I’m not a huge movie fan, but I want to broaden my horizons a bit. I’ll offer my list (that I’ve rewatched so many times I’m a bit tired of them):
-
Young Poisoner’s Handbook
-
Full Metal Jacket
-
Life of Brian
-
Holy Grail
-
Sunset Boulevard
-
Curse of the Golden Flower
-
The Nightingale
-
Downfall
-
Amadeus
-
Once Were Warriors
-
Dusk to Dawn
- Wild tales
- Black mirror
Funny, for me there are more items in Must read List than Must watch.
Goodfellas
- Castle in the Sky (for the beautiful hand-drawn art) (also known as Laputa: Castle in the Sky)
- Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (for the memes)
China Town
Young Guns 1&2
Naked Gun 1,2& 33 1/3
Repo Men
Everything Terry Gilliam ever made.
Ferris Buellers day off
Legend
Kung Pao Enter the Fist
Kung Fu Hustle
Tucker & Dale VS Evil
Evil Dead 1&2
Army of Darkness
American Werewolf in London
Spaceballs
Plains Trains and Automobiles
The Jerk
Beverly Hills Cop 1&2
Lucky Number Sleven
Snatch
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Event Horizon
Shane
Ghost in the Shell - everything
Akira
Vampire Hinter D
Spirited Away
The Irishman
Reservoir Dogs
Pulp Fiction
Real Genius
Tombstone
My Cousin Vinny
High Plains Drifter
Outlaw Josey Wales
Big
LA Story
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
The Burbs
True Romance
Pump Up the Volume
Heathers
Beetlejuice
Multiplicity
This is a remarkably good list. I know you’re getting a ton of recommendations OP, but this is really a very comprehensive one with an absolutely excellent balance of “real good quality” combined with “easy and rewarding to watch.”
Thanks for the complement!
As much as I love Kung Pao, I would replace it with Airplane because Kung Pao is just so dumb and divisive. I know people who love that movie and I know people who absolutely hated it. You have to be a certain age (under 12 imo) to really appreciate it.
Airplane however, is timeless regardless of how old you are when you first watch it.
Airplane didn’t make my list only because I forgot/didn’t think about it but defiantly should be there.
Really this list is only a small selection of movies I love and could think of right off the bat. I missed a huge portion of great recommendations. Ill leave them for others to fill in as there are a ton of great comments filled with great movies already and im sure there are more to come.
Im bookmarking this thread so I can get some ideas of things I haven’t seen yet or things I must have in my collection.
defiantly
I decided not to comment on “complement”, but now I think you’re doing this on purpose.
One of us only tells lies and the other only truths… Truth be told I’m a shit speller for sure and my unmedicated adhd defiantly doesn’t play nice with dyslexia nor proofreading. If it is something important like legal docs or code documentation i send that shit off to a family member or friend so they can have a good laugh at my expense before they tell me to fuck off and figure it out on my own.
my unmedicated adhd defiantly doesn’t play nice with dyslexia nor proofreading
You know what, I’m going to say that’s the right word in this context.
Big Trouble in Little China
Tank Girl
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Princess Bride
Labyrinth
Time Bandits
I scrolled way too far to find this.
Plus Fifth Element, Buckaroo Banzai, Hackers, Blazing Saddles, …
A diverse list of my some films I like, in no particular order:
- Memento.
- The Anchorman.
- LOTR extended editions.
- Terminator 1, 2, and Salvation (Yeah, those are my guilty pleasures. You can skip the 3rd and ignore the ones after Salvation, imho).
- The Usual Suspects.
- Zoolander.
- Inglorious Basterds.
- The Matrix.
- The Abyss (1989).
- Parasite
Memento is shockingly left off most lists. Idk why it isn’t remembered as one of the best films of its decade.
You see, most movie critics have this condition…
In no particular order, and not an exhaustive list
- The Big Lebowski
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Sin City
- Lord of The Rings Trilogy
- Star wars Original Trilogy & Rogue One
- Casablanca
- Mad Max Fury Road
- Arrival
- Pulp Fiction
- All the Studio Ghibli movies, but Especially Nausicaa, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited away, and Grave of the Fireflies
- Blazing Saddles
- Young Frankenstein
- Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life
- Monty Python & the Holy Grail
- Jurassic Park
- Rocky Horror Picture Show
- Blade Runner
- Blade Runner 2049
- Mary & Max
- Akira
- Rocky
- The Godfather 1 & 2, and at that point I guess you might as well watch 3 as well
- Rashomon
- Chinatown
- Jaws
- All quiet on the western front
- Psycho
- Kill Bill 1&2
- The Shawshank Redemption
- Forest Gump
- Fight Club
- The Matrix (just 1)
- Silence of the Lambs
- Taxi Driver
- Back to the future trilogy
- The Usual Suspects
- Apocalypse Now
- Indiana Jones Trilogy
- Dune parts 1&2
- The Shining
- Dredd
- Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
- The Room
- A Clockwork Orange
- Gone with the Wind
- V for Vendetta
- Trainspotting
- Fargo
- Ben Hur
- Children of Men
- Shoot 'em Up
- Logan *The Princess Bride
- Old Yeller
- John Wick series
- Most Disney/Pixar movies
- Most Don Bluth movies
I actually like Godfather III. Even more than II, which I also enjoyed. Maybe because I don’t understand movies properly or something. Everyone seems cold on Godfather III.
I like Godfather 3 too but I tend only to watch it immediately after 2, which helps make it better.
The Room
One of these is not like the other
Great list!
I’m going to restrict this list to older movies and imports since there’s already most of Hollywood’s best listed by other people.
- Ran (1985): Japanese take on King Lear. Kurosawa.
- 12 Angry Men (1957): Fonda has doubts about the man charged. Sidney Lumet.
- Lawrence of Arabia (1962): Based on actual WWI British officer T.E. Lawrence, but more story than history. David Lean.
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975): Jack Nicholson leads this Milos Forman movie about what it was like in mental hospitals (based on Ken Kesey’s book of same name – see also Keroac book On the Road for more of that generation).
- The Man Who Would Be King (1975) : Sean Connery and Michael Caine star in John Houston movie based on Ruyard Kipling story. There are more famous names to pack in there, but mostly the story is great (though told from a supremely Colonial POV).
- Grand Illusion (1937): French Jean Renoir film classic about WWI.
- Beauty and the Beast (1946): French Jean Cocteau masterpiece of the fairytalke before it got Disney-fied.
- The Tin Drum (1979): German Volker Schlöndorff film of Günter Grass story about a boy who won’t grow up.
- Amarcord (1973): Italian Federico Fellini film about growing up. You could sub in Nights of Cabiria or Satyricon as a starter Fellini pic.
- Kes (1970): British Ken Loach film about a boy and a bird.
- Winter Light (1963): Swedish Ingmar Bergman about a priest struggling with faith. The 7th Seal probably a better place to ease in to Bergman, though.
- A Man for All Seasons (1966): British Fred Zinnemann telling of how Sir Thomas More was stuck between his Church and his King. For an alternate take on same chunk of history, see Wolf Hall.
There’s so many more. Rosselini’s Open City, Jodorosky’s El Topo/Santa Sangre, Errol Morris documentaries (Fog of War, etc.), Les Blank docs (from music to Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe), oh! and Herzog flicks! I should stop.
That’s a fantastic list.
Thank you. I spend too much time watching movies, and there are so many more to recommend for various reasons. The above are all pretty ‘serious’ movies, but I figure the other lists have fun and comedic movies well covered with outstanding pics by many other people.
Is it too much though? I used to think I should spend less time watching TV shows and movies but on balance it’s fine. It’s one of my favourite things to do!
Some intriguing ones on this list. Cheers.
I watched Kes and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest… both pretty grim. Jack Nicholson was great in his role. I wish Kes had a happier ending, that was hard to watch. But both great movies. Tempted to try Lawrence of Arabia next…
Oh no! I’m sorry. Looking back at my list, I guess most of it IS on the dark side. I mean, Bergman is unavoidably dark and people joke about Herzog’s bitter nihlism, but I didn’t mean be a downer, I hope I didn’t ruin any evenings. I cry uncontrollably at Kes, but I also love it. 400 Blows is equally depressing, but Kes is closer to my heart (professional critics will tell you 400 Blows is a more important film). Ring of Bright Water is a somewhat lighter take on animal bonding and loss about a man and his otter but it is only a so-so film.
You will notice The Princess Bride got recommended repeatedly, That is a happier, family friendly film that is sure to put a person in a better mood. Some Terry Gilliam is lighter, but save Brazil for when you’re once again ready for ‘grim’ (great flick, though – and you could theoretically ignore the intended ending by picking an alternate cut).
It’s good to explore dark themes and be sad sometimes, I just wish Kes went for another 10 minutes and end on a different note. I’m bouncing off everyone’s suggestions to maintain the variety. Still exploring your list!
If you have a cable company that carries Turner Classic Movies, their schedule shows they’ll be airing these Kipling inspired items on Wednesday night/Thursday morning (times in EDT):
- 3:15 AM The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
- 5:45 AM Gunga Din (1939) Despite my apprecication of Cary Grant as an actor, I’m less fond of Gunga Din compared to The Man Who Would Be King, but Gunga Din is worth seeing once for reference. Kim and various Jungle Book movies are better Kipling choices IMO, but since Gunga Din is a poem instead of a whole story, I can’t blame Kipling for the movie plot.
Though I’ve belted you and flayed you,
By the livin’ Gawd that made you,
You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!
The holy mountain by Jodorowsky is also great. If this is running in a cinema somewhere by chance go for it.
I prefer El Topo to Holy Mountain as it has more of a uh script. Looks like they had a lot of fun filming the latter though!
Both of them are worth taking the time to watch though. Nothing else quite like them.
In no particular order:
- The Thing
- In The Mouth Of Madness
- Pulp Fiction
- Kill Bill (both volumes)
- The Princess Bride
- Everything Everywhere All at Once
- Thelma and Louise
- Secondhand Lions
- I ❤️ Huckabees
- Amadeus
- The Big Lebowski
- Princess Mononoke
- Spirited Away
- Red Line
- Summer Wars
- Evil Dead 2 *~
- Hellboy: The Crooked Man **
- John Wick 2 ***
*~ not a sequel, but a reimagining, if anyone’s curious. No need to have seen the first to enjoy this.
** also not a sequel. By far the best live action piece to come out of this franchise. The only one worth watching tbh
*** direct sequel. They’re all pretty good, but this one is, visually, as nice as the genre gets imo. The choreography and cinematography, both, are simply beautiful.
Edit: Fargo and Akira belong on this list too
Great list. The Princess Bride somehow passed me by. Is it one of those movies you could watch now and enjoy, or more something that you enjoyed at the time and therfore still holds up?
It’s widely agreed to be an evergreen watch. I first saw it when I was around 25-30yo and was immediately smitten with its masterful direction and vision, so nostalgia played as little a part in my initial appreciation of it as is possible. Definitely worth a watch or 5!
Finally! I Heart Huckabees mentioned! There are dozens of us! I rewatch it once a year on average.
It is truly an underrated classic! The only complaint I have about it is the presence of Wahlberg, but even he aced his role if I’m being totally honest. The entire cast utterly slays it, really. And that’s not even getting into the stellar themes, writing, and transcendental message! Easily one of my favorites of its genre and era
It’s a case of having to separate the artist from the art, for me. David O. Russell is also not a very nice person but I don’t let it ruin the movie for me; it’s so good.
Pacific Rim. They never made any sequels though, so don’t bother looking.
There is one with John Boyega portraying the son of the Marshal so based maybe 10 years or so after the original. Not quite up there with the first film but still fun, basically “Pacific Rim: Team Kids”
Did @[email protected] stutter? They never made any sequals.
Why would you post a dead link? Pacific Rim does not have any sequels. Pacific Rim has never had any sequels. As it should be.
Maybe this will help you understand what’s going on here https://xkcd.com/566/
The Princess Bride
Shawshank Redemption
Jesus Christ Superstar
Life Is Beautiful
Jesus Christ Superstar
I actually like the orginal album of the songs (which came out before the movie) more than any of the movie versions, but I grant that seeing a movie version makes the album even better!
I just think the actor playing Judas Iscariot is fantastic. What a performance.
I’d recommend asking this over at [email protected].
As for my answer:
- The Departed
- Parasite
- Django Unchained
- The Princess Bride
- Arrival
- The Intouchables
- Ben-Hur (1959 version)
- Fargo
- Amadeus
- Little Miss Sunshine
- The Matrix
There are more, but that’s a solid selection IMO.
My thought process for this was asking myself what movie I’d recommend to people who have little to no experience or interest in specific genres. Tried to pick a wide range of movies
Comedies (my favorite genre)
- Kung Fu Hustle (probably favorite movie of all time): fun comedy action movie involving gangsters and a poor neighborhood. Think classic Hong Kong kung fu meets super hero movie. Haven’t met anyone who didn’t like the film
- Airplane: insanely funny movie with nonstop jokes. One of the best movies for comedy because you’ve got all types of jokes (puns, visual humor, recurring jokes etc)
- Blazing Saddles: revovles around a small western town through the perspective of a former slave turned sheriff. Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little have such great chemistry
- The Naked Gun trilogy: if you liked Airplane you’ll love the Naked Gun. Has a lot of ridiculously silly lines told with a straight face.
Action
- LOTR trilogy: I feel like this needs no explanation.
- Star Wars original trilogy: no hate to the prequels (and a lot of hate to the sequels) but nothing quite hits like the OG Star Wars trilogy
- The Mummy: fun, interesting plot, charming characters just the quintissential 90s action movie. Also a great first movie for many people’s bi-awakening 👀
- Police Story (trilogy, but mainly 3): it’s been a while since I’ve seen this trilogy but I distinctly remember really liking the third one because it features both Jackie Chan and Michel Yeoh as equal badasses. If you’ve never seen Jackie Chan’s Hong Kong films, this franchise is a great start.
Animation
- Spiderman Into The Spiderverse: beautifully animated movie that does an amazing job of capturing the feel comics in both style and vibes. Definitely way better than the sequel, in my opinion.
- Tokyo Godfathers: touching anime movie about 3 homeless people who ind a baby on Christmas. Don’t want to spoil any more than that but it has a good balance of comedy and drama and unlike other anime movies I’ve seen, completes the story so well that you’re not wanting more
- Up: my personal favorite Pixar movie and the first 20 min are a master class of short story telling. Was debating between this an Wall E but I think Up has a better story
Horror
Admittedly my least favorite genre. These movies are closer to thrillers than they are horror
- Train to Busan: zombie outbreak on a train. Premise is simple enough but the storytelling and characters are so well written that you get too attached and actually get anxiety when things are happening. It’s a movie with an ending that stays with you
- The Silence of the Lambs: there’s a reason Hannibal Lector is the most memorable part of this movie despite having only 16 minutes of screen time
Movies to watch only once
These are movies that will make you feel such intense emotions (usually sadness but not necessarily) that I would only watch once. No descriptions to avoid spoilers
- Grave of the Fireflies
- Schindler’s List
- Old Boy
I agree re: Up and Train to Busan. I’ll have to check out your comedies.
My unpopular opinion is that Up has an amazing 10/10 opening sequence, and is a 5 (at best) for the rest of the movie. Talking dogs, a weird cartoon bird, standard Disney kidschlock.
I would respectfully disagree. Spoilers ahead for a 16 year old movie.
I think while the rest of the movie has some fantasy elements and requires some suspension of disbelief, it’s ultimately about Carl’s personal growth and being able to figuratively and literally let go of his wife’s death.
Also, when Ellie died, it was like Carl’s social life died with her. By the end of the film, Carl becomes a part of the community instead of angry and isolated. In the at way, it’s also about a found family with him becoming a father figure to Russell and taking in Dug.
Ratatouille on the other hand…
Exactly.
No, I think that’s a common opinion. I share it.
I don’t know about that. Try saying that on Reddit, and you’ll be down voted to oblivion.
I liked the whole movie, but I’m not downvoting people who have your opinion haha. What a petty reason to downvote someone.
I watched Blazing Saddles… Oh boy. I was not expecting the full-on racial slurs right from the beginning. I know it’s mocking racists but it was still a shock. I wouldn’t watch it again but it was a fun watch.
That’s a weird attitude. You know the jokes are about the racists and you still feel you are somehow doing something bad by enjoying it?
Yeah, I get what he’s saying, but I agree. I think we’ve lost a lot in this post-nuance world. It’s kind of like saying you wouldn’t watch American History X because it’s got nazis in it.
The racist slurs didn’t affect my enjoyment of it, they were just shocking. As in, they shocked me because I wasn’t expecting it. The thing that makes me not want to watch it again any time soon is the musical aspect, and just the over-the-top silliness. It was fun to watch, it’ll probably be fun to watch again at some point in the future, but I’m just not desperate to watch it again soon.
I’m glad you had fun watching it and thanks for the update! It’s my favorite Mel Brooks movie but can be jarring compared to how PC movies have become. But it is good that you realized all the slurs were coming from characters you’re not supposed to like.
I also watched Naked Gun (I think the one) and it was really funny. I’ll save the other Naked Guns for when I’m in the right mood, because they’re so over-the-top stupid - but very well done and funny. Maybe I’ll watch the anime one soon… I’ve wanted to get into anime for years but don’t know where to start. Maybe this is the one that gets the ball rolling…
Personally, I prefer anime shows to movies since they’re allowed more time to develop plot and characters. If you’ve ever played any Japanese games you’d know how convoluted the stories can be.
Based on your list of movies, you seem to like a good mix of comedies and tragedy/drama. Below are some shows I think you may like:
- One Punch Man (comedy/action): Saitama is the world’s strongest man and can defeat enemies with a single punch. This causes him to feel ennui with life.
- Erased (mystery/thriller): time travel murder mystery. Don’t want to say too much more. It’s really short (12 episodes) so it should be easy to finish quickly
- Death Note (mystery/thriller): another murder mystery with supernatural elements, this time involving what’s know as the the titular Death Note which can kill anyone who’s name is written inside. This and Fullmetal (below) are pretty much always recommended starter anime.
- Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (fantasy/adventure): Alchemist Brothers Edward and Alphonse travel the world looking for the Philosopher’s Stone in order to fix an alchemy disaster that left Alphonse’s soul trapped in armor. Make sure you watch Brotherhood first. There are two series of this franchise and the regular Fullmetal Alchemist does not follow the source manga all the way through since it caught up at a certain point.
- Hunter x Hunter (action/adventure): Gon hopes to become a powerful Hunter so he can find his father who left him as a child. Best story of all shonen (boy targeted) manga/anime imo. Only bad thing is that it was dropped before they could complete the series (from where the Manga continued). But the ending it has is also still satisfying.
- Asobi Asobase (slice of life comedy): follows three odd high school friends as they try to find ways past time. Absolutely ridiculous show with no plot, just a lot of really funny situations the girls get themselves into. One of my favorites is a punishment game where loser has to be slapped on the butt.
- Ouran High School Host Club: Haruhi is a working class student who enrolls in a high school for wealthy elites on scholarship. On her first day, she accidentally breaks an expensive vase at the famous all-male host club and now has to work there to pay them back. Only problem is, she’s a girl. Hilarity and hijinks ensue.
And if you don’t want to dedicate less time, here are some more good movie recommendations:
- A Silent Voice: moving film about the redemption of a former school bully to a deaf girl. It’s definitely an emotional roller coaster
- Grave of the Fireflies: I put this in my original list but did not specify that it was an anime movie. Only watch if you want to feel some intense emotions
- Spirited Away: there’s a reason this is the first anime movie to with an Oscar. It’s about a young girl who somehow becomes trapped in a magical fantasy world and has to find her parents and a way back home. Only reason I didn’t include it was cause I actually liked Tokyo Godfathers more. However, it’s definitely one of my favorite Ghibli films for sure.
- Your Name: supernatural movie in which a completely unrelated teenage boy and girl swap bodies. They have to figure out why this happens and how to fix it.
Just finished watching Tokyo Godfathers. It was really good! I’ll watch it again at Christmas!
Yay, I’m glad you enjoyed it! My brother and I watched it on a whim around Christmas and we both really liked it.
I’ve been asking for a list like this for years, and anime fans, who I thought would want to help someone enjoy anime, were unhelpful jerks. So thanks for the list!
I tried to find a free online streaming of Tokyo Godfather but couldn’t find one. I’ll be sure to watch these ones. Thanks again.
Since you’ve seen a few of my must-see movies, I’ve decided to watch one of yours. I always wanted to watch more film noir movies since I always like when shows do film noir spoofs so I watched Sunset Blvd. In fact, there was a Tiny Toons Adventure parody called Sepulveda Blvd.
While there were some glaring plot points (like why didn’t Max just continue making movies that starred Norma?), it was a good watch overall. Even though we know what happens since it shows the ending first, I wasn’t sure where the plot was going. The actress who played Norma did such a good job at making the audience feel fearful and sympathetic towards Norma. If I watch any of the other movies on your list I’ll let you know.
The only reason I watched Sunset Boulevard was because I read a theory someone had that the Metallica song The Memory Remains was written about it. So I watched it out of curiosity and it fits. I didn’t notice any “plot points” because the overall theme and pathos of the movie gripped me. I agree that the woman who played Norma did a frighteningly good job. I might add some more to my list soon. I didn’t realise so many people would reply so I just did it off the top of my head.
I’m pretty surprised. I am always trying to recommend anime to my friends to get them into it. But I can see how some fans are jerks. Like they forgot what it was like to be newbies.
I tried to list shows that were not only finished, but also relatively short so that they’re not intimidating to start. Hope you find one you like! I didn’t include any shoujo (girl targeted) anime because I forgot and don’t really watch many. Only one I’ve seen is Ouran Host Club which is actually pretty good so I’ll add it to my list.
- Alien, then Aliens, then stop. If you watch Alien 3 then watch Alien: Resurrection, too, to get the taste out of your mouth, but then definitely stop.
- Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
- House of Flying Daggers
If you watch Star Wars, then watch in this order:
-
Episode 4 A New Hope
-
Episode 5 The Empire Strikes Back
-
Episode 2 Attack of the Clones
-
Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith
-
Episode 6 Return of the Jedi
Why no love for The Phantom Menace.
I saw it when it came out and still remember every scene. I completely forgot episodes 2 and 3 to the point that I thought I never actually saw them. So I watched them and realized, oh yeah, I did see them before. And then forgot them again.
Aliens Earth is pretty good so far.
The question was about movies.
Second India Jones sucks and does not belong on any list. Also Star wars only the first 3, maybe rogue one and andor and that’s it
Most of mine are already mentioned, but I don’t think anyone said:
The Big Lebowski
That’s just like… your opinion, man
Shut the fuck up, Donny.
Sorry. I was out of my element.
