Big Trouble in Little China

The Fifth Element

Don't even need to watch it ever again, it just plays on a loop in my mind.

The Big Lebowski

The Princess Bride

Penguins (of Madagascar): the Movie

Hot Fuzz

Idiocracy

Wall E

1. The Princess Bride
2. In Bruges

Primer

Insanely low budget, very realistic depiction of engineers. Super complicated plot which gives it great replay value.

If you watch it for the first time, the audio sync issues are not part of the plot. They had to re-dub a lot of the movie and they didn’t do a great job.

Children of Men

Everything everywhere all at once is easily one of my favorite movies of all time. Pays a bunch of homages to action films and tropes. One of the few times in my life where I ugly cried and laughed at the same time.

Casablanca

The Blues Brothers

Someone else mentioned Hot Fuzz, which is mine. Another I love is Tucker & Dale vs Evil. It’s an excellent satire about conflict borne from nothing but preconceptions. Also a rare movie in which the “jock”-type characters are the good guys.

My favorites are the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Went to see them re-released in theaters earlier this year for the 25th anniversary.

Repo Man (1984)

Honorable mentions:

• Buckaroo Banzai (1984)
• Megamind (2010)
• Tremors (1990)
• The Fifth Element (1997)

Rocky (1976) and When Harry Met Sally (1989) are my favourite movies, and I prefer the former only a little bit more than the latter. I'm a sentimental man. 🤷

I would say the #3 spot belongs to either Arrival (2016), The Sixth Sense (1999), Se7en (1996), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), or The Secret in Their Eyes ("El Secreto de Sus Ojos", 2009). #4 is both Kung Fu Panda 1 and 2, and #5 is probably too large to enumerate here, lol.

The Matrix. Sometimes I'll get the urge to watch it like 3 times in a week. Only movie I can do that with.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Knives Out trilogy
Short Term 12
Hamilton
In The Heights
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Scott Pilgrim vs the World
The Secret in Their Eyes
The Lives of Others
The Counterfeiters
The Wave
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Whiplash
The Town
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
In Bruges
The King's Speech
Inglorious Basterds
The Imitation Game
Her
Nowhere Boy
The Spectacular Now

If I had to choose one, it might be Short Term 12. I like some of these more than others, but all mean something to me and there's a pretty broad spread of genres here.

That is an impossible question because it depends on so many factors of what's going on on the particular day that I'm asked.

So instead I'll give you the three that most often rotate into top spot:

1. Children of Men

2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

3. LA Confidential

Bugonia was very good just make sure you go in blind.

Ask me again tomorrow and I'm sure it'll be different, I can never pick a firm favorite for any media or genre.

But the one that sprang to my mind this time was Clue. Just a fantastic cast, and far more charming than its source material gives it any right to be.

Nice try recovery questions phisher. You will never find out that it's the 1966 Thunderbirds are go! Film.

Back to the Future.

There is no way I can pick one.

There are really good recomendations here. But there are very few recomendations for films around the world, while I like American films a lot I'm going with my favorites from other countries.

• Korea

  • Memories of a Murder (2003)
  • The Handmaiden (2016)
  • A Taxi Driver (2017)
  • My sassy Girl (2001)
  • Ajeossi (2010)
  • Whatever Chan-wook Park did, especilly the vengeance trilogy

• Hong Kong

  • Comrades almost a love story (1996)
  • Infernal Affairs (2002)
  • In the mood for love (2000)
  • Exiled (2006)
  • Fallen Angels (1995)
  • A better Tomorrow (1986)

• Japan

  • Seppuku (1962)
  • All the old Zatoichi films (epecially the ones directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda)
  • Hana-bi (1997)
  • Perfect Blue (1997)
  • Rashomon (1950)
  • Of course Seven Samurais, Yojimbo (everything Kurosawa made), GITS, Ghibli, etc....

• Italy

  • Sergio Leone, everyhting
  • Cinema Paradiso (1988)
  • Suburra (2015)

• Spain

  • La Isla minima (2014)
  • Que Dios nos perdone (2016)
  • As bestas (2022)
  • El milagro de P. Tinto (1998)

• Argentina

  • Relatos Salvajes (2014)
  • El secreto de sus ojos (2009)
  • Un oso rojo (2002)
  • 9 Reinas (2000)

I'm going to stop here, there are a lot of countries I didn't mention, this comment is already long enough. Don't stop yourself because the film is in another language, there are fantastic films out there.

My tastes are almost exclusively sci fi, horror, and cosmic horror, but I'll give excellent and obscure recommendations for each, not necessarily my favs because you might have seen them already.

Aniara

The Void

green room

All of these are very good and hold up to a second watch.

O’ Brother Where Art Thou

The Prestige

Man I haven’t really watched films properly myself for a long time but when I started writing I suddenly had a load of recs - but you’ve got a lot of great ones already so I’ll limit myself to two:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - this is my personal #1 but it’s a bit love it / hate it. Great performances from Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey

Soul - feel good, beautiful, clever and funny, a real shame it came out quietly during the pandemic because IMO it’s the best Pixar / Disney movie of the CG era and deserved much more fanfare

True Romance

My favorite is As Good As It Gets (1997 rom com), but with the blatant homophobia and unlikable main character it's not for everybody.

For general watching, I'd recommend:

Get Out (horror mystery with good metaphors)

Knives Out (silly whodunnit comedy)

Eyes Wide Shut (classic psychological horror with, uh, an unforgettable premise)

Midsommar (breakup film with swedish cult horror vibes, women-coded)

Parasite (on the off chance you haven't seen it, I would vote it best film of the 2010s)

Sicario is my favorite movie. Villenueve is more hit than miss, and you can’t really go wrong with any of his recent films. Arrival, Prisoners, Blade Runner 2049, and the Dune films.

My favorite three movies are Toy Story 3 (for nostalgia reasons), Spirited away and City of god.

I'm willing to concede that Toy Story 3 isn't that good but the other 2 are amazing movies IMO.

70s Pacino -Serpico

Arthouse Christina Ricci and some weird dude who used to hang out with Basquate -Buffalo 66

Wreck it Ralph is made with such a love for (classic) gaming and in general being a really good animated movie I love it.

Also The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! Is great and can be rewatched endlessly.

Then again, Idiocracy. Getting less and less funny and more scary as we come closer to that future.

His Girl Friday (1940)

The best screwball movie ever made. Fast, funny, but with an edge. Doesn't feel it's age to me at all.