Favorite Movies

[Solitary]

The only time I ever sat through a movie six times in a row was the original War of the Worlds. I think the best movie made is the Russian version of War and Peace. Best movie made here would be The Grapes of Wrath. SF, would be Forbidden Planet which is based on a Shakespeare's play The Tempest, The second half of the story in the book is the movie Alien.  When Worlds Collide, which is still terrifying, 2,001 a Space Odyssey, Jurassic Park, and Avatar which is an allegory of the American Indians plight to me. A very beautiful movie in every way. Solitary

[Hydra009]

Mortal Kombat (not the second one. It sucked ass)

I found that one unintentionally hilarious in just how bad it was.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIt0VY7Yg2w

It was so gloriously campy.

[PickelledEggs]

I found that one unintentionally hilarious in just how bad it was.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIt0VY7Yg2w

It was so gloriously campy.

LOL yes. It was

I guess I'm going to have to add Moral Kombat II and Street Fighter to my list

[trdsf]

Time for Foreign (to me) Language Films...



Good Bye Lenin! - I was surprised at how quickly my high school German came back -- by the last third of the movie I wasn't even looking at the subtitles anymore, at least not consciously.  A young Berliner whose mother had fallen into a coma before German Reunification and who had been a member of the East German Communist party wakes up.  The doctor advises him that she can't tolerate any major shocks... so he re-creates East Germany in their apartment.  Funny, touching, and thought-provoking.

Cabiria - The great-grandaddy of epic films, this is a silent Italian production of about 1914.  Pre-dating Griffith's work by a couple years, this is the movie that invented the tracking shot, and if you're familiar with silent films, it is a little jarring the first time the camera moves in a modern manner.

Gojira - And I mean the original Japanese one, not the version with Raymond Burr wedged into it.  The originalmost 'Godzilla' movie was meant as serious science fiction; the silliness surrounding Godzilla came much later.  Ishiro Honda, the director, had been an assistant to (and lifelong friend of) Akira Kurosawa, and what he made is definitely not a silly guy-in-a-rubber-monster-suit movie.  And the original Godzilla roar is creepy.

Dreams - Speaking of Kurosawa.

Die Physiker - Actually a TV-movie from West Germany, a wonderful production of the play by Swiss playwright Friedrich Dürrenmatt.  Post-WWII paranoia about the use and misuse of science.

Un Chien Andalou/L'Age d'or - the filmic collaborations of Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí.  I had the great good fortune to see screenings of these at a surrealism exhibition at the Toledo Museum of Art.  Much like the end of 2001, I won't say I understood them, but the imagery is amazing.

Le Voyage dans la Lune - Georges Méliès effectively invented filmed science fiction with this movie; when you consider that 110 years later, everyone still knows the scene where the rocket hits the Man in the Moon in the eye, that's staying power.

House of Flying Daggers - As a general rule, I'm not a fan of wuxia, but holy shit, what amazing cinematography!  I was impressed with Hero and didn't think Zhang could top that, but I was wrong.



Reserving the right to edit as I remember things I forgot...

[caseagainstfaith]

A lot of great movies here.  And yet, for whatever reason, few of them would I put on my favorites list. There are only a handful of films that have an emotional impact that make me say, yeah, that's a favorite movie.  And, those movies may be movies that other people would think suck, but, for whatever reason, these do stick with me.  These are movies that I'll rewatch every now and again:

World According to Garp
Young Frankenstein
Titanic
Terminator 1 & 2.
Alien and Aliens
Star Wars (original)
Edward Sissorhands
The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance
Casablanca

[SGOS]

A lot of great movies here.  And yet, for whatever reason, few of them would I put on my favorites list. There are only a handful of films that have an emotional impact that make me say, yeah, that's a favorite movie.  And, those movies may be movies that other people would think suck, but, for whatever reason, these do stick with me. 

Yeah, but your list makes good sense.  Edward Sissorhands actually crossed my mind last night, and I thought about adding it.

[stromboli]

Red Cliff (part 1 and 2)

4 hours worth of John Woo. There is also a 2 hour shortened version.

This is a movie based on a real event about 200 AD in China. It involved one of the largest fleets ever built that was defeated by a much smaller force. If you like martial arts type movies and history, good choice. I've seen the 2 parter and the shorter version. Either one is fine, but much detail is left out by the shorter version.

[DeathandGrim]

Friday and The Lion King for me

Both are great

[caseagainstfaith]

Have to add a couple more:

Die Hard
When Harry Met Sally
The Little Mermaid

So, I have a pretty good mix.  Some classic, some romance.  A lot of romance actually.  Comedy, Sci-fi, action, family.

World According to Garp
Young Frankenstein
Titanic
Terminator 1 & 2.
Alien and Aliens
Star Wars (original)
Edward Sissorhands
The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance
Casablanca

[stromboli]

Ghost In The Shell- Can't believe I left that out.

Still no Tom Cruise movies.......

[Munch]

Ghost In The Shell- Can't believe I left that out.

Still no Tom Cruise movies.......

I might have one time, but its hard to enjoy anything he does after he revealed himself to be completely batty, more then Nicolas Cage.

[caseagainstfaith]

I might have one time, but its hard to enjoy anything he does after he revealed himself to be completely batty, more then Nicolas Cage.

I generally separate the person from their acting.  If they are a moron or whatever in life, that doesn't specifically mean their movies are good or bad.  I didn't happen to think of any that fits my "favorite movies" theme since, at least for me, a favorite movie is one that I revisit every now and again and I can't think of any of Tom Cruise's movies.  But, the majority of his movies, I do like.  I think these are all great movies and could deserve a spot on somebody's favorite movie list even if not mine:

Jerry Maguire
Risky Business
Born on the Forth of July
Rain Man
Minority Report

I also enjoyed War of the Worlds, even if most people seemed to not.  The Mission Impossible movies are generally good entertainment.

[SGOS]

I've already considered adding Risky Business to my favorites.  Possibly Rain Man, although Cruise was a supporting actor in that one.  Eyes Wide Shut is another movie I've enjoyed many times, but that was mostly Stanley Kubrick's doing; The leading role could have been played by many actors.

[Desdinova]

Oldies but goodies....

12 Angry Men - 1957 A great cast led by Henry Fonda.  The only setting is a jury room.  Intense dialog based drama.

Gaslight - 1944  Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman.  Psychological mystery/thriller.

To Kill a Mockingbird - 1962 Great adaptation of Harper Lee's classic book starring Gregory Peck.

The Cain Mutiny - 1954 Humphrey Bogart at his best.

[stromboli]

Magic Boy 1959

My introduction to Japanese animation. My brother and I were so struck by both the animation and the story we were willing to risk our mother's wrath and sit through it twice, to arrive home at nearly midnight. Sort of a pre anime anime. Fabulous movie ahead of its time, like much of Japanese cinema. Very impressive to a 10 year old boy.