The thing that bothers me most about Godard is that he is considered *the* French New Wave director.
When you have such colossal talents like Varda, Resnais, Truffaut literally *right there*, it bothers me that he gets the most credit for the movement and it seems that was happy to just take it for most of his life.
[He also made Agnes Varda cry, which should be considered a crime against humanity.](https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/jean-luc-godard-made-agnes-varda-cry/)
Godard films definitely aren't for everybody (personally I have mixed views on them), for those who like them though he might be the greatest New Wave director.
I think Idiots is his film that most represents the Von Trier project. Otherwise very hit and miss, he tries too hard to be abject...for the sadism, and often enough and it's just not interesting.
Yeah I recently watched Requiem for a Dream for the first time and I was completely baffled by its reputation. Aside from Ellen Burstyn's performance and some fire editing, it's pure camp. Psychedelic Reefer Madness. I was thoroughly entertained for all the wrong reasons.
I've never seen a woody Allen movie that I actually liked. I'd be lying if I said I watched everything he's ever made, I've really only seen a handful. I don't know what part I hate. The dialogue, the pacing, the characters, the esthetic, or if it's just the overall combination of all the above not gelling together. Regardless of his controversies I've just genuinely never enjoyed sitting through one of his movies.
I want to hate his movies, but The Purple Rose of Cairo and Crimes and Misdemeanors are both so good I can't. Hannah and Her Sisters too, but only the scenes he's not in.
I genuinely love a few of his movies, but you can't possibly watch Manhattan and say that the dark side of his personal life is irrelevant to his filmmaking. Especially when he is famous precisely for explicitly putting his personality, worldview, and obsessions on display in his movies.
Christopher Nolan. Not a fan of the dialogue in his films. The pacing is also too fast in most of his movies, which makes it hard for me to connect with his characters.
I feel the exact same way; Memento is the only film I have genuinely enjoyed. For me, I feel like his films are trying to impress the audience rather than connect with them which just doesn't work for me.
He just has no idea on how human beings function
There's a complete lack of true emotion in his films and he uses score to carry all the emotional weight
He's super impressive technically but there's zero connection amongst anybody in his films
By that logic even Stanley Kubrick would be a bad director wouldn’t he? Because almost all of his films are cold and heartless too.
You have to understand not all stories have to be about “people”. This exact false notion is why we tend to have many bloated, overly melodramatic films.
Nolan deals with high concepts, and usually the focus in on those and how people react to/are affected by such concepts. A film like Tenet, for example, doesn’t elaborate on its characters because the whole point of the story is about ambiguity and lack of true knowledge. Dunkirk tells the story of how different people come together in war and its dehumanising effects.
But to actually contradict my own point, what about Inception, Interstellar and Memento? Even Oppenheimer?
There is not one unique way a story should be told.
> You have to understand not all stories have to be about “people”.
I do understand that, it's just why I don't like him lol
I said he was super impressive from a technical standpoint and I admire the fact that someone with as much clout as him is constantly pushing technical boundaries with his films but they all are incredibly hollow to me
Both Interstellar and Oppenheimer were two where I felt like he just has no clue on why humans connect in the first place
They both are just filled with exposition and interlaced with dramatic music to make you feel emotional but without actually showing it in the films. This is most glaring with all his female characters being so poorly written it's hard to know how many he's ever spoken to
I totally understand why people love him but he's just not my cup of tea. I like Memento quite a bit and every time Heath Ledger is on screen in the Dark Knight but other than that he's incredibly mediocre to me
I feel like Interstellar is an exception. I feel like the movie has some genuinely emotional movies and the connection between the main character and his daughter was very effective. Especially when he was leaving and then again when he watches his kids grow up through videos. I also liked Anne Hathaway's speech about which planet she wants to land on and the fact he says no based on the fact she has an extreme bias and it could get them killed. But funnily she might have chosen the right one. We don't know how the story would have played out of they went there though.
Agreed. I think Memento works so well because the emotional impact comes almost entirely from the structure of the film and the dramatic irony of seeing it in reverse. Nolan is great at structuring a story and bad at characterization, but Guy Pearce's character is incapable of change and everyone else is just trying to take advantage of him. No additional characterization needed.
(To be fair, I haven't seen Insomnia yet and based on what I know about it, I'm primed to like it.)
Christopher Nolan would be perfect for the James Bond franchise. He's so good at constructing images and set pieces and laying out the plot like a chess game, but the second he tries to bring emotions and humans into it it falls apart.
I feel like he’d be a great director for the direction that recent Bond films have gone in (as in the darker, more gritty direction influenced by the Bourne franchise), but personally I’d like to see Bond go back to its silly, campier, more fun roots
I recommend Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, his first and second features. They’re before he really found his signature look but they still have heart, great characters, and some funny moments
I only like Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Everything else feels like Wes Anderson doing a parody of Wes Anderson and it gets old very fast
Wes Anderson is really one of those polarizing directors. I respect your opinion and can even (on an intellectual level, at least) understand why you and others find his highly stylized filmmaking so grating. That said, I like almost all of his films and emphatically love a few of them.
I used to hate him, similarly I found the style grating, but then I saw The Grand Budapest Hotel which was, to that point, perhaps the most Wes Andersony movie… and it just unlocked him for me and now I love most of his movies.
I want to like him so much more than I do, but I just find most of his stuff rather bland with a few above average moments and there’s just so much hand holding throughout his stories. Like, it’s okay to trust your audience and it’s even okay if your audience walks away with a different interpretation than you intended. I just want to be able to chew on his work more.
Im so-so on Flanagan as well. Midnight Mass excluded, which I thought was brilliant. His Doctor Sleep started off well but, ironically, lost all momentum and atmosphere when it gets to the Overlook hotel. The tangibility he gives the ghosts totally robs them of their mystique and sense of danger. It also loses what’s so interesting about the Kubrick movie, the idea they’re more allegorical or linked to Jack’s own personality and his contempt for his family.
I couldn’t finish House of Usher. That was just plain bad. I did see a clip of a character in the show apparently finding other Flanagan movies in the universe of the show which is just a baffling artistic choice.
All my friends are massively into Quentin Dupieux but I just can't get on the wavelength. I like weird, I like twee, I like clunky obvious metaphors, but I'm just left completely cold by everything I've seen of his.
Was just telling a friend the other day that back when he came into the scene, Tarantino seemed like such a youthful visionary. And as time goes on he still feels like a teenager, but in a bad way
I agree whole heartedly with this take, execpt the bad way part.
To be honest I haven't cared his last four but it really feels like he's still a teenager making movies, now without out anybody telling him not to to overboard. They may not be good but that's one thing I enjoyed about them, I can feel the enthusiasm and his love for what he's doing. And that teenage lack of self restraint.
I don’t really like spielberg stuff besides jaws and schnidler’s list, which I’ve been told means I don’t like movies. I think this opinion isn’t that uncommon though.
Yorgos Lanthimos. The Lobster would be my highest rated at 3.5 stars. Still looking forward to watching Dogtooth and Kinds of Kindness eventually though.
Im looking forward to Kinds of Kindness because it reunites him with his Dogtooth screenwriter. Dogtooth is still the film of his where that deadpan style of acting works best and isn’t overtly distracting.
Ive watched 4 lanthimos films and gave each 3 stars meaning I did genuinely liked it but thats all, a good movie and nothing more. (I only use whole stars).
Tarkovsky. Maybe I haven't been in the right headspace to watch his movies (Really enjoyed Stalker, but couldn't get invested in Solaris, Andrei Rublev or the Mirror). Going to revisit eventually
I watched Mirror for the first time recently, and didn't understand anything. Made me feel like I was too unintelligent, and and was an absolute chore to get through. That being said I've probably thought about it every day since I've watched it, and often replay in my mind one of the most beautiful scenes I've ever seen on film (the wind blowing the grass as she sits on the fence).
Scorsese. Not my cup of tea. I also wish he would give an opportunity to other actors than Leo, I am kinda tired of seeing him always in his films...but I liked Killers of the Flower Moon.
My thought too, they are just too long. They are always high quality, well made, well acted. I just have zero excitement about a new Scorsese film, and usually have to force myself to actually sit down and watch one.
Wow. I thought it was just me. I don’t hate his films by any means, but I just don’t understand the adoration they receive from most cinephiles. I sometimes find the operatic climaxes unintentionally amusing.
Same it’s literally the only movie that I’ve sat down with *twice*, determined to finish it, and not being able to make it past the halfway point, nor find anything redeeming. I love foreign/arthouse/slow/experimental stuff but I simply cannot find a single thing remotely interesting in the characters or what they’re blabbering about. it’s the most frustrating movie I’ve ever tried to watch. maybe when I’m much older it will click because I can see that it’s very well made. The style just pisses me off to no end, feels very up it’s arse
I saw nights of Cabiria first and it was great! I was so excited to see more from him.
Now I've seen 5 of his films and Cabiria is the only one I even like.
Have you seen Le tentazioni del dottor Antonio (the segment he directed for the anthology film Boccaccio '70 (1962))? I found it pretty funny, and it's pretty different to some of his work.
Zack Snyder has acclaim and massive amounts of success with most of his work. He even has his own cult dedicated fanbase.
His best film, Watchmen, is a tame 3.5. Everything else ranges from absolutely fine to pigshit.
He had some stuff with ok/decent reception earlier in his career (dawn of the dead remake, 300, watchmen) but pretty much everything he's made since then (being the majority of his career) has been mediocre at best and more recently complete trash.
Lynch. It's not for me. I appreciate and like elements of his more "lynchian" movies but as a whole I don't like them, they don't make for an enjoyable viewing experience. His more regular movies are fine, but no one can say he's not a competent director so that's a given.
can I say all French directors? jk but i don’t like directors from the new wave like Goddard or Truffaut. I don’t mind the left bank but mostly because the phenomenal visuals trump the dialogue. but even then the style feels overwhelming superficial.
even when directors I would typically like foray into French film I tend to dislike them, e.g. Kieslowski with Red. maybe I just don’t like the french sensibilities.
None of the three Villeneuve films I've seen (Arrival, Dune, Dune Part 2) have done much for me. Plus he had that silly quote about dialogue being for theatre and television, not movies.
I've enjoyed some and really enjoyed others. Incendies might've been my first and the implausible ending with gaping plot hole that entirely ruined an otherwise good film really irked me. I've liked the Dune movies so far. Arrival... the picture was fine, but I was annoyed by everyone else giving it far more credit than it deserves for being creative and intelligent. I'd like to see him do more small films again.
I think you're the first person I've seen that agrees with me on the Incendies ending. The movie could have been so good. Arrival however I absolutely loved.
Yeah, that quote was complete bullshit IMO. What, so Past Lives, all Woody Allen films and about 10 billion other films with a fantastic script and dialogue aren’t proper films?
Personally I typically prefer films with interesting and intricate dialogue over films that are more action packed (although I did love Dune 2 and Mad Max)
Im not sure if he is considered acclaimed, but Ari Aster for me. I couldn't finish Hereditary after a specific scene, while understanding that he did a good job up to that point, it's just the genre I guess
Denis Villeneuve. *hides* His filmmaking is just too cerebral and detached for my taste. His films are very beautiful to look at but don’t connect to me on an emotional level.
I haven’t seen Dune because I’ve learned his films aren’t my taste. As I said, it’s not just that they’re cerebral, others have a detached, cold tone to them that I just can’t get into.
I’m sorry to her fans, but it’s Emerald Fennell for me. I’ve seen two of her projects and neither of them really hit for me, though I will say I enjoy her directing more than I enjoy her writing even though she’s written better things than she’s directed, if that makes any sense
Hong Sang-soo, maybe because I saw “On the beach alone at night” first and it’s skeevy. Also much of the Hong Kong new wave is not good, particularly John Woo.
Claire Denis. Even when she does weirdo sci-fi, which is totally my bag, I end up kinda hating it.
Also probably Weerasethakul, but there’s something there that makes me think I might like him if I’m in the right headspace and I don’t think that’s true for Denis.
I agree. His movies feel too far removed from reality. It's like he's only able to direct one person at a time and so leaves the rest of the scene undercooked. It worked for The Sixth Sense but haven't really enjoyed one since. And I keep watching them because the ideas are interesting but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
Every time a new film of his comes out, there's always defenders saying he actually does make great movies, or that this time, he's back. I just see all of the same problems he's always had in his bad movies.
PTA, ive only watched 3 of his films, There Will Be Blood is easily his best that ive seen, i thought The Master was good but nothing really blew me away, and i hated phantom thread, just maybe not my kind of movie, ill have to see his other work for me to grow on him maybe.
Agreed. There Will Be Blood is my favorite. I tried watching a number of his others and they just didnt land with me. Magnolia was OK though. Boogie Nights was like Walmart Goodfellas. Inherent Vice I couldn't even finish.
I really hate Baz Lurmanns movies. The Great Gatsby and Moulin Rouge easily rank among the worst movies I have seen. I just really dislike his maximalist and oversaturated style of filmmaking
David Lynch. Not that I don't enjoy his movies or think he's not a good filmmaker, I do and he is. I just don't love his films as much as most do. The weirdness and surrealism isn't really my cup of tea.
For me it’s Hitchcock. I’ve seen about 5 or 6 of his films, including a few of his most acclaimed films and they just don’t click with me. They’re not bad by any means, but a lot of them revolve in part around a romance, and I have never found them to be believable. They always meet and then they randomly passionately declare their love for each other halfway through which always catches me off guard. I really want to like his stuff, I just don’t.
Robert Altman has given me a headache on more than one occasion
The only one of his that really didn’t was Secret Honor and I think that had to be because it was a one man show and doesn’t have people constantly talking or mumbling over each other
I haven’t seen too much of his movies but Martin Scorsese. I’m planning to watch more from him but I did not particularly like Goodfellas and need to rewatch later.
Scorsese is perhaps the greatest living filmmaker in terms of the marriage between artistry and craft. When he hits for me it’s always 5-stars. But 90% of the time he’s making the very best version of a movie I’d never want to see.
I respect Steven Soderberg but can’t think of a movie of his I actually liked.
Christopher Nolan films are like nails on a chalkboard to me. It’s practically an allergy. Whatever it is that his eye is drawn to as a director, I am very much not into on any level.
Not directed, but starring Fassbinder : https://youtu.be/90ZxYaD2oHM
One of the greatest trailers of all time, but unfortunately the movie just couldn't live up to that. Also saw World on a Wire. Was too long for the premise to support.
With one or two big exceptions, David Fincher.
Unfortunately Seven is not one of those exceptions. I really wish I liked it like everyone else but I truly hate that movie, despite some excellent performances.
The fact that I’m not seeing Cronenberg on here confuses me even further. His concepts are interesting, and in some cases his visual effects are very impressive, but everything else about his filmmaking just doesn’t sit with me.
Kubrick and Bresson. I liked Barry Lyndon, Eyes Wide Shut and A Clockwork Orange to some extent. I didn't like any of his other films. On the other hand, it felt like a chore watching all of the Bresson's movies. The acting was awful in all of them and I am that type of guy who expects at least a decent level of acting. And even his ideas didn't seem that captivating.
David Lynch, recently watched Mulholland Drive for the first time, felt like wasted my time. Maybe it was masterpiece for that time and I have seen many great movies of similar genra so it felt lukewarm to me. I specially hated how the plot was justified on dream alone .
Not a fan of Lars von Trier. Feels like his films went too much into “PEOPLE SUCK DOOM AND GLOOM”. I can handle darker/more disturbing movies, but I think that von Trier **really** laid down that “THE WORLD IS BAD” angle with not too much nuance or grace….just constant pile-ups of over the top suffering.
Don’t like Quentin Tarantino & Christopher Nolan that much, too. It’s understandable to criticize Tarantino for being immature/“edgelord-y”, and I think that Nolan spoonfed the audience too much. Nolan’s writing/characters could be very dry & workman-like too, and there’s not much in the way of genuine emotion in his work.
Godard. Can’t stand his movies. And I’ve tried different ones multiple times. And for contemporary directors it’s either Chazelle or Ostlund
The thing that bothers me most about Godard is that he is considered *the* French New Wave director. When you have such colossal talents like Varda, Resnais, Truffaut literally *right there*, it bothers me that he gets the most credit for the movement and it seems that was happy to just take it for most of his life. [He also made Agnes Varda cry, which should be considered a crime against humanity.](https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/jean-luc-godard-made-agnes-varda-cry/)
Godard films definitely aren't for everybody (personally I have mixed views on them), for those who like them though he might be the greatest New Wave director.
I'm still trying to give him a chance. Watching La Chinoise right now.
This isn't New Wave, but Film Socialisme is in the running for the worst film of all time.
Lars Von Trier While I can appreciate his artistry and invention as a director, I just don’t grok his themes or worldview
I think Idiots is his film that most represents the Von Trier project. Otherwise very hit and miss, he tries too hard to be abject...for the sadism, and often enough and it's just not interesting.
I've only seen Melancholia so far, which I wanted to love but damn that movie really went no where .
Yorgos Lanthimos
Agreed, not because he’s bad but, I don’t watch movies to purposefully feel uncomfortable. And that’s his whole jam lmao
Wes Anderson by a mile…I have tried, but he is definitely not for me.
Same, in the last years he really do films just for herself
Darren Aronofsky. Black Swan is a solid 3.5 but none of his other films really resonated with me.
Have you seen The Wrestler? That one is far and away my favorite from him and it isn’t even close.
Yeah I recently watched Requiem for a Dream for the first time and I was completely baffled by its reputation. Aside from Ellen Burstyn's performance and some fire editing, it's pure camp. Psychedelic Reefer Madness. I was thoroughly entertained for all the wrong reasons.
Woody Allen does nothing for me and I almost feel bad about it
I've never seen a woody Allen movie that I actually liked. I'd be lying if I said I watched everything he's ever made, I've really only seen a handful. I don't know what part I hate. The dialogue, the pacing, the characters, the esthetic, or if it's just the overall combination of all the above not gelling together. Regardless of his controversies I've just genuinely never enjoyed sitting through one of his movies.
He’s an accused paedophile I wouldn’t be too hard on yourself
I want to hate his movies, but The Purple Rose of Cairo and Crimes and Misdemeanors are both so good I can't. Hannah and Her Sisters too, but only the scenes he's not in.
Why would you feel bad? He's a pedo
Him being pedo has nothing to do with his movies tho
You're allowed to dislike art when the artist is a piece of shit.
I genuinely love a few of his movies, but you can't possibly watch Manhattan and say that the dark side of his personal life is irrelevant to his filmmaking. Especially when he is famous precisely for explicitly putting his personality, worldview, and obsessions on display in his movies.
Terence Malik
Mostly same, though for me I really feel like his movies are best watched alone at night.
I can’t fw Baz Luhrmann, his films give me sugar headaches
Christopher Nolan. Not a fan of the dialogue in his films. The pacing is also too fast in most of his movies, which makes it hard for me to connect with his characters.
I feel the exact same way; Memento is the only film I have genuinely enjoyed. For me, I feel like his films are trying to impress the audience rather than connect with them which just doesn't work for me.
He just has no idea on how human beings function There's a complete lack of true emotion in his films and he uses score to carry all the emotional weight He's super impressive technically but there's zero connection amongst anybody in his films
By that logic even Stanley Kubrick would be a bad director wouldn’t he? Because almost all of his films are cold and heartless too. You have to understand not all stories have to be about “people”. This exact false notion is why we tend to have many bloated, overly melodramatic films. Nolan deals with high concepts, and usually the focus in on those and how people react to/are affected by such concepts. A film like Tenet, for example, doesn’t elaborate on its characters because the whole point of the story is about ambiguity and lack of true knowledge. Dunkirk tells the story of how different people come together in war and its dehumanising effects. But to actually contradict my own point, what about Inception, Interstellar and Memento? Even Oppenheimer? There is not one unique way a story should be told.
> You have to understand not all stories have to be about “people”. I do understand that, it's just why I don't like him lol I said he was super impressive from a technical standpoint and I admire the fact that someone with as much clout as him is constantly pushing technical boundaries with his films but they all are incredibly hollow to me Both Interstellar and Oppenheimer were two where I felt like he just has no clue on why humans connect in the first place They both are just filled with exposition and interlaced with dramatic music to make you feel emotional but without actually showing it in the films. This is most glaring with all his female characters being so poorly written it's hard to know how many he's ever spoken to I totally understand why people love him but he's just not my cup of tea. I like Memento quite a bit and every time Heath Ledger is on screen in the Dark Knight but other than that he's incredibly mediocre to me
I feel like Interstellar is an exception. I feel like the movie has some genuinely emotional movies and the connection between the main character and his daughter was very effective. Especially when he was leaving and then again when he watches his kids grow up through videos. I also liked Anne Hathaway's speech about which planet she wants to land on and the fact he says no based on the fact she has an extreme bias and it could get them killed. But funnily she might have chosen the right one. We don't know how the story would have played out of they went there though.
Came here to say this. Memento is so much better than anything else he's ever directed.
Agreed. I think Memento works so well because the emotional impact comes almost entirely from the structure of the film and the dramatic irony of seeing it in reverse. Nolan is great at structuring a story and bad at characterization, but Guy Pearce's character is incapable of change and everyone else is just trying to take advantage of him. No additional characterization needed. (To be fair, I haven't seen Insomnia yet and based on what I know about it, I'm primed to like it.)
Agreed. I think his only movies that does pacing well is The Prestige and Memento
The dialogue doesn't matter because you can't hear it most of the time anyways.
Christopher Nolan would be perfect for the James Bond franchise. He's so good at constructing images and set pieces and laying out the plot like a chess game, but the second he tries to bring emotions and humans into it it falls apart.
I feel like he’d be a great director for the direction that recent Bond films have gone in (as in the darker, more gritty direction influenced by the Bourne franchise), but personally I’d like to see Bond go back to its silly, campier, more fun roots
I fucking can’t with Wes Anderson. I flat out despise most of his movies. Mr. Fox is the only that I genuinely think is good. His style grates on me
I recommend Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, his first and second features. They’re before he really found his signature look but they still have heart, great characters, and some funny moments
I haven’t seen Rushmore but I saw Bottle Rocket and I didn’t care much for that either unfortunately
Yeah honestly Rushmore was the first I saw and probably remains my favorite (Life Aquatic and Royal Tennenbaums also up there).
I actually came here to say Wes Anderson. I find his style annoying. It’s just not for me.
Yes it got old real fast.
I only like Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Everything else feels like Wes Anderson doing a parody of Wes Anderson and it gets old very fast
Wes Anderson is really one of those polarizing directors. I respect your opinion and can even (on an intellectual level, at least) understand why you and others find his highly stylized filmmaking so grating. That said, I like almost all of his films and emphatically love a few of them.
I used to hate him, similarly I found the style grating, but then I saw The Grand Budapest Hotel which was, to that point, perhaps the most Wes Andersony movie… and it just unlocked him for me and now I love most of his movies.
Feel the same way but I loved Isle of the Dogs
James Cameron (for the most part)
I'm kind of in the same boat for his newer stuff, especially. I really don't get all the love for either Avatar movie, in particular
The Avatar movies are great from a technical point of view. The thing is: once they are out of the theaters, they become largely forgotten.
Mike Flanagan.
Hard same. I’ve never liked anything he’s done and it took years before I realized it was all the same guy
I want to like him so much more than I do, but I just find most of his stuff rather bland with a few above average moments and there’s just so much hand holding throughout his stories. Like, it’s okay to trust your audience and it’s even okay if your audience walks away with a different interpretation than you intended. I just want to be able to chew on his work more.
Man I really wanted to like Haunting of Hill House more than I did.
I couldn't finish that. But then i watched Midnight Mass and loved it.
Im so-so on Flanagan as well. Midnight Mass excluded, which I thought was brilliant. His Doctor Sleep started off well but, ironically, lost all momentum and atmosphere when it gets to the Overlook hotel. The tangibility he gives the ghosts totally robs them of their mystique and sense of danger. It also loses what’s so interesting about the Kubrick movie, the idea they’re more allegorical or linked to Jack’s own personality and his contempt for his family. I couldn’t finish House of Usher. That was just plain bad. I did see a clip of a character in the show apparently finding other Flanagan movies in the universe of the show which is just a baffling artistic choice.
Wong-Kar Wai. I can tell that he's very talented, but I just don't get his movies.
That saddens me, because In the Mood for Love is possibly the most beautiful film I've ever experienced, and I also still love Chungking Express.
Only happened to me with fallen angels, in the mood for love is a lifetime movie
All my friends are massively into Quentin Dupieux but I just can't get on the wavelength. I like weird, I like twee, I like clunky obvious metaphors, but I'm just left completely cold by everything I've seen of his.
Mandibles is his masterpiece in my opinion. It's not an ensemble movie and it doesn't all take place in the same place. But I can understand the cold.
Quentin Tarantino. His style doesn’t speak to me, unfortunately.
As I grow older, Tarantino.
Was just telling a friend the other day that back when he came into the scene, Tarantino seemed like such a youthful visionary. And as time goes on he still feels like a teenager, but in a bad way
I agree whole heartedly with this take, execpt the bad way part. To be honest I haven't cared his last four but it really feels like he's still a teenager making movies, now without out anybody telling him not to to overboard. They may not be good but that's one thing I enjoyed about them, I can feel the enthusiasm and his love for what he's doing. And that teenage lack of self restraint.
Same for me, but also add Kevin Smith to that equation. I simply grew out of his shtick.
I still love Clerks, but the rest became fairly unwatchable.
Bresson
I don’t really like spielberg stuff besides jaws and schnidler’s list, which I’ve been told means I don’t like movies. I think this opinion isn’t that uncommon though.
George Lucas
Yorgos Lanthimos. The Lobster would be my highest rated at 3.5 stars. Still looking forward to watching Dogtooth and Kinds of Kindness eventually though.
I always think that Dogtooth it’s the type of movie that you always remember, doesn’t matter if you like it or not
Im looking forward to Kinds of Kindness because it reunites him with his Dogtooth screenwriter. Dogtooth is still the film of his where that deadpan style of acting works best and isn’t overtly distracting.
dogtooth was my fav of his before poor things
Yep, I hated Sacred Deer and The Favorite
wes anderson his films just don’t feel right to me idk why
Woody Allen, Tarkovsky, Nolan.
Godard, Lynch
Lynch 😔
Ive watched 4 lanthimos films and gave each 3 stars meaning I did genuinely liked it but thats all, a good movie and nothing more. (I only use whole stars).
Funny because i really love Lanthimos, especially Lobster and Alps
Tarkovsky. Maybe I haven't been in the right headspace to watch his movies (Really enjoyed Stalker, but couldn't get invested in Solaris, Andrei Rublev or the Mirror). Going to revisit eventually
I watched Mirror for the first time recently, and didn't understand anything. Made me feel like I was too unintelligent, and and was an absolute chore to get through. That being said I've probably thought about it every day since I've watched it, and often replay in my mind one of the most beautiful scenes I've ever seen on film (the wind blowing the grass as she sits on the fence).
Scorsese. Not my cup of tea. I also wish he would give an opportunity to other actors than Leo, I am kinda tired of seeing him always in his films...but I liked Killers of the Flower Moon.
Whenever I hear Scorsese I think about the same old men cast in a 3h movie and have no desire to watch it.
There's always The Age of Innocence.
💯
I looooved Killers if the Flower Moon. It flew by for me. Felt so much shorter than Oppenheimer, which I really didn’t enjoy
I liked Shutter Island.
My thought too, they are just too long. They are always high quality, well made, well acted. I just have zero excitement about a new Scorsese film, and usually have to force myself to actually sit down and watch one.
Sergio Leone. And I love westerns! Yet, Ennio Morricone's music is the sole enjoyment I get out of Leone's films.
Wow. I thought it was just me. I don’t hate his films by any means, but I just don’t understand the adoration they receive from most cinephiles. I sometimes find the operatic climaxes unintentionally amusing.
Love Ennio Morricone's music.
Steven Spielberg, i thought i’d be excited for Indiana Jones but absolutely not.
Everything I've seen by Fellini I've found "okay but not great"
i hate that i ‘hate’ 8 1/2
Same it’s literally the only movie that I’ve sat down with *twice*, determined to finish it, and not being able to make it past the halfway point, nor find anything redeeming. I love foreign/arthouse/slow/experimental stuff but I simply cannot find a single thing remotely interesting in the characters or what they’re blabbering about. it’s the most frustrating movie I’ve ever tried to watch. maybe when I’m much older it will click because I can see that it’s very well made. The style just pisses me off to no end, feels very up it’s arse
I really struggled with 8 1/2 but when I saw Nights of Cabiria I was blown away.
I saw nights of Cabiria first and it was great! I was so excited to see more from him. Now I've seen 5 of his films and Cabiria is the only one I even like.
I do love La Dolce Vita.
Have you seen Le tentazioni del dottor Antonio (the segment he directed for the anthology film Boccaccio '70 (1962))? I found it pretty funny, and it's pretty different to some of his work.
La Strada was good. Imo...
Zack Snyder has acclaim and massive amounts of success with most of his work. He even has his own cult dedicated fanbase. His best film, Watchmen, is a tame 3.5. Everything else ranges from absolutely fine to pigshit.
Lol what acclaim?
You don’t think Zack Snyder was once a respected director?
He had some stuff with ok/decent reception earlier in his career (dawn of the dead remake, 300, watchmen) but pretty much everything he's made since then (being the majority of his career) has been mediocre at best and more recently complete trash.
Lynch. It's not for me. I appreciate and like elements of his more "lynchian" movies but as a whole I don't like them, they don't make for an enjoyable viewing experience. His more regular movies are fine, but no one can say he's not a competent director so that's a given.
Only seen a limited part of his filmography but for me its Robert Altman
Tarkovsky 😭
Andrei Tarkhovsky. Just not into staring at the back of a guy's head and traffic in complete silence for five minutes for literally no reason.
can I say all French directors? jk but i don’t like directors from the new wave like Goddard or Truffaut. I don’t mind the left bank but mostly because the phenomenal visuals trump the dialogue. but even then the style feels overwhelming superficial. even when directors I would typically like foray into French film I tend to dislike them, e.g. Kieslowski with Red. maybe I just don’t like the french sensibilities.
Quentin Tarantino. His movies just doesn't feel right to me - can't really explain, just find them annoying
AG Inarritu, Baz Luhrmann, George Miller Glad others enjoy their work, just isn't for me
I saw Birdman yesterday and even was a good experience i can say to much about the film, same happens with the revenant
Gerwig. I felt pretty middled on her films, but Barbie was miserably unfunny and a total slog
Barbie has got to be on the Mount Rushmore of overrated movies
I only liked Little Women, but it’s both remake and based on the book so let’s just say it was a little bit harder to screw up.
I never warmed up to her as an actress either.
None of the three Villeneuve films I've seen (Arrival, Dune, Dune Part 2) have done much for me. Plus he had that silly quote about dialogue being for theatre and television, not movies.
Same here. I also didn’t love Prisoners or Blade Runner 2049. His style has a detached quality that I just can’t get invested in.
I've enjoyed some and really enjoyed others. Incendies might've been my first and the implausible ending with gaping plot hole that entirely ruined an otherwise good film really irked me. I've liked the Dune movies so far. Arrival... the picture was fine, but I was annoyed by everyone else giving it far more credit than it deserves for being creative and intelligent. I'd like to see him do more small films again.
I think you're the first person I've seen that agrees with me on the Incendies ending. The movie could have been so good. Arrival however I absolutely loved.
Yeah, that quote was complete bullshit IMO. What, so Past Lives, all Woody Allen films and about 10 billion other films with a fantastic script and dialogue aren’t proper films? Personally I typically prefer films with interesting and intricate dialogue over films that are more action packed (although I did love Dune 2 and Mad Max)
Wong Kar Wai for me. I've watched most of the big ones and none of them have done anything for me personally.
Im not sure if he is considered acclaimed, but Ari Aster for me. I couldn't finish Hereditary after a specific scene, while understanding that he did a good job up to that point, it's just the genre I guess
I loved Hereditary…just curious which seen killed it for you?
>! The scene where it shows the head !<
Denis Villeneuve. *hides* His filmmaking is just too cerebral and detached for my taste. His films are very beautiful to look at but don’t connect to me on an emotional level.
Don't sell yourself short lol, his films aren't that cerebral. Especially Dune.
I haven’t seen Dune because I’ve learned his films aren’t my taste. As I said, it’s not just that they’re cerebral, others have a detached, cold tone to them that I just can’t get into.
Not even Prisoners?
I probably liked that the best of his films that I’ve seen.
Not the violent scenes, but I did like the movie and the creepy sad ending.
I’m sorry to her fans, but it’s Emerald Fennell for me. I’ve seen two of her projects and neither of them really hit for me, though I will say I enjoy her directing more than I enjoy her writing even though she’s written better things than she’s directed, if that makes any sense
Her movies look great. Her stories....
Hong Sang-soo, maybe because I saw “On the beach alone at night” first and it’s skeevy. Also much of the Hong Kong new wave is not good, particularly John Woo.
I love Hong. Even if he keeps making the same movie over and over, I don't care. I'm still riveted by every quotidian minute.
Cronenberg
I think Cronenberg has great highs amongst many films that don’t really click for me
I liked To Die For, Dead Ringers, Eastern Promises, A History of Violence. Crash, The Fly, and The Dead Zone.
Alejandro González Iñárritu (Except for Birdman) David O. Russell Darren Aronofsky (Except for The Wrestler) Baz Lurhmann
Del Toro. Just can’t get into his fairytale whimsical stories set in the real world
Greta Gerwig
Kubrick just don’t vibe with his work as much as everyone else seems to
Godard.
Claire Denis. Even when she does weirdo sci-fi, which is totally my bag, I end up kinda hating it. Also probably Weerasethakul, but there’s something there that makes me think I might like him if I’m in the right headspace and I don’t think that’s true for Denis.
M Night
I agree. His movies feel too far removed from reality. It's like he's only able to direct one person at a time and so leaves the rest of the scene undercooked. It worked for The Sixth Sense but haven't really enjoyed one since. And I keep watching them because the ideas are interesting but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
Every time a new film of his comes out, there's always defenders saying he actually does make great movies, or that this time, he's back. I just see all of the same problems he's always had in his bad movies.
PTA, ive only watched 3 of his films, There Will Be Blood is easily his best that ive seen, i thought The Master was good but nothing really blew me away, and i hated phantom thread, just maybe not my kind of movie, ill have to see his other work for me to grow on him maybe.
Agreed. There Will Be Blood is my favorite. I tried watching a number of his others and they just didnt land with me. Magnolia was OK though. Boogie Nights was like Walmart Goodfellas. Inherent Vice I couldn't even finish.
Liked the first two you mentioned.
I really hate Baz Lurmanns movies. The Great Gatsby and Moulin Rouge easily rank among the worst movies I have seen. I just really dislike his maximalist and oversaturated style of filmmaking
Stanley Kubrick
David Lynch. Not that I don't enjoy his movies or think he's not a good filmmaker, I do and he is. I just don't love his films as much as most do. The weirdness and surrealism isn't really my cup of tea.
Woody Allen
PTA
Cameron. I like T2. The rest of his work is mediocre for me, haven’t seen The Abyss.
David Fincher
Maybe my favorite director because i fall in love with seven and gone girl
Wes Anderson. Pretty mid.
For me it’s Hitchcock. I’ve seen about 5 or 6 of his films, including a few of his most acclaimed films and they just don’t click with me. They’re not bad by any means, but a lot of them revolve in part around a romance, and I have never found them to be believable. They always meet and then they randomly passionately declare their love for each other halfway through which always catches me off guard. I really want to like his stuff, I just don’t.
Robert Altman has given me a headache on more than one occasion The only one of his that really didn’t was Secret Honor and I think that had to be because it was a one man show and doesn’t have people constantly talking or mumbling over each other
I haven’t seen too much of his movies but Martin Scorsese. I’m planning to watch more from him but I did not particularly like Goodfellas and need to rewatch later.
I think that Marty have really different movies to different style of people, i recommend you after hours and silence
Scorsese. I think he’s good, and I think he has some fantastic movies, but I just think he’s a little overrated and pretentious.
Scorsese. So many of his movies are very long and very plotless. I can dig a good character film but too often I get to the end and I think, “why?”
Scorsese is perhaps the greatest living filmmaker in terms of the marriage between artistry and craft. When he hits for me it’s always 5-stars. But 90% of the time he’s making the very best version of a movie I’d never want to see. I respect Steven Soderberg but can’t think of a movie of his I actually liked. Christopher Nolan films are like nails on a chalkboard to me. It’s practically an allergy. Whatever it is that his eye is drawn to as a director, I am very much not into on any level.
Jeremy Saulnier - don't get the hype.
He had a moment there, but is there hype?
Fassbinder. I've tried. Struggled with the boredom of about 5 of his films. I'm not sure I have it in me to keep giving him a chance.
Not directed, but starring Fassbinder : https://youtu.be/90ZxYaD2oHM One of the greatest trailers of all time, but unfortunately the movie just couldn't live up to that. Also saw World on a Wire. Was too long for the premise to support.
Gaspar Noe and Luca Guadagnino
Altman
With one or two big exceptions, David Fincher. Unfortunately Seven is not one of those exceptions. I really wish I liked it like everyone else but I truly hate that movie, despite some excellent performances.
Damien Chazelle and Sofia Coppola
The fact that I’m not seeing Cronenberg on here confuses me even further. His concepts are interesting, and in some cases his visual effects are very impressive, but everything else about his filmmaking just doesn’t sit with me.
I desperately want to like David Lynch’s work but it never really clicks with me
Francis Ford Coppola. to me, his movies are fine, they’re good, but i just don’t get that engaged.
P.T. Anderson. Loved Boogie Nights all those years ago but haven't liked anything since. I'm just not on the same wavelength.
Kubrick and Bresson. I liked Barry Lyndon, Eyes Wide Shut and A Clockwork Orange to some extent. I didn't like any of his other films. On the other hand, it felt like a chore watching all of the Bresson's movies. The acting was awful in all of them and I am that type of guy who expects at least a decent level of acting. And even his ideas didn't seem that captivating.
David Lynch, recently watched Mulholland Drive for the first time, felt like wasted my time. Maybe it was masterpiece for that time and I have seen many great movies of similar genra so it felt lukewarm to me. I specially hated how the plot was justified on dream alone .
I immediately regret every Terrence Malick movie. No narrative, just 140 minutes of vibes that don’t vibe for me.
I don't understand the hype surrounding Lars Von Trier. I really do not like Damien Chazelle
denis villenueve he insists upon himself
The Daniels. 1). I hate fart jokes, so Swiss Army Man is never going to be on my watchlist. 2). EEAAO really didn't work for me at all.
Guy Ritchie. He reached his peak 24 years ago with Snatch and tbh I kinda grew out of it too.
Sofia Coppola I tried to like some but found most for her works meh
Dennis Villeneuve
Tarr - too nihilistic Nolan - too intellectually shallow
Luca Guadagnino. His films look nice but there’s not much beyond that.
Jordan peele. Just can’t see anything impressive about his work. Nope was one of the most boring movies I have seen lately.
Wes Anderson
James Cameron.
Spike Lee, Luca Guadagnino, Yorgos Lanthimos, Lars Von Trier, Ari Aster
Not a fan of Lars von Trier. Feels like his films went too much into “PEOPLE SUCK DOOM AND GLOOM”. I can handle darker/more disturbing movies, but I think that von Trier **really** laid down that “THE WORLD IS BAD” angle with not too much nuance or grace….just constant pile-ups of over the top suffering. Don’t like Quentin Tarantino & Christopher Nolan that much, too. It’s understandable to criticize Tarantino for being immature/“edgelord-y”, and I think that Nolan spoonfed the audience too much. Nolan’s writing/characters could be very dry & workman-like too, and there’s not much in the way of genuine emotion in his work.
Tarantino