DVD club?

[Rapscallion]

A colleague wants to set up a DVD club at work - interested participants are to provide a DVD each and it gets rotated around people in the club. So far, so good, right? We each provide a one-line review of the film in question, then pass it on to the next person.

The latest email about this included the majestic quote...

> *Any genre is acceptable, but don't try and upset people on purpose, so no manga porn or snuff films!

The colleague across the desk from me looked up when he read this and asked aloud if it had been aimed at him.

"I think she saw the gleam in my eye," I told him, but we're both down by about ninety percent of our choices for lending out...

Hmm - the full boxed set of Lord of the Rings? Actually, this being a politically correct company, Zulu (the Michael Caine version) would be pretty funny.

Any suggestions?

Rapscallion

[Byronthebanker]

I lend out my copies of Office Space and Boiler Room all the time at work. Makes people laugh harder at the red Swingline stapler on my desk.

[Gurndigarn]

The Gods Must Be Crazy.
Barbarella.
Or, of course, Plan 9 From Outer Space, almost starring Bella Lugosi.

(Just about anything that has seen MST3K treatment would be good. Bonus points if you pass around the MST version.)

[Jayn_Newell]

I notice that manga porn is prohibited but no mention of anime porn......:angel:

[Rapscallion]

Hmm - just wondering how Clerks would be received? I suspect the slew of creative words used by Jay wouldn't go down a treat...

Maybe I'll play it safe with Shrek.

Rapscallion

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Hmm - just wondering how Clerks would be received? I suspect the slew of creative words used by Jay wouldn't go down a treat...

Maybe I'll play it safe with Shrek.

Rapscallion

If you have coworkers who aren't fond of a lot of "colorful" language, that may not be a safe choice.

It's not also safe to take on a family vacation either, as I discovered last summer. But then, as far as language goes, it wasn't any worse than "South Park.":p

Has anyone got any of the Star Wars films? That might go over pretty well.

[NightAngel]

All I can think is, "Wow, you guys are really trusting with your DVDs."

I see the condition people return DVDs in. Don't expect them to ever play again once they've been passed around.
:(

Okay, some mostly unoffensive movie possibilities:

Star Wars
Star Gate
Harry Potter
Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
Pirates of the Carribean
Day After Tomorrow
Bill and Ted
Labrynth
Eight Below
Poseidon
Tomb Raider
The Pacifier
Independence Day
Men In Black

These are all movies my family and I watch over and over- there may be a cuss word or two but not too much. All PG-13 or less.
The ones in bold are some of my 6 year old's faves. I've about got all the Harry Potter's and Star Gate memorized thanks to him. He loves Poseidon and asks me if he can watch, "The boat movie" over and over- but I don't own that one, yet...
Maybe I'll think of more later.

[Becks]

Why not add Clerks, but put a warning on it that it has bad language, so people know in advance?

I'd recommend Con Air, but it also contains adult language...:(

[LostMyMind]

Hmm - just wondering how Clerks would be received?
Why not suggest a "rating system" that you create that each person that watches can add their rating of the movie. Include stuff that folks in the DVD club would be concern about. Since they want a one line review of the movie, why not add a detail rating too maybe something like

_______ stars (1 to 10) __ nudity __ cussing __ sexuality __mullets

You know some folks can't stand mullets ;)

If each person add their "objections" with their rating. Eventually everyone will get an idea of what other folks are looking out for.

[CreepyCarrie]

The Addams Family 1 and 2
Benny and Joon
Big Fish
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Chronicles of Narnia
Clue
Corpse Bride
The Dark Crystal
Dirty Dancing
Donnie Darko
Edward Scissorhands
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Final Destination
Girl Interrupted
Hairspray
Just Like Heaven
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
My Cousin Vinny (lots of strong language though..)
The Notebook
Silent Hill
The Village
Wayne's World

[TNT]

Local Hero -- an older comedy that's brilliant and yet manages to offend no one.

[King BBCB]

Guess it'd be a bad idea to recommend "Saw" or "Porky's." :(

In seriousness, the original "Rocky" remains quite an inspirational film; "Lost in Translation" is wonderful; can't go wrong with "Back to the Future"; and there's always "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory" (remake too, but I prefer the original). If you'd like something even more family-oriented, I'd go with one the Pixar (Toy Story, Monster's Inc., etc.) or Muppet films.

[NightAngel]

I'm going under the assumption we're talking about adults watching but still all PG-13 or less:

Elf
Edward Scissorhands
Nightmare Before Christmas
Princess Bride
Legend
Take The Lead

[Becks]

Pride and Prejudice (BBC/A&E version)...the miniseries. Perfect for all the Colin Firth fans out there. :p

[digilight]

You can never go wrong with Oceans 11, the original with the rat pack, not the crappy remake. I would also tend to agree with a rating system but also include drug use as one of the ratings. Some people may not be offended, but there are always folk who would blow a gasket watching something like Half Baked or Blow.

[Becks]

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr...how come the movies I like contain bad language?

As another addition to the "good, but has adult language" category, I'll also add American History X.

[Rapscallion]

Had some inspiration last night.

Odysseus. I have a copy of the movie made in about '95 or so. It's got plenty of violence, and Odysseus makes whoopie all over the Mediterranean as he makes his way home. Best of all, I can claim it's cultural!

Thanks for the other suggestions, folks. I may have to drop another DVD into the pile, so I'm going to be looking at those ideas as well.

Rapscallion

[NightAngel]

Odysseus. I have a copy of the movie made in about '95 or so.

You mean The Odyssey with Armand Assante? I love it.
Sadly I haven't known too many people, other than myself, who could sit through it all in one go. Yet, somehow the can sit through LOTR. Go figure... :lol:

[Banrion]

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr...how come the movies I like contain bad language?

As another addition to the "good, but has adult language" category, I'll also add American History X.

With American History X, I think language is going to be the least of anyone's worries. Any movie with a curbing, is a movie you do not give out at work. While I do enjoy this movie, it is not one I would recomment lightly to anyone.

[Imogene]

Any genre is acceptable, but don't try and upset people on purpose, so no manga porn or snuff films!
No manga? Makes sense, no books in a DVD club.

And, I would seriously try to add in any of Miyazaki's films.
Howl's Moving Castle
Spirited Away
Princess Mononoke
Kiki's Delivery Service
Castle in the Sky
Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind (not one of my favorites, but definitely a good movie)
Porco Rosso

All of those are anime, by the way, not Manga.
A few movies I love and repeatedly get passed over by the public:
Simone (Way too many layers to delve into in this movie, but I've shown it to a handful of people who have all enjoyed it, even though they had their heart set against it from the get go)
Moulin Rouge (very sad movie)
Brokedown Palace (That ending will stay with you throughout your life *shivers* Not disturbing, no killing, a little blood, a lot of betrayal)

[Ringtail Z28]

How about Japanese horror flicks?
Audition
Ju On
Ichi the Killer

[CaroPhoenix]

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr...how come the movies I like contain bad language?

As another addition to the "good, but has adult language" category, I'll also add American History X.


Yeah I understand perfectly BeckySunshine! 2 of my favorite films are:

1. Fight Club - Ed Norton is soooo hot! and Brad Pitt is decent. :p
2. Boondock Saints - Sean Patrick Flannery - Need I say more? Plus, how can you not love a film with Ron Jeremy in it?

As for family-oriented film types, I just loooove the 1958 film "Auntie Mame" starring Rosalind Russell. (It has one of my favorite quotes in it), I also love "Miracle on 34th Street" (Christmas, yes, I know, but I looooove Natalie Wod).

[Primer]

In seriousness, the original "Rocky" remains quite an inspirational film

Now why was my first thought Rocky Horror Picture Show? Maybe because it's the only "Rocky" movie I've seen...?:lol:

[Becks]

Here's a few others...

Rudy
The Lion King

and if people are in the mood for mindless fun in musicals...
Evita
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

[King BBCB]

Now why was my first thought Rocky Horror Picture Show? Maybe because it's the only "Rocky" movie I've seen...?:lol:

Well, hey, that's certainly inspirational, in an entirely different way. It works well with the last poster's suggestion for musicals, too!

("Rent" and "Fame" were good, while we're at it.)

[AFpheonix]

I love Studio Jibli films!

Oldies:
The Court Jester
Ben-Hur
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad World
Any of the Pink Panther flicks


Movies that will make your coworkers wonder what you smoke in your free time:
Original 60's Batman with Adam West
Ghost In The Shell
Labyrinth
Mitchell
Broken Saints (ok, not really a movie, it's a bizaare animated series from Canada, but there's a lot of language and adult themes...)

[stormtreader]

How about:

The fifth element
Deep blue sea

or some standup comedy dvds?
Dylan Morans "Monster" is very good, and so is Bill Bailey.

You could even offer the Blackadder boxset, although you might not be able to prise it out of their hands ;)

[MadMike]

Apparently there's one of these going around at my job. I was looking around on the network for a certain document, when I stumbled upon their list. It listed all the participants, and all the movies they had, and who was currently borrowing what.

Then the movies were listed again by category. Action, Horror, Comedy, etc. Then there was a category called "Wuss", which was mostly chick flicks. :roll:

[Rapscallion]

You mean The Odyssey with Armand Assante? I love it.

I still have to dig it out, but the name rings a bell.


Any genre is acceptable, but don't try and upset people on purpose, so no manga porn or snuff films!
No manga? Makes sense, no books in a DVD club.

All of those are anime, by the way, not Manga.


I know the difference, and I know the difference between Ecchi (don't ask), Hentai (really don't ask), and Chan (large heads on childs' bodies) style. However, the originator of this idea doesn't.

Rapscallion

[toolbert]

How about Japanese horror flicks?
Audition
Ju On
Ichi the Killer

Why don't you just add all of the other Takashi Miike's films :lol:. Talk about violence to the Nth degree. Though, I would add any of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's films to that list. They're creepy without being overtly violent.

Cure
Charisma
Kairo (remade as Pulse)
Doppleganger

For american movies I'd add:

Dodgeball (still cracks me up)
Jarhead
Serenity (Why hasn't someone added this :P)
The Last Samurai (Worth it to just see Ken Watanabe)

[Dreamstalker]

I know the difference between Ecchi (don't ask), Hentai (really don't ask), and Chan (large heads on childs' bodies) style. However, the originator of this idea doesn't.

I was under the impression that Ecchi and Hentai were the same thing ("Ecchi" is the letter H which is used to denote Hentai). The etymology of "hentai" is all kinds of screwed up.

[Becks]

How about Japanese horror flicks?
Audition
Ju On
Ichi the Killer

My fiance owns the first and third ones listed. My mistake was accidentally walking into the room at various times while he was watching.

Just a few seconds of Audition, especially, gave me bad dreams that night. :(

[Ringtail Z28]

My fiance owns the first and third ones listed. My mistake was accidentally walking into the room at various times while he was watching.

Just a few seconds of Audition, especially, gave me bad dreams that night. :(

I can't imagine why you'd have bad dreams from that movie. Was it the subtitles? I know they take a bit of getting used to. :angel:

[Rapscallion]

I was under the impression that Ecchi and Hentai were the same thing ("Ecchi" is the letter H which is used to denote Hentai). The etymology of "hentai" is all kinds of screwed up.

Well, the way I heard it is that ecchi is just plain old porn, whereas hentai is the tentacle demon stuff that requires a true specialist. That said, I read it on the Internet, so it must be true!

Rapscallion

[Becks]

I can't imagine why you'd have bad dreams from that movie. Was it the subtitles? I know they take a bit of getting used to. :angel:

Yep, subtitles do it to me every time. :shudders:

[Rapscallion]

Just had an email from the person organising this. There are more people than donators, which is probably a result of the Netflix-style services available. This means that a number of people have to submit two, and I'm one of the lucky ones.

I was going through my collection the other day and ended up kicking myself for missing another cultural classic - Roman Polanski's MacBeth.

Oh yes, this should be good.

Rapscallion

[Imogene]

I know the difference, and I know the difference between Ecchi (don't ask), Hentai (really don't ask), and Chan (large heads on childs' bodies) style. However, the originator of this idea doesn't.

And that's why you should just attempt to get away with it, once. Drop a Studio Ghibli film into the mix (just so long as it's not Pom Poko, there's huge raccoon balls in that one as a plot element, in respect to Japanese folklore) If they see that not all 'manga' is children's stuff, they might actually open up to a whole new genre of film.
Or, take it in an entirely different directcion: Throw something in, say, She-Ra, He-Man, some old 80's Cartoons, just to show them the difference between bad animation and decent animation. Tack a note on your choice of series: "You used to watch this when you were younger, don't deny it. Now look at what we watch, and tell me why yours is still better."

[Broomjockey]

Or, take it in an entirely different directcion: Throw something in, say, She-Ra, He-Man, some old 80's Cartoons, just to show them the difference between bad animation and decent animation. Tack a note on your choice of series: "You used to watch this when you were younger, don't deny it. Now look at what we watch, and tell me why yours is still better."

"It gets better! I remember it getting better. Why hasn't it gotten better yet?"

[Imogene]

"It gets better! I remember it getting better. Why hasn't it gotten better yet?"

A friend of mine brought over Jem a few weeks ago, and I freely admit I used to love Jem. However, now that I've had some musical background, I realise just how absolutely awful Jem actually was, not to mention the plot.
However, Animaniacs is still hilarious.

[lordlundar]

Actually, Ecchi is basically softcore, Hentai is hardcore.

[staticradio]

most of my choices might be like :headscratch:, but oh well

East Is East
Jump Tomorrow (funny dramatic comedy...a new take on the guy gets girl ending)
Sideways
Spring Forward (Beatty & Schreiber as park workers who bond in the course of a year)
Clerks
Office Space
Next Stop, Wonderland (I like these romantic comedies better then the commercial tripe)
The Good Girl
Lovely & Amazing
Magnolia (now we know what started Tom on that slippery slope to the nuthouse :D ...j/k)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
The Squid & The Whale
Kicking and Screaming (Olivia D'abo, Chris Eigeman, Josh Hamilton on life after college)

(always state said films have either strong language & sex scenes to the people who don't like said substance...or they could just very well see the rating and disclaimer on the bottom like everyone else ;) )

[Rapscallion]

Well, the exchange is tomorrow. The young lady running the show did say nothing overly upsetting or raunchy, but I notice her submission is Super Troopers (one I have on DVD already). For those who've not seen it, it's pretty near the knuckle.

One other participant came to me and mentioned his approval of my choice of Polanski's MacBeth (the leader of our work's based Amnesty group is getting that one first). He's putting in The Shawshank rebellion.

Someone's putting in the Family Guy Movie, so I'll be looking forward to that when it comes around.

I'm getting something called Nuts in May. Never heard of it before. I'll let you know...

Rapscallion

[Broomjockey]

He's putting in The Shawshank rebellion.

Rapscallion

Is that the sequel to the Shawshank Redemption? ;)

[repsac]

The Longest Day (good, but hard to find)
The Great Escape
Cannonball run 1 & 2. (I laugh, just picturing the sheik)
MASH original movie.
Casino. (Ok, that's a good movie, but I'm not sure how it'd fly)
Con Air
Blow (you'd be pushing it with this. No pun intended.)

[Rapscallion]

Is that the sequel to the Shawshank Redemption? ;)

Pooooossssibly.

I'm just not admitting anything right now.

Rapscallion

[stickycoins]

How about Merlin, with Sam Neill, Martin Short, and Isabella Rossellini? It's a great movie, no language, PG13. It's hard to find too, but worth watching. One of my favorites.

[Rapscallion]

I prefer Excalibur, myself. No language, some horizontal hula, but generally a great film with a superbly over-acted Merlin.

Must remember that for next time :D

Rapscallion