@fireinthepriory Lurve for Serenity/Firefly. I was just about so suggest that, but you beat me to it.
@Makstarn The Fountain was fantastic. @Marina, listen to this guy!
Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind was fantastic as well. These are all great suggestions.
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Based on what information you’ve given me, I’d go for (and I imagine you’ve at least heard if not seen many of these films. I’ll provide links to the trailers for ya.):
Dan in Real Life
Romantic comedy, though not what most people expect. Steve Carell plays a widower with three daughters. Everyone can relate to something in this film. Sweet, touching, and all that good stuff. The trailer isn’t exactly the greatest representation of the film itself, but you can get a good gist of what it’s about by watching it.
Stranger than Fiction
Funny, strange, and deeply rewarding. It’s part feel-good, part mind-fuck. Will Ferrell gives an amazing performance of a man who wakes up and hears every aspect of his life is being narrated by an omnipotent voice. He’s off to find the author of his life in an attempt to change the ending. (Another crappy trailer. I hate when they make trailers that clash with the actual tone of the film.)
Synecdoche, New York
Really, you can’t go wrong with Charlie Kaufman. An old man tries desperately to find reason and purpose in his life. He purchases a seemingly-infinite-in-space warehouse and builds New York City in it. He hires actors in an attempt to create the largest play known to man. As the years pass, the protagonist (played by Philip Seymour Hoffman) begins starts to lose track of what’s reality and what isn’t, and his “mock city” – though inhabited by actors – spirals out of control.
Watchmen
Not available on DVD yet, but will be in a few days. It’s violent, yes, but I highly recommend it. The film (based on the world-renowned graphic novel) poses the question: What if superheroes really did exist? Taking place in the mid-80s, the Vietnam War was won easily, America and the Soviet Union are on the brink of all-out nuclear war and American society is decaying. Social, political and economic references abound. This is a absolute must-see, in my opinion. It’s both deeply personal yet broad enough to get a sense of the grim, corrupt world. If there was ever a trailer that is misleading, it’s this one. It’s very intelligent, though the slow-motion and silly costumes may deter one from seeing the film. Don’t.
Iron Man
Robert Downey, Jr. plays Tony Stark, on his way to become the titular character, Iron Man. Stark is the son of a late, successful weapons developer. After a weapon presentation in Iraq, his convoy is attacked and witnesses the young men and women killed before his eyes. Captured and forced to create a missile by a radical terrorist group, Stark instead builds a rudimentary suit of armor and busts free from the caves. Realizing that it was his work that cost those young soldiers’ lives, a shaken Stark vows to change his company’s ways. I don’t want to spoil too much of the plot, but it’s funny, serious and great action flick, with no graphic violence. Chock full o’ fantastic actors; RDJ is undeniably cool in the role. Trailer is fitting.
The Dark Knight
Okay, last comic book-based movie. One of the most successful films ever made, Cristian Bale plays Bruce Wayne… wait, hasn’t everyone in the world seen this movie? GO WATCH IT. Much has been said about how insanely well-done this movie is, and I’m sure I could go off in a tangent about it as well. All you need to know (if you have been living under a rock and don’t know this already) is that Heath Ledger plays a wondrous psychopath. This movie is, through and through, a crime drama with incredibly pacing. Most of all, it’s believable, which is a huge step forward from the campy comic-book movies of yesteryear.
Wall-E
This is another movie that I would be surprised to find out you might have missed. This falls under animation, so it may take some pushing on your part to get your husband to watch it – I’d make damn sure you do so, as this is a great film. Pixar are masters of their craft. The human population has deserted Earth and now lives amongst the stars on a generation ship. Waste allocation robot Wall-E is the last active robot – all others have broken down. For 700 years, the tiny robot has gone about doing the job he was built to do, and within that time, he’s grown sentience. Innocent and naturally curious in nature, Wall-E’s only companion is his myriad of useless junk he’s collected and a very loyal cockroach. Spending his days collecting trash and compacting it to compressed cubes, his nights are lonely, usually with him gazing at the stars overhead in fascination and longing. The first 30 minutes of the film are spent on building up the sense of the world Wall-E lives in and how lonely an existence being the last creature on Earth really is. One day, a sleek, futuristic robot lands on the planet in search of something. Again, I’ll keep this spoiler-free, but this film is an amazing portrayal of innocence, the evils of consumerism in an increasingly lazy society and life starting anew. What’s amazing to me is that throughout the entire first half of the film, you connect to the characters at such a level without a single word being spoken. A beautiful film, for all ages.
Gran Torino
Clint Eastwood again shows us why he is the man (he produced, directed and starred in the film). Really, the guy could probably kick your ass if he so much as winked in your direction. I’m going to cheat a bit and take a part of the plot synopsis from Wikipedia: “Walt Kowalski is a retired Polish American Ford factory worker and Korean War veteran. He lives with his golden Labrador Retriever, Daisy, in a Highland Park, Michigan neighborhood, formerly populated by working-class white families, now dominated by poor Asian immigrants and infested with gang violence. The movie begins with Walt attending his wife’s funeral, bristling at the shallow eulogy of young Father Janovich, and his own sons, Mitch and Steve, with their self-absorbed families. Walt’s poor relationship with his family and his own deteriorating health are shown at various points throughout the film.”
If there was ever a film that started on one note and ended on completely different one, it would be Gran Torino. Walt is a grumpy old man, whom we find in the opening portion of the movie to be rather racist (which leads to a great deal of chuckles – Eastwood plays this character wonderfully, without a doubt tapping into his own, real life emotional state). Upset at the world, he is, in fact, hurt and alone. He’s witnessed tragedy throughout his life, and, if anything, needs a companion who understands him more than anything else. Developing a close relationship with the young Asian family next door, we find Walt grow throughout the film. The movie tugs at your heart at times, makes you guffaw at others. What starts as a direct visual representation of how many suburbs in America are becoming increasingly violent and gang-related ends with the aging protagonist accepting life. Masterful, in every way – the parallels it provides the audience is fascinating, to say the least. Also called, _Get Off My Lawn: The Movie
And, that’s it. This is too long as it is :P
Enjoy cinematography at it’s best!
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