Movies I Like
This is another difficult one to put a finger on. I can't point to a specific genre and say I like that because, really, I like everything from popcorn blockbuster action summer hits to drama, comedy, horror, ganster films, spy versus spy and so on. Even the genres that I don't like, like musicals, I like some of, like Chicago. Not a big fan of Grease, though, because I'm not gay.I can't really list off all the movies I like either. They make so damn many.
I am a fan of special effects. What computer graphics-guy isn't? I can't say that I like all special effects driven movies, however, especially those that sacrifice other elements in favor of a really cool look, like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and Final Fantasy. I did love the look of the parts I stayed awake through. By comparison, Sin City and 300 didn't suffer anything for their look. No surprise there, Frank Miller was involved.
Kind of related note: I like animated films, like Shrek and the Pixar du jour, but when the industry releases six or so of these a year I kind of lose interest in any of them.
So if I like everything some of the time, and nothing all of the time, are there any good guidelines to go off? Absolutely. There's some actors, actresses, and directors that I'll give a fair shake to everytime. That's not to say I like all their movies, but I'll watch all of them at least once in a benefit of the doubt. Peter Jackson and Quentin Tarantino as directors have earned that from me. Steven Soderbergh as producer. George Clooney, Johnny Depp, Anthony Hopkins, Nicholas Cage, and Kevin Spacey as actors. Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Naomi Watts are actresses off the top of my head. There's probably more that I can't remember right now; these are just examples. I'm sure I'm forgetting somebody.
Speaking of consistency, I always check the lineup at Focus Features. They're the ones who released (my favorites of those I've seen so far): Being John Malkovich, Traffic, The Shape of Things, Swimming Pool, Sylvia, 21 Grams, Lost in Translation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Door in the Floor, The Constant Gardener, The Ice Harvest, and Hollywoodland. That's a lot of great flicks from one place.
There's a lot of films that I like that you may have never heard of because I like a lot of indie films. Watch IFC. Good stuff there. I don't snub the mainstream movies, though. I was first in line at the midnight openings of the Matrix, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter films. It was a lot easier when I was a kid. Raiders of the Lost Ark all the way.
Films that most of the people I know don't like, but I really do: American Beauty, I Heart Huckabees, Napoleon Dynamite and [a lot of others]
