I Have Never Seen Any Of These Movies; Please Advise

Ghostbusters by a mile.

theyre all A+ except
life aquatic C
fight club B

im going to vote shining

The Shining ffs. I won't say anything about it, just fucking watch it. Some of the others are great too, for the lols, but problematic tho it is, it is the only "must see" out of these, even if yr not a horror stan (kubrick).

And yeah, Ghostbusters pretty much fucking rules, but you kinda had to be there (I think).

nah shining isn't one of kubrick's best movies, though it's still a fine film. fight club

i voted Shining, but wish i'd voted Top Gun. excellent film-- so homoerotic!

Beetlejuice B+
Crocodile Dundee D
Life Aquatic C
The Shining B
Ghostbusters A
Fight Club B

ghostbusters if you want to have fun, shining if you want to be creeped out

yeah, that pretty much sums it up

top gun it is then!

Weird, I just made a list the other day of '80s movies people think I should have seen. Something like...

Aliens
Better Off Dead
Die Hard
Dirty Dancing
Footloose
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom/Last Crusade
Real Genius
Say Anything
Top Gun
Weird Science

Thank Christ I saw the Star Wars movies and Goonies and the Princess Bride when I was a kid, even though I barely remember them.

(Of that list, the only ones I actually want to see are Say Anything and maybe Aliens -- haven't seen any of that series, actually.)

Don't bother with Crocodile Dundee, and only see Top Gun and Dirty Dancing if you feel the need to get those references, they're pretty damn awful. The others are all worth it.

I just realized I forgot to list Shawshank Redemption, Schindler's List, and Titanic...hrm.

Aliens is totally great IMO. Really recommend seeing the first one first though, even though they are VERY different movies.

Beetlejuice B
Crocodile Dundee D-
Life Aquatic C
The Shining A+
Ghostbusters A
Fight Club A+
Dirty Dancing C
Top Gun D

ghostbusters ftw

1. Ghostbusters
2. Beetlejuice
3. The Shining

destroy Life Aquatic, Fight Club is OK/pretty entertaining, have not seen the rest

fight club

Life Aquatic is good, a-holes! Fight Club and Shining are better tho.

Glad to see all the Life Aquatic hate! It's the only movie I've rented and turned off halfway through!

Life Aquatic is just fine, leave it be.

The Shining>Life Aquatic>Fight Club>Ghostbusters>Beetlejuice>Top Gun>Dirty Dancing>Crocodile Dundee

Ghostbuster, Beetlejuice, Top Gun, Fight Club, Dirty Dancing in that order.

Haven't see The Life Aquatic. The Shining meh, but then Kubrick does nothing for me. Crocodile Dundee sucks.

Voted Beetlejuice, but probably for nostalgic reasons, which is dumb because someone seeing it for the first time won't have any nostalgia for it, and it'll just seem like a solid B.

Fight Club is one of the great flawed movies.

The Shining is as cold as the sharp edge of an axe, which is appropriate, but does not make it much fun.

whats not funny about nicholsons acting

The Shining fighting it out with Ghostbusters here

dirty dancing is the second best movie there after the shining

The Shininess is also one of the great flawed movies.

LOL I did not mean Shininess. That was an auto spelling correction that I accidentally clicked.

"The Shininess" <--------- sequel or prequel?

The Shining is scarier every time I see it. Now, just the drive to the hotel causes me to lose bowel & bladder control. Gotta put a rubber sheet over the sofa.

It scares me too, but long after watching it, because it makes me feel so dead inside.

Kubrick's good at that

I was surprised by how much I still enjoyed Ghostbusters when I watched it again a few months ago. That shit holds up!

The Shining is good, but it is in no way fun.

Fight Club, OTOH, is fun at ludicrous speed. And sick to its core, as a bonus.

I could honestly have gone without seeing any of the others but all the people torn between Shining vs. Ghostbusters are on the money.

Here's how I would rate them

1) Ghostbusters
2) Beetlejuice
(These two are almost equally great, but I'll give Ghostbusters an extra point for cultural signifigance; if you can watch only one of them, watch Ghostbusters.)
3) The Shining
4) Fight Club
5) Crocodile Dundee
6) Life Aquatic
(Haven't seen the last two.)

All six have enough good stuff in them to make them worth watching, though if you absolutely hate twee indie movies, don't watch Life Aquatic.

I wouldn't miss seeing the first third of Fight Club for the world. There are other threads for this argument, I know, and I'm sure I'm on them already, but I have to say it again.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Well, guess I got no choice now. Thanks everybody!!

I'm surprised anyone still cares about Top Gun. Seems about as crucial as a Spuds MacKenzie commercial or Phil Collins record.

itt: ludicrous rockism

Life Aquatic in some qustionable company right there.

top two movies truly two of the most overrated films (especially on ILX) of all time

if you are american and believe that ghostbusters is an ineffable cultural pillar of yours then you have my deepest sympathy

I'm Finnish and I think Ghostbusters is great fun. No sympathy needed.

Gladiator: truly fascist and bad but has one scene i really like
Kill Bill: enjoyments produced not worth the time to get them really
Sin City: didn't see
Million Dollar Baby: didn't see
Lord of the Rings (any of them): oh these are great
Pirates of the Caribbean (ditto): slocki otm
The Fast and the Furious (ditto): didn't see
A Beautiful Mind: saw in bits, was real bad
Pearl Harbor: lolsome
Erin Brockovich: good!
Traffic: i liked it but it has major probs. the UK series is good, right?
My Big Fat Greek Wedding: didn't see
National Treasure: didn't see. latter day nic cage, what could go wrong?

Actually, I don't know why I put Pearl Harbor on the list and left off others I've not seen like Cast Away, Passion of the Christ and Meet the Fockers, all of which did much more box-office business and were probably better-reviewed as well.

Pearl Harbor: "That 'Titanic' movie made a lot of money, right? What can we do that's kind of like that? Get Ben Affleck on the phone, everyone loves that guy."

Cast Away - the bookends are high middlebrow, and the middle is sometimes boring, but sometimes hilarious; worth seeing at least once even if not as good as Contact

Forrest Gump C
Ghost F (this movie is racist and stupid)
Speed A- (shame about the beginning and end)
Jurassic Park B
The Silence of the Lambs B+
The Sixth Sense B
Sister Act D
There's Something About Mary B
Good Will Hunting D
Saving Private Ryan B (2 good scenes and a bunch of filler)
Schindler's List B+
The English Patient C (the "present" sections are excellent but the flashbacks are a chore)

Gladiator C
Kill Bill A/B
Sin City A
Million Dollar Baby A- (can't stand the narration)
Lord of the Rings (any of them) B+/D/D
Pirates of the Caribbean (ditto) A-/D/F
A Beautiful Mind B
Erin Brockovich B
Traffic C
Cast Away A (note: i find the Randian nonsense entertaining)
Meet the Fockers F

I'm quite interested how so many people here end up seeing something like Pearl Harbor, actually. I mean, it had a terrible reputation, it didn't even offer the potential of critically sneered-at fun, what was it that drove you into its arms?

Stuck at Mom's house, it was on cable.

But isn't there always something else on cable? I dunno, I find it hard enough to settle down to watch films I'm looking forward to on TV, let alone ones that look like Pearl Harbor. I'd probably give it 5 minutes then switch to Come Dine With Me on another channel.

who will pay me millions to remake Cast Away shot-for-shot with Dave Matthews in the Tom Hanks role?

how about we just pay you a million dollars to strand yourself on a desert island

I don't know why I am finding this thread quite so funny, but I am.

haaaaa

i liked the island stuff in cast away. and the plane crash. the hanging out with helen hunt at the fedex office stuff (i know it didnt go down exactly like that but u know what i mean) at the end was terrible. what's "high middlebrow" about ending a movie with a man literally arriving at a CROSSROADS.

What are the Finnish titles of these movies?

Braveheart:; Hey, We're Scottish!
Forrest Gump - Hey, We're Retarded!
Ghost - Hey, We're Dead!
Speed - Hey, We're Fast!
Jurassic Park - Hey, We're Extinct!
The Silence of the Lambs - Hey, We're Serial Killers!
The Sixth Sense - Hey, We're Dead, Too!
Sister Act - Hey, We're Nuns!
Sleepless In Seattle - Hey, We're Lovers!
There's Something About Mary - Hey, We're The Farrellys!
Good Will Hunting - Hey, We're Geniuses!
Saving Private Ryan - Hey, We're Soldiers!
Schindler's List - Hey, We're Judenfrei!
The English Patient - Hey, We're Boring!
Dances With Wolves - Hey, We're Indians!

*slow clap*

Gladiator: more like glad its over
Kill Bill: kill myself
Sin City: pretty good
Million Dollar Baby: fuck this shit
Lord of the Rings (any of them): bored of this thing
Pirates of the Caribbean (ditto): fags
The Fast and the Furious (ditto): b+ gone in 60 seconds already exists
A Beautiful Mind: wtf is this about???
Pearl Harbor: into it
Erin Brockovich: starin atrocketits
Traffic: have never seen this, never will also crapshit
My Big Fat Greek Wedding: lol
National Treasure: best

really do not get what anybody liked about Sin City, and I grew up on Frank Miller

"SPR has some good cinematography and masturbation, but it's still Spielberg"

Saving Private Ryan: some good masturbation, but ultimately kind've a crap film

Braveheart: never saw
Forrest Gump: liked it when i was a kid, can't imagine watching it now
Ghost: never saw
Speed: good fun, knows how to use its gimmick
Jurassic Park: total blast but you maybe had to be there to love it now
The Silence of the Lambs: never saw
The Sixth Sense: never saw
Sister Act: never saw, but saw the sequel about three or four times in school. That one's a pretty good Mighty Ducks type deal where she whips a bunch of ragtag kids into an awesome soul singing team. And Lauryn Hill!
Sleepless In Seattle: never saw
There's Something About Mary: never saw
Good Will Hunting: never saw. Oh, wait, I saw this. I don't think it was very good.
Saving Private Ryan: never saw
Schindler's List: never saw
The English Patient: never saw
Dances With Wolves: never saw

this thread inspired me to rewatch Aliens last night with my girlfriend (who had never seen it before). good call, thread.

Jurassic Park: Entertaining enough, never felt the need to watch it again
The Silence of the Lambs: Pretty excellent, watched it again a year or 2 later, still liked it.
The Sixth Sense: Never saw it
Sister Act: Saw a bit of it, didn't watch any more. ZZZzzzzzz.
Sleepless In Seattle: Didn't watch
There's Something About Mary: Crap
Good Will Hunting: Didn't watch
Saving Private Ryan: Boring.
Schindler's List: Depressing.
The English Patient: ZZzzzzz
Dances With Wolves: Half-decent film in there somewhere? I dunno, cant remember much about it TBH.

Braveheart: total shit. not as bad as "the patriot" I guess. Mel Gibson is a cretin.
Forrest Gump: Sappy, tedious.
Ghost: Entertaining enough. Would have been better if it had featured godzilla
Speed: would have been awesome at 3/4 the length, dragged it out just a bit too long tho.
The Sixth Sense: didn't fancy it at the time, never saw.

Gladiator: epitome of tedious CGI-afflited shit. Wd have been better if they'd made it in 1925, and built all that shit for real.
Kill Bill: cinematic equivalent of record collection rock. Tarantino is a boring wanker who will never be associated another film as entertaining as "dusk to dawn" and is the hollywood equiv of bobby gillespie.
Sin City: didn't like the comic, didn't bother.
Million Dollar Baby: never even heard of this
Lord of the Rings (any of them): OK as these things go? Can't remember much about them TBH.
Pirates of the Caribbean (ditto): Saw the trailer, figured it was pointless to sit thru the entire film after that.
The Fast and the Furious (ditto): looked vaguely entertaining thru the window of the TV shop. Might pick up the dvd if I see it for 2.99
A Beautiful Mind: didn't fancy it.
Pearl Harbor: looked shit, so didn't bother
Erin Brockovich: didn't look very interesting, didn't bother
Traffic: clips i saw looked goddamn awful
My Big Fat Greek Wedding: my wife likes this film, she keeps trying to get me to watch it, i don't fancy it much.
National Treasure: never heard of it

the original poll selection:

Ghostbusters: great
The Shining: great
Beetlejuice: great
Fight Club: boring
Top Gun: shit
Crocodile Dundee: entertaining
Life Aquatic: enjoyed this a lot, for all it was like the ramblings of a maudlin drunk made into a film.
Dirty Dancing: atrocious, one of the worst films ever made. inexcusable.

I am the biggest soundtrack whore alive and that is still no excuse for watching "Dirty Dancing"

― 1899 Horsey Horseless (HI DERE), Friday, June 5, 2009 4:48 PM Bookmark

well yeah, i suppose you can jettison the Ronettes, Otis, the Drifters, the Zodiacs, etc., but come on - Jennifer Warnes? Eric Carmen? Zappacosta?!

this movie is unfuckwithable

ok, i admit it's a little embarrassing when swayze plays air guitar and later how (but not that?) he mouths the lyrics in the magic realist ending. dude is mortal after all.

Ghostbusters: great
The Shining: great
Beetlejuice: great
Fight Club: boring

Pash, that's insane but

Tarantino is a boring wanker...and is the hollywood equiv of bobby gillespie.

APPLAUDING

What were the origins of "resultant paste"?

It morphed from this:

Sucking your fingers after eating crisps C/D

So I still haven't seen any of these. Man I suck. But I did finally watch Shawshank Redemption this week and was satisfied - that one at least lives up to the "YOU HAVEN'T SEEN!?!" pressure. The video library here doesn't have The Shining or Ghostbusters that I've been able to find though....should ask next time to be sure, 'cause a lot of the organization is pretty mysterious.

I saw Beetlejuice! It was pretty good!

So I finally started watching Ghostbusters this morning! It's a VHS with reallllly bad pan-n-scan so that's distracting, but so far I'm basically into the plot and so on. Gonna watch it in chunks for the next couple days I think. Bill Murray's character seems like a real dick - - not sure I'd have introduced him through a scene with him being all sleazy with the co-ed student and so on. But OMG Sigourney Weaver is so fucking hot in this movie. The library ghost was pretty cool too. How'd they do the card catalog stunt do you think? Some kind of card-spitting contraption inside the drawers?

rick moranis iirc

sigourney weaver is all-time

murray is a dick, but v loveable.

ps bad form blatantly ignoring the results of yr own poll til now imo

How'd they do the card catalog stunt do you think?

Aye, I believe it was an air cannon of some sort.

hahahah yeah, I'm sure when I made the poll I intended to follow through on it kind of directly, but I moved overseas basically the same week it finished and that sort of threw things off. And then the library in Bangalore didn't have Ghostbusters!

Oddly enough I was reminded of this whole business by the action movie poll results which I intended to take as a serious remedial crash course syllabus.

I don't think I could even *make* myself watch Ghostbusters in chunks, I lose a whole afternoon if it's on tv, lol.

Bill Murray is the best kind of dick. You'll see. And he's a great foil for Akroyd and Ramis. I mean, the comedy of those 3 personality types together is so fucking great.

you should try to get your hands on the Reitman commentary at some point, it's great and they explain a lot of the effects etc. There's a good summary here too if you're interested: http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/features/36-things-we-learned-from-the-ghostbusters-commentary-track.php

I'm such a stan for this movie it's embarrassing

Bill Murray's pre-Groundhog Day career is encapsulated in the Twinkie exchange -- specifically his response.

I've never seen Top Gun or Dirty Dancing, and don't have much interest in either (dislike Tom Cruise & dancing movies).

Glad to see all the Life Aquatic hate! It's the only movie I've rented and turned off halfway through!

― Carlos 2, Tuesday, June 2, 2009 7:51 AM (2 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Life Aquatic is definitely my favourite Wes Anderson film, which probably means I'm not a Wes Anderson fan.

A yuppie friend of a friend was the first I knew to have a bigass home theater system with surround sound, and his favorite thing to show off his equipment (heh) was Top Gun. I hated that movie then, hate it now.

;_;

Another chunk through Ghostbusters, still liking it although it's a little on the sluggish side - the whole thing catching Slimer in the hotel ballroom really seemed to drag out. I always thought this was more of like a comedy movie. But Bill Murray's character is actually growing on me, didn't expect that!

(ITT: Doctor Casino liveblogs movies everybody else on ilx has already seen fifty-five times)

<3

Man, I read the first part of this thread and when I got to the fold I had my fingers crossed for the surely upcoming mile long LJ post ripping apart Ghostbusters (rules btw) I could almost visualize it in my head with the paragraph breaks and everything but it never happened T_T

Wow, it's like this movie keeps alternating between this really annoying movie about Rick Moranis and this really engaging movie about Bill Murray. Obviously they're set up to intersect with this whole Keymaster business but, ugh.

annoying movie about rick moranis? does not compute ;_;

also how long are these chunks that you're watching? spaced out over a period of weeks/months any film becomes pretty intolerable.

Guess you never saw...his entire 1990s career

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/Big_Bully.jpg

I meant w/r/t to Ghostbusters, lol!

that movie looks terrible

TOM ARNOLD STOP LOOKING AT ME

lol it is set in Hastings, MN

Done! Man, what an odd little movie. The comedy bits were usually pretty strong but they're so, like, stranded in the midst of the plotty and/or effects scenes. There's certain sequences that just seem to drag out forever (like when they leave the mayor's office and are like rallying the city or whatever), and it's like, man, get back to the part where these dudes play off each other! Basically I would have liked more script, less ghost-busting. Also more Sigourney Weaver. It was totally okay though, I'm glad I finally saw the thing. Couple of really great parts. And I mean, the VHS was like a buck at Goodwill. Thanks for the poll results, everyone! I wonder if I should do this thing again.

Just saw The Shining, closing out the top three. Gorgeous movie, loved looking at every frame, loved OTT Nicholson, love/hated OTT Duvall. Was probably only scared at two or three points, and not intensely, but it was just so visually satisfying that I didn't notice or care. Amazing acting they got out of the kid - he's really crucial to the movie and I can't imagine how you get kids to convey reactions like that, especially since (I imagine) you can't tell them "You're reacting to a bunch of hacked-up bloody pieces of two little girls" or whatever.

Wonder if I'd react differently if I didn't know the basic outline of the plot from a million parodies (lol Simpsons) and references, or know that at some point Jack Nicholson was going to break down a door with an axe and go "Here's Johnny!" etc. Suspect I would much more scared just seeing this cold in the theater in 1980.

Also just read most of the main ILX Shining thread, some awesome posts there especially by difficult listening hour. Wow. The Shining