What are some of the best movies you've ever seen?

Joined
Sep 11, 2020
Messages
359
One of my favorites is "Apocalypse Now". There should be an alternate dimension version where Captain Willard goes up the Potomac in a Navy PBR boat after Biden (Kurtz). Lol...

 

Phall

Master
Joined
Sep 19, 2012
Messages
2,275
Location
not Brooklyn
12 monkeys, watched it a dozen times, and I usually don't like rewatching movies.
dwid was an established poster. I'll re-watch '12 Monkeys' on his very belated recommendation.

This is a great and important thread. Keep your reco's and explanations coming by all means. When sports get too gay and too predicatable, we retreat back to our essence of entertainment - acting!
 

Phall

Master
Joined
Sep 19, 2012
Messages
2,275
Location
not Brooklyn
My all-time favorite movie is 'The 13th Warrior'

Was it too cliche? Was it not quite "corny" enough?

I thought it was a perfectly-paced late-90's action thriller that just so happened to be based on the Beowulf tale. A lot of studio money was wasted on all those scenes with horseback warriors. I got the impression that the horse-stuff is why the movie got sour. But, I've watched it through 50 times and never blinked about the horse stuff. Very professionally-handled imo.
 

Freethinker

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 3, 2008
Messages
7,568
Location
Suffolk County, NY
I’ll try not to repeat movies that are already listed in this thread.

I’ve enjoyed some of the works of Dutch director Paul Verhoeven. RoboCop would be the standout. It’s a nearly perfect 80s action flick that offers a somewhat satirical critique of American Corporatism and the militarization of police forces. However, it does at the same time show Detroit as a lawless, crime ridden cesspool.

Starship Troopers is also good and actually makes a pseudo-Fascist society look cool. The film is obviously meant to critique it and at times does a fair job with some aspects of overt military worship. Maybe not for everyone theme-wise but still a good action flick.

Lastly, Total Recall (1990) is another good Verhoeven film based on a Philip K Dick short story. It’s over the top, and stars Arnold, but it’s got a great blend of 80s action movie and sci-fi.

Other directors I’ve enjoyed are the Coen Brothers, despite them obviously being Jewish. Fargo, No Country For Old Men and The Big Lebowski would be the standouts for me. They are good at making quirky, interesting characters with The Dude (Jeff Bridges) being my all time favorite comedic character.

I’m also a big Christopher Nolan fan. I’ve enjoyed Memento, The Prestige, Insomnia, Dunkirk, Interstellar and Inception. His films are always thoughtful, cinematically impressive and feature practical special effects. Each movie is unique in terms of the idea or event it wants to explore. The casts are also always overwhelming White and well acted. I generally despise all of the “capesh1t” movies, but Nolan even did that better with his Batman Trilogy.

One last director I’ve enjoyed is John Carpenter. The Thing is a nearly perfect horror / thriller. Ditto for Halloween, which is often overlooked because of what it spiraled into. I have on my shortlist Escape from New York and They Live as movies I really want to see.
 

Don Wassall

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 30, 2004
Messages
31,416
Location
Pennsylvania
I have on my shortlist Escape from New York and They Live as movies I really want to see.
You need to see They Live. I watched it when my young nephew dragged me to the movie theater to watch it when it came out. I had never heard of it but loved it. Roddy Piper is perfect for his part, but it's the plot itself that makes it must see. It's been referenced so often by the dissident right and others over the past 35 years that I'm surprised you have yet to see it.
 

Freethinker

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 3, 2008
Messages
7,568
Location
Suffolk County, NY
You need to see They Live. I watched it when my young nephew dragged me to the movie theater to watch it when it came out. I had never heard of it but loved it. Roddy Piper is perfect for his part, but it's the plot itself that makes it must see. It's been referenced so often by the dissident right and others over the past 35 years that I'm surprised you have yet to see it.
I’m highly aware of it for those reasons. In a way I almost feel like I know it because I’ve seen a million and one gifs and memes.

Some on the right will say it’s obviously referencing the chosenites with the hidden alien theme. Some on the left will say it’s an antisemitic movie for the same reason. Is this a case of where there is smoke there is fire or people seeing in a film what they wish? Lol.
 

Don Wassall

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 30, 2004
Messages
31,416
Location
Pennsylvania
John Carpenter certainly would never say the aliens represented Jews. I recall an interview in which he said they represented Republicans. He probably didn't mean that seriously, but it's one of those movies that anyone can watch and decide who the aliens represent according to their ideological beliefs or who they think the "bad guys" are in society.
 

Whiteathlete333

Hall of Famer
Joined
Jan 15, 2023
Messages
12,901
My top ten in no particular order
taxi driver
Bad news bears 1976
ET
The goonies
Shawshank redemption
Out of the furnace
Powder
All the Indiana jones movies
The karate kid 1984
Ghostbusters
 

Booth

Master
Joined
Jul 23, 2015
Messages
2,030
Cool Hand Luke
In Cold Blood
To Kill A Mockingbird
3:10 To Yuma
The Wild Bunch
The Marathon Man
Reservoir Dogs
First Blood
Rocky
The Cincinnati Kid
 

white lightning

Hall of Famer
Joined
Oct 16, 2004
Messages
21,457
I will be going to the theater for this one:


This movies looks great. Can't wait and I don't go to the movies that much anymore as most of the movies are trash. I watch alot of movies
at home though both old and some new. Napolean is a must see for me! Thanks for posting this!
 

Carolina Speed

Hall of Famer
Joined
Feb 13, 2011
Messages
5,757
Cool Hand Luke-Paul Newman
The Hustler
Rocky
The Godfather
The Longest Yard-1974- Burt Reynolds, not that Adam Sandler Crap
Giant
Ben Hur-Charleton Heston
The Ten Commandments
Hud
The Dirty Dozen-Lee Marvin
The Man who shot Liberty Valance-John Wayne/Lee Marvin
Outlaw Josey Wales-Clint Eastwood
The Good, the bad and the ugly
North Dallas Forty
Hard Times-Charles Bronson
Thief-James Caan
The Revenant-Leonardo Decaprio- Not really a Leo a fan, but my oldest son brought me that movie to my house when I was battling stage 4 Throat Cancer. Very good movie about frontiersman Hugh Glass.
 

Phall

Master
Joined
Sep 19, 2012
Messages
2,275
Location
not Brooklyn
Glad to have this thread bumped. I wonder if my contributions hold up from however many years ago.

Here's an interesting Steve Sailer blog post that stuck in my head about who likes what movies and why:
 

Jimmy Chitwood

Hall of Famer
Joined
Aug 10, 2005
Messages
8,975
Location
Arkansas
I will be going to the theater for this one:

where are all the black generals who made his success possible?!? where are all the black mentors and heroes that he stole his strategic genius from?!? where is muh die-versities?!?!?

looks like an excellent movie.

of course, previews can be misleading, but i may check it out.
 

sprintstar

Master
Joined
Jun 3, 2016
Messages
2,093
Location
Canada
The older Johan Phoenix gets the more he looks like Mel Gibson....one thing that stands out is that Napolean was 5'3" tall max and Phoenix is 5'9". Like the fact no blacks given roles they would never have had in the actual times... I'll go see it...
 

Whiteathlete333

Hall of Famer
Joined
Jan 15, 2023
Messages
12,901
where are all the black generals who made his success possible?!? where are all the black mentors and heroes that he stole his strategic genius from?!? where is muh die-versities?!?!?

looks like an excellent movie.

of course, previews can be misleading, but i may check it out.
Don’t worry. They will be crying on Twitter about the lack of diversity and how the movie was “whitewashed”. They always do.
 

The Hock

Master
Joined
Mar 16, 2008
Messages
3,881
Location
Northern California
I was thinking of my list and The Proposition came to mind. Brutal and raw but realistically so. Australia was a tough place before they put women in charge and became so pussified.
 

Jimmy Chitwood

Hall of Famer
Joined
Aug 10, 2005
Messages
8,975
Location
Arkansas
i’m not very knowledgeable about Napoleonic history, but i read a review of the movie today that i wanted to share. it seemed entirely reasonable, and since i’m reluctant to spend money on Hollyweird productions, it encouraged me to stay away from the theater for this one, too. here it is:

This is my review of the new Napoleon movie.
1f37f.svg
Before I begin, let me say I studied the Napoleonic Era extensively and am very familiar with it. I neither hate Napoleon nor love him, so I judge this film objectively.

Let's start with the basics. Many of my initial fears about the film were correct. The rise of Napoleon and his reign encompass far too many events to do justice in a 2 1/2 hour movie. The film 'Waterloo' covers simply the Battle of Waterloo and is 2 hours long - this allows it to fully flesh out the event and characters.

Trying to fit 15+ years into one movie is very difficult. ‘Napoleon’ tries to do too much too fast and is rushed. It jumps through each notable event of Napoleon's life in quick succession, and this doesn't give the proper detail or buildup these moments need. It sucks out their intensity, drama, and weight. Yet still, important aspects of Napoleon's reign like his internal reforms to France and his relationship with Catholicism are left unexplored.

'Napoleon' also does a very bad job displaying the charisma and energy that the real life Napoleon had. Napoleon, for all his faults, was a leader who inspired real devotion from his men. This leadership ability is never given proper representation in the film. Instead, it's the opposite. Napoleon is mostly shown as a low energy weirdo. It leaves you wondering how he even became emperor. The film really goes out of its way to make Napoleon more awkward and... bizarre than he really was.

Another drawback of the film is how it puts massively disproportionate emphasis on Napoleon's relationship with his first wife Josephine. While Josephine was a large part of Napoleon's life, the film makes it seem like he was completely obsessed with her. In reality, Napoleon frequently cheated on her and divorced her when he felt like it. I assume that the film’s outsized emphasis on Josephine is Hollywood’s way of rewriting history to give women more importance in this time period.

Then we have historical inaccuracies, which could get their own thread. I’ll mention two of the most egregious. Movie Napoleon shoots the Egyptian pyramids with cannons, which never happened. The Battle of Austerlitz has the Austrians and Russians walk into an obvious trap in a giant frozen gulch. In the real battle, they took the high ground on a strategic hill.

All in all, ‘Napoleon’ will be very disappointing to fans of this epic historical period. Like many films today, the creators were just going through the motions rather than trying to create a work of art that will be remembered for generations. Frankly, I’m surprised Hollywood didn’t do more to glorify Napoleon. In the long run, Napoleon’s reign spread liberal reforms through Europe and weakened the continent’s traditional ruling structures (monarchy, aristocracy, Church). Plutocrats like those in Hollywood would’ve loved Napoleon’s rule. I suppose despite this, he was still too ‘nationalist’ for them. Oh well, I won’t interrupt my enemy when they’re making a mistake.
 

Bucky

Hall of Famer
Joined
Jul 20, 2018
Messages
10,023
Figured it might be too much for Hollyweird to bite off.. Plus they cast Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon. Good actor but not the right role in this one it seems.
 

NikoDuke

Mentor
Joined
Jan 16, 2022
Messages
651
A few underrated movies off the top of my head.

The Town- Starring Ben Affleck, set in Boston. Crime oriented with interesting storyline.

Lost in Translation- Starring Bill Murray. Set in Tokyo, storyline centered around an aging celebrity who has marital problems and self doubt regarding his lifestyle.

Rounders- Starring Matt Damon. Storyline centered on law student who feels pull of underground gambling scene

Stop Loss - Starring Ryan Phillippe. Storyline centered around Us soldiers in Iraq.

Heat- Starring Pacino and De Niro. Storyline is centered around cops and robbers and this movie has one of the best shootout scenes.
 

El Gringo

Mentor
Joined
Feb 12, 2021
Messages
1,665
i’m not very knowledgeable about Napoleonic history, but i read a review of the movie today that i wanted to share. it seemed entirely reasonable, and since i’m reluctant to spend money on Hollyweird productions, it encouraged me to stay away from the theater for this one, too. here it is:

This is my review of the new Napoleon movie.
1f37f.svg
Before I begin, let me say I studied the Napoleonic Era extensively and am very familiar with it. I neither hate Napoleon nor love him, so I judge this film objectively.

Let's start with the basics. Many of my initial fears about the film were correct. The rise of Napoleon and his reign encompass far too many events to do justice in a 2 1/2 hour movie. The film 'Waterloo' covers simply the Battle of Waterloo and is 2 hours long - this allows it to fully flesh out the event and characters.

Trying to fit 15+ years into one movie is very difficult. ‘Napoleon’ tries to do too much too fast and is rushed. It jumps through each notable event of Napoleon's life in quick succession, and this doesn't give the proper detail or buildup these moments need. It sucks out their intensity, drama, and weight. Yet still, important aspects of Napoleon's reign like his internal reforms to France and his relationship with Catholicism are left unexplored.

'Napoleon' also does a very bad job displaying the charisma and energy that the real life Napoleon had. Napoleon, for all his faults, was a leader who inspired real devotion from his men. This leadership ability is never given proper representation in the film. Instead, it's the opposite. Napoleon is mostly shown as a low energy weirdo. It leaves you wondering how he even became emperor. The film really goes out of its way to make Napoleon more awkward and... bizarre than he really was.

Another drawback of the film is how it puts massively disproportionate emphasis on Napoleon's relationship with his first wife Josephine. While Josephine was a large part of Napoleon's life, the film makes it seem like he was completely obsessed with her. In reality, Napoleon frequently cheated on her and divorced her when he felt like it. I assume that the film’s outsized emphasis on Josephine is Hollywood’s way of rewriting history to give women more importance in this time period.

Then we have historical inaccuracies, which could get their own thread. I’ll mention two of the most egregious. Movie Napoleon shoots the Egyptian pyramids with cannons, which never happened. The Battle of Austerlitz has the Austrians and Russians walk into an obvious trap in a giant frozen gulch. In the real battle, they took the high ground on a strategic hill.

All in all, ‘Napoleon’ will be very disappointing to fans of this epic historical period. Like many films today, the creators were just going through the motions rather than trying to create a work of art that will be remembered for generations. Frankly, I’m surprised Hollywood didn’t do more to glorify Napoleon. In the long run, Napoleon’s reign spread liberal reforms through Europe and weakened the continent’s traditional ruling structures (monarchy, aristocracy, Church). Plutocrats like those in Hollywood would’ve loved Napoleon’s rule. I suppose despite this, he was still too ‘nationalist’ for them. Oh well, I won’t interrupt my enemy when they’re making a mistake.


Well thanks for saving me probably $50 bucks JC, my wife and I were going to go see it today. I could probably deal with the historical inaccuracies and a low energy Napoleon but the feminist BS with Josephine is reason enough not to go.
 
Top