Best movies you have seen? - Writers Forum

WriterDude · 11-20-2007, 05:25 AM

This is like the Worst Movies thread, but about the best movies you have seen. Or at least the ones you have enjoyed the most. All movies are in random order unless you say otherwise.

* Titanic: Let's face it, it's brilliant. I thought I would hate a love-story like this, but all in all it's excellent. I hardly ever go to the movie theatre as it's quite expensive over here, and I watched this seven times in there as well as a few times on DVD. It's more or less perfect.

* Evil Dead Trilogy: Starts slow in Evil Dead and goes ballistic in the third one, but as Ash himself said it: Hail to the King, baby! It's excellent. From the early beginnings in Evil Dead one to the "Farwell to arms" joke in the sequel to the ending in the third one, it's brilliant all the way. Just wish they had kept the original ending in the third one, though. But that said, there is an unofficial fourth "movie" as a comic book called Army Of Darkness: Ashes 2 Ashes, and even that is brilliant.

* Bubba Ho-Tep: Mostly for Bruce Campbell fans, but hillarious. Elvis didn't die, he just switched placed with a lookalike and retired. He's now in a retirementhome and has to fight a mummy to protect the world of the barely living. And of course, being Bruce Campbell as Elvis and made after Army of Darkness, it obviously contains the line "Nobody fucks with the King!"

* Gremlins: Take a cute, fluffy little pet. Spill water on it and get lots of them. Feed them after midnight, and you've got a problem. Big time. Takes Christmas carols to a whole new level. And keep an eye out on the woman in the wheelchair. Best. Scene. Ever.

* Prophecy: Supposed to be a horror movie, but I'm not sure. Guy and his pregnant wife goes to a small community far up north in the middle of nowhere to settle things between the natives and a lumbercompany. Problem is something is happening to the animals, so before you know it, you've got a problem. Big one. I wouldn't call this a horror, though. Not sure what to call it, other than excellent.

* The Crow: The perfect movie and quite different from the stupid comic book it's based on.

* Ghost Rider: A superhero movie, yes, but still one hell of a movie. I love it.

* The Indy Trilogy: The second is a bit weaker than the other two, but even that one's excellent. Let's just pray the next one can come even close to these ones.

* Alien Trilogy: The ultimate horror trilogy? Nah, that'd be Evil Dead. This is a close second, though. But ignore the spin-off. It's just aweful.

* Predator: No idea what the second was all about, but this is pretty much perfect. Feels a lot like Alien, but is more action than horror. Maybe it's because it's daytime instead of night, a jungle instead of spaceship or something, but a great movie.

* Superman II: Not sure how four out of five movies with Superman can suck bigtime, but this one rocks. He has three villains worth paying attention to (instead of like in the crappy fourth movie), the story is interesting, the acting quite good (unlike the first movie) and everyone seems to enjoy themselves.

* Batman Begins: First time I saw this, I switched off less than halfway through and hated it. I later gave it a second chance and watched the whole thing - twice.

* The Gift: Cate Blanchett stars as a psychic who can see things and gets involved with a murder. The story itself is great, but the acting raises it from great to instant classic. Even Keanu Reaves is brilliant in this one, and that says something.

* Matrix: Starts out slow with likeable characters and a decent mystery, and goes ballistic with a story so unlikely and stupid it should have sucked. Yet somehow, it's amazing. Screw the special effects, I don't care about that crap. The story is what makes this so damn good.

* Death Race 2000: Race the US from coast to coast. Get extra points for running over people. Need to know more? Alright, stars David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone. Need to know even more? No, you don't. Go watch it instead. It's violent, yes, but in a funny and unrealistic way. Kinda like a cartoon with real people.

* Frankenstein / Bride of Frankenstein: Two movies, yes, but the sequel picks up where the first one ended. Black and white in all it's glory, stars Boris Karloff as the monster and even Elsa Lanchester as the monster's bride and Mary Shelley herself. Not sure how to describe it. Do yourself a favour and watch at least one of these. As a fun piece of trivia, the first Frankenstein had people digging up graves and things like that. Although it doesn't mean much these days, this was unheard of back then and caused a lot of controversy. (this was in the 1930's, after all).

* The Phantom Of The Opera: No, not the musical crap. The real Phantom, starring Lon Chaney Sr as the Phantom in a silent movie. Don't let that part scare you off, though. Back then they made movies by love, no money. It clearly shows.

* The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Again, Lon Chaney Sr in all his glory as the hunchback in one of his best performances ever. Even rivals Phantom Of The Opera. Lon Chaney interviewed people with physical deformations to prepare himself for the role, and his makeup was so damn good many people couldn't tell it was just makeup. Screw CGI, this is how you make a movie!

* The Wolf Man: The classic, starring Lon Chaney Jr. There's a remake scheduled for 2009 with Anthony Hopkins and Benicio Del Toro, so do yourself a favour and get this ASAP. It's the one you want. Trust me.

* The Mummy: Boris Karloff as Imothep, the good, old "not quite dead yet" thousand of year old egyptian. Short to say there's a scene where Karloff reaches out to grab something, and all you see is his hand. Even then, he put on the entire makeup just for that scene, knowing perfectly well it wouldn't show on the screen. That's dedicidation the the role. And just like in Frankenstein, the makeup was a bit painful to wear and took hours to put on. Back then movies were made by love, not money. Just watch the remake with that, uh, George Of he Jungle guy and, um, that other guy. Christ, those movies are bad. And now they are even making a third mummy movie - without the mummy?

ClancyBoy · 11-20-2007, 07:00 AM

Quote:

* The Crow: The perfect movie and quite different from the stupid comic book it's based on.

Oh no you did not sir!

The Crow has a great soundtrack, and the beginning is great, but halfway through it turns to pure shit. After he kills Funboy I usually turn it off.

What do you have against the comic book?

Also Bubba Ho-tep was a fantastic idea but the story just draaaaagged.

My List (in no particular order):

Babbette's Feast (Danish)
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
The Incredibles
Gandhi
Lawrence of Arabia
Akira Kurosawa's "Dreams" (Japanese)
The Seven Samurai (Japanese)
Amadeus
American Beauty
The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Road Home (Chinese)
My Tutor Friend (Korean)
Evil Dead II
The Shining
A Clockwork Orange
2001
Lola Rennt (German)

And my favorite of all time:

Avalon

Yes, I'm a pretentious art fag.

wizdem · 11-20-2007, 07:02 AM

I'm going to just comment of the best movie I've seen recently (albeit over and over again)

DIRTY DANCING!

Johnny Castle gets me everytime. I love the dancing!!

There are plenty more I've enjoyed but I really should be doing college work right now...

ClancyBoy · 11-20-2007, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wizdem

I'm going to just comment of the best movie I've seen recently (albeit over and over again)

DIRTY DANCING!

Johnny Castle gets me everytime. I love the dancing!!

That is a pretty good movie.

Skull pilot · 11-20-2007, 07:44 AM

Shawshank Redemption
Rudy
The Lord of The Rings trilogy
Major paine
Batman begins
The pricess bride
Young frankenstein

Are just a few of mine

Shavixmir · 11-20-2007, 08:03 AM

Motorcycle sluts and the zombies from hell.
But, besides this classic, I'd have to go for:

1. The big Lebowski
2. Pulp Fiction
3. Star Wars
4. The Rocky horror picture show
5. Full Metal Jacket

WriterDude · 11-20-2007, 08:16 AM

Oh yes I did, Clancy.

The comic is just stupid and doens't make sense. He not only talks to the crow, but the crow talks back? He doesn't rise from the grave? He might not even be dead, which ruins the point in the first place. The charactersa are too much of a cliché and boring.

The movie on the other hand is perfect. Great actors, great dialogue, great story, great effects, everything is great.

And I understand Wisdem likes Dirty Dancing, it makes sense as she's female. But you, Clancy? You disappoint me from time to time.

wizdem · 11-20-2007, 08:47 AM

Nothing wrong with a guy liking Dirty Dancing! Just means more people to watch it with. Now if I could only get my boyfriend to like it too ...

WriterDude · 11-20-2007, 10:01 AM

No, there's nothing wrong with a guy who likes Dirty Dancing. There are guys who like Celine Dion, after all...

Slay Ride · 11-20-2007, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WriterDude

This is like the Worst Movies thread, but about the best movies you have seen. Or at least the ones you have enjoyed the most. All movies are in random order unless you say otherwise.

* Titanic: Let's face it, it's brilliant. I thought I would hate a love-story like this, but all in all it's excellent. I hardly ever go to the movie theatre as it's quite expensive over here, and I watched this seven times in there as well as a few times on DVD. It's more or less perfect.

* Bubba Ho-Tep: Mostly for Bruce Campbell fans, but hillarious. Elvis didn't die, he just switched placed with a lookalike and retired. He's now in a retirementhome and has to fight a mummy to protect the world of the barely living. And of course, being Bruce Campbell as Elvis and made after Army of Darkness, it obviously contains the line "Nobody fucks with the King!"

* Gremlins: Take a cute, fluffy little pet. Spill water on it and get lots of them. Feed them after midnight, and you've got a problem. Big time. Takes Christmas carols to a whole new level. And keep an eye out on the woman in the wheelchair. Best. Scene. Ever.

* Superman II: Not sure how four out of five movies with Superman can suck bigtime, but this one rocks. He has three villains worth paying attention to (instead of like in the crappy fourth movie), the story is interesting, the acting quite good (unlike the first movie) and everyone seems to enjoy themselves.

* The Gift: Cate Blanchett stars as a psychic who can see things and gets involved with a murder. The story itself is great, but the acting raises it from great to instant classic. Even Keanu Reaves is brilliant in this one, and that says something.

all dreadful.

Best: The Crow, The Shining, Jacobs Ladder, Prison

WriterDude · 11-21-2007, 03:02 AM

The Crow is perfect, and the original The Shining is excellent. (but don't watch the tv-series or the remake. It's technically called Amityville, but they probably just got the wrong script.)

Jacob's Ladder? Boring, although it does have George in it. (from Seinfeld). Never heard of Prison, although I do like prison movies like Shawshank Redemption.

stephanie · 11-22-2007, 02:57 AM

The Patriot
Amadeus
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
Beetlejuice
Thelma & Louise
Gandhi
The Gate
The Breakfast Club
The Green Mile
Phenomenon
Romeo + Juliet

Rabid Euphoria · 11-22-2007, 05:04 AM

Quote:

* Evil Dead Trilogy: Starts slow in Evil Dead and goes ballistic in the third one, but as Ash himself said it: Hail to the King, baby! It's excellent. From the early beginnings in Evil Dead one to the "Farwell to arms" joke in the sequel to the ending in the third one, it's brilliant all the way. Just wish they had kept the original ending in the third one, though. But that said, there is an unofficial fourth "movie" as a comic book called Army Of Darkness: Ashes 2 Ashes, and even that is brilliant.

It's a trilogy that isn't actually a trilogy. When I watched the second one (seen the first one numerous times) I was like 'wtf, this is like a remake of the first one, except a comedy.' Found it hilarious Raimi said the same thing. Army of Darkness is the greatest B movie of all time. I've heard they are remaking the original.

My list:

Comedy

Happy Gilmore: To me and my friends, a classic. This is the kind of comedy we grew up with and it sadly doesn't exist anymore. Christopher McDonald is so talented, I wish he did more. Too many great lines in this movie. "Is this your ball?" "Yes." "It struck my foot." ... *shooter hits the ball* "That's two thus far Shooter." "Oh great, you can count." "And YOU can count on ME waiting for YOU in the PARKing lot!"

The Waterboy: Basically the same as above. "Mama, what year did Benjamin Franklin invent electricity.?" "What? Your mama invented electricty! Benjamin Franklin is THE DEVIL!"

The Royal Tennenbaums: Besides having an array of colourful characters, an amazing ensemble cast and a wonderful director this movie did nothing wrong. Hackman was great. "She's not the only person in that cemetary." "Oh, that's right. You're wife died. Well, we'll have to swing by her grave too."

Dumb and Dumber: Like Sandler's early works, Jim Carrey's original stuff is part of my childhood. This movie is still hilarious no matter how many times you watch it. "Austrian? G'day mate! Let's throw another shrimp on the barbey!"

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective: Definitely one of the best comedy movies ever made. Everytime I watch this movie I forget how funny it is and how great Jim Carrey was at making us laugh. Too bad his character was just plain retarded through most of the sequel. I think the bathroom scene after learning the horrible truth behind Lois Einhorn is the best scene in the movie. "Veeennturraaaa" "Yes, Satan?" *turns* "oh, I'm sorry sir! I thought you were someone else."

Action

Die Hard: This is pretty definitive as being the best action film of all time. Besides the best action hero ever paired with one of the best villains being the first truly gritty and brutal action movies. Besides doing all the those parts right it had an original plot (perhaps not by today's terrorism clad society) and a great combination of great action sequences, acting and comedy. "Ho Ho Ho, Now I've got a machine gun." I love that line, the nuances in Rickman character make his lines so good.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day: James Cameron is amazing at action movies and this proves it. Cutting edge special effects (for the day), supreme action sequences and plenty of laughs and good storytelling along the way. Robert Patrick is awesome, as well. If anyone has scene the Director's Cut with the Arnold Smiling scene LOL "That's a nice bike."

Batman Begins: I always loved Batman the most because he was the most real and this movie takes it to an all new level. Close to the best ensemble cast from all reaches of film comes together to make an atmospheric, dramatic and unbelievably great film. "Didn't you get the memo?"

Aliens: One of the best sequels of all time. Expanded on the aliens species and did an amazing job with the effects and battle sequences. The Queen alien was phenomenal. The performances were above average, Weaver and Paxton were great. "Game over man! Game over! Those things are gonna come get us! GAME OVER MAN!"

I'll add more tomorrow...

WriterDude · 11-22-2007, 05:41 AM

Evil Dead 2 a remake or sequel? Hard to say. Personally, I think it's a sequel. The first five minutes or so is a story recap of the first one all the way up to where he is attacked in the forest. Then the sequel begin. It's a lot of the same as before, of course, but there is a whole new story with new characters and all that. I don't see how this is a remake any more than, say, every Friday 13th are remakes. People show up. Jason kills them all. Last survivor kills Jason - apparently. The end.

Evil Dead 1 remake? Yes and no. They are making one, but without Sam Raimi, Bruce Campell or even Ash. (Bruce Campbell wouldn't let them "ruin Ash" party because it's not Ash without him, and partly because he and Sam Raimi are working on Evil Dead 4 whenever they have the time. It's coming, although probably not soon.) Not idea if it will be Evil Dead 4, Army of Darkness 2 or based on the original ending in AoD. There was a script based on that ending, though.)

Malone · 11-22-2007, 11:01 AM

I've always heard Evil Dead 2 was a remake...Raimi said he just got more money and wanted to do it the way he originally intended. The third one was one of my favorites. I thought it was absolutely amazing. Bubba-Ho Top totally worked for me. I laughed throughout. Much better than The Man with Two Heads or whatever the last Campbell movie I saw was.
The Crow is a classic to the 80s generation, but I thought it was cheesy in parts. One of my old roommates worshipped it.
The Gift. Giovanna setting his dad on fire. Amazing.
Lebowski. 'nuff said. Nothing beats The Jesus.
Alien 3 just dragged too much at parts for me.
The Twin Peaks movie was good (I have it on DVD) but I felt it fell short of the show. Still, compared to most other movies, amazing. There's another Lynch movie with Dustin Hoffman that kicks ass too. He's always taking hits from a nitrous tank he carries around with him. It has Kyle in it too.
Eternal Sunshine blew my mind the first time through, and made me cry. I'd just broken up with a very serious girlfriend. All Kaufman's stuff is amazing.
Major Payne. Hell yeah!
Rudy. Made me cry. This is the only movie guys are allowed to cry at, except maybe Brian's Song.
Happy Gilmore. Oh yeah.
All the Wes Anderson movies rock. Bottle Rocket and Rushmore are my favorites.