Top five favorite movies

[TheManBeyond]

A random top 5:

- The secrete in their eyes
- My neighbour Totoro
- The Village / Signs
- The Ghost and the Darkness
- Castaway

 

[Ex-User (11125)]

1-the mirror(1975, tarkovsky)
2-as i was moving ahead occasionally i saw brief glimpses of beauty(2000, jonas mekas)
3-the human condition(1959, masaki kobayashi)
4-come and see(1985, elem klimov)
5-stalker(1979, tarkovsky) and nostalghia(1983, tarkovsky)

 

[Alias]

All I can really think of are movie series. I don't think these are in any order, unless I subconsciously ordered them.

1. Harry Potter series, all of it.
2. The Monty Python movies.
3. Dumb and Dumber.
4. The Great Dictator by Charlie Chaplin.
5. Wayne's World.

 

[Teffnology]

1) Rounders
2) The Sandlot
3) Pulp Fiction
4) Space Jam
5) The Count of Monte Cristo (late 90's version)


EDIT: Thinking on it now my copy of The Princess Bride is feeling very offended for being snubbed so I'll give it a tie with The Count of MC at 5.
BTW, sorry Aladdin but Space Jam has taken over your long held spot in the Top 5, Michael Jordan and Bill Murray are the tie breakers.

The top 3 have held strong for a solid 7 years now, I don't really see them ever changing.

 

[Yellow]

Favorite movies (as in, the movies I most enjoy watching)
1. Wilford Leach's version of The Pirates of Penzance
2. Six-String Samurai
3. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
4. Reservoir Dogs
5. V for Vendetta

Favorite movies (as in, the movies I think are really good)
1. Ondskan
2. Pan's Labyrinth
3. Taxi Driver
4. Repulsion
5. Donnie Darko

 

[Jennywocky]

I haven't posted my list in awhile, and unfortunately I could put about 25 on it. So don't hold this list against me.

1. Pan's Labyrinth
2. The Prestige
3. Endless Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
4. Kill Bill 1&2
5. American Beauty

dammit, I can't stick with 5

6. Donnie Darko
7. Dave

... I'll leave now before the list becomes 10.

 

[Yellow]

dammit, I can't stick with 5

6. Donnie Darko
7. Dave

That's why you're supposed to cheat, like I did. I forgot about Dave existing. That was a cute movie. Hail to The Chief, he's the one they all say hail to. Why d'they say hail? 'cause he keeps himself so clean..

 

[Jennywocky]

I'm glad someone else liked Dave. I like quite a variety of movies that seem to have nothing in common, whether scary, action, drama, comedy, satire, or whatever; Dave isn't "realistic" in some ways, but I enjoy its tone, and Kevin Kline is really good, and it's just rather sweet. I always get choked up when he's saying goodbye to Dwayne at the end.

 

[Teffnology]

The Prestige is by far my favorite Chris Nolan film. Bowie as Tesla was the cherry on top of a beautifully cast sundae.

I think that a top 25 or top 50 list would still be too limiting for me but they are like snowflakes, all unique and interesting but hard to distinguish when lined up next to each other.

What is your movie snowball?

A collection of the snowflakes you picked up over the years, growing and changing through various winters. Which snowflakes stayed and how big is the snowball at this point in your life?

Maybe better for a new thread by itself because having a Top 5 is beneficial and an interesting exercise for me now and then.

 

[Absurdity]

In no particular order and by no consistent metric:
- Michael Clayton (2007)
- Five Easy Pieces (1970)
- Oldboy (2003)
- The Prestige (2006)
- Casablanca (1942)

Honorable mentions: The American, The Counselor, Donnie Darko, Prometheus, My Own Private Idaho, No Country for Old Men, Interstellar, The Man from Nowhere, Apocalypse Now.

 

[Jennywocky]

The Prestige is by far my favorite Chris Nolan film. Bowie as Tesla was the cherry on top of a beautifully cast sundae.

I think that a top 25 or top 50 list would still be too limiting for me but they are like snowflakes, all unique and interesting but hard to distinguish when lined up next to each other.

What is your movie snowball?

A collection of the snowflakes you picked up over the years, growing and changing through various winters. Which snowflakes stayed and how big is the snowball at this point in your life?

Maybe better for a new thread by itself because having a Top 5 is beneficial and an interesting exercise for me now and then.

You could start that if you want. (One might kind of already exist. Not sure.)

I actually own 200 blurays (about 15-20 3D movies), and another 200-250 DVDs. If I bought it, it means I like it. However there's a much smaller "snowball" as you refer to it of movies that I like enough to watch repeatedly and that usually touch me in some deeply personal way. It's more just choosing between the ones that really resonate with me versus one's I really like but aren't necessary in the top tier. (Like Salt, for example -- I love that movie, but it's not really in the top snowball per se.)

Another issue is comedy: Touching movies are usually in another category from funny. There are a lot of movies I find really hilarious but I tend to not include them mentally in the snowball listing. Their source of appeal is different, usually.

 

[eljacko90210]

1.) Taxi Driver
2.) Apocalypse Now
3.) Fight Club
4.) American Beauty
5.) Perfect Blue

What else would I like that isn't a cult-classic type movie? Any foreign or older movies?

 

[TwistedMind]

1. Mr Nobody
A movie about descisions, love and time travel. Also, full of metaphors ans allegories, I just love it, despite it not being perfect. The Characters are flat at times and it doesn't have a common structure of it's story. But that is just another reason for me to love it.

2. Memento
Just amazing. I mean, it's Christopher Nolan, what would you expect.

3. Oldboy
A korean revenge movie - but a very special one. Be sure to watch the original, not the Hollywood remake.

4. Clockwork Orange
Classic. Nothing more to say.

5. Donnie Darko
A very interesting movie, not just because of the protagonist being an INTP.

Here is my IMDb-Profile:
http://www.imdb.com/user/ur56260569/?ref_=nv_usr_prof_2

I would love to get recommendations

 

[onesteptwostep]

^Oldboy is korean x_x

1. Good Will Hunting
2. 12 Angry Men (1957 classic)
3. Departures (Japanese film)
4. The Chaser (Korean thriller)
5. Burn After Reading

Honorable mentions: Donnie Darko, Requiem for a Dream, Endless Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Dark Knight, the recent 007s (sort of)

Films by Wes Anderson and the Coen brothers are good too.

 

[Ex-User (11125)]

1-the mirror(1975, tarkovsky)
2-as i was moving ahead occasionally i saw brief glimpses of beauty(2000, jonas mekas)
3-the human condition(1959, masaki kobayashi)
4-come and see(1985, elem klimov)
5-stalker(1979, tarkovsky) and nostalghia(1983, tarkovsky)

wtf I left out landscape in the mist...
and I've seen a couple of great films since that post so I'll update this later

 

[Sir Eus Lee]

1. The Prestige. Already listed.
2. Hot Rod, probably already listed.
3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Already listed.
4. Why am I commenting?
5. I don't know
Not a real fan of movies. They just aren't nearly as entertaining as books. I'll have to watch some in this thread because none of the movies I watch are interesting/clever enough, so I just don't enjoy movies as much. I trust the supplied movies should keep me busy for some time.

 

[Novacane22]

1. The Matrix

2. Star Wars Episode 3

3. The Dark Knight

4. Lucy

5. Angels and Demons

 

[Jennywocky]

I'm disappointed there are not more votes for "Wild Hogs" and "You've Got Mail."

 

[emmabobary]

Oh! Oh!
Now me!
1. Le grand blue 1987 (I fell in love with is one)
2. The Lord of the Rings. The complete trilogy, I hated The Hobbit trilogy, though.
3. The Secret Garden 1993 (it resumes pretty much my childhood)
4. Blade runner 1982 (another love at first sight)
5. Lolita 1997

Special mention: Old boy and the Seventh Seal.

 

[Attreyu]

This thread is a gold mine ... I intent to read it post-for-post.

In the mean time here are my picks so far:
-The man from earth
-Detachment
-Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
-Matrix
-V Vendetta
------------------------
-Pan's Labyrinth
-Interstellar
-The experiment
-Frequency (this one meant something to me because of the father-son dynamic)
-Stargate Universe (but none of the other stargates)
-Heat (little known now, but the casting on that movie was superb)

 

[HeavyT]

Here goes, I will only post FIVE because that was the title of the thread... but there are so many that I've watched and could choose. Why do I like these movies? Real simple... I relate to some element of the humanity in the characters, and there is usually (but not always) action and cool special effects. There is also usually a philosophical struggle or statement underlying...

1. Watchmen - This movie does a BRILLIANT job of making super heroes more "real" (though ok, it was actually made in comic beforehand... but that just means it was well thought out, right?). From the abused super woman (Silk Spectre) to the all-powerful, yet detached and almost narcissistic Dr. Manhattan, this movie puts a great human face on the superhuman. Also, I really dug how the comedian's personality was pieced together through the memories of the other characters... and how you learn the most about his humanity from his arch enemy... what a trip.

2. Sonatine - This Japanese mob movie by Takeshi Kitano (i.e. Beat Takeshi) is my favourite by him. If anyone follows his movies, you know they oscillate between quiet and violence very quickly. The bond that you build with the characters in this movie as they find respite on the shores of Okinawa is strong. My opinion of this movie was sealed at the same time that you find the ultimate empathy for the main character (mob boss played by Kitano himself)... right at the end

3. The Dark Knight Rises - People have listed the Dark Knight tons of times in this thread... perhaps this is a vote of defiance, I think the 3rd movie in the Dark Knight series is the best. Yes, it doesn't have Heath Ledger in it as the joker (who was crazy good... but could you honestly relate to the character? They tried, they really did, but in the end its a negatory from me), however the social statement regarding the general chaos and rioting that could so easily be inserted into society by a few devious minds really reverberated with me at the time.... it was reflective of not only terrorist ideology, but also strangely (intentionally?) close to the occupy wall street messaging at the time. At the same time, the psychological torture that the Dark Knight himself endures really speaks to me.

4. Forrest Gump - Hanks rules. The emotional obstacle course that we are taken through, which the main character is oblivious to, just makes this movie all that more special. And ironically, though the viewers recognise the main character as someone who would never fully be capable of understanding them, they deeply empathize with him.... the perpetual underdog. Could easily have put castaway here as well.

5. The Breakfast Club - Perhaps I'm a product of a generation here... but this is basically a stand-in for any John Hughes movie. The characters in these movies just take me home ... the Norman Rockwell of the movie biz....

 

[Fooling_Myself]

In no order:
Fight Club, Lion King, Breakin', Amadeus, Up ( only because of the dog).

 

[PaulMaster]

In no particular order (except for number 1)

Fight Club
Ocean's Eleven
The Matrix
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Pulp Fiction
Good Fella's


(Notice all the villains as heros)

 

[Happy]

Difficult. I'll have a stab anyway. In no particular order:

Lawrence of Arabia
Ermahgerd! Such an amazing film. Incredible cinematography. Amazing character development. Just outstanding in every way, actually.

Being John Malkovich
Charlie Kaufmann is, in my opinion, the best screenwriter in the business. I can't even describe why I like it so much. It's ineffable.
Malkovich Malkovich. Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich.

Rear Window
Because Hitchcock was a genius.

La Vita è Bella (Life is Beautiful)
I think I felt every single emotion that exists while I watched this film. I'd never laughed so hard at a film, but at the same time, I'd never been reduced to tears by a film. I don't think a film has brought me a feeling of bittersweet happiness like this one did. Nor do I think a film has given me a sense of doom like this one did. In fact, it's generally a considerable achievement for a film to make me feel anything, let alone any of these emotions. In my opinion, it's an absolute masterpiece.

Dr Strangelove Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb
A comedy of errors film done properly. Plus, Peter Sellers.

And, in a category entirely of it's own:
Shoah.
In my opinion, this is the greatest film ever made. It literally cannot be compared with other films because there is nothing even remotely like it.
Only Claude Lanzmann could get away with making a 10-hour holocaust documentary composed entirely of retrospective interviews and absolutely zero archive footage.

3. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Did not realise there was a film of one of my favourite plays. Must. Watch.

 

[Jennywocky]

Charlie Kaufmann is, in my opinion, the best screenwriter in the business. I can't even describe why I like it so much. It's ineffable. Malkovich Malkovich. Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich.

Kaufman's great. One can never say he is derivative; his works remain unique and mentally interesting/complex, while usually retaining a strong undercurrent of wry irony and (dare I say) poignancy/loss on some level.

 

[Happy]

Kaufmann's great. One can never say he is derivative; his works remain unique and mentally interesting/complex, while usually retaining a strong undercurrent of wry irony.

Agreed. I admire his approach to his work. I particularly enjoyed his self-reflective film, Adaptation.

I think he's very INTP.

 

[Jennywocky]

Agreed. I admire his approach to his work. I particularly enjoyed his self-reflective film, Adaptation.

I think he's very INTP.

I've had my suspicions as well, definitely from the start; he veers into the 5w4 enneagram kind of form, everything is connected but surreal, twisted and bent into new shapes. Lots of quirkiness too.

Early in his career, he and writer Jenny Boylan shared an apartment for awhile, Jenny's an INFP (they're both pretty quirky) and you can see the detachment in his work compared to hers...

Kaufman does like to be involved with the whole process, so that's interesting (versus just hiding in his room). He directed his last two movies as well as writing them.

 

[Happy]

I've had my suspicions as well, definitely from the start; he veers into the 5w4 enneagram kind of form, everything is connected but surreal, twisted and bent into new shapes. Lots of quirkiness too.

Early in his career, he and writer Jenny Boylan shared an apartment for awhile, Jenny's an INFP (they're both pretty quirky) and you can see the detachment in his work compared to hers...

Kaufman does like to be involved with the whole process, so that's interesting (versus just hiding in his room). He directed his last two movies as well as writing them.

He does like to be involved with the whole process, but if i recall correctly, he doesn't actually take control (discounting his directorial roles) but rather, he is just kind of there, advising when he thinks it's needed. I'm not sure where I'm recalling this from - a documentary perhaps. It was definitely something in the visual media...

His creative process and my own are strikingly similar. I know his pain.

 

[Jennywocky]

He does like to be involved with the whole process, but if i recall correctly, he doesn't actually take control (discounting his directorial roles) but rather, he is just kind of there, advising when he thinks it's needed. I'm not sure where I'm recalling this from - a documentary perhaps. It was definitely something in the visual media...

His creative process and my own are strikingly similar. I know his pain.

Okay. Yeah, I strongly identify with that. I don't really like to be in charge, but I have a strong sense of rational consistency in my creative ideas and where things conflict and get really frustrated when people misunderstand/misconstrue. IOW, I'm more like a hovering advisor to keep ideas in sync, versus someone who likes be in charge of everyone else.

 

[Archer]

1) Pulp Fiction
2) Fight Club
3) The Matrix
4) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
5) Gattacca

I'm about to watch Dark City after getting reccomended it by a bunch of my friends, apparently it's really good.

 

[Faux Sheezy]

5) Mulan
4)
3)
2)
1) Requiem for a Dream

 

[Jennywocky]

.
I'm about to watch Dark City after getting reccomended it by a bunch of my friends, apparently it's really good.

I personally really like Dark City. Great tone / ambiance, and it's got a great cast (Connelly, hurt, sewell, O'Brien, Richardson, etc).

 

[PaulMaster]

I personally really like Dark City. Great tone / ambiance, and it's got a great cast (Connelly, hurt, sewell, O'Brien, Richardson, etc).

If this is the one where they erase everyone's memory and switch around the city every night then I agree - cool movie. I really dig those alternate reality kinds of stories.

 

[Seteleechete]

1) Let the right one in(The most amazing movie ever)
2) Sucker punch
3) Sweeny Todd(2007)

Notably, all three movies have strong revenge/fighting back/overcoming adversity concepts. They also create a strong ambient atmosphere of both excuding tragedy and determination. Though, the later two partly cheat by using music(not that I care, more movies/shows should make better use of music) while it just comes naturally to let the right one in.

Can't really think of any other movies that I think are good enough to be on my top list.

Though, I have a feeling that if any of the Count of Monte Cristo adaptions I have seen were better made, it would have found a place. As it is I find all of them too plain and lackluster.

I think I will watch some of the mentions and see if I can't complete the list. Feel free to give a suggestion based on what I mentioned. I haven't really watched too many movies.

Now that I actually read part of this thread I find a few movies that caught my interest. Oldboy, Donnie Drako, kill bill, V for vendetta(I am not sure how I haven't watched this one fully yet, just the end at some point, uggh), pans labyrinth(I really should have tried this one as well by now...).

 

[abraham]

In no particular order the first five that come to mind are:

1. Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind
2. Blue in the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle)
3. Monty Python's Life of Brian
4. Memento
5. Pan's Labyrinth

 

[bookscoffeepadthai]

What Dreams May Come
Pans Labyrinth
Spring
Finding A Friend For The End of the World
Interstellar

 

[Artsu Tharaz]

The Matrix
Fistful of Dollars
The Great Silence
Stalker
A Clockwork Orange
Yojimbo

6 because Yojimbo hitched a ride on my brainstorming. I haven't watched a movie in years.

 

[Midvar]

1.Inception
2.The Dark Knight
3.Ironman
4.Batman Begins (The Scarecrow is splendid!)
5.Interstellar

 

[gilliatt]

Atlas Shrugged, The Man Who Laughs(Hugo), 1 Anunnaki, Gone With the Wind, Siegfried. Of course, reading the book is always better. Am pretty big on Romanticism, the independent, creative characters, characters with positive, honest values. Like characters 'as they are.' Mickey Spillane's movies(plot) were good, O'Henry, good. Victor Hugo, his sense of life and mine, alike. I disagree with him, his philosophy.

 

[washti]

1)Neverending Story
2)Trainspotting
3)Dogma
+ X-men movies ♥♥♥
+ 2 first Harry Potter movies.

T2:trainspotting was ok but scary and sad as fuck. Renton was so normie :-((

 

[Jennywocky]

I just can't do top five, because there are movies I like for different reasons and none of them are really any better than the other(s).

Here are "ten", but there's others I could have interchanged:

- Endless Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- Alien
- Heat
- My Best Friend's Wedding
- The Incredibles
- The Prestige
- Donnie Darko
- Kill Bill 1&2
- Gattaca
- The Sixth Sense

That was my 2008 list. Here is my current list (with only one movie per director), but there's so many movies I might interchange here on a given day....

- Endless Sunshine of the Spotless Mind [Gondry]
- The Prestige [Nolan]
- Donnie Darko [Anderson]
- Sunshine [Boyle]
- Children of Men [Cuaron]
- Arrival [Villeneuve]
- Whiplash [Chazelle]
- The Fountain [Aronofsky]
- Kubo and the Two Strings [Knight]
- Abre los Ojos [Amenabar]

I've seen so many movies I need to have the top five in every genre instead...
https://letterboxd.com/Totenkindly/

 

[des]

Hmm, I'll give it a shot but it's gonna be messy.

1. Battle Royale.
2. Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2.
3. The Dark Knight.
4. Requiem for a Dream.
5. Adaption or K-Pax.

I never met anyone else who love, or even watched Battle Royale. Indeed, it's very interesting, if you like to see people with twisted character put in an extreme situation. But it's not very realistic, though.

I like Suicide Club. It's also a Japanese movie. It's very interesting to see how extreme the portrayal of people who don't connect with themselves, following the trend of suicide and committing it casually, even committing it like a fun group activity. I think it's very common in Asian countries where collective culture is still going strong, until one is often repress their own coscience to blend in with the society.

 

[QuickTwist]

Oh, I haven't posted in this thread..

I don't even think I can come up with 5.

Gladiator.
Tommy Boy.

Prolly my favorite movie by a long shot is Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal, hence the avatar. Really should watch it again because I think I've seen it prolly less than 3 times.

 

[Artsu Tharaz]

been so long since i watched moviez

but onesz that i liekd were

Stalker
The Great Silence
Fistful of Dollars
Yojimbo
Eraserhead

I think I got the rec's from the same place. Good place it was.

 

[Puffy]

I haven't watched film in a long time either and it shows in that my favourites haven't really changed that much since my last post five years ago.

Don't Look Now (1973) is one I'd add to the list since then. Can't think of many others.

 

[Jennywocky]

Don't Look Now (1973) is one I'd add to the list since then. Can't think of many others.

I am looking forward to watching that. Every year I watch scary movies for 13 days leading up to Halloween (a wide variety of sub-genres), and I bought the Criterion version of "Don't Look Now" over the summer when I found it on sale, so it is on my list for this year and I've been saving it to savor it.

 

[Artsu Tharaz]

been so long since i watched moviez

but onesz that i liekd were

Stalker
The Great Silence
Fistful of Dollars
Yojimbo
Eraserhead

I think I got the rec's from the same place. Good place it was.

Oh, I forgot Spirited Away.

 

[Puffy]

I am looking forward to watching that. Every year I watch scary movies for 13 days leading up to Halloween (a wide variety of sub-genres), and I bought the Criterion version of "Don't Look Now" over the summer when I found it on sale, so it is on my list for this year and I've been saving it to savor it.

Oooo, hope you enjoy it.

Some of the techniques Alan Moore was known for in Watchmen, like the subtle repeating motifs or the rapid inter-cutting between scenes, were influenced by the director of Don't Look Now apparently as he was known for similar editing techniques. Would recommend re-watching it if you enjoy it, as there's a lot of connections that were only apparent to me on repeat viewings. Also not looking at any spoilers on the ending if possible.

 

[dl006]

Just saw fight club last week and it blew my mind! I was so surprised at the end!
But I'm still so confused on how he got other people to join the club when he was just flopping on the floor not really getting hit...

I didn't have any luck with the non american films thread. thought I would create this one. What are your top five, or are you just not much into movies?

These are ones I just keep coming back to:

1. Bladerunner - A great examination of the ramifications of artificial intelligence and visually amazing

2. Heat - I love the fact that the lines are blurred between good and bad

3. Fight Club - A brilliant satire that addresses the frustration of the modern american gen x male. Let's just burn it all down and start over!

4. Donnie Darko - Sci Fi time travel story by way of teenage coming of age movie? Very thought provoking and intense

5. Dark City - Visually stunning and a fascinating look at the nature of memories and how they effect us. One of the most underrated movies of all time.

 

[Ex-User (14663)]

That was my 2008 list. Here is my current list (with only one movie per director), but there's so many movies I might interchange here on a given day....

- Endless Sunshine of the Spotless Mind [Gondry]
- The Prestige [Nolan]
- Donnie Darko [Anderson]
- Sunshine [Boyle]
- Children of Men [Cuaron]
- Arrival [Villeneuve]
- Whiplash [Chazelle]
- The Fountain [Aronofsky]
- Kubo and the Two Strings [Knight]
- Abre los Ojos [Amenabar]

I've seen so many movies I need to have the top five in every genre instead...
https://letterboxd.com/Totenkindly/

The Fountain is absolutely phenomenal stuff. I rewatch it on a regular basis.

Cannot think of 5 good ones myself. I watched Grand Budapest Hotel on an airplane recently. It was actually very good.

Ooh I got one:
Eyes Wide Shut