So this started out as just a list of movies that I like compiled for a friend who never really was into watching movies, but now has a Netflix subscription. I revised the original idea to adding some comments as to why I like said movie. I’m leaving out the action guy, the testosterone-fueled movies with gratuitious violence and boobies. Mmmm, boobies.
In no particular order:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- The original, not the Depp one. Although the remake told a slighly better story by adding in some familial elements, the original is still the best for me, especially with orange Ooompa-Loompas and their oh-so catchy songs!
Blazing Saddles
- This movie can no longer be made in today’s PC world full of delicate sensibilities. The laughs start early and keep on going.
Little Shop of Horrors
- Steve Martin as a sadistic dentist, Martin Short as Seymour. A great take on a great play. Audrey’s “Somewhere That’s Green” was parodied on Family Guy by Herbert, the creepy old man.
Galaxy Quest
- A fun movie about when fandom, science finction and reality meet. “By Grabthar’s Hammer, I salute you.” “Never give up - never surrender!”
The Nightmare Before Christmas
- I’m a sucker for this movie - so much so that people who enter my office between Halloween and Christmas know I have this running on a loop on my wall. Great music, even better animation, and the story is not bad either. It speaks to my inner Boingo, my semi dark and twisted side.
The Corpse Bride
- Given the entry above, is this one a surprise? Overall, everything was weaker compared to Nightmare, but I have to say I still enjoyed it throughly. Unlike the first one, I don’t think I should play this continuously when I plan to get married.
Dave
- I like this movie more than I should, and I’m not sure why. I can’t put my finger on why I enjoy this so much, but everytime I stumble on it playing on tv, I’ll sit there and watch the whole thing through.
Big Fish
- A story about a man and his relationship with his dad. I see so much of my dad in this movie - the joker, the laugher, the big-talker. The man who’s always a hero to me, and larger than life. The way the relationship plays out is both heart-breaking and heart-warming to me.
Better Off Dead
- John Cusack in one of his very early films. This is one of the early romantic comedies, and I never get tired of watching it. There’s just so many things going on in tandem with the main story, and all of it makes you go huh?
Say Anything
- Another John Cusack one. This is probably one of the most spoofed romantic comedies out there, with the iconic scene, but it really is a pretty good movie.
The Wedding Singer
- Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. Other than all the great 80s kitsch, references and music, there’s a pretty solid movie in there. My favorite scenes are the closing ones on the airplane, and the ones of Drew in her room in the wedding dress practicing her lines.
50 First Dates
- Sandler and Barrymore again! This one had a very interesting premise, and I think it played it out well to the very end. You expect one thing, get another, and find that what you got was better than what you had wanted. Favorite scene - watching her daily life and routine unfold.
A Walk to Remember
- Ok, I’m going to admit that this movie made me cry. It’s sad. Man, is it sad. It probably a good testament to my shallowness or something, as most people didn’t care too much for it.
The 40 Year Old Virgin
- If the above movie had me in sad tears, this one has me in funny ones. There’s just so much going on, and the comedy is just really tight and well-written.
The Office
- Ok, I know this technically isn’t a movie. But the US version of the office is one I watch weekly (damn you, writers strike!), I own the seasons, and I can watch them repeatedly. Every flight I have over 6 hours, I spend a good chunk of time watching this. The show is funny. It’s sweet in someparts. It makes you uncomfortable in others. All in all, fantastic for me.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Aimee // Jan 27, 2008 at 10:57 am
Awesome! Thank you so much John! I’m gonna start adding some of those to my list! You rock! =)
2 sanityscout // Jan 29, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Ooooo… good list! Some of my favorites in there! I LOVE John Cusack (just watched Better Off Dead 3 days ago, incidentally, and I have a Say Anything poster-you know-the classic scene where he’s holding up the boombox). Also love the Tim Burton, and agree with your assessment of Corpse Bride. I would add a few, with minimal explanation in the interest of time:
High Fidelity: You can’t be a Cusack fan without this movie. It’s based on a book by one of my favorite contemporary writers, Nick Hornby (About a Boy, Fever Pitch, How to Be Good, etc. etc.). Love gone wrong, gone right, gone wrong, that kind of thing. One of my favorite flicks of all time.
Grosse Point Blank: Cusack again, awesome soundtrack just like HF, and as a bonus, he plays a professional killer with residual high school identity issues. A class reunion, plus plenty of references to things we kids from the ’80s and ’90s can relate to. LOVE IT
Battlestar Galactica: Yeah, not a movie either, but WOW. A and I got this through Blockbuster online, and watched 3 seasons over the course of about 3 weeks (would have been faster, but they have to deliver them). Genuinely well-made, awesome program. Fantastic acting, production, effects, plot, existential dilemmas, action and destruction, love and hate, it’s got it all.
Wedding Crashers: It honestly never stops being funny.
Anchorman: See above.
Pan’s Labyrinth - Spanish with subtitles, but completely worth it. It might seem like a children’s fantasy movie, but don’t be deceived. Gets a bit hard to watch in some moments, but it is an amazing piece of work.
I don’t know if you like anime at all, or animated films, but I would recommend anything by Hayao Miyasaki, such as:
Howl’s Moving Castle
Spirited Away
Princess Mononoke
etc.
These films are absolutely breathtaking in every way.
A comment on your assessment of The Wedding Singer, John: The “80s kitch” MAKES it a solid movie! pfft… hehe
If I think of more later I’ll add.
3 John // Jan 30, 2008 at 12:06 am
I thought about adding High Fidelity and GPB, as the latter is pretty heavy on the 80s stuff like The Wedding Singer. Also, Dan Ackroyd as a hitman - good stuff. Not entirely sure why I didn’t list them, but very good choices! I also thought about Must Love Dogs, as Diane Lane rocks.
Fever Pitch. Good move, Drew is great, but Jimmy Fallon rubs me the wrong way in every way. Can’t stand him in anything he does, and I blame a trans-Pacific flight for forcing this one on me.
BSG is a love/hate relationship. Season 3 was just too damn contrived and hokey for me, especially after the brilliance of the first 2 seasons. The move ie also a good watch, as well as Razor, which tells the story of the Pegasus. I really hope S4 redeems the series, but with the writer’s strike, who knows what will happen?
Anchorman! How did I leave this one out? The gang fight is just pure awesome!
Pan’s was good, but I was upset as the trailers and such showed it as another movie altogether. I suppose that was the only way marketing could figure out how to get the dumb American audience to go watch the fantasy world creating by a young girl to deal with and escape the harsh reality of the Spanish civil war.
Agreed on the Miyasaki stuff - fantastic! I’m currently working my way through the Avatar series on DVD. I’m amazed at how good this one is.
That definitely was a typo on my end - I think I wanted to say “besides” rather than “other”. Totally changes the sentence, heh!
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