Favorite Movies

[Hijiri Byakuren]

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.)

[Shiranu]

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.

[trdsf]

Time for Documentary and Propaganda films



Ð'роненосец «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

[stromboli]

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

[Hydra009]

Memento- 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?

[stromboli]

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.

[Desdinova]

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.

[SGOS]

Memento- 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?

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

[Hydra009]

I 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*

[stromboli]

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.

[stromboli]

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.

[Desdinova]

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.

[trdsf]

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.  :)

[SGOS]

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.

[PickelledEggs]

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