QVist - I'd love to hear your recommendations then for movies that aren't too Arty but are sufficiently interesting to be outside the "mainstream". I'm assuming something like "Lost In Translation" would be in your sweet spot? Pi? Minus Man? Drive?
The Godfather is popular - but I'd argue that its because its great, not because its mass market.
I've got 8 1/2 in my netflix queue, but I can never bring myself to press play.
I already wrote in another thread which movies I like: http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=3783.msg77327#msg77327
I dislike "Lost In Translation". That's another movie I just don't seem to understand. For me it's just simply boring to me. I even tried it twice. The second time wasn't better. Pi is good, like you can see in the linked post. I don't know Minus Man and Drive is on my Watchlist, so I can't say anything about it either.
Generally speaking I'm a fan of Film Noir and Neo Noir. I like the mood and characters in those movies. Regarding Neo Noir:
Shutter Island, Memento, 12 Monkeys, Children of Men, The Usual Suspects or to name a few less known ones: Following, The Machinist, Brick, The Salton Sea
I've seen all of these save the Salton Sea. If I could go back in time and pass on Brick I would. Did you see Looper? Shutter Island was interesting, but not on the same level as Memento + 12 Monkeys.
Regarding Drive:
Don't let the trailers fool you. This is not an action movie. I saw it in the suburbs, and the bro's in attendance were a little confused at the end.
What do you mean with "pass on"? So, you liked Brick or not? I'm not sure if I understand the term. My wife And I really want to see Looper, it started two weeks ago here in Germany. I agree with you on Shutter Island. I rated Memento and 12 Monkeys with 10/10 and Shutter Island with 8/10. I liked the mood and the story. Sometimes it felt a little bit too "forced arty" (if you know what I mean).
Other less-well known arty movies I like: Swimming Pool, Kafka and Paris, Texas
Regarding Time Travel (may contain spoilers): Terminator 2, Donnie Darko, 12 Monkeys, Groundhog Day, Butterfly Effect, Contact, Frequency, Time Bandits and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Source Code was nice, but nothing more.