inexperienced with presenting my ideas. :)

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The movie is clearly an attack on the exploitation of the productive, and pro creative individualism. That seems pro-capitalism to me, but some completely disagree, seeing it as championing an "oppressed proletariat".

I fail to see how those views conflict at all.

The oppressed proletariat have got to take orders from the Communist Party, ooops, sorry, I mean the queen of the hive, or else they are exiled, killed or go without food. If the communist party, ooops, sorry, there I go again, why does that keep slipping out, I mean the Queen doesn't see the logic in the proletariats invention, then there is no recourse for them. :)

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C.A.--regarding Mulholland Drive, I see your point. However, there are plenty of movies where the characters suffer from their evasion. I don't see that as a big enough deal to make a movie worthwhile. I saw that particular one as obfuscatory and meandering, the characters as nothing special.

I'm very interested in discussing this w/ an Objectivist; this is one of my bf's favorite movies, but I loathed it! He isn't an O'ist, so his reasons for liking it didn't impress me enough to even warrant a second watching. Maybe you'll inspire me to try it again?

-L

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The Count of Monte Christo (recent version w/Jim Caviezal)

Groundhog Day (One of the best screenplays ever written)

Last of the Mohikans

L.A. Confidential

The Verdict

The Thomas Crowne Affair

(recent version, which fits Rand's lighthearted aspect of her Sense of Life like a glove)

Broadcast News

Cyrano de Bergerac (Jose Ferrer, 1950)

Superman 1 & 2

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Loved many of the above movies. I'll add:

Bad Day at Black Rock, with Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan. Everyone in this movie turns in a good performance and the story is tense, well drawn, and has an excellent plot.

Any Fred and Ginger movie: I know, the stories are all the same, but the light-heartedness and unparalleled dancing overrides plot lines that slide effortlessly from one movie to the next. They're fun.

I enjoy many of the old comedies, such as Ninotcha, Vivacious Lady (a little known Ginger Rogers/Jimmy Stewart movie), as well as some of the old thrillers, such as The Maltese Falcon and Notorious.

Ferrer's Cyrano is definitely a favorite (of small note, I always regret the lack of decent production values). And, I was glad to see someone name The Big Country! It's one of my all time favorites. TCM shows it occasionally; catch it if you can.

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C.A.--regarding Mulholland Drive, I see your point.  However, there are plenty of movies where the characters suffer from their evasion.  I don't see that as a big enough deal to make a movie worthwhile.  I saw that particular one as obfuscatory and meandering, the characters as nothing special.

I'm very interested in discussing this w/ an Objectivist; this is one of my bf's favorite movies, but I loathed it!  He isn't an O'ist, so his reasons for liking it didn't impress me enough to even warrant a second watching.  Maybe you'll inspire me to try it again?

-L

Just out of interest, what are your boyfriend's reasons for liking Mulholland Drive?

You're right in saying that there are many movies out there where the characters suffer from their evasion. However, in a lot of those movies, this evasion is often portrayed as being a somewhat grey area. For instance, there'll be a character who evades reality, but the director may attempt to make the viewer feel a certain degree of sympathy towards the character at the end. Or the character may 'redeem' himself at the end, despite the fact that for the vast majority of the movie, he is an evader.

When it comes to movies, I like two types:

1. Ones that shows heroism and human beings living to their potential.

Or

2. Ones that shows the consequences of what happens when human beings do not live to their potential.

Now, Mulholland Drive certainly falls into the second category. But what differentiates it from a lot of other movies that show the same thing is that there are no grey areas. The blonde character played by Naomi Watts is COMPLETELY responsible for her 'fate'. Therefore, she is not redeemed, and I did not feel sympathy towards her character at the end. She deserved exactly what she received.

Apart from that, I loved the dark atmosphere that existed throughout the film, because there was this sense of the main character heading towards her doom, which she thoroughly deserved. The cinematography was excellent, and the scene where 'justice' is done (Where the two women go to club Silencio), was nothing short of outstanding.

Also, I guess a lot of objectivists will not like a movie such as Mulholland Drive because on the surface, the plot makes no sense, it may seem vague, random, etc. But nothing could be further from the truth. The story makes complete sense. David Lynch, the director chose to tell the story in a weird way in order to engage the viewer. I mean, I didn't understand what happened at all the first time I watched the movie. So I watched it a second and third time, and did research on the internet until I finally understood everything. I like this sort of movie because it really asks you to use your mind. Now movies like, let's say Lord of the Rings and Braveheart ARE entertaining, and have important themes running through them, but honestly, does the viewer really need to think and use his mind to get something out of them? Not really.

And that, is why Mulholland Drive is my favourite movie of all time. :)

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I enjoyed Angels in America, the HBO film. That somewhat worries me especially with it's rabid anti-conservative preaching. The writer of Angels in America, Tony Kushner, is an outspoken socialist and collectivist. Though I believe his politics are shameful he is a literary genius.

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