At last, a movie buff who says it’s OK to love trash

RobJ says:

10:56am | 18/08/09

“At last, a movie buff who says it’s OK to love trash”

Good on him, though I never needed anybody’s advice to decide what I like and dislike. Though critics can be handy for me to gauge whether or not something is worth watching. A long time ago when I could be bothered going to the cinema I used to read the Age’s Neil Jillet, I thought he was awful, but he was very consistent. I consistently enjoyed films that he wrote bad reviews for.

Ben from Perth says:

11:01am | 18/08/09

I’m a big fan of Tarantino’s style of cinema, have been since the second time I saw Res.Dogs (hated it the first time for some reason)... Jackie Brown is the only one that hasn’t really done it for me.

I’d have a few of his selections in my twenty, the ones I’ve heard of anyway: Fight Club, Matrix, Lost in Translation (almost anything with Bill Murray in it is a winner).  Speed is an interesting inclusion - not for me that one.

A couple of additions: Res.Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Transformers, Gangs of New York and for all its cheesiness The Naked Gun was a winner too.

Zeta says:

11:03am | 18/08/09

Seriously Colgo, do your self a favour and rent Battle Royale and Audition. They’re two of the most unique films ever made. Battle Royale is the kind of film that could only have been made in Japan; in fact, just finding it on the shelves of your local blockbuster will make you want to call the Daily Telegraph in outrage that our children could ever be subjected to anything so hideously awesome.

As for Audition… you can’t comprehend it until you’ve seen it. And once you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it. At once the most boring and disturbing film in the history of cinema, with a lurching, otherworldly twist that makes David Lynch look like the director of a Carry On film. It’s occassionaly played very late at night on SBS, and many an ignorant viewer has been sucked in by its lyrical, kitchen drama / dour romantic charm only to have their world turned upside by the sudden cognitive chainsaw it takes to the audience’s face.

There is a scene in Zac Snyder’s Watchmen where The Comedian says of that film’s alternative history Vietnam conflict ‘You know if we lost this war, I think it would have drove us all insane’, Battle Royale and Audition are living proof that having a nuclear bomb droped on you really does send a nation’s popular culture into a dark tail spin from which there is no escape.

GC says:

11:32am | 18/08/09

Thought Battle Royal was good, but not great.  Good to see Audition, but missing Ichi the Killer (both Takashi Miike films).  The Host was excellent, but surprised not see other awesome Korean films like those of Park Chan-Wook (Old Boy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance).

As for “closest it gets to a Semillon Sauvignon Blanc is the palatable Lost in Translation.”, well Lars Von Trier’s Dogville is about as art-house as you can get.  I’m assuming you haven’t seen that one.  Terrible reviews, but I loved it. 

Unbreakable sucked.

Will have to check out some of the other Asian cinema ones I haven’t seen - like The Blade and Police Story 3.

shabangabang says:

11:39am | 18/08/09

Showgirls is the ultimate cheesy flick. Elizabeth Berkley and Gina Gershon give 2 good reasons to watch it, though.

JT says:

11:47am | 18/08/09

I’ll take this list over the Margaret Pomeranz’s any day!

My list would include:
Dr Strangelove (#1)
Apocalypse Now
Brasil
Taxi Driver
Stalingrad

Toddzilla says:

12:07pm | 18/08/09

Lost in Translation. Worst. Movie. Ever.

GC says:

12:16pm | 18/08/09

I should add my top 20 sonce 1992 (in no particular order, though I reckon Fight Club is the best):

1. Fight Club
2. City of Lost Children
3. Pan’s Labrinth
4. Croupier
5. The Matrix
6. Reseviour Dogs
7. Kill Bill 1 & 2
8. Snatch
9. Lost Highway
10. Mullholland Drive
11. Old Boy
12. The Host
13. Amelie
14. 2046
15. Hero
16. Chopper
17. Memento
18. Eastern Promises
19. Usual Suspects
20. No Country for Old Men

RobJ says:

12:16pm | 18/08/09

Love your list JT, Stalingrad is in my top three (along with Scum & Strumpet - something about single word titles beginning with ‘s’)

Shama says:

12:22pm | 18/08/09

Trashy-movie-loving Philistines hardly seem to be in closet.  Every other movie grossing dollars out there and being blogged about has bad guys, guns, martial arts and monsters.  And to counterbalance this, we have about 90% of women defending the lame output of the romcom industry. In fact the defenders of films based on games, violence and romance is legion, it’s the rest of us who can expect to be shouted down.

So thank God there are people out there defendingana analysing other kinds of films.

Ash Simmonds says:

12:22pm | 18/08/09

Ahhh hahaha Police Story - I miss the 90’s where that chubby nerdy dude would be on SBS every Saturday presenting another classic Jackie Chan film.

I can’t believe he left off Demolition Man.

AJ says:

12:27pm | 18/08/09

Whilst I’m a bit of a fan of artsy cinema (the kind of stuff Margaret Pomeranz would recommend), I think the fact that we label movies as ‘trash’ highlights the fact that the movie critic community is hugely disconnected from the average punter in the audience.  Sometimes movies should perhaps be judged on how fun and exciting they are, rather than a series of criteria set by a bunch of overeducated Film Studies majors that doesn’t resonate with people who don’t want to think that much about Transformers.

dino says:

12:30pm | 18/08/09

Battle Royale is great. Reminded me of Arnies Running Man, with alot more gore.

LM says:

12:30pm | 18/08/09

Great, some new movies for me to watch.
Totally agree with his comments on the Matrix.

Paul - calling Quentin Tarantino a “movie buff ” , I think he is a bit more than a movie buff…. this seems a bit of unfair / inaccurate title for a great director? come on….

wolf says:

12:35pm | 18/08/09

Some good lists, mine would have a lot in common.

The only one people seem to have missed is Kamikaze Taxi (aka Kamikaze Takushi).

Fee says:

01:05pm | 18/08/09

20 films I will happily watch on repeat. There’s no rhyme or reason to the trash/arthouse factor. Some of them are there because they’re so bad they’re good.

1.  Jason and the Argonauts
2.  Rear window
3.  Empire strikes back
4.  Gremlins
5.  Groundhog day
6.  Psycho
7.  Drifting Clouds
8.  Black cat white cat
9.  Alice (Jan Svankmejer)
10. The fifth element
11. Bladerunner
12. The ice storm
13. The Grudge (Original Japanese version)
14. Labyrinth
15. The happiness of the Katukaris
16. Aliens
17. Undefeatable
18. Police Story
19. Enter the dragon
20. Godzilla final wars

Tony T says:

01:16pm | 18/08/09

Colgo, check out the Cult Movies series of books by Danny Peary.

(JT, only one of those films is from the last 17 years.)

Zeta says:

01:32pm | 18/08/09

Mulholland Drive just doesn’t do it for me after INLAND EMPIRE. INLAND EMPIRE (the title is capitalized) is, without doubt, the most batshit insane film ever made, and probably my favourite film of the last 17 years. I’ve watched it about twenty times and it still gives me panic attacks. Of Lynch’s ‘A Girl In Trouble’ tryptych, it’s the best. You almost get the impression that something very, very very bad happened to Lynch at some point while in Hollywood, or something bad happened to someone he knew, and it’s taken that many films to actually articulate what that horror felt like.

Phil says:

01:53pm | 18/08/09

If QT dated Margaret Pom’, which of the list would they go see? I have two in my collection from QT’s list, but I hate it when movies I treasure are given the nod by someone famous - it simply means that people try to reach to the “level” of the famous person, be it reaching up or down, fame’s influence being just that.  There must be at least an element of appeal to the individual’s sense of entertainment. I work by exclusion, not inclusion.  Refuse most special effects movies, but one’s with good casting(eg Iron Man) rate.  Not even interested in animation.  Never would rate a film with an irritating lead(eg. rubber faced Jim Carey). Can’t stand Jackie Chan, but love Bruce Lee. Hate correctness films about trendy minorities. Love the Muhammad Ali doco’ When We Were Kings.

Shane From Melbourne says:

02:27pm | 18/08/09

Anything by Christopher Lambert or Clint Eastwood is good.
Highlander (original only) Mean Guns, Gunmen, Beowulf, Dirty Harry, Tightrope, A Fistful of Dollars, Kelly’s Heroes etc. Also the Mad Max trilogy and the first Lethal Weapon (it went downhill afterwards…)

Joe Hildebrand says:

02:30pm | 18/08/09

I started it.

Bill Steamshovel says:

02:33pm | 18/08/09

Agreed Ash. SBS used to show all sorts of great flicks. I bet GC would never have seen City of Lost Children without seeing it first on SBS.

rufus says:

02:40pm | 18/08/09

Trash is trash, doesn’t matter who likes it.

JT says:

02:45pm | 18/08/09

To expand,  here’s my top 10:
Dr Strangelove
Apocalypse Now
Brasil
Taxi Driver
The Big Lebowski
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Catch 22
Repo Man
This is Spinal Tap
Stalingrad

Tony T: yes all are largely pre DVD/Foxtel days - perhaps more enduring given I had to go to the cinema to see them and I’ll admit its been a while since I’ve been to a cimema so there may be something in that?

Will have a look at more recent films if I go 11-20. Certainly Borat would be in there.

Ashkas says:

03:24pm | 18/08/09

At long last recognition for The Blade. For a long while I went through a massive Martial Arts film binge and that was amongst my favourite. The sword choreography and sheer brutality of the film set it apart from other Martial Arts flicks.  IMO Hark Tsui masterpiece.  Some other trashy favourites there too, but some real quality (Lost in Translation). 

Although I am surprised that neither Fist of Legend (Jet Lee), or Drunken Master 2 (Jackie Chan) or The Killer (John Woo & Fat) didn’t make the list.

Toddzilla says:

03:32pm | 18/08/09

Here’s a top 20 that combines some that were panned and some not so panned, but all loved by me (for schlock reasons or otherwise):

1. The Big Lebowski
2. Dogma
3. The Court Jester
4. Sleepers
5. The Empire Strikes Back
6. Clerks
7. When Harry Met Sally
8. The Shawshank Redemption
9. Evil Roy Slade
10. Lord of the Rings (take your pick)
11. Braveheart
12. Dumb and dumber
13. O Brother, Where are thou?
14. Raiders of the Lost Ark
15. American History X
16. The Life of Brian
17. The Sting
18. Lock, stock and Two Smoking Barrels
19. She’s All That
20. Hudson Hawk

RobJ says:

03:57pm | 18/08/09

I might have to come around and watch your films JT - You have great taste (well, taste similar to mine).

ShowsOn says:

03:59pm | 18/08/09

“...that doesn’t resonate with people who don’t want to think that much about Transformers. “

It is wrong to assert that people don’t need to think much when watching visual media, and especially films based around narratives. In order to construct a narrative the audience must conduct a constant range of reasoning processes in order to arrange the plot into a chronological story. Filmmakers working in the Hollywood tradition are simply very good at making these mental inferences occur easily.

Just because someone thinks mass entertainment films enable one to stop thinking in order to enjoy the film doesn’t mean this is actually how we make sense of films. It seems to be based on a false belief that films that are entertaining and enjoyable can’t also be intellectually stimulating. Understanding why a $200 million action film creates enjoyment and entertainment is an interesting question in itself, and requires a great deal of thought.

I note however that Tarantino’s list includes Dogville, a Lars Von Trier film, I wouldn’t exactly consider this film similar to Hollywood actioners like The Matrix. This list reveals that Tarantino is an admirer of a range of films made in many different styles and from Hollywood, Asia and even Europe.

CJ says:

05:08pm | 18/08/09

Yawn…where are all the chick flicks? If you rate a favourite film by the number of times you watch it, then Clueless and Legally Blonde would be my no. 1 + 2!

Also anyone who doesn’t have the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice on their list is devoid of any romantic feeling whatsoever.

Phil says:

05:38pm | 18/08/09

I’d hardly call Tarantino’s list trash.

The Matrix and Fight Club are two of the most philosophically sophisticated movies and challenging movies ever made.

Fight Club is such a dangerous mind-fudge of a movie that it made me glad that it went over the top of most people’s heads.

As for people adding their movie picks - take into consideration Tarantino’s qualification: best movies since 1992.

Not sure why he picked that year.  Was that the year Reservoir Dogs came out? 

In that case, interpret the list as Quentin saying “What are the best movies to come out since my masterpiece”

JT says:

06:06pm | 18/08/09

This has got me thinking so here is another 20 (or so) to add to my Top 10, in no particular order:

The Party
300 Spartans (original)
Rollerball (original)
Silent Running
Pulp Fiction
Boogie Nights
Enter the Dragon
Dazed & Confused
Team America
Mad Max 1
Borat
Thin Red Line
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Oh Brother Where Art Thou
Ben Hur
Blackhawk Down
Scarface (Al Pacino vers)
Patton
Animal House
Blues Brothers
Ed Wood
Blue Velvet
American Beauty
Lawrence of Arabia
The Warriors
Zulu
Donnie Darko
12 Monkeys
Napoleon Dynamite
Flying High
Cross of Iron
Ed Wood

I was tempted to also include a Wes Anderson film or two if only just for the soundtracks.

Dan says:

06:06pm | 18/08/09

Tarantino’s list was fine, however I don’t understand why he picked Dogville; IMO Von Trier must go down as one of the most overrated directors of all time. Oh, and Phil, The Matrix is a rip-off of the Terminator films, while Fight Club doesn’t really say much at all IMO.

NNick says:

06:48pm | 18/08/09

“Also anyone who doesn’t have the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice on their list is devoid of any romantic feeling whatsoever.”

Or they’re not just a fan of a miniseries about gold-diggers.

Plot of P&P:
Elizabeth hates Darcy
Elizabeth sees Darcy’s wealthy manor.
Elizabeth loves and marries Darcy.

ninnanuam says:

08:04pm | 18/08/09

My top 20 since 92 In no particular order

Ong Bak
Fight Club
O Brother where art thou
The Matrix
Fist Of Legend
Knocked Up
Clerks
City of Lost Children
Rambo
Return of the King
Army of Darkness
Brick
Amelie
the Crow
Donnie Darko
Heat
District 9
From Dusk Till Dawn
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Drunken Master 2

Andrew says:

08:58am | 19/08/09

Good list from Tarantino but Fight Club sucked. Wasn’t it all a dream?

Pete says:

12:24pm | 19/08/09

hi Andrew,

no, it was a movie

Regards

Re says:

11:43am | 21/08/09

Trash is great! My 20

Amalie
Pans Labyrinth
28 Days Later
The Big Lebowski
Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion
No Country For Old Men
The Host
Death Becomes Her
Borat
Labyrinth
Doom Generation
Apocalypto
Kill Bill 1&2
Hegwig and the Angry Inch
I Heart Huckabies
Silence of the Lambs
Haloween
Jackie Brown
Machine Girl
Carmen Electria - Whole series of Striperzise videos! Comedy Gold

Andrew W says:

11:44am | 21/08/09

Why didn’t he list The Crow?

Matt says:

01:24pm | 21/08/09

What about:
Being John Malkovich & Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind?  Both should be right up there in the list of 90’s movies.

For that matter I reckon High Fidelity & Grosse Point Blank are also worthy mentions.

John says:

09:36pm | 21/08/09

Interesting to notice the numerous asian movies that made it into his top 20. It’s no surprises that he gets alot inspiration from asian cinema, just take a look at Kill Bill.

I’ve seen much of the list including the foreign asian movies and would not recommend them enough. Battle Royale though may be shocking, provides great social commentary and is not merely a shoot em up gore fest.

The host is the best monster movie to come out in the last decade. I’m surprised John Woo’s The Killer or Park Chan Wook’s Oldboy didnt make the list though.

John says:

08:54am | 22/08/09

I want to highlight two of Tarantino’s picks that hasn’t been talked about:

Memories of Murder
Joint Security Area

Two of the most amazing movies I’ve ever seen.  They are both from Korea.  If you get a chance PLEASE PLEASE check them out.  The endings will leave you speechless.

Andrew says:

12:07pm | 24/08/09

Ditto to John’s second comment. Memories of Murder is fantastic and in its own understated way showed why Korean cinema is rated so highly by those in the know.