At Stromboli's suggestion (http://atheistforums.com/index.php?topic=7607.msg1072263#msg1072263), let's have a thread for favorite movies. Not necessarily the ones you think are best, but the ones you enjoy most for whatever reason. Feel free to give reasons and debate lists, but let's avoid bashing anyone's choices -- "I didn't like that one because (reason)" is fine, but "Seriously? That sucked!" isn't.
The hard part for me is narrowing my list down, because when I love a movie, I really love a movie. I kind of need to break it down into manageable chunks, generally by genre.
I'll start with my list of favorite SF movies.
2001: A Space Odyssey - Hands down the greatest SF movie ever made, by the greatest director that ever pointed a camera. It's a visual poem that connects the invention of tools to the conquest of space with the single most brilliant jump cut in cinema. It's quiet and takes its time -- which is welcome considering the brilliance of the set design and effects. It lets you linger over the genius work of Douglas Trumbull... and do remember that none of it is computer generated, not even the computer screens. I was taken to see this when it was in its initial release, in Cinerama. I was four. And I still have the sense of wonder about what might be out there.
Forbidden Planet - Technically speaking, this is a version of Shakespeare's The Tempest, but set in outer space. In this case, though, the translation of genre works -- exceedingly well. It also has a rare blend of humor with the drama, enough to keep things light and mobile without derailing the storyline. And the all-electronic score is both groundbreaking and fascinating.
The Andromeda Strain - I'll be honest, I haven't read the book. But the movie was great, despite something of a deus ex machina ending. Great characters (especially Dr. Leavitt), great writing, great story, great pacing.
The Day The Earth Stood Still - Let's get one thing clear from the get-go. There was no remake. Any idea that there was a remake is pure mass hysteria. There was only one version of this movie ever made, and it was made in 1951 and directed by the great Robert Wise (also responsible for The Andromeda Strain above), and starred Michael Rennie. Just wanted to make that crystal clear. What's perhaps most fascinating is that the alien Klaatu is perhaps the most "human" of all the characters.
Metropolis - The definitive masterpiece of German Expressionism -- the only actual competitors it has for that title are Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu -- and still brilliant even though it's nearly 90 years old.
Plan Nine from Outer Space - I am not saying that this is a good movie. But unlike a lot of Hollywood shit these days, it's an entertaining movie.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind - I won't call it scientifically accurate, but it was a lot of fun, terrifically optimistic, and much, much better without the inside-the-spaceship ending.
I have no doubt I'm forgetting something, so I reserve the right to edit this list later.
There are a few recent contenders I haven't seen -- District 9 and Moon come to mind -- so I shan't judge them.
I hated The Matrix, so it won't appear here. And while I liked Contact, it wasn't as good as it should have been (that is, if they'd followed Sagan's book a little more closely, not made Dr Drumlin a villain rather than just an asshole, and copped out on the ending). And while Alien is a great thriller, it all fell apart for me when I realized the biological impossibility of an alien species evolving in a way that its reproduction needed life-forms not of its own world. I mean, that's year one, day one in biology -- imagine a life form evolving on Earth in such a way that it needs to be exposed to the environment on Jupiter ten thousand miles below its cloud caps in order to reproduce. Yeah, that kind of ridiculous.
I'm not going to include anything less than 5 years old. Sometimes current movies have a great first appeal, but don't invite rewatching, and that's part of the ultimate test. New movies can't pass this part of the test.
Star Trek: The Voyage Home
Love Actually
Blade Runner
A Christmas Story
Runaway Jury (John Cusack)
V for Vendetta
Avatar
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Contact
Midnight in Paris (5 years?)
The Big Year (5 years?)
Hunt for Red October
Master and Commander
The Thirteenth Floor
Dark City
Target (Gene Hackman)
True Romance
Pulp Fiction
The Music Never Stopped
The Hudsucker Proxy
Best in Show
Wind
Money Ball
High Fidelity
Sleepless in Seattle
Back to the Future
Blast from the Past
Added:
Kickass
The Babadook - Really intense psychological horror movie with genuine suspense I've not felt since the shining.
Lord of the Rings trilogy - Great adaptation of one of the best works of fiction, the trilogy that drew me into the sword and sorcery franchise.
X-men 2 - Taking the first movie and making it even better, love all the roles and the portrayals of all my fav x-men.
X-men days of future past - Same as with 2 but also taking the great feel first class had and mixing it with the elements no.2 had. Great actors and roles made for a fun romp with my fav muties.
Coraline - Brilliant stop motion animation with a great story and fun ride.
The nightmare before christmas - The one that got me into loving this kind of stop motion animation, one I never miss to this day around christmas time.
Beauty and the beast - One of the only disney movies I'll come back to year after year, loved this movie so much when it first came out, I stole a VHS copy from the library to keep it, and paid the cost of it saying I lost it.
Laputa Castle in the Sky - Everything hayao miyazaki did was gold, laputa was part of my childhood before Aladdin and all those disney renaissance movies, my earliest memories of animated movies came from ones like this, and laputa is one of my favorites.
Howls moving castle - Great more recent take on miyazaki, beautiful animation, great characters, well made plot, watched this so many time I can't remember.
Spirited Away - Same as with Howls moving castle, beautiful, timeless animation and story.
Kiki's delivery service - A fun story from miyazaki with a more toned down on high adventure and just a sweet story, with great backdrops and characters.
The Goonies - Another part of my childhood movies, one of my earliest scares, timeless characters and the best group of friends going on an adventure we all wish we could at that age.
Brokeback Mountain - intense and tragic love story, one made in a time where gay people wee beginning to rise up and be noticed, one of the first true gay love stories to be released at the cinema. Helped me a lot as a gay man.
Nausica of the valley of the wind - Back to miyazaki, one of his earliest and still timeless stories, animation isn't as sharp as later movies but still a beautiful one to my collection.
Pans Labyrinth - One of the few foreign movies I sat down and watched intensely, amazing designs, intense characters, thought provoking.
princess mononoke - One of miyazakis most grim dark movies, so bloody and yet still with a deep story and overarching elements between mankind and nature.
too woo foo thanks for everything - Fun movie of campy silliness, liked it even more then prusilla queen of the desert.
The Avengers Assemble - What can be said, one of the best super hero movies of all time.
Harry potter movies 3-8 - loved all the harry potter movies past the second one, the first two felt kind of like a childrens movie, while the later ones got to dark and intense, you saw the characters grow up and go though some tough times. Loved the world it was set in, and how each movie had its own feel to it.
The secret of nimh - another part of my childhood movies, one of Don Bluths best movies and one of the few childrens movies I watched as a kid that made me feel grown up, one I can watch now today and see it from another angle.
Sure there are loads more I forgot, but these I thought of first.
And just because I can my fav porno titles.
Muscled Up
Jeff Palmer: Raw
Black ballers
Taking flight 1 & 2
Big 'n 'Plenty
Any and all of the LOTR
Hildalgo
Star Trek series caught my imagination as a boy and therefor no matter how cheesy, I love em.
Animation's turn.
Fantasia -- It's a shame that Walt's original vision of a continually-touring, continually-updated showcase for cutting-edge animation and great music (the ham-fisted orchestration of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in Dm notwithstanding) didn't come to pass; one can only imagine what we might have seen by now. The re-creation of DalÃ's Destino gives an idea of what might have come to pass, and we know that plans were made for sections based on Ride of the Valkyries, The Flight of the Bumblebee, The Firebird, La Mer and Pictures at an Exhibition, among others. What might have been, indeed.
Lupin III: Castle Cagliostro - Miyazaki is a genius, and this movie has the greatest car chase ever filmed, live action or animated.
My Neighbor Totoro - Miyazaki is a goddamn genius.
Kiki's Delivery Service - Miyazaki is a goddamn fucking genius.
Despicable Me - Most fun I've had in a theater in a long time, and very nearly equalled by its sequel.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? - Maybe not technically an animated film as it's both live action and animation, but it fits here better than anywhere else. Terrific fun.
Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit - One of the very few movies I went to see in the theater more than once. The gags are non-stop; it takes multiple viewings to catch them all.
Les triplettes de Belleville - Who needs words to tell a story? Great animation, great music, and great fun.
The Nightmare Before Christmas - Burton, Elfman, stop-motion... what else do you need?
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut - Well, of course.
The Point - "You don't have to have a point to have a point."
Yellow Submarine - So much better than the Saturday morning Beatles cartoon...
As ever, I reserve the right to go back and add things I forgot. :)
Just a few of my favorites....
A Clockwork Orange
Pulp Fiction
2001: A Space Odyssey
Unforgiven
Eraserhead
The Departed
Goodfellas
The Usual Suspects
Memento
Not really much of a movie buff. And once I see a movie, that's it, I've seen it. But having said that, here goes:
A Knights Tale--it should not have worked--the music does not match the era (yet, it does in a big way), the costuming isn't great, acting is okay, the story is kind of sappy--put them all together and they simply gelled! I love it--and can watch it again.
2001--Best SF ever. And can be as philosophical as you wish. Plus, watched it once in Honolulu after sharing a brownie mix with a lid in it. Did the apes ever pop!!!
Fried Green Tomatoes--this is the first movie I took my wife to--it is 'our' movie. And I find I still like it very much.
War the Worlds--the '50's edition. The first 'scary' movie I watched by myself in a theater--must have been 8 or 9. Scared the shit out of me! Then had to go home (my grandparents home really) and to to sleep upstairs by myself. I can still see myself in that theater and several scenes in it.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
LOTR series
Star Wars (original trilogy only)
Indiana Jones series (except Crystal Skull)
Terminator 2
The Matrix
Starship Troopers
Chronicles of Riddick
Moon
Contact
Underworld
Avengers
Guardians of the Galaxy
Kickass
28 Days Later
Guilty pleasures:
Queen of the Damned
Resident Evil series
Army of Darkness
Blair Witch 1 and 2
Mortal Kombat 1 and 2
The One (the one with Jet Li)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgg_JM9BDCE
Out of all of the movies, I've watched Queen of the Damned and Underworld the most. There's just something about vampires, especially in the protagonist role, that really appeals to me.
Quote from: Hydra009 on May 06, 2015, 01:29:58 PM
Kickass
Oh shit, I forgot Kickass. How could I have missed that one?
The Professional with Jean Reno et al
Metropolis because it was so ambitious and so ahead of its time
Things To Come- H. G. Wells movie about human endeavor and futility of war-Art Deco in the early 30's.
Manon of the Spring/Jean De Florette terrific, under appreciated French cinema with Emmanuel Beart, one beautiful lady
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo/Girl Who Played With Fire/Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest with Noomi Rapace, not the American version. GREAT triple movies, see them in order. Very intricate plot about a bisexual woman who is an expert computer hacker out to prove she is not insane for past behavior.
That Man From Rio wild Jean Paul Belmondo craziness, black and white from 1964
City of Lost Children/The Delicatessen 2 surrealistic movies by director Marc Caro.
Spirited Away anything by Miyazaki. He is a fucking genius.
Seven Samurai Toshiro Mifune directed by Kurosawa, a masterpiece.
Ran Basically King Lear by Kurosawa. Very long, but the battle scenes are jaw dropping gorgeously filmed.
Godzilla because the first 3 letters of his name spell GOD.
Das Boot because it details the futility of the German submarine service in WW2, and captures the claustrophobia of living inside a submarine.
Bullitt Count the hubcaps.....
Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life
The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen/Brazil/Time Bandits because Terry Gilliam is much under appreciated.
The Battleship Potemkin mentioned in the other thread is a historic masterpiece. A silent film from 1925, it was a propaganda piece that dramatized the 1905 mutiny in Czarist Russia that many still see as a catalyst that led to the eventual downfall of Czarist Russia and the rise of Communism. Propaganda, but don't pass up the chance to see it.
Quote from: trdsf on May 06, 2015, 03:21:46 AM
And while Alien is a great thriller, it all fell apart for me when I realized the biological impossibility of an alien species evolving in a way that its reproduction needed life-forms not of its own world. I mean, that's year one, day one in biology -- imagine a life form evolving on Earth in such a way that it needs to be exposed to the environment on Jupiter ten thousand miles below its cloud caps in order to reproduce. Yeah, that kind of ridiculous.
Just FYI, in Prometheus, we find out the Xenomorph was engineered, not evolved. By the same race that engineered humans.
These are in no particular order, just off the top of my head:
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (Werner Herzog, director)
The Fifth Element
The Night Visitor (Max von Sydow, Trevor Howard, Liv Ullmann)
The Medicine Man (Sean Connery)
Aguirre: The Wrath of God (Klaus Kinski)
The Princess Bride
Aliens
The Abyss
Big Trouble in Little China
Enter the Dragon
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Richard Dreyfuss)
Romeo Is Bleeding (Gary Oldman)
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Lord of the Rings Trilogy (especially the 3rd one)
Many more could be listed, but that's enough for now.
I just noticed- no Tom Cruise movies mentioned yet.
Ditto on....
Big Trouble in Little China
The Fifth Element
Princess Bride
LOTR
Harry Potter, all of them
Forbidden Planet
The Usual Suspects
Memento- a GREAT movie!
All the Python movies
All the Wallace & Gromit movies
Hunt For Red October
Kickass
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Bladerunner- read the book, its better
Godzilla - With only a few exceptions, I quite enjoy all movies in this franchise. Notable entries for me are GMK, VS King Ghidorah, VS Gigan, G2000, Gojira '54, and G2014. Godzilla's pretty much been my hero ever since I saw Godzilla vs Gigan at the age of 3 through the ancient technology of VHS. I refuse to be judged for liking these movies as much as I do; hell, I even liked Godzilla '98.
Frozen - Fucking love this movie, man. They managed to work so much subtle complexity into this movie, I can just spend hours picking apart all the elements they worked in there. Some of it might not even be intentional, I'm sure, but I've never been one to complain when the writers manage to be better than themselves.
300 - Both of them. I actually like the second one a little bit better, despite the criticism it gets, but that's mostly because I'm a sucker for naval battles. Watching the Persian ships come over that enormous wave gives me shivers every time. The hate-sex scene was also unintentionally hilarious.
Inglourious Basterds - Every character in this movie is just a joy to see in action, except for the slightly cringe-worthy sniper dude. That opening scene is especially brilliant, at once horrifying and fascinating. Had me hooked for the rest of the screen time.
The Dark Knight Trilogy - Do I even need to explain this one?
RWBY - Well, the volumes are released as movies on iTunes, so it technically counts. This show... a few of the storytelling choices make me rage to no end, but the characters and overall story are such a joy to watch that it still tops my favorites. It's like Harry Potter, but with guns. Oh, and it's actually good.
(No offense to Harry Potter fans, but good fucking god did I hate it; the books and the movies. Harry and Voldemort are just... so... boring. Honestly, the only character I liked was Hagrid. Hagrid's pretty alright.)
Quote from: stromboli on May 06, 2015, 07:46:35 PM
The Battleship Potemkin mentioned in the other thread is a historic masterpiece. A silent film from 1925, it was a propaganda piece that dramatized the 1905 mutiny in Czarist Russia that many still see as a catalyst that led to the eventual downfall of Czarist Russia and the rise of Communism. Propaganda, but don't pass up the chance to see it.
I'm am in a bit of a Russia-fad right now, so I might have to check that one out.
Time for Documentary and Propaganda films
Ð'роненоÑец «ПоÑ,емкин» (Bronenosets Potyomkin/Battleship Potemkin) - Already mentioned several times, and for good reason: this is an astonishingly powerful movie, explicitly designed to move minds and hearts. Maybe too powerful; later, under Stalin's rule, it was banned in the Soviet Union despite having been commissioned to celebrate one of the precursors to the October Revolution. The Odessa Steps sequence has been quoted, homaged and parodied so many times, most of you have probably seen one of its adaptations without having seen the original.
Olympia - Triumph des Willens might be the better propaganda film, but because of its very nature it's extremely difficult to watch analytically. Olympia succeeds both as a documentary and as a propaganda film. It's obvious that Riefenstahl was out to promote the German people and the German state, but she doesn't flinch away from the facts on the ground, documenting Jesse Owens domination of track and field despite the damage he did to the propaganda message.
Fahrenheit 9/11 - It was going to be either this or Bowling for Columbine. Ultimately, I think Fahrenheit 9/11 is better because this is where Moore finally figured out he needed to be behind the camera, not in front of it, and just lets the facts play out for themselves. Roger and Me is still fun to watch, but nowadays comes across as gimmicky, even by Moore's standards.
An Inconvenient Truth - If you still think "global warming" (the more accurate phrase is 'anthropogenic climate change', but no one listens to me) is a myth after watching this, either you spent the whole time playing Angry Birds on your phone, or you're an idiot.
F for Fake - Orson Welles' 1973 exploration of fakes and frauds. The 'punchline' of the movie is still with me, and in some ways probably catalyzed my inquisitive nature, even though until recently it had been decades since I had last seen it.
The Fog of War - Essay on war with Kennedy and Johnson's secretary of defense, Robert McNamara. McNamara is in turns insightful and disappointing, and Morris captures all of it.
A Brief History of Time - As much (maybe more) about Stephen Hawking himself than about the science presented in his bestselling book.
The Creation of the Universe - Timothy Ferris' terrific overview of the state of cosmology in 1985. Also a rare chance to hear Stephen Hawking speak for himself (albeit with someone translating for him), before the total loss of his voice.
The NASA Official Mission Films, covering the whole of American manned space flight from Mercury through the return to space after the Challenger disaster.
As always, I reserve the right to edit. :D
Reefer Madness- easily the No. 1 movie to watch stoned.
Silent Running 70's movie with Bruce Dern killing his shipmates and taking a ship into deep space to save the last of earth's forests kept on board. Joan Baez score. Admittedly saw it while high on Mescaline, but I liked it.
Tropic Thunder "Nigga, you just went full retard...." one of the most quotable lines of all time.
12 Monkeys Sorry, big Terry Gilliam fan
Quote from: stromboli on May 06, 2015, 11:24:41 PMMemento- a GREAT movie!
Oh man, I loved that one! It was great how...how...*searches for a pencil* *starts panicking*
Umm...do I know you?
Christopher Nolan did one called Insomnia a year later that was just as good. It was a crime movie about a murder in Alaska starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams. Wont tell you the plot, but it is a must see movie, if you've seen Memento. The shit that happens will blow you away, and seeing two actors like Pacino and Williams squaring off as adversaries is unforgettable.
Another great movie is Old Boy. It's a remake of an Asian film (Korean?) starring Josh Brolin. I've heard the Asian film is much better. I've never seen that version because I find that when I watch movies with subtitles I miss the characters expressions and the settings because I take too much time reading the subtitles.
Ditto on Insomnia.
QuoteMemento- a GREAT movie!
Quote from: Hydra009 on May 08, 2015, 01:04:22 AM
Oh man, I loved that one! It was great how...how...*searches for a pencil* *starts panicking*
Umm...do I know you?
I like that movie too. I rented a tape at the video store. After I watched it twice, I watched it fairly fast backwards. This is when things became clear to me. It's a very simple plot when watched in chronological order. But the black and white flash back scenes appear to go forward in time, while the rest goes backwards. The very beginning of the movie, which starts in black and white and gradually changes to color as the polaroid photo develops, marks the midway point between the flash backs and the main story, and at that point the movie sequences go in reverse. I think I have that right. It's been a long time since I watched it.
After Memento, I saw a couple other movies that tried to mimic the cinematic effect. One was an episode of Seinfeld. I showed Memento to friends, who flat out didn't like it. LOL
Quote from: SGOS on May 08, 2015, 10:01:41 AMI showed Memento to friends, who flat out didn't like it. LOL
I hate it when that happens. I really struggled trying to sell people on Moon, mainly because it's hard to talk about it without spoiling anything.
"Well, there's this guy in this mining operation on the Moon. He's all alone and he starts going nuts."
*barely interested*
"But it's really good!"
*clearly disinterested*
Another one in the same vein as Insomnia and Memento is Identity with John Cusack. Another complicated plot with a twist, and some great acting. Also Grosse Point Blank and Being John Malkovich with Cusack. He has been in a lot of quirky movies as well. He is good enough I would watch a movie because he is in it.
Quote from: Hydra009 on May 08, 2015, 10:41:24 AM
I hate it when that happens. I really struggled trying to sell people on Moon, mainly because it's hard to talk about it without spoiling anything.
"Well, there's this guy in this mining operation on the Moon. He's all alone and he starts going nuts."
*barely interested*
"But it's really good!"
*clearly disinterested*
Like
Grand Budapest Hotel. I am enough of a history buff that I understand the premise of the movie and the time period and the events in Europe that served as the backdrop. My wife wouldn't watch it. But I also like
Moonrise Kingdom and
Life Aquatic by Wes Anderson. His movies are interesting because he has a lot of little things happening that when you understand what is going on, you get extra benefit from the movie. He is a take it or leave it director, but I like his stuff.
Westerns. Besides Unforgiven, which is my favorite. (BTW Gene Hackman's role steels the show in that one) Here are some of my other favorite westerns.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - Directed by Sergio Leone. Eli Wallach give as brilliant performance as Tuco. Ennio Morricone's score is one of the best all-time.
Jeremiah Johnson - Robert Redford plays a mountain man hunted by Indians for desecrating one of their burial grounds, fantastic scenery and great storyline.
Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid - Great acting by Redford and Paul Newman. The scene with the railroad employee who won't open the car with the safe is classic.
Silverado - Just a fun movie with Kevin Costner, Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn and Danny Glover.
Quote from: stromboli on May 08, 2015, 10:58:50 AM
Another one in the same vein as Insomnia and Memento is Identity with John Cusack. Another complicated plot with a twist, and some great acting. Also Grosse Point Blank and Being John Malkovich with Cusack. He has been in a lot of quirky movies as well. He is good enough I would watch a movie because he is in it.
I loved
Being John Malkovich; it's going on one of my lists when I figure out how to categorize it. :)
Quote from: trdsf on May 08, 2015, 05:23:44 PM
I loved Being John Malkovich; it's going on one of my lists when I figure out how to categorize it. :)
I have it in my private collection under Fantasy. It's one of the most unique and creative films I've seen.
Super Mario Brothers
Mortal Kombat (not the second one. It sucked ass)
Akira
Adventures of Mark Twain
The Aristocrats
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles + Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of the Ooz
The Big Lebowski
The Sandlot
Gattaca
Ghostbusters 1 + 2
Gentlemen Broncos
Network
Quiz Show
The Breakfast Club
The Warriors
Ninja Bachelor Party
A Streetcar Named Desire
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away
Beetlejuice
Borat
Stealing Harvard
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
Quote from: PickelledEggs on May 08, 2015, 07:29:26 PMMortal 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.
Quote from: Hydra009 on May 09, 2015, 01:03:31 AM
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
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 DalÃ. 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...
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
Quote from: caseagainstfaith on May 09, 2015, 12:48:51 PM
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.
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.
Friday and The Lion King for me
Both are great
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.
Quote from: caseagainstfaith
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
Ghost In The Shell- Can't believe I left that out.
Still no Tom Cruise movies.......
Quote from: stromboli on May 10, 2015, 10:09:44 PM
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.
Quote from: Munch on May 11, 2015, 06:33:32 AM
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.
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.
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.
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.
Has anyone ever seen the box office sleeper Bubba ho Tep? I wouldn't argue with anyone that put it on his favorite movie list. I wouldn't call the following a spoiler, as it does little more than lay out the basic premise. There are some quirky very funny moments in the film.
[spoiler]Two doddering old duffers are living out the ends of their lives in a freaky old people's home. One thinks he's Elvis Presley, and the other (a black guy) thinks he's John F Kennedy. Keen as their old minds are, they think they have discovered some supernatural goings on, and team up to put an end to an evil spirit that causes strange things, like old people occasionally dying in their sleep.[/spoiler]
Quote from: SGOS on May 11, 2015, 11:21:01 AM
Has anyone ever seen the box office sleeper Bubba ho Tep? I wouldn't argue with anyone that put it on his favorite movie list. I wouldn't call the following a spoiler, as it does little more than lay out the basic premise. There are some quirky very funny moments in the film.
Yes I have, and yes it was good. :D
Loved it. Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. Great movie. Nothing like Bruce Campbell doing Elvis for hilarity.
My favorite thrillers/chillers/horror movies. As I generally speaking don't like horror movies, I'm surprised by how many are on here.
Psycho - There was no shot for shot remake. That was just a mass hallucination. This is the real deal. Hitch was a genius.
Rear Window - Speaking of Hitchcock. The look Raymond Burr gave when he realized where he was being watched from... yikes!
Frankenstein/Bride of Frankenstein - How do you top a terrific horror movie? Make an even better sequel.
Dracula - The Lugosi version, of course -- though the Spanish language version shot at the same time on the same set is also terrific. Bela is still my default mental setting for 'vampire'. And vampires don't fucking sparkle.
Ï€ (Pi) - Had the great good fortune to see this when it was in the theater. We got your corporate conspiracy theory, your religious conspiracy theory, and your number theory right here.
The Blair Witch Project - It's not the scariest movie I ever saw, but it's by far the creepiest. The filmmakers had the wisdom to not show the monster, knowing perfectly well that the viewer's mind would do the dirty work for them.
Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens - Murnau was a genius, too.
Shadow of the Vampire - And this excellent "secret history" of Nosferatu rates a mention, too. By the end of the movie, you're not sure who's the real monster anymore: John Malkovich's Murnau, or Willem Dafoe's Schreck/Orlok.
Quote from: trdsf on May 11, 2015, 07:45:11 PMThe Blair Witch Project - It's not the scariest movie I ever saw, but it's by far the creepiest. The filmmakers had the wisdom to not show the monster, knowing perfectly well that the viewer's mind would do the dirty work for them.
Those are the best kind of scares, imho.
Geez.. I read page 1 and it seems you're all scifi fans almost to the exclusion of everything else..
Well I'm a snob.. My gf, I love her, but she has generally shitty taste in movies.. I just sat through the first half of My Chauffeur.. I'm not going to mince words here.. It sucks.. That said.. I'm sitting on the porch getting drunk as she watches the rest of it and I know sure as the earth rotates she'll be mad at me for not having an open mind about shitty movies..
My favorite movie in recent memory: Rubber
I kinda like the Chernobyl Diaries
Quote from: AllPurposeAtheist on May 11, 2015, 08:18:03 PMGeez.. I read page 1 and it seems you're all scifi fans almost to the exclusion of everything else..
If that's your honest (and laughably wrong) opinion, then skip the movie recommendations and head straight for this:
(http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/2/24038/1853567-reader_rabbit_learn_to_read_game.jpg)
Kind Hearts And Coronets
The Ladykillers (NOT the Tom Hanks version. Gag.)
The Lavender Hill Mob
The Man In The White Suit
Alec Gunness British comedies from 1949 to about 1952.
In "Kind Hearts" he plays 8 different roles as both male and female, hilarious dark comedy.
Guinness was a genius long before Bridge On The River Kwai and Star Wars.
These early British comedies are masterpieces that still hold up well decades later. Should be sought out and watched, seriously.
Quote from: Hydra009 on May 11, 2015, 09:49:44 PM
If that's your honest (and laughably wrong) opinion, then skip the movie recommendations and head straight for this:
(http://static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/2/24038/1853567-reader_rabbit_learn_to_read_game.jpg)
Hydra, did I ever tell you to kiss my ass? No? Well kiss my ass. Nothing personal.
Quote from: stromboli on May 10, 2015, 10:09:44 PM
Ghost In The Shell- Can't believe I left that out.
Still no Tom Cruise movies.......
Yes.
Quote from: trdsf on May 11, 2015, 07:45:11 PM
Psycho - There was no shot for shot remake. That was just a mass hallucination. This is the real deal. Hitch was a genius.
Rear Window - Speaking of Hitchcock. The look Raymond Burr gave when he realized where he was being watched from... yikes!
Yes, Hitchcock was amazing. My favorite movie of his has to be
North by Northwest 1959. Martin Landau is especially creepy as one of James Mason's henchmen.
I really liked Transcendence with Johnny Depp.
[spoiler]All throughout the movie the A.I. version (or "uploaded" version, if you will) of Johnny Depp's character is construed as this evil mechanized machine by his opponents, and you're really not given his point of view/perspective, only through the eyes of his opponents, even his best friend - yet all he wished for was to be with his wife. Also the ending sorta gave hints or an open possibility for a sequel. To me, Transcendence is an instant classic in the sci-fi genre and way ahead of its time. [/spoiler]
Quote from: Sal1981 on May 12, 2015, 10:08:23 AM
I really liked Transcendence with Johnny Depp.
[spoiler]All throughout the movie the A.I. version (or "uploaded" version, if you will) of Johnny Depp's character is construed as this evil mechanized machine by his opponents, and you're really not given his point of view/perspective, only through the eyes of his opponents, even his best friend - yet all he wished for was to be with his wife. Also the ending sorta gave hints or an open possibility for a sequel. To me, Transcendence is an instant classic in the sci-fi genre and way ahead of its time. [/spoiler]
That one got panned by the critics. I can't remember how big it was at the box office. I passed until it showed up at Redbox. Like you, I thought it was a good movie, which surprised me, because the reviews made it sound pretty bad.
And speaking of AI, I just got back from the theater after seeing Ex Machina. A very good film, and supposedly anti-religious, although I didn't find it to be anti-religious. It just treated religion as irrelevant to the plot of the movie. But I did find this article talking about it's anti-religion.
http://www.cruxnow.com/life/2015/05/10/the-anti-humanism-of-ex-machina-makes-it-the-post-christian-film-of-the-year/
According to the above author, the anti-religious message is that human desires, emotions, and impulses don't need a god for their existence, and while that's true, it was much underplayed by the movie.
Quote from: SGOS on May 12, 2015, 05:50:09 PM
And speaking of AI, I just got back from the theater after seeing Ex Machina. A very good film, and supposedly anti-religious, although I didn't find it to be anti-religious. It just treated religion as irrelevant to the plot of the movie. But I did find this article talking about it's anti-religion.
http://www.cruxnow.com/life/2015/05/10/the-anti-humanism-of-ex-machina-makes-it-the-post-christian-film-of-the-year/
According to the above author, the anti-religious message is that human desires, emotions, and impulses don't need a god for their existence, and while that's true, it was much underplayed by the movie.
If you build an AI that contains all of the knowledge available to humanity and the ability to learn continually, is by every known test a rational self aware entity, and can exist indefinitely, you have in effect built a prototype for a god. Were it capable of being self sustaining and be in a position to render judgment on humanity as an independent entity, it would be a god.
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's
Shaun of the Dead
Hot Fuzz
At World's End
Paul
Just saw At World"s End. Got to say I'm a fan. Every thing they do is funny, and they put people like Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan, both of whom played James Bond, in character roles as villains playing against type. Good stuff.
Comedy's turn. Somewhat belatedly.
I love all the Marx Brothers work, but if I had to plump for just one and just beating my head against a wall until it stopped being funny weren't an option, I'd go with Duck Soup. Groucho and Margaret Dumont are arguably the greatest comic and straight (wo)man act ever, and the sequence at the end when all three brothers are dressed in Groucho's mustache and glasses never stops being funny.
Young Frankenstein - I mean, you'd be entirely within your rights to question my sanity if I didn't include it.
Larry Blamire has made several of my favorite comedies, starting with The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra which lurks somewhere between being a parody of and an homage to the monster movies of the 50s and 60s, the sorts of things turned out in three or four days by Roger Corman or Bert I. Gordon. He followed that up with what's become my favorite mobster movie, Johnny Slade's Greatest Hits which I can't describe without giving away plot points. He had a go at bigger-budget sci-fi movies with Trail of the Screaming Forehead, then returned to Cadavra with The Lost Skeleton Returns Again!, and most recently had a whack at haunted house on a hill movies from the 40s with Dark and Stormy Night.
Of course, there's the movie that reinvented Leslie Nielsen's career, Airplane!. Is it childish and sophomoric? Sure. It's also hilarious.
Despite speaking no French beyond oui and merde, Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noir is fantastic even with subtitles, but it relies more on physical comedy than it does wordplay and Pierre Richard is a master of it. Don't bother with the American remake, "The Man with One Red Shoe".
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is in the same category as Young Frankenstein, of course -- if it weren't here, I might be insane.
Can a movie consisting essentially of one long chase scene work? Yes, if it's It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World. Can a movie about the end of the world be funny? Yes, if it's Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
Mel Brooks needs more representation here, so I'm going to add The Producers, Blazing Saddles, and what I think is his best film as a film (where Young Frankenstein is his best comedy), High Anxiety. I'm afraid I only thought Spaceballs was good, but not up there with his earlier work.
Couple Bill Murray (et al.) movies here: Caddyshack and Ghostbusters.
And even though it's not as good as many of their TV episodes, and is actually shorter than any of them, I need to mention Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie just for getting to see Mike and the Bots on the big screen.
Reserving the right for later modifications, as usual...
oh man Ghostbusters, I forgot to add those to the list.
I know the second movie isn't considered as awesome as the first, but honestly that scene with the statue of liberty always gives me the goosebumps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjskzUlJOfc
Especially at 4:04
True the ending fight wasn't as awesome as the fight against Gozer, but still love this scene ^^
This has lain fallow for far too long. So, my list of Biographical/Historical/Political favorites.
Ed Wood. More Burton/Depp goodness. We were publishing our 'zine back then, and "Cut! Print! Perfect!" became our code for "I'm fucking finished editing this thing and I don't care anymore how many typos are in it!"
Amadeus succeeds on so many different levels -- as a movie, as a story, as a lush moving painting for the eyes, as a delivery vehicle for sublime music. I wish I had the time to watch it more often
Since I like to cook, and since I've always been a huge fan of Julia Child, I was pleased that Julie and Julia was as good as it turned out to be -- Meryl Streep is Julia Child, she absolutely inhabits the role.
All the President's Men straddles the line between the political and the historical, and has great performances all around. Also perched on that line is the musical 1776, which I like to get out every Fourth of July; William Daniels was brilliant as John Adams.
Wandering somewhere in the vicinity of not only the political and historical but the biographical as well is Inherit the Wind, the main characters of which are mostly based on the participants in the Scopes "Monkey Trial". Spencer Tracy is always brilliant, of course.
And of course there's The Right Stuff, based on Tom Wolfe's book on the Mercury program.
Last of all, there's the original The Manchurian Candidate. Angela Lansbury was fucking creepy.
Reserving the right, yadda yadda.
Definitely agree on:
Amadeus ... did you ever see Copying Beethoven?
All The President's Men ... and we still don't know what really happened.
1776 ... my daughter has really enjoyed seeing Hamilton
Inherit The Wind
The Right Stuff - this is how I felt when I was in aerospace work
The Manchurian Candidate - this is so close to Pamela Churchill Harriman ... and Bill Clinton. I consider Hillary to be Bride Of Manchurian Candidate. Then both malefactors are British ... Angela and Pamela. One imaginary and one real. Cruz being nominated would be Dracula Meets Bride Of Manchurian Candidate.
Did Julie And Julia bring out her role as an intelligence agent in WWII? Speaking of Meryl Streep, what do you think of Dangerous Liaisons? I don't know Ed Wood.
But I also really like Seven Days In May ... very prophetic.
Quote from: Baruch on May 07, 2016, 06:09:30 PM
Definitely agree on:
Amadeus ... did you ever see Copying Beethoven?
No, but I did see Gary Oldman's turn as Ludwig in "Immortal Beloved", which was pretty good but not Amadeus caliber.
Quote from: Baruch on May 07, 2016, 06:09:30 PM
Did Julie And Julia bring out her role as an intelligence agent in WWII? Speaking of Meryl Streep, what do you think of Dangerous Liaisons?
Never saw
Dangerous Liaisons. And yes,
Julie and Julia did touch on her wartime experience (especially as that's where she met Paul Child), though it didn't go into great detail.
Streep has that rare ability to always surprise me when she takes on a role, and yet I don't generally go seeking out her movies.
Quote from: Baruch on May 07, 2016, 06:09:30 PM
I don't know Ed Wood.
But I also really like Seven Days In May ... very prophetic.
Ed Wood is the man responsible (if that's the right word) for
Plan Nine from Outer Space, often incorrectly called the worst movie ever made. Highly, highly recommended -- both Burton's movie about Ed Wood, and Ed Wood's own movies. Hint: unless you have an abnormally high 'WTF' threshhold, I recommend easing into Wood before tackling
Glen or Glenda? :)
And yes,
Seven Days in May was great. Also from that same time period, I'd recommend 1964's
Fail Safe.
Ed Wood is a brilliant movie. I was just thinking of Ed's veiled dance the other day. I think of that movie a lot.
Some of my faves
All Star Wars: This is the real story of humanity
Shrek: An honest look at relationships while taking cheap shots at Disney
School of Rock: I think some of the kids around here are going to die of an uptight heart
Rocky Horror Picture Show: Might want to rethink that absolute pleasure thing
Shock Treatment: Not a sequel, but an equal. Humanity in a studio
K-PAX: The aftermath of slaughter
I love all series of twilight.
One of my favorite movies is Best in Show so I am really looking forward to Mascots.
https://youtu.be/FxzLE2XiYKQ
Favorite movies is kinda like favorite music…..maybe you haven't seen enough of either. But for me. LOTR's. No question.
The Godfather
Hick
Let Me In
Blair Witch Project
Quote from: aitm on September 06, 2016, 08:47:45 PM
Favorite movies is kinda like favorite music…..maybe you haven't seen enough of either. But for me. LOTR's. No question.
I watch the LOTR's once a year. Now I'm adding the Hobbits.
For you haters: (http://rationalia.com/z/teafinger.gif)
LOTR is also one of my favorites.
The Incredibles is another movie I can watch repeatedly. It is probably my favorite superhero movie.
Quote from: GSOgymrat on September 07, 2016, 05:28:16 PM
LOTR is also one of my favorites.
The Incredibles is another movie I can watch repeatedly. It is probably my favorite superhero movie.
Yeah, it's a good one. How about "Epic"?
Quote from: Gawdzilla Sama on September 08, 2016, 10:51:09 AM
Yeah, it's a good one. How about "Epic"?
I have not seen "Epic" but added it to my movie watch list.
The 13th Warrior. My favorite because I watched it with my 2 boys more times than I can remember. There was a time when they were teenagers when I would come home from work, throw together a meal of questionable nutrition, sit down in the front room to eat and ask them, "you want to watch a movie?" The 13th Warrior was our go to for the longest time.
Spirited Away
Princess Mononoke
Aladdin
The Lion King
Here are some of the movies I had the most fun watching.
Sci Fi:
Day the Earth Stood Still.
George Pal's War of the Worlds
First three Planet of the Apes movies
Westworld
Infra-Man
Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Laserblast
Alien and Aliens
Star Trek the Motion Picture and Wrath of Khan
Scanners
John Carpenter's The Thing
Dune
The Fifth Element
Starship Troopers
Dark City
Galaxy Quest
A.I.
Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Avatar
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Fantasy:
Dragonslayer
Dragon Heart
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Golden Compass
Superhero:
Batman
Batman Begins
The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight Rises
Green Lantern
Man of Steel
All the Marvel Studios movies, especially Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Ant Man.
Animated:
Watership Down
Heavy Metal
Akira
Don't watch many movies anymore. Not sure why. Short list of favs:
Avatar
A Knight's Tale
Shanghai Noon
A Sound of Music
War of the Worlds (50's ed.)
A Few Good Men
Platoon
A small list
The Godfather (the whole trilogy, though the first is the best)
Die Hard (All but 5.)
Coraline
The lord of the rings trilogy (The hobbit films are aight too, but not my favorite)
The Dark Knight
Alien & Aliens
True Gritt (the new version)
For a fistfull of dollars
De Zaak Alzheimer (Belgian movie)
And I most recently saw The Raid: Redemption. It may be that it's just lodged in my brain because of that, but it jumps straight up there.
There must be more I'm forgetting right
Edit: Oh; and schindler's list. Amazing film.
Quote from: Mr.Obvious on October 10, 2016, 06:55:32 AM
A small list
The Godfather (the whole trilogy, though the first is the best)
Die Hard (All but 5.)
Coraline
The lord of the rings trilogy (The hobbit films are aight too, but not my favorite)
The Dark Knight
Alien & Aliens
True Gritt (the new version)
For a fistfull of dollars
De Zaak Alzheimer (Belgian movie)
And I most recently saw The Raid: Redemption. It may be that it's just lodged in my brain because of that, but it jumps straight up there.
There must be more I'm forgetting right
Edit: Oh; and schindler's list. Amazing film.
Ah, yes--Schindler's List--it is an amazing film; how did I forget it?
Anyone other Donnie Darko fans?
Quote from: GSOgymrat on October 11, 2016, 06:50:41 PM
Anyone other Donnie Darko fans?
can't say I was a fan per say of it, but it had an interesting premise, one of those movies I had to watch several times over to get the full scope of it.
Quote from: Solomon Zorn on September 19, 2016, 04:30:52 PM
Green Lantern
Wow, you are like the first person I've ever heard of that lists Green Lantern as a favorite movie!
Personally, I didn't "hate" it like it seems most people did. I did consider it pretty forgettable and certainly not a favorite. But at the time I considered it "passable". I remember there was a line that I really liked in it, but I can't even remember how it went. But, the female character ridiculed the hero about the eye mask and asked if he really thought that little strip mask was going to fool anybody. Don't remember what the answer was. I guess it wasn't *that* great of a line, LOL.
I also liked how Ryan Reynolds made fun of Green Lantern a bit in Deadpool when he was thinking about a costume for Deadpool and said, "It can't be green, definitely not green".