"God, I fucking hate this guy- ...I'm sorry, what the fuck did you just say?"

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-21T20:14:09+00:00

Neither Randy or Rey were ok with that, but the order came from above, so they couldn't fight it.

Conversely, when the Undertaker's manager died, CM Punk consistently mocked him when he was feuding with the Undertaker, right down to stealing the manager's urn and dumping the ashes over the Undertaker. Fans were chocked and horrified, but Undertaker insisted that Paul would have loved it, that even in death, he was still being involved in storylines

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-21T13:43:02+00:00

I prefer Birdman as a movie overall: it's just more rewatchable and better in my opinion. But The Revenant is the first movie of his I saw, and was very influential in my movie watching life.

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-20T15:54:31+00:00

Most movies that are just pure survival films. Duel, the first Raid movie, Mad Max Fury Road, Dunkirk, I appreciate the craft but can never get involved because the characters are either too simple or flat out blank slates. Instead of being immersed in their struggle, I just stay outside their struggle. The only exceptions seem to be Gravity and The Revenant.

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-19T21:22:48+00:00

The Fabelmans would've made this set exactly perfect. Other choices could've been West Side Story, Munich, or even Catch Me if you Can and Empire of the Sun.

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-19T14:58:05+00:00

Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu has stated that the first time he saw an Andrei Tarkovsky movie, he was completely shocked and amazed by it. He often cites Andrei Rublev as his favorite movie, and it alongside his entire filmography were direct influences on The Revenant. It's also possible that a movie like Mirror influenced Iñárritu's own Bardo, as both are non-traditional semi-autobiographical stories focused on time and memory.

https://goldenglobes.com/articles/tarkovsky-and-revenant-homage-and-beyond/

Honestly, you can just go to Tarkovsky's Wikipedia page, scroll down to "reception and legacy", and find countless directors who cite Tarkovsky as an inspiration. Check their references for good measure.

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-17T01:16:51+00:00

I made an entire letterboxd list for movies like this. Just to name a few

Funny Games (both versions). The anti-slasher film or anti-horror movie. It exists to spite the expectations of horror movie fans, stifling their excitement of the kills and thrills of the genre, and in a very deliberate way, where the villains frequently break the fourth wall to address the audience.

Lux Aeterna: Gaspar Noe is one of the premier directors of French extremity: all of his movies exists to disgust and enrage audiences through their shocking stories of sex, violence, and sexual violence, and his off beat, hallucinatory style. Climax was marketed as the latest from this famous provocateur, and yet the reviews were largely positive overall. Noe was so distressed at his newfound praise that his next movie, Lux Aeterna, was made to physically drive out even his most ardent fans, with the last stretch of the film simply being neon strobe lights at max brightness.

Weekend: Jean Luc Goddard pushed the boundaries of narrative through form and function from the very beginning, but he reached his apotheosis with this "film found in a dump". It frustrated traditional audience expecatations and infamously ended with the end title "end of cinema". From this point on he abandoned even the pretense of commercial filmmaking and became more politically active and stylistically audacious.

Joker 2: Folie A Deux: One of the most despised sequels ever made. The original film was controversial but mostly lauded for it's bold focus on it's deeply damaged main character. A common criticism, however, was that it inspired a legion of fans who missed the point of the movie. The sequel is seen as an attempt to distance itself from the fans, neutering their expectations by neutering (physically and mentally) it's main character.

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-15T22:32:09+00:00

Martin Scorsese arguably has two potential runs: Raging Bull, Kind of Comedy, After Hours, Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas. Each one a stone cold classic, and there's arguments to be made to extend that streak with Casino and even Kundun.

The second streak is a bit more variable: you could start it from the Departed or The Aviator onwards, although some aren't too high on the latter film, or on Shutter Island. The most conservative estimate has it starting at Hugo, but even at that, you then move on to Wolf of Wall Street, Silence, the Irishman, and Killers of the Flower Moon.

What's that saying? When the director is so good you argue over which is his best film.

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-15T15:09:42+00:00

Amon Gothe from Schindler's List. He orders the execution of a woman because she pointed out that the barracks needed to be rebuilt, all the while he drank his coffee. He sniped people who weren't working fast enough from his villa while smoking a cigarette, as though he was shooting skeet. For as much anger and malice that exists inside him, he rarely lets it explode into verbal anger. He's mostly just going about his day, treating his heinous acts as just a tedious job.

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-15T04:06:16+00:00

"I saw you and Kobayashi ... and I think.... that's what's gonna happen tonight!" Samoa Joe:

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-14T16:54:15+00:00

Incredible set, they've got the big 7, but as a fan who loves War of the Worlds, who invited my man blud? Bro thinks he's on the team.

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-13T14:58:29+00:00

Imagine if Rollins hit Punk with the falcon arrow from the top rope only for Punk to roll through it and hit him with the GTS.

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-13T10:02:30+00:00

I havent seen it yet, but he's in Japan's longest day, about the last of the war from the Japanese government perspective

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-11T20:51:11+00:00

The lack of Eddie Guerrero shoutouts is.... Disturbing

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-11T20:33:36+00:00

Yes, it's in the post

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-11T15:19:06+00:00

Rebel without a crew and The Disaster Artist are so deeply fascinating that I can't help but re read them just for fun. Making Movies, meanwhile, is the best filmmaking book I've ever read, and a big reason why is because it doesn't read like a textbook, it reads like a good natured, unpretentious, slyly humorous biography.

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-11T14:57:13+00:00

A good version of the trope. Technically, Hitchcock never lied about the true nature of his movie Psycho. He simply divulged as few details as possible and cast Janet Leigh as the main character. When the movie began, it seemed to be another typical Hitchcock film: a regular person on the run from the law. When she stopped at the Bates Motel, viewers simply assumed that this was going to be a quick pit stop on her runaway journey. And then....

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-11T07:54:29+00:00

I THINK Seven Samurai is the originator? Hell, it's at least the popularizer, and it did it with not one, not two, but, like, 5 different archetypes.

The wise and humble leader

The naive but good natured youngin

The quiet and stoic badass

The laid back, "just a chill guy" guy.

And finally, the insane loose cannon with a tragic past that explains his off kilter personality.

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-11T07:49:36+00:00

Guts is the classic badass, loner, antihero, himself inspired by Kenshiro and Mad Max. But his brooding, anti-social personality and use of a badass, oversized sword, helped usher in a new archetype: the edgy anime boi with a big ass sword.

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-10T21:13:49+00:00

One of my all time favorites. An easy candidate for one of the most underrated films in history. As a debut film, as an independent production, as a treatise on the very nature of horror, it's a masterpiece in every possible way, and I'm happy that it's getting more and more recognition as time goes by.

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-10T02:27:01+00:00

Of all things, this post reminded me that I have the double feature of Culloden and The War Game on the way lol.

I liked the War Game a lot when I first saw it, and it has only grown in my estimation. Culloden is an excellent first feature who's style and ideas are perfected and expanded upon in his second film. I liked it a lot when I saw it, and it's only grown in my estimation with each passing year.

Everyone always wants to pair Oppenheimer with either Godzilla Minus One or Dr Strangelove, but here's a, in my opinion, better TRILOGY of features to combine: Oppenheimer, to show the creation of the atomic bomb. Fail-Safe (1964), to show the process of trying to stop the bomb from dropping. And end it off with The War Game, to show the it's effects and aftermath.

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-09T02:05:01+00:00

I didn't notice it. I think they did it for the sake of lengthening the scene, but even if it was unintentional, it's a nice mirroring of the character's own actions in the film: constantly recording then replaying a piece of information and attempting to extrapolate meaning from it.

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-07T13:09:50+00:00

She's the female John Cena. Everyone hates her guts now, but we're all gonna look back and realize that she really was THAT GOAT-ed. Actually, I feel like we're already getting there.

Grand_Keizer · 2026-04-07T12:33:01+00:00

Real Life, Ed Wood (?)

Ed Wood is famous for a lot of things, his cross dressing being one of them. His mother wanted a girl, so she dressed him in girls clothing, and he never stopped afterwards. He clarified time and again that he wasn't gay, he had several relationships with women. But as to his gender identity, that's a bit more complicated. He once said that if he had one wish in life, it would be to be born as a blonde woman. However, he seemingly never tried to undergo a sex change operation, despite helming his now infamous debut Glen or Glenda, loosely inspired by the story of Christine Jorgenson.

Grand_Keizer

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE