100 movies you have to see at least once

[Shekinah]

It's easy:

With every post you make, you tell us about one movie we all have to see at least once. We'll start from 100 and count down to 1. Please do not post more movies than 1 or 2 in the same post

I'll start to set the example:

100. - Requiem for a dream - Directed by: Darren Aronofsky



Seriously, if there's one movie that's still bugging me after having seen it so many years ago, it's this one. It's, simply put, about drug addicts, of which every drug addict has become one out of different reasons, with Ellen Burstyn's role (she should've gotten an Oscar for that role) as the most sad and painful one. For me anyway. I went crazy along with her.

This movie kicks you right in the balls, stomach and face. It's honest, it's pure, it's raw, it's haunting, it's claustrofobic, it eats your nerves and your sanity. I've only seen it once and everytime I see that movie standing somewhere, ready to be seen by someone, a chill runs down my spine, especially for the role Ellen Burstyn played. I don't know how Aronofsky does it, but he's able to put marginalized people in the lead in his movies and then make us feel guilty for watching it, while we know in the back of our heads that maybe what he's showing us right now, is exaggerated but we still know, or afraid, somewhere in our minds that maybe it's not exaggetared. At any case, he makes you believe him and his story and what he shows you. And it truly is horryfying. I don't know when I'll be ready to see this one again, but it totally, absolutely totally, blew me away the first time I saw it.

[Cypher]

I've never seen RFaD, but some of my stoner friends did. All they carried away from it was the old dude saying "ASS TO ASS".

99. - Hudson Hawk - Directed By: Michael Lehmann

This movie is a load of flaming ass. The acting is sub-par, the special effects are alright at best and poor at worst, the comedy is strained and it failed horribly at the box office. This is definitely not Bruce "My Favorite Action Movie Star OF ALL TIME" Willis' finest work AT ALL.

And yet I love it. I love every stupid, annoying second of it. And - dare I say it? Dare I risk being black-listed in every movie critiquing community that ever was, is, or will be?

... It's my #1 Favorite Movie of All Time. It's definitely a guilty pleasure. It's not a movie you watch if you want a hardcore action flick with well-developed characters, amazing acting and SFX, and the ability to leave you emotionally drained at the end. It's stupid, it's immature, it's trite. But it's something that you can look forward to laughing at after an especially long, difficult day at work or school, whether what you laugh at is intentional or unintentional.

[Shekinah]

98. - Oldboy - Directed by: Chan-wook Park



Even though this movie is actually part two in a trilogy (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance being the first one and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance being the third one) I saw this one first myself too and I still think it's better than the other two, although the other two are highly recommended too.

Oldboy is about a guy who has been imprisoned for 15 years and suddenly he is released, without ever knowing why he was abducted in the first place and why he spent 15 years in a room with a tv. He's released with money, a cellphone and in expensive clothes and finds out he has 5 days to get even with his capturer, but along the way it becomes clear that his capturer still has plans with him, plans that are even far more worse than the 15 years of imprisonment.

I've been a sucker for Asian movies ever since I saw Takashi Miike's Audition and even though they make enough bad movies, they're still able to make such sublime pearls, that I forgive them for their mistakes. One thing the Asian film industry is known for, is their brilliant camera work and in this movie, but in the entire trilogy as well, is again shown why. Chan-wook Park is able to transfer such a 'common' theme as vengeance, that has been used in too many cliched ways, to a movie that is absolutely thrilling, tense and gets you to the tip of your seat, but above all: he makes sense, even though you wouldn't think this can truly happen. That's another difference with the American industry: where loads of action movies and/or thrillers go right over the top and let go of the logic in a movie, most Asian movies I've seen and this one included, don't do that.

Park's got a story to tell, and he'll show you if you're willing to watch.

[Squall Reyes]

97. Citizen Kane



Why? Because it's Citizen fucking Kane. It's THE movie that set the bar for all movies after it. It's still a ground breaking piece of work even after all these years. It's be recognized in the industry as the movie that began modern film making era. It developed the many camera angels, lighting, editing techniques that are still used today. There is really not much more I can say that you can't find on any number of sights that has named it the greatest movie of all time. I'll simply say it's movie making at it's very finest.

[Shekinah]

96. - Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Directed by: James Cameron



Everything, I mean EVERYTHING, is epic about this movie. From the theme song til, yes - even - Arnold Schwarzenegger. Alright, we all know the man can't act, but there's only one Terminator and that's Arnie. No one could've done the job as epic as he did.

I know it's a sequel, but that's another reason to watch it: this movie is so bad ass, it beat the original in greatness. Of course, you should watch Terminator too, but this one is just that much better, if only because of the special and original relationship that develops between the Terminator and John Connor. While Cameron knew he was creating an action movie, he still understood there had to be a relationship developed between a robot and a human kid and even though he doesn't use that much time of the movie to do so, he does it in a very good and realistic (enough) way.

It's one of the first movies I remember watching and I'll never forget what I said about the T-1000 when I saw him running the first time: 'Whoa, this can't be real man, he has to be a robot!' This is one action movie that stays true to it's own story and plotline and even though some might say it's unrealistic (I, in return, then say: well, what do you know? it's a movie for crying out loud!) it's far better coördinated than most action movies of this time.

Even if you don't like Arnie as much as I do (although that's kind of impossible ) you still HAVE to see this classic (but... I'll look weird at you if you say you've never seen it). Seriously one of the best action movies ever made!

[Bird of Hermes]

#95 - 12 Angry Men (1957)

"The defence and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open and shut case of murder soon becomes a mini-drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other. Based on the play, all of the action takes place on the stage of the jury room.

'12 Angry Men' focuses on a jury's deliberations in a capital murder case. A 12-man jury is sent to begin deliberations in the first-degree murder trial of an 18-year-old Latino accused in the stabbing death of his father, where a guilty verdict means an automatic death sentence. The case appears to be open-and-shut: The defendant has a weak alibi; a knife he claimed to have lost is found at the murder scene; and several witnesses either heard screaming, saw the killing or the boy fleeing the scene. Eleven of the jurors immediately vote guilty; only Juror No. 8 (Mr. Davis) casts a not guilty vote. At first Mr. Davis' bases his vote more so for the sake of discussion after all, the jurors must believe beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty. As the deliberations unfold, the story quickly becomes a study of the jurors' complex personalities (which range from wise, bright and empathetic to arrogant, prejudiced and merciless), preconceptions, backgrounds and interactions. That provides the backdrop to Mr. Davis' attempts in convincing the other jurors that a "not guilty" verdict might be appropriate" (Source).

Reason: I first saw this movie in a law class that I had taken. It's an older film, but it still to this day gives insight into the job of the jury in the judicial system. A must-see for anyone even vaguely interested in law.

[Shekinah]

94. - Big Fish - Directed by: Tim Burton



Tim Burton is probably my favourite director of all time and at least on the list with my favourite directors. I think Big Fish is a good starter if you've never ever seen a Burton movie before.

If only because Tim Burton has a unique imagination, but also the ability to translate his imagination to the white screen perfectly. But that's not the only reason: Burton has with almost all of his movies proven that he's able to take a heavy subject and tell the story of that subject in a fantastic (in the true meaning of the word) unique, sometimes light and sometimes very funny, and yet dark at the same time, way. Again he does that with Big Fish, but this time it comes close to being a fairy tale, or maybe it just is a fairy tale. In Big Fish the dad of Will Bloom is dying and his son wants to know once and for all whether or not the stories he used to tell were true or not, since they seem to be too fantastic to be true. Together with Will Bloom, we relive the stories and myths his father used to tell him, while Will gets to know his father a little better.

[Hello Danger]

#93 Willow

This movie is a personal favorite of mine. The story was written by George Lucas (you know... the guy who did the Star Wars movies). It's has Val Kilmer, who I think is a pretty good actor, and does a great job as a disillusioned rogue swordsman, Madmartigan. Honestly, if you like high fantasy sword and sorcery settings you'll like this cult classic.

[Gunneh]

#94 - In Bruges

Truthfully, I could sit here and go on and on about why you should see this movie, but I'll let an actual line from the movie do it for me.

"It's a fairytale town, isn't it? How's a fairytale town not somebody's fucking thing?"

[Shekinah]

93. - Léon/The Professional - Directed by: Luc Besson (1994)



Léon, also known as The Professional, is probably one of the smartest action thriller movies I've ever seen. The movie is about Léon (played amazingly by Jean Reno (I'm a fan!)) who is a professional assassin (big surprise, huh? ) and this girl, Mathilda (first big role of Natalie Portman), who becomes an orphan and wants him to teach her how to become a professional and in return she'll teach him how to read and write. Mathilda wants to become a hitman that badly because she wants to avenge the murder on her four year old brother, who got murdered in the shooting of her parents.

The way the two get to know each other and how they'll end up being friends in the most odd way and in the most unique situation has been beautifully done. Besson makes you feel sympathy for the girl who wants to become a killer and a man who doesn't want to ruin a child's innocence. Everyone has to see this!!

[Sheeple]

#92.Ghost in the Shell directed by Mamoru Oshii in 1995

In the year 2029, the world has become interconnected by a vast electronic network that permeates every aspect of life. That same network also becomes a battlefield for Tokyo's Section Nine security force, which has been charged with apprehending the master hacker known only as the Puppet Master. Spearheading the investigation is Major Motoko Kusanagi, who -- like many in her department -- is a cyborg officer, far more powerful than her human appearance would suggest. And yet as the Puppet Master, who is even capable of hacking human minds, leaves a trail of victims robbed of their memories, Kusanagi ponders the very nature of her existence: is she purely an artificial construct, or is there more? What, exactly, is the "ghost" -- her essence -- in her cybernetic "shell"? When Section Six gets involved in the case, she is forced to confront the fact that there is more here than meets the eye, and that the Puppet Master may hold some of the answers she seeks. But little does she know that he has been seeking her as well.

____

Don't let the fact that it's an anime fool you - this is full to the brim with philosophy and politics, all that turn the mind and spin the imagination. I also suggest the other two movies, Ghost in the Shell: Innocence and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society, and the TV series which is just as good, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: The Second Gig, each with their own fantastic plotline, philosophical issues, and political ravishments.

EDIT: Movie Number, by Gunneh.

[Shekinah]

@ Sheeple: please add the number too, we don't want to be looking back all the time to see what number we're at.

[Sheeple]

Sorry about that, I thought I had it. Thanks for editing, Gunneh!

[Shekinah]

91. - Janghwa, Hongryeon (A Tale of Two Sisters) - directed by Ji-woon Kim (2003)



Especially those who have seen last years remake of this movie, called: The Uninvited. This is the one horror movie that has made me cry twice over the same scene because I was so damn scared. If you're looking for an intelligent horror movie, that doesn't rely on the same old tricks we've seen so many times now, and if you're into horror movies that are more than just that, you REALLY have to see this one. Far better than the remake, but that's almost always the case.

The remake is, as happens most of the time with remakes, abslute BS compared to the original. Not only does the story lose greatly in intelligence and thrill, it also tries so hard to be different from the original and yet they discover halfway through the movie that they can't do that to stay even slightly logical, that the story collapses halfway through the movie, if it was even any good to start with. A Tale of Two Sisters is especially good because of its intelligence and even though the story is - or can be - very confusing and maybe far fetched, this movie's yet again an example of how the Asian film industry is able to make you believe what they show you. This is not your average horror movie, this one goes much deeper than that. The drama in the movie is as much important as the horror in it and even though most people think about movies like Saw when they hear the word horror, it's not at ALL like that. This one goes into your mind and that's why it's so good. It works where it should work: in your psyche.

[Guest]

90. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)





This movie, contrary to appearances, is not about a group of men in a mental institution. It is about control, about resisting the established authority for the freedom of the human soul. It also has a religious aspect, but I don't want to spoil that for you, so you should just watch it and discover that for yourself

Anyway, it is a greatly entertaining movie with fantastic characters. It manages to use humor to describe a serious situation (at least, it was at the time). There are a lot of famous faces in it, including Jack Nicholson and Danny DeVito. I believe it has become one of my favorite movies, and I greatly recommend everyone seeing it at least some point in their lives.

[EverMan]

#89
Repo the genetic opera

It's in the future, about fifty years. Wide spread organ failures have spread across the world, killing millions. And then, out of the blue, comes a company capable of creating organs for people. They're grown, and instead of one payment, you can have a plan, paying every month. Oh, but if you miss a few to many payments, your organs can be repossessed, by skilled doctor-assassins, legally allowed to kill. Oh, forgot, it's also an opera. A ROCK/GOTH opera.
Could it GET any better?!

[Kathryn Lacey]

88.

The Fifth Element ((1997))


In a technologically advanced future, only one thing can save the world from an evil that plagues the universe every five thousand years: the joining of the four elements ((air, earth, fire, and water)) joined around a fifth element.

In order to protect the world, the fifth element, a woman with a perfect genetic make-up, must find the four stones which represent the four elements and bring them back to Earth to activate them. To do so, she needs the help of a priest and an ex-military officer, but along the way, they encounter those who wish for that evil to succeed.

I'm the first to admit that I can't make a movie sound good to save my life, for I am not a theatrical trailer. To get a good idea, watch this theatrical trailer instead.

[Shekinah]

87. Cinderalla Man - Directed by Ron Howard - 2005



Now, if you love Russell Crowe then there's your first reason to watch this, because Crowe once again surpasses his own abilities. The man isn't acting, the man is James J. Braddock, the lead character in this true story about a man who went from the highest heights to the deepest depths and back for his family. Howard has been succesful with Crowe before in A Beautiful Mind (a movie I hope to see mentioned in this list too) and the two proof to be a golden duo once again by making this movie. A really moving, touching and yet thrilling story that's been directed and acted in a perfect way. Really a must-see, especially if you're into true story movies and/or sports movies.

[Bird of Hermes]

#86 - A Beautiful Mind (2001)

A biopic of the meteoric rise of John Forbes Nash Jr., a math prodigy able to solve problems that baffled the greatest of minds. And how he overcame years of suffering through schizophrenia to win the Nobel Prize.

From the heights of notoriety to the depths of depravity, John Forbes Nash, Jr. experienced it all. A mathematical genius, he made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a painful and harrowing journey of self-discovery. After many years of struggle, he eventually triumphed over his tragedy, and finally - late in life - received the Nobel Prize (Source).

Reason: I had to watch this for one of my education classes. It is based on a true story. It is a good watch.

[Shekinah]

Hurrah!!! It's mentioned! (by the way, your number should be 86, and not 90) And as long as we're with Crowe:

85. - Gladiator - Directed by: Ridley Scott - 2000

Yes, Crowe does it again in this movie, or maybe it's better to say that he started with being on a role with this one. This movie is literally epic in that sense that it shows us the story of a man betrayed who comes back to seek revenge for the murder of his family. An old story, told so many times, but this setting - the old Roman era - is so beautifully done and this character, Maximus, is done so awfully good it gets to you - again.

Look, of course this is another great spectacle and big bombing Hollywood production, but it's not the same as those goofy movies that just want to generate money and that most of all use historic events as an excuse to show us a completely different story. (Even though it's not the same era at all, think about movies like Titanic and Pearl Harbor. They claimed to create a movie that would tell us THOSE stories and instead we were stuck with blabbering romance stuff). But Gladiator is accurate, to me it is anyway.

Crowe is just phenomenal yet again and I'm absolutely happy to have this movie in my possession.

[Kathryn Lacey]

84.

Pay It Forward ((2000))


As an extra credit option, a bitter, burn scarred teacher tells his seventh grade students to take an original idea to make to the world a better place and actually take the steps to make it happen.

One student ((Hailey Joel Osment)), has the idea to help three people, and in return those three people would help three more people. He calls this "paying it forward."

Far away, a reporter catches wind of this when a stranger helps him, and he becomes determined to find the source of this "movement."

It's an incredibly moving and heart-wrenching story. I recommend everyone watch it at least once in their lifetime.

To get a better idea, watch this theatrical trailer.

[Shekinah]

83. - American Beauty - Directed by: Sam Mendes (1999)

If only because of the terrific performance by Kevin Spacey. I've never seen this movie fully (I barged on it someday when it was shown on television, but it was already halfway through and the screen was snowy too...) Well, imagine, if I beat the snowy screen by keep watching this movie, even though I didn't see the beginning, then there must be some magic going on. And there is.

Why is this movie so great? First of all because if only the music was different, this would be a comedy. I know it is now already, but now it's a dark comedy, if one were to change the music the movie would change from a movie which focusses for the most part on the drama element, into a movie that's just downright funny in a good way. Sam Mendes (also the director of the amazing and BAM-in-yo-face!Revolutionary Road) has been very succesfull in ridiculing a society, or better yet: a family, that lives 'according the rules' and therefor has the perfect life, without going over the top. It's almost painful because one can imagine that this is real. It's almost shameful to watch a man who should have everything, slip away into a midlife crisis that only tells him lies.

A must-see!

[Kathryn Lacey]

82.

The Sixth Sense ((1999))


After a terrible event where a former patient visits child psychologist Malcolm Crowe ((Bruce Willis)) and shoots him for not having helped him deal with his mental disorder properly, the doctor is given a second chance.

Cole ((Haley Joel Osment)), a boy who reminds him of Vincent - the man who shot him - needs his help, but Crowe has doubts about whether or not he can help the boy when he failed the first time.

Eventually, Crowe earns Cole's trust, but when he tells the psychologist that he sees spirits of the dead around him on a regular basis, Crowe must choose to pass the story as fantasy and decline to help the child, or he must choose to believe him and work to help him however he can.

((Theatrical Trailer))

[Loki]

81.

Brick ((2005))


In a modern-day Southern California neighborhood and high school, student Brendan Frye's piercing intelligence spares no one. He's not afraid to back up his words with actions, and knows all the angles; yet he prefers to stay an outsider, and does - until the day that his ex-girlfriend, Emily, reaches out to him unexpectedly and then vanishes. His feelings for her still run deep; so much so, that he becomes consumed with finding his troubled inamorata. To find her, he enlists the aid of his only true peer, the Brain, while keeping the assistant vice principal only occasionally informed of what quickly becomes a dangerous investigation. Brendan's single-minded unearthing of students' secrets thrusts him headlong into the colliding social orbits of rich-girl sophisticate Laura, intimidating Tugger, substance-abusing Dode, seductive Kara, jock Brad and - most ominously - non-student the Pin. Only by gaining acceptance into the Pin's closely guarded inner circle of crime and punishment that Brendan will be able to uncover hard truths about himself, Emily and the suspects that he is getting closer to.

This movie has an amazing story, one of the best in my opinion. A detective movie that has adult maturity while taking place in a high school setting.

Trailer

[Shekinah]

80. - El laberinto del fauno - Directed by: Guillermo del Toro - (2006)

This has got to be the bomb 2006 dropped on movie world. Of course, I was familiar with Del Toro because of Hellboy but in all honesty: I only thought that movie looked good (and I still think that). So I wasn't expecting too much even though I was eager to see this, especially after a good friend of mine was downright lyrical about the movie. So the BF and I bought it... Boy, what a movie!

It's about this little girl, Ofelia, who moves with her pregnant mother to the house of a sadistic army officer in the fascist Spain of 1944. Her lifes changes dramatically, especially because of the terror her stepfather causes everyone. Ofelia escapes into a world of which it's border is a thin line between imagination and reality, or maybe it isn't?

The tagline that's put on the image I posted hits the spot remarkable good: Innocence has a power evil cannot imagine. And it truly does, as Del Toro'll show us in his masterpiece that's horrifying, sad and heart warming at the same time. The strength in its horror is shown in the fact that Del Toro didn't choose to show us idiotic gore, like in Saw, that just tries to be as gory as possible without ever asking the question if it REALLY scares us where it should scare us: in the core. We're engrossed by stuff like Saw, but truly scared? No, I can't believe that. That's the 'beauty' of this movie: Del Toro shows us something real, something we can believe in, something Ofelia believes in and all we can do is watch as we follow the helpless little girl escape into that one world that's filled with beauty, yet filled with danger at the same time, but she overcomes it all.

And at the end there's still the one question that will never get answered, as Del Toro asks us to use our own imagination.

What a movie!

[jackariah]

79. What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

The 1991 novel and the 1993 screenplay adapted for film were written by Peter Hedges, and the film was directed by Lasse Hallström (Chocolat and the upcoming Nicolas Sparks' Dear John). Starring Johnny Depp (Alice in Wonderland), Leonardo DiCaprio (Shutter Island), and Juliette Lewis (Whip It).

DiCaprio had his first Academy Award nomination because of this film, and he was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award, but instead won the Best Supporting Actor Award from the National Board of Review.

Fresh, beautiful, hilarious, touching-- think back of those movies that followed a classic novel so well. If you can't remember or if you hadn't seen one, this is an amazing experience. The plot and the characters are also great to analyze when you want to know how a story should be written. Surrounding a family in Endora, Iowa, this story follows Gilbert Grape, the aimless and burdened Johnny Depp who tries to replace his father who killed himself and left him two sisters, a mentally-challenged brother Arnie (Leo DiCaprio) that wants to climb anything high, and an enormous, depressed mother (who used to be pretty and fun) who stays home and sleeps on a couch in the living room. Feeling trapped with nowhere to go, Gilbert finds refuge in the company of Becky, a newcomer with a trailer played by Juliette Lewis. Eventually comes growing pains.

I don't think I'll ever forget about this movie.

[Shekinah]

78. - The Prestige - Directed by Christopher Nolan (2006)

If you're in for some magic, look no further for you have found The Prestige! This movie had to battle against The Illusionist that also used magic for a great deal, but even though The Illusionist is a good movie too, it's not far as good as The Prestige. Why so, you ask?

Well, because...

...The Illusionist in essence only uses magic to create a somewhat more original format for something that's not even the slightest original: a simple, oldschool whodunnit thriller. The scenery and decor is beautiful and the magic works fairly good for the movie, but if you look really critical at it, you'll find that the movie in the end is just a simple whodunnit, lacking a real role for magic. This is where The Prestige is better. That's why I also recommend The Prestige if one's looking for a movie that's about or involves magic for a great deal. This movie truly is about magic - or at least the magic has a role that couldn't be replaced with something else if one wanted to make the same movie, while that was possible to do in The Illusionist - and about the rivalry between the two greatest magicians of time and age. Magicians who were once friends, but who chose to let betrayal and mistrust guide their way as they're looking for the ultimate magic trick.

Also, this is the first movie that showed me Hugh Jackman is able to act and not bad either. He and Christian Bale make a perfect couple as the two leading characters in this darky, thrilling, beautiful and magic world.

[Ominous Flare]

77: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

One of the best movie villains ever in THE best Star Trek movie. Don't have to be a Trekkie to enjoy. Proves that special effects are secondary to drama and character relationships. KHANNNNNNNNN!!!

[Guest]

Too lazy/not good enough to do it, but I have 3 for the list:

Akira
Princess Mononoke
The Last Samurai

[Heruss]

76. Stardust. (2007)



I watched this movie fairly recently and somehow it's made it into my own "personal" list, proof that the British Film Industry is nowhere near dead and still able to put out wonderful pieces like this.

Very much a fantasy and very much family entertainment, it's something a lot of folks can enjoy while watching it. Plot's perhaps a bit farcical, but that's what makes it so enjoyable.

75. The Italian Job (1969)



Not the diabolical remake of 2003 this movie is a must-see with one of the greatest car chase sequences in movie history only beaten by The Blues Brothers some 11 years later. This movie gave birth to the immortal phrase "You're only supposed to blow the bloody dooors off!" and showed Caine's incredible acting abilities.

74. The Blues Brothers (1980)



Elwood: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.

Jake: Hit it.

Starring the legendary John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd the movie is a celebration of all things musical and crooked. A roaring musical from the start to finish the movie features many contemporary legends of the era as well as some legendary musicians like Ray Charles. Hilarious from start to finish and some good music to boot.

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