If you want to skip all the banter and get to the point of this post --->

Cheker's post in the Last film you watched topic gave me the idea to this. A topic where you can talk about more movies than just the last one you watched.

I'm a big fan of movies, especially on the big screen. While I do like a certain type of movies, I am also still curious about something I have not seen. The main thing I look for is something that captures me in any way or form, it can be the filming, the story it tells, the acting. I like movies when I find them entertaining in a very broad sense. That can be anything from a comedy I laugh about, a twisted thriller where the suspense has me gripping the armrests of my seat to a drama for a good cry. I do have a preference for some directors or actors, but that does not necessarily mean I like all of their movies.

With all the stuff I watch, there are some movies that I love, that I can watch over and over again and once in a while there is even something brilliant. Of course, there are lousy ones too.

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So this is what I would like to talk about here: Which movies do you like? which movies do you hate? And what is it that makes them so good or bad?

If you are going too much into the story, please warn about spoilers.

I'll go first too with one of my all time favorites: It's a wonderful life

The most perfect kitsch movie of them all. It makes me cry every time I watch and I do not get tired of it. Love the story, it is sweet and beautiful and has the right amount of comic and tragic elements. The acting and filming is nice too.
Strong message there about faith and hope and love and friendship. a good movie to watch when I'd down and out and feel I'm not important. I am not religious, but I can still find comfort in the idea of a guardian angel watching over me.

Spoiler: favorite scenes (if you highlight he text, you can read)
1. makes me laugh: after the school dance when George and Mary are on their way home in clothes too big for them to wear and throw stones at he windows of the old house to make a wish. George keeps talking and talking, telling Mary he will catch the moon for her, then remarks "Am I talking too much" and some guy, sitting on a balcony yells "Why don't you kiss her instead of talking her to death?"
2. makes me cry: George's wish that he had never been born has been granted, but he does not believe it. He is going to "Baily Park" with Clarence, wanting to prove that things are as he remembers them and "Pottersville" is just a bad dream. Then he fnds his brother grave and Calrence tells him his brother drowned because he was not there to save him.

redbossfan, thanks for your attention.

May I start with the list of my favourites?

1. Pirates of the Carribean - the trilogy. I can name this trilogy the greatest franchise in the history. Even better that the Star Wars. It always charges me with good mood, energy and joy.

2. A Walk to Remember. The best melodrama I've ever watched. It begins like a typical and uninteresting teen comedy. But the closer to the end, the more we understand that this film is actually the greatest peace of art. And I always cry my eyes out when I see this movie.

3. 1408. It's the greatest thriller I've ever seen. For more details see the thread "Last film you watched":)

4. Batman Begins. Forget the Barton's light Batman with penguins and catwomen and Schumacher's childish last films. This is somtehing completely new. Gotham is now a dark and dismal gothic city, and it's much more like our real cities. Christian Bale is a genious actor, seriously. We believe him without any hesitation. And the film is very spectacular, dark and full of philosophical phrases. A must-see.

5. Casino Royale. I don't like James Bond films as they are too childish, joyful and protracted. But this is actually a new sight on this frahchise. Bond is now a gloomy noir character and the film is rather gloomy too. The film is full of magnificent action and interesting dialogs. Many people say that Craig is not a real James Bond. I can tell you that Daniel Craig is actually the BEST James Bond ever.

6. Mission Impossible 3. This is an amazing action-movie. Honestly, it's one of the best actions that I've seen withing last years.

7. Face/off. I know it's rather old, but it's so beautiful and impressive that you can believe that it's the movie that was filmed very recently. And it's a rather good drama too.

8. The Prestige. It's the perfect drama and not boring at all. It's not like all that tiresome dramas like Babel, which I can't stand. It's very interesting and dynamic. And the acting is great too. Here are the two greatest actors of today: Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, and they really rock.

9. Van Helsing. I like it for the good acting, lots of humour, impressive action and excellent ending (yeah, I like such endings:))

10. Transformers. Maybe it's a bit childish and the plot is too dull, but when you see the giant robot evading a rocket with the cat's grace, you forget all the drawbacks of this fantastic movie.

Oh, there's too many movies that I like

Well, Star Wars of course. I think people bash it too much -it's a kids movie in the end, Lucas himself has said that. And for me -well, it makes me forget this world and believe in a world where good can triumph and things are not always what they seem. But then again I'm a huge fan so don't believe my opinion

Then there's my other great love, Tim Burton. His movies always make me happy to be me, appriciate the fact that I'll never fit in to the normal They are not dark and melancholy as some may say (except Sweeney Todd of course, that's pretty darn dark), but they always have a happy ending. Big Fish is one of the greatest movies ever made.

The third and final "film series" -fangirlism goes to Hayo Miyazaki. Again, a set of films that just make me happy and make me believe that there actually is some good left in this world.

When it comes to individual movies my favorites include
Tales from the EartSea (fabulous, especially the music),
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (like a perfect cup of tea ),
Amelie (you're daft if you don't like this movie),
Dragonheart (the greatest dragon-movie ever made),
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (awesome humor),
The Indiana Jones -movies (duh, I always love good adventures ),
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Pirates! Ships! Adventure! Did I mention pirates?) and
Gladiator (Action with a decent plot. And one hell of a main theme ).

Right, my least favorites.....I don't have a habit of watching bad movies, but the worst ones I've seen have to be The Red Planet, Bats and Doom

I don't like The Lord of the Rings -trilogy. It's overrated by a mile, only the first movie was worth my night of sleep. Granted, my hatred towards it could be because it killed my precious book. I should watch the movies again now that I'm no longer a Tolkien fanatic, but I highly doubt that I'd like the last two. The first one was a good movie though.

Another highly overrated trilogy is The Matrix trilogy. The first one was never as mindblowing for me as everyone else saw it, but hey, of course it means there's just something wrong with me And the last two, especially the 3rd fillm....All flash, no substance.

I never liked Titanic. I was bored to death until the ship sank, and after that I just wanted Leo to sink already.
Never liked Independence Day either, I had trouble with staying awake when I saw it.
The last two Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Mostly because the first one is so fabulous, one of the best movies of this century, and these two just ruin it.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. I never got what was so great about this film. I still don't. It doesn't look that good, the plot certainly isn't from the best end of the scale, and it just gives me no feeling what so ever. Annoys the hell out me.

That was probably too much already

SAW I-IV brutal but twisted, not just plain killing, but a real story behind it, great characters, the location is just perfect, and its something that makes everyone think "ok what would i do if i would be in that trap?" the cherish your life story too it just rocks

Room 1408 starts of pretty stereotypish but turns out to be a real masterpiece. the story always twists and you never know what happens next, even if you think so, the storyline spikes your guns and everything turns out differently.

Shrooms pretty plaine storyline, teenagers travel to england to try magic mushrooms for the first time. the storyline becomes and insane game with a damn surpising end.

POTC 1-3 of course. need a reason? captain jack sparrow

Untraceable pretty brutal eman movie with a certain critism to web streams. but also hos sick people can be in their heads. actors are not that great, but storyline balances it.

Wow, this is really getting interesting

Cheker, I've seen only three on your list and one of them I down't like. I did think Face/off was entertaining and I like Batman begins best of the Batman movies I've seen.

Darkness_of_Heart, I completely agree with you on Burton. He is one of my favorite directors and Big Fish is high on my list. I have missed Sweeney Todd, since I wanted to see it in English and not translated. Will have to rent it when it's out.

I think I need to update my top ten list or make oit a top 20 - there are so many movies I really like. Will post about them in a bit.

Movies I did not like:
Titanic: it was totally boring and it made me laugh. I never understood what was supposed to be so good about it.
Boyguard: no clue why I even watched that. Boring, streotypical story, and really bad acting.
The English Patient: I do like Juliette Binoche, but this movie did not work for me at all. Bored me to tears. Way overrated in my opinion.

Gotta go now, off to the movies

It's is being shown in cinemas is our counry (Russia) without translation but with subtitles. I've seen it and I'l tell you that it is very good. Although Depp is not so good at singing, he's a brilliant actor. So are Helena Bonham Carter and, of course, Alan Rickman. The music is good and memorable. The best thing in this movie is the atmoshere. It's dark, gothic London, dismal bakery dungeon, the grim Todd's room where he kills clients, and all of this is generously poured with blood sauce. And this film has a truly Shakespeare ending. Watch it by all means.

Agreed:)

Godfather Trilogy.......i love the cast in this movie...Al Pacino is gr8!!

i love Sweeney Todd, and Johnny makes a good singer didnt excpect him to be that good, cuz in previous interviews he said hes a lousy singer. but i really likes it. the only think that i didnt like was helen bonham carter, i simply dont like her whole style, the way she acts, i could think of better actresses for that role, but well, tim burton just likes to have his wife in his movies *rollseyes*

hey she was banging the director

Here in Dortmund it is hard to get to see any movie in the original language They showed it at a small movie theater in Bochum (a town nearby), but only for a week and I was visiting my parents then. Oh well.

yeah only the little theatres that also show some of those low budget movies show the original movies. but its hard to find those

OK, now for my likes list:

I love music movies, anything from fictious stories like 8 mile, Once or The Banger Sisters to documentaries like Wim Wender's Viel Passiert or Standing in the Shadows of Motown and biopics like Ray, Walk the Line or I'm not there.

Two favorites in this category are
- Almost famous: The music movie for me. Good story, great soundtrack, well filmed and acted. And the best qoute in any movie ever: "They don't know what it's like to be a fan. They don't know what it feels like to love some silly little piece of musicor some band so much that it hurts." I can certainly relate to that.
- Control: great, strong visual language, Anton Corbijns very recognizable style that I like a lot. Brilliant actors too, especially Sam Riley. I never knew much about Joy Division, but they certainly came alive from these pictures.

Aside from Tim Burton, I really like Jim Jarmush as a director. Interesting visual language, usually weird, but amusing stories with cool characters.

Other favorites (in no particular order)

- Disney's Jungle Book: Seen it first when I was 7 years old and countless times since. I like the old animated movies where you can see the work of the hands of many people who actually drew every single picture. The story still makes me smile today, love the characters.

- Highlander: the original first one of course. Adventure, fights, great landscape, living forever, love - it's all there. Just a movie I can watch over and over again.

- Cinema Paradiso: A movie that captures the love for movies and cinema. The beautiful story is told quietly, but has left a deep impression on me. Just lovely. Favorite quote: "Life isn't like in the movies. Life... is much harder. "

- 12 Monkeys: even though I know how it ends, the movie still gets me. Dark, depressing world, fighting an impossible fight. Some nice twists there too. Terry Gilliam has directed some interesting films.

- Clerks: as someone who has lived in a medium sized city in the US once and knows a small mini market, I can believe this is not so far from the truth. Brilliantly funny. Best one of Kevin Smith's New Jersey movies, but I like Chasing Amy and Dogma as well.

- The unbearable lightness of being: I loved the book and I love the movie as well. Wonderful Juliette Binoche and the also great Lena Olin as well as Daniel Day-Lewis. Some great acting, just the right amount of drama.

- Dead Poets Society: I don't know how many times I have watched this one. Loved it when I was 17 because I could relate to one of the characters, still love it now because it is such a well told story. Good acting, nice soundtrack and such a great ending.

- The usual suspects: Great actors and great twists - does not get boring, even though I know the story.

- Nach fünf im Urwald: A German coming of age movie I like a lot. Funny, but intelligent. Feel good movie.

- Garden State: I just like it, cannot explain right now why, need to watch it again.

...I'll stop here for now...

Overrated:

- Little Miss Sunshine: It was OK, but not as great as people told me it was supposed to be
- Pirates of the Caribbean: I know, everyone loves it, but it just did not work for me at all. I thought the story was lame and the acting wasn't even that good. Never bothered to see more than the first one.
- Shallow Grave: People told me it was hilarious. I didn't smile, not once. Just didn't like it.
- Blair Witch Project: I thought it would scare the crap out of me after everything I heard. Watched it on TV and got so bored. With the shaky camera I could never recognized the things that were supposed to be so scary. Yawn!

You live in Hamburg, should not be hard for you. Or is the Grindel closed already? Well, the Abaton should still be there or the Zeise.
I admit it was easier when the one on Steindamm was still there - what was it called? Cinema?

grindel will be closed soon, and well the movies are shown there like a week or 2 and the theatres are not that nice XD its a bit too old fashioned for me soemtimes, i'm really into that stylish cyberlike metal glass monster XD

lol, I really like old movie theaters. and I do not like the glass and metal monsters. You are right though, the movies are never shown for long.

i need stylish theatres the grindel for example was too old fashioned for me already. i dunno its the whole athmosphere that i dont like.

You know, I didn't like the first movie so much. I fell in love with this trilogy only after wathing of the second one. So my advice to you is: watch the second and the third parts, and you'll change your opinion.

exactly, from part two on the real adventure begins, the first part was just too much that whole love thing between will and elisabeth but from part two on the action starst, plenty of new characters and stories.

*shudders at the thought of even going there*
well, maybe if I catch them on TV

Someone thinks BWP is scary?

Well, I know I'm against the majority with this, but the 2nd Pirates was just a pointless run from A to B to C to G to Z. Sure, the new characters were good, but the movie doesn't focus on them enough, they just want to show more Jack Sparrow. And also, the way they handled the old characters.....I don't dare to say more since it could be considered spoiling. Really just a rushed movie so they can make a trilogy.

Part 3 was too long. Take an hour off, and it would've been a good movie, now they keep with the whole running from one place to another -thing going on.

Why on earth all movies have to be a part of a trilogy nowadays? What happened to writers and directors who actually worked with the story so it would work fabulously in 2 hours, instead of making us sit through 3 movies which all last at least 2 hours?

money. if one movie made lots a cash they simply aim on jumping on that train and make even more money with 'the same story' cuz it worked in the first one. just look at SAW or Final Destination or POTC. part one went fabulous. millions of viusitors saw them, so writers and producers try to continue with the movie.

I know. It's just so sad. Sure, we get great animations these days, and drama, but no decent, one part adventure film in years. I like good adventures

thats just how it works now a days. people focus more on making money than on the final result. just the money they can make with it. and i dont think that will change anymore. big parts of the entertainment business is like that, focused on money, and nothing else.

True, so very true. Well, at least I can feel like an old woman when I go on and on how "things were so much better when I was young"

hahahah yeah. its just in the last years there was a huge change in the film business. th focus is on making money now, and mostly with horror movies which spring up more and more lately.

I've noticed. I don't really care for horror movies (most of them are just too bad), but they are hard to miss when every other movie coming out is a horror movie.

so true what you are saying about the moviebusiness out to make money. esepcially Hollywood has given us loads of crap recently. I find that the older I get the more I prefer movies from europe and small independent productions. Of course it is harder to find them here, but many blockbusters bore me.

The Trilogies don't work very often. Maybe if the movie was planned as a trilogy to begin with it does, but otherwise. ..
Example: I loved the first Matix, the scond one sucked, didn't even bother with the third.

yeah theres a huge difference between those "plnanned" trilogies, that are written, with the thought in mind to split it into 3 pieces. but those wherewriters just add stuff and even more stuff to make as much movies as possible of it just suck big time.

same as with most Tv series - they just make season after season until it turns so bad nobody wants to watch it any more.
Usually they manage to carry the story for 3, maybe 4 seasons and then everything just goes downhill.