What's your favorite movie?
November 26, 2005 9:36 AM   Subscribe

Which 3 movies in your collection are your absolute favorites? I just got netflix and I am trying to fill up my queue. A couple of my top movies are Good Will Hunting and I Heart Huckabees to give you a taste of what I like.
posted by pwally to Media & Arts (70 answers total)
 
robocop/starwars ep 4/hackers
posted by Juliet Banana at 9:44 AM on November 26, 2005


Pulp Fiction
GoodFellas
The Godfather
posted by MasonDixon at 9:48 AM on November 26, 2005


magnolia/kung fu hustle/dawn of the dead (original)
posted by moift at 9:48 AM on November 26, 2005


in the mood for love/ shaun of the dead/ donnie darko
posted by tweak at 9:50 AM on November 26, 2005


Three Amigos/Blues Brothers/Star Wars Episode 4
posted by MrMoonPie at 9:53 AM on November 26, 2005


A Very Long Engagement / Rear Window / ....maybe either Chungking Express or Fallen Angels?
posted by kaseijin at 9:53 AM on November 26, 2005


In America, Saved!, and Ghost in the Shell

(also in my collection that is interesting is Crime and Punishment in Suburbia, worth checking out.)
posted by MrBobaFett at 9:53 AM on November 26, 2005


The Graduate, Best in Show, The Royal Tenenbaums.
posted by gaspode at 9:57 AM on November 26, 2005


Once Upon A Time In America / Cinema Paradiso / Twelve Angry Men
posted by DannyUKNYC at 10:03 AM on November 26, 2005


Koyaanisqatsi / Style Wars / Dr. Strangelove
posted by cloeburner at 10:07 AM on November 26, 2005


Rushmore/Dogville/Batman I
posted by slow, man at 10:09 AM on November 26, 2005


Almost Famous, Before Sunrise (& Sunset), The Princess & The Warrior
posted by skyboy at 10:10 AM on November 26, 2005


In the Mood for Love / Tokyo Drifter / TRON
posted by Espy Gillespie at 10:24 AM on November 26, 2005


Run Lola Run, House of Flying Daggers, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.
posted by monkey!knife!fight! at 10:38 AM on November 26, 2005


Thriller!, a good happy fluff piece on life in Sweden
Fat Girl, BEST DATE MOVIE EVAR
Happiness of the Katakuris, and don't let the Japanesiness of it all scare you. Easily the best in the genre of dark comedy-zombie-horror-family-musical.
posted by Homeskillet Freshy Fresh at 10:44 AM on November 26, 2005


The Big Lebowski
I Heart Huckabees
Office Space
posted by anomie at 10:52 AM on November 26, 2005


Gosford park, Moulin Rouge, Gattaca
posted by vernondalhart at 10:53 AM on November 26, 2005


'You Can Count On Me' is always on top.
For another two that haven't been mentioned I'll say 'Gattaca' and 'Boiler Room'
posted by freudianslipper at 10:53 AM on November 26, 2005


brazil
brazil
brazil
posted by dorian at 10:59 AM on November 26, 2005


If you liked I Heart Huckabees, you'd probably like (these have all been mentioned previously, just not together): The Big Lebowski, The Royal Tenenbaums and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
posted by johnsmith415 at 11:01 AM on November 26, 2005


Amalie, The Shawshank Redemption, Braveheart
posted by curbstop at 11:05 AM on November 26, 2005


1.) Glengarry Glen Ross
2.) Oleanna
3.) State and Main

All films by David Mamet.
posted by cribcage at 11:08 AM on November 26, 2005


Primer
Office Space
Goodfellas

you have probably seen #2 and #3 already, so just do yourself a favor and rent #1.
posted by crazyray at 11:29 AM on November 26, 2005


Annie Hall
Manhattan
Hannah and Her Sisters

I'm not a Woody Allen freak or anything but just really love these three movies. Honorable mention to Pulp Fiction and After Hours.
posted by gfrobe at 11:34 AM on November 26, 2005


Rushmore is far and away my #1. I think any lover of I Heart Huckabees will love Rushmore, too. Boogie Nights is a film I've come back to again and again. I'll third The Big Lebowski, too.
posted by scarabic at 11:37 AM on November 26, 2005


It looks like everyone here loves the movies I do, but I'll list my three favorite anyways :)

-Rushmore
-Annie Hall
-Manhattan

I could watch those three movies all day long and not get tired of them.
posted by handshake at 11:40 AM on November 26, 2005


Dogville
Beloved
Closer

So hard to narrow it down. I could just have easily have said:

Hedwig and the Angry Inch
The Life Aquatic
Easter Parade
posted by hermitosis at 11:47 AM on November 26, 2005


Three Kings / Punch Drunk Love / 12 Monkeys
David O. Russell directed Three Kings, as well as I Heart Huckabees.
posted by carsonb at 11:57 AM on November 26, 2005




A Few Good Men / Monty Python & The Grail / High Fidelity
posted by chudmonkey at 12:18 PM on November 26, 2005


Goodbye, Dragon Inn / Old Boy / Last Life in the Universe
posted by hototogisu at 12:25 PM on November 26, 2005


Lost In Translation
The Mask of Zorro
American President
posted by Serena at 12:26 PM on November 26, 2005


Pleasantville
Lost in Translation
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
posted by Joe Schlabotnik at 12:31 PM on November 26, 2005


If you like I Heart Huckabees, then

Flirting with Disaster (also David O. Russell)
Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, Naomi Watts stars)
anything by the Coens (start with Raising Arizona or O, Brother Where Art Thou?)
posted by zanni at 12:38 PM on November 26, 2005


Blade Runner
RAN
Apocalypse Now!
posted by Kafkaesque at 12:45 PM on November 26, 2005


Groundhog Day, West Wing Season 1
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:51 PM on November 26, 2005 [1 favorite]


Okay. I could add my three favourite films, but that would just give you something else to ignore. Instead, I'm going to look at the answers already posted to see which meet the following criteria:

1. they are similar in some way to the films you mention in your question.

2. they don't suck (imho).

I arrive at the following list.

Magnolia (actually, I do think this sucks but plenty of people with considered opinions disagree with me).
Eternal Sunshine
The Graduate
Twelve Angry Men
The Big Lebowski
Amelie
The Shawshank Redemption
Annie Hall
Pleasantville
Lost in Translation

I'd note that many others mentioned are films I love, or would even call favourites, but don't strike me as being in any way similar to the films you mention; and also that there are many others that probably meet the criteria but that I simply haven't seen.

Hopefully this will reinforce some of the valuable feedback given above.
posted by nthdegx at 12:59 PM on November 26, 2005


Heat
Seven Samurai
Goodfellas
posted by I Love Tacos at 1:03 PM on November 26, 2005


Lost in Translation
Punch-Drunk Love
The Usual Suspects
posted by the giant pill at 1:08 PM on November 26, 2005




Wait, I want to change one or all of my answers to eXistenZ. Death to the demoness Allegra Geller!
posted by moift at 1:19 PM on November 26, 2005




Ghost Dog :: The 400 Blows :: The Day of the Jackal

...or maybe

Lost Highway :: Dark City :: Jacob's Ladder

...or, um

Annie Hall :: Network :: Pepe le Moko

[this is hard]
posted by milquetoast at 1:46 PM on November 26, 2005


Balthazar the Donkey/Throne of Blood/The Bicycle Thief
posted by Falconetti at 1:53 PM on November 26, 2005


oh, and The Passion of Joan of Arc, from whence my moniker comes.
posted by Falconetti at 1:53 PM on November 26, 2005


Five Easy Pieces, Apocalypse Now, Cries and Whispers
posted by flavor at 2:12 PM on November 26, 2005


Jacob's Ladder
Fight Club
Cube (the Original)

or...

Kids
Amores Perros
Basquiat
posted by Benway at 2:45 PM on November 26, 2005


My most recent three since I'm no good at this:

Masked and Anonymous
Stop Making Sense
Brazil
posted by panoptican at 2:55 PM on November 26, 2005


Wings of Desire
Angels in America (2 discs)
Dreams (Akira Kurosawa)
posted by moonbird at 3:15 PM on November 26, 2005


Based on what you liked, how 'bout these:
Ordinary People
Local Hero
The Stunt Man (no, nothing to do with Burt Reynolds -- directed by Richard Rush, 1980)
posted by Bron at 3:24 PM on November 26, 2005


Shawshank Redemption
Dead Poet's Society
Big Fish
posted by ParsonWreck at 4:03 PM on November 26, 2005


Princess Bride.
LoTR.
Godfather.
posted by five fresh fish at 4:21 PM on November 26, 2005




Tampopo
Heat
When Harry Met Sally
posted by Mercaptan at 5:47 PM on November 26, 2005




Wow, this is truly hard to choose between those movies that you could watch all day, every day (Office Space), and those movies which are wonderful and mind-boggling but only in small doses when you're in the mood (Apocalypse Now).

With that, I give:
Shawshank Redemption
Amelie
Snatch OR any Kevin Smith film (depending on whether I want to quote along in a British or American accent)
on the list of watchable every day, and

Goodfellas
Spirited Away
Fight Club
on the "in the mood" movie list.

It is easier choosing six movies than three, truly.
posted by chronic sublime at 6:12 PM on November 26, 2005


Fight Club
Snatch
The Royal Tenenbaums
posted by shaneflyer at 6:53 PM on November 26, 2005


Nobody said:

Swingers,
Super Troopers,
Boondock Saints?

Come on, Metafilter. I thought we were friends. Though I did see Cube up there. I guess we can hang out after all.
posted by GooseOnTheLoose at 8:45 PM on November 26, 2005


Almost Famous, Fargo, A Life Less Ordinary
posted by easternblot at 9:51 PM on November 26, 2005


There's no way I can limit myself to three. I'll give you three 3's, excluding films already mentioned, and ignoring your criteria

Harakiri/Network/The President's Analyst

Taxi Driver/Forgotten Silver/Alien

Being There/Videodrome/Strangers on a Train

My favorite already mentioned's:
Apocalypse Now/Fight Club/Seven Samauri/Hedwig/Brazil


posted by Eothele at 11:01 PM on November 26, 2005


Lonestar (John Sayles)
Casablanca
Jaws

(would have said Spirited Away, but someone else just mentioned it)
posted by FYKshun at 11:26 PM on November 26, 2005


Shaun of the Dead
12 Monkeys
Basic*

* feel free to replace Basic with The Game or Sneakers
posted by Alt F4 at 7:08 AM on November 27, 2005


I love Netflix. Some good ones that you might not have seen:

Kind Hearts and Coronets
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

If you like documentaries,
The War Room (documentary about Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign)
Super Size Me
American Movie
Touching the Void
Spellbound
Stevie
...also, if you're a fan of Henry Rollins' spoken word, they have some good ones on there as well.

Or just about anything from IMDB's top 250 list (I have about 10 more to go!)
posted by starman at 7:47 AM on November 27, 2005


Recent Netfix that I enjoyed:

The Italian Job, 2003
The Interpreter, 2005
Stealth, 2005
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, 2005
posted by chase at 11:17 AM on November 27, 2005


Not mentioned yet: The Battle of Algiers, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Zoolander, Millions, Million Dollar Baby, Hotel Rwanda, Marooned in Iraq

And if you want a change of pace, good documentaries from the past few months: Born into Brothels, Gunner Palace, Rize.
posted by exhilaration at 3:25 PM on November 27, 2005


Listology, a place I frequent very regularly, has a nice list of the Most Frequently Queued movies for those users who share their Netflix queues.
posted by dgeiser13 at 5:10 PM on November 27, 2005


If I could only keep three movies:

"Barry Lyndon"
"Fanny and Alexander"
"Vertigo"

I haven't seen "Good Will Hunting," but I enjoyed "I Heart Huckabees." Since you liked it, I'm thinking maybe you're a fan of quirky, character-based comedies. So here are some more you might like (some stretch the definition of comedy a bit, but I can imagine them appealing to Huckabees fans):

"Lolita" (Kubrick version)
"Bringing Up Baby"
"Housekeeping"
"You Can Count On Me"
"King of Comedy"
"After Hours"
"Stranger Than paradise"
"Dog Day Afternoon"
"Midnight Cowboy"
"Husbands and Wives"
"The Hospital"
"And the Ship Sails On"
"Amacord"
"The Dresser"
"Topsy Turvy"
"Ed Wood"
posted by grumblebee at 6:45 PM on November 27, 2005


The Godfather
Last of the Mohicans
Star Wars (original, IV, A New Hope ... whatever you wanna call it)
posted by deborah at 9:24 PM on November 27, 2005


sliding doors
posted by nimsey lou at 8:38 AM on November 28, 2005


The Godfather; Philadelphia Story; Bringing Up Baby
posted by TheLibrarian at 10:53 AM on November 28, 2005


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