Recommend me some films

[Monk]

Watch anything you haven't seen that listed in the IMDb Top 250.

The ranking is weird, but overall good advice. (Side note: What the heck is Stalag 17 doing so far down the list?! )

[TinCow]

The ranking is weird, but overall good advice. (Side note: What the heck is Stalag 17 doing so far down the list?! )

Yep. The ranking is based on votes by the public. New movies often tend to shoot up very high for the first few years after their release due to fandom, before slowly falling down as more historical objectivity is added on. I don't consider the IMDb Top 250 to be accurate in terms of the specific ranking, but when instead considered as a general listing of the best 250 films ever made, it's the best list I've ever seen.

[seireikhaan]

Almost forgot: Kill Bill- volumes 1&2.

[||Lz3||]

Have you seen Downfall? A German production relating Hitler's last days in his bunker.

An interesting note (and potential warning) on Cloverfield: aproximately 1 out of 5 people who watched in the same cinema with me felt sick by all the camera movement.... many many left the room before the ending. They just couldn't stand the nausea. Incluiding my father.

Also when we were out I could hear many people complaining that it was the worst movie the had ever seen. Personally I thought it was cool but I consider there are plenty of other films better than Clovie. (Again have you seen Schindler's or the pianist? )



Oh and... why hasn't anybody mentioned Harry Potter?

[Rhyfelwyr]

Of course, how could I forget about Kill Bill I've seen a couple of them before, they're pretty good... and War of the Worlds is another one to see.

I've got plenty to go with now, now I will need to go and buy some.

Thanks for the help guys, got just what I needed.

[Lemur]

A question -- why buy? Why not rent? Sure, I buy some movies that I know I'm going to want to watch multiple times, but my DVD library is small. Is there some reason you're averse to renting flicks?

[Rhyfelwyr]

I always like to buy stuff, same with books, never liked using on the library.

I'm pretty picky with the films anyway, so I know if I buy them they could be useful again some time in the future... no harm getting a bit of a collection.

[||Lz3||]

Yeh... but you would need to watch each film like 8 times to gain something from actually buying the movie...

Remember to tell us what you think about the movies once you've seen them. =P

[Rhyfelwyr]

How much cheaper would it be to rent?

[||Lz3||]

Depends on the country. Here a 2 day rental costs $30 for DVDs and $35 for Blurays whilst buying them costs around $250-350 pesos.

I do buy those I really like. Like some bellicose movies that I know one day or another I'll be watching again.

[Lemur]

Actually, our local library has a very good selection of DVDs, and you can use the computer to order any movie that exists in the southern quarter of the state. A truck brings it (and all of the other inter-library loans) within a day, two at most.

Don't neglect the library. It's like the internets made flesh.

[PBI]

I would second the recommendations for 28 Days Later and Children of Men, both very good.

However I am of the opinion that the greatest film of all time is Aliens, shortly followed by Terminator 2. It literally has everything you could ever possibly want from an action film. Alien (the first film) is also pretty good, the later films aren't worth bothering with.

I would also second the suggestion to look into renting rather than buying DVDs, if nothing else than as a way to try before you buy. We use Tesco films, they send us something 3 DVDs at a time for around 20GBP a month. They have an annoying habit of always sending us obscure stuff we only put on the list on a whim and never sending us Batman or James Bond, but it is a good way of getting to see lots of films.

[econ21]

However I am of the opinion that the greatest film of all time is Aliens, shortly followed by Terminator 2.

I also loved Aliens ("Game over, man, game over!") but could never see the love for Terminator 2. Terminator 1 was awesome, but the whole point was that Arnie was basically the ultimate bad ass. Making him good in T2 undercut his aura nearly as much as making him governor of California. With the requirement that he was good, the whole film just seemed overblown - e.g. mini-gunning dozens of cops in the knees, but miraculously never killing a single one. Terminator 3 was also weak, (although the ending had a kick); as was Terminator 4, where the best part in it was where it explicitly harked back to Terminator 1 (you know, the part with near full frontal nudity).

[Fragony]

I would second the recommendations for 28 Days Later and Children of Men, both very good.

However I am of the opinion that the greatest film of all time is Aliens, shortly followed by Terminator 2. It literally has everything you could ever possibly want from an action film. Alien (the first film) is also pretty good, the later films aren't worth bothering with.

I would also second the suggestion to look into renting rather than buying DVDs, if nothing else than as a way to try before you buy. We use Tesco films, they send us something 3 DVDs at a time for around 20GBP a month. They have an annoying habit of always sending us obscure stuff we only put on the list on a whim and never sending us Batman or James Bond, but it is a good way of getting to see lots of films.

Buying is only a tad more expensive than a rent here. Always buy my movies, don't need to have the latest movie RIGHT NOW (with a few exceptions), my average DVD costs 5 to 10 euro or so.

[naut]

How could I forget! No Country for Old Men.

Gives us a list of other movies you like, Rhy! Then we know which movies might appeal to you. Or maybe you just did, with 'can't beat epic films about the end of the world, "humanity is screwed"., A genre of which I haven't seen many films, bar 'Australia' starring Nicole Kidman.

[Reverend Joe]

If you're willing to give older movies a go, there's a few you should really see; they pretty much established the whole "blockbuster" genre:

Bullitt: the greatest cop movie ever made. It might seem slow by today's standards, but it's still tons of fun if you have a little patience and a decent attention span.

Cool Hand Luke: Okay, maybe not quite a "blockbuster" per se, but still a marvelous action/drama movie, and perhaps the best antihero movie of all time.

Rebel Without a Cause: I have to confess, I've never seen this one myself but everything I hear about it is good. The other contender for the best antihero movie ever, and starring one of the other great antihero actors, James Dean.

The Great Escape: I can't believe nobody mentioned this one, although if you are fixated on modern movies I can understand why. An absolute essential for big-budget fans; if it seems cliched by our standards it's because everyone copied it, and for a good reason.

The French Connection: partly in here because I am a 70's Gene Hackman fanatic, but it's still worth including in this list; a bit long, but more action-packed and grittier than Bullitt so it might be more appealing.

Jaws: The ultimate big-budget Hollywood blockbuster movie, Jaws created the idea of the summer blockbuster overnight. Also fits in very well with the end-of-the-world genre, becuase even though it only involves a small town, director Spielberg manages to make it feel like the end of the world.

The Poseidon Adventure: not the new one, the old one; one of the most absurdly over-the-top silly Hollywood disaster movies released in the 70's. You might enjoy it if you like big-budget movies, but be warned -- it's very melodramatic, and pretty stupid at times.

I also support Econ's mention of The Thing, one of the best horror movies ever. The second human Thing's "emergence" still freaks me out. Only strike against it is the atrocious color lighting that Carpenter used; I actually prefer to watch it in black-and-white whenever possible because it eases the strain on my eyes (it actually looks really good in black-and-white, something unusual for color films.)

[Hooahguy]

I saw The Hurt Locker today.
one word: AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

go and see it if its playing near you. go now, im tellnig you that you wont regret it!

[||Lz3||]

Yesterday I remembered a film that really made me laugh for a long while. It's superb in my opinion. I'm talking about "Me, myself & Irene" by Jim Carrey. Most of his films are great, but that one was awesome.

[Moros]

The Harry Potter films are a travesty if you've read the books.

Downfall, however, is another good one that comes highly Cube Recommended. Good movie.

Gah Downfall sounds as a really bad movie name when your used to the german name: 'Der Untergang'.

[pevergreen]

Gah Downfall sounds as a really bad movie name when your used to the german name: 'Der Untergang'.

His ultimate downfall: Hitler gets banned from XBOX live.



"But sir! Think of the bowling game!"
"*** the ****ing bowling game!"

[Rhyfelwyr]

*rantings*

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

The Great Escape: I can't believe nobody mentioned this one, although if you are fixated on modern movies I can understand why. An absolute essential for big-budget fans; if it seems cliched by our standards it's because everyone copied it, and for a good reason.

Yeah, since we're getting away from catastrophe/doomsday movies, one million times this.

(And if you want a Western with most of the same actors, go for The Magnificent Seven, another ace movie).

[pevergreen]

Aghh, now the theme music is in my head.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

You say that like it's a bad thing.

[pevergreen]

I'm trying to wooooork.

[Kralizec]

A couple that come to mind:

In bruges
Absolutely hilarious "gangster movie", mostly dark humour. Includes a midget on drugs.
Rosemary's baby
A classic horror movie without any hacked off limbs or any blood as far as I can remember. Everything is implied. The ending probably was a lot more shocking for older generations but it's still good. Admittedly I don't know if religious people like yourself would enjoy it (it's about satanic cultists and whatnot), I always recommend it to pregnant women though.
Dr. Strangelove: how I learnt to stop worrying and love the bomb
Was originally conceived to be a cold war thriller, but Kubrick decided to turn it into a black comedy wich works surprisingly well.
True Romance: A movie directed by Oliver Stone and written by Tarantino. Much better than Kill Bill wich is overrated IMO.
Analyze this: A comedy where a mafia boss (De Niro) starts seeing a psychiatrist, very funny. Be careful not to confuse it with the sequel (analyze that) since that one is mediocre at best.
Das Boot: excellent movie about a German submarine in the latter days of WWII. The only downside is that it's rather long.
The Pianist: a story about a Polish-Jewish pianist during the German occupation. It's almost as good as the much more famous Schindlers' List.
Rain Man: a story about a guy who only after his father's death finds out that he has an older brother, who is autistic. Mixed drama/comedy. IIRC it got a ton of academy awards.
Awakenings: a drama film based on a true story, that of a psychiatrist who discovers a medicine that manages to wake patients who have been in a coma for years or even decades.

I saw this one a couple of days ago: In the name of the father
It´s about the Guildford Four, a couple of Irish people who were wrongly convicted for an IRA bombing. It was made in the early 90ties but is about events from much earlier that you already know more about than me so I don´t know how well this fits on your list, but I enjoyed it.

[Shieldmaiden]

Doomsday huh?

A few 1980's efforts I'd like to recommend

Night of the Comet A comet vaporizes most of humanity and zombifies most of the survivors. Que valley girls fighting off zombies and zombie scientists, its alternately horrific and comedic.

Lifeforce directed by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Tobe Hooper, no less! NASA mission to Halley's Comet finds OMG space vampires! Que plague of lifeforce-eating zombies, Patrick Stewart, and a naked space vampire chick (for the guys).

Both these are made of trashy zombie cheese. I miss the 1980's

I'm sorry, were we supposed to suggest classy films?

P.S - Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

[Quietus]

The Bank Job - Starring Jason Statham. Not an average garbage movie. Good dialogue and editing.

Also: Pitch Black, The Prestige (Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine), Ronin (Robert DeNiro, Jean Reno).

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Has anyone mentioned Escape From New York? Post-Apocalyptic (sort of) setting and good (if kinda cheesey) action movie fare.

"Snake Pliskin? I thought you were dead."

[miotas]

1408 - Interesting horror movie set in an evil hotel room
Death at a Funeral - Hilarious comedy movie released in 2007 which amazingly has a (no doubt terrible) hollywood remake already on the way.
Doomsday - Post apocalyptic movie set in a quarantined and virus ravaged Scotland
Slumdog Millionaire - very good movie, following the life of a boy growing up in an indian slum and showing the points of his life that led him to winning a lot of money on Who wants to be a Millionaire.
Unleahsed - intersting take on a martial arts movie, staring Jet Li and set in Glasgow