your top five movies

the burbs is a classic. i still laugh when i watch that movie

1. The Right Stuff

2. Empire of the Sun

3. Raising Arizona

4. Star Wars IV

5. The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash

That's what I'd pick in a "have to pick only 5" desert island situation.

If I had to go 5 directors it'd be: Kubrick, Boyle, John Hughes, Spielberg, Cohen Brothers.

Runners up:

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Public Enemy (1931)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Eraserhead

Fine Awepittance: nothing but Asians getting plowed...

I dunno how to choose 5 but what hits me between the eyes right now:

Days of Heaven - Still my favorite from Malick (although Thin Red Line comes close behind), this film paints a picture with every scene. Gorgeous gorgeous cinematography,some great directing, I mean he gets some great performances out of Gere, Shepard and the chick who plays Abby.

Ashes of Time/Chungking Express/Fallen Angels/Happy Together - Wong Kar Wai and Christopher Doyle combined to makes some visually beautiful films with vivid stories that play in my head years after seeing the films. I couldn't really pick a favorite of those 4...plus I have some happy memories of watching those movies.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring - Kim Ki Duk really made a leap with this film. Beautiful visuals using a simplistic set (I so wish that temple on the lake was a real place...). Visual symbolism with some real meaning to it, and a story with a powerful message. Really hit home for me on a number of levels.

Ran - Kurosawa Akira. Do I really need to explain why this is a great movie? IMO Kurosawa's best film, although I know a lot of people will choose Seven Samurai and Rashomon over this, for me, his framing and use of colour in this movie are simply amazing. The story is great too, a beautiful adaptation of King Lear.

Empire Strikes Back - say what you will about the rest of the star wars canon, this is a great film. Really simple plot done well and great space battles. How the fuck Kershner managed to pull this off I have no idea, as he's never done anything as good as this, before or after (and yes I had to look his name up on IMDB).

Other great stuff

Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Metropolis, Citizen Kane, Solaris (Tarkovsky), The Godfather, Oldboy, ummm what else...too many to list.

  On 11/11/2009 at 6:17 AM, chenGOD said:

 

Days of Heaven - Still my favorite from Malick (although Thin Red Line comes close behind), this film paints a picture with every scene. Gorgeous gorgeous cinematography,some great directing, I mean he gets some great performances out of Gere, Shepard and the chick who plays Abby.

 

good man

I used to live in Tulsa and this movie reminds me of a certain time in my life.

I went to see this after I moved to a city by myself and it made me miss having a relationship.

Hilarious and excellent performance by Mickey Rourke.

Takes more than 1 viewing to make sense.

The best mafia film, IMO

  On 11/11/2009 at 2:38 AM, Z_B_Z said:

  On 11/11/2009 at 2:33 AM, Squee said:

 

 

Zodiac - A lot of people found this to be one of Fincher's most boring movies. I, on the other hand, loved it. Once again, beautiful cinematography, great acting, and a great story.

 

 

this is a very underrated film. i dont think fincher is a very good director but something went extremely right here. its like he made a great film by accident. ive seen it three or four times and it doesnt get old.

+1

Because....

This film is like Twin Peaks without David Lynch but many of the same actors and some that look like others...

The original Nazi Zombie!

Two Disc Special Edition!!!?!!!

words could never do this thing justice.....I pray that you go out and find this right now just so that you can say, "Atop truly has the best taste in horrible cinema."

Maan I just found Robot Jox on youtube... after a biiiig amount of time.. if you don´t know this one.. try it on youtube.com, whole movie is there, even the sequel Robot Wars..

  On 11/11/2009 at 7:43 AM, zero said:

 

I used to live in Tulsa and this movie reminds me of a certain time in my life.

 

 

I went to see this after I moved to a city by myself and it made me miss having a relationship.

 

 

Hilarious and excellent performance by Mickey Rourke.

 

 

Takes more than 1 viewing to make sense.

 

 

The best mafia film, IMO

couldn't have put it better myself

Oh, Goodfellas

2001: A Space Odyssey One of the beautiful and moving things I've ever seen. The ending actually makes me think that humanity is a speck of dust etc. etc. Also the most convinving special effects and space scenes I can think of, I really don't think they could be improved on today (apart from the accuracy of the appearance of the Jovian satellites)

The Exorcist I know a lot of people today find this laughable, but there's something about it that still unsettles me no matter how many times I see it. I'm a sucker for naturalism in films (why I love so much Altman and Spielberg), which makes it all the more disturbing.

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind Again, the combination of sci-fi and near-documentary naturalism (thinking of the scenes in Indianapolis air traffic control, Mexico, India and the Mongolian desert) along with the sense of nostalgia I get when I watch it (I saw it when it was first released in cinemas in the the UK), being a child of the 1970s and all. I fucking love American films of the 70s.

Short Cuts Had to include a Robert Altman film somewhere. His films were hit-and-miss, but it just felt that in this he got everything right. Casting, acting, humour (without trying too hard to be funny, which I thought he often did), and all his regular trademarks like overlapping dialogue, multiple storylines, realistic colour, all the usual Altman cliches. I had no idea how long the film was when we went to see it on the pictures on a whim, I just kept wondering when it would end without wanting it to. The quickest three hour film I've ever seen. I fucking love Short Cuts.

The Empire Strikes Back I've never left the flix feeling as depressed and anxious as I did after this, and even today I've never been so psyched about seeing a film beforehand (although I would only have been 9 at the time). Plus there's the sequence of the AT-ATs attacking Echo Base on Hoth and Boba Fett being just cool as fuck (preferred it once Temeura Morrison's voice was overdubbed though). I finally now have a parka just like Han Solo's too.

Shortcuts is great.

The Ballad of Narayama (1983)

Probably my favorite film. The story is fairly simple, it's about a family in a small mountainous village in Japan. But it explores the subject of life and death better than any other film I've seen.

Tampopo (1985)

This is one of those life-affirming films that leaves me with a smile on my face every time I watch it. It's a comedy about a woman that owns a noodle shop and the group of friends she makes on the way to making her place the best noodle shop in Japan. There are also these beautiful vignettes throughout the film that explore the subject of food in different ways. It's impossible to watch this and not be hungry afterwards.

Kids Return (1996)

I'd put this film on a double bill with Kitano's 'Fireworks'. It's about two high school kids that are best friends and how they grow apart as they grow up. All done with Kitano's signature mix of melancholy and humor (and some violence too).

Platform (2000)

This is about how a bunch of musical students transition from Maoism to Westernization in China during the 1980s. This film moves at a glacial pace. It literally broke down everything into very subtle moments between the characters but once I grew accustomed to this it was one of the most rewarding viewings I've ever experienced.

Suzhou River (2000)

A beautiful love story set in Shanghai but what sets it apart from most love stories is how the director plays with the expectations of the genre. The film creates an atmosphere that I can't help but want to experience again and again.

24 Hour Party People (2002)

Another film that puts a smile on my face. It's also one of the best screen representations of what it's like to love a band or musical movement and see it flourish, change and transition into relative obscurity.

Shawshank Redemption

Into the Wild

The Fountain

Gladiator

Underworld

The Big Lewbowski.

- This movie is just hilarious and never seems to get old. Like Fred said, it seems the more you watch it the more you pick up. This movie is all about subtle acting and line delivery. gold.

Groundhog Day.

- Say what you will about this being one of my top 5, this movie is really charming and has a nice message. plus I love bill murray and have been in love with andie mcdowell since the age of 12.

The Thin Red Line

- I'm not particularly fond of the script in this movie but everything else is wonderful. I've always been obsessed with war for some reason all my life and the philosophical problems one must have while engaged as a soldier in one.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

-I'm a sucker for Bill Murray what can I say. The thing about this movie is just that it's a funny adventure with a great cast, fantastic music, hilarious lines, and a real sad undertone to Zissou which is great.

that's all I can think of right now. As I get older I find I'm gravitating towards quirky funny movies that aren't super intellectual.

  On 11/12/2009 at 4:58 AM, Franklin said:

As I get older I find I'm gravitating towards quirky funny movies that aren't super intellectual.

You love Dumb n Dumber too?

It's a classic...though wouldn't make my top 5, could make a top 50.

oh God. i forgot to include DARK STAR

good call on dumb and dumber! definitely in my top 10

bump.

1. punch drunk love - because it's perfect in every sense, it's effortless and romantic as fuck with just the right amount of crazy and whimsy, it really is the best portrayal of falling in love on film i think.

this is the best sequence ever: http://www.videohipp...ove-He-Needs-Me

2. happiness - i was simply awestruck by the pedo-confession scene with the kid the first time i saw it, but then i re-watched the film and discovered much more of that "brutally honest and absurdly cruel and hilarious" thing which i loved.

3. piano teacher - it's the best exploration of human psyche and sexuality i know, isabelle huppert is simply amazing in it.

4. the man without a past - i can't really explain what it is about kaurismaki's style that grabs me, but it just does and it is very effective. this particular film is about a man who loses his memory and has to start anew, it is full of humanity, kindness and a very special kind humor (finnish i guess ?).

5. you, the living - brilliant, stylish (the music and set pieces especially), imaginative and humorous "art" film that explores (mostly) human misery , just the way i like it, it reminds me of my favorite author daniil kharms. here's the first scene:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOv_ByfRnu0

(6) in the dark (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417226)- it's a documentary so it's not really no.6 but i just can't not mention it, it's a simple story about a blind elderly man who makes string bags and then gives them out to people on the street for free, but no one ever takes them. it's devastating (but also quite exploitative).

I'm not much of a film head but here it goes.

Die Hard

2001: A Space Odyssey

Moon

Blade Runner

Caddy Shack

Runners up

A Clockwork Orange

Alien

The Abyss

American History X

Step Brothers

In Bruges

Princess Mononoke

Tron

Rosmary's Baby

Predator

  On 7/16/2012 at 12:43 AM, chassis said:

Die Hard

2001: A Space Odyssey

Moon

Blade Runner

Caddy Shack

you have to write something about the stuff you like, that was the rule, otherwise it's kinda pointless.

Alright... new list...

Mulholland Drive - I wish I knew how many times I've watched this movie.

There Will Be Blood - Like I said 3 years ago: I don't know how to describe this movie.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - One of the few movies that really catches the essence of being in love.

Zodiac - Fincher's best film plus I'm deeply fascinated by the Zodiac case...

Adaptation - Wonderful writing. Such a wonderful mindfuck.

  On 7/16/2012 at 12:43 AM, chassis said:

I'm not much of a film head but here it goes.

 

Die Hard:

The perfect action film for me. I've always thought it was the best of the first three. There's something about a film that takes place in one area. The plot is fairly straight forward and the characters are great, well, just Willis and Rickman. Classic.

 

2001: A Space Odyssey:

Visuals, obviously. Just a really great film to watch literally what is in front of you. Ive a great fascination with space and with technology, so the plot is great for me.

 

Moon:

Probably because it reminds me of the film above. Its man and machine in somewhere desolate. Makes you think about mortality which can sometimes be quite profound.

 

Blade Runner:

Not much to say that hasnt been said. Reoccurring theme of man vs machine in my list. But the style of the whole film speaks volumes.

 

Caddy Shack

Bill Murray and Chevie Chase, how could this film be any funnier. Just great comedy I think.

How do you measure yourself against other golfers

By height.

 

Such dry wit. I love it.