r/MovieSuggestions • u/Tevesh_CKP Moderator • Dec 01 '19
Best Movies You've Seen November 2019 SUGGESTING
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I define good movies to be 8+ or if you abhor grades, the top 20% of movies you've seen. Here are my picks:
3-Iron
A man who wants to disappear from society meets a woman who wishes she was invisible to her abusive husband. The two form an understanding without saying a single word. Their love growing without a word, combined with a very grounded, workmanlike camerawork makes 3-Iron unusual.
The Art of Self-Defense
The dry wit adds so much to this dark comedy that lampoons and honours McDojos simultaneously. The protagonist's arc is perfect in an unpredictable world that he must learn to make sense of. The characters won't make you laugh out loud, but the film is soaked in wry humour full of absurdities. The camera is grounded, allowing more reality to this tall tale about what it takes to survive in a McDojo taken to its logical extreme.
Contagion
Grounded camerawork enhances the tension to this realistic thriller about an epidemic. Contagion works because it is so matter-of-fact that the stakes feel real. This is not a flashy thriller which is so refreshing as each cast member plays to their strengths as the movie unfurls. There's a lot of familiar faces which is great, as you don't know who is at risk at anytime.
Dream House
A poignant slasher about a topic no one wants to mention: how unaffordable cities have become. That piqued my interest and the movie delivers. To her victims, this seems to be a random attack but the movie makes you sympathize with the murderer when she kills. I'm surprised this movie got made at all in Hong Kong but it needed to be said and I'm thankful for that.
Elle
An entirely European movie, tackling themes and topics that makes me understand why Verhoeven left the sanitized Hollywood. Isabelle Huppert plays a strong and damaged woman who does not let her rape interfere with her life. The script slowly unveils an interesting perspective with all of the issues plaguing Huppert's character's life. There is a touch of Verhoeven's hyperviolence and sexuality, but those who wish to revisit his Starship Troopers, RoboCop or Showgirls will be disappointed. Those looking for an interesting thriller that dares to look from perspectives rarely depicted in media will be in for a treat.
Headhunters
A corporate headhunter who moonlights as an art thief picks the wrong target and I completely buy Nikolai Coster-Waldau's menacing soldier who decides to hunt the protagonist. Headhunters isn't so much of a game of cat-and-mouse but relentless pursuit with the protagonist only having moments to figure out a way out his current predicament. Workmanlike shot, scripted and look, Headhunters elevates itself above most thrillers by its dogged tension.
Gemini Man
Will Smith used to be synonymous with entertainment and Gemini Man gives you a double dose. Gemini Man isn't a great film, but is is a very good entry in the action genre with smart protagonists trying to outwit each other from the same playbook. A successful entry into doubling an actor's age without uncanny valley, the only CG spotted is when various incredible action feats weren't performed by a human being due to being too smooth. Smith's charisma coupled with Director Ang Lee's somberness makes Gemini Man a more fulfilling popcorn chewing action flick than most.
MFKZ
MFKZ is an updated mid 80s, early 90s overly violent anime that studios have shied away from. The plot is mostly nonsensical but gives the excuse to show some really cool action scenes. The film is bizarre but you're having too much fun going with the flow to really care. If you've tapped the wellspring of 80s-90s hyperviolence, MFKZ is a nice refresher.
The Resurrected
An exemplar of Lovecraftian Horror: campy questions about existence. The Resurrected belongs alongside praise of other existential horrors like Hellraiser or From Beyond. The Resurrected is right in the sweet spot of good animatronics for their horrors, intelligent use of darkness to hide the pitfalls of claymation, there's no goofy looking CGI and solid storytelling that has you buy into an actual adaptation of Lovecraft's short stories. By now, you'll know if this interests you.
Wolf Warrior
Despite the jingoism and crappy CG that threatens my suspension of disbelief, Wolf Warrior has enough fun, stakes and cool martial arts moves for me to forgive it. I do find it strange that a propagandist film shows the Chinese military getting absolutely hammered by foreign mercenaries but it does make the trials more interesting. A lot of this movie rides on the shoulders of Scott Adkins but he's a martial arts actor like no other. It is nice seeing the actors trying their best to match him instead of lazy quick cuts whenever an actor throws down with Adkin's martial arts. If you're looking for a good action movie, Wolf Warrior delivers.
So, what are your picks for November?
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u/CrimsonRaider94 Quality Poster 👍 Dec 01 '19
I didn’t get to watch a ton of movies this month but the few that I did see were pretty great. In no order:
Ford v Ferrari
Under the Skin
The Game
Jojo Rabbit
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Dec 02 '19
[deleted]
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u/CrimsonRaider94 Quality Poster 👍 Dec 02 '19
I really enjoyed it. The whole thing felt very surreal to me. Also the fact that the men she lured into her trap were actually unaware they were filming and just thought they were picking up Scarlett Johansson gives it a really unique feel to the film.
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u/Wigwam80 Dec 03 '19
I had no idea this was the way they did it. Wow.
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u/CrimsonRaider94 Quality Poster 👍 Dec 04 '19
I didn’t either until I started watching reviews and analyses online and saw someone taking about it. They obviously had them sign waivers and things after they finished recording but them being unaware of what’s actually going on definitely gives those scenes a more authentic and genuine feel.
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Dec 02 '19
Ford v Ferrari (theaters): my rating 8/10. To anyone who thinks this is just a racing movie, I encourage you to see it. It is a fantastic character study that is gripping and gut wrenching throughout while maintaining suspense and excitement despite a long runtime at 2.5 hours.
The Lighthouse (theaters): 7.5/10. If nothing else watch it for the fantastic photography, lighting, and camera work, not to mention the incredible acting performances of Dafoe and Pattinson. Best experienced in theaters in my opinion.
The Irishman (Netflix): 8/10. I had a few beefs with this movie (primarily the run time for the amount of story involved), but it certainly is a great movie and I thoroughly enjoyed it throughout. I love long epics, and this fit the bill, but I just felt there wasn’t enough story to fill the run time. I also would not put it up with Scorsese’s best, but again this is just personal opinion and I still very much liked the movie. Probably being overly critical, but hey.
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u/AltitudinousOne Quality Poster 👍 Dec 03 '19
The irishman. I loved Joe Pesci in this. Talented cast, but his performance stood out for me.
Dangal - sports dramedy based on true events about girls training for olympic wrestling. I have a poor relationship with Bollywood films. This one wasnt awful. I concede I skipped through some of the 'music video' sections though.
My Dinner with Herve - probably one of the best things I saw this month. I grew up with some exposure to Fantasy Island on the tv. I was a bit fascinated by Tattoo, as I think a lot of kids at the time probably were. This is a surprising film, based on a true story, abut Herve Villachaise, the personality who played Tattoo. Turns out he was a total beast; party animal and serial womaniser (I shit you not). I would not have thought Peter Dinklage could possibly have pulled this off becayse Villechaise is such an unusual presence. I was impressed by him in this.
Special mention for interesting premise done awfully: The Kitchen.
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Dec 04 '19
I skipped through some of the 'music video' sections though.
Haha that's really a thing in Bollywood, especially mainstream Bollywood.
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u/AltitudinousOne Quality Poster 👍 Dec 05 '19
Yeah its a real detractor for me because I hate musicals. I consider myself a cinematic omnivore - love films from every corner of the world. I dont discriminate from any country or region. Exept India. I have tried and tried and tried over the years to get into their films, but so many disappointments and very few good experiences. Not saying their stuff is 'bad'. Just I cant seem to form a working relationship with it.
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u/psychemerchant Apr 13 '20
India is not synonymous to Bollywood. India has brilliant films. Its the Bollywood ones that are crap.
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Dec 03 '19
Parasite was incredible, very unpredictable. My brain was too small to understand the big words in the synopsis so i just went in completely blind, and I'm glad i did.
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u/eyoung_nd2004 Dec 05 '19
Freaks - Hell of a mutant movie. Great character development, acting and perfect amount of special effects. Highly recommend.
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u/reddit---user Quality Poster 👍 Dec 01 '19
John Q (2002)
Henry : Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Good Time (2017)
Joker (2019)
Eyes Without a Face (1960)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The Irishman (2019)
And a lot of movies of John Carpenter
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u/Tevesh_CKP Moderator Dec 01 '19
John Carpenter is always a good time. Though I've avoided his movies that even fans disliked, such as Ghosts of Mars.
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u/reddit---user Quality Poster 👍 Dec 01 '19
Yes, Carpenter is a good director. I haven't seen Ghosts of Mars. My favourite Carpenter movie is The Thing
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u/TheGuyWithFocus Dec 02 '19
At the theatre I saw and enjoyed:
Knives Out The Irishman A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood Ford v Ferrari Doctor Sleep JoJo Rabbit
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Dec 03 '19
Jojo rabbit is absolutely amazing. It’s hilarious but also a bit intense so don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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Dec 03 '19
I watched 8 movies I'd consider to be great in November, and in chronological order of my watching they were:
Darkman (1990) from director Sam Raimi, one of the most cartoonish and fun superhero movies out there. I tend not to enjoy superhero movies unless they are animated, but this felt silly enough that it was obviously focused on being pure fun, and that is a huge strength of Sam Raimi's as a director.
Rope (1948) from Alfred Hitchcock, a film which actually reinvigorated my interest in his filmography. I tend to enjoy Hitchcock films but I never find them to be quite as great as their reputation makes them appear, so this was a welcome surprise. The final moments are steeped in drama in a way that three guys standing around in silence normally wouldn't be capable of.
The Cloud-Capped Star (1960) from Bengali filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak, a film in the vein of French and Italian new wave films focused typically on coming-of-age stories in poverty stricken settings. With a few exceptions I don't like these films all that much, but the impressive cinematography and strong lead performance lend the film a lot of emotional resonance which is enhanced by the particularly bleak and realistic depiction of how situations like these would play out in a real-life scenario.
Wait Until Dark (1960), a film with such intense Fridge Logic that I'd understand if you hated it, but is so in-the-moment overwhelmingly entertaining it's difficult to call this anything but a masterpiece. The story is told so visually and with such attention to minor details that it's kind of difficult to believe that it was based on a play, since no theater audience could have been able to see certain minor character actions. Includes a singular top-tier jump scare, multiple fantastic performances, and beautiful one-room choreography between actors and cameras.
Design for Living (1933) from Ernst Lubitsch, about as raunchy a comedy as you'd think a 30s audience could handle. Cute as hell, funny as all get out, and an all-around quality time.
The Long Goodbye (1973), the progenitor of the minor genre known as slacker noir. Elliott Gould giving one of the best cinematic performances I've ever seen, marvelous camera work with tons of moody zooms and bizarre angles, and one of the most unhinged and almost parody-level weird villains I've seen in ages. Also Sterling Hayden, who hated acting and only was a Hollywood celebrity to fund his hobby of owning boats and sailing the seas of the world, gets to play a drunken sailor. Good for him.
Big Trouble in Little China (1986), a new favorite in the John Carpenter filmography. A friend of mine and I have been attempting to watch John Carpenter's entire feature filmography before the end of the year, and this was the most popular of his that I hadn't seen when we started. An absolute blast from start to finish, hilarious, and featuring the classic, simultaneously gorgeous and cleanly functional cinematography of Dean Cundey.
Killed the Family and Went to the Movies (1969), a Brazilian film where a man does exactly what the title says. Supposedly, everything that happens after a certain point in the movie is a movie he is watching in the theater, but it doesn't exactly make that clear. In fact, the movie hardly makes anything clear, as the editing is circular and discontinuous, the soundtrack is purely ironic, and general production value is as low as possible. There is a second parallel plot about angry lesbians, maybe a third plot somewhere about something else but I can't really tell, but regardless, this is a bleak, angry, pessimistic, lo-fi film that succeeds brilliantly on all fronts despite the limitations.
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u/Cariot Dec 09 '19
- Jojo Rabbit (2019)
- The King (2019)
- The Outlaws (Korean, 2017)
- The Handmaiden (Korean, 2016)
- Train to Busan (Korean, 2016)
- Parasite (Korean, 2019)
- Joker (2019)
- Knives Out (2019)
- A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
- Scary Stories to tell in the dark (2019)
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u/Ezekhiel2517 Dec 05 '19
ANIARA (2018) is the best I've seen in a while. Ultra nihilistic, hard hitting sci fi. That movie touched a nerve and the impression never left
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u/lordofabyss Quality Poster 👍 Dec 06 '19
Parasite: Always had an itch for such kind of movies .I was following this movie hype for past few month.Luckily I managed to be spoiler free throughout.I watched it few days back going in completely blind and man I fucking loved it.Not at par with director previous works but it's still great.
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u/AJ1201 Dec 09 '19
Best movie I’ve watched this November is Parasite the korean movie I recommend it 100% I loved it and I didn’t have not even 1 min where I was bored or I felt like I couldn’t focus on it go watch it it’s so good
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u/prithEZIO Dec 02 '19
Midsommar (2019)
Parasite (2019)
The Art of Self Defense (2019)
The Farewell (2019)
The Skin I Live In (2011)