Madkevin's Movie Challenge: Try Watching Good Stuff

So, it’s May. Which means for every Avengers that manages to somehow not insult your intelligence as a movie-goer, we’re going to be treated to ten other movies that assume you’re about as bright as a potted plant. Whatever, right? It’s the summer.

Well I say: NOT whatever. Now, don’t get me wrong - I, more than most, understand the appeal of trash. I’m fully in the Pauline Kael camp, who once famously said “Movies are so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash we have very little reason to be interested in them.” True dat, Pauline. So, sure, I get the thrill of watching something horrible for the chance that it might the GREAT kind of horrible. What I’m saying is, I own Fast Five on blu-ray.

But here’s my challenge to you: Take a week - one whole week - and watch only things you think are actually going to be good movies. Not ironic good. Not so-bad-it’s-good. Not guilty pleasures. I’m speaking here of genuinely great movies.

How you want to define great is up to you. Maybe hit up a Sight & Sound poll and watch whichever you haven’t seen. Or dig around a director’s CV - sure, you’ve probably seen Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane, but what about Touch Of Evil or The Lady From Shanghai or F For Fake? You’ve seen The Godfather, but what about The Conversation? Or if all that is old hat to you, try dipping into foreign films, or the work of directors you aren’t as familiar with. One of my fave things is to pick a specific movie movement - film noir, French New Wave, Italian neo-realism, etc. - and watch a huge representative sampling. It’s a great way to discover new things to get excited about.

Seriously, give it a try. Even better, post about what you’ve watched here in this thread.

Interesting idea. Maybe I’ll dip into the works of this Ingmar Bergman dude I’ve been hearing about.

Excellent! Bergman’s a perfect example, by the way, because the perception of Bergman - cold, intellectual, dry - is so wrong. I suggest starting with my personal fave, Wild Strawberries.

Can it be things we’ve seen before? This would be a perfect opportunity to rewatch a bunch of Herzog like I’ve been meaning to.

Oh! Kieslowski!

It can, but ideally it should be an excuse to push yourself into areas or directors you’re unfamiliar with. Like, for me, I’ve only ever seen one or two movies by directors like Yasujirō Ozu or Claire Denis, so I might delve deeper into those catalogs.

But then again, rewatching a specific director could yield some nice surprises, especially if it’s been a while since you’ve revisited them.

These are just suggestions, though. You could easily just spend the week watching a bunch of movies you always meant to watch but haven’t gotten around to yet. Which reminds me, I have a blu-ray of Orpheus I haven’t watched…

THAT’S MY FAVE TOO I LOVE YOU MADKEVIN

I don’t watch many movies at all, let alone good ones, but I guess I could try it. If you’re making this an “event” week where we all do it at the same time, I’d recommend waiting a couple more weeks until more of the TV show seasons have ended. (Also, how many movies do you watch a week? I watch between 0 and 1…)

I’ve been meaning to actually sit down and watch Chinatown, which I admit I’ve never seen. I should also probably eventually watch one or more movies by Malick, Aronofsky, Herzog, etc. I admit that I 'm intimidated by “good” movies, I always feel like I probably don’t have the tools to process those kinds of movies properly.

Oh, also, what’s that really weird challenging movie about modernity by Jacques Tati? I feel like I should try to watch that.

Wait, a whole week of not watching crappy movies? I don’t even think that’s possible. I suppose I’ll have to start after seeing Battleship.

-Tom

I wish there was some way to send you a hug. Wild Strawberries is an amazing film. Absolutely brilliant.

Also, now that you’ve mentioned, the next S&S poll is due in September.

I’ve been meaning to schedule a Truffaut binge for one of these weekends. Guess I could stretch that out over a week…

I wasn’t thinking of making this an event week. More of a personal thing - take one week out of your life to try and consciously try to watch things that are good.

Also, how many movies do I watch a week? On average, about five to seven, depending on how crappy TV is at any given moment. I always watch at least one movie every Saturday afternoon by myself because I am a great husband and will not subject my wife to some three-hour Russian movie from 1950 about the life of a wheat plant or whatever, and then we collectively watch at least five during the week.

I think it’s more interesting to make it a personal thing. That way, this thread can get bumped everytime somebody decides to do a Good Movie Week.

I’ve been meaning to actually sit down and watch Chinatown, which I admit I’ve never seen. I should also probably eventually watch one or more movies by Malick, Aronofsky, Herzog, etc. I admit that I 'm intimidated by “good” movies, I always feel like I probably don’t have the tools to process those kinds of movies properly.

Don’t get hung up on it too much. “Good” is a wide, wide categorization. Doesn’t have to be high-falutin’ art house fare either - why not run through a bunch of Howard Hawks or Preston Sturges movies? How many classic Hitchcocks have you seen?

One of the things I’m hoping that people will discover is that the great movies of cinema can also be hugely entertaining. To use the hoariest possible example, Citizen Kane isn’t some stuffy art piece - it’s very funny, very engaging, and super fun to watch. Go as deep and as intellectual as you want to go.

Also: Chinatown is awesome. Start with that.

Oh, also, what’s that really weird challenging movie about modernity by Jacques Tati? I feel like I should try to watch that.

Playtime. Another great example of a movie that, in my opinion, isn’t “challenging” at all. It’s like watching a really intricate cartoon, with people instead of animation. There’s also an incredible Criterion blu-ray of it that is fucking mindblowing.

This will definitely be the hardest on the people living in Los Angeles.

I agree with everything in this post except for the implication Fast Five isn’t a good (no air quotes) movie. I’d put Fast Five up against, say, The Italian Job, any day of the week (In that they’re both silly, gimmicky, but well made and effective car based heist movies).

For your penance, Hugin, I am giving you a heist-movie themed Good Movie Week: Rafifi, Dog Day Afternoon, The Lavender Hill Mob, The Ladykillers, Big Deal On Madonna Street, Bob le Flambeur, Gun Crazy, Resevoir Dogs, and The Silent Partner.

I’d suggest Le Circle Rouge as a necessary addition to that list.

Oooooh, good one. Switch that out for Reservoir Dogs.

This is a pretty tremendous idea. Doesn’t hulu have the entire criterion collection available for streaming? I think I’ll start there…I always meant to see wild strawberries. I remember that criterion box was very alluring…

Oh and if anyone is looking for a good film noir that’s somewhat outside the big 10 or 15, Fritz Lang’s “The Big Heat” with Glenn Ford is something special. I remember being genuinely shocked at some of the scenes.

No Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels?

For shame.

Are you serious? Off to google.

Edit: I guess I need to spring for Hulu plus.

Yes, and it’s a fucking marvelous deal for $8/mo.

In my defense, I haven’t actually seen it since it was in it’s first theatrical run. I remember it being great, but it was long enough ago that I didn’t feel certain enough to include it.

Feel free to switch it out for one of the two Ealing Studios movies.