I can't wait for "A Scanner Darkly!" It's my favorite Philip K Dick book, and one that I've wanted to see in film for years.

My favorite movies of all time are "City of Lost Children," which is strange and disturbing French SF (Very funny, though); "BladeRunner," but NOT the director's cut, the original, with the voiceover by Harrison Ford; "The Truman Show," which is still an astonishing movie; and "Raise the Red Lanterns," a beautiful Chinese film by Zhang Yimou, who is my very favorite director. Come to think of it, the next movies on my list would either be by the director of "City of Lost Children," Jean-Pierre Jeunet, or they would be by Yimou. With almost no exceptions, you can't go wrong with either one of them.

For things I've seen this year, I really liked "Elizabethtown," and was surprised...as I normally hate romances. It turned out not to be a romantic comedy after all, though.

I loved March of the Penguins. I passed it by many times because of the documentary label. But it is precious.

Something I saw last week that I really enjoyed but that I can only recommend to people who actually like SouthPark is Team American - World Police. It is twisted. It is an action movie made with marionettes. It is done by the Southpark guys so the humor is over the top.

Amber I thought The Truman Show was a great film too. I haven't seen the other movies you've recommended, a little embarrassed to say I haven't seen Bladerunner because I've heard so many good things about it, but I am going to put them all on my to see list. Lately I've been watching a lot more foreign movies because Hollywood seems to have forgotten how to make a good movie. Also the directors of these films can have different/fresh ideas about how plots unfold and storylines progress.

Joan I haven't seen March of the Penguins yet so I'll be putting it on my to see list also.

Since you brought up Team America, I thought it was real funny, I'll add Orgasmo which is also by the SouthPark guys. Then they have Basketball too which is a satire on sports.

If anybody likes Anime I saw part of a series called Samurai Champloo that has action, but a good bit of humor at the same time. Oh and also if you like Kung Fu comedies there is one called Drunken Master (1978) that is very funny.

The other day there was a list on NPR called All-Time Greatest Teen Flicks that people voted on. It is a so-so list I take exception to some of the entries, but if you are only going to let there be ten then I guess they could have done worse. I saw a list of 164 movies that was better though.

Thanks for the recommendations!

Tim

I've also been doing a lot of foreign movies over the last few years, for similar reasons. I love "Drunken Master!" For Anime, my favs are the Miazaki movies, especially Totoro, mut I also really like the Anime short series "Last Exile." I've heard good things about "Samuri Champolo," but havent' seen it.

Have you seen "Run, Lola Run!" or "Amalie," yet? Both are astonishingly good!

Ok, that's it...you are local and you garden AND like good movies. We have to have a movie night sometime.

Joanm, I'll have to add that to my Netflix.

XMen 3 was great! I watched XMen 2 the night before we went to see it. I wasn't that impressed with 2, but 3 is excellent. Stay after the credits to see an extra scene.

March of the Penguins was great. What amazing creatures!

I love James Bond movies, but only with Sean Connery or Roger Moore, the Godfather movies, especially #2(Fredo, you never go against the family), The Lord of the Rings movies, Star Wars movies, Star Trek movies and the Harry Potter movies, except for the latest one, which I didn't like that much.

But the one movie I could watch over and over again, even though I own it, I still watch it when it's on, is Dirty Dancing!!! Of course, my DH and son run out of the room when it's on.

Oh, and we watch Jaws every time it's on.

Can't wait for the new Superman movie to open.

Julie

I haven't seen either of those yet Amber. Is this the Last Exile your talking about? If so it got a good review on IMDB. Hayao Miyazaki even did some work on StarCraft.

Have you watched Cowboy Bebop Amber? I thought that was a quality anime. Especially with the way the music by The Seatbelts goes with it.

Julie the funniest thing I saw in X2 was when they were in the dam toward the end and Night Crawler was about to go into the hole an bring out the students that had been captured. If you watch when it shows them in there in the scene before he goes down there you can see Night Crawler in the hole already. I haven't seen X3 yet. We have a lot of the same likes in movies though.

How about Roger Moore in The Canonball Run? That was a pretty funny character. I also thought the Sean Connery Jeopardy parody they used to do on SNL was great.

This is exactly why I started this thread to get some great recommendations.

Tim

That's the one, Tim. I can't recomend "Last Exile" enough. The music and are are both very good, the characters are excelent, the story line is engageing. It has a deffinate Miazaki quality to it, though he's not involved in it at all.

And yes, we are "Cowboy Bebop" fans here. Skye even cut a CD of the music, and named her mouse after Ed (Or favorite character.) I think it has the flat out best music in Anime.

I also really love "Green Legend Ran," and "A Wind named Amnesia."

http://imdb.com/title/tt0158644/
http://imdb.com/title/tt0108570/

The Philadelphia Story
Gone with the Wind
Roman Holiday
Charade
Star Wars (ALL!)
Fried Green Tomatoes
The Notebook
Beaches
A River Runs Through It
Braveheart
Pride and Prejudice (A&E and recent version)
Elizabeth
Sense and Sensibility
Emma

That's just a few of my favorites

We watched The World's Fastest Indian last night! It's a true story. I don't think you have to be a motorcyclist to enjoy Burt's story! Anthony Hopkins was just great!
Marion

African Queen, The Untouchables, Eye of the Needle, Grease(irresistable), PeeWee Herman's Big Adventure, A Fish Called Wanda, The Bear, the original Incredible Journey, Babe, Oliver (the musical), Dirty Dancing, Rear Window, The Birds (I like any A. Hitchcock B & White films), Freebee and the Bean, Silverado, Two Mules for Sister Sarah, The Black Stallion, Blood Simple, Something Wild, Body Double, Blue, White, Red, What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, and countless others that I can't think of at the moment.

We watch a good number of excellent foreign films, but I tend to forget the names. The Red Ballon was one that I really liked.

My favorite made for TV movie by far, is Lonesome Dove.. Fabulous! I will never tire of it. I have named many generations of my dogs after characters in the film/book.

Also, the TV movie series "The Stand" was very, very good considering the depth/breadth of the book. Much better than any other Steven King based movie.

Lisa

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I'm one of those weird Americans who never goes to the movies and rarely rents them. But while we were "homeless" from the hurricane, we were able to watch a lot of movies on the Dish in the house we rented.

I found myself watching "50 First Dates" over and over; and actually liked "Fever Pitch"....there's something very adorable about Drew Barrymore.

Hubby and I have all the "road movies" with Hope and Crosby - you might be too young for those. They're kinda dopey anyway, but HE always laughs at them. They're good for when cable goes out.

Other oldies I can think of include American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused (although I think they should've played
Led Zep constantly in that movie).

Plus, you might like The 'Burbs with Tom Hanks and Raising Arizona with Nicolas Cage. And for good clean fun - listening to Mr. Spock try to cuss and watching Scotty speak into a mouse to talk to a computer...Star Trek IV, I think.

For a sci-fi with a little believability, I loved Armageddon. Lots of good actors.

Susie

I'll have to check out these anime movies.

Two other types I thought of that I like, but please don't laugh, Godzilla and beach party movies! I like "mean" Godzilla, not "stupid" Godzilla. I love Frankie & Annette. Everyone goes to the beach and their hair looks great and no one gets a sunburn! Then they all go to the club and dance! That's the life for me!

I love Hope & Crosby and don't forget Crosby and Danny Kaye in White Christmas - the best things happen while you're dancing!!!

Julie

I thought 50 First Dates was a good movie too. Of course I like all Adam Sandler movies. Also Johnny Depp is one of my favorite actors. Tim Burton is a great director in my book. I know the road movies Susie =)

Lisa I remember a western/comedy from when I was a kid, late 80s early 90s, with a cowboy who could tell his horse where to go and he would go to sleep on a stretcher thing till he got there. I know that isn't much to go on but maybe you or someone else will know what I am talking about.

I just watched The Boondock Saints again yesterday. That's a good movie too. Some others I've thought of are:
Black Dragon
The Fifth Element
Vampire Effect
The Monster Squad
A couple more anime I like.
Akira
The first of these is the prequel to the series. the second is the series.
Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal
Rurouni Kenshin: Wandering Samurai

Got to love Kenshin....and "The Fifth Element" is one of our favorites.

Tim, is it Blazing Saddles???

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No that's not it Julie, but I did think of Blazing Saddles while I was typing the, not so good, description. I love Mel Brooks movies too. Good Call.

Kung Foo Hustle: rich with ideas, funny, goofy, sincere. Very enjoyable. Not pretentious.

Napoleon Dynamite: If you saw it once and did not like it, give it another go. The characters seem to endear themselves after a viewing or two. Lots of little things that get missed the first go round.

Army of Darkness: Bruce Campbell, 'nuff said.

Also for those who dig rock, and animated overoptimal "parts" you should not miss 'Heavy Metal'. 1981, to warn: probably best for mature audiences. (voices of John Candy, Harold Ramis to name a few...)

Alan

I haven't seen Kung Foo Hustle yet, but I completely agree with you one the other three. I also liked Bruce Campbell in The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. That show should have run longer than the one season.

Tim Hail to the King, baby!

I have enjoyed a lot of the ones mentioned above. Some that I didn't see are Rabbit Proof Fence (true story), The God's Must Be Crazy (very funny), And Christmas Story (we all can relate to that one).
Sky~~

"Rabbit Proof Fence" was amazing, and as an Anthropology major, I have to love "The Gods Must Be Crazy."

I thought of another movie. It is a 3 part series called Infernal Affairs. One Two Three
It's a cop vs gangster movie. Great acting combined with a great story really makes this a movie to see.

Tim

We just watched three movies this past weekend.

Eight Below
Alexander - Director's Cut
Gunslinger's Revenge

Favorite was Gunslinger's Revenge with Harvey Keitel and David Bowie. We LOVE western's. Loved all of Clint Eastwood's and all the Italian western's of the 60's and 70's. Unforgiven is a favorite and so was Pergatory.

I do like a good love story too. Animal movies are great and the animated ones bring out the kid in me.

FlowerLady

I haven't seen many westerns, but the ones I've seen I have liked. It's hard for me to narrow what movies I like to a single genra. I have found myself liking movies that people thought were bad, and not liking movies that were supposed to be good.

I like movies that make me laugh, smile, jump in fright, or even be sad. As long as I don't get bored watching it then my chances of liking it increase.

FlowerLady, the movie I started this thread with, A Moment to Remember, is a love story. It had me in tears at the end, and that is something that has never happened to me before. I'll admit that I have gotten a little misty watching some movies, but never have tears come down my cheeks.

Tim

Another that I forgot to mention is "Mirrormask," which is wierd and beautiful and totally wonderful. It doesn't hurt that the excelent Neil Gaiman wrote the book it is based on.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mirrormask

I loved March of the Penguins also.

I'm normally not a movie person. But, one movie I have watched several times is Whalerider.

Saw the new Superman movie. It was ok, not great. Got to get to Pirates of the Caribbean.

I watched Secondhand Lions last night. That is just a good movie with a good story and a good ending. You don't get that too much anymore.

Final Destination 3 is out to rent. We've seen all 3 in the theaters. I don't normally like slasher and violent flicks, but these movies just amaze me with how they think of killing someone. The first 2 were better, but this one was entertaining.

Julie

Julie my friend was telling me on the Final Destination 3 DVD you can pick who dies or something like that. I haven't seen the third one yet, but I liked the first two.

I watched Evil Dead again saturday night. That's a classic.

The next movie I am awaiting to come to the theater is Spider-Man 3. I have seen one preview and it looked good. I'm glad that Sam Raimi was picked as the director. He has stuck close to the original story line. Which is something a lot of directors don't usually do. Also Bruce Campbell might have a more promonent role in this one as a villian.

Since I'm on film adaptations I always thought it would be cool if the Dragonlance Chronicals (War of the Lance) were made into movies. Of course if it was me I would do 9 movies with the Meeting of the Sextet leading up to the War of the Lance. That would be asking a lot though, so I would settle for The Chronicals. oH someone could do The Legand of Huma, or just about any of the great DL books.

Any other Dragonlance fans out there?

Tim

Oooh, I'll have to rent it on dvd now.

The first two Spider-Man movies were so good. I'm looking forward to the third, too.

I think you mentioned the Dragonlance books on the "what are you reading" question. I'll have to get on the library website and get the first one. I love a good fantasy series.

Julie

Tim, it looks like the movie is going to happen.

I checked out the web and there are a LOT of Dragonlance books. Do you recommend any one in particular to start with?

Julie

Here is a link that might be useful: drangonlance movie

Hey that's cool! Thanks for the link Julie.

The first book I read was The Legend of Huma. It is a really good book. The first DragonLance books written were The Chronicals Trilogy (Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, Dragons of Spring Dawning), back in the early 80s, those are classics. You could start with either of these stories.

Thanks agian. I'm off to find more info on the movie.

Tim

I've got Dragons of Autumn Twilight on reserve at the library, but I'm going to hit the used book stores and see what they have. Thanks, Tim.

The Godfather I and II were on TCM last night, uncut and uninterrupted!!! I watched part I and taped part II. I'll watch that tonight.

Julie

Any other Costa Gravas fans?
If you've never seen his movies, rent Missing (1982) and Z (1969). Amazing, well written, well acted, and extremely relevant for 2006. I just saw both of them again recently and was blown away all over again.

I haven't seen Mirrormask but now I'm looking for it. Sounds interesting!

I saw "V for Vendetta," day before yesterday, and I was blown away by how good it is. It was very haunting to me.