Your 5 favourite movies... and why?

OK, they don't have to strictly be your five favourite. It's tough to pick five. But pick five movies you really, really like. And - here's the hard part - tell us why you picked them. Bonus: add trailers if you can!

Here's my list. It was tough, and there were many more I could have chosen. Probably tomorrow I'd choose a different list, but this is what I chose today. I can't help but notice that my top list is all 1970s/1980s movies; I'm not sure why that is, but it's not deliberate.

Ghostbusters - this movie is so re-watchable all these years later. I first saw it as a kid, and it has since been one of my yardstick's for action/comedy entertainment. The leads are charismatic, the soundtrack complements to movie perfectly, and it hits exactly the right sweet spot for me between comedy and horror.

[video=youtube;cyRqR56aCKc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyRqR56aCKc[/video]

Superman the Movie - this is how a superhero movie should be made. Sure, it's dated a bit - but it's still very watchable. And sure, the ending is weak. And, yeah, the baddies are played too much for laughs. But Reeve's interpretation of Superman is an excellent one, I still maintain the theme tune edges out Star Wars as the best ever made,

[video=youtube;twyYIPhSa3U]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twyYIPhSa3U[/video]

Goodfellas - I do love a good gangster flick, and Goodfellas is up there with the best of them. De Niro, Pesci, Liotta. This movie just does it perfectly, with pitch perfect performances. A masterpiece of cinema.

[video=youtube;YH-7he92XfI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH-7he92XfI[/video]

Rocky - the ultimate underdog feelgood movie, in my opinion. Stallone manages to be incredibly likeable, and every time I watch it I'm still on the edge of my seat not sure if it'll turn out differently at the end...

[video=youtube;cWoE0KqUznQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWoE0KqUznQ[/video]

Aliens - the second in the series is the best, IMO. It's very different to the first - less a thriller, more an action movie. Weaver's performance is outstanding, and the supporting cast are truly excellent. Everything from the sets to the costumes is just right.

[video=youtube;XKSQmYUaIyE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKSQmYUaIyE[/video]

Damn it. I can't help it' gotta add a sixth.

Die Hard - the quintessential action movie. Often mimicked, never bettered. Shame the last couple were so awful. Rickman's villain is a masterclass in bad-guy acting; Willis is likeable; the movie captures the claustrophobia and desperation of the situation and bravely isn't tempted to take the action elsewhere and dilute that atmosphere.

[video=youtube;-qxBXm7ZUTM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qxBXm7ZUTM[/video]

Five is real tough. Very hard to narrow down my list but I will give it a try. This list could change depending on the day of the week.

1) Goodfellas: i agree with morrus on this one. This isnt just my favorite mafia movie, it's my favorite film ever. The street level view of mafia associates just works for me. I can't watch it enough times.

2) Rosemary's Baby: This is probably my top horror movie. Very effective, with very little action.

3) Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: There are a ton of excellent wuxia movies i would like to include on the list, but this one i think is one of the best executed and does a good job of appealing to western audiences as well. The music, the look and feel, the action direction are all excellent
. My second choice was Come Drink With Me, which is also very, very good.

4) Excaliber: The first fantasy film i ever watched. It was a toss up between this and Conan the barbarian. I am not even that into King Arthur, but this is a qualit film.

5) Life of Brian: Just a super funny film, set in Roman Judea.

Just off the top of my head:

Casablanca: Marvellous acting, a story that leaves you guessing to the end, compelling characters. War, crime, passion, cynicism: it's all there.

Carlito's Way: Pacino in one of his best roles, in my opinion, walking the fine line between doing what's right for himself and what his honour tells him to do. Great acting from the supporting actors too: Sean Penn in particular.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Bleak, cynical, funny, great camera work, strong characters, incomparable music score.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy (best of the lot: The Two Towers): The cinematic treatment that the book deserved, and the fantasy movie that we'd been waiting for so long. It exceeded my expectations by miles (I'd watched the Ralph Bakshi movie the day before I saw Fellowship) and simply blew me away.

I can't decide on my fifth choice: it could be any of The Godfather Pt. I, The Empire Strikes Back, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Muriel's Wedding, Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead, Solomon Kane or Rumble Fish.

Hm. OK, here's my list

1. Magnolia: I love PT Anderson's sense of scope and audacity of presentation. Plus the characters and their suffering really affects me on a deep level. Jason Robards' speech near the end reduces me to tears every time.

[video=youtube;zwXDHSrNFbQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwXDHSrNFbQ[/video]

2. Until the End of the World: Similar to Magnolia, I love how Wenders just turns it up to 11 in this movie. It's not perfect by any means, but definitely a great movie. I also love the image of what 2000 would look like from the perspective of 1991. Actually not too terribly far off in some respects.

[video=youtube;zfFWBWKwQT8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfFWBWKwQT8[/video]

3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: The best of the three movies, and the Helm's Deep set piece is really masterfully done. Though watching it again the other night, I was still furiously shouting at Aragorn for choosing Arwin over Eowyn. Eowyn is orders of magnitude hotter.

[video=youtube;Wek5UClasY8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wek5UClasY8[/video]

4. Momento: Amazing mind-screw of a movie. I've watched it multiple times and I'm still not sure I fully understand what happened.

[video=youtube;0vS0E9bBSL0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vS0E9bBSL0[/video]

5. School of Rock: Just because of Jack Black and the totally goofy premise. He'd completely be in jail at the end, not teaching kids!

[video=youtube;XCwy6lW5Ixc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCwy6lW5Ixc[/video]

Man this is really tough, i make it easier with no order in no order

John Carpenter's The Thing
I hate Horror Movies, I don't like being scared and such. But this Movie? I love it. The practical effect are just awesome, much better than every CGI that films nowadays use.

Star Wars (the old trilogy)
Probably the most often viewed films for me. Back when I was a kid, basically every weekend one of the three films ended up running in the VCR. It's just an awesome Fantasy Story but with SPACE SHIPS and Laserswords.

Die Hard
An awesome Action film and the best Christmas movie out there.

Big trouble in little China
The film is just brilliant. Following Jack Burned, who thinks he is the Main Protagonist in this film, even though the plot is about Wang.
John Carpenter strikes again

A 5th film that I would rank as highly as the above doesn't come to my mind

In not paticular order:

1. Naked Lunch. William S. Burroughs's trippy, to say the least, world seen through the eyes of a young David Cronenberg. It is the kind of movie that you can't stop trying to make sense of and very enjoyable on acid.

[video=youtube;dtflS5wCbjw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtflS5wCbjw[/video]

2. Terminator 2. Probably the best science-fiction film ever made so far. Amazing that Cameron did it.

[video=youtube;oL1RE8JXaIw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL1RE8JXaIw[/video]

3. Pulp Fiction. Great dialogues, great scenes, great musique, actors perfect in their roles, full of refences and too cool for school, honey bunny.

[video=youtube;wZBfmBvvotE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZBfmBvvotE[/video]

4. Play it again, Sam. Funniest romantic comedy ever. Allen is actually funny in this role (maybe cause he ain't directing?). Lighter and not as finished as Crimes and Misdemeanors, but very much a date movie.

[video=youtube;Dl_DBzrNFzc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl_DBzrNFzc[/video]

5. Suzhou River. Bleak romance between a mermaid and a delivery boy in a China i transformation. Superb esthetics, worth watching when you feel suicidale.

[video=youtube;jj8xHIPOW60]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jj8xHIPOW60[/video]

6. A Serbian Film. Best horror flick to date. Watch if you dare, pussy.

[video=youtube;ddwrbcMmzlc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddwrbcMmzlc[/video]

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life: funniest, craziest movie I ever saw. I could recite it by heart in my teens.
Ninth Gate: I love books as objects, and I entertain the idea that a book exists somewhere that will change my life.
Barton Fink: I love John Turturro and the Coen brothers. Plus this is a movie about writing.
Lord of the Rings: The first one was so awe-inspiring that I was choked up with emotion during the opening scene.
Baseketball: So insanely stupid and funny.

AR

[double-post]

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark – Action, action and more action. Just a great character, good story and it hit at the right time. It made you want to be Indy and it showed me how to tell a better story.
2. Arsenic and Old Lace - Classic movie, lots of fun lines, crazy characters and a great deal going on in the story, it is just a fun movie.
3. Harvey – A six foot rabbit and Jimmy Stewart! Always saw this movie as a way to view the world and how the world may view you. Lots of thoughtful lines.
4. Big Trouble in Little China – I wish I knew why I liked this movie so much. I think it is the casting and interaction of the characters.
5. Love Actually - Okay, I have a soft spot for this movie. It makes me feel good and that is why I like it.

Double Post