League Unlimited's Favourite Movie

[Captain Apollo]

Watchmen??? In a top of anything list? Are we heading for Man of Steel at number 1?

No, no, no. That'll be no. 10. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will be no. 1

 

[Matua]

No, no, no. That'll be no. 10. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will be no. 1

Damn, that was the one I thought I was typing ... they all blend into one.

 

[Sans Souci Sainter]

Predator was the absolute tits when it came out. As mentioned, some of the one-liners were pretty kewl. I know there’s a couple I still use today.
“...Dug in like an Alabama tick!”

“...This’ll make you a sexual Ty-rannosaurus!!”

 

[axl rose]

Predator was the absolute tits when it came out. As mentioned, some of the one-liners were pretty kewl. I know there’s a couple I still use today.
“...Dug in like an Alabama tick!”

“...This’ll make you a sexual Ty-rannosaurus!!”

 

[Misanthrope]

I thought Watchmen was an utter mess. TBH I've only liked one of Hack Snyder's movies and that was 300.

Dawn of the Dead is his best work IMO.

 

[T-Boon]

Predator was the absolute tits when it came out. As mentioned, some of the one-liners were pretty kewl. I know there’s a couple I still use today.
“...Dug in like an Alabama tick!”

“...This’ll make you a sexual Ty-rannosaurus!!”

I don't care who you are back in the world, give our position away one more time, I'll bleed you. Real quiet. Leave ya here.

 

[KeepingTheFaith]

"You're bleeding."

"I don't have time to bleed."

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

Predator was the absolute tits when it came out. As mentioned, some of the one-liners were pretty kewl. I know there’s a couple I still use today.
“...Dug in like an Alabama tick!”

“...This’ll make you a sexual Ty-rannosaurus!!”

“If it bleeds, we can kill it”

 

[Bring back John Fifita]

Maybe I’m in the movie-watching dinosaur club..

I’ve never heard of Watchmen.. much less watched it. I’ve heard of Spirited away.. but know nothing else.. I’m sure I’ll find a few more surprises as more results come to light..

That said, this is a vote for LU’s favourite films... Some people will love films voted in, some will hate them.

 

[Misanthrope]

Maybe I’m in the movie-watching dinosaur club..

I’ve never heard of Watchmen.. much less watched it. I’ve heard of Spirited away.. but know nothing else.. I’m sure I’ll find a few more surprises as more results come to light..

That said, this is a vote for LU’s favourite films... Some people will love films voted in, some will hate them.

I can heartily recommend both.

Watchmen is a far from a perfect film, but it's dark and nihilistic in a way that most modern comic book movies don't really get. That has a lot to do with its source material, which is an absolutely terrific graphic novel. If you saw The Boys on Amazon (which is worth a look), it's in a similar vein.

Spirited Away is one of my all-time favorite movies, although I only had it at #28 or so in my own list. It's just a wonderfully put together story, and the animation is really gorgeous.

 

[axl rose]

Maybe I’m in the movie-watching dinosaur club..

I’ve never heard of Watchmen.. much less watched it. I’ve heard of Spirited away.. but know nothing .

I had that as my number 1. Not a fan of Watchmen on release, might give it another go.

The Boys on Amazon (which is worth a look), it's in a similar vein.

I get bored of tv shows within half an episode, but The Boys was a breath of fresh anti-superhero air.

 

[YoHadrian]

The Predator is 80's awesomeness personified.

 

[Wizardman]

LU's Favourite Movie - #40 - #36

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=#39 - Predator (1987) - 201 points

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Director: John McTiernan
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Richard Chaves, Elpidia Carrillo, and Kevin Peter Hall.
Awards: N/A

A classic example of 1980s balls to the wall action, 1987's Predator saw Arnold Schwarzenegger go head to head with a murderous alien bounty hunter from another world. Littered with quotable lines and established cliches of the genre, Predator is a gory, often amusing thrill ride through the Central American jungle that would go on to spawn an underwhelming sequel, a decent 2010 spin-off, and an abysmal 2018 'reboot' directed by Shane Black, who had a small role in the original film.

We don't talk about the dog's abortion that was the Alien vs. Predator franchise...

=#39 - Joker (2019) - 201 points

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Director: Todd Phillips
Starring: Jaoquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, and Frances Conroy.
Awards: N/A (yet)

The most recent film to make the Top 50, The Joker acts as an unofficial origin story for the most beloved of DC's many villains. Featuring a tour de force performance from Jaoquin Phoenix as the troubled Arthur Fleck, the film is a modern masterpiece of storytelling that delves into the tortured psyche of an unstable white man with delusions of grandeur in a society that doesn't care about him. A character study rather than a superhero film, it has been nominated for eleven Academy Awards including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor.

#38 - Jaws (1975) - 204 points

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Director: Stephen Spielberg
Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, and Lorraine Gary.
Awards: Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, and Best Sound.

A career-making film for a young Stephen Spielberg, the immense success of Jaws would launch his stellar career and terrify an entire generation out of the ocean. A taut piece of filmmaking, Jaws saw the people of a small New England beach town living in terror as a colossal, unusually intelligent great white shark hunted them.

The use of practical effects and minimal shots of the titular shark have allowed the film to stand the test of time, and it still terrifies modern viewers.

#37 - Spirited Away (2001) - 205 points

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Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Daveigh Chase, Jason Marsden, Suzanne Pleshette, and David Ogden Stiers.
Awards: N/A

Hayao Miyazaki's most beloved film outside of his native Japan, Spirited Away is a delightfully whimsical fairy tale about a young girl's experience in the fascinating realm of Japan's spirits.

Like all of Miyazaki's films, Spirited Away is wonderfully animated and makes use of sumptuous colors and off-the-wall characters to tell a story that translated wonderfully to a global audience. It is a testament to the film's popularity that it has been the only animated film to make the Top 50.

=#35 - Watchmen (2009) - 207 points

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Director: Zack Snyder
Starring: Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, Billy Crudup, Malin Akerman, Matthew Goode, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
Awards: N/A

The ambitious adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel of the same name arguably came a few years ahead of its time. The golden age of comic book movies had not yet begun, and audiences were perhaps not ready for Zack Snyder's take on Moore's notoriously violent, cynical, and nihilistic look into the superhero genre.

The film epitomizes many of the things that would become hallmarks of Snyder's work as he went forward as a director, with Watchmen polarizing audiences and critics alike. It has since spawned a tangentially related television sequel that has been much more well-received by critics and audiences.

I am in total amazement that you had not seen Mad Max 2. Pretty much in my generation, it was almost a rite of passage to watch it. I've amazed you with movies I've not watched over the years so I won't be too harsh

Predator: Whenever I see Arnie and Weathers do that handshake , the hairs on my head spike up. The best hanshake ever filmed without a doubt! The rest of the movie was pretty good too

Joker: One of the best performances of the decade from Phoenix.

Jaws: One of those movies that could have fallen apart so easily, yet the absolute genius of Steven Spielberg made it an absolute classic. The movie has one of the great monologues with Robert Shaw when he was out at sea. Soundtrack is one of the most memorable ever. Brilliant!

 

[Misanthrope]

I am in total amazement that you had not seen Mad Max 2. Pretty much in my generation, it was almost a rite of passage to watch it. I've amazed you with movies I've not watched over the years so I won't be too harsh

Predator: Whenever I see Arnie and Weathers do that handshake , the hairs on my head spike up. The best hanshake ever filmed without a doubt! The rest of the movie was pretty good too

Joker: One of the best performances of the decade from Phoenix.

Jaws: One of those movies that could have fallen apart so easily, yet the absolute genius of Steven Spielberg made it an absolute classic. The movie has one of the great monologues with Robert Shaw when he was out at sea. Soundtrack is one of the most memorable ever. Brilliant!

I've seen Mad Max and Fury Road, but neither of the middle films.

Fun fact: Mad Max 3 was filming when my family and I lived in Menindee, so we once had to wait on the road for about an hour and a half while they were filming a car chase. While I was too young to remember this, my Mum has a photo of Angry Anderson keeping me company while we waited.

 

[Wizardman]

I've seen Mad Max and Fury Road, but neither of the middle films.

Fun fact: Mad Max 3 was filming when my family and I lived in Menindee, so we once had to wait on the road for about an hour and a half while they were filming a car chase. While I was too young to remember this, my Mum has a photo of Angry Anderson keeping me company while we waited.

Bloody awesome....a slice of history there.

 

[Sans Souci Sainter]

I had never heard of the movie ‘Spirited Away’ before. Might give it a whirl.

 

[Misanthrope]

I had never heard of the movie ‘Spirited Away’ before. Might give it a whirl.

Should be on Netflix. I believe they have Miyazaki's entire canon.

 

[Misanthrope]

LU's Favourite Movie - #35 - 31
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=#35 - The Two Towers (2002) - 207 points

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Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellan, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, Bernard Hill, Karl Urban, Billy Boyd, Christopher Lee, Dominic Monaghan, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Brad Dourif, and Andy Serkis.
Awards: Best Visual Effects and Best Editing.

The second installment in Peter Jackson's epic realization of Tolkien's seminal Lord of the Rings, it could be said that The Two Towers suffers a little from being the second movie in a trilogy. Not quite as well-paced as Fellowship of the Ring or as satisfying as Return of the King, it is nonetheless a monumental cinematic experience full of epic battles, breathtaking landscapes, and a career-defining performance from Andy Serkis as Gollum.

#34 - It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - 208 points

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Director: Frank Capra.
Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, and Henry Travers.
Awards: N/A.

A box-office flop at the time of its release, It's a Wonderful Life went on to achieve cult status as a beloved Christmas movie when its copyright expired in 1974 due to a clerical error. This allowed networks to air the movie for next to nothing during the ratings 'dead zone' that exists around the holidays. Repeated airings of the movie at Christmas eventually instilled the film as a beloved Christmas favorite, in spite of the fact it's not really about Christmas.

Despite its lack of box office success, the film was critically acclaimed at the time of its release, receiving five Academy Award nominations including Best Picture.

#33 - True Romance (1993) - 216 points

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Director: Tony Scott.
Starring: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, and Christopher Walken.
Awards: N/A

The best movie you've likely never heard of, Tony Scott's True Romance features all of the hallmarks of Quentin Tarantino's popular style of writing. Written before the initial success of Reservoir Dogs, it is described by the visionary director of Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Basterds, and Django Unchained as his most 'autobiographical work'.

Full of crime, violence, and comedy, it is a terrific example of both Scott's directorial style and Tarantino's talent as a writer.

=#31 - Kill Bill (2003 - 2004) - 244 points

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Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Vivacia Fox, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Sonny Chiba, and Julia Dreyfuss.
Awards: N/A

From a Tarantino written piece to a Tarantino written and directed one, Kill Bill is Tarantino's love letter to the kung-fu genre. While technically two films, Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Kill Bill: Volume 2 don't really exist independently of one another, and are best viewed as a double feature.

Like all Tarantino films, it is packed with violence and dark humour, and features a terrific performance from Uma Thurman as the nameless Bride in search of revenge.

=#31 - Django Unchained (2012) - 244 points

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Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, Samuel L Jackson, and Walton Goggins.
Awards: Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Christoph Waltz)

If Kill Bill was Tarantino's love letter to kung-fu films, then Django Unchained was his gore-soaked, dark homage to spaghetti westerns. Like Kill Bill, it's a film all about revenge, as a freed slave (Foxx) embarks on a quest for revenge against the wealthy plantation owner who now owns his wife.

Christoph Waltz, Jamie Foxx, and Leonardo DiCaprio all turn in stellar performances in the film, with some especially memorable scenery-chewing monologues from DiCaprio and Waltz. The latter would win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film.

 

[myrrh ken]

Not so exciting for me. Need to watch Django and IAWL

Couldn't really pick the middle lord of the rings from the first two.

True Romance - I recall it being a great movie at the time but haven't felt compelled to watch it since.

Kill Bill - good in parts but can't say that part 2 was particularly memorable, Quite anti-climactic really.

They are my thoughts such as they are. Good going Misanthrope - stringing us along really well!

 

[Springs09]

Lots of Tarantino lovers here by the looks of it.
Great to see It's a Wonderful Life made it. One of the all time classics, great to see people still watch the oldies!
Only reason Two Towers isn't my number 1 is because Return of the King and Fellowship are in front of it. It suffers from not having a proper beginning and end, and has a baffling departure from the book, but there are some amazing scenes still in it. Helm's Deep is still the number 1 battle sequence for either fantasy or medieval films. Gollum was also groundbreaking for its time.

That's another 3 of mine gone. Think I have about 6 left.