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"Trust me, just watch it."

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Ignatz Mouse

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I am a big fan of watching movies without much foreknowledge. It's my preferred way to see a movie in fact. I think movies are best watched this way, and sometimes really great stuff in movies loses its impact if you don't.

For instance, my wife (gf at the time) missed all the promo run-up to Terminator 2, so when she saw it, she thought Arnold was a bad guy (I'm assumed everybody knows he isn't by now). So the long, initial chase scene completely floored her, especially when the T1000 is revealed to be a Terminator and not a cop. It's clear it was filmed with this idea in mind, but all the promotion gave that away for most people.

So the purpose of this thread is to recommend movies that are best seen knowing little about them. Don't see the trailer, don't read the back of the box, don't go look at reviews.

My contributions:

- Birdy -Stars Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage in a Vietnam era story. Just go watch it.

- The Arrival -OK Sci-Fi made 100x better by knowing less about it when you start watching.

But my real purpose is to get recommendations from others, so bring em on!
 
Contact - Went if expecting a summer popcorn flick about aliens, left with a permanent hard on for Jodie Foster.

Same could be said about Nell too.
 
For me, this is just about every movie ever. I rent shit with absolutely no idea what its about. Makes for better experiences, absolutely.
 
Children of Men - One of the key plot elements is also one of the driving forces behind the film, but really is best left to experience as a surprise rather than being told before hand.

Pan's Labyrinth - I think the hype around the film focused too much on the fantasy side of thing, when in reality the film is at most 50/50. An incredible, if not dominant, theme of the plot is what is happening in the real world. I know a couple of people that felt a little bit disorientated due to the expectations of previews and what the film actually delivered.

The Fountain - Simply due to the intensity of so many of the themes, and how abstract the plot and concepts are. Explaining too much gives too much away while giving a personal interpretation of themes that the new viewer might not agree with, and explaining too little in order to keep the mystery and importance makes it a hard sell.

I should note all three films are phenominal, largely because I went into each knowing extremely little about them. I do think they are films that need to be 'just watch'ed, and not hyped.
 
Salazar said:
'The Libertine', starring a nude Audrey Tautou.



You're interested.
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Yes. Yes I am.



-----


I wondered about starting this thread, because by its very nature, it's anti-discussion. So I don't know if it can live long.
 
Gattaca - Probably one of the best Sci fi of the 90s, next to the Matrix. Even if you ignore the others on this list. SEE THIS ONE.

Devil in a Blue Dress
Higher Learning
Boys Don't Cry
Event Horizon
 
Memento and Adaptation spring to mind, but really it's just a whole bunch of awesome films in that brief "silver era" from like 2000-02. Meanwhile, I thought Amelie was... pretty far beneath the expectations from a "just watch it".
 
Venus in Furs. I tuned in to this near the beginning on TCM late one night with some friends. We had no idea what it was about, and we had a hell of a time trying to figure out what was going on. I've never been more intrigued by a film.
 
The Dreamers

Semi-joke suggestion... but at the same time I can say "trust me, just watch it" with a clear conscious.





EatChildren said:
The Fountain - Simply due to the intensity of so many of the themes, and how abstract the plot and concepts are. Explaining too much gives too much away while giving a personal interpretation of themes that the new viewer might not agree with, and explaining too little in order to keep the mystery and importance makes it a hard sell.
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God this movie sucked. I can at least agree with the don't watch the trailer part of the OP when it comes to this movie. What a fucking bait and switch! If I had not have seen the trailer who knows how I'd feel about that movie now. Same with Bug. Fuck you misleading trailer-makers!!! There's a special place in hell for you guys!
 
Rosalie goes shopping (1989)
Eagle vs Shark (specially if you are a 'Flight of the Conchords' fan)

I saw 'Silence of the lambs' having absolutely no idea what it was about. Mind blown.
 
Dali said:
The Dreamers

Semi-joke suggestion... but at the same time I can say "trust me, just watch it" with a clear conscious.







God this movie sucked. I can at least agree with the don't watch the trailer part of the OP when it comes to this movie. What a fucking bait and switch! If I had not have seen the trailer who knows how I'd feel about that movie now. Same with Bug. Fuck you misleading trailer-makers!!! There's a special place in hell for you guys!
Click to expand...




The Fountain was great, probably Aronofsky's worst flick so far, but still good. I liked Bug too...
 
À la folie... pas du tout

Stars a nearly-naked Audrey Tautou.

In the US, it's called He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not

Trust me, just watch it.
 
Dali said:
God this movie sucked. I can at least agree with the don't watch the trailer part of the OP when it comes to this movie. What a fucking bait and switch! If I had not have seen the trailer who knows how I'd feel about that movie now.
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I'm glad I'm not the only person on GAF who thought this movie sucked.
 
Dali said:
God this movie sucked. I can at least agree with the don't watch the trailer part of the OP when it comes to this movie. What a fucking bait and switch! If I had not have seen the trailer who knows how I'd feel about that movie now. Same with Bug. Fuck you misleading trailer-makers!!! There's a special place in hell for you guys!
Click to expand...

It's a hit and miss without a doubt. Either it's for you, or it's not. It's not the kind of film where I "OMG WTF" at people saying they didn't like it, as I can see why they might not have, even if the reasons they disliked it are probably the reasons I liked it (among other things).

For me it is Aronofsky's best work, and one of my all time favourite films by a long shot.
 
Gattaca - One of the best sci-fi movies of the modern era. Science fiction is about understanding real world concerns in a fictional setting. This movie does this phenomenally.

My suggestion, don't laugh: Training Day - Again with Ethan Hawke and Denzel Washington. I think the previews spoiled interesting character development for later.
 
Oh, forgot one more, because the director is infamous in spoiling major plot points in his previews:

What Lies Beneath - Michelle Pfieffer (sp?) and Harrison Ford. Good movie but the previews spoiled a major plot point that doesn't even come out until 2/3rds of the way through the movie.
 
I completely agree.. I think it's why I love the original Matrix so much. The first time I saw it, I really had no idea what it was about, and just saw it on a whim with a friend.. I was completely floored by it.
 
Amelie - pretty much has to be described as a feel good movie, which makes it hard to have people watch.

it could put a smile on even the most hardass of people.

for first timers though?

THE GAME, or BREAKDOWN. those movies are badass non-stop shitfests for the main characters.
 
51FYBBRDT2L._SL500_AA240_.jpg
 
Dead said:
Martyrs

Best recent example I cna think of atm
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Are we also going to list movies that aren't worth seeing in general?

Also want to add; Let The Right One In

I think the least you know about this, the far more enjoyable it would be.
 
I have a friend who's a movie buff but he doesn't watch "blockbuster" titles. I already had watched a LOT of stuff too. So his recommendations were often welcomed. He watches the strangest type of movies. His preferred genre is drama really. But most of the movies he referred me were "sleeper" hits. You'd be sleeping when this movie came out.

When he referred me to these, its usually just "Trust me, just watch it".

In the Bedroom - Its about a mom (Sissy Spacek) and dad grieving over their (18 year old) son's death after his infamous affair with a young divorcee mother. Just watch it, it'll drag on in bits, but mostly covers the important parts of the story, and most of all, pay attention to the part where the dad held (sic) up in his home and saw the photo.

Personally, what the father saw in the duration of (sic) events, it kinda hit home to me in where you cannot be the judge, jury and the executioner to another person, no matter what circumstances.

The Weight of Water - This is told interweaving in two plot-lines in different time lines. The present time-line follows a couple which she's following the mystery of a couple of murders on the island (for newspaper) and mostly her interactions with her boyfriend and the other couple who's letting them to use their boat to sail to the island (Northeastern coast). This part is bland and so-so, however, you may find eye candy with Elizabeth Hurley. The ending though... is pretty fucked up.

The other time-line that represented what actually did happened on said island over a couple of centuries ago. This is just the best part. The sets were something to behold and their acting. The main young woman in this story was so well characteristically developed, I felt for her more than anyone else in the entire movie. A Norwegian woman just moved to the colony and is trying to make best of things despite of not living the life as she would had hoped. Things just turned sinister when her snotty sister had moved in. Far more so when her brother and his betrothed arrived soon after.

The Sweet Hereafter - This is not nonfiction although, it could very well be since its a good one. Its mostly about the aftermath of the bus crash (into an icy lake) and the lawyer is trying very hard to make the parents build up their nerves to file suit against the bus company, ironically he has issues as a parent as well. There was one survivor from this bus crash, and she (tween girl) ended up crippled. For her own very twisted reasons which are still valid (imho), she is a part of the investigation.

This movie, did NOT waste a space or time in its entirety. Its incredible to watch a film that interweaves the plot between the lawyer and the parents and this girl and not leave you hanging or confused. Its just that awesome in story-telling, I was astounded. The characters in it are all the more real, and you would swear this is nonfiction.
 
EatChildren said:
Are we also going to list movies that aren't worth seeing in general?

Also want to add; Let The Right One In

I think the least you know about this, the far more enjoyable it would be.
Click to expand...
Durrrr
 
eXistenZ

Sci-fi thriller with Jude Law. If you don't know anything about it, it's a crazy ride.

The 13th Floor

Another sci-fi thriller I would highly recommend.
 
jon bones said:
primer.jpg
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I was just about to post this.

If you love watching shows where you have no idea what is going on, watch this. The closest movie I've seen to this is memento, but there's no comparison because I've watched this three times and I still can't wrap my head around a lot things going on in this movie.
 
I second Primer, its the best time travel movie I had seen to date.

spunibard said:
I was just about to post this.

If you love watching shows where you have no idea what is going on, watch this. The closest movie I've seen to this is memento, but there's no comparison because I've watched this three times and I still can't wrap my head around a lot things going on in this movie.
Click to expand...

You can't wrap it up yet? I'll give you the biggest tip off to help.
Remember how they went into the storage and saw the tanks for the FIRST TIME? BIGGEST thing ever to tip you off is that they didn't make it. Or they try to go back to "make" it. In other words, the duo we were watching in the whole first half is NOT the original duo.
 
'Howard the Duck'

Oh and 'Dancer in the Dark' - Film with Bjork in and one of the most depressing things I've seen. Really good though in my opinion.
 
Fight Club is a great example of this. If you don't know the plot, you have a preconceived notion of what the movie is going to be, and them BLAM...the movie keeps going, and the audience has no idea...
 
Completely agreed about Gattaca and Memento, and Event Horizon three phenomenal movies.

Equilibrium comes to mind, along with my favorite sci-fi, which is IMHO infinitely better than The Matrix....Dark City.
 
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