u/Sudden_Elephant_1221

If someone had told me I'd enjoy a movie about mortgage-backed securities and the housing market, I probably wouldn't have believed them.

Then The Big Short (2015) had Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell and Brad Pitt explaining a financial crisis for two hours and somehow I was completely into it.

What's a movie that made you interested in a subject you normally couldn't care less about?

Alonzo in Training Day (2001) is a terrible person, but Denzel Washington is so damn charismatic that it's almost impossible to look away whenever he's on screen.

I love performances like that. You don't root for the character, you might even hate them, but you still want them in every scene.

What character did you hate as a person but love watching?

I don't follow baseball and I barely knew anything about the business side of sports before watching Moneyball (2011).

Somehow two hours of Brad Pitt arguing about statistics and player value had me completely invested.

That's probably one of my favorite things a movie can do. Make you care about something you would've normally scrolled right past.

What movie did that for you?

At different points in The Prestige (2006) I was convinced Angier was the one I should root for, then Borden, then somehow neither of them.

I like when a movie doesn't give you an obvious person to support and your opinion keeps shifting as you learn more.

What's a movie where you genuinely couldn't decide who you wanted to win?

For me, it's Cooper watching all the video messages after returning from Miller's planet.

The first time I watched Interstellar (2014), I mostly thought about the whole time dilation idea. Watching it years later, the part that gets me is just seeing a father realize how much of his children's lives he missed.

What's a scene that affected you way more as you got older?

Robert Downey Jr. is probably my example. I've seen him as Tony Stark so many times that I thought it would be impossible not to see Iron Man whenever he appeared on screen.

But somewhere during Oppenheimer (2023) I just stopped thinking about RDJ completely. He was Lewis Strauss.

What actor disappeared into a role so well that you almost forgot it was them?

Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga, Alec Baldwin... The Departed (2006) just keeps going.

And the weird part is that it doesn't feel like a movie that collected famous actors just for the names. Pretty much everyone gets a moment to stand out.

What's a movie where the cast was so good you couldn't really pick one favorite performance?

For me it's The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). It's basically a three-hour movie, but the pacing is so relentless that I never really notice the runtime.

Meanwhile I've watched 90-minute movies that somehow felt twice as long.

What's a really long movie you can watch without ever checking the time?

For me, it's The Truman Show (1998). Imagine finding out that your friends, your job, your relationships, basically your entire life was created for other people's entertainment.

Watching it is fascinating. Actually being Truman would be a nightmare.

What movie world would you stay as far away from as possible?

Tyler Durden is probably my pick. He's charismatic, looks cool and gets some great lines, so I can see why people latch onto him.

But the further Fight Club (1999) goes, the harder it becomes to see Tyler as someone the movie actually wants you to follow.

Who's a character you think audiences completely misunderstood?

That final performance feels like Andrew finally gets everything he's been chasing, but at the same time it feels like Fletcher has completely won.

I remember finishing Whiplash (2014) and not really knowing whether I should feel excited for Andrew or worried about what he's become.

What movie left you with that same weird mix of emotions?

I was so used to seeing DiCaprio as the lead that Calvin Candie caught me completely off guard. He's horrible, unpredictable, and somehow steals basically every scene he's in.

I'd actually love to see Leo play another full-on villain someday.

Which actor surprised you by being ridiculously good at playing the bad guy?

I love Blade Runner (1982), but if I had to pick one to rewatch tonight, I'd probably go with Blade Runner 2049 (2017).

The visuals, atmosphere, soundtrack and Ryan Gosling's performance just work so well together. It's rare for a sequel made 35 years later to feel this necessary.

What's a sequel you genuinely think is better than the original?

For me, it's Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). Leonardo DiCaprio is great as Rick Dalton, but every time Brad Pitt shows up, I feel like the movie gets more interesting.

Sometimes the character who isn't supposed to be the main attraction ends up being the one you remember most.

Who's your pick?

I was so used to seeing Jim Carrey in comedies that I really wasn't expecting this kind of performance from him

He's so quiet and vulnerable in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) that at some point I almost forgot I was watching the same guy from Ace Ventura (1994) and The Mask (1994)

What actor completely surprised you when they stepped outside the kind of roles they were known for?

For me it's Inception (2010). That final shot with the spinning top is such a simple way to end the movie, but it immediately turns into a debate about what actually happened.

I remember finishing it and wanting to hear everyone else's interpretation almost as much as I wanted an answer

What movie ending started the biggest debate for you?

For me, it's The Green Mile. Every time I rewatch it, I'm surprised it left the Oscars without the biggest award.

I'm sure everyone has at least one movie that deserved Best Picture but somehow missed out.

What's your pick?

The Shawshank Redemption has held the top spot on IMDb's Top 250 for years, and it's hard to argue with how beloved it is.

But if you had the power to put one different movie at #1, which film would deserve that spot?

Every few years there's another rumor about remaking a classic.

For me, Back to the Future is one of those movies that's already as close to perfect as it gets. I don't think a remake could improve it.

Which movie do you hope Hollywood never touches?

I still see "One does not simply..." everywhere, even outside movie discussions.

Some movie quotes become so popular that people forget where they even came from.

What's a movie quote you've used in real life more than any other?