To this end, I solicited the feedback of various individuals (aka Mike, Freda, and Amy, over a cup of coffee/yoghurt and berries for Freda on a Friday evening) who have compiled a list of movies, including cult classics, epics, action films, dramas, romantic comedies, and must-see's, along with a token Bollywood (courtesy of Freda) and anime (courtesy of Amy and Mike). Some are - arguably - terrible movies (ie: the Titanic) but have earned the distinction of being labelled cult classics through exemplary box office ratings. Others may be unheard of, but come highly recommended.
So... the Question: Which titles should be vetoed? Which titles should be added? Comments?
Benny's Movie List (I have chosen to accept Benny as a term of endearment) contains sixty or so titles, a few of which I have seen, most of which I have not. In no particular order (excepting the first, which is almost always the first named by every person who has ever heard of my new leisurely mission):
Shawshank Redemption
Braveheart
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The Holiday
Anchorman
Hot Rod
Austin Powers
Inception
Devdas (Bollywood)
The Usual Suspects
FightclubThe Godfather
O Brother, Where Art Thou
Snatch
The Titanic
Tristan and Isolde
Nausicaa of the Wind Valley (anime)
Last of the Mohicans
Indiana Jones (first 3)
James Bond: Recent Two + GoldenEye
Eagle Eye
E.T.
Schindler's List
War of the Worlds
American Beauty
The Departed
Departures (Japanese)
Anna and the King
The Dark Knight
Toy Story 3 (CG movie)
How to Train Your Dragon (CG movie)
The Professional (a.k.a. Leon)
The Pianist
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Prestige
V for Vendetta
Slumdog Millionaire
Water
Heat
Donnie Darko
Platoon
Babel
Terminator 2
Trainspotting
There will be blood
Children of MenKill Bill
Resident Evil (1st one only)
Star Trek
Get Smart
The Nightmare Before Christmas (claymation)
The Neverending Story
Robin Hood (starring Kevin Costner)
Interview with the Vampire
The Green Mile
Legends of the Fall
The Game (Michael Douglas)
The Fifth Element
Total RecallIron Man
Chronicles of Riddick
Taken
The Hunt for Red October
Independence Day
Cloverfield
American History X
City of God
Next week... we're moving on to musicians.
9 comments:
Wow. That's a lot of movies ... I've seen 15 off that list and there are MAYBE five others that I'm interested in eventually seeing (but not interested enough to actually good out and find). You should add Bridget Jones' Diary (only the first movie, not the sequel), the 1994 BBC version of Pride & Prejudice (all five hours of it) and Love Actually, if you're talking pop culture. They're girly movies.
Are you seriously going to watch them all? It doesn't sound fun to me, probably because your list is heavily on the action movies and genres that just don't appeal to me end of the spectrum. I'm very picky. (Which isn't the same as saying I have good taste.)
Fortunately, I have a preference for action movies/historical dramas, so a good number of them appeal to me. Love Actually... all my Korean friends insisted that I see it. Really should. As for Pride and Prejudice... do you have it? Bridget Jones - have seen. :)
No intention of seeing them all. You're right. I would have no life.
You should definitely see Shawshank. And The Hunt for Red October. Those are 2 of my all time favourites. If you desire to watch either of them with a friend...my couch is waiting for you!
You should add to the list...
The Ghost and the Darkness
Office Space (this one is from Ambrose)
French Kiss
Finding Forrester
The Sound of Music
Fiddler on the Roof
What About Bob (another one from Ambrose)
Dodgeball (again...Ambrose)
Zoolander (this is what Ambrose calls 'an absolute must)
I would disagree with seeing The Green Mile. Read the book, it is 100 times better.
Done..
X The Ghost and the Darkness
X Office Space
X Finding Forrester (I agree... so so wonderful)
X Fiddler on the Roof
X The Sound of Music
X What about Bob
X The Green Mile (the book) - I believe I borrowed it from you, in fact!
I do have P&P. You can come watch it next time you're in nowheresville. (Or borrow it.) I agree with the additions of Zoolander and Office Space especially. Zoolander is best watched with Leanne Janzen and the Stokker girls, though, I must say.
I have a few opinions about the list...
who is benny? i feel as though i should have a sit down with this benny and have a talk about what "pop culture" means. and one of thing that it means is that...not every movie that was produced with a big celeb name makes it pop culture...and sequels should seldom EVER make it to lists unless they cause a redirection in the plot/character line.
i vote to REMOVE cloverfield, war of the worlds, tristan and isolde, dragon, and eagle eye, Chronicles of Riddick (for starters...there are more that would be on the chopping block if i had my way...no use in seeing movies that will only make you mourn the loss of time better spent watching something else). reasons: LISTEN to war of the worlds to get what it's actually about. it was a radio program that caused panic in the public because some people actually BELIEVED that it happened. please please PLEASE don't watch Tom Cruise play a moron.
Tristan and Isolde - you can find many many other tragedies that follow the Romeo and Juliet storyline. In fact, if you really need a replacement for this one - watch Romeo + Juliet (DiCaprio) as the screenplay is much much better.
Eagle Eye...really? Do you need to watch a movie about an AI Computer that is trying to take over the world? Watch iRobot with Will Smith instead if you're set on it (atleast there's Will Smith...the quality of films are about the same).
Cloverfield? Just watch Godzilla if you really want to see giant lizard-like aliens. it's much more entertaining and you won't get motion sickness. or watch The Blairwitch Project if you really want the first person film style. They're both barf anyways.
Add:
*Crash
*Amelie (foreign)
*Pitch Black (instead of Chronicles of Riddick...this is the original Riddick...the one you should be familiar with - the one that existed before hollywood got their paws on the storyline)
****To End All Wars (Kiefer Sutherland)
*Robin Hood (technically a prequel - Russell Crowe...it's a different spin on the movie and will take you on a different journey than Kevin Costner's Prince of Thieves - also worth watching)
I have more...but I feel like your list is overwhelming enough. I would say that you need to watch atleast one James Bond movie from each actor that played Bond...that way - you can participate in any conversation that happens surrounding the Legend.
Let me know when you start on the downhill part of it.
.:bear:.
...oh
i forgot to add a couple movies (really, this is a terrible subject to get a few of us started on)...
Matt Damon did some good work too. And there's not much representation on your list of him. here's some must watches:
*The Brothers Grim
*Saving Private Ryan
*Good Will Hunting
And I would have to add No Country for Old Men. It's an intense movie with NO music in it. very very different than a lot of movies on your list for a lot of reasons.
k...i'm done. for now.
FYI, the place where the guy is trying to get to in the "Shawshank Redemption" is the place that I lived for two years in mexico... :)
Love, C
ah... no movie list would be complete without bear's input. I was waiting for that...
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