Your Top Favorite Films?

[theJudeAbides]

Hostel- This seems like the most plausible slasher type film to me. It was the first horror flick to really give me the creeps. I'll never let my kids go back-packing across Europe solely because of this film.

I totally agree with this. I'm generally not that big a fan of horror movies, but this one really creeped my the **** out. I distinctly remember going to see this at the student union in college (they showed movies for free after they came out on DVD). They usually had other activities as well, and I remember that they were showing this on Easter weekend and that I had originally thought about checking out some sort of hidden easter egg hunt afterwards. Well, that didn't happen. In fact, following this movie, I promptly went back to my dorm room and curled up into a ball.

As you said, the scariest thing about this movie is it's plausability. Nobody really nows for sure all the crap that goes on in eastern Europe, given it's war-torn, lack of much authority nature. After this movie, I have little inclination to go to Europe as well (at least, not much further east than, say, Germany).


Also, I probably should have had Blade Runner on my list. That is indeed a great film. And of course, Pulp Fiction and Resevoir Dogs are great films that would undoubtably top any action/drama/crime list I made. I'll definately agree that they have some of the smartest dialogue ever seen in cinema. If we could just get Tarantino and Peter Jackson to collaborate on a new, undoubtably awesome film, I'm pretty sure my face and mind would be thoroughly rocked off.

[Walter Kovacs]

Instead of just listing my favorite movies, along with a brief reason for my choices, I decided to give a few categories.

Favorite Movie All Time: Casablanca Casablanca is a true masterpiece. Ture, it does suffer from the 40s & 50s overacted style, but the story is very engaging, all the way through. It didn't have to rely on flashy CGI effects or massive explosions to hold your attention. As a bonus, it has Bogey, whom I consider one of the best actors ever.

Favorite Comedy: Arsenic and Old Lace With all due respect to Blazing Saddles, Arsenic and Old Lace is my favorite comedic film. If you've never seen it, you are certainly missing out. CAry Grant was absolutely brilliant.

Favorite Science Fiction: Close Encounter of the Third Kind While Star Wars Ep IV was certainly good, Close Encounters has always been one of my favorite movies of all time. The mashed potato scene is absolutely calssic.

Favorite Musical: Singing in the Rain I've seen many musicals in my time, and Singing is till my favorite. The scene with Donald O'Connor singing Make 'Em Laugh is absolutely amazing. And if I remember correctly, most of it is all one take.

Favorite Classically Animated Film: Sleeping Beauty This is mostly for the classical soundtrack, but it definitely has the best Disney villian ever. And the climatic scenes are some of the best ever.

Favorite Computer Animated Film: The Incredibles This was a difficult choice. There have been many, many good computer animated films in the last fifteen years. For me, The Incredibles has some of the best acting of them all. The backgrounds are gorgeous (but not as good as Nemo). I think Holly Hunter probably deserved a Best Supporting Actress nod for her work.

Favorite Western: High Noon This film has the most realistic shootout I can ever remember. It's the only Western I've seen where the hero has to hide to reload. That alone gets it high marks. A true classic.

Favorite War Film: Full Metal Jacket R Lee Ermey really made this film. The second half of the movie, while good, doesn't hold a candle to the basic training sequences. And Private Pyle's final scene is chilling.

Favorite Mob Film: Goodfellas Just an all around well made film. I like it a little bit better than the first Godfather (which is an excellent film as well).

Favorite Foreign Film: Das Boot Possibly the best submarine movie ever. And one of the best war movies of all time.

Favorite Sports Movie: Field of Dreams I almost went with Mystery, Alaska for my favorite sports movie. But then I remembered the greatness that is Field of Dreams. I am not particularly fond of Kevin Costner films, but this one is just about perfect. That, and Mystery has far too daylight for the middle of winter in Alaska.

Favorite Chick Flick: When Harry Met Sally This was the first "romantic comedy" that I ever saw, and it still rates as one of the best. And no, I do not want that wagon wheel coffee table.

Favorite Horror Film: House on Haunted Hill (1999) Outside of the 80s slasher films, I haven't seen many horror films. And those slasher films are, for the most part, a waste of film. So I decided to go with the House on Haunted Hill remake. There was a definite creep factor to the film, and the suspense level was pretty high. Avoid the sequel like the plague: it was absolute rubbish.

Favorite Guilty Pleasure: Big Trouble in Little China This Category is for those really cheesy, bad movies that you love to watch anyway. And they don't get much cheesier than Big Trouble.

Favorite Tear Jerker: Lorenzo's Oil This movie made me cry more than any movie ever has. And I saw it BEFORE I became a parent. I hate to think how I'd react to it nowadays. It's a hard movie to watch, but it is very well made.

Favorite Mystery: Clue I have to admit that I haven't watched many mystery movies. But Clue is very,very funny. And fairly clever in it's own right. And I consider the "everyone is guilty" ending to be cannon. Should anyone care.

Favorite Shakespeare Adaptation: Romeo & Juliet (1996) While not a huge Leonardo DiCaprio fan, he was very good in this film. The anachronism with setting this film in modern times, while jarring at first, was pulled off very well. But Harold Perrineau absolutely stole every scene with his depiction of Mercutio. Very good film.

Favorite "I didn't see this coming" moment: The Usual Suspects You know what I mean for this category. The Sixth Sense. The Crying Game. Seven, to some extent. An ending that took you completely by surprise. The Usual Suspects is a great film, but the ending is just phenominal.

There have been a lot of other good films mentioned previously. 12 Angry Men is a great movie. Godfather I & II are brilliant. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, 2001, A Clockwork Orange, Citizen Kane, Silence of the Lambs. The list could go on forever and ever.

[theJudeAbides]

That's a pretty good list their, Walter. I haven't seen every single one of those, but I have seen most.

I'd probably disagree on the "classically animated" area, and go with either Lion King or Aladdin. In the end, though, you really can't go wrong with any of the classically animated Disney films (at least, not until they started making ridiculous sequels like Little Mermaid III, or Pocahontas 2).

I haven't seen that many Westerns, so I'm probably not that great of a judge of them, but The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is still my favorite. Perhaps if I saw High Noon I'd change my mind, but can you really top that 3-way showdown with the epic music playing in the background and gratuitous eye-shots? I find it difficult to believe that such a thing could exist.

And while I do really enjoy Full Metal Jacket (Ermey's performance was a career-making one), I really think that Saving Private Ryan gives it a run for it's money. Both are top-notch movies that everyone (who is old enough to appreciate them) should see.

Finally, I haven't seen Lorenzo's Oil, but I have to say that pretty much everyone I've ever met has been unable to keep a dry eye when watching The Green Mile, including myself. For a movie not based off some real life travesty/horror (such as Schindler's List), it evokes some very strong feelings.

Anyways, just a few more of my thoughts.

[banthafodder]

For Western c'mon; High Plains Drifter. Who doesn't like Clint painting the town red and posting a sign saying welcome to hell. I do have to throw Unforgiven in there as well.
Usual Suspects definitely. That one totally caught me off guard. One of Spacey's finest moments.

[Robzula]

Requiem for a Dream: It starts out really tense and agitated, then takes a nosedive into morbidly depressing. I love a good sad ending, and this one just takes the cake.

A.I.: I love the conflict of "is he just a robot or should we have feelings for him?" present throughout this movie.

Pan's Labyrinth: Imaginitive(ly terrifying) characters, brutal action, fairytale story telling... Sure, you have to speak Spanish(?) or else read subtitles for the whole movie, but it's so worth it.

[Walter Kovacs]

There are so many great films, I knew that no one person could name all of them. Which is why I made my list my favorites, not the Best. I can't argue with anyone else's choices.

Saving Private Ryan is another excellent film. I went over my list with my wife, and she had that as her favorite war movie. It also is near the top of our "films you can only watch once" list.

Pan's Labyrinth is a great film. I've only seen it once, but it was certainly an experience.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and High Plains Drifter are excellent movies as well. My wife prefers Rooster Cogburn.

I'm hoping someone mentions some good films that I haven't seen.

[BossMaroni]

I had to work hard to narrow the list down this much, so bear with me. I'm a complete film freak. I could easily add at least two dozen more that I consider "favorites."


The Big Red One - Lee Marvin in a war film=Win.

Big Trouble in Little China - As previously noted, cheesy fun!

Christmas Vacation - My # 1 Christmas standard.

Citizen Kane - Required viewing for anyone who ever wants to even speak about films, in my opinion.

Clerks - Raunchy and over-the-top. I love it.

The Creature from the Black Lagoon - I love the old Universal Monsters, and Gill Man is my favorite.

The Dark Knight - What more needs to be said about this film. Heath Ledger's performance alone sets the standard.

Ed Wood - One of the few Burton films I like, mainly due to my love of the subject matter.

Equilibrium - One of the most underrated films ever made. Everyone should see it. I watched it at a friend's house and literally stopped at the store onthe way home to buy it.

Escape from New York - Kurt Russell at his finest.

Fletch/Fletch Lives - Pure Chevy Chase nirvana.

The Killer - Chow Yun-Fat RULES in this movie. More bullets fly in this flick than in anything short of Saving Private Ryan.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail - One of the greatest comedies ever.

Night of the Living Dead - My favorite horror film of all time. And it's not even really a horror film. (it's a social commentary).

On Golden Pond - I think of my grandparents and cry my eyes out every time I watch it.

The Professional - One of Natalie Portman's greatest performances.

Pump Up the Volume - Much love for this one.

Reservoir Dogs (and Pulp Fiction) - Tarantino's best stuff

Seven Samurai - Probably my favorite film of all time. Filmmaking perfection.

Star Wars: A New Hope - By far my favorite of the Star Wars films. I was 8 in 1977 and it hit me like no other movie ever has.

Used Cars - Wow, 3rd Kurt Russell flick on the list. The man is a god.

Zombieland - NOT a horror film, but the most fun I've had in a theater in a long time.

[TheBohrok]

I'm going to give the favorite list by genre a try, and will probably add to it when I think of more.

Fantasy: The Lord of the Rings hands down. I first saw The Fellowship of the Ring on pan-and-scan VHS on a 13" TV on a three hour drive in the back of a moving van with my brother and sister, but I was hooked. This was when The Two Towers was in theaters, so we didn't have to wait long to see part two. Seeing The Return of the King is one of my greatest theater-going experiences ever. The movies as a whole truly are the first cinematic masterpiece of the 21st century.

Romantic Comedy: Groundhog Day. I fell in love with this movie upon seeing it last year; the humor just clicked so well for me. They don't make them like this anymore. If this movie were to be made nowadays, it would be an excessive raunch-fest. Bill Murray is purely enjoyable and the script delivers on the premise wonderfully.

Western: I didn't think I liked westerns, but The Searchers opened my eyes. John Wayne turns in an excellent performance as a rough wanderer searching for the Comanche chief who kidnapped his niece. The vistas in the background are marvelous and make the film very beautiful, and the story is never boring or uninteresting.

2D Animation: The Lion King. This is easily my favorite Disney movie of the 90's. Every element in this film just works, including the imagery, storytelling, voice acting, and not least, the memorable songs. Disney hasn't managed to reach the same level ever since, but I hope that The Princess and the Frog signals a return to eventual greatness. Honorable Mention: The Prince of Egypt

Foreign Film: I haven't really seen many foreign films, but I hope to amend that. In the meantime, Seven Samurai occupies this spot. This movie is amazing in that even though it's three and a half hours long, it certainly doesn't feel it. With time, every single character grows on you and you end up caring for every one of them, even if you have to read what they're saying. That itself is a masterful accomplishment.

[OOM-9]

Not in any order but I'll briefly explain why I like these three.

1. The Avengers
Based off the 60's British TV series. Critics hate it but I thought it was a decent film. It had plenty of action and I didn't find the plot hard to follow at all. It was funny to see Sean Connery as the villain for once.

2. Raiders of the Lost Ark
The best out of all the Indiana Jones films. I love action adventure themes and this film was great on all levels, good mix of action, comedy, and suspense. Harrison Ford was perfect for the lead role. The stunts were also great the truck chase kept me on the edge of my seat the first time I saw it.

3. Steamboy
I love history and the steampunk genre. Steamboy has some of the most beautifully animated and detailed scenes of all the animes I've seen. The detail of of Victorian London and Manchester was amazing as well as all the steam powered vehicles and what not. The plot was lacking and the film lasted a while but it was still entertaining to watch.

Some of my other favorites include...
The Sandlot
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
An American Tail
The Great Mouse Detective
Clue
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Oscar

[Masta' Bo]

Yeah for comedy I'm gonna have to go with Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. Before I first watched it, I was highly skeptical, but seriously, it was such a great film. Particularly what I liked was how shallow it was, yet at the same time intrinsic—however, never going too far as to stray away from what is comedy and what is "MacFarlane-ian" comedy (Family Guy-esque references that, half the time, nobody understands). Also up there is Superbad, one of Apatow's better movies (it gets better every time, unlike a lot of comedies i.e. Pineapple Express.) Step Brothers is also a contemporary comedy classic, if you are to call it anything.

Action is a tough choice, but I'd probably say Pulp Fiction. Its gruesome uniqueness and point of view is like no other. Die Hard is surprisingly clever as well.

Sci-Fi is, ahhhhh, Gattaca. If you've never seen it, I highly recommend it (of course you'll have to judge my credibility as a critic first). It's semi-dystopian, the music is haunting, and the acting is not to shabby as well. Star Wars, as a series is runner up. Close Encounters never really hit home with me, although I do like Alien/Aliens a lot (they are not horror).

Animated is Toy Story, a Bug's Life, the Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., Up, Ratatouille, Toy Story 2, Cars...you get the picture... No one Pixar film takes the cake because they are all nearly flawless. (Except for Cars. Cars sucks. Just Kidding, of course.) Once again, the character perspective is one-of-a-kind.

War films I am not a huge fan of, but I'll say The Pianist because, once again, the point of view is very unique. He's no soldier, nor a concentration camp victim, nor even a politician. He is just an average man, with a "virtually" useless talent come wartime.

Finally, the greatest films ever are the Lord of the Rings. Well, they are not the best, nor my favorites, but still...they are good on so many levels.


(

Citizen Kane - Required viewing for anyone who ever wants to even speak about films, in my opinion.

I disagree. I believe that movies, post '60's, changed in a great way, for better or worse. I think one will find that there are two schools of thought when it comes to film, "classics" and "non-classics", and any film can indeed become a classic, or be considered one, without the AFI and their almighty appraisal of Citizen Kane to be the judge. Sorry if I'm being too brash, but I believe many critics overlook new movies because they are stuck in the past. )

[BossMaroni]

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.
Superbad
Pulp Fiction
Die Hard
I do like Alien/Aliens a lot (they are not horror).

(

Citizen Kane - Required viewing for anyone who ever wants to even speak about films, in my opinion.

I disagree. I believe that movies, post '60's, changed in a great way, for better or worse. I think one will find that there are two schools of thought when it comes to film, "classics" and "non-classics", and any film can indeed become a classic, or be considered one, without the AFI and their almighty appraisal of Citizen Kane to be the judge. Sorry if I'm being too brash, but I believe many critics overlook new movies because they are stuck in the past. )

Good choices up there, though I disagree about Alien. I still consider it to be horror. The sequels are all sci-fi/action.

I definitely see your point. I couldn't care less about what the AFI thinks of Citizen Kane though, I just think it's without equal. I prefer to judge a movie on its own merit, rather than say something like, "Well, it wasn't as good as..." The problem is that so many people just don't get the film. They don't want to see a movie that's black and white, with no boobs or gun battles (not that there is ANYTHING wrong with films that have one or both of those). It's also hard for many people to watch movies that are so dated, and I get that.

No, I don't think you're being too brash, but I'm also not a critic. ;o) Well, not a professional critic. Just a raving lover of film.

It all comes down to one thing: What movies do you enjoy watching?

[banthafodder]

For comedy I would throw in Hangover. Haven't laughed so hard in a movie for I don't know how long.

[Jabba the Taff]

Without thinking about it too much (But becasue I was thinking about one of them in another thread) and in no particular order:

All the President's Men - I'm still on the edge of my seat and I've seen it 20 times.
On the Watefront - Brando's a god, and this him basically redefining film acting. And Eve Marie Saint is severely underrated in this.
Duck Soup - sorry, mum. But I only love you because you introduced me to the Marx Brothers. Just relentless.
Road to Perdition - a beautiful soundtrack, a non-annoying child actor, Hanks mixing it up, and wonderfully shot.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - well, a script written in golddust, elevated to heavan by two filmstars operating at full wattage.
Zoolander - because I know how it feels to be ridiculously good looking.
Nine Queens - I love heist/hustle films and this paraguayan film is my favourite.
Singing in the Rain - you see Donald O'Connor dancing and it's brilliant and then you look Gene Kelly and realise that O'Connor is not in the same league. GK is just rhythm itself, his whole body is in languid but precise, smooth time.
Get Shorty - my go to movie. Just love it. The tightest, crispest film. Not a scene wasted, it's edited to within an inch of it's life. Over all too soon. Zinging!
Iron Man - I'm not sure this will stay here, but with the next one coming out, I'm rediscovering it. I love it just because of Downey Jr's last line. Up there with 'Nobody's Perfect.'
Keeping the Faith - a rom-com I wanted to see again. How did that happen?

[thepatient]

For a good laugh one of my favorite comedies is the original Bedazzled with Dudley Moore and Peter Cook. The scene when Dudley Moore has to jump on a trampoline in a nun's outfit is still one of the funniest things I've ever watched. I had tears laughing so hard on that bit. The later version was still pretty good, but it was Americanized, and even though it was funny too, it doesn't hold a candle to the first version.

[The Brain]

I would like to add my full list of many favorite movies, but I'm not inclined to sit and type for awhile, especially since most people have listed many of my favorites already.

One that I noticed had not been put up there yet was Princess Mononoke. This is truly one of my favorite films, though I'm sort of ashamed to admit I don't remember it all that well (I saw it 6 or 7 years ago). However, I distinctly remember the social commentary and environmentalist perspective watching the movie, and it truly is a masterpiece. I challenge anyone on here who has seen it to disagree.

[Robzula]

I've got to add some more

Funny Games: A hilarious story about two gentlemen who kidnap a family and murder them. Yes, I'm being totally serious
I Am Legend: Terrific acting, perfect sense of isolation, terrifying monsters, and it all just felt real
9: I had such high expectations for this film, and there were all met. Some people complain there's a little left unanswered, but that's kinda the point; we see\know what 9 sees\knows. Plus it's only an hour long
Fantastic Mr. Fox: A quirky, funny movie which really made me feel the director did a good job for the first time (I mean really, they get all the credit for telling the actors where to stand, where to put the camera, etc. while the screenwriters get jack?)
1408: The best horror movie I've ever seen. Not only does it scare the hell out of you with the monsters and things jumping out, but it gets in your mind, man!
A Clockwork Orange: So much shocker fuel you can't help but love it (not for the faint of heart, it more than deserves its R rating)
UHF: It's Wierd Al in a movie starring him. Need I say more?

[Lego Conductor]

A Top Ten of mine would be:
Dr. Strange Love, or how I stopped worrying and learn to love the bomb
Patton
2001 A Space Odyssey
SW The Empire Strikes Back
Radiers of the Lost Ark
Airplane
Chinatown
SW A New Hope
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Godfather II

Of course I enjoy many more films but these represent the ones that I watch over and over and never seem to lose their magic.

[Daz Hoo]

I can't believe no one mentioned the classiest and funniest space satire of all : Spaceballs.

Mel Brooks at its finest and featuring pretty good actors like Bill Pullman, John Candy and Rick Moranis. One of the best made satire movie of all time IMHO, and a movie I just don't get tired of watching again, and again, and yet again. And yet, I still laugh out loud at most of the jokes.

Another great comedy that I don't get tire of watching : Coming to America. THE finest comedy work ever done by Eddie Murphy IMHO, featuring many cameos by great African American actors : Cuba Gooding Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, James Earl Jones, John Amos, Eriq La Salle... But the best part is all the different caracters played by Murphy and Arsenio Hall. Murphy even plays a white German American for crying out loud!

Those two movies are the best remedy for when you're feeling a little depressed. Both must have in your DVD library.

[BossMaroni]

Re: Spaceballs & Coming to America

Those two movies are the best remedy for when you're feeling a little depressed. Both must have in your DVD library.

AGREED!! Excellent choices. I still nearly cry (laughing) when Eddie Murphy (as the old white guy) strokes the lion pelt on James Earl Jones' shoulder and says, "What is that...velvet?"