Favourite sub-genre?

[mrbasehart]

The question is simple enough - What's your favourite sub-genre?

I think we could probably expand the question a little further and ask, "what kinds of things do you really enjoy seeing in a particular movie?"

To make it interesting, it'd be nice to hear an explanation as to why. 

[dalem]

Generally speaking, I'm an escapist.  I have enjoyed many dramas that I've been shown, but I will almost never select one naturally. I can watch normal people do normal things to each other in normal ways, some good, some bad, every day of my life.  I can't fight bad guys, fly spaceships, quip my way through hardship, etc.  I'd say scifi/space opera is my favorite kind of movie escapism, but I wonder what my stack of movies would have to say about that?

-dale

[Darth Geek]

Generally speaking, I'm an escapist.  I have enjoyed many dramas that I've been shown, but I will almost never select one naturally. I can watch normal people do normal things to each other in normal ways, some good, some bad, every day of my life.  I can't fight bad guys, fly spaceships, quip my way through hardship, etc.  I'd say scifi/space opera is my favorite kind of movie escapism, but I wonder what my stack of movies would have to say about that?

-dale

Yeah, I'm an "escapist" too. In general, movies need to have some form of fantasy element, whether it's monsters, people with powers, sci-fi, something like that. I have enjoyed a few dramas if they are really well made, but most of the time I just don't care about the problems of regular people and that isn't why I go to see the movies. Most important, if I am watching a horror movie, if the killer is a human being (without powers) I DO NOT CARE!

[mrbasehart]

Most important, if I am watching a horror movie, if the killer is a human being (without powers) I DO NOT CARE!

Why's that?

[Darth Geek]

Most important, if I am watching a horror movie, if the killer is a human being (without powers) I DO NOT CARE!

Why's that?

That kind of thing is scary when you read about it in the paper. Not in the movies. People kill others in real life, there is no escapism to it.

[goflyblind]

sci-fi comedy (i know these are half teevee, not movies, but: à la red dwarf, firefly, back to the future, spaceballs, etc.). i think it comes down to simply wanting to laugh and see fancy tech/space stuff at the same time.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

The space vampire subgenre.

I'll admit it's not as varied as it could be, but it's best offering, "Lifeforce", is as good an example as you could wish for of a deconstructionist approach to the false dichotomy of "bad" movies and "good" movies.

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

The space vampire subgenre.

I'll admit it's not as varied as it could be, but it's best offering, "Lifeforce", is as good an example as you could wish for of a deconstructionist approach to the false dichotomy of "bad" movies and "good" movies.

Queen of Blood is another good example.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

The space vampire subgenre.

I'll admit it's not as varied as it could be, but it's best offering, "Lifeforce", is as good an example as you could wish for of a deconstructionist approach to the false dichotomy of "bad" movies and "good" movies.

Queen of Blood is another good example.

I want to see that so bad. T_T Do you know where I can find a copy? =o Is it out on DVD? o_o I've watched the trailer several times and I'm hooked.

[Elijah Baley]

If this were literature, I'd have a pat answer without so much as blinking: Post-apocalyptic, including Dystopian. Unfortunately, there are only three films in this sub-genre that even match the cerebral nature of the best end-of-world scenarios in literature: On the Beach, Children of Men and, maybe, The Postman. Dr. Strangelove is a stretch for that subgenre. Everything else is Mad Max mindless action or contrived time travel.

In movies, I love films like Dr. Strangelove, the deepest dark comedy or bitterest satire. Brazil and In Bruges also fit in nicely. This is a bit of a niche, though, and there are few films that can pull this off. More broadly, I love films with a wry sense of humor, and, in addition to the subgenre above, this includes: The Fifth Element, Stranger than Fiction, American Psycho, and pretty much anything ever attached to Hitchcock, Capra or Burton. It's nice if it's life-affirming, but not the cheesy stuff.

Any thoughts? Even better, any recommendations?

[mrbasehart]

If this were literature, I'd have a pat answer without so much as blinking: Post-apocalyptic, including Dystopian. Unfortunately, there are only three films in this sub-genre that even match the cerebral nature of the best end-of-world scenarios in literature: On the Beach, Children of Men and, maybe, The Postman. Dr. Strangelove is a stretch for that subgenre. Everything else is Mad Max mindless action or contrived time travel.

In movies, I love films like Dr. Strangelove, the deepest dark comedy or bitterest satire. Brazil and In Bruges also fit in nicely. This is a bit of a niche, though, and there are few films that can pull this off. More broadly, I love films with a wry sense of humor, and, in addition to the subgenre above, this includes: The Fifth Element, Stranger than Fiction, American Psycho, and pretty much anything ever attached to Hitchcock, Capra or Burton. It's nice if it's life-affirming, but not the cheesy stuff.

Any thoughts? Even better, any recommendations?

I think The Quiet Earth is a pretty good post-apocalyptic movie.  It falls apart in the last third, but it's really quite excellent until then. 

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

The space vampire subgenre.

I'll admit it's not as varied as it could be, but it's best offering, "Lifeforce", is as good an example as you could wish for of a deconstructionist approach to the false dichotomy of "bad" movies and "good" movies.

Queen of Blood is another good example.

I want to see that so bad. T_T Do you know where I can find a copy? =o Is it out on DVD? o_o I've watched the trailer several times and I'm hooked.

I got a "gray market" copy a couple years ago thru eBay but they're gone...

There's this place has it too....

[Darth Geek]

Do Joe Dante movies count as their own genre?

[Rattrap007]

I like the supernatural killer horror, the post apocalyptic sci-fi, the comedy played straight (Naked Gun, Airplane), and the occasional end of the world/disaster movie (Towering Inferno, Poseidon Adventure, etc)

[Doctor Who?]

I like ham subs the best with turkey coming in a close second.