Favorite Movies?

[Shinmaru]

I'm pretty sure this thread has not been done in a while, and everyone's picks have probably changed quite a bit since it last happened.

I am going to stick with a top 10 (and a bunch of honorable mentions because I am a loser), but you all can list as many as you care to. Go wild!

1. [b]Dr. Strangelove[/b] (1964): Everything I love about the movies is in this -- sharp dialogue, batshit insane characters, a strong story that doesn't pull any punches, and it looks incredible to boot. Hard to believe so much is packed into only 90 minutes. I'm always impressed with something different every time I watch Dr. Strangelove; right now, I am obsessing over George C. Scott's performance. The guy is nuts lol.

2. [b]The Empire Strikes Back[/b] (1980): Not that it isn't a great movie, but this is definitely a sentimental placement on my list. This is the one that made me fall in love with the movies. I saw it when the original Star Wars trilogy was re-released in theaters, and I wasn't even spoiled beforehand, so I'm a pretty lucky guy, haha. Probably what I like most about The Empire Strikes Back is the pure sense of adventure -- my favorite scene is the asteroid chase, because that is the one point in all the Star Wars movies where [i]everything[/i] (plot, visuals, music, etc.) meshes perfectly to create that sense of magic, excitement and adventure. I get chills thinking about it.

3. [b]Psycho[/b] (1960): This scared the holy hell out of me when I first saw it (I was probably about 10 or 11). Anthony Perkins ... man, I just spent five minutes trying to think of a way to construct this sentence, and I can't do his acting justice. He's utterly frightening and sympathetic at the same time; who doesn't feel for Norman Bates the first time he or she sees him? The guy's such a nervous dork. But, um, I'm pretty sure we all know how that ends up lol.

4. [b]Duck Soup[/b] (1933): It's just ****ing funny. That's it. The story makes no sense at all, and it doesn't matter, because the movie is hilarious.

5. [b]Dog Day Afternoon[/b] (1975): Out of everything Al Pacino has done, this is the one performance that grabs me by the throat and doesn't let go. He's a constant ball of nervous energy, all packed in and ready to explode at any moment. Just watching Pacino for a few seconds in this is enough to ratchet the intensity way past 11.

6. [b]Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind[/b] (2004): Joel has struck a chord with many a lonely loser (including this lonely loser :P), I'm sure, and Kate Winslet ... well, I'm as head over heels in love with her in this as Jim Carrey is. When love stories are done wrong, they are super cheesy and unbearable, but when they're done right, I'd say there is almost nothing that makes me happier (*watches his street cred plunge after writing that*).

7. [b]Grave of the Fireflies[/b] (1988): I've only seen it once, because, frankly, I don't know that I could bear to watch it again, and I don't even think it's [i]that[/i] depressing (at least not at the end, when there's at least a glimmer of hope). The ride to the end is one big, emotional gut punch, and it's so hard to take.

8. [b]The Hustler[/b] (1961): I don't know what I was expecting when I first watched this, but holy Christ is it amazing. For people worried that it's one big pool movie, know that pool is the absolute last thing this is about. It's a completely engrossing movie about obsession and destruction, and the whole thing is just devastating to watch play out. This helped make Paul Newman a star and rightfully so; also, George C. Scott is an evil, evil man. Just despicable.

9. [b]Mulholland Dr.[/b] (2001): An utter mind****, but it's one that's actually enjoyable because it's done with such style and such a great sense of mood. David Lynch is one of the few people who could craft a movie purely out of a sense of dread and actually get away with it (actually, he's made a career of it lol).

10. [b]The Thing[/b] (1982): Speaking of moods, I'm pretty sure I turn into a complete paranoid maniac whenever I watch The Thing. The special effects are also brutally effective; they hold up perfectly more than 25 years after the fact, and they make an already intense movie go into overdrive. When I die, it will probably because this movie made my heart explode.

[b]Honorable Mentions[/b]: [b]Heathers[/b], [b]Young Frankenstein[/b], [b]Amelie[/b], [b]Lost in Translation[/b], [b]Ed Wood[/b], [b]Field of Dreams[/b], [b]Evil Dead II[/b], [b]The Great Dictator[/b], [b]My Fair Lady[/b] ...

Um, I'll stop myself right now, because I have already taken WAY too long to make this thread. Have at it, everyone! :)

[Lady Aura]

[CENTER][FONT="Palatino Linotype"]^^; I don't know the years that these movies were made, but my favorites are:

[B]Spirited Away[/B] - This is the first anime movie that I ever saw, and I fell in love with it during the first five minutes of it. I even named my cat Chihiro in honor of the movie, but that was a few years ago.

[B]Howl's Moving Castle [/B]- Another all-time favorite. The first time I saw Howl, I instantly had a crush on him. -Oh, fangirl!- It just has an amazing storyline and wonderful ending.

[B]Princess Mononoke [/B]- Haha. I guess you can tell that I'm a huge Hayao Miyazaki fan. Anyway, this moving is so touching. I cried at the end because it was so wonderful.

[B]The Ring 1 & 2 [/B]- My favorite scary movies. My neighbor made me watch the first one when I was in 3rd grade, and I hated it the first time because of the freakish faces. But I've grown to love the movies as I grew older.

[B]Red Vs. Blue [/B]- Oh my gosh. The RVB movies are so funny. Well, they might not be unless you're a Halo fan.

[B]The Exorcism of Emily Rose [/B]- At first, I thought this movie was going to be really stupid and boring, but it was actually pretty damn scary. It gave me nightmares.[/FONT][/CENTER]

[DeLarge]

[SIZE=1][B]High Fidelity [/B]- I go on about this movie far too much - it's just so funny, and the soundtrack is awesome, and I really relate to the character of Rob in a way I don't really relate with any other film character.

[B]Hot Fuzz [/B]- how can you not love this movie? Funny, violent, action-packed, and utterly, quintessentially British. I've been a huge fan of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost for many years, since before they were doing films, and this is just the peak of their talents.

[B]Fight Club - [/B]brilliant film - again, funny and violent, and deep too! Never thought you'd get all those in a film, but this one works fantastically.

[B]American Beauty - [/B]the dark sense of humour running throughout this film gets me every time. Spacey is brilliant, and it appeals to every man who is stuck in a routine of total monotony.

[B]The Blues Brothers - [/B]humour, epic car chases [I]and [/I]music? You gotta love this film from start to finish, no matter what kind of film you like. And I listen to the soundtrack in my car and have to stop myself from angering the police just so I can have an epic car chase.

[B]Evil Dead II - [/B]cult classic for very good reason. Funny and violent (does anyone else see a pattern emerging?), and the soundtrack is amazing. A must-see.

These are just off the top of my head - it's quite late and I can't really think much deeper than the really obvious ones. If I can think straight in the morning I may add a few more.
[/SIZE]

[Shinmaru]

[quote name='Lady Aura'][CENTER][FONT="Palatino Linotype"]^^; I don't know the years that these movies were made ...[/FONT][/CENTER][/QUOTE]

Haha, well, I just listed the years because I'm a loser, but you can easily look them up on [b][url=www.imdb.com]IMDb[/url][/b] if you're curious.

I like Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle. I checked out The Exorcism of Emily Rose from the library once, too, but I didn't have time to watch it. Maybe I'll look for it again. Hm.

DeLarge: High Fidelity rocks -- I had so many people talk that movie up to me, and I wasn't disappointed in the least. Hot Fuzz is just great, silly fun. Fight Club I like but don't love, although that and Se7en gave me a greater appreciation of Brad Pitt. Haven't seen American Beauty in a looooooooong time. Don't know how I would feel about it today. The Blues Brothers is the most fun musical ever. I always have a blast when I watch it. Evil Dead II barely missed my top 10, so that should say something about how much I like it. :)

[Sara]

[quote name='Shinmaru'][b]Psycho[/b] (1960): This scared the holy hell out of me when I first saw it (I was probably about 10 or 11). Anthony Perkins ... man, I just spent five minutes trying to think of a way to construct this sentence, and I can't do his acting justice. He's utterly frightening and sympathetic at the same time; who doesn't feel for Norman Bates the first time he or she sees him? The guy's such a nervous dork. But, um, I'm pretty sure we all know how that ends up lol.
[/QUOTE][font=trebuchet ms]I know this has come up before, but I have a huge crush on Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates.

He offers her sandwiches! And milk![/font]

[eleanor]

[font=trebuchet ms] In no particular order, ten of my favorite movies:

-[b]American Beauty[/b] (1999): This movie really took off well with the "suburban nightmare" theme, and it was just so well done. The acting, writing, and directing of this movie were all done superbly-- Kevin Spacey's performance was top-notch and the writing was darkly humorous and meaningful. The only nitpick I have was the end scene, another "thank you Captain Obvious" monologue that was just unecessary.

-[b]Pride & Prejudice[/b] (2005): One of the only romance movies that I have gone back to again and again. As well as being a good piece of eye candy (Knightley, MacFayden, the scenery, etc.), the movie is everything I ask for in a romance movie. A get-together movie, not too melodramatic, at times humorous, and subtly incredibly sexy. The [spoiler]rain scene where Darcy first confesses his love[/spoiler] took my breath away the first time I saw it.

-[b]Fight Club[/b] (1999): Another amazing performance by Edward Norton (<3). It was entertaining, stylish, intelligent, meaningful, and to make it all sing it was very well executed. And seriously, Edward Norton.

-[b]The Shawshank Redemption[/b] (1994): Tim Robbin, Morgan Freeman, James Whitmore; duh: this movie is incredible. I say "this movie was meaningful" about a lot of my favorite movies, but [b]The Shawshank Redemption[/b] I felt really did a kickass job of fleshing out its themes of hope, freedom, and redemption.

-[b]The Godfather[/b] (1972): This movie scares me, it completely kills off my feminist side. lol But seriously, Marlon Brando and Al Pacion were freakin' great in this. The plot was solid and I liked its almost subtle nature. It took its time with things, but in the end it earned its long run.

-[b]Ratatouille[/b] (2007): I love Pixar, they continue to surprise me by making these movies with almost absurd settings and blowing the audience away anyway. Of course, the animation quality is superb, the "acting" is amazing, and it's probably the finest piece of animation I've ever seen. Funny, touching, entertaining, it's everything you asked for and more.

-[b]Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back[/b]: No explanation needed.

-[b]Ocean's 11[/b]: I love this movie, it's just so goddamn entertaining. The script is just slick and cool, and George Clooney and Co. were the perfect people to make it comes to life. It doesn't offer any heartstopping performances or profound thoughts on life, but it does a damn good job of what it set out to do.

-[b]Lord of the Rings Trilogy[/b]: Again, no explanation needed.

Other favs: [b]This is Spinal Tap[/b], [b]To Kill a Mockingbird[/b], [b]Dead Poets Society[/b], [b]Moulin Rouge[/b], [b]Sling Blade[/b], [b]Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2[/b], [b]Sin City[/b], [b]Back to the Future[/b], [b]Gladiator[/b], [b]Bourne Trilogy[/b], [b]Hot Fuzz[/b], [b]There Will Be Blood[/b], [b]Scent of a Woman[/b], [b]Aladdin[/b], [b]Wall-E[/b], [b]The Incredibles[/b], [b]Ed Wood[/b], [b]Amelie[/b], [b]A Very Long Engagement[/b], [b]Forrest Gump[/b], a bunch others. :)[/font]

[Shinmaru]

[quote name='Lunox'][font=trebuchet ms] [b]There Will Be Blood[/b][/font][/QUOTE]

Ooh, don't know why I didn't drop this in my honorable mentions. GREAT movie, easily my favorite that I saw from last year (though I have a lot of catching up to do, as always, haha). I never got the complaints about it being all about Daniel Day-Lewis, with little story to go along with it. Yeah, he dominates the movie, but Daniel Plainview's feud with Eli is a perfectly compelling story. If the story weren't so good, then the ending wouldn't be half as amazing and haunting as it is.

[randomuser83]

Shawshank Redemption= Great movie with great acting.

[EmoSock]

[B]GetSmart[/B]: AHA! *laughs so hard can't breathe*

[B]The Dark Knight[/B]: I saw it three times in the theatre already... Do I [I]really[/I] need to explain how awsome it is?!

[B]Independence Day[/B]: Go Will Smith!

[B]Transformers[/B]: *geeks out about it*

Im too lazy right now to think of more, but if i do i'll edit

[Shinmaru]

I think [url=http://www.empireonline.com/500/vote.asp][b]this link[/b][/url] is relevant to the topic. Empire, a UK movie magazine, is doing a online poll to determine the top 500 movies of all time. You can register and fill in your top 10. I did it with the list I posted here, of course. :)