Movie recommendations

[TheDude]

Recent decent movies:

Goodbye Solo: The cinematography towards the end is arresting.

Half Nelson: A little bit of a contrived story line, but Ryan Gosling is for real as an actor.

TV Shows:

In Treatment: The format can be tiresome. However, you have to have ridiculous acting chops to pull this show off.

House: The story lines are way too predictable. It is network TV so I wouldn't expect less. Hugh Laurie, however, is amazing!! Everyone else in the show can just bow out gracefully.

The Wire: For real. Well, as real as what you can put on TV and sell subscriptions.

Mad Men: Pretty good. I don't think it warrants freaking out over at ever party I am at. "Oh my, have you seen Mad Men? It is to die for....so realistic." I find this ironic coming out of 20 year old mouths.

[eklavya]

south park. anyone?

Edited December 9, 2010 by bhikhaari

[history_PhD]

Shawshank Redemption

Airplane

Blues Brothers

Kind of a diverse list, admittedly, but each movie is quite good in its own right. Shawshank is probably my favorite movie though; it's beautiful, inspiring, etc.

[Nessie]

I'm going to fly the flag for british tv shows here: Black books, Greenwing, Spaced, Father Ted (not technically british, but absolutely hilarious) and for all you House fans I recommend 'A bit of Fry and Laurie' and Blackadder to continue your love-affair with Hugh.

As for decent films to pass the time, a few of my current favourites have to be: Little miss sunshine, 500 days of summer, sunshine cleaning (noticing a theme?!) and of course 'Love Actually' for some fabulous festive entertainment!

[MegMill]

May be behind the curve here, but the Swedish film "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Holy hell, I watched it last night and for 2.5 hours I didnt think about grad school. This is no small feat as I'm sure Jesus could come back to earth again and I'd still think about grad school.

So yeah, watch it! It's intense and dark and superbly directed!

[katerific]

Movies sorted by genre:

Horror? 28 Days Later.

Campy but really good scifi? The Fifth Element. (Bonus: Gary Oldman!)

80s flashback/fantasy? Labyrinth.

Western? (Yes, I am a fan.) Lonesome Dove!

Action? Gladiator. Be ready to cry manly tears.

Drama with some dark humor? American Beauty.

TV: Community, The Mighty Boosh, Venture Bros. All very funny.

Oh, and if you haven't been watching The Walking Dead, shame on you.

[A. sesquipedale]

I'm going to fly the flag for british tv shows here: Black books, Greenwing, Spaced, Father Ted (not technically british, but absolutely hilarious) and for all you House fans I recommend 'A bit of Fry and Laurie' and Blackadder to continue your love-affair with Hugh.

As for decent films to pass the time, a few of my current favourites have to be: Little miss sunshine, 500 days of summer, sunshine cleaning (noticing a theme?!) and of course 'Love Actually' for some fabulous festive entertainment!

Little Miss Sunshine is probably one of my fav. movies of all time (it did quirky so well)! That and Good Will Hunting. I think because I had such high expectations for Sunshine Cleaning I was a bit disappointed, though it was decent.

[eklavya]

Horror? 28 Days Later.

Oh, and if you haven't been watching The Walking Dead, shame on you.

aren't there multiple '28 days' movies? i think i like all of them.. i like horrors with some sci-fi premise.

i haven't watched the walking dead, but i'm totally stoked on the video game that'll come out in 2011... it looks SICK!! (like sick as in awesome)

i have watched trailers for the episode though, and it does look interesting!

did anyone watch 'heroes' few year back? their first season was amazing, but then the show went downhill.

i follow/been following 'supernatural', and it's pretty cool.. check it out from the first season if you have plenty of time.

[katerific]

aren't there multiple '28 days' movies? i think i like all of them.. i like horrors with some sci-fi premise.

i haven't watched the walking dead, but i'm totally stoked on the video game that'll come out in 2011... it looks SICK!! (like sick as in awesome)

i have watched trailers for the episode though, and it does look interesting!

did anyone watch 'heroes' few year back? their first season was amazing, but then the show went downhill.

i follow/been following 'supernatural', and it's pretty cool.. check it out from the first season if you have plenty of time.

There's 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later (sequel to 28 Days Later). The former has Cillian Murphy in it and is therefore vastly superior. There's also a regular 28 Days, but there are no zombies, only Sandra Bullock in rehab. Or something.

The Walking Dead videogame? Huh?? Where did you see/hear about this?! Not that I'm any good at survival/horror. (insert flashback of me playing Resident Evil and giving up after the dogs jumped through the windows for the first time...)

Heroes!! The first season was incredible, I agree. I remember borrowing the DVD from someone and I watched it non-stop. I tried to keep watching beyond then, but season 3 was killing me =/

[eklavya]

The Walking Dead videogame? Huh?? Where did you see/hear about this?! Not that I'm any good at survival/horror. (insert flashback of me playing Resident Evil and giving up after the dogs jumped through the windows for the first time...)

I saw the trailer on PS3 market.. I don't think the official trailer has been released to the 'world' yet. It looked cool, but I can already predict it'll be going around and fending of zombies and greedy humans.

I am not a big fan of horror genre in video games. But I like to watch most of the decent horror movies that come out.

[eklavya]

watched Sunshine (2007) and Moon (2009) yesterday. both are Sci-Fi and must watch if you love the genre. well, must watch anyway because life is boring as hell during this waiting period!

[drumms9980]

It's alway sunny in philadelphia is awesome

Arrested Development is the best

But you HAVE to watch Stevie. It's a documentary and it's on Netflix and its AMAZING

[howlinforever]

Elf with Will Farrel all day everyday. Makes you laugh no matter how much you watch and reminds you that christmas is coming soon!

[shepardn7]

The Devil's Backbone is a good one that's likely not on your radar. It's the companion film (a "boy" story) to Pan's Labyrinth.

[lucien2111]

For an incredibly great mindfuck sort of movie, check out Oldboy. Its a beautifully acted/directed Korean film, but beware it is very violent/gory/profane.

As for tv shows, anyone mention any joss whedon tv series? Buffy and Angel will pretty much kill ALL the time you'll have waiting around for admissions decisions.

[Zouzax]

TV Shows: Mad Men (the. best.)

Dexter (I put this right next to Mad Men. a good guy serial killer. my dream show.)

Curb Your Enthusiasm (Larry is so neurotic & dysfunctional. But i KNOW everyone identifies with him)

Nip/Tuck (absolutely insane. Youll find that you can't even explain what's going on in the show to your friends, even though you really really want to)

30 Rock (hilarious)

Better Off Ted (think Arrested Development, but in an office)

Fringe (great. scary. im really liking this current season)

Bones (love the science, gets a little cheesy but definitely worth it)

Two & A Half Men (even though it's incredibly sexist, there's 8 seasons & you can realllly kill time watching it. Pretty funny too. And mindless)

Other shows I enjoyed/am enjoying: The Sopranos (especially the first 3 seasons), The Office, Sex & the City, Nikita (it's growing on me), Scrubs (I rented the DVDs of each season one winter break & watched them back to back. It seriously almost made me want to be a doctor. But lets keep that between you & me.)

[Zouzax]

aren't there multiple '28 days' movies? i think i like all of them.. i like horrors with some sci-fi premise.

i haven't watched the walking dead, but i'm totally stoked on the video game that'll come out in 2011... it looks SICK!! (like sick as in awesome)

i have watched trailers for the episode though, and it does look interesting!

did anyone watch 'heroes' few year back? their first season was amazing, but then the show went downhill.

i follow/been following 'supernatural', and it's pretty cool.. check it out from the first season if you have plenty of time.

totally agree with you about Heroes. I was so into it the first season. The second season really fell off, then during the TV workers strike (remember that??? when we had no new TV shows for like 3 months???? I still have nightmares about that) they came out with a press release, saying they were thankful for the strike because they reworked the entire season. I was super excited, but they didnt come through. Stopped watching it mid-season 3.

[eklavya]

totally agree with you about Heroes. I was so into it the first season. The second season really fell off, then during the TV workers strike (remember that??? when we had no new TV shows for like 3 months???? I still have nightmares about that) they came out with a press release, saying they were thankful for the strike because they reworked the entire season. I was super excited, but they didnt come through. Stopped watching it mid-season 3.

oh, the horrible writers' strike! i was disgusted by the act of everyone that season. man, it was so disappointing to not be able to watch new shows!!

yea, heroes showed a lot of promise the first season. the second season wasn't too bad imo, but then they gave way to family, drama, relation, etc and totally disregarded the awesomeness about using power to fight bad guys and save the world. what a letdown man! but i tell you what, sylar was the best character. he had this poise almost like hannibal lecter.

adding on, did any of you watch prison break? the first 2 seasons (breaking out, and on the run) were awesome!! i watched the third, but didn't care much as that writer's strike hit mid season.

[shepardn7]

For an incredibly great mindfuck sort of movie, check out Oldboy. Its a beautifully acted/directed Korean film, but beware it is very violent/gory/profane.

As for tv shows, anyone mention any joss whedon tv series? Buffy and Angel will pretty much kill ALL the time you'll have waiting around for admissions decisions.

Buffy got me through my MFA program. It'd be like, "Okay, brain, just grade these next five godawful Comp papers on whether technology (which has been around "since the beginning of time") is a "good thing or a bad thing," and you can watch a whole episode of Buffy!" Buffy is the best.

Edited December 15, 2010 by sarandipidy

[A. sesquipedale]

I'm really excited for The King's Speech but I can't find it playing anywhere around where I live. Arrrgg curse limited releases!

[OR_Dan]

A movie I think everyone here can relate to is ACCEPTED. Yeah it's about getting into college not grad school but, whatever, it's really funny.

Here's the IMDB description and link:

A high school slacker who's rejected by every school he applies to opts to create his own institution of higher learning, the South Harmon Institute of Technology, on a rundown piece of property near his hometown.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384793/

[a fragrant plant]

I'm really excited for The King's Speech but I can't find it playing anywhere around where I live. Arrrgg curse limited releases!

Me too. I am so looking forward to the King's Speech. I live in the UK and I don't think it's released yet. Am I wrong?

[rmcclymo]

For those of you who spend hours looking for something to watch instantly on Netflix, and are in need of a laugh, check out a British comedy show called "The I.T. Crowd" I rarely watch anything other than foreign language films, but I am so happy I found this little gem. Since finishing my last application at the end of last week, I have watched all 3 seasons available instantly on Netflix. Yes, sounds rather obsessive, but I needed not to think for a few days.

As for movies, check out the following:

The White Ribbon (German/Austrian)

Cache (French)

Gomorrah (Italian)

[rising_star]

Totally agreed on the Joss Whedon suggestion. Buffy, Angel, Dollhouse (though I have season 2 in my Netflix queue currently).

I'm into sci-fi shows, so I like Stargate SG-1; Babylon 5 (except season 1); Star Trek: The Next Generation; and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Oh, and Mutant X.

As for movies, I'm a big fan of children's animated movies: Wall-E, Finding Nemo, Mary Poppins, The Aristocats, Bolt, and The Incredibles, are just a few.

Everyone should see "The Lucky Ones". It's a fantastic movie.

[sputnik]

In Theaters (that I plan on seeing but haven't yet): True Grit, The boxing movie with Marky Mark, Black Swan

Just good movies: Inception, Memento, LOTR trilogy, Despicable Me, The Matrix

TV shows: True Blood (bet ya can't watch just one. And if you have HBO they are going to re-run all of season three starting tomorrow I think), Dexter, The Walking Dead, Band of Brothers, Generation Kill