I'll bite on the Punch Drunk Love question since that is the only P.T. Anderson movie I like without reservation. The reason I think Punch Drunk Love works is that Anderson makes the tone of the movie such that it feels like you are in Adam Sandler's character's head. From the plinkity ploppity Jon Brion score to the random bursts of color, everything in the movie is attuned to the warped ways in which Adam Sandler sees the world. The car crash at the beginning is a random burst of action that happens out of nowhere precisely to set the tone of the movie. It's not really an attempt to say "watch out anything can happen here" more that outbursts of violent intense action can happen at anytime both literally and figuratively with Adam Sandler's character.

I follow that pretension by saying that just as you are a Spielberg person, I am a Paul Verhoeven person. Besides Robert Altman, pre-1968 Godard, and Todd Haynes (my other favorite directors), Paul Verhoeven is a director that can do no wrong in my eyes (except Hollow Man). I realize that he will probably appear on many people's 5 hated directors list, but he is one of the more misunderstood directors working today. His movies are often subtle mockeries of themselves and they are hilarious genre subversions. He also just has a great flashy and lurid directorial style (even if you think Showgirls or Starship Troopers were awful, they were pretty cool to look at).

The only director that needs to be stopped in my personal opinion is Paul Haggis and that is mostly for his atrocious screenwriting.

Now THAT'S how you introduce a new writer or a change in format or topics covered. WELCOME, WELCOME Sutter Cane!!

Sutter Cane, will you marry me. I do the whole random quote thing all the time and my friends always look at me like I have two heads. I usually find something about a movie I like and I have never walked out of a theater in the middle of a movie. That being said, my favorite Director is Tim Burton. I know, so passe' to say, but Big Fish was the best use of imagery that I have ever seen in a film. He is just so out in left field that I want to hang out there with him!

Hm, dismiss the preferences for certain directors as nothing but film-school pretension. Tell people which arguments they can and can't make should they dislike Spielberg. And then base much of your pro-Spielberg argument by setting up a pretty easy straw man to rant about. And I have yet to meet a single person who thought the frogs was anything but dumb.

For the record, I seriously dislike, Spielberg, post-Colour Purple. And I downright hated Saving Private Ryan. My favourite director is Rohmer. I only discovered him after spending some time unemployed and filling up my free time going to the rep theatre and renting loads of movies usually just picked off the shelf, going on nothing but what it said on the box.

So in light of that, think I'll take a pass on moviegasm.

I am glad you mentioned Punch Drunk Love though. For some reason something reminded me of that movie, but it was only the vaguest recollection and I couldn't for the life of me think of what movie it was.

Well, honestly, it doesn't matter at all to me what directors or producers or anything else you like. That's cool, whatever. I'm just amped that there will be moviegasms, cause, though my passion has been waning, I proudly call myself a movie freak. As my finances unfortunately get ravaged by those evil things like bills and groceries, I don't make it to theatres often anymore; that and I enjoy yapping in a movie when I love/hate/or find some deeply philosophical about the movie and most people tend to hate that. But you better believe I hit up on demand all the damn time. So welcome fellow movie line thrower!

I'm a Verhoeven and Raimi and Fincher guy.

And I'll come to the defense of Spielberg. He's not perfect. But what other filmmaker will so completely define this generation of movies? Commercially one of the most successful directors of all time, and artistically brilliant. World wide, his name's synonymous with movies. There are directors who you might like, who might be more talented in some way, but none of them have the same sweeping, consistent effect on the artform. Maaaaybe Cameron, but compare their output. Spielberg's always out there, while Cameron vanishes for long stretches. (Though it's looking like he's going to come back in a major way -- three projects on the horizon).

I kinda agree with the exec re: Anderson. Meaning this: his movies aren't these tight, efficient stories. They're ramshackle affairs that you just sort of wander through. Along the way, he delivers amazing, powerful scenes. The firecrackers in Boogie Nights. John C. Reilly losing his gun in Magnolia, and what might be Tom Cruise's best performance. Adam Sandler facing down Hoffman in the mattress store. These are riveting moments. You just can't expect him to deliver those moments in a well-crafted movie a la Spielberg.

And props to Renny Harlin. He can do one thing well, and that's direct action. Die Hard II has always been my favorite of the trilogy, ever so slightly above the first one. I loved Cliffhanger in the theater. No, it ain't Kurosawa. It ain't a lot of things. But it IS a ton of fun. It's popcorn. It's what the haters accuse Spielberg of delivering. They're wrong with Spielberg, right with Renny.

You can smirk all you want at Renny, but I just say... laugh it up, fuzzball.

I'm a Coens fan. Lyrical dialogue like "her insides were a rocky place my seed could find no purchase"..
Poetry.

Sofia Coppola is cool. Loved Lost in Translation. I like how she fills up quiet with pungent imagery.

I really like Cameron Crowe despite his infatuation with Tom Cruise. Almost Famous is still one of my all-time favs.

Wes Anderson. Did you see that AMEX commercial? Good stuff.

I like the young Spielberg. He had such an elementary way of scaring me. I still don't swim in the ocean. How many movies can you say THAT about. Jaws actually CHANGED MY LIFE.

OK now for the hate:

Michael Bay- like the song from TEAM AMERICA asked "How does Michael Bay get to keep directing movies?"

Steve Brill-
Without a Paddle? Are you kidding me?
Little Nicky? Showcasing the very worst about Adam Sandler, amplified.

Paul Haggis-
I said it. I hated Crash. His other stuff..meh.

I'll be a moviegasmer. Bring on the pretension and the pretension-haters.

Count me in for Moviegasm. I love movies, and will give almost any movie a chance.

My top 10 favorite movies, if anyone cares!:

To Kill A Mockingbird

Raise the Red Lantern

Jaws

Bully and/or Kids

Borat (new release!)

Empire of the Sun

Memoirs of a Geisha

The Lover

The Ice Storm

Thirteen

I also like a lot of documentaries, and docu-dramas.