Would an ape make a human doll that talked?
What is a movie genre?I enjoy comedies, but some of my favorite movies fall into a peculiar genre that I can easier describe than label.
I really enjoy movies where I find myself (typically at the end) saying, "Hmm. I didn't see that coming" or "Hey, that's an interesting thought" or "I'm gonna have to see that again to soak up the fullness of that."
The best of these can leave me wondering "What if?" for quite some time afterward. The films tend to have a message and are designed more for you to think that to merely be entertained, not that thinking isn't entertaining, mind you.
I've heard these films referred to as being "transcendent," but I would say they have a high slooge quotient, with all the accolades inherent therein.
To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, I share with you some of my favorite movies that I think have a high slooge quotient.
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- The Butterfly Effect (director's cut, not the sloogey version)
- City of Angels
- Crash
- The Dead Zone
- The Devil's Advocate
- Dreamscape
- The Family Man
- The Forgotten
- Flatliners
- Groundhog Day
- I, Robot
- It's a Wonderful Life
- The Matrix
- Minority Report
- One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
- The Philadelphia Experiment
- Planet of the Apes
- Premonition
- The Prestige
- The Recruit
- Somewhere in Time
- Stranger than Fiction
- The Usual Suspects
- Vanilla Sky
N.B. These are not typically great "date movies," and my wife is often apathetic, underwhelmed, or whipped by movies with a high slooge quotient. Also, some of these movies are "one-timers," since knowing the ending can ruin the rising action the 2nd time through.
Any others in that "genre," perhaps that I've yet to see?
posted by GUNNY @ 01:12
11 comments
11 Comments:
Memento
Sixth Sense
Title of blog from the Planet of the Apes. One of my favorites, and not the sloogey Mark Wahlberg version.
No love for M. Night Shyamalan?
'The Sixth Sense' / 'The Village'
'It's a Wonderful Life' - I know the ending, seen it a couple dozen times at least, and it still gets me every time. "Atta'boy, Clarence, atta'boy!"
Sixth Sense.
The Village isn't bad either, but after those two and Signs, Shamalayan shoulda taken up something else.
He's got one coming out this summer. Hopefully it will make up for Lady in the Water.
Excuse my ignorance, but this Canadian boy has never heard the term "slooge." Please fill me in.
The Thirteenth Floor. eXistenZ.
For those two, you can kind of anticipate the ending now; but they came out in 1999 (the same year as "The Matrix") before the whole "question the nature of reality" plot had become cliche.
But before there was "The Matrix", there was "Dark City"....
And what's up with blowing off "Donnie Darko"?
For a truly mind-bending time travel film, check out "Primer". It was filmed in Dallas, some on the UTD campus. Be advised however: "Primer" *must* be watched at least twice, preferably three times before you really begin to appreciate what's going on (fortunately, it's fairly short).
Oh, yeah. "Jacob's Ladder"
12 Monkeys. Brazil. Gattaca.
While I am not entirely sure of what "Slooge" means... I like you list. My beloved wife also smirks at my choice of favorite movies... but I am willing to watch movies over, and over, and over, and over again. I once watched Back to the Future for two and a half days.
The risk of this post is a possible let-down for us when we see any of the recommended movies for the first time.
If I know the ending is going to be a doozy, I find myself trying to figure it out (and sometimes I do).
It's more fun to be expecting one thing, then get blind-sided by the surprise.
-Sean,
Trust me, ignorance to the word "slooge" is not limited to just "Canadians."
-Eric and others,
Identity is good too.
The Others is good too.
The Truman Show!
The spiritual connotations in this movie are incredible...
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