What movies ...

[Nathan Caroland]

Hey folks,

I watch about four hours of TV a month, IF that, especially now with things being busy for me. I'm just not that into the television but the rest of my family sure is (wife, kids, father .. ) and they are always trying to get me to watch this or that, or to sit down and watch a movie with them. I do from time to time, but if I'm going to bother, I want to make certain that whatever I'm watching is going to keep my interest, otherwise I'll toddle off or just go to sleep (irritates the hell out of my wife).

So, apparently someone in the family has netflix, because they keep coming over to the house all the time with movies, or I end up seeing a pile of those envelopes around and they asked me what movies I want to watch. Funny enough, the few things that caught my attention were old 80's flixs or something which of course got them rolling their eyes.

So, help me out folks - what movies are the 'gotta see' ones? Some of the most recent ones that I've seen and really enjoyed (and might give you an idea of what I like) are:

Underworld

Boondock Saints

Day of the Dead (I'm really interested in seeing the Land of the Dead One that came out recently)

Tremors (sue me, its great)

Remo Williams (hah!)

Practical Magic (I fought my wife on this one for two years and then sat down in a huff and immediately fell in love with it).

The Professional

Ronin

Shawn of the Dead (eh, I laughed)

Hrmmm, that's about it really and that is about a year and half of movies. I'm actually keen on seeing 'Suspect Zero' and 'The Longest Yard' as they appeal to me. I absolutely don't care for anything that has rape or child abuse in it for a plotline (even if its minimal) - just really not my thing and I don't care to see it at all, I've walked out of movies that have this sort of crap in it, so please don't recommend anything like that.

So hit me with some suggestions!

[EricJ]

Well first off, Land of the dead is significantly less good than the recent Dawn of the Dead. If you want to see another zombie movie, which is better, see 28 Days Later.

yes, Tremors is great! DO NOT see the sequels

Lets see, movies that have come out recently...

Batman Begins was the best batman movie since the tim burton original, althought the actor kept making me think of American Psycho...

ok, there is more, I'll think of them, my brain is blank now...posting at 7am is hard :sleeping:

[gi6ers]

Ok, here goes:

Bubba Hotep: Bruce Campbell as an elderly Elvis -genius!

Pitch Black

Screamers

Dusk 'til Dawn

[supervike]

I do netflix and it is an incredible way to get movies that I may not have given a chance before.

There are tons of movies out there, but very few 'gotta see' ones...

I'm assuming you've seen all the 'biggies' from the past few years.

Lord of the Rings

Star Wars Saga

Harry Potter

I've been amazed at some of the Marvel Comic Book movies of late. Surprisingly, since 'comic book' movie usually means 'avoid at all costs' These are good ones to watch, even with your kids...

X-Men 1 & 2...the 2nd one is as good as the first.

Daredevil...I had low expectations of this, but then saw the 'directors cut'. I liked it quite a bit.

Fantastic Four (should be on video very soon)

The Spider-man movies are ok...but I wouldn't say 'must see'

Others

Pirates of the Caribbean.

Hell-boy

Van-Helsing. Cheesy cheesy! Still fun, especially for a saturday afternoon type movie

War of the Worlds...this one comes out next Tuesday.

Lost in Translation...I don't know what exactly I like about this, but I do.

Moulin Rouge...I'm not a fan of musicals, but I love this movie.

Shawshank Redemption...Brilliant story, great characters.

[tidoco2222]

I like alot of movies in fact I watch far more dvd's than anything else these days, some of my faves at the moment are

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy(extended versions)

Bourne Identity/Supremacy (the first is better but both are ace)

All the Star Wars Movies

The War of the Worlds (Got alot of criticism but I think it is fantastic)

The Riddick Films

Anythng Tarantino

Saving Private Ryan

The Longest Day

A Bridge Too Far

Enemy of the State

Open Range

the Sum of All Fears

JFK

the list could go on forever but with alot of free time at work and portable dvd players being all the rage these days I watch alot of movies.

[sebrushworth]

Land of the dead sucks horribly. I love zombie movies, and even really enjoyed Resident Evil, but land of the dead is really really crap. C'mon, zombies that think and just want to start their own peaceful society!?!?! They're just basically like very retarded people who happen to enjoy the taste of human flesh. What the hell was George Romero thinking?!

Kingdom of heaven is good, as is Butterfly effect and Batman begins.

[LeadAsbestos]

Gangs of New York

From Hell

Troy- don't say it! I enjoyed it despite the many flaws!

Gattaca- best sci-fi since Blade Runner (runs for cover...), could really happen!

I've been really into B-movie, old serials made new kinda things so:

The Shadow

The Phantom

The Rocketeer

The Indiana Jones movies, despite the fact the Temple of Doom kinda sucked (and it does have child abuse!)

The Mummy, again shitty sequel but still worth it! I'd watch Rachel Weiss paint her toenails for 2 hours... Come to think of it, that might be good!

[vincegamer]

For me the best thing about Netflix when I had it was that I could see old TV shows I couldn't otherwise see.

I watched the entire All Creatures Great and Small series.

I suspect you could get some classic old Sci-Fi like Quark, Space 1999, original Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers etc.

I was looking for Goodies episodes but it doesn't look like more than one or 2 has made it to DVD.

Here's the thing: you can get all of the recent releases from the local video store, but how many of those carry the complete Laurel and Hardy or Buster Keaton collection?

[supervike]

@vince... I agree! That is the best thing about Netflix. So many of those TV series' I'd love to see, and I seriously doubt I would ever buy them. They are great fun. Even with more 'up to date' series...Such as Arrested Development (hilarious!) and 24.

My wife and kids just got done watching the 2nd Season of Stargate. I on the other hand, couldn't stomach the overly dramatic and hackney acting...But still, its a great way to enjoy that service.

We got the Goodies episodes. One disc had like 3-4 of the 'best of' series.

That show made me cackle when I was a kid. Its still funny, but not quite as good as I remember...

Red Dwarf is on there as well...

[tidoco2222]

I recently bought the complete Laurel and Hardy collection as a box set, they are so funny even now. Genius like that does not come very often and it is a pleasure to watch them again. I also like Red Dwarf and again bought them on dvd I am lucky as I can go into my local BBC radio Leicester hop and buy them from there, also got all the Fred Dibnah dvd's he was a very clever and very interesting man.

[james9487]

I loved Batman Begins.

Shawshank Redemption is awesome

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (this should be required cinema for all humans)

Bourne Identity/Supremacy

The Legend of Bagger Vance

LOTR's

Gladiator

Troy

Braveheart

The Patriot

Saving Private Ryan

Elf (gotta love how this is placed between the war movies :thumb: )

Black Hawk Down

War of the Worlds

The Chronicles of Narnia looks good.

[Klute]

Best movie I have seen recently is

Sin City

More of a work of art than a movie and I think it will be right up your "odd" mind.

Older movies that blew me away at the cinema....

Jurassic Park......(the first one. Others are ok and well watchable but the first is best)

Saving Private Ryan........beach landing at the start is pure adrenline rush.

LOTR trilogy........the extended versions though, there is a big difference IMHO. These films are perfect and there isnt one thing bad about them at all.

[Duende]

The Crow (the first original one, the sequels all sucked)

The Princess Bride (best fantasy/comedy EVER!)

a good one to watch with your kids: Labyrinth

The best sci-fi movie EVER: SpaceBalls!

Army of Darkness (Good Ash, Bad Ash... I'm the one with the gun)

I'll second Pitch Black too. I just watched that again the other day.

Sleepy Hollow - Johnny Depp does an excellent Ichabod Crane

Well, that's all I can think of for now.

:fisheye:

[EricJ]

back after more sleep

Some of my all time favorites are (I expect you've seen a bunch of these)

Alien 1 & 2 (not the rest!)

Hero

Spirited Away

Lock Stock & 2 Smoking Barrels

The Emporers New Groove

Snatch

Dodgeball

Bladerunner

The Princess and the Warrior (German, same people as run lola run)

City of Lost Children

Mullholand Drive

Napolian Dinamite

The Exorcist

The Iron Giant

Pirates of the Carabian

Southpark Movie

Kill Bill's

Groundhogs Day

Off the top of my head...sort of a mix of genre's there

[Klute]

Oh ifyou want a good fight movie and also laugh till you piss yourself then get

Kung Fu Hustle

[Spacemunkie]

Kung Fu Hustle was indeed hilarious!

Best films I've seen recently have all been from the far east - Korea and Japan.

If you don't like subtitling, then don't bother, but these are seriously worth a watch:

Oldboy. Fantastic and brutal movie.

Joint Security Area. By the same director. Very good too.

Taegukgi. This is just awesome, and really leaves comparable films from the west (Black Hawk Down and Saving Private Ryan) for dead both visually and storywise.

Save the Green Planet. Absolutely madcap. Like a cross between Silence of the Lambs and Close Encounters. Wierd but well made.

Versus. A japanese zombie movie with samurai swords and guns. It's class:D

Zatoichi. Any one of several movies about the blind swordsman. Quality.

Battle Royale. Absolute classic. If you haven't seen it, you must. Clockwork Orange meets Lord of the Flies and spawns a savage bastard love child.

Others that make my personal 'classics' list are:

Dobermann. French heist movie with a difference and bags of style. The opening scene where Dobermann gets his gun is genius...

La Haine. Another French movie starring Vincent Cassell about urban crime and class struggle. Good soundtrack too.

Man Bites Dog. A true classic for the furore it created at the time! Filmed in a documentary style, it traces the acts of a vile serial killer. It's a little long and would probably have had more impact as a shorter film, but it's still disgusting EDIT: You won't like this after reading the last bit of your post Nathan...

28 Days Later. Probably the best zombie movie made IMO. Apart from the ending maybe, but otherwise it's the nadgers.

Ghost In The Shell. Anime that inspired much that was good in The Matrix. The Wachowski brothers even went as far as chucking in a couple of scenes that are almost identical copies as a tribute.

Appleseed. The newest movie. Just awesome animation. Love Briareos and the Land Suits too.

Scum. See my avatar! The definitive Ray Winstone performance. Life in borstal sucked:D

Romper Stomper. Brilliant Aussie movie about racist skinheads starring a VERY young Russell Crowe before he'd made it big. One of my favourite movies ever I think.

American History X. Another brutal movie about the effects of racism. It contains, for me, one of the most horrible, stomach churning moments in cinematic history. Very well made.

[Nathan Caroland]

Some really good suggestions there and I've been adding them into the Netflix's account, though odds are they'll show up and I'll not watch but 1 out of 10. Have a habbit of doing that.

More than a few of these I have seen but didn't list or have been well over a couple years old now and were great all the same.

Over the weekend I sat down for two movies (a record for me, haven't done in about three years), 'The Longest Yard' which was the newest version based off the old movie with Burt Reynolds. I laughed my ass off watching it - the 'cheerleaders' doing the 'gimme some D. I. C. K.' just had me howling and how Sandler handled that. Really enjoyed seeing a bunch of old football favorites, college and professional. Good movie I have to say.

Also watched 'The Dog Soldiers' which is an english movie I believe, about Werewolves. Not bad really. Not the greatest, but seeing as I like those sort of movies (not horror .. action suspense perhaps?) it was a good watch. I kept getting a real tickle out of how some of the soldiers talked and realized I actually understood some of the slang after talking to people like Spacemunkie who tend to confuse the hell out of me with about every fifth word!

I've seen 28 Days Later and absolutely loved that one. Dawn of the Dead was great. Haven't seen Land of the Dead but everyone keeps bashing it but I think I'll see it anyhow. Seen both the Riddick movies but I have to say Pitch Black is the only one they should have done. Bourne Identity was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time, but the second one shouldn't have been done either, even if I did enjoy it somewhat. Seen all the comic movies - severely disapointed in Hulk and Daredevil (I just don't like Ben Afleck in anything really .. well, Paycheck was alright). Princess Bride and Bladerunner are classics, if you haven't seen those you are a communist.

Some that I'm going to put on the list are: Kung Fu Hustle, War of the Worlds (sounds popular) and a good portion of those french and japanees films Scott listed there as they sound interesting.

American History X I have heard about at work and I have to say I cringe just thinking about it - nuh-uh ... no thanks.

Another film that I really enjoyed that I saw years ago was '13 Ghosts'. That more or less freaked my dumb arse out - was alone on the road in Detroit, away from the family, went and watched that in the theatre and then got a hotel room that night. I didn't sleep a frickin' wink, I felt like just a wuss in the morning.

:tongue2:

I'm a BIG wuss when it comes to horror films. My wife LOVES them and will watch the hell out of them, but I think its partially just to watch me jump all over the place and hide under the blanket. I HATE those damn movies - and it doesn't help if the movie does its job well on my wife, because I'll come home from work for a month and find every light in the house on and the dog put on 'guard' mode at the bottom of the stairs ready to eat someones arse until I come home and call her off. Poor damn animal.

Anime is something I used to really enjoy when I was younger but I've found that I don't have the time nor inclination to burrow through everything to find a real gem though I would certainly take suggestions. Ghost in the Shell was an excellent one. Ranma 1/2 appealed to me ages ago so it still has a soft spot for me. Full Metal Alchemist I really enjoyed (haven't seen it all yet though) and Final Fantasy (not that awful movie, but the japanime short series).

[supervike]

I watched both Kung Fu Hustle and Tae guk gi this weekend. Both excellent in their own right...

I too would have recommended Sin City, as it is technically brilliant. Its the closest any movie has ever come to making a 'comic book' movie feel like a 'comic book'. BUT...it has some scenes depicting child abuse and kidnapping, so I steered clear....

[Ritual]

American History X. Another brutal movie about the effects of racism. It contains, for me, one of the most horrible, stomach churning moments in cinematic history. Very well made.

I probably would have agreed with you here, Scott, but I have seen the French film 'Ireversible' and that is THE most disgusting thing I've ever seen. I felt sick for days after seeing that. :dead1:

Strange thing is that my VCR decided to call it quits after having played that film. Not a single problem with it since I bought it and then it went completely dead! I'm not going to watch 'Ireversible' again!

[vincegamer]

If you enjoyed Kung Fu Hustle - or think you would - then I also recommend Shao Lin Soccer, staring the same guy in a very similar role.

If you are unfamiliar with it, it takes a modern sport, Soccer (football to the rest of the world), and a couple of old cliche's of Hong Kong cinema (divided brothers, revenge) and produces something hilarious.

Slightly lower budget than KFS, but modern and never quits.

Also, if you haven't seen either, see soccer first because KFS makes at least one joke about Shao Lin Soccer.