Amelie..
A film where no character is exaggerated or supernatural, no super heroes, no Die Hards, no guns.

There is no scene in the film that a viewer would not expect to have happen to themselves.

No-one does anything in their day that they would not do on every other day of their life.

Characters are seen larger than life because we see themselves from their own POV, what is important to them. But still no car chase, gun waving, all other Hollywood tactics to take us awy from our popcorn.

What you get is a spellbinding tale where real people are driven by their strongest desires and fears, however irrational, this is what makes the people we meet daily tick.,

my gf bought me a copy, I was going to the cinema to see it that often at the time..
( Want Bartender Time gentlemen please.., Mon 21 Jul 2008, 1:21, 2 replies)

WALL.E
Okay, so it's been out 2 days, but already I hold it in my list of top films for its sheer utter brilliance. First 15 minutes of the film, not a word is uttered by the main character. Mainly because he can't talk well anyway, but still. The film just sucks you in, and you can't help but feel sorry for the little fella, living on Earth for 700 years after we've all packed off into space. There's the obvious environmentalist message in the film, and also the fact that we've all become obese and drink food from cups is an obvious jab at the current obesity crisis. Some absolutely brilliant moments, like M-O the little cleaning robot jumping from his designated light-tracks to clean up WALL.E's muddy tracks and the computer robot learning to wave. Sounds daft,but watch it and you can't help but smile. And the references to 2001 are there, with the HAL-like AUTO, the auto-pilot bot, and even the classic bum-bum-bum...BUM-BUM (no idea what the music is actually called) So anyway, go watch WALL.E!

Also, my other fave films are:

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas as it's the first Disney film I properly remember, and it's sheer awesome.

Hairspray, because it's possibly the best movie musical I've seen in a long time, even better than Grease. Songs are amazing, Nikki Blonsky is perfect as Tracy and John Travolta dragging it up as Edna is a great laugh.

Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, because he actually stayed true to the book (to a degree) and didn't have psychadelic Oompa-Loompas or bloody Golden Geese or a dish-water Chocolate River. Also the songs for the kids are much better as each kid has a different genre of song instead of the same-y Oompa-Loompa Doopadee Doo tripe.

And finally, The Rocky Horror Picture Show because it's sheer madness, it has Meatloaf, the songs are great and the Time Warp is a great dance. (It's bring your knees in tight, not bend your knees in time!)
(gamefanatic666, Mon 21 Jul 2008, 0:49, 1 reply)

any of....
Pan's Labyrinth
Donnie Darko
Blade Runner

Cant beat a downer ending.
(Plamf, Mon 21 Jul 2008, 0:40, Reply)

Best films ever huh?
Well, I would have to say: 'One flew Over the Cuckoo's nest'. It's a fantastic film. It's about a slacker/criminal (Jack Nicholson) who doesn't want to work, and decides that pretending to be retarded in some way. That's where the famous chief comes in, but enough about that, that's only one category.

My favourite funny movie has a tie between three: Dumb * Dumber, Crocodile Dundee (first one) and Hot Shots Part deux. If you've seen them, hopefully you'll understand why.

Favourite futuristic film is probably: 6th day. It has Arnie playing his usual role, but I suggest you check it out. It's about human cloning, and the laws against it.

Favourite Disney film....

I don't really know which category it would fall under, but Mercury Rising is an awesome film.

Well, if I MUST put a Disney film down, It'd have to be the Lion King. Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, and some unknown actors.

There you go.
(lickmyballsandscrotum, Mon 21 Jul 2008, 0:07, Reply)

Braindead finger
There's a moment in Peter Jackson's best film Braindead where the protagonist's mum squirts pus into the pudding of an uptight bastard.

I've basically been having a similar experience this weekend.

I got home drunk on Friday night, and with nothing to eat and no takeaways in the immediate vicinity I decided to cook some pasta. I turned on the electric hotplates on the oven, put the pasta on and realised it wasn't cooking.

So, I touched the hotplates with my fingers to see which one I'd turned on. This is a new place and I'm used to cooking on gas, where you can definitely see which hob is turned on. I touched the last hotplate and thought to myself, "yeah, that's definitely on", and then ran my scorched fingers under a cold tap for 10 minutes. I don't usually do this, I was just pissed.

Woke up the next morning with a terrible hangover and toothpaste all over my charred fingers (apparently it's good for burns). Overnight a huge blister had formed on the tip of my left middle finger.

Today (Sunday) the blister was starting to irritate me, I was constantly playing with it. So, with my girlfriend's advice I decided to lance the fucker. I made a small incision, and some serum seeped out. I squeezed a little harder, and the pussy substance from within the blister sprayed all over the wall.

Me and the missus went to the pub, and I was fiddling with the blister again, and some more liquid squirted out over the old guy sitting behind me's head. He didn't seem to notice.

Now, my girlfriend has just moved in to a new flat, and I was chatting to her landlady, who I'd not really met before. Again, I found myself squeezing the blister, and a huge amount of serum randomly squirted all over myself. She noticed. Queue awkward silence, and the landlady giving me some slightly odd looks. I'm not entirely sure what she makes of her new tenant's boyfriend.

Each time the blister squirts, I find myself thinking of Braindead. So thanks for that Mr Jackson.
( krang, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 23:56, 1 reply)

Rather than a dull list of films you've probably already seen...
I thought I'd post an awesome film that's probably not been seen by too many.

Vanishing Point (1971) is about a guy racing across America to deliver a white supercharged Dodge Challenger in less than 15 hours whilst jacked up on speed, after making a bet with his drug dealer.

And so begins a journey which includes police chases, uber-camp murderous hitchhikers, a naked chick on a motorbike, a guy who makes his living selling snakes to a religious cult, and a blind soul DJ who acts as his guardian angel, all interspersed with flashbacks that explain the morality and mindset of the main character. I could go on but if you're intrigued then I've already said too much.

Watch the film carefully - particularly the time which is titled right at the start of the film and the one at the end, and then bend your mind with the philosophical implications, or just settle for it being a beautifully shot and hugely entertaining film.

Not a massively entertaining or humorous post, but you may be thanking me if you manage to track it down.

Length? 98mins.
(Sloppy Giuseppe, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 23:19, 4 replies)

Still as relevant today....
Inherit the Wind, saw it again the other day and still can't believe that this kind of thinking is still with us...
(Vauxhall Burgundy, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 23:00, Reply)

Wizards.
Best dvd ever.

www.imdb.com/title/tt0076929/
( postal ninja has Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 23:00, 1 reply)

It's topical, so...
The dark knight FTW.

I saw it this morning at a staff screening and we spent most of the afternoon phoning round other cinemas trying to get into their screenings. Sadly we failed.

It's everything I wanted it to be and more. I found myself laughing out loud at some bits, welling up in tears and even cheering and clapping at one point. Normally I'm the kind of person who sits back to take it all in, but for this I was leaning forward, mouth agog wanting more.

Edit: I've just realised how that sounds (fnarr), but it literally is that good. Believe the hype.
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 20:26, Reply)

Terminator - Hull redux
I live on a cul-de-sac, and every day when I go to work rather than do a 3 point turn I like to reverse down the street and pretend I'm in terminator.

I just wanted to share a tip for making your mornings more interesting.
( willenium Fist bump for verification, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 18:47, Reply)

HEAT (1995)
I don't know if this is the absolute best film that I've ever seen, but it's still one I remember as a pivotal moment in my appreciation of film. Despite being made in Hollywood, it aspires to a more European treatment of some very American people and places.

I have never been to Los Angeles: from what I have heard over the years, it's a sprawling hellhole, a vacant fool's paradise of poverty, violence and decadence. It's where the sun sets on the civilised world, where Hollywood movie studios project their DayGlo realities on the rest of the city, while the Beverly Hillbillies throw money at every problem.

That is why it was refreshing to see a more artistic portrayal of LA, one that escapes the studio, where the city is as much of a leading character as Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. It's a concept that director Michael Mann would revisit in 2004's Collateral, but I think he got it right first time.

The central conceit of Heat is simple: cops and robbers can have more in common with each other than with "normal" people. Al Pacino plays Vincent Hanna, a LAPD detective whose third marriage is on its last legs. After a non-stop stream of murder victims, everything else - and everyone else - appears inconsequential. Robert De Niro plays Neil McCauley, a criminal specialising in high-profile robberies: banks, armoured vehicles, and so on. He has a policy: "don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner."

The set pieces are spectacular, especially the opening armoured car robbery, an ambush at a deserted drive-in cinema, and the perfectly-executed robbery of a bank in downtown LA. The shootout that follows is scary in its realism: it looks and sounds more like downtown Beirut or Mogadishu than the typical Hollywood shootout.

Without giving too much away, the film has conflicting but thought-provoking stories about obsession, redemption, about what is too much or too little, about when to persevere and when to walk away - if you can. It's a tough yet subtle film, and some reviewers didn't quite get every subplot, such as the importance of Hanna's stepdaughter (Natalie Portman) as a symbol of what has gone wrong in the lives of everyone involved. As her mother says: "You sift through the detritus, you read the terrain, you search for signs of passing, for the scent of your prey, and then you hunt them down. That's the only thing you're committed to. The rest is the mess you leave as you pass through. "

Lastly, I must mention the soundtrack; a mix of strange metal-orchestra original music by Elliot Goldenthal, and ambient and electronic work by the likes of Moby, Brian Eno, Terje Rypdal and Michael Brook.
( bnt what, me worry?, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 18:23, 4 replies)

Mr Smith goes to Washington
NO SIR I WILL NOT YIELD!
(Phaedron Dizzying epiphanies from the bottom of my pint., Sun 20 Jul 2008, 17:47, Reply)

Anyone here like The Warriors?
I do.

Edit: It's quite good.
(chrisdood Why yes, I am the shizzle, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 17:33, 3 replies)

This.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuSdU8tbcHY

11 seconds, Safe for Work, Awesome.
(FurtiveBiscuit, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 17:28, Reply)

NIH! *Giant Foot SPLAT*
Monty Python and The Holy Grail, for being bizarre, awesome, and a staple feature of my childhood.. along with Labyrinth, Alien movies and whatever other wierd stuff Dad saw fit to inflict on his small impressionable child.

Lots of better knowns have been mentioned already (Donnie Darko, Hero, Sin City, Ghibli, Brazil etc). Heres some more obscure stuff. IMDB them:


* The Great Dictator - Charlie Chaplin playing both a Jew and Hitler. Found on Sat TV at Christmas. In German..

* Perfect Blue - Dont let the cartoon format fool you. This is seriously headmessing and makes for a good "What the..?" argument afterwards a la Donnie Darko.

* Tzameti 13 - In French, bit Reservoir Dogs, but don't let that put you off. Sit through the first 30mins, until it gets gripping. Clapping at the lightbulb bit and making your mates shit optional.

* Alice (svankmajer) - and they show this to kids?? I'd have shat myself and spent the next 10 years hiding in a closet, screaming at the sight of sock puppets.. Try Little Otik as well.

* OldBoy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance - original, twisted, plenty of shocks both gory and emotional.

* Tidelands - truly the only film that I'd have been fine watching as a kid, but terrified me as an adult, instead of the other way around.

* Samurai Wolf, Shogun Assassin - Throw some Westerns, Spartacus and Ninjas in a blender, and you might end up with these.


Vampire Hunter D, District 13, Suicide Circle, Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Draftsmans Contract, Irreversible, Jacobs Ladder, The Edukators, La Planete Sauvage, Shaun of the Dead, Fifth Element, Braindead, The Wrong Trousers, Laputa Castle in the Sky, Renaissance, Delicatessen, Sleepy Hollow, Betty Blue, Clerks, Dogma, orig Ladykillers, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Taxi 2, Clockwork Orange, Metropolis, Hellraiser, Apocalypto, Krull, La Haine, Ong Bak, Paprika, Requiem for a Dream...

/relurks
(Hikikomori** watching cartoons on, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 15:38, 4 replies)

Best romantic film ever
Reservoir Dogs. By the end of the film, everyone got fucked.
(peterlynch, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 15:25, 4 replies)

ok..
There's probably some I'm forgetting, but (in no particular order):

Memento - Brilliantly original film noir, keeps you glued to the screen
Brazil - Gilliam at his best, surreal genius
2001 - Amazing film, never seen anything with such vision
A Clockwork Orange - A dark, amoral film, arguably Kubricks best
The Shining - Scared the hell out of me when I first saw it
The Grudge (Japanese version) - Unbelievably tense film, couldn't sleep for a few days afterwards
Dawn of the dead (the original) - Clever satire on consumerist society, some hilarious lines and comical fake blood
Akira - Dark vision of the future, way ahead of it's time. Brilliant animation, still doesn't look old
Ghost in the shell - Existential philsophy + Guns + Thermoptic camouflage = WIN
Lord of the rings, The Two Towers - Blew me away when I saw it in the cinema, went back twice!
The Shawshank Redemption - Amazingly uplifting film, real triumph of the human spirit. The ending always brings a tear to my eye
Terminator - The first, and still the best. Dark, menacing and brilliant action scenes
Alien - I love this film, brilliant sets, great acting.. Why doesn't Ridley Scott do sci-fi anymore?
O Brother where art thou? - Brilliant comedy, outstanding soundtrack, great performances. Just sucks you in

EDIT: And Return of the Pink Panther
( Finite "Aardvark sorted out my shit!" on, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 15:24, 1 reply)

The Emperor's New Groove.
AND the sequel, Kronk's New Groove.
It works for me SO much.
It's like Disney didn't even bother making the humour for kids anymore.
It's chaotic, pretty darned smutty in places, and just so funny, I absolutely love it.
And yeah, the straight-to-DVD sequel is worth picking up.
It's even worse/better (delete as appropriate).
(I R Tomsk pyromaniacs will only inflame the situation, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 15:07, 1 reply)

During World War II
the Polish Resistance army, the AK, faced with the brutal horrors of Germany on one side and the crushing might of Russia on the other, defended themselves with anything that came to hand.

Being an agricultural country, this was very much ploughshares-to-swords time, but year on year their losses mounted up until it was decided to push forward into Germany in one last-ditch attempt for freedom.

By 1944, knowing the Allied forces were amassing on Norman beaches, the AK trained a special group of dairy farmers into a fearless tactical force, whose sole remaining asset, their livestock, would prove to be Poland's deadliest weapon.

In order to penetrate the German lines, the cows underwent a vigorous regime of squad-formation drills, involving an encrypted method of bell-ringing to form them into a special attack division to drive en masse through the front line. Taking the strongest heifer as a point, she would be flanked by the next two sturdiest cattle, whose left and right hind quarters would then have another cow protecting them. This 10-tonne meat arrow could protect two or three Polish soldiers on the move, allowing them to overrun Nazi outposts and make daring raids for equipment and sabotage. History now records that the Polish-led Bovine Tactical Wedge Formation operation was one of the greatest moo-vees ever.
( Grrrmachine the indifference engine, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 14:33, 1 reply)

A few
Best All-Around Story: "Cinema Paradiso" - Such a beautiful story. Every time I cry at the end. We're talking waterworks here. (Runners-up: "Der Himmel über Berlin" and "Big Fish")

Best Sci-Fi: "Blade Runner" - A wonderfully shot dark vision of the future. Great story. "Metropolis" comes very close.

Best Cinematography: "Lawrence of Arabia" - Without a doubt the best shot film of all time. O'Toole performance is outstanding.(I also suggest "My Favorite Year" with him.)

Best Comedy: "Blazing Saddles" Runners-up: "Pulp Fiction" My ribs hurt so much after seeing that; not from laughing but from Mrs. Cheese elbowing me every time I laughed. "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels." Also "Night on Earth" particularly the Rome and New York segments.

Best Animated Feature: "Spirited Away"

Best Animated Short: "Bambi Meets Godzilla"

Best End Credits: "Les Visiteurs" & "Bambi Meets Godzilla"

Best Shoot-outs: "Léon" ("The Professional"), "Heat"

Best Chase Scene: "Bullit", "Ronin" "The Transporter"

Others: "Into The West", "Repo Man", anything with Kate Beckinsale, and so many others that I could fill the internet.
(StinkyCheeseMan, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 14:24, 1 reply)

Deviating from the basis of the question somewhat...
In 2006 there was a film on telly about the life of Kenneth Williams. I missed it then, but it was repeated last week. Missed that too. Luckily it was on iPlayer last night and I watched it.

The film is called "Fantabulosa" and it is the most depressingly ironic title for a film I have ever seen as it explores the life of a man who is disgusted by himself and his sexuality.

One scene however sticks out as being incredibly powerful:

Ken, who due to phobia and self loathing, is unable to become very close to someone despite longing to do so. As a result he sometimes does odd things to release his pent up sexuality. One of these is hoovering the living room in his speedos. However, while doing this, his father knocks on the door and Ken, terrified of his father seeing him doing this, as he is often portrayed as hating his son's campness, orders him away.

That night his father drank bleach in a very ambiguous way. The film leaves it open to the viewer as to whether the father committed suicide due to his son's supposed rejection or if he just picked up the wrong bottle.

And the final scene where he rights about his ultimate despondency in his diary before taking an overdose of barbiturates is so incredibly poignant.

It's certainly not the best film I've ever seen, but it is one of the most moving and depressing I've seen and I highly recommend everyone to see it if it's ever on TV again.

Massive length and totally pointless, just like in real life :)
( B.T., Sun 20 Jul 2008, 14:00, 1 reply)

That was no boating accident..

(apeloverage committed the vile act of onanism on, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 12:09, 2 replies)

Battle Royale
I just can't help thinking that if we put all chavs on an island...

Or would that be wrong?
(merlin the happy piglet fancies some brie, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 11:59, 5 replies)

This film just makes the 80's for me...
Die Hard. Utter brilliance.

Hot Fuzz some good lines, like:

"Everyone and their mums is packin' round 'ere"
"Like who?"
"Farmers"
"Who else?"
"Farmers' mums"
( Normanator Bad case of trapped wind since, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 11:58, 3 replies)

I've looked through the first 10 pages of this QOTW...
and as of yet not one person has mentioned Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Surely up there with Airplane and Life of Brain as one of the most 'quote-down-the-pub-pissed' movies?
(KangerooFlapjack, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 11:28, 4 replies)

Dave & I
It was just a simple drinking game to go with watching an old favourite: Withnail & I. Keep up with Withnail, in essence, the bare essentials being: Your wine of choice for the wine, your lager of choice for cider and other beer-ish stuff, your whiskey for whiskey and sherry, and actual lighter fluid for the lighter fluid scene. A certain friend of mine, who we shall call Dave, is the only person I've ever known to have kept up with all of the drinking without filling a pint glass with regurgitated alcohol. Dave was an old mate, hung around with me during the drug days, we'd spent a month in a Class D prison together after being arrested buying coke (Class D is essentially a youth prison, it's open ground. Imagine Butlins, but even less fun). He's never denied me a penny when I was short rent or was a couple days short of my wages and was invited on a big night out. Golden hearted bloke, if a little, well, dim. This is his story.

It began. Knock on the door in the middle of the night - Dave grinning outside.
"Come in, good sir."
"Stick on Withnail & I."
"Certainly."
My flat was cold, and the first couple of minutes are spent with us sat on my shanty couch shivering and waiting for the booze to kick in. As the alcohol begins to influence our systems, we find ourselves teetering between the edge of anarchic mirth and a pit of empathy - caught between laughing at the indignance of our struggling compatriots and going beyond an appreciation of their pain, but sharing in it, believing in it, knowing even, that this film was the story of our pale and wet existence. Somehow we were topless, wearing only underwear and our shoes. Really shivering, I thought the alcohol would have been exacerbating my sensitivity to the cold, and so I missed a couple of drinks. We put the film on pause and set a small fire in the ashtray to warm our numbing hands. Rizlas and toilet paper do not make for good burning material, and the decision to share a joint was a bad one as all that light-paper ash glittered in the air like some postapocalyptic wasteland's rain, dry grit falling from the heavens, seeping into my flat under the evil wills of a God that no longer cared for a species that failed to cheer His work. We turned it on again.

A note, on lighter fluid. I knew from my youthful indulgences that Butane was pretty dangerous, and held no alcoholic content. I also knew that it could kill you if you didn't let it warm up a bit, so we poured half a shotglass of it each and decided to warm it up by settling it in the still smouldering ashes of our small fire. It didn't catch alight, though, which looking back on was probably less of a miracle than it might seem to you, dear reader, at the moment. The scene came and we both took a tentative drop of that disgusting substance into our mouths, barely an eigth of the half shots we had poured.

Imagine Satan, all nuclear and evil, ejaculating his chemical spawn onto your tongue. It the foulest taste of death you can imagine, not an old woman slipping away in the night, but some six year old child getting swept away in the radioactive winds of Hiroshima, uranium blisters burning his skin, condemning him to two weeks of torment before an agonising hour in which he'd beg to be put out of his misery if only he had a throat to it with. That's the fucking aftertaste.

We drank whiskey in moutfuls so vile was this stuff, we sucked icecubes and still this taste had just become an undercurrent, nothing but a provocation to keep drinking and smoking. So we did. And we did. And we did.

No plot points here, but the last scene involves a certain character drinking from a bottle of wine and shuffling into the distance. Thus did Dave, and I curled up under my coat on the sofa to sleep, telling him to get home safely, that there was nought but wolves out there. Packs upon packs, baying to taste his flesh. He left me his cigarettes and went out to meet the world. I fell asleep pretty much instantly.


Woke up Memento like. What happened? Where am I? This is my flat? Where are my clothes? Is this... ash? I tidied up as memories came back with no respect for the chronology of modern man's reminscing method, as they do, and then the phone rang.

"Hello?"
"Not Quite... oh God."
"Trish?"
"It's Dave..."
She was fond of her trailing silences. A dramatic woman to say the least.
"Did he get home alright?" I asked.
"No. He's been arrested."
"Drunk and disorderly? Do you need me to pick him up?"
"Turn on the news."

And so I did.

"No fucking way."

I can only thank the BBC for cluing me in on the second half of this story, so I'll let them do the same for you - well worth the click:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/7404582.stm

I haven't been to see him inside. Not too fond of prisons, which he understands. His girlfriend still doesn't know - she isn't the b3ta type, I don't reckon - that I got him drunk. She gave birth a week or two ago. Haven't been to see the baby. He should be out this time next year, thanks to overcrowding.

Length? 108 minutes. Download a torrent. Save your money for the booze.
(sorry., Sun 20 Jul 2008, 10:32, 8 replies)

Edith Evans
The Importance of Being Earnest

1...

2...

3...

A HAAAANDBAAAAAAG?!?
(Harleif Skankhammer II was killing time at, Sun 20 Jul 2008, 9:20, 1 reply)