A Conversation About Films

A Conversation About Films

This isn't really much of an editorial, it just started as an idea I had a few days ago that I'm just now getting around to writing...

Editorial Opinion
By jbak368 - Sep 21, 2010 01:09 PM EST
Filed Under: Other

This site is about comic book movies, so obviously those of us who come here and write articles and comment on articles love both comic books AND movies. It seems to me, however, that a lot of the opinions given often come from the comic book side of that equation. We all have our favorite characters, and we care very much about seeing them brought to the screen in a way that meets our expectations. It's easy to tell after a short amount of time on this site who cares about which characters, and which comic book films, and what they're opinions or understandings of that character are, but I feel like we probably don't know too much about each others actual taste in movies. Just general movies.

Obviously we're all regular film-watchers, and I thought it might sort of enhance the sense of community around here if maybe we all talked about our top five favorite movies. I want to clarify that I don't mean what you think are the top 5 best movies ever made, because that's a very different thing; it requires taking into account things like historical context and technical innovation in a way that goes beyond what I'm talking about and is all-too-objective. Let's be subjective here.

If you had to pick five movies, and you could only watch those five for the rest of your life, which five are so great to you personally that you just couldn't leave them out. And I don't mean that comic book movies can't be included, just that I thought it might be interesting for us all to learn about each others tastes outside of that specific genre, so they don't have to be. I also think it's okay to have ties for a place, if the two films are related to each other for a good reason (like as a sequel, or two films from a particular director or actor that really go together, or potentially for other reasons).

I'll go ahead and start out here. I've given this a lot of thought, and it's definitely a tough list to make, but here goes.

1. The Godfather Parts 1 and 2
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey
3. The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly
4. Die Hard
5. Batman (1989) & The Dark Knight (I love them both for different reasons and honestly couldn't pick a favorite).

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MassExecutions
MassExecutions - 9/21/2010, 2:26 PM
Only 5?!?! Holy crap that's hard.

1. The Professional
2. Predator OR Terminator 2 (coin flip)
3. Aliens
4. The Great Escape
5. The Magnificent Seven

Runners up: Zatoichi The Fugitive, On The Waterfront, Pan's Labyrinth, Blade 2, Goldfinger

Ask me tomorrow and it will be different. Definitely requires some thought for a definitive answer.
jbak368
jbak368 - 9/21/2010, 2:30 PM
That's why it took me several days to come up with my list. There were tons of great movies I left off, movies I really really love, but I tried to make it as definitive as possible.

Also, is it too late for me to edit my post? I was going to add a picture and maybe a few other comments about my list or something. I wrote this under the assumption that I could but now I can't seem to figure out how to do it.
MassExecutions
MassExecutions - 9/21/2010, 2:42 PM
I THINK you can still edit it, but don't ask me. I'm still working on my first editorial.
jbak368
jbak368 - 9/21/2010, 2:51 PM
@brazilianbatman - Interesting. I was wondering how long it would take before someone's list was all cbm's. Not very long at all, as it turns out.
jbak368
jbak368 - 9/21/2010, 2:55 PM
Oops. I double posted and accidentally deleted his comment instead of mine. Sorry BrazilianBatman. It definitely had The Dark Knight and both Iron Man movies on it. Don't remember the other ones.
jbak368
jbak368 - 9/21/2010, 3:00 PM
And since I can't figure out how to edit, my runner-up are Blade Runner, Terminator 2, Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Big Lebowski, and almost any Tarantino movie.
MassExecutions
MassExecutions - 9/21/2010, 3:04 PM
Yeah, Raiders, Pulp Fiction, and the Kill Bills would be up there for me. I like Temple of Doom too. Don't know why people hate it, except that the female lead is annoying.
x2SMONEY
x2SMONEY - 9/21/2010, 3:20 PM
1.Jaws
2.The Dark Knight
3.Goodfellas
4.The Godfather
5.Inglourious Basterds
jbak368
jbak368 - 9/21/2010, 3:50 PM
@Mass - Capshaw is pretty much the only thing wrong with ToD, but she's just so [frick]ing annoying that she can really make it hard to sit through. The action is phenomenal though.
jbak368
jbak368 - 9/21/2010, 4:34 PM
Damn I forgot about Wrath of Khan. I just watched that the other day too. Now I feel like an asshole. I also realized I had completely neglected comedy, which is why I added Big Lebowski to my runners-up.

I would also probably have to add Don't Look Back and No Direction Home, but I didn't want to count documentaries, and those are really just cause I'm a Dylan nerd (not that they aren't both great films - one is the first example of cinema verite and the other is directed by Martin Scorsese).
BubbaDude
BubbaDude - 9/21/2010, 7:08 PM
In no particular order

1. Seven Samurai
2. The Wild Bunch
3. Lawrence of Arabia
4. The Searchers
5. The Rocketeer
Rhys
Rhys - 9/21/2010, 7:09 PM
1. Inglorious Basterds
2. Star Wars: IV, V, VI
3. The Dark Knight
4. Jurassic Park
5. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Honorable mentions(in no particular order): Speed Racer, Fight Club, Across The Universe, Moulin Rouge, Alien, Kick-Ass, Sin City, Mallrats, Fanboys, Detroit Rock City, District 9, Tropic Thunder, Sunshine, and 28 Days Later...(wow, that was allot, whoops!)

Just my personal favorites :)
joekerr93
joekerr93 - 9/21/2010, 8:06 PM
As obsessive and weird as this sounds, my top five favourite movies are all by the same director, Christopher Nolan.

1. Memento
2. Inception
3. The Dark Knight
4. The Prestige
5. Batman Begins

2 and 3 occasionally flip around, but that is pretty much it. some of my honourable mentions: Iron Man, Transformers, Casino Royale, No Country For Old Men, Shutter Island, The Invention of Lying (my fav comedy), Tropic Thunder (2nd fav comedy), Batman (89), Following (yep Nolan again), V for Vendetta, Minority Report, The Departed, Jurassic Park, Avatar, Star Trek (Abrams)

great idea jbak368, even though almost everyone has put up more than 5 movies :)
ButtNakedSmurf
ButtNakedSmurf - 9/21/2010, 10:48 PM
1. the dark knight
2. inception
3. wanted
4. the incredible hulk
5. step brothers
jbak368
jbak368 - 9/22/2010, 4:46 AM
Wow, and I thought I was a Nolan nerd. Lots of Nolan love here.

Also, I don't want to pick a fight with anyone, but I just have to say - The Boondock Saints is a truly awful film.
MassExecutions
MassExecutions - 9/22/2010, 6:06 AM
you guys list some great movies. Fight Club, Jurassic Park, Shaun of the Dead, Boondock Saints (its not awful, its just...different), haven't seen Scott Pilgram and The Departed.

But I gotta tell ya, if you don't have any movies listed that were made before 1980, you have to expand your horizons. Star Wars doesn't count.
Denn1s
Denn1s - 9/22/2010, 8:46 AM
star warzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
jbak368
jbak368 - 9/22/2010, 9:47 AM
@Mass I noticed that too. It's like movies didn't exist before Lucas and Spielberg. Well I hate to break it to you kiddos, but the special effects in 2001 whoop the shit out of Star Wars, and it came out ten years earlier.
jbak368
jbak368 - 9/22/2010, 10:04 AM
I guess I thought it'd be clear what I meant since it's 2. on my list.
jbak368
jbak368 - 9/22/2010, 8:33 PM
@Witty - agreed. Both tremendous films.
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