Dinner for One
"The best films are the ones you used to play OVER & OVER & OVER again when you were a kiddo."

I would also add that the best films are those that you quote on a regular basis in everyday life too...

Okay, under this rule my favourite films would have to be:

1. Top Gun: This was the first proper film I ever owned - back in the olden days when we had VHS videos. For you kids, that's kind of a small box thing with a reel-to-reel tape... never mind.... I actually got the soundtrack CD before I got the movie. I had to get a CD player to play that too since it was my first CD too... For a teenager who loved aeroplanes, this was by far the best movie around - far better than Iron Eagle (which was one of the first films I saw in the cinema)

Maverick:"Because I was inverted"
Iceman:"*COUGHbullshit*"
How many times have I used that when disagreeing with a mate who was full of $h!t.

And really, who wouldn’t want Meg Ryan to say to them:
“Take me to bed or lose me forever.”

2. The Gods Must Be Crazy: The original, south african version - not the silly american dubbed version. It frustrates me that american distributors have to over-dub an ENGLISH film (ie spoken in english albeit with an accent) with american voice actors because they think that the bulk of american viewers can't understand other english accents.... and another thing - the second one (TGMBC 2) was absolutely sh!te but probably because I only ever saw an american over-dubbed version /rant.

We taped the original off the TV in south africa sometime back in the 80's & watched it MANY, MANY times as we grew up.

"coming to give you morrtal supporrt" (going to talk to his lady friend)
"what the hell you do thet for? huh??" (after he winched the anticrist up the tree)

3. The Hunt for Red October: I never saw this one until after I met Mrs GMRage. It was her favourite movie, and I quickly grew to love it too, because there is no gratuity in it - no drug use, no sex, and no unnecessary violence. The coarsest language in it is "God dam".

"Give me a ping Vasily. One ping only please" Useful quote whenever I ask someone to pass me something. As in: "give me a _____ Vasily. One _____ only please"

I also enjoyed “Unbreakable”, “the Usual Suspects”, and “the Interview” with Hugo Weaving. I love the twists at the end of these. They all left me breathless… wondering… how did I miss the signs? … just very well told stories.
(GMRage stood a little straighter, Wed 23 Jul 2008, 10:17, Reply)

brokeback mountain
best.movie.ever

i don't care how much buttsex there is in there, heath ledger and jake gyllenhaal make the prettiest male couple ever!~
(brotagaia, Wed 23 Jul 2008, 9:58, Reply)

Right Vince You Bastard...
I'm the Daddy now. Next time I'll fucking kill ya.

Horribly dark, frequently funny and immensely quotable.

Don't go into the greenhouse alone, kiddies.


probably been mentioned already, but I haven't had enough time to read the answers this week
( Moey, Wed 23 Jul 2008, 9:45, 1 reply)

Not the best
But, definitely very good at doing what it was meant to i.e. scaring my face off....

I hate Arachnophobia, and I'm fairly certain that watching it so young has contributed to my unending fear of those little bastards.

My gran and grandad were looking after me one night when I was a wee knee biter and letting me do all the cool stuff grandparents let you; eating sweets and staying up late basically.

Cue arachnophobia on the telly, and we're set for a good night in, with gramps passed out, and granny settling in to watch it with me.

After the hour and a half of pure fucking terror was up, my gran calmly relays to me how shit the film was, and that she'd seen some right big uns when she and my grandad lived all over with the army.

These things existed?

These monstrous, hideous creatures surely sent by Satan himself to kill me existed?!

According to my gran's nonchalant recollections, yes.

Bollocks.

This film I can honestly say, sticks with me to this day, and is still in my mind as to how much it scared the right royal shit out of me at the wee age of young-ish. It subsequently caused me to lump any and all of the little devil spawn we call spiders in to the same basket as these Nazi killing machines I saw on telly.

In fact it scared me so much that I didn't get to sleep that night, and my nan phoned in sick for me the following morning at school. Silver lining eh? Not when you consider that I shit myself every time I see one of the buggers bigger than a 2p coin.....
(Scrumpy does not negotiate with terrorists,, Wed 23 Jul 2008, 9:30, Reply)

My own selection
From the top of my head essentially and not in any specific order...
1. Dead Man's Shoes: Touching, brutal and quotable.
2. Robocop: enough said really
3. True Romance
4. Vanilla Sky
5. A Bronx Tale
(muzzvsworld, Wed 23 Jul 2008, 8:39, 1 reply)

justice
Two nominations

1) Lock , stock and 2 smoking barrels

2) The world is not enough

why??? because in both films a parking warden gets what they deserve. I fucking hate those gutter nazis.
(welgar, Wed 23 Jul 2008, 7:28, Reply)

Seven Samurai
I can't be bothered to wade through 22 pages to see if someone has listed it, but honestly this is tops. Also other Kurosawa films:

Throne of Blood (Macbeth in Japan)
Ran (King Lear in Japan)
High and Low - best police movie ever made

And a couple of others I have recently seen and enjoyed:

The Lives of Others, about the Stasi in East Germany
Apocalypto - just plain astonishing.
(mortdubois lacks imagination, doesn't play well with others, Wed 23 Jul 2008, 2:40, 2 replies)

Best film moment anyway...
Bored in Vancouver one day a few years back (I'd broken my wrist skiing after flying 19 f*&%ing hours to get there so was NOT in the mood for the usual fun activities) I went to see a film, Rumble In The Bronx.
I wasn't really expecting much but got the surprise of my life when, during the pre-film shorts, a promo for Independence Day came on.
The usual stuff happens, spaceships fly about, Will Smith smokes a cigar etc etc, and then we get to the scene where the mothership hovers over The White House and blows it up.
And the cinema erupted.
Everyone was cheering, laughing, screaming in delight, standing up and pumping their fists in the air... the French Canadian guy next to me even hugged me, screaming some delighted gibberish.
It was, in ways the following film could never hope to achieve, a truly magnificent moment and a complete wake-up to how the average Canadians feel about their big neighbour.
( difficultchild, Wed 23 Jul 2008, 2:02, 1 reply)

If..
In an indictment of the British Boys School, we follow Mick and his mostly younger friends through a series of indignities and occasionally abuse as any fond feelings toward these schools are destroyed. When Mick and his friends rebel, violently, the catch phrase, "which side would you be on" becomes quite stark. tiss a weird and unnerving film with bits in Black and white and bits in colour. really one to wacth when your in a spinny head kind of mood.
(full of beans, Wed 23 Jul 2008, 1:08, 2 replies)

Shock Corridor - Sam Fuller - 1963
Journalist enters nuthouse to expose murder and skull-duggery. Journo loses mind, tries to escape and makes a wrong-turning into a room full of rampant, lustrous, salivating women. They advance. His eyes widen in horror and he says the best line in any film.

Ever.

"Oh no... nymphos."

Grindhouse be damned. This is bad taste at it's best.
(Error 404 - Username Unknown, Wed 23 Jul 2008, 0:51, Reply)

In Bruges
I'm In Bruges as i write this and I've just had the pleasure not 20 minutes ago of chatting to a large American guy at the base of the bell tower.
of the few a choices of what to do tomorrow he said he may watch the film or climb the bell tower. I told him to go see the film because the bell tower is all steep and narrow.

I'd love to see his face when he sees the scene.
( Terry Oblong There's nobody here but us chickens on, Wed 23 Jul 2008, 0:33, 1 reply)

Fantastic Film
I have it. It is really good. I feel quite sad at the end though. But yeah, they were apparantly doing a second one with female-vampires.... not sure if Cambell was in it. Suffice to say I love this film.
(Mongoose1770 is a bag of balls, Wed 23 Jul 2008, 0:06, Reply)

Do buy it
I bought it, it was epic, i also was upset that Optimus was killed off. still, the missus saw it in my collection and has vowed never to watch it. Probably thinks it will be crap... though we know it really isnt XD
(Mongoose1770 is a bag of balls, Wed 23 Jul 2008, 0:04, Reply)

DERR-dumm
Spielberg may not have made the scariest horror, and may not even have intended it to play out the way it did, but the perfect casting and editing make a film that can get you over and over again; no matter how many times you see it, the laughs, the tension and the fear are there, same place, every time, even when you know what's out there; know it's coming; know it won't give up; know he's smart, Chief; he's very smart or he's very dumb; he's gone under the boat. He's a big smart fish, he's gone under the boat.

A film that whether you know it well or not, it's in your subconscious, making you afraid to look down, or making you so scared not to be looking down scrutinising every tiny shadow every second you're swimming over deep water. And a soundtrack that can just sidle up and take a big bite out of your rationality whenever it feels like it.

Now that's a film.
( joefish It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks, Tue 22 Jul 2008, 23:03, Reply)

wall e
Amazing. Just amazing. The most endearing character Pixar have ever done. He may lift a lot of his design from Johnny-5 and E.T., but you still just want to take him home.

And he's happy all by himself for 700 years, then he falls in love and saves the world. A film so inspiring it actually makes you want to tidy up a bit. What other film has done that?
( joefish It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks, Tue 22 Jul 2008, 22:46, Reply)

Cook the man some eggs
Once Were Warriors is a powerful portrayal of dysfunctional society in south Auckland, New Zealand. Temuera Morrison plays Jake Heke, or Jake the Mus, and Rena Owen plays his long suffering wife, Beth. Jake lives for beer and brawls and destroys his family along the way. Domestic violence, gangs, maoridom, a woman's strength, finding yourself, losing yourself... it is all here.

The book, by Alan Duff, is also very good although it does have a unique style that might make it hard for some people to get into. The follow up movie What Became of the Broken Hearted is not quite as good as the first but is still worth a look, while the (second) book is certainly more accessible than the first.

I remember seeing Once Were Warriors on the big screen and when the film was over and people were leaving the theatre, no one spoke. Powerful stuff.

Some You Tube clips linked but they contain spoilers of course.
( enoughblueskyforsailorstrousers, Tue 22 Jul 2008, 22:04, 7 replies)

Plan 9 from Outer space.
A movie so terrible that it ends up on the other side of the scale, somewhere around "unbelievably awesome". It is the prime example of "so bad, it's good."
Everything it does, it does wrong. EVERYTHING. The wobbly sets, the unconvincing special effects, the poor quality writing, the glaring continuity errors, the lack of general sense...everything! Apparently, university professors have been known to use it as an example of how NOT to make a movie.
It is essentially an anti-masterpiece. Ed Wood is the anti-genius. It is quite possibly one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

It is so terrible, it has to be seen to be believed. It is so terrible, it can't help but be one of my favourite films of all time.

And now I sound like one of these morons that take it WAY too seriously...
( Green Spanner and his magical lack of activity, Tue 22 Jul 2008, 21:54, 5 replies)

Best Films Ever
1. Four Weddings And a Funeral
I fingered Judy Baker in the Astoria when this was on.. It was around the time that Kristin Scott-Thomas was telling Hugh Grant that she fancied him and could never love another. I thought I was helping myself to a handful of buttered popcorn. Instead I accidentally inserted my index finger in between her labia majoris, and through a comedy of errors, bought her to an earth shuddering orgasm, whilst thinking I was actually scrabbling madly for the last piece of popcorn, swimming in the buttery juices of it's departed brothers.
(At least that's what I told the jury)

2. 28 Days Later.
This film was so frightening I actually prolapsed with shock!
Imagine if you will, my embarrasment as the pretty usherette with the not unappreciable rack was called over, armed with a warm shoe-horn, she crammed my sagging anus back into its correct position, and I penguin walked out of the auditorium.
I was able to make use of this though, in my temporary career change to a Charlie Chaplin impersonator.

3. Superman III
During this pathetic follow-up to a pathetic follow-up, Timothy "Fatty" Wilson clumsily attempted to commit suicide off of the circle into the stalls below.
He acheived the unwanted side-effect of landing head first between the more than ample thighs of a local fat girl, from whence he spent the duration of the film uttering muffled protestations and acting as an impromptu table for her dustbin liner full of popcorn and bucket of cola. He married her 10 years later. I remember we had lard at the reception dinner, paramedics were on standby.

4. Legends of the Fall.
This marathon bum-numb furnished me with ample opportunity to catch up on my sleep, after an entire week spent bouncing up and down on the naked form of my new girlfriend.
I hadnt slept properly for days and the repose this film afforded me enabled me to recharge the old batteries and replenish my stocks of zinc before another evening spent shooting bollock-load after bollock-load of spunk up her crimson flue.

5. Please Sir! The movie.
I laughed so hard whilst watching this film I required medical attention and a defibrillator. Even after this narrow brush with death I still went home with my underpants liberally filled with feculence, so forceful was my cachinnation. Mind you, I got a whole carriage to myself on the tube, which afforded me ample time to reflect on the comedic genius of the scriptwriters of the movie..
(Vic Flange, Tue 22 Jul 2008, 21:52, 3 replies)

Drop Dead Gorgeous.
If you haven't seen it, it's about a beauty pageant in a small midwest American town that starts turning deadly.

It has Kirsten Dunst at 16 doing a rather energetic dance.

But most of all, it rips the shit out of small-town America in a way that should have made all those Minnesota farmers rise up with pitchforks and scythes and march on Hollywood, cutting down everything in their path. Highlights included Denise Richards dancing with a stuffed life-size crucified Jesus.

And Kirsten Dunst dancing.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Tue 22 Jul 2008, 21:35, Reply)

Glengarry Glen Ross
"FUCK YOU, that's my name"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TROhlThs9qY
(calcio1, Tue 22 Jul 2008, 21:19, 1 reply)

No fighting in the War Room!
My favorite movie so far in my life is
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (A good title for a porn movie as well).

When I saw it first, I was 11. I may, at the time, not have been able to grasp the social criticism or irony in the film, but man did I ever want that War Room!

It seemed like a cool place to eat cake.
(snordfjord Cranky...like a crank!, Tue 22 Jul 2008, 20:43, 1 reply)

Sorry, but ...
... I’m going to be really predictable here and say that Star Wars – A New Hope is simply one of the best films ever made. This is in part due to the fact that it was the first film I saw as a kid back in ’77. Up until then I knew that all sci-fi was shit because you could see the wires. I was forced to watch crappy Doctor Who with wobbly sets, Glen A Larson shite such as Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and Battlestar Galactica (the ‘re-imagined’ version kicks serious arse). The only sci-fi TV that ever looked authentic to me before that was Space 1999, and I loved that. But when I saw A New Hope for the first time I was simply blown away. The big fuck off Star Destroyer gliding in over the top of the screen is, in my opinion, one of the greatest opening scenes ever. I have been a massive fan of Star Wars ever since.

I’ve just finished watching (for the 100 dozenth time) Empire of Dreams, the documentary about how my beloved Star Wars nearly didn’t come into being: with arsehole studio execs, massive production problems, plus George Lucas’ near heart attack during filming. I honestly think that, without Star Wars, sci-fi would have been very different.

It was much later that I saw 2001 – A Space Odyssey and Silent Running: two more of my favourite sci-fi films.

But coming up to knock Star Wars off my personal favourite movie franchise is Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings. Upon seeing Fellowship of the Ring, I felt the same awe and wonder that I had last experienced as an eight year old with Star Wars. I blub like a girl at Boromir’s death scene:

“I would have followed you to the end, my brother. My captain. My king”

And the last ride of Rohirrim at the Battle of Pelenor Fields in Return of the King is truly one of the most heart pounding scenes ever made. Bernard Hill makes a wonderful Theoden.

But I have other favourites: Leon had me wandering around in a wistful contemplative mood for days afterwards. Fantastically shot; every scene looks like a painting and Jean Reno is superb in it. Love the scene when he opens the door to a crying Natalie Portman for the first time.

Memento blows my mind and is one of the most original movies ever.

Straight Story, a fantastic David Lynch film about humility, redemption and forgiveness.

And talking of David Lynch, I love his version of Dune. Despite what the critics say, I think it’s one of the biggest, most elaborate, deep and above all surreal movies ever. I’ve seen it so many times I practically know it word for word.

John Carpenter’s The Thing still scares me shitless, especially the scene with the dogs…

Shawshank Redemption. I’d not seen it up until about five years ago and hardly blinked until it had finished. Morgan Freeman’s narration really adds to it, especially in the roof-tarring scene.

Local Hero, from Bill Forsyth, a comedy in the strain of the old Ealing Comedies. Fantastically quirky, funny and intelligent. I love the fact that the twist at the end is so subtle, you can miss it entirely!

Quadrophenia, introduced to me years ago by an ex-mod friend of mine. Brilliant story and excellent musical score.

Mad Max. I once saw this on video as a kid seven times in the same day. Wonderfully low budget which gives the special effects a completely believable feel. A modern classic.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles. The late great John Candy at his best.

Man on the Moon. I’m not a huge Carrey fan and know nothing about Andy Kaufman but I really enjoyed this flick.

There are dozens of others: Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Blade Runner, Edward Scissorhands, Forrest Gump, Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, Trainspotting. Midnight Express, the Shining, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, A Knight’s Tale, Pleasantville, Rain Man, Starship Troopers... Maybe I shouldn’t have answered this QOTW whilst facing my entire DVD collection?

Apologies for length but I’ve nowhere else to stack them...
(Ghostlight, Tue 22 Jul 2008, 20:01, 2 replies)

Madam Marlboro has reminded me
Clueless

for many reasons (two):

1. Turk from Scrubs is always amusing,

2.Alicia Silverstone.

I said god DAMN!
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 22 Jul 2008, 19:48, 1 reply)

Glorious exes and their top films
One ex near the beginning of our courtship mentioned that her favourite film was fight club. This was the biggest thumbs up I could imagine, being as I was an angry young man with illusions of Political epithanies and also being a firm believer in the high fidelity rule that 'it's not what you ARE like, it's what you DO like'.

But it could not be so swimmingly. She spoilt it somewhat when we decided to watch it a few months later and she turns round and says to me 'Oh! So he's mental then?!'

Door.

The one before that loved dirty dancing. But we all do, don't we?
(The_Greyhound wrote www.luckymcdanger.blog.co.uk on, Tue 22 Jul 2008, 19:47, Reply)

Blue Jean Cop
Great late 80's gritty dirty cop drama, surprisingly very enjoyable, that was right upto the last 5 minutes. If they ended it with the corrupt officers being hauled it and grilled it would've been a fitting and rewarding ending, but oooooooooooooh no. No for those yankees.

Cue the lawyer who having just survived being assissinated before this big trial due to the rough and ready copper saving him (who looks like Billy Connoly but twice as trampy) they decide that the corrupt coppers are legging it, and they need to be stopped.

This is where everything goes tits up.

The copper who can't afford any clothes happens to own a cherry red Porche 911 convertable outside. No idea how, plus it only turns up there and then, right near the end. They speed off down the highway and get near this airport strip which is also near the coast. The coppers all are climbing into a small private jet which is pulling away and after a quick driver-swaparound and some speedy lawyer-driving the cop is dangling on the plane door as it's taking off. We then are greeted with the worst special effect I have ever seen with the plane flying past the Statue of Liberty (worse than a 70's Doctor Who monster) and the cop happens to be carrying a fecking GRENADE (must be standard US issue for normal bobbies). He lobs this in, falls a couple of hundred feet where the plane explodes spectacularly behind him. He lands in the water and swims out right beside the lawyer who'se parked up and is cheering with him. God bless America.

I stayed up until 1am watching this. The adverts came on afterwards and my jaw was still hanging open in disbelief.
( Jeccius Steam Borderlands 2 junkie, Tue 22 Jul 2008, 18:11, Reply)

Labyrinth
The songs, the puppets, the magic.........but mostly for the genuis drinking game my friend developed named 'Quintessentially Bowie's Cock'. Any time you spy the thin white duke in his very tighty tights you drink and shout COOOOOOOOOOCK! I woke up on my living room floor. My neighbours were not happy. Ah! Good times.
(Happycow - 2% pure beef, Tue 22 Jul 2008, 17:56, Reply)

Lovejoy
Man, they should make a film of that with Ian McShane and all the old gang, that would be awesome!
( stopmeandslapme Cometh the hour, cometh your mum, Tue 22 Jul 2008, 17:44, 5 replies)

You know you love it...
I'm sexy, I'm cute,
I'm popular to boot.
I'm bitchin', great hair,
The boys all love to stare,
I'm wanted, I'm hot,
I'm everything you're not,
I'm pretty, I'm cool,
I dominate the school,
Who am I? Just guess,
Guys wanna touch my chest,
I'm rockin', I smile,
And many think I'm vile,
I'm flyin', I jump,
You can look but don't you hump,
I'm major, I roar,
I swear I'm not a whore,
We cheer and we lead,
We act like we're on speed,
You hate us 'cause we're beautiful,
Well we don't like you either,
We're cheerleaders,
We are cheerleaders



Bring it on!
( Madam Marlboro wonders if you've found her yet, Tue 22 Jul 2008, 17:42, 5 replies)