JoBlo

Gordon · #1 10-09-2012, 08:05 PM

So I am interested in fleshing out some ideas on this topic, and if we generate enough interest and good ideas I suppose we could pick our first film(s) this Sunday.

Basically -- I can't speak for the rest of you -- I often find myself watching a really good film which is somewhat esoteric, and think "I would really like to talk about this with somebody that knows movies." I really think it would be great if a lot of us were able to discuss a set film each week, sort of like the "What film did you watch today?" thread except we're all in it together. The discussion would itself be interesting, and the discovery of new films would be interesting.

I'm thinking the process could go something like this: At the beginning of every month we pick four films (one a week) which are what I would call semi-esoteric: excellent films from excellent directors, but ones which at least half of the members will probably not have seen. Things like, for example, Lars von Trier's Europa or Frederick Wiseman's Welfare. I think a good process for choosing the films could be that everyone that wants to puts in a single nomination at the end of the month, and we will pick four and accordingly update this initial post with the schedule, and I'll make a post detailing the week's film each week.

Does this sound appealing to anybody?

magjournal · #2 10-09-2012, 08:23 PM

I can't promise that I'd always be able to watch every film, but I'm up for a movie watching club.

smacaskill · #3 10-09-2012, 08:24 PM

I like the idea. One question - were you thinking we would watch recent films are do you want to see some older films as well like maybe Hitchcock's 'Shadow of a Doubt' or Kubrick's 'The Killing'? I'm not sure how many people here have seen or want to watch films like that so any input would be welcome.

Reckoner · #4 10-09-2012, 08:58 PM

Definitely down for this idea. Discovering great movies and discussing them at length with you guys sounds like a treat.

bigred760 · #5 10-10-2012, 10:41 PM

It's kind of already being done in the MovieFanCentral chatrooms - every Sunday at 7pm.

JCPhoenix · #6 10-10-2012, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigred760

It's kind of already being done in the MovieFanCentral chatrooms - every Sunday at 7pm.

That's actually good to know - never knew there was such a thing going on. Will have to check it out sometime.

But I think this is also an idea worth putting forward because there's a difference in the kind of discussion you can get in real-time (which is great in its own way) versus the meatier discussions you can have when people have time to think and construct their responses before posting. Obviously any kind of discussion or posts should be welcome but this has the potential to get more in-depth, like the Current Movies Talk threads.

I'm interested in this idea but I can't commit to it fully cause it's a busy time for me right now and the last time I tried joining something like this, I had to give up a few movies in. But I would definitely try to drop in, watch and post when I could.

But I do have a suggestion - I think a week could be too short a time period per movie. A few reasons:

1. That movie watching club I frequented had its own forum devoted to this with separate threads per movie allowing people to post past the week deadline. This wouldn't be possible here - with all the discussion consolidated to one thread, we would have to limit discussion to that timeframe or else get into a confusing mess.

2. A decent amount of people post there weekly on films but I think there are less people frequenting this messageboard nowadays which necessitates more time to allow everyone to post if we don't want this idea to die and if we want the type of discussion that differentiates this from the movie watching club in the chatrooms.

3. That forum has access to all the films discussed whereas people here would have to find the films themselves, watch them, and post, all within a week. By the time discussion got started, the next movie discussion would probably be on.

Gordon · #7 10-10-2012, 11:24 PM

JCPhoenix, you bring up some rather astute objections to my plans as formulated. I think we could tackle them in one of two ways: have a thread for each film, or simply have a movie per 2 weeks or movie per month policy. In this case I might suggest a movie per 2 weeks to start off, and if it is a miserable failure we may attempt to shift to a movie per month, starting a new thread each month.

I might also like to suggest that several people are saying something to the extent of "I like the idea but not I will not always have the time or energy to commit." This is not intended as an all-nothing endeavor. There will be times I may go completely silent, and I expect the same out of all of you. This is just supposed to be intended as something that is there; potentiality you can actualize or not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by smacaskill

I like the idea. One question - were you thinking we would watch recent films are do you want to see some older films as well like maybe Hitchcock's 'Shadow of a Doubt' or Kubrick's 'The Killing'? I'm not sure how many people here have seen or want to watch films like that so any input would be welcome.

All kinds of films, mate -- certainly not limited in scope to year, country, genre, etc. I certainly think it would be much more interesting to have a few insightful and intelligent people discussing interesting films than a whole lot of people talking about the newest Hollywood films. We already have that more or less in the Current Movies sections. To the poster who talked about the Sunday night chats, this is also how I would respond: while it is nice to be able to watch cool films and discuss them sort of superficially with a bunch of people, I think the slower and more general approach we could take on the forum would be more interesting.

It's rather pivotal to me that for the most part we would all be experiencing films many of us had not seen before.

bigred760 · #8 10-11-2012, 12:11 AM

I agree. I've participated in the MFC chats and while fun, you have to be quick to get your point, opinion, or statement in before the topic changes. Luckily, I'm a fast typist.

Here in the forums, you can take your time, think about what you want to say, and say as much as you want.

There's definitely room for a discussion thread here in the forums. I'll definitely (try to) participate. (My wife's expecting here in a few weeks. Don't know how available I'll be.)

Scotch · #9 10-11-2012, 01:00 AM

The MFC chats are entertaining. Some really good Schmoes participate. Also the movie selection for the Sunday night chats are usually pretty relevant to what is going on in film that week. If you were looking to start something that would pick some more obscure titles than your idea could definitely work.

QUENTIN · #10 10-11-2012, 09:14 AM

You had me at Europa and Welfare. Sometimes after watching a great movie I'll do a forum search and see it's never been mentioned at all. I'd love to have the opportunity to talk about somewhat obscure or underseen gems here.

So count me in.

Lazy Boy · #11 10-11-2012, 03:31 PM

I'm down for this. Quentin's "50 Greatest Films You've Actually Never Seen" thread is a great example of how obscure titles can create a groundswell of interest, and I rarely ever get into discussions with people but want to. Sounds good!

Mr.HyDe807 · #12 10-11-2012, 04:32 PM

I'm definitely down for this. Most of my Netlfix queue is mostly (from what I've heard and read in the film classes I took in Community College) well known classics and films I've missed throughout the past years. This will give me a chance to watch films that I've never even thought of watching.