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Your Top 10 Movies.

Edward M

Strata Poster
The Big Lebowski - A film I can always just enjoy. It is the only film that has created a religion for God's sake.. or the Dude's sake.
Eraserhead - Lynch's debut being this weird and creative, especially for 1977. Truly an experience of a film
Goodfellas - This was Scorsese's magnum opus.
Boogie Nights - It's just a relentlessly great movie that gets greater with rewatches.
2001 A Space Odyssey - Just a beautiful experience and one of the most haunting yet hopeful films I've ever seen
Blue Velvet - I'm a Lynch fanboy, and I think this is his best overall work. It is always a very hard watch, but its influence on me is undeniable.
The Godfather - I mean it's The Godfather.
Sunset Boulevard - Ohhh, that performance is unreal. Just love the tone so much, it's amazing.
Pulp Fiction - Personal reasons mainly, but it's obviously an amazing movie
Empire Strikes Back - This created Star Wars. I know the original made the biggest impact, but this movie expanded this one space adventure into a cinematic epic.
 

GuyWithAStick

Captain Basic
Hmm, let me think...

-Shawshank Redemption: Absolutely perfect film. Incredible cast, incredible performances, and such a great story. Love it to absolute bits.
-Good Will Hunting: Another brilliant cast. Robin Williams and Matt Damon especially.
-Dead Poets Society: More amazing Robin Williams. It was such a joy to watch everything unfold.
-Ferris Bueller's Day Off: Just so much 80s fun. Plus, this was the film I was named after(and I'm quite happy it is).
-The Breakfast Club: Another John Hughes one. Great everything with this one.
-Wall-E: Oh boy, this one is great. So much character from a tiny trash robot!
-Inside Out: Alright, I admit I'm a bit of a Pixar slut. But there's a damn good reason for it. This was an utterly brilliant movie. Two storylines going on at the same time while also getting them to work together is quite a feat.
-Kubo and the Two Strings: Absolutely stunning animation with this one. I do wish they did a little more with it, though. But overall, it's a brilliant film.
-The Goonies: It's The Goonies! What's not to love?
-Blade Runner: It's slow, it's boring. But it's so brilliant.

There's so many more that I love, but I can't list them all.
 

FistedColossus

Hyper Poster
Goodfellas - the GOAT, also one of the best soundtracks of all time

Shaun of The Dead - my most re-watched film ever

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - just cool as ****. The final scene is perfect.

Dumb and Dumber - almost gets funnier with every viewing. The perfect comedy. A good mix of slapstick, toilet humour but also very clever and witty.

Those are my stand outs, honourable mentions...

Team America
Happy Gilmore
The Pianist
Carlitos Way
Toy Story
Dumbo

Feel like I'm forgetting loads more.
 

caffeine_demon

Strata Poster
Ok. so "great films I don't think I've seen mentioned yet!"

1 - Airplane - I am serious, and don't call me shirley!
2 - Moana - It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now
3 - Alien - Looks like I picked the wrong day to quit smoking!
4 - The Shining - Landing at gate 17, gate 19, gate 23.....
5 - Who framed Roger Rabbit? - Joey, have you ever seen a grown man naked?
6 - Kill Bill (both volumes) - No, I've been nervous lots of times
7 - Monsters inc - good luck, We're all counting on you
8 - The force awakens - I take it (coffee) black, like my men!



And ones already listed that I love:

1 - The Blues Brothers
2 - Shawshank Redemption
3 - Terminator 2
4 - The Incredibles (or any toy story)
5 - The Matrix
6 - Pulp Fiction
 

FarleyFlavors

Mega Poster
The Big Lebowski - A film I can always just enjoy. It is the only film that has created a religion for God's sake.. or the Dude's sake.
Eraserhead - Lynch's debut being this weird and creative, especially for 1977. Truly an experience of a film
Goodfellas - This was Scorsese's magnum opus.
Boogie Nights - It's just a relentlessly great movie that gets greater with rewatches.
2001 A Space Odyssey - Just a beautiful experience and one of the most haunting yet hopeful films I've ever seen
Blue Velvet - I'm a Lynch fanboy, and I think this is his best overall work. It is always a very hard watch, but its influence on me is undeniable.
The Godfather - I mean it's The Godfather.
Sunset Boulevard - Ohhh, that performance is unreal. Just love the tone so much, it's amazing.
Pulp Fiction - Personal reasons mainly, but it's obviously an amazing movie
Empire Strikes Back - This created Star Wars. I know the original made the biggest impact, but this movie expanded this one space adventure into a cinematic epic.
Blimey, our taste in movies is remarkably similar.

Have you seen I Am Cuba? Funded at great expense by the Russians in the wake of the Cuban revolution, it was a flop in both Cuba and Russia and never released in the west. It was rediscovered in the nineties and a restoration was championed by Scorsese and Coppola.

The reason I mention it is because it contains a couple of the most jaw-droppingly audacious tracking shots in cinema history, one of which (the swimming pool scene) was nicked by P.T. Anderson for Boogie Nights. But the original version was much more spectacular - it starts out on a rooftop and drops three stories before entering the pool.

Check it out. The low-res YouTube version sadly doesn't remotely reflect the quality of the black and white cinematography, which is outstanding.

 

Howie

Donkey in a hat
^I do love a jaw-droppingly audacious tracking shot. That's a thread in its own right - 'Top 10 jaw-droppingly audacious tracking shots'. Bonfire of the Vanities starts out with a good one. Spectre too. Then there's Strange Days (great film, that) which is stuffed with jaw-droppingly audacious tracking/pov shots, and of course Birdman, which effectively is one long, 120 minute jaw-droppingly audacious tracking shot!
 

davidm

Strata Poster
10 is tough...

Top 3 (interchangeable depending upon mood) ; Fight Club, Goodfellas, Blade Runner

Make it up to 10 then (in no specific order) ; Alien, The Empire Strikes Back, Blue Velvet, The Thing, The Shining (or A Clockwork Orange), Apocalypse Now, Jaws
 

FarleyFlavors

Mega Poster
Birdman, which effectively is one long, 120 minute jaw-droppingly audacious tracking shot!
If memory serves, Birdman cheated on a couple of occasions - I don't think it's entirely a single shot. The winner in that regard is a German crime thriller called Victoria which consists of a single shot lasting well over two hours. It's rather good, too.

Other honourable mentions - Gravity, The Children of Men and the opening sequence in Touch of Evil.
 

Edward M

Strata Poster
Blimey, our taste in movies is remarkably similar.

Have you seen I Am Cuba? Funded at great expense by the Russians in the wake of the Cuban revolution, it was a flop in both Cuba and Russia and never released in the west. It was rediscovered in the nineties and a restoration was championed by Scorsese and Coppola.

The reason I mention it is because it contains a couple of the most jaw-droppingly audacious tracking shots in cinema history, one of which (the swimming pool scene) was nicked by P.T. Anderson for Boogie Nights. But the original version was much more spectacular - it starts out on a rooftop and drops three stories before entering the pool.

Check it out. The low-res YouTube version sadly doesn't remotely reflect the quality of the black and white cinematography, which is outstanding.


**** me is that impressive! Thanks for the recommendation, that clip was absolutely brilliant.
 

Coaster Hipster

Giga Poster
I'm not really a big movie guy - having short-attention span might explain a lot of that. Nonetheless, some films truly left an impression on me:

Lost In Translation - As someone who often travel alone, I really like the atmosphere of this one. Japan provides a superb background to the story of two quite different people developing a sincere emotional connexion over their respective strains and mutual feeling of alienation in a foreign country.

The Lives of Others - Really fascinating and (from what I read) accurate drama set in 1980s East Germany. The gradual evolution of the main character, from ruthless Stasi officer, to someone actually sympathising with its spying target and covering him up, and his eventuall downfall, was truly moving to watch.

La Jetée - An old French sci-fi short film which provided the inspiration for 12 Monkeys. It's a haunting and effective time travel story with a tragic ending. The central scene of it is set on the observation platform at Paris' Orly airport... my grandpa used to take me there when I was a kid, and as such the whole thing gets a weird resonance with me.

A Single Man - An English college professor struggles to cope with the sudden death of his lifetime partner in the 1960s. It's very well done on many superficial levels (the soundtrack, fashion and other visual details are superb) and Colin Firth puts a great performance.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day - Arguably one of the best movie sequels of all time, with fantastic action scenes, great use of CGI, and a story that cleverly expands on the original.


So yeah, a lot of hipster stuff, and a classic 1990s blockbuster!
 

Pokemaniac

Mountain monkey
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Ohhh... tough question. I think I've got the most basic taste in movies one could possibly ask for, more-than-possibly even childish, but if it's all about movies I really enjoy watching, these ones got to make it to the top 10. They're in no particular order, mind:

Hot Fuzz - brilliantly clever movie. Gets better on every viewing, as the amount of foreshadowing and background details in this is absolutely staggering. My favourite of them is probably the quarter-second glimpse you get at a poster for the Romeo and Juliet play when Angel rides back into town, with the two new lead actors already advertised. You really have to look for it, and even then you may hardly notice it, but it's there and it's a brilliant testament to the level of attention put into making this film.

Life of Brian - Another British comedy, slightly older, still massively fun. I realize I may be misunderstanding their whole concept, but I find Monty Python to be at their most funny when they're not being surrealist, and actually telling a long story instead of many short sketches.

Flåklypa Grand Prix - as a Norwegian, I am legally obligated to love this movie to bits. Easily the best movie ever made in this country. Also available internationally under the title The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix, for those who are interested. I believe it is currently the highest-rated stop-motion animated movie on IMDB, sitting at a respectable 8.4/10, albeit with too few overall votes to make it to the Top 250 list.

Spirited Away - favourite animated movie? Probably. Truly a masterpiece. So atmospheric! Such feels! I recently saw My Neighbour Totoro, and it definitely had the same atmospheric qualities and feels to it, but Spirited Away has a gripping story too.

The Martian - no antagonist, no conflict, just a man in a sticky situation and a crap-ton of engineering to get him out of there. I would probably rank this as my favourite book too, and it was very nicely adapted. I love how the aesthetics of the film are current instead of imagined-futuristic, making the whole scenario so believable it almost hurts to know that we haven't just got our stuff together and gone to Mars already. The moral of the story is that the density of Mars' atmosphere must be severely underestimated, as the majority of the mishaps happen due to stuff blowing away. Putting a shout-out to Gravity in this entry too, as I really like that movie too, but maybe not enough to have it on the top list.

Mad Max: Fury Road - yes, I know. It's a big roadrunner cartoon, a long chase scene, and it probably misses all the marks of what a film ought to do. It doesn't make much sense when you think about it. But it's a thing of beauty and immensely enjoyable. Nothing short of spectacular.

Back to the Future - how can I not include this. Great premise, great execution, great acting, great setting, great all along. A truly enjoyable trilogy I make sure to watch at least once every year. I think I like the first one the best, but the other two managed to follow it up excellently. It's a trilogy with a lot of heart in it.

Home Alone - Half Ferris Bueller, half Saw. Really enjoyable, ultra violent family movie. The sequels aren't that much to cheer for, but the original has a great atmosphere, sets up everything nicely, and when the "home defense" part actually starts, it's so satisfying.

Ratatouille - the Pixar representative. Really, there are many great Pixar movies that deserve a spot on the list, but Ratatouille is the answer I give if I ask myself "If I could watch one Pixar movie today, which would I choose?". Major shout-outs to Toy Story (all of them), Coco, The Incredibles, Monsters, Inc., Wall-E, Finding Nemo (and Dory), Inside Out and even Cars (but only the first one), but if I have to pick one, it's the one about the cooking rat in Paris. Again, it's probably the setting and atmosphere that does it for me.

Zootopia/Zootropolis - as I just said, setting and atmosphere are important to me, and I believe Zoo(...) is second to none here. That city might be the best crafted setting for an animated movie ever, and it's a shame we only get to see glimpses of part of it. The story is good fun too, but it's not why it makes my list. That would be the bustling train terminal full of commuters, the shivering cold Tundra Town, the sun-baked desert next to it (and the genius way the latter is heated by the cooling system of the former), the dark rainforest, and all the other great places that make the city bustling and believable.
 

FarleyFlavors

Mega Poster
Flåklypa Grand Prix - as a Norwegian, I am legally obligated to love this movie to bits. Easily the best movie ever made in this country.
Must confess I've never heard of this one.

Something the Norwegians tend to excel at is black comedy. The Bothersome Man and In Order of Disappearance are both terrific. As is the TV series Hellfjord.
 

FistedColossus

Hyper Poster
Must confess I've never heard of this one.

Something the Norwegians tend to excel at is black comedy. The Bothersome Man and In Order of Disappearance are both terrific. As is the TV series Hellfjord.
See Also: Lillyhammer - featuring Steve van Zandt of Sopranos and E Street Band fame.
 

witchfinder

Hyper Poster
Candyman
Admittedly, it's been a very long time since I've watched it, so not sure how it would hold up now
Badly, based on my recent viewing. If you have fond memories of it then keep it that way by never watching it again ;)

Surprised to see an absence of Star Wars films in most people's Top Tens, given how many people seem to rate them in their own thread. Here's my ten, which I know aren't necessarily the best films artistically or critically but they're my go-to films for pure enjoyment or being the best of their genre, and nothing I've seen in the last decade or more comes close to these.
  1. The Empire Strikes Back
  2. Die Hard
  3. Back to the Future
  4. Star Wars
  5. The Terminator (the original is the best!)
  6. Rocky
  7. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
  8. Halloween (the original, obviously)
  9. Fargo
  10. Pulp Fiction
 

Howie

Donkey in a hat
Badly, based on my recent viewing. If you have fond memories of it then keep it that way by never watching it again ;)

Surprised to see an absence of Star Wars films in most people's Top Tens, given how many people seem to rate them in their own thread. Here's my ten, which I know aren't necessarily the best films artistically or critically but they're my go-to films for pure enjoyment or being the best of their genre, and nothing I've seen in the last decade or more comes close to these.
  1. The Empire Strikes Back
  2. Die Hard
  3. Back to the Future
  4. Star Wars
  5. The Terminator (the original is the best!)
  6. Rocky
  7. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
  8. Halloween (the original, obviously)
  9. Fargo
  10. Pulp Fiction

You've got the wrong Star Wars in there, obvs, but that's still a pretty good list that. Totally on board with Die Hard, BTTF, LOTR, Rocky and Pulp. Agree that The Terminator is the best Terminator film, but still think Aliens is the best Cameron film tho. Gotta love a bit of Carpenter too, but I'd take Christine and The Thing over Halloween. Don't judge me...
 

Cobra

Roller Poster
1. Beverly Hills Cop
2. Cobra
3. Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter
4. Uncle Buck
5. Creepshow
6. Pet Sematary (1989)
7. Rush Hour
8. Ghostbusters (1984)
9. Demelition Man
10. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
 

James F

Hyper Poster
10: Psycho (1960)
My favourite horror film. Really freaked my out when I was young and still continues to do so. Alfred Hitchcock is truly the master of suspense and this film is arguably the best evidence for that. I can't forgot to mention that iconic shower theme. This film was the first to show a toilet flushing, something that the studio thought was too offensive to show. How things have changed.

9: Jaws (1975)
The ultimate monster film - where you don't see the shark for the majority. John Williams score and Spielberg's directing makes this premise 10 times better than it has any right to be. Such an enjoyable film. I don't think I have ever seen it without doing a bit of shark research afterwards.

8: Pulp Fiction (1994)
I don't think there is anything I can say that has not been said. Possibly the most quotable film ever?

7: Fight Club (1999)
David Fincher is one my favourite directors and fight club feels like his most fincherey? Filled with dark humor, post-moderism philosophy and one of my favourite plot twists. I think we all want to be our own Tyler Durdon

6: Taxi Driver (1976)
As much as I love GoodFellas (just short of making the list) Taxi Driver is my favourite Scorsese film. The film has one of the best character arch's with Travis Bickle turning into a sociopathic street vigilante.

5: Drive (2011)
Love this film. So stylish. The cinematography and soundtrack is brilliant. The best arthouse action film there is.

4: The Dark Knight (2008)
Its The Dark Knight. You have all (properly) seen it.

3: A Clockwork Orange (1971)
I love how this film splits into two distinct acts. The first is sin and the second is repentance. I would say that it has similar themes to 'Drive' as it asks the question "Can someone change their nature?"

2: This is England (2007)
I saw this when I was 12 and it has stuck with me ever since. Shane Meadows is a national treasure and This Is England is one of the greatest British films of all time.

1: The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
I must of seen this film over 30 times and that is no exaggeration. I almost know the dialogue by heart at this point. What can be said that hasn't already been said? The performances from the Foster and Hopkins 🤌 Jonathan Dame's direction 🤌 Ted Tally's screenplay 🤌 Howard Shore's musical score 🤌. I honestly don't think another film will ever top it for me, it's just that good.
 
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