Top 100 favourite films

49. The boondock saints



Two blue-collar Boston Irish brothers (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus, who are both terrific!) rid their favorite pub of an influx of Russian gangsters, and soon decide they are on a Mission from God to execute all the 'heavy hitter' criminals from the city. While this makes them local heroes, it also sets sympathetic detective Willem Dafoe on their trail.

The story is reminiscent of the 'Death Wish' series, without the glossy superficiality of the Bronson films. At times funny, at times disturbing, it never loses momentum, with a twist ending is both satisfying and thoroughly insane!

While the violence is graphic, the story is character-driven, and never allows the executions to overwhelm the plot. You actually like the brothers, and may be hard-pressed NOT to root for them, even if you do feel a bit guilty about it!

The Boondock Saints is a fabulous film, one that deserves your attention!

48. The Illusionist



Oh man, what a beautiful little movie - full of heart, laughter, charm and sadness. Since I watched Triplets of Belleville I've been bewitched by Sylvain Chomet's brand of simplistic beauty. Like the silent movies of the past, his movies are so character-driven to the point that language isn't even a barrier; in fact most of his characters don't even speak, their actions and body language do all the talking. The Illusionist tells the story of a once-great magician from Paris who's stuck in a rut while the world around him has changed and become cynical; people are more interested in rock bands than magic. He travels to Britain in the hopes of plying his trade, but he finds that Britain is much the same as France; his is a dying art. He travels north to remote areas of Scotland where he finds some people are still amused by his tricks and he befriends a young girl who eventually accompanies him on his travels. Eventually the magician and the girl reach Edinburgh, where he tries to scratch out a living by performing magic where and when he can and doing odd jobs on the side. The characters are so deep and rich, the animation and settings are so moody and atmospheric, more emotion and life comes through from 5 minutes of The Illusionist than 1 hour of most CG animated movies out there just now. As the movie shows animated scenes of 1959 Edinburgh (incredibly accurate depictions by the way), I'm nearly brought to tears as they remind me of home. Despite the magician's efforts to remain positive and cheerful, ultimately life and the world moving on breaks him down and his performer friends. When the magician departs Edinburgh, he leaves the young girl without saying goodbye; it has to be one of the most heart-wrenching scenes that I've seen for quite some time.

47. The neverending story



The NeverEnding Story is one of my all time favourite movies, it is just so magical. The music is brilliant, and the story is a magical, simple and effective one. The scenery, sets and costumes were visually a feast to the eyes, just gorgeous to look at, and if it didn't get any awards for best art direction, then that is a massive shame, because it was so beautiful to watch. Falcor was a fantastic character, a very warm and loving character, that you just have to love. I have to admit though, Gmork is very scary. The acting is fantastic, Barret Oliver very spirited as Bastian, and Noah Hathaway born to play Atreyu. And Tami Stromach as the Childlike Empress has a small but wholly relevant role in the film. This film is practically perfect in every way and has a wonderful message, don't miss it!

46. Starship troopers



I remember wait to see and action film about great space heroes, and even when I found heroes and action, I found a awesome and satirical story about the evolution of the human race and how the path of war falls in a road to hell. More than that, Starship troopers it's that kind of science fiction films with great a big special effects but at the same time a terrific script. A shocking story, more realistic and cruel than many movies about real conflicts, where you can feel the havoc and the pain of any battle. The acting it's good, the soundtrack it's one of the best works of Basil Poleoduris. After this you can read the book of Robert Heinlein founding how far goes Paul Verhoeven in every scene and every character creating. But the best of all is how everything has a reason, there's no word or scene without a meaning, even the promise of the beginning remain intact making clear some disturbing things about some character(s).

45. L.A. Confidential



L.A. Confidential is, without a doubt, the best film of the 1990s, and quite possibly one of the best films ever made.

As with any great film, it all starts with the writing. The story is riveting, the dialogue is smart and quite funny, and the characters are written in three dimensions.

The acting is phenomenal. Perhaps a bigger tragedy than L.A. Confidential's loss to Titanic in the Best Picture race is that none of the three lead actors even garnered nominations. Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, and Kevin Spacey are absolutely phenomenal; it is their characters that drive this fascinating story about police corruption in 1950s Los Angeles. We get to know these people, to understand who they are and why they do what they do, and to root for them to overcome their imperfections.

The directing is fantastic. Curtis Hanson doesn't shove anything in the audience's face; instead, he allows the audience to discover the film's nuances on their own. (That makes this an excellent film for repeat viewings, you truly catch something new every time). 1950s Los Angeles is reproduced beautifully. The editing is quick and seamless, the music is perfect for the film (Hanson should teach other directors how to do a montage effectively), and the cinematography is great.

44. WALL·E



WALL·E is a robot that is left all alone on Planet Earth, Earth is now covered with garbage. The humans have left onto a corporate ship and are living their lives care free and well, thought free. WALL·E has been collecting little human pieces here and there and making them into his treasures, but the one thing he really wants is a friend. One day a ship lands with a female robot, Eve, who WALL·E just adores, but Eve is on a mission to find a plant to bring back onto the human ship to show that Earth is safe. But when the ship grabs Eve, WALL·E follows her and discovers the mutiny that is afoot on the ship. Everyone is overweight, can't walk, can't think for themselves, and let's all the robots do all the work for them. But WALL·E and Eve are on the mission to get them back to Earth and give it a little love.

WALL·E is seriously the best movie I have seen this summer, I just adored this movie, it has great laughs, cute jokes and is entertaining for the whole family. Like I said before, when it's Disney/Pixar you just can't go wrong. WALL·E is one of their most lovable characters ever and was like the robot version of Charlie Chaplin, he brought great slap stick to the story. This movie delivers everything you can imagine and much more, not to mention a great message

43. Terminator 2: Judgment Day



A Terminator(Arnold Schwarzenegger) was sent from the future to kill the unborn son of Sarah Connor(Linda Hamilton) in the original. Now, that Terminator has been sent back again but with a different assignment: Protect John Connor. John Connor(Edward Furlong) is now about 10 years of age and must evade a new Terminator sent to kill him;The T-1000(Robert Patrick). Sarah, John, and The Terminator journey together on their quest to stop Judgement Day, with a trailing, shape-shifting Termiantor trailing from behind.

This is the greatest of the Terminator trilogy. I have watched three times in the past year and have not found anything that Cameron could have improved on. The move is a masterpiece in every aspect of film. Schwarzenegger's acting might not be incredible but this is the perfect role for him. He isn't supposed to show emotion or feelings. He is a machine. I hate almost every one of his movies besides this trilogy because he is a horrible actor but he works perfectly into this role.

The special effects are incredible beyond belief. The shape-shifting T-1000 is some of the greatest animation I have witnessed in cinema history. It absolutely blew my mind when I first experienced this visual extravaganza. The animation looked so real(remembering this was a good ten years). The movie included fast-paced action along with some clever sci-fi drama/horror. The idea of a vast army of machines taking over the world after sending off warheads to every major city should be scary enough. But the T-1000 has very little lines and is just creepy enough to make twitch when you see him.

Sci-fi movies can rarely be made in such way that can be looked at as works of art. This is one of the few exceptions. The prediction of judgment day with Hamilton watching a playground full of kids be burnt to the ground is an absolute brilliant portrayal of Armageddon. The theme that men will destroy themselves is also shown throughout the movie also and is even said by The Terminator" It's in your nature to destroy yourselves". This brings the movie to a whole new level of sci-fi.

42. The Lion King



The Lion King Mufasa (James Earl Jones) just had a baby cub named Simba. All of the animals come to the ceremony, except for Mufasa's brother Scar (Jeremy Irons). Scar desperately wants to be King, but can't. As long as Mufasa and Simba are there. Soon Simba is able to walk and talk and is voiced by Jonathon Taylor Thomas. After hearing about an elephant graveyard from Scar, he and his friend Nala (Niketa Calame) visit it. They meet three bumbling hyenas: Banzai (Cheech Marin), Shenzi (Whoopi Goldberg), and Ed (Jim Cummings), but they manage to leave unhurt. Scar is upset that the hyenas didn't do the job, so he orders a stampede to wipe out both of them, but it only takes care of Mufasa. Scar convinces Simba that he killed Mufasa, not Scar. So Simba flees into exile.

The Lion King really benefits from the larger screen. Its lavish landscapes will be able to capture you more, and you can really savor the animation. Disney didn't need any humans, so they could spend all of the time on a great story and lush landscapes. In fact, its camera movement was so majestic that you actually felt like you were part of the pride of lions.

The music boomed and really created the atmosphere. Although I had seen this picture before, I still was tense because of the way the music played out. Most of the time, I would just roll my eyes at the attempt to make me nervous. But Hans Zimmer's music really bowled me over and made my heart do calisthenics. Unlike such new Disney pics like Lilo and Stitch, the songs actually did some good. They took you out of a somewhat dreary mood and put a smile on your face and made your feet want to tap along. There were only a few, but they were very entertaining. And the Circle of Life song at the beginning was beautiful, with its perfect pictures and perfect sound.

I really like James Earl Jones (he's pretty diverse), and this time was no exception. He seemed to act like he didn't want to do this role, but he couldn't contain his excitement for wanting to do voice-overs again (he had done some work in The Simpsons before). Matthew Broderick redeemed himself for me (after the atrocious Ferris Bueller's Day Off) by showing a strong voicing as the adult Simba. Cheech Marin, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jim Cummings really had good chemistry together, even though they didn't have much screen time. Irons was really good and creepy as Scar (one of those who you can't help but hate), and if that is him really singing, brava!

41. What's Eating Gilbert Grape



In the small town of Endora, Gilbert Grape is busy caring for his mentally handicapped brother, Arnie. His morbidly obese mother, Bonnie has done little except eat since her husband died, and longs only to see Arnie live to the age of 18. With Bonnie unable to care for her children on her own, Gilbert has taken responsibility for repairing the old house and looking after Arnie, who has a habit of climbing the town water tower, while his sisters Amy and Ellen do the rest. The relationship between the brothers is of both care and protection, as Gilbert continually enforces the 'nobody touches Arnie' policy. A new "Foodland" supermarket has opened, threatening the small Lamson's Grocery where Gilbert works. In addition, Gilbert is having an affair with a married woman, Betty Carver. The family is looking forward to Arnie's 18th birthday. A young woman named Becky and her grandmother are stuck in town when their car breaks down. Gilbert's unusual life circumstances threaten to get in the way of their possible romance. His affair with Mrs Carver ends when she leaves town in search of a new life following her husbands death,. Becky becomes close to both Gilbert and Arnie and as she talks to Gilbert she begins to unlock some buried hopes, dreams and happiness. Later on, Arnie tries to run away yet again from his bath and in his frustration Gilbert finally snaps, hitting Arnie several times. Guilty and appalled at himself, Gilbert takes the car and runs out without another word, fearing that he is leaving his family just like his father and brother did.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape is just an incredibly beautiful and touching movie that will always have a special place in my heart. It makes you laugh, cry, and think about how precious life is. All the characters are relatable or likable in some way. Even in the smallest of all towns where it seems like it's just dead, there is life. That's what this movie is about to me, everyone has a story and everyone has an experience to share. This is just a terrific film, quality acting and a heart felt story, I very much recommend that if you get the chance to watch it. If anything for Leonardo DiCaprio's incredible performance and Johnny Depp singing to him "Match in the gas tank, boom boom!"

40. One flew over the cuckoos nest



The movie gives an awareness that some "therapies" in life are not therapies at all. And breakable actions can give a bigger positive consequence unlike the acknowledged "therapy".

McMurphy is kind, freedom-loving man with emotions, with love. And the machine of asylum, that crazy and evil system is so depressive. The good becomes an evil and vice versa. It's scary. The habit of recognizing "the evil with kind eyes" is extremely important. To be such cautious, people can be just sober. Without this, they run risk to lose mental health.

This film reveals a great and horrible truth about life.

Quite a few movies that I like so far. Keep it up!

Thanks false writer. I'll post another ten tomorrow or if you want more ill post more later

So far it's an awesome list, a few gems for sure. Actually like how you chose L.A Confidential, I love that film and don't really recall seeing it get any love.

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L.a. confidential is an excellent film and some very intense scenes. It doesn't get a lot of love on here.

Thank you for your comments much appreciated.

10 a day isn't dragging it out too much though is it?

The Neverending Story - I saw this movie many years ago, and I thought it was a great movie. I also love the theme song by Limahl.
Starship Troopers - I watched this movie for one of the Hall of Fames here on MoFo, and I liked the story, but I didn't love the movie. But it seems to be a bit of a cult classic.
L.A. Confidential - This movie is a bit too violent for my taste, but it has a great story and some great performances.
WALL·E - This is one of my all-time favorite movies. It would be much higher up on my list.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day - I agree that this movie is easily the best movie of the Terminator series.
The Lion King - This isn't my favorite Disney movie, but it's a great movie.
What's Eating Gilbert Grape - I haven't seen this in many years, but I remember thinking that Leonardo DiCaprio was terrific in it.

I'm not a fan of horror movies, so I doubt I'll reply much on that thread, but there are a LOT of horror fans on MoFo, so hopefully you'll pick up some more followers with it.

BTW, have you considered adding some pictures and color to your reviews?

I do alot of it on my phone. I went on the computer the other day but it wouldn't let me add a picture on at all. I tried photobucket, Google images but they just weren't working at all.

39. Gangs of New York



Gangs of New York is just perfect entertainment. It is an enthralling, bloody, melodramatic epic that more than justifies its two and one half hour running time. In Gangs director Martin Scorsese spins another tale of the New York underworld but with a twist. Instead of the mid-twentieth century organized crime milieu of Goodfellas, Scorsese ventures back to the 19th century to show us the origin of the modern street gang.

It's the early 1860s and the notorious Five Points slum is ruled by the savage `Bill the Butcher'. The viciously nationalistic Bill terrorizes all the immigrant masses jammed into his slum but seems to harbor a particular hatred for the Irish population. Into this seething cauldron wanders mysterious young Amsterdam Vallon who soon works his way into the trust and affection of Bloody Bill. Amsterdam, however, has a past with the unsuspecting Butcher and sports an agenda not unlike a certain Prince of Denmark. Bloody vengeance and dark betrayal soon come to pass, all played against a backdrop of corruption and unrest that lead to up to the horrors of New York Civil War draft riots.

Daniel Day-Lewis is marvelous as Bill the Butcher. His Bill is both recognizably human and a full bore, moustache-twirling villain. Day-Lewis strides his savage and profane way across the screen and steals the whole of the movie. The only other actor to approach Day-Lewis' level is Jim Broadbent as William 'Boss' Tweed. Broadbent is Tweed's spitting image and he makes the grasping old pirate so winning we find ourselves rooting for Tweed against the gaggle of reformers that infest his domain. Though Leonardo DiCaprio is the nominal lead of the picture he is overshadowed by his co-stars. Large, slope shouldered and vaguely brutish looking, DiCaprio is physically perfect for Amsterdam. While he could have used some of the fire and rage of a young James Cagney, DiCaprio's acting is superior throughout the movie. The problem is that Amsterdam just isn't as flashy a role as Bill or Tweed and, as good as DiCaprio is; Day-Lewis operates on a whole other level. Cameron Diaz as the beautiful pickpocket Jenny, never convinces that she is a product of the slums. Despite having considerable screen time, Diaz fades into the background when compared to her more powerful co-stars.

Just as important as the actors are to Gangs is the period atmosphere that drips off the screen. The amazing old New York set has an air of lived in reality that you could cut with a knife. You can almost smell the vermin. Gangs is entirely free of the embalmed feeling you get from most modern period movies. The cast handles the period argot as if it were their true speech and wear their costumes like lived-in clothing. You come away convinced that this is how the world looked and sounded in 1862.

38. The town



What makes The Town so interesting is the authenticity of the characters. Affleck has stuck to what he knows in his previous films and takes that to a pinnacle here. The neighborhood, its people, they are so genuine. I didn't recognize Blake Lively as Jem's drug-addicted, single mother sister. The accents, the dialogue, swagger, it's as real as it gets. So when the character conflicts begin to emerge, the doomsday events that unfold have weight to the audience. This is a fine ensemble cast, but the specificity of the performances seems like marionette strings being pulled by Affleck. As the lead actor and director, you can see him shaping these performances into precise delivery on screen.

The action scenes are slick and well paced, but not set up to add a bang to the script every ten pages. These are criminal acts for money, dangerous activities driven by a ruthless man. You'd have to be crazy to attempt any of this stuff. This point is hammered in. Doug has lived on the edge of the knife for so long, resigned himself to the fate of a criminal, that when Claire opens up the possibility for a different life; it is truly an epiphany. It's easy to have a death wish when there's nothing to live for.

37. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring



In 3 hours, Jackson has crammed everything essential from the first novel & then some into the film, rewriting some scenes & dialogue with lesser characters for the leads, leaving out only what there wasn't enough time for. Basically, you have two 90 min. movies running back to back. There are no slow spots, just one climax after another. From the opening 10 min. backstory where the Dark Lord Sauron is shown on the battlefield wiping out men & elves 10 at a time with each swing of his mace, I was blown away. The romance between Aragorn, king in exile, and Arwen, daughter of the elf-lord, is played up for the "Titanic" quotient, but it's well done.

The story, sets, costumes & FX are so rich, you'll have to see the film several times to absorb everything. The unspoiled New Zealand locales are spectacular, providing a variety of environments to represent the different settings on the characters' journey. The location sets are imaginative, detailed & weathered, adding to their believability, while the studio sets match them in meticulousness. The costumes are at once familiar & strange, drawing on both the medievil & the fantastic, but more important, they're also functional & practical. The music by Howard Shore is appropriately sweeping, Celtic & folky in keeping with the novel, although it lacks the memorable themes of John Williams or Jerry Goldsmith, but neither would commit a year or more to a 3 picture project. The FX are as they should be, unobtrusive & unnoticed most of the time, there only to support the story not draw attention away from it as in most Hollywood movies which try to coverup illogical plots & bad acting.

I'm particularly gratified by the casting of Viggo Mortenson as Aragorn which was a last minute stroke of luck when the actor first chosen for the part backed out due to differences with the director. I've always thought Mortenson had an intensity & striking but not pretty-boy looks that could portray a flawed, dangerous hero instead of the villains Hollywood always picked him for.

A stellar cast giving some of their best performances, visuals that deliver beyond what I imagined, a perfect mix of humor, passion & tragedy, and a feeling of grandeur, scope & impending doom. Perhaps as an ensemble piece with so many characters & the inability to concentrate on any one, it can't be measured against some of the classic character study films, but even the casual moviegoer can grasp the ideas & not get lost As far as I'm concerned, it's one of the greatest films of all time