Export thread

We've talked about favourite movies and such, but this is a little different. I was talking with a friend yesterday who said that Boondock Saints is a movie she puts in when she doesn't know what she wants to watch. It's the sort of movie she could sit down and watch at any time, regardless of anything.

Now, I've mentioned some of my favourite movies before: Shawshank Redemption, What Dreams May Come, Pan's Labyrinth. All amazing movies, but not ones I'd sit down and watch at any given moment. I have to be in a certain mood to watch Pan's or Shawshank. Dreams makes me bawl my eyes out every time. So, for example, I'm sure there are a number of people who have Schindler's List as their number one favourite movie. But I doubt it's something they'd sit down and watch at the drop of a hat.

But then there are movies that no matter what, if someone were to ask if I wanted to watch it, my answer would always be yes. For me, they're usually pretty light-hearted, fun movies. The kind of movies that almost always put me in a good mood. Here's some of mine. What are some of yours?

Bolt
Back to the Future
The Iron Giant (also in my top ten faves)
Megamind
Stranger Than Fiction (ditto in top ten)
Dawn of the Dead (remake, oddly enough)
The Muppets (last year's hit)

Ironman
Tangled
Star Trek (2010)

mulan
scott pilgrim

Let us see.

-Waynes World
-South Park: B,L&U
-Hell Boy
-Toy Story 2
-Star Wars (any)

I think that's it.

This is actually a really interesting question. I love Children of Men, but I rarely ever watch it.

Here's the ones I can think of on the top of my head?

A New Hope
The Empire Strikes Back
300
Sin City
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
(And Cowboy Bebop if you count an anime series)

Off the top of my head, Crank and Scott Pilgrim.

*headsmack* Scott Pilgrim would be on my list, too. No idea how I forgot that.

Oh, and Disney's Hercules.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
The Princess Bride
Paul

Ditto on Scott Pilgrim.

Why the hell didn't it do better in theaters?

Scott Pilgrim
Hellboy

Addams Family / Values
Monty Python (any of them, really, Flying Circus too)
Aladdin
Lion King
Beetlejuice
Forgetting Sarah Marshall

If I went through my movies I could probably add a couple more.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

CynicismKills said:

Addams Family / Values
Monty Python (any of them, really, Flying Circus too)
Aladdin
Lion King
Beetlejuice
Forgetting Sarah Marshall

If I went through my movies I could probably add a couple more.

Click to expand...

Oh man, the Adams Family movies.

I wouldn't call them favorite movies or anything, but if they're on tv, they're getting watched.

I love the first one. The second is pretty good too. They couldn't have cast anyone in the Family better than they did for the first two movies.

Starship Troopers. Yes, I'm aware it's utter trash and not at all faithful to the book.
Lion King.
Pirates of the Caribbean (just the first one, though).
Star Wars - the original three...Though, to be fair, I'd probably almost always say yes to Revenge of the Sith too.

Hmm, adn a few of those already mentioned....sort of, but I'd prefer another one. I'd probably alway say yes to Mulan or Iron Man, too.

I think the list of movies I wouldn't watch if they were put in front of me would be shorter.

Movies I'll actively watch repeatedly are:

Labyrinth (My favorite movie, and also one you can watch in pretty much any mood)
Clue
The Goonies
Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney)
Not Another Teen Movie (Rewatched it the other day, and I completely forgot that Chris Evans plays the male lead.)
Any of the Evening with Kevin Smiths (actually, for that matter, any of Kevin Smith's films)
Ghostbusters 1 and 2 (If either of them are on the TV, regardless of where in the movie it is, I will sit down and watch the rest of it)
Jeffrey

Transformers: The Movie (1986)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
Star Wars OT
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Iron Man
The Rocketeer
The Fugitive (At least, whenever I see on it, I watch it.)
The Incredibles
Maybe Scott Pilgrim, haven't seen it enough to be sure

Goonies tends to be a favourite among a lot of people. Including many of my nerdly friends.

...and I'm actually ashamed to say I don't think I've ever sat down and watched it. I remember catching it on TV sometimes when I was a kid, but it was usually the last 20 minutes or less.

I still haven't seen The Goonies.

For sure, without fail if it's on TV:
5th element
Red Dawn
Night of the living dead

Usually:
Shawshank redemption
goodfellas
Godfather
First matrix

Trying to come up with a handful that haven't already been mentioned.
Ladyhawke
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (original)
Mel Brooks Extravaganza (YF, BS, SB, don't care, I'll watch 'em all)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
36th Chamber of Shaolin/Master Killer
The Dark Crystal

--Patrick

I... never saw The Goonies until I was 18. By that time, I had grown into a cynical young man, and so the lack of nostalgia rendered me incapable of enjoying it.

forgot to say Kung Fu Hustle

Shaun of the Dead
Hot Fuzz
Scott Pilgrim vs the World
I Love You, Man
The Producers

Star Wars - even the prequels from time to time.
Raising Arizona - a long time personal top 10 movie for me.
Oh Brother Where Art Thou - I watched this movie so much when I first bought it on DVD that my Dad thought I was trying to remember every line.
Princess Bride - just fun whimsy.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Sting
Cool Hand Luke
12 Angry Men
Of Mice and Men
Ghostbusters
Star Wars
Caddy Shack
Unforgiven
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Speed
Conan the Barbarian
Robot Jox
Enter the Dragon

For the record, Starship Troopers isn't trash, it's a great movie.

For mine -

Boogie Nights
Stop Making Sense
Dirty Work
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Talledega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby

Wow, there's a lot more here than I would have thought, so I'll spoiler to save space. This list also includes any movie that I can't stop watching if I happen across it while scanning the cable channels. Man, I gotta watch some movies when I get home.

(Gared, that funny tag is for the Bad Boys/Hot Fuzz back-and-forth. Heh heh!)

With all due respect, Charlie, I don't if I'd go as far as to call Starship Troopers a great movie. A really fun, better-than-it-deserves-to-be action flick, but I wouldn't call it "great." That said, it's very likely on my list, too.

Also, since only Reverent-one mentioned it so far: The Rocketeer. Man, I gotta sit down and watch that again sometime.

Oh man I forgot The Great Outdoors.

Starship Troopers (which was not a great movie, just a fun one)
LOTR
Iron Man
Fast Five (definitely a not-good-but-fun movie)
Willow
X-2

I'm really surprised how many people are listing the LOTR series. I have to make a conscious effort to make time for those films. I don't think I've ever just watched them out of the blue.

Army of Darkness
12 Angry Men
Zombieland
Tremors
Any of the Bourne films

The LOTR movies are overrated, I saw them once, bought the DVDs, and have never watched them again. I think I just liked the idea of owning them more than the reality

I love the LoTR movies, but I would never just plop down on the couch and throw them in the DVD player cause I'm bored.

Bowielee said:

I love the LoTR movies, but I would never just plop down on the couch and throw them in the DVD player cause I'm bored.

Click to expand...

Yep, complete agreement. I love the movies, but they take too much investment on my part to watch them. They're almost too epic to just play as background noise, or watch casually.

There was a period of about 5 years where I put on The Hunt for Red October every night when I went to bed. Helped me sleep.

LOTR seems like a series that I would play in the background while painting or playing Diablo if I owned 'em on DVD.

Spirited Away

See, Spirited Away is one I can't have playing in the background. That's a full-on sit-my-ass-down-and-pay-attention movie for me.

Gusto said:

LOTR seems like a series that I would play in the background while painting or playing Diablo if I owned 'em on DVD.

Click to expand...

Shawshank Redemption is usually the one the catches me on TV. Always have to watch it if it's on.

See, that's one of the movies I point to whenever people say what a hack Stephen King is.

Bowielee said:

See, that's one of the movies I point to whenever people say what a hack Stephen King is.

Click to expand...

If I wanted to do that, I'd point to IT or Langoliers. At least Shawshank is watchable.

Man I don't care what anyone says about IT, it was one of the first horror movies my dad, brother and I watched together and Tim Curry is fucking amazing in it. This laugh, man.

Both of those were poor adaptations, mostly because they were shackled by the constraints of being made for TV movies. Granted, the Langoliers was just a terrible concept to begin with, but not everything a writer puts out is going to be gold.

Bowielee said:

Both of those were poor adaptations, mostly because they were shackled by the constraints of being made for TV movies. Granted, the Langoliers was just a terrible concept to begin with, but not everything a writer puts out is going to be gold.

Click to expand...

Oh, I know it's not great, my dad loves Stephen King. But it's more one of those warm fuzzies movies because of the ties it has to me growing up.

Has there been a single good Steven King adaption? The Green Mile was good, but that was a single story out of an anthology that they stretched into a movie. Kingdom Hospital was fun but it was an adaption of a Dutch TV series. IT and Langoliers are just TERRIBLE.

Really, Shawshank is really the only thing that comes close to being good and at least it's had some lasting pop culture impact.

Um...

Carrie, The Shining, Christine, Cujo, Stand By Me, Misery, Delores Claiborne....

Nope, no cultural impact from those movies.

See, I forgot about a bunch of those. Also, Delores Claiborne? I don't think I've ever heard of that one. What's it about?

It's about a nurse who may or may not have killed the person she was hired to care for. It's not so much a whodunit as a didshedoit.

I highly recommend it, it's great at building tension and has one of my favorite lines of all time.

"Sometimes, Dolores, an accident can be an unhappy woman's best friend."

It stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kathy Bates.

Stephen King may have problems wrapping up his storylines sometimes, but he sure as hell knows how to write believable characters.

I'm pretty sure this movie is on Netflix: Watch it Now.

People tend to think only of horror movies when they think Stephen King, but his non-horror movies have been some of his best. As long as he doesn't write the screenplay.

AshburnerX said:

The Green Mile was good, but that was a single story out of an anthology that they stretched into a movie.

Click to expand...

The Green Mile was a 6 mini-book stand-alone series, not a short story out of one of his anthologies.

Old School.

I have three movies that I can almost always throw on, either pay rapt attention or have on in the background, and will always put me in a good mood:Batman: The Movie, Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie, and Purple Rain.

AshburnerX said:

Has there been a single good Steven King adaption? The Green Mile was good, but that was a single story out of an anthology that they stretched into a movie.

Click to expand...

Actually, it was a serialized novel. That weighed in at over 600 pages once it was finished. You're thinking of Shawshank.

I find King's short stories usually translate better than his longer works.

I can watch Sister Act any time. I think it has something to do with all the good memories attached to it. My sister and I didn't always get along as kids, but we both loooved that movie.

Others... Labyrinth and Alien. There are more, but I'll leave it at that for now

Oh, this is funny. When I was in mexico on our graduation trip, it seemed like no matter when we turned on the TV, Silver Streak (the old Gene Wilder/Richard Pryor movie) was on.

"I just hope we don't run into any muslims."

Gladiator: I just watched it again for the umpteenth(holy crap that passed spell-check) time last night.

Way of the Gun.

Not an exceptional movie but a movie filled with so many exceptional scenes.

GasBandit said:

Oh, this is funny. When I was in mexico on our graduation trip, it seemed like no matter when we turned on the TV, Silver Bullet (the old Gene Wilder/Richard Pryor movie) was on.

"I just hope we don't run into any muslims."

Click to expand...

You mean Silver Streak, right? I meant to include that one in my list, but took it out when I realized it wasn't a Mel Brooks movie (I meant to add it back in separately but never did). To this day I have never seen the whole thing in one sitting.

--Patrick

PatrThom said:

You mean Silver Streak, right? I meant to include that one in my list, but took it out when I realized it wasn't a Mel Brooks movie (I meant to add it back in separately but never did). To this day I have never seen the whole thing in one sitting.

--Patrick

Click to expand...

Whoops, yes, I meant silver streak.

Heh, I was trying to remember at what point in Stephen King's Silver Bullet there were mentions of Muslims.

ThatNickGuy said:

Heh, I was trying to remember at what point in Stephen King's Silver Bullet there were mentions of Muslims.

Click to expand...

That wasn't a quote from the movie, it was just GB expressing his hopes about this thread.

Oh. Well, that shows how much I remember about either movie.

I was kidding, Nick

Heh, me too.

My new go to movie is Nick's Prom Night. It is like a mash-up of Sixteen Candles and Eyes Wide Shut.

Frank Capra.

Pretty much any black and white Jimmy Stewart/Cary Grant screwball comedy. When I'm feeling down, they cheer me up.

I honestly can't think of ANY that fall under this description. Maybe Pulp Fiction or Star Wars. But even those get old after a while. Now books, on the other hand.

sixpackshaker said:

My new go to movie is Nick's Prom Night. It is like a mash-up of Sixteen Candles and Eyes Wide Shut.

Click to expand...

My new go to movie is Frosty Susan. It is like a mash-up of Eyes Wide Shut and The Blob.