In my dreams, I would hope this would spark off a Stanley Kubrick or James Cameron appreciation thread. It won't. Oh well.
Well, anyway, Fight Club, Zodiac and Se7en are three of my favourite films of all-time. I should probably create a formal list of some sort, but I'd say they were all pretty much top twenty.
Fight Club is, really, Fincher's masterpiece. After initially getting a kicking from the critics (for apparently being too morbid - what sort of fucking criticism is that?) it's jump right up on best movie lists. I'm pretty sure it's high up on the IMDB best movie list. It' just pulled off so well, I just can't describe why it's so good without coming of as an obnoxious elitist. You've seen it. It's good, right?
Se7en is pretty much the only film to ever emotionally effect me. Unlike the cheap gore of, say, Saw, this movie genuinely shocked me. Victor the paedophile awakening is the only scene in movie history (aside from several in Jaws - sharks put the shits up me) that I just do not want to watch, it makes me that uncomfortable.
Some say Zodiac is an example of Fincher growing up - and Benjamin Button a continuation of this - but I disagree. I really, really love this movie. I've got the special edition that looks like an envelope. Again, I find it hard to describe why it's actually good. Some might say it's a retread of Se7en, but it really, really isn't.
Oh, and Alien 3 (or Alien Cubed) is criminally underrated, Panic Room is an above average thriller with beautiful cinematography and I've never seen The Game. I hear it's shit. Don't tell anyone.
But yeah, Fincher is the master of digital effects - yes, he unzips his fly and pisses all over Michael "I WANT METAL AND SPARKS AND EXPLOSIONS AND SHIA LA BEEFY!" Bay. The trick is to use it on a small scale, for aging actors, creating streets and spinning around coffee containers. His camera work is so brilliant that even an idiot like me can appreciate it and the soundtracks to his movies are awesome. This over a murder scene is just brilliant:
[youtube]xqhxK_g9mrA[/youtube]
It's like most directors are just like "Well, this scene is meant to be sad, so i want that song - dammit what's it called!? That's it! "Sad piano music" - that's the one."
I could go on for hours but this is just a messy stream of consciousness as it is. And I've used the word "just" way too much.
