You can remove any film from your memory. What do you pick and why?
Some people want to be able to watch a movie "for the first time" all over again. Others want to forget a rubbish one. If you could remove just one movie from your memory, which would it be?
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Ayy
Meta
That's the one I was thinking
The Matrix. Blew my fucking mind the first time I saw it. It's awesome on repeat viewings, but that first watch is magical.
Could you imagine forgetting The Matrix, but not the sequels?
Wait, is this a good genie wish or an evil genie wish? I feel like the spirit of the wish would make me forget sequels to any movie I specify or that'd just make it impossible to properly forget.
I've still never seen it. I'm 31
I am not entirely sure how this turn of events has occured
Memento. But first I'd tattoo "Don't trust 'Memento'" on my stomach.
The Mark Wahlberg's planet of the apes.
It featured Helen Bonham Carter in full monkey makeup.
It awoke something inside of me that I wish had remained sleeping.
Ape* makeup. Not monkey. Ape. Have you forgotten the scene in which Mark Wahlberg's character called them monkeys and one of them got on him and corrected him?
Grave of the Fireflies is very special in that it is peerless work of cinematic art and yet I cannot in good conscience recommend that anyone watch it.
It's just so bleak and sad.
With that in mind, may I recommend the Korean film Snowy Road?
Dunkirk comes close but not quite as sad as GotF
May I recommend Snowy Road?
I have similar feelings with The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.
TTotPK had that one neat scene where she's fleeing the party, and the art got all choppy. That was cool.
Ending was a huge letdown though.
Ironically…Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
I don’t remember anything about it. I saw it after chugging a bottle of Robitussin DM and rented it thinking “Oh, Jim Carey, this’ll be hysterical”.
It wasn’t.
Who hates that movie? I mean if you don't like indie romcoms... It's definitely not your standard Jim Carey flick.
It’s probably a great movie. But it’s a terrible film to watch when you’re robotripping and expecting a comedy.
But it’s the perfect movie to forget… because you’ll just up watching again anyway.
Matrix 4
for a long time, I was like if I had a wish, it would be to see the Matrix movies like the very first time.
after seeing the 4th, my wish is to clear Matrix 4 out of my mind.
There are two ways to view The Matrix 4.
When I first watched it I hated the fuck out of it.
After thinking about it, I realised its genius; it is immune from criticism. The movie is shit on purpose.
Don't think of the movie as a Matrix sequel - because it isn't. Lana didn't want to make this movie (as explicitly stated in the first act), but she also didn't want anyone else to touch it.
So, she permanently and deliberately sabotaged her legacy. There is no ambiguous ending; she executed her baby in the messiest way possible and I respect the fuck out of her for it.
Matrix 4 felt like a direct-to-video sequel.
It more or less was to be honest.
If I remember correctly the wachowskis were about to lose some rights to Warner Bros or Warner had to remake to not lose rights or so.
Therefore the one Wachowski sister did that one... That's similar to a lot of the direct to dvd sequels that are done by disney. They remain to hold the rights.
(Please correct me if I am wrong)
Fucking Elf. I hate that fucking movie and yet due to the people I was hanging out with at the time somehow ended up seeing it 5 times. Didn't like it the first time, spent the whole time annoyed the second, don't know why or how I tolerated it 3 more times, but I'm never watching that shitty fucking movie ever again and wish I could bleach it the fuck out of my skull.
You watched elf 5 times? I'm sorry but I'm laughing here, you dumbass lol
Yeah that movie is all kinds of godawful
Dumbass is almost too nice lol. I was really wanting to hang out with people at the time. I stopped hanging out with them once I couldn't tolerate it anymore. Decided being alone was more fun.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Fight Club as a thing to rewatch with no memory that would be amazing.
For a film I’d want to erase cause it was awful I’d go with the last Jedi I genuinely hated that film. Or Star Trek into darkness hated that also.
People hated TFA for all of the wrong reasons (and several REALLY wrong reasons), but it was actually a decent and competent action/adventure movie. Albeit not a great Star Wars movie, but pretty decent. TLJ was hot garbage. I didn't even watch TRoS. Still haven't.
I remember going to see TLJ at Leicester Square on opening night me and my brother and sister all paid silly money relative to other cinemas and I just came out of it going I don’t know if I even like this while my brother was raving about how it was the best thing he’s seen in years lol
I think he got caught up in the moment.
Honestly it’s also like when I saw Star Trek 09 with a friend at the BFI imax and I came out of it with him having had the time of his life and the only positive thing I could say was “ I liked the music “
Meet the Feebles
My parents thought it was the muppets. I watched it when I was 6.
I still get Vietnam flashbacks.
oh my God
I'd never heard of it so I looked up the synopsis on Wikipedia and holy **** I cannot believe the sheer volume of horrible things happening. every fucking line I was going "dear Lord, it gets worse???" I cannot imagine seeing this as a child. how did your parents not realize how fucked up it was and turn it off in the first couple minutes? I am astounded something like this even exists, what could possibly be the audience for this? people with a craving to just watch the world burn??? I simply do not understand. truely, you are most deserving of being at the top of this thread. if there were only one forget-a-movie pill made for all the world to share, I would give it to you, no question. my condolences for your murdered childhood innocence after watching that. holy fuck.
Lol thank you for your sympathies. I don't know the exact conditions for how my parents came into possession of this movie, but I was left to view it in its entirety without interruption. I appreciate the brains capacity to repress traumatic events - I only remember bits and pieces. Upon watching it as an adult, I was shocked to realise it was much worse than I remember.
Hello fellow Feebles watcher. I was about 12 when my parents left me home with this lovely "kids classic" to amuse myself.
I'm sure this movie is to blame for a lot of my... quirks....
Kids classic is right!
That's why I donated copies of it to every child care centre in a fifty mile radius.
The first one that comes time mind is the one I’ve watched the most times and pretty much know by heart: The Princess Bride.
That said, I wonder how much of my love for the movie is nostalgia. Maybe it would ruin it for me. But it would be interesting to find out.
"You got money?"
"Sixty five."
"Psh... I never work for so little. Except once! And that was a very noble cause."
Probably the ring +/- the adjacent films. Absolutely fucked me up for most of my childhood where I had issues falling asleep, looking under covers, etc. Not as bad now but certain things will trigger me still and it takes a few days to get back to normal.
The ring is probably my all time favourite movie just because it fucked me up so much. Love it when a movie makes me question if there really are monsters lurking in the darkness.
The closet scene at the start fucked me up pretty good.
I was reading the comments and realized that most people would want to forget a good movie so you can enjoy it again for the first time. But the first thing my negative ass thought of is "well I really wish I could remove the movie Tusk from my mind".
Shit, same tho. They brought him a fucking fish at the end. What. The. Fuck.
The Truman Show fucked me up bad as a kid
Fucking Serbian Film. And eff your post for reminding my stupid brain that that film exists. /s
Fucking trash movie. Not even shocking. Just complete garbage.
So tough. Three choices:
Enter the Void
Not4Sale - TV Sheriff and the Trailbuddies
Freddie Got Fingered
All three are the most incredible masterpieces I’ve watched for the first time while on LSD.
I think I’d go with Enter the Void.
Star Wars Christmas Special
Probably something like An American Tail so I could enjoy it for the first time again after randomly stumbling upon it on my external hard drive.
The English Patient. And I want my 14 hours back. (i know it wasn't 14 hours but it felt that way)
looks at comments Really? No Requiem for a Dream? Eff that movie.
Ayyy…that’s the film that came to mind straight away of one I’d love to forget. Such a messed up story.
For those that haven’t seen it, the film is technically excellent. Nothing wrong at all there. The tale it tells is quite unnerving.
I'd lobby to show that movie to every middle school to scare the shit out of them, it is so freakin good. It should scare you.
Yup. No waivers!
The Book of Eli.
THAT THRILL throughout the whole movie, you feel that there's something odd, but you can't quite put your finger on it, and towards the end you know that something big needs to happen, or else...
And then it happens, but isn't it too late...?
And when you finally know what it is, then it is priceless, you feel like you should have seen it all the time, but you just couldn't.
And then you want to see the whole movie once again, immediately, in order to collect all the little hints and see them right... the whole plot gets a new meaning after you know.
But if I could forget it, and start newly without knowing, that would be soo nice.
Ah please no. SPOILER ALERT
The entire premise that they want "the book" to control people but in the right hands it will save humanity! It's the fucking bible. Really now?
Weak spoiler anyway :-) because this is of little relevance to the things I have told.
The Gift, starring Jason Bateman.
The movie itself is fairly well made, albeit low budget af because it's a Netflix movie. The problem is the plot. ::: spoiler spoiler A kid that Jason Bateman's character used to bully in high school grows up and becomes a terrifying stalker out to get revenge. Jason Bateman's wife at first is terrified, but then leaves him after it's revealed he used to be a bully. Because THAT'S what you should focus on right? You should definitely be concerned with the type of person "someone who wants to kill you" says your husband used to be 30 years ago. Not the "someone who wants to kill you" person. Nope. They're alright. :::
"Whats Eating Gilbert Grape" only reminds me of my ex, so that one
Did your ex eat cake with their hands?
The X-Files: I Want to Believe
I fucking hated this film. The Mulder and Scully parts didn't feel like "oh, they finally got together". They felt like slash fanfic. "we had a kid off screen and it died, feel sad for us. Oh, also, we finally fucked." Stupid, stupid.
Edit - kid was given up for adoption, not died.
I have watched Star Trek: Insurrection three times.
I know this only because three separate friend groups have all confirmed that I watched the movie with them.
I have no recollection of the film whatsoever.
So apparently, that one.
Apparently you already did remove that one.
Insurrection is the worst star trek movie ever, or it used to be until these dumb nu trek "pew pew pew look at the pretty ugly CGI" movies were made. I was impressed they managed to make movies even worse than insurrection
I mean, I've seen ST-V: We Let Shatner Direct This One. ...And I think any movie that forced a 51 year old Nichelle Nichols to perform a fan dance to distract a couple of guards... is gonna be tough to beat for "worst star trek ever"
But that's just like, my opinion, man.
Aside from "beardless Riker" I cannot think of a truly unique or memorable moment from that movie that really stands out from the rest of TNG.
Hell even beardless Riker in a way just harkens back to Season 1.
The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Very meta. Nice.
Star wars sequels
Spirited Away. I'd love to see that movie again for the first time. So beautiful and magical
They're putting on a live stage version of it in London next year, I'm travelling from Australia to see it.
Interstellar. I'd love to watch it for the first time all over again. I was so completely enthralled by it but also so heavily affected by it. It's one of those that stuck with me for weeks. Incredible movie.
What about it and thrilled you so much? I was really disappointed, personally.
I also wanted to say Interstellar.
Just placing my ticket here.
I put interstellar on when I feel like a good blub. Very cathartic.
Total Recall because why not.
Back on Earth you'll be lobotomized!
Is there another one besides the one made in 2008? That fits your description of people walking out and it being French, but clearly that's not where the rating system came from given that ratings started in 1968.
Really? I’ve watched it a few times, top 5 horror movies for me
Gasper Noe's IRREVERSIBLE. It's brilliant and amazing and so very traumatic. But in more ways than I expected.
A Serbian film... That ending I just cant... It is the only movie I actively tell people to avoid. My wife and I like to watch the most mind-fuck movies imaginable, but that one took it a step too far. We literally just stared at the screen for like 5 min after it was over.
I agree. Saw a lot of fucked up films, but "A Serbian Film" I will never watch again. Similar feeling about "Irreversible" and this one endless scene...
2 weeks later
Guess I'll see what all the fuss is about
The Irishman. The fact that I lost 3 hours to that pointless slog is so painful I'd rather just forget all about it. I'll never get those 3 hours back, but at least the regret will be gone.
This movie was so bad and the worst thing about it was how everyone was praising it. Are they all just pretending to like it cuz it’s Scorsese?? It was such a piece of shit movie!
I developed a moderately effective technique to suppress memories to the point where they're functionally removed. Perhaps not coincidentally, I don't know of any movies I want to forget.
“I saw a commercial on late night TV, it said, "Forget everything you know about slipcovers." So I did. And it was a load off my mind. Then the commercial tried to sell me slipcovers, and I didn't know what the hell they were.”
I miss Mitch.
how do you know it works?
I have been reminded of events that I intentionally blocked out, and the resurfacing memories typically come with memories of me intentionally going through the process to forget them. Also, I've had fewer intrusive thoughts of momentary shame from long-distant social faux-pas, which is what I think I usually use it for. I don't think I've ever suppressed the memory of a substantially lengthy piece of media though; I don't think the technique is that effective over reasonable time scales.
For me, it’s to wither watch the movie traaaashed, or rolling.
Fight Club. Really good, but just hasn't ever had the same impact on repeat watches.
With a lot of other "plot twist" movies, you can at least enjoy repeat viewings because you see and enjoy all the signs, and maybe even pick up new ones. But Fight Club, despite being excellent, doesn't really execute the repeat view appeal very well at all imo.
I think a good plot twist movie is worth watching twice, once to experince it blind and another to see the change in motivation for characters knowing the plot twist
I would also pick fight club, even though I completely 100% disagree with your argument.
I had so much fun watching this film multiple times and seeing new stuff.
Granted Fight Club is not a movie that I watched analyizingly in my armchair but rather a movie that I watched beerdrinkingly with my buddies.
But I think that is a better way to watch it anyway.
Donnie Darko
Battlefield Earth.
Knives Out. I love watching every little detail of that movie, now I could do it all over again for the first time and find the same details again with additional rewatches.
I watched it and remember nothing about it because my partner and I had like eight beers and a million shots.
I should watch that again!
For good: 2001: A Space Odyssey. So I could be wowed again by it.
For bad: Dude, Where's My Car
I found 2001 to be confusing af.
And I like that.
and then?
Battle Royale 2 or Waiting 2.
Both of them were sequels to movies I loved that nearly ruined the first one retroactively. Usually I just chock it up to bad movie, but those two were beyond painful to watch.
A Serbian Film
For good: The Usual Suspects
For bad: Swept Away (2002 directed by Guy Ritchie)
Cloud Atlas
Shit was way too intense for the age I saw it at
Crystal Skull for me.. the first 3 Indiana Jones movies are near perfect, but all in different ways.. but the thing that ties them together is action, adventure, a simpl-ish story, some treasure, and they are beautiful. I was so pumped for Crystal Skull.
I was away for work, had a free night and there was a cinema a stroll away. I got a 6 pack of wild turkey and coke and started walking only to find it was about a 90min walk.. I was 6 turkeys deep but this was going to be magical, right? Nope, it was the biggest disappointment of a movie I have ever seen, then I had to walk 90mins back to my hotel reliving it.
Eat Pray Love. My girlfriend asked me to watch it with her and it was shit. Oddly, she didn’t like Wolf Creek.
The Departed, what I would give to watch that movie for the first time again.
I'm an avid movie watcher.
You should have given the reason. Details gentlemen!
Gravity.
Every day, Gravity.
Requiem for a Dream - Especially now, later in life when I see addiction in so many people in my personal life.
It is a powerful movie on the various ways addiction can take hold of your life, even with doctor prescribed medication.
That being said, unless you're into the final scene with Jennifer Connoley, it's not something you'd necessarily want to watch again.
Side note, if you did enjoy it and want a look into mental health issues in a similar lense, among other things, Pi is a great movie by the same guy.
'a star is born'.
triggered back my suicidal tendencies so badly after 2 years.
I'd go with Back To The Future. Cozy and fun.