Top 5 Movies

[AustinIllini]

Blade Runner
The Godfather
Pulp Fiction
The Shawshank Redemption
North by Northwest

North by Northwest might make my top 5. I first saw this movie as a kid and it was and retains my devotion. An amazing adventure. In the movie thread a short time ago, I posted some pics of the sets they built to represent descending over the face of Mt Rushmore. And I loved that house which was a mat painting.

Every element of North by Northwest is spectacular. The Hermann score is just ridiculously good.

This intro was from 1959

 

[rdowns]

Many of mine have been mentioned but I'll add my sleeper, Glengarry Glen Ross. Amazing cast, writing and acting.

 

[c8rlo]

in no particular order:

Dune
Big Trouble In Little China
The Crow
The Last Dragon
The Golden Child

 

[filmbufs]

in no particular order:

Dune
Big Trouble In Little China
The Crow
The Last Dragon
The Golden Child

Interesting choices. I've never seen Dune on any Best Of lists.

 

[c8rlo]

yeah, it's not for everyone; haha!!! most of my friends were totally confused with it...

 

[Savor]

Reading sites about overrated movies and overrated directors. I believe ANY movie or person who gets praised enough or is popular can be considered "overrated."

My so-called overrated fav films -

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
- Dubbed by a few as an Escape From Alcatraz bromance movie. Too melodramatic. Doesn't belong #1 on IMDb but then what other films should rank higher? They all have flaws. The Godfather is just as heavy handed, takes much longer to go from point A to point B, and why should we sympathize with murderers if they die or lose someone like Sonny? And every entry ends on a downer. I'd rather root for Andy as Jesus Christ and The Count of Monte Cristo than Vito or Michael Corleone. And read about anti-Schindler's List sentiments from actual Jews. More spectacle than a history lesson.

Goodfellas (1990)
- Glorifies the mob. Holds no real emotional weight for any of the characters including when Tommy the show-stealer got capped.

Pulp Fiction (1994)
- A story really about nothing. The Seinfeld of gangster movies and nihilism. Tarantino rips off other people. Is trying to be a redemption film but like Goodfellas, holds no emotional weight for any of the cast.


I read them all. Everything from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Gone With The Wind, and a popular choice - Avatar. Put any popular or highly reviewed movie + overrated, Google it, and you will find tons of comments about classic movies that people didn't like. Not one film can ever please everyone, fulfill their expectations, or fit their criteria as a great film.


Overrated films I still enjoy -

The Dark Knight (2008)
- The entire TDK trilogy is overrated just like Inception and Interstellar. People over praised Heath's performance because he died when the Joker is supposed to be like that and was no better than Cesar or Jack's Joker. The entire production design is awful compared to Tim Burton's. Gotham is really Chicago or NYC. Christian Bale is supposed to be the world's greatest detective and he is an idiot with alot of money and an annoying Batman voice. The most overrated is TDK Rises but I didn't like Batman Begins either. TDK is my fav but is overrated at #4 on IMDb when it is an 8/10 film at best. Replay value on it is horrendous too. Most overrated director = Chris Nolan.

Forrest Gump (1994)
- The undeserving best picture winner, I don't need to go on a tirade with it again because the cast isn't likeable, too melodramatic, and the luck = success message is terrible. During recent times, it gets bashed just as much as Titanic and Avatar. I still like it though. Just not really in my Top 10's.

The Avengers (2012)
- Yes, it is overrated. No real emotional weight and a bit shallow. I think if the Avengers is like Star Wars, X-Men is more like Star Trek. But it is still my #2 fav MCU film behind Winter Soldier.

The Green Mile (1999)
- If Shawshank is melodramatic, this was even more like that...

Gladiator

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Lost In Translation

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

Inglourious Basterds

Django Unchained

- Majority of Tarantino and even the Coen Brothers films can be overrated.

Star Wars

The Matrix

Casablanca
- A glorified chick flick to some although I still enjoyed it. My fav B&W is Some Like It Hot.

Mad Max: Fury
- Best Mad Max film to me after watching the Gibson ones but it shouldn't be rated that high.

Guardians of the Galaxy
- I preferred X-Men: Days of Future Past and the recent Planet of the Apes over this one. But still pretty good. But not THAT GOOD.

Overrated films I did NOT enjoy much -
No Country For Old Men
Citizen Kane
Interstellar
Batman Begins
The Dark Knight Rises
Inception
Fight Club - I hate it, period
Avatar
Apocalypse Now
The Departed
The Exorcist
Se7en
Easy Rider
Network
Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2
Mean Streets
Midnight Cowboy
Taxi Driver (over the years, I disliked it more)
TLotR: Fellowship.. I prefer TTT more.
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Big Trouble In Little China (used to be fun)
City Of God
Requiem For A Dream
Slumdog Millionaire
Dances With Wolves
E.T. Extra Terrestrial
A Clockwork Orange
The Artist
American Beauty
Crash
The Hurt Locker
Majority of best picture winners

I can't say Twilight or Michael Bay films because they are not rated high anyway.

Underrated films I've enjoyed -

Let It Ride (1989)
- This little gem might be a better film than Forrest Gump if luck = success. I guarantee the cast is much better. It is a horse racing movie, so it has a niche appeal.

True Romance (1993)
- Tarantino's first script might be the best one and on par with Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction or even better. It has a story and holds some emotional weight. The supporting roles outshine the 90's Bonnie & Clyde here. Coolest performance ever by Gary Oldman.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
- One of the most unique 80's teen flicks ever. It is also educational and fun all the way through. Like Bozo the Clown teaching you world history. I despised Bogus Journey except when William Sadler was on-screen.

The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
- Study Michael Caine's performance and mannerism. That's suave.

Godzilla (2014)
- First time I saw it in the theater, very disappointed. But after a few times at home, it really is the most realistic Godzilla movie ever compared to the Japanese ones with the rubbersuits and the terrible 1998 one.

Dumb & Dumber To (2014)
- As funny as part 1. Need to rewatch it more to see it. So many hilarious quotes that don't get heard after one viewing. Like Godzilla, didn't like it much after one sitting. This will get appreciated more once it is on cable channels alot more. The girl adds more humor here.

Not overrated or underrated. Rated fine -

The Godfather Trilogy
- Although some might find it boring or like Seth MacFarlane says - It insist itself. But there aren't many better films than this even if some may call them overrated. Part III might actually be UNDERRATED. Some sympathy for Michael when you really don't care for him in I & II.

Casino
- It might be considered underrated sometimes. I find it slightly superior than both Goodfellas and Pulp Fiction with some brilliant acting and emotional weight that the other two lacked. Sharon Stone kills it.

Back To The Future
- I prefer Part II over Part I.

Indiana Jones
- I prefer the last three over Raiders.

Kingpin
- Might be the best Farrelly brothers film over DD and Mary with the most heart and story.

12 Angry Men


Possible movies that might make among my Top 10 but haven't seen yet -

Once Upon A Time In America (229 min)
Apocalypto


Great films can be judged by one viewing.

Favorite films may get judged by multiple viewings.

 

[Huntn]

For inclusion into my ever expanding Top 5 List:

Aliens- Incredible, stupendous, suspenseful action, death defying for a few, for a while!

Adult language in clip​

Calmly: I'm Hudson, he's Hicks...
Happy Kinda: Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen! Found'm.
Panicky: Game Over man, game over!! What are we going to do?
Burke: Build a fire, sing some songs...
------------------------
Ripley: Did IQs just drop sharply while I was away?
------------------------
Hudson: Hey Vasquez, have you ever been mistaken for a man?
Vasquez: No. Have you?

-----------------------
Ripley: How long after we're declared overdue can we expect a rescue?
Hicks: [pause] Seventeen days.
Hudson: Seventeen *days?* Hey man, I don't wanna rain on your parade, but we're not gonna last seventeen *hours!* Those things are gonna come in here just like they did before. And they're gonna come in here...
Ripley: Hudson!
Hudson: ...and they're gonna come in here AND THEY'RE GONNA GET US!
Ripley: Hudson! This little girl survived longer than that with no weapons and no training.
[to Newt]
Ripley: Right?
[Newt apes a salute]
Hudson: Why don't you put her in charge?
Ripley: You better just start dealing with it, Hudson! Listen to me! Hudson, just deal with it, because we need you and I'm sick of your ********.
---------------------

Ripley: You know, Burke, I don't know which species is worse. You don't see them ****ing each other over for a goddamn percentage.

 

[0098386]

For inclusion into my ever expanding Top 5 List:

Aliens- Incredible, stupendous, suspenseful action, death defying for a few, for a while!

Yes! Used to love it more as a kid. That, along with Terminator 2 were films I could happily watch on loop. As I'm getting on I'm starting to prefer Alien to Aliens, but I'm seeing the good bits of the other Alien films too.

 

[Huntn]

Yes! Used to love it more as a kid. That, along with Terminator 2 were films I could happily watch on loop. As I'm getting on I'm starting to prefer Alien to Aliens, but I'm seeing the good bits of the other Alien films too.

After Aliens, and the original Ar-nold Predator film, these related franchises fell on their swords.

I remember in the original Alien yelling Stay out of those damn ducts!! Of course they/we did not know it had grown 1000% in a matter of hours, but that still did not make much sense...

For Aliens the only good thing about the enhanced version is the inclusion of the auto-sentry gun sequence. Every other edition is worthless and diminishing to the original tight editing, including showing how the family finds the aliens, complete destruction of the mystery in the original release of when they circle the facility wondering where everyone is, the audience not knowing.

 

[0098386]

After Aliens, and the original Ar-nold Predator film, these related franchises fell on their swords.

3 is my least favourite but there are parts I like in Resurrection. Notably that nightmarish hybrid at the end, still the scariest part of any of the films for me.

 

[Mousse]

Yes! Used to love it more as a kid. That, along with Terminator 2 were films I could happily watch on loop.

There is one movie I never get tired of no matter how many times I watch it: Mel Brook's History of the World, Part 1. Even after dozens of viewing and knowing all the jokes, it's still funny.

 

[filmbufs]

Alien is a marvelous film. And the best of the franchise. Ridley Scott created an atmosphere, a mood and a suspense in that film, something this is incredibly hard to achieve with conviction in movies.

Aliens is more of a roller coaster ride with plenty of action. It's a fine movie for what it is but, for me, pales in comparison to what the first was able to achieve. You can get a sense of the kind of movies people like real quick by talking about this franchise.

 

[Jmona]

Why does it have to be top 5? I can't even come up with a top 20!!!

My top 10

Alien-Aliens (liked the last 2 3 and Resurrection but as standalone films)
Star Wars (second trilogy, technically the first)
Predator
Top Gun
Jurassic Park
LOTR (Trilogy)
Close Encounters OTTK
E.T.


Honorable mentions (sorry I love all of these. So hard to pick which are on my top 10!)

Lawrence of Arabia
The Godfather
Showshank Redemption
Jaws
Rush (that was FANFRIGGINTASTIC!)
A beautiful Mind
Million Dollar Baby
Hotel Rwanda
Platoon
12 years a slave
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Ben Hur
The imitation game
Terminator 1-3
Rocky
Schindlers List
Gone with the wind
Somewhere in Time (Saddest most beautiful time traveling love story ever based on the book Bid Time Return. Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour)
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Shinning
The Wizard of Oz
Rosemary's Baby the original
The Thing
Casablanca
The Goonies (NEVER SAY DIE! Insert nerd here--->)
Meet Joe Black
The Hustler
The Pianist
Fight Club
Forrest Gump
One Flew over the Cuckoos nest
The green mile
Back to the Future
Invictus
Finding Forrester
The hunt for Red October
The Monuments Men
D'jango unchained
Batman (all of Christian Bale's)
Full Metal Jacket
Saving Private Ryan
WindTalkers
Letters from Iwo Jima
Nosferatu
The Exorcist
The Ten Commandments (with Charlton Heston)
Omega Man
Indiana Jones (all minus the last one)
Gran Torino
A fistful of dollars (yeah. I love that old man!)
Blade Runner
Hackers (the one with Angelina Jolie)
Tron (original)
V for Vendetta
I will update this one The Martian is out and if it does justice to the book!
And... I could keep going but I'll stop here.

What do you guys think about Alien 5?
I mean, I've read all the comics since I was little (and have been collecting them since) and I'm excited about the new installment but I've got some reservations. After 3 and 4 I learned not to get my hopes up. I've so much to say being the Alien Nerd I am. I collect Alien Busts, Comics, everything you name it, while my husband collects Predator memorabilia as well.

 

[Huntn]

Alien is a marvelous film. And the best of the franchise. Ridley Scott created an atmosphere, a mood and a suspense in that film, something this is incredibly hard to achieve with conviction in movies.

Aliens is more of a roller coaster ride with plenty of action. It's a fine movie for what it is but, for me, pales in comparison to what the first was able to achieve. You can get a sense of the kind of movies people like real quick by talking about this franchise.

Alien wins for overall incredible atmosphere, cinematography, tension filled haunted house moments. I love them both, but they are very different movies and my impression it's on purpose! Alien is the suspense, Aliens is the payback! They compliment each other quite well for pacing.

Did someone bring a pet snake on board?​

A critter jumped out of Kane's chest and skedaddled off, hmm, nothing to worry about...
Here kitty, kitty.

​

 

[Jmona]

After Aliens, and the original Ar-nold Predator film, these related franchises fell on their swords.

I remember in the original Alien yelling Stay out of those damn ducts!! Of course they/we did not know it had grown 1000% in a matter of hours, but that still made a lot of sense...

For the XX121 Drone, the thing about them is they only have a lifespan of maybe 3 days or so that was the intent for the first movie. In fact throughout Alien you can see the color of the XX121 Drone change gradually from silverfish gray to back towards the end. When Ripley found it before blowing it out of the hatch, it was already dying actually. That's why it was dormant according to an interview with Ron Shusset and Dan O'Bannon.

 

[Huntn]

Why does it have to be top 5? I can't even come up with a top 20!!!

My top 10

Alien-Aliens (liked the last 2 3 and Resurrection but as standalone films)
Star Wars (second trilogy, technically the first)
Predator
Top Gun
Jurassic Park
LOTR (Trilogy)
Close Encounters OTTK
E.T.


Honorable mentions (sorry I love all of these. So hard to pick which are on my top 10!)

Lawrence of Arabia
The Godfather
Showshank Redemption
Jaws
Rush (that was FANFRIGGINTASTIC!)
A beautiful Mind
Million Dollar Baby
Hotel Rwanda
Platoon
12 years a slave
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Ben Hur
The imitation game
Terminator 1-3
Rocky
Schindlers List
Gone with the wind
Somewhere in Time (Saddest most beautiful time traveling love story ever based on the book Bid Time Return. Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour)
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Shinning
The Wizard of Oz
Rosemary's Baby the original
The Thing
Casablanca
The Goonies (NEVER SAY DIE! Insert nerd here--->)
Meet Joe Black
The Hustler
The Pianist
Fight Club
Forrest Gump
One Flew over the Cuckoos nest
The green mile
Back to the Future
Invictus
Finding Forrester
The hunt for Red October
The Monuments Men
D'jango unchained
Batman (all of Christian Bale's)
Full Metal Jacket
Saving Private Ryan
WindTalkers
Letters from Iwo Jima
Nosferatu
The Exorcist
The Ten Commandments (with Charlton Heston)
Omega Man
Indiana Jones (all minus the last one)
Gran Torino
A fistful of dollars (yeah. I love that old man!)
Blade Runner
Hackers (the one with Angelina Jolie)
Tron (original)
V for Vendetta
I will update this one The Martian is out and if it does justice to the book!
And... I could keep going but I'll stop here.

What do you guys think about Alien 5?
I mean, I've read all the comics since I was little (and have been collecting them since) and I'm excited about the new installment but I've got some reservations. After 3 and 4 I learned not to get my hopes up. I've so much to say being the Alien Nerd I am. I collect Alien Busts, Comics, everything you name it, while my husband collects Predator memorabilia as well.

Alien 5 <shivers with fear>, fear of disappointment. It could really suck! Lol.
Someone mentioned MIchael Bay films. I really like The Island, and the first couple of Transformer movies were pretty good!

 

[Huntn]

For the XX121 Drone, the thing about them is they only have a lifespan of maybe 3 days or so that was the intent for the first movie. In fact throughout Alien you can see the color of the XX121 Drone change gradually from silverfish gray to back towards the end. When Ripley found it before blowing it out of the hatch, it was already dying actually. That's why it was dormant according to an interview with Ron Shusset and Dan O'Bannon.

Really? You know more than I do obviously. Is that supposed to be true for all the alien soldiers, 3 day life span? I thought in the escape pod, it was just being sneaky...

 

[Jmona]

Really? You know more than I do obviously. Is that supposed to be true for all the alien soldiers, 3 day life span? I thought in the escape pod, it was just being sneaky...

LOL.

Actually yes and no. It started as a short life span for the Xenomorph that Kane gave birth to.
They are like ants doing their queens bidding. However it is also said that the one Alien on the 1979 movie could've also not just being a Drone but a Palatine because Palatines have the ability to molt in to a Xenomorph Queen when exposed to the queens Royal jelly (we didn't see any of that on Acheron upon the arrival of the crew for inspections of the Derelict ship, and all this is based on when we saw the survivors of the Nostromo after being taken by the creature, in a room in which they had already being impregnated by facehuggers, yet. Who laid those eggs to being with.

(Remember Dallas in the extra deleted scenes asking Ripley to kill him?
That's after he actually had been face raped by a Facehugger. More than likely from the Drone/Palatine.

Others like Warriors, Lurkers, berserkers, Spitters and a bunch of other Xeno-species they have all evolved in to something stronger than the initial Drones. The new ones (i.e. Aliens) with the carved a skull.
They all answer to their queens but even the queens and empresses answer to The Mother Queen that Ripley killed in the comics.

Sorry if this is random. I'm pretty sleepy right now. Blame the meds.

 

[itsOver9000]

lots of Alien talk in here!

1) Aliens
300
Blade
Jurassic Park
Predator

Aliens is my #1, the other 4 could be in any order.