Andy44
owner: Oil Creek Astronautix
Instead of another thread limited to space movies, and face it, there really aren't that many good space movies, I thought it would be cool to discuss your favorite movies, period. What are your favorites, and what makes a good movie in your book?
I think my top 3 would be (not necessarily in this order):
- Last of the Mohicans (1992)
- The Manchurian Candidate (1962, not the crappy remake with Denzel)
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1967)
The last one is easy, but the first two are just flat out great story-telling.
Mohicans is emotionally moving, with great action and music and a very-hot Madeline Stowe, her best performance ever. Michael Mann, who created Miami Vice, did this film and he wisely changed the story from the ponderous novel (by James Fenimore Cooper), put the perfect soundtrack to it, and did a great job. Unfortunately, he ruined it (or should I say "Lucas'ed it" when he put out the "Director's Expanded Edition" DVD, so make sure you get the VHS or the rare original DVD.
The Manchurian Candidate was, to me, the best Cold War paranoia film ever. Frank Sinatra (yes THAT Frank) plays the main character, US Army Major Marco, who must investigate the strange activity of a former soldier and fellow Korean War POW Raymond Shaw, whose controlling mother (masterfully played by Angela Lansbury) is running her moronic husband's senate campaign. This movie is in black and white, as any good Twilight Zone-era paranoia film should be, and I can watch it over and over, it never gets old.
I think my top 3 would be (not necessarily in this order):
- Last of the Mohicans (1992)
- The Manchurian Candidate (1962, not the crappy remake with Denzel)
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1967)
The last one is easy, but the first two are just flat out great story-telling.
Mohicans is emotionally moving, with great action and music and a very-hot Madeline Stowe, her best performance ever. Michael Mann, who created Miami Vice, did this film and he wisely changed the story from the ponderous novel (by James Fenimore Cooper), put the perfect soundtrack to it, and did a great job. Unfortunately, he ruined it (or should I say "Lucas'ed it" when he put out the "Director's Expanded Edition" DVD, so make sure you get the VHS or the rare original DVD.
The Manchurian Candidate was, to me, the best Cold War paranoia film ever. Frank Sinatra (yes THAT Frank) plays the main character, US Army Major Marco, who must investigate the strange activity of a former soldier and fellow Korean War POW Raymond Shaw, whose controlling mother (masterfully played by Angela Lansbury) is running her moronic husband's senate campaign. This movie is in black and white, as any good Twilight Zone-era paranoia film should be, and I can watch it over and over, it never gets old.
) and Apocalypse Now for much the same reasons (despite completely hating Joseph Conrad's original basis for the story). Equillibrium and Fahrenheit 451 are also favorites (though I feel bad for enjoying 451 despite reading and loving the book first). I also liked The Postman, but maybe one of the best documentaries I've ever seen was BBC's "The Ascent of Man." It's right up there with Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" (another one that anyone would be remiss to have never seen).
