I've only seen two of his movies (Volver and Bad Education), and I absolutely loved them both. Tallk To Her is sitting on my desk, and I'll probably watch it tonight.

Anyways, his stories are deeply interesting, he has a distinct style, the dialogue is great, he thrives on controversial themes, and his films are pretty damn sexy.

I'm sold as a huge fan of his after only 2 films. What other of his movies do you guys recommend? Thoughts? Anything?

Next to David Gordon Green, he is probably the single greatest consistently working (more than one film every couple of years) filmmaker today. His three most recent films are all total and complete masterworks, and probably his three best films.

You really can't go wrong with any of his work, and that is the truth. It's sort of pointless for me to give you a rundown of his best movies, because they're all great. Seriously.

Anything and everything. People know how I feel about Almodovar.


Keep working your way back....

Rank these from good to bad, since Netflix doesn't have the two I'm most interested in:

Dark Habits
The Flower of My Secret
Live Flesh
What Have I Done to Deserve This?

Haven't seen Dark Habits. Nooo idea on it.

IMO,

1. Live Flesh - A
2. What Have I Done to Deserve This? - B+
3. The Flower of My Secret - B/B+

I really like all of them, but Flower is probably the least remarkable of the bunch. Go for Live Flesh, which I really like, or What Have I Done to get a taste of his older style. Flower is good, but not nearly as impressive.

Everyone knows I wasn't too fond of Bad Education, I'll still check out Volver when it hits DVD.

All About My Nother is my personal favorite.

But yeah he has been making consitently great films for the past 6-7 years now. Although I actually didn't enjoy Talk to Her as much as I wanted to. It's been probably over 2 years since I first saw it now, so I guess it's right about time to re-watch it to see if I change my mind. It might have just been my mood the first time I saw it.

I watched Talk to Her yesterday... I thought it was really good, but the characterization of Benigno bothered me. I felt a tinge of sympathy, and yet he was clearly a rapist. Eh. Still, really enjoyed it, the more I think about it, the more I like it. I can't wait to see Volver. (the only other Almodovar film I've seen is Bad Education, which I loved.)

*edit* Jeez, why does it seem like all of his movies are out of stock, except for the box set with all his films? I'd really want to buy Bad Education... Meh.

Why are all his films so damn good?...just watched "All About My Mother" and "Talk To Her."

Both great, but I was a bit bored during parts of "Talk To Her."

So far on the Almodovar films:

A+
Bad Education
All About My Mother

A
Volver
Talk To Her

You can buy Bad Education from Netflix for 5.99.

Just watched Talk to Her again and I wasn't as impressed... I'm lingering around a B+ or an A-. It left me... cold, I suppose. I have to think about it...

Live Flesh is coming in the mail. Woo.

Haha, that's weird. I did just that a week ago. Haven't rewatched it yet.

I actually got Volver for my birthday. I'm pleased that I did, though, since I loved it.
I'll... most likely watch the rest of his work during Summer break. I'm not the biggest fan, but I guess I'll consider myself one.

Had a bit of an Almodovar fest this weekend (along with a few Studio Ghibli's - bad weather is good for something )

So far i'd rank what i've seen:

Volver A
Bad Education A
All About My Mother A-
Talk to Her B

Talk to Her just didn't....well... talk to me. I don't know, maybe i just didn't get it. Excellent imagery in parts though.

I can't think of any other film maker who forces you to feel emotion like you feel while watching his films, it's been one hell of a fucked up weekends viewing, but well worth it.

I may even get through another before the night's out. I have three more almodovar's to watch

Just saw Live Flesh, and while it's not classic Almodovar, his presence is still there.
Very good.
A-

I've seen Bad Education, All about My Mother, Volver and parts of Talk to Her. Didn't like anything of it. Certainly not my kind of a director.

It kills me to see you come into these threads with your negativity. If you loved them, I could love you... but alas...

I understand.

Well, I'm honest about it. Would not be fulfilling if everyone loved him...good to have two sides. I really gave him a chance, three times. Just didn't work.

The Doctor just rose a lot of spots in my ranking of favorite posters.

I've seen two...

Loved one (Volver).
Hated the other (All About My Mother).

I don't understand how anyone, let alone 2 people, could possibly hate All About My Mother.

Perhaps it means it's time to revise your assessment...

No thanks...I trust my own opinion over "Fantasic Four 2 = 12 out of 5" bradley witherberry's.

Just saw "What Have I Done To Deserve This" (1984)
Almodovar wasn't as confident in his abilities at this time. He sets up his signature characters - a mother of 2 who's addicted to prescription drugs and best friends with a prostitute, her young son who sleeps with middle-aged men, and a senile grandmother who collects sticks and lizards.
The character is great, but he's scared to use them to their full potential. The characters reactions to each other and situations which present themselves are too phlegmatic, but this is used to present an overarching theme of the main character's (and Spain's) tendency to accept hardship, rather than try to improve it or find out why it exists.
It shares some of the same cast with Volver, which is cool seeing them 23 years prior. It also shares some plot-elements. Actually, this movie basically IS Volver, made 2 decades earlier. It proves that Almodovar has always had brilliant ideas, but has become much better at execution in recent years.

B

Well then, how do you reconcile my rating Volver at 7 out 5 with your own opinion?



(BTW, I don't see your review of FF2:ROTSS over in the "Everyone's A Critic" forum -- what was your rating for that film?)

So we liked the same film. We can agree on that one. However, when I see something so shocking as your "Fantastic Four 12 out of 5 OMG OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!11," I can safely say that your opinions are not going to influence mine. I don't fell your 7/5 for Volver gives my liking of it any more credibility. I'm not hatin' though....I'm not saying anything about you as a person/internet character, but rather that I don't trust your film taste.