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Movie recommendations?
Hi! I was hoping for some movie recommendations for someone that enjoys movies such as Interstellar, Inception, Everything Everywhere All At Once and The Matrix?
The responses are much appreciated, thank you!
Interpreting your likes as "exciting, cinematic science fiction epics with a spiritual element and a bit of humor":
Minority Report (2002) - Spielberg-directed Tom Cruise action/mystery thriller about a near-future police agency that stops murders before they happen. Thoughtful and cool with fantastic cinematography.
The Fifth Element (1997) - Colorful, wildly imaginative (and a bit goofy) adventure about a cab driver who gets involved with an ancient prophecy to save the universe.
Serenity (2005) - Smartly-written, funny, and compelling finale to the ragtag sci-fi/Western Firefly universe. You don't actually have to have seen the show, though (I saw the movie first and loved it).
Sunshine (2007) - Beautiful, meditative thriller about a team of scientists sent to reignite a dying Sun. The ending is a bit divisive but I think it's great.
Gravity (2013) - Sandra Bullock trying to survive the catastrophic breakup of her orbital mission. Won't be as good as the original big-screen 3D version, but still visually striking and emotionally powerful.
Moon (2009) - Sam Rockwell pulls off an impressive one-man show in a mind-bending psychological mystery.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) - A journey through the disintegrating memory of a man going through an experimental procedure to erase an unhappy relationship. One of Jim Carrey's best dramatic roles.
Great recommendations. I'd like to add in a much worse but very related recommendation if you like The Fifth Element: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Same director, similar setting, fantastic visuals, and a goofy tone. The writing is questionable and the male lead has a downright awful performance, but it's a fun watch that I think will end up with a bit of a cult following for its impressive VFX work and style, a la Speed Racer.
Oy! Okay okay okay Universe, I’ll watch it. Just last night I was annoyed by how the “Max” app does nothing to surface fresh options while scrolling past that exact movie yet again.
Valerian was such a wasted opportunity, it had plots ready to be made in the comics
They just managed to pick two complete charisma voids as the leads
Totally agree, and hope I didn't make anyone expect an awesome movie or anything! I'm just a huge fan of The Fifth Element and it has a lot of similarities. It's visually impressive and I found it fun despite all the cons, but they do make it somewhat frustrating to watch, especially so for a very critical viewer, I'm sure.
Weird how you include Gravity in this list of otherwise fantastic space films. I wouldn't even consider it a space movie. It's just 90 minutes of Sandra Bullock crying.
Did you see it in the theater, especially in 3D? It might have been one of those (like Avatar) that was really elevated by the visual spectacles but doesn't hit as hard on the small screen.
I guess I'll be the "I hate Gravity" guy today...
I saw it in theater, I think it was 2D, but I think I paid extra for DTS sound or something...
I must say, it's a visually engaging movie, that's best experienced on a big screen with a big sound system, otherwise you're missing out on how the movie was meant to be presented. The same sort of thing could be said of Christopher Nolan movies... Yet, no one ever says Interstellar is only a 4/10 unless you watched it in theatres in which case it's 9/10.
I have a projector, with a really big screen. I have a good sound system, which is loud enough for a cinema experience. Even on rewatching Gravity the way it's meant to be watched, it's a shitty fucking movie. Sandra Bullock is supposed to be this huge expert that's the best person for the job which is why they sent her to space, yet her character is scripted to act as useless as possible at every opportunity.
Anyone who says the only reason you don't like Gravity is because you didn't see it on the big screen, come at me. Fight me bro. It's a bad movie. It has good special effects, yes... I'll give you that. It's definitely better in theatre, but that doesn't change how dumb the story is.
Then I gotta be the "I loved Gravity" guy today.... because while you are entitled to your opinion, you are wrong! On the internet! I can not let that stand!
I saw it on my 2D 60 inch TV with sound system at home.
Some movies provoke profound thought. Some movies have incredibly deep characters. Some movies have a plot so cunning, that you could stick a tail on it and call it a weasel. Some movies simply grab you by the eye balls and refuse to let go. This is that last sort of movie.
This movie had me on the edge of my seat.
Maybe it's because I used to sky dive. I've sat on the edge of a perfect good plane. I've looked down thousands of feet... and I've jumped. And I have seen more fuckups in my very short career than most. I know what happens when shit goes sideways. No matter how much training you have had, when faced with potential death, your brain is not operating at 100%.
Come on, Bullocks character had a PHD in biology, this was her first space flight, what do you expect? This isn't The Martian, where her characters brilliance in the sciences helps her overcome adversity.
Sure, the movie doesn't have much more going for it than a visual thrill ride. Which is why I am surprised you would watch it a second time. Dude. This movie is not going to get better the more you watch it. And why on earth would you only watch it the way it's supposed to be watched the second time?
(I do love your comment by the way, I hope you take this as tongue in cheek, if I watched this shallow movie a second time I am sure I would feel as frustrated as you)
Love this. Thank you.
Edit: The reason for rewatching was all the awards the damned thing got. I was dumbfounded and had to rewatch the stupid thing just to reaffirm: "No, it's the children who are wrong."
I approve of your fierce declaration of opinion. I have only vague recollections of the movie and don’t really care one way or the other, but I like your willingness to defend your viewpoint.
That actually reminds me of The Abyss although I'm not sure it fits in here. The genre is not really my thing, although I loved the Matrix after being forced to watch it a few times...
I saw it (the Abyss) for a friend's half-birthday in March as his birthday typically landed when school started back up. And his family had a friend with a full surround sound and a laser disc... which apparently had a lot more than the in-movie or VHS options had. Now that I think of it, I suspect this was around '95, so I may have some false memories...
I play too much Kerbal Space Program to have enjoyed that.
Semantically it's similar to Matrix - it's a sci fi with amazing "gravity defying" special effects.
I do find myself using LLMs to augment my failing memory, I'm not saying anyone here simply copied and pasted from an LLM, but I do suspect a lot of us use LLMs to assist us.
I would say if you're planning to also watch the series first, definitely watch the movie last. There's one bit in the movie that might ruin the series for you.
Something about washing spears.
Yes, exactly that. I wanted to leaf out the details though.
Honestly, when I saw your reply out of context, I was thinking of this Aiel song and trying to figure out when was I posting about the Wheel of Time.
Bonus rap adaptation found while googling for the other link.
you've likely seen most of these.
The Fountain is my favorite movie of all time and I've never seen anyone else recommend it until now. Such a beautiful movie with an unbelievable score!
+1 for The 13th Floor. It good ignored because The Matrix came out the same year, but it was better IMO if less flashy.
the Matrix screwed over a lot of great films. Tough time to compete anyways, though.
I didn’t do much to help. I saw the Matrix in the theatre over thirteen times that summer while on tour with this band. haha. it’s all we did, for the most part.
I enjoyed this comment so much. What an amazing example of youth in that time.
haha it was so fun. we had this bus that ran off of propane, which was a logistical nightmare.
it was great because the first prequel was just coming out and everybody was camped outdoors waiting for that, too.
a fun time for movies.
Could you give a little more detail about what you (or they?) liked about these. I can think of a few things that might kinda hit the vibe of a few of these, but most of my list is also less happy ending.
Dark City and Thirteenth Floor at the very least were common recommendations from when The Matrix came out for those looking for something similar.
Lots of my suggestions were already mentioned. But here are some more.
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Annihilation (2018)
Starship Troopers (1997)
High Life (2018)
Aniara (2019)
Hardcore Henry (2015)
The Endless (2017)
Coherence (2013)
https://www.criticker.com has for years been my go-to for recommendations. Rate your movies on any scale you want (anywhere from 0 - 100), I use 0-10. After you rate enough movies you start getting people with similar tastes (TCI: Taste Compatibility Index). The site uses your TCI's scores of films you haven't seen to guess what you would rate them (PSI: Probable Score Indicators). Rarely is the PSI for a film more than 1 or 2 away from what I end up actually rating it. How they do it: https://www.criticker.com/explain/
Editing to add:
https://tastedive.com as an easier site where you can put in a movie/show/book/etc and get similar stuff.
I read your post and thought that sounded like a pretty useful site. Lo and behold, when I went to register it turns out I had already created an account back in 2012! Good to see a site thriving that long, and it was fun to look at the handful of ratings by my younger self. Thanks for that!
I might give Criticker a try. I've recently started using Letterboxd, but I'm kinda disappointed with the social features. Letterboxd seems to focus on following people to get their recommendations, whereas Criticker actually looks at your own ratings to make recommendations.
Animatrix - an animated anthology that delves deeper in to the lore of the Matrix films.
Donnie Darko - weird, captivating, funny and mind-bending. It's one you'll want to see numerous times. Don't watch the Director's Cut..
Fight Club - a 90's classic. Mind-blowing twist. Hard to talk about.
Altered States - cosmic horror monkey magic.
Highly recommend Galaxy Quest. A solid 9/10 movie with great heart. An absolutely stacked cast. Possibly Tim's greatest performance.
Blade Runner 2049 – A beautifully shot sci-fi flick about AI and what it means to be human. It’s slow and thoughtful, but really worth it.
Arrival – Another deep one, all about language, time, and communication. It’s pretty philosophical, kinda like Interstellar.
The Prestige – If you liked Inception, this one’s a must-watch. It’s about two magicians and has some crazy twists.
Her – A more emotional take on tech and relationships, set in a near-future world. Really thought-provoking.
Donnie Darko – A cult classic that deals with time travel and alternate realities. It’s weird, but in a good way.
Coherence – This one's a hidden gem. A group of friends at a dinner party start experiencing strange things involving parallel universes. Super low-budget, but so clever.
Tenet – If you loved the whole time-bending stuff in Inception, Nolan’s Tenet will definitely scratch that itch.
The Fountain – A visually striking film about love, death, and the quest for eternal life. It’s deep and emotional. My favorite from this list. I even named my cat after a character in this movie.
Triple rec for this one. Such a good movie, so many good twists.
Check out The Martian, you'll love it!
Excellent recommendation.
I just finished watching the first season of Russian Doll, which I liked a lot, and it reminded me of Everything Everywhere... also sci-fi on the surface, relationship drama under the surface.
I used to use tastedive (now tastekid) for movie recommendations, but I recently discovered Yogurrt. It'd a pretty good "recommender". You tell it one one you like, it shows some attributes about that one, you choose which attributes you want its suggestions to have (or to not have), and it lists a bunch of suggestions.
I'm a really big fan of The Matrix and recently watched Johnny Mnemonic (Keanu Reeves, Dolph Lundgren) for the first time. If someone really, truly loves the themes of The Matrix, I recommend they give it a shot. I think it's even aged pretty well aside from the CGI which is solidly mid-90s style. It wouldn't be until The Titanic and The Matrix that CGI really showed what was possible at scale and with vastly different budgets and I'd love to see Johnny Mnemonic get a modern remake starring Keanu and a bigger budget.
Interstellar is often compared to the 1997 film Contact, based on a novel written by Carl Sagan. It also features Matthew McConaughey, but Jodie Foster is really the star of the film. It's worth a watch for something delivering a bit more depth (and less CGI) than Interstellar. I'm also a Jodie Foster fan in general and recommend her films.
There's also a film called Arrival (2016) that is kind of a generic sci-fi "first contact" kind of thing, but has decent reviews. It has a couple clever ideas in it but doesn't really deliver on anything that older films haven't done better. If one were to watch that, I would say watch that before Contact just to get it out of the way.
It doesn't really fit in with the other, out there future/distopic/absurd genres, but I always recommend In Bruges to anyone who is looking for a new movie. I suggest skipping the trailer and just diving in. If you like dark humor and absurdism, it's a great flick.
Total Recall(1990) - a mind bending sci fi thriller where reality isn't what it seems... or is it? The story is fantastic, you just have to forgive the campy 90s special effects. It's loosely based on a Phillip K Dick story, the same author who inspired Minority Report & Blade Runner.
Blade Runner (1982) - for gods sake, see the original first. The filmography is unbelievable, and the special effects still holds up today. The story is fantastic, and you will leave wondering what it means to be human, which is such a pertinent question in todays age.
A Clockwork Orange (1971) - another classic mind bending sci fi that can still go toe to toe with anything produced today. This is one more philosophical and though provoking, and darker, with a bit of the old ultra violence. When Anthony Burgess wrote the original book, he first wrote it in the common vernacular of the day, then rewrote and replaced that with made up futuristic slang. When Stanley Kubrik directed the movie, he fabricated wildly futuristic furniture also from scratch. The result is unlike anything you have ever seen or heard.
Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) - classic 80's sci fi where time traveling robots make you question reality (the special effects in the first are dated, but it's good to watch them in sequence, as they build on each other.)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) - not sci fi, but it blends gravity-defying fight scenes with a smidge of philosophy, similar to the first (and only) Matrix.
Predestination (2014) - a lesser known Australian sci fi, featuring time manipulation and mind-boggling plot twists.
Brazil (1985) - a bizarre dystopian universe, it's like 1984 met Monty Python, which makes sense, as this is from the mind of Terry Gilliam.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1988) - a bizarre drug fueled hallucination, again by Terry Gilliam, based on the drug fueled hallucination of a book written by Hunter S. Thompson.