How did I miss this thread? In no particular order:
-The General - Old silent film. I found it to be very hilarious because it contained some awesome deadpan comedy.
-The Bicycle Thief - Neorealistic Italian film. Based on the conditions of everyday life in a post-WW2 Italy.
-Office Space - Scared me out being a Comp Sci major.
-Heat - Pacino, DeNiro, Kilmer, Fitchner, etc. Serious analysis of the actual lives and driving forces of cops, thieves, and the mob. Very powerful stuff. Great action scenes too.
-Collateral - One of the only Tom Cruise movies I actually like. Dialogue is powerful. The ending is very intense.
-Memento - Remember 50 First Dates, the Adam Sandler romantic comedy about a women with anterograde amnesia? Well, this is where the idea came from. Christopher Nolan makes the viewer feel like they have Leonard's (Guy Pearce) condition by using a nonlinear narrative structure. Basically, the film has two beginnings: The chronological beginning and the chronological end. The ending is in the middle. The scenes counting up from the chronological beginning are in black and white, and the scenes counting down from the chronological ending are in color. Truly amazing.
-The Prestige - Another Chris Nolan film that analyzes what it truly means to be a magician. Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, and Michael Caine are all brilliant. Plus, Scarlett Johansson is in it, so there is good eye candy.
-Batman Begins - Finally, Batman has a beginning, as the title indicates. The themes of theatrics, deception, fear, and justice ring true throughout the entire film. Nolan manages to make two rather mid-tier rogues into interesting villains. Liam Nesson is brilliant as Ra's Al Ghul. Cillian Murphy is almost scarier without the mask. The concept of making the evil plan be making a whole entire city trip on a hallucinogenic plant is brilliant, and it makes sense when you think about it. Most of all, Chrstian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman cement themselves in their roles with brilliant performances. Katie Holmes sucks.
-The Dark Knight - What could I say that hasn't been said before? Tons of literary symbolism. Addresses what being a hero really is. Very dark. Very depressing.
-Star Trek IV - "The one about the whales." Trek's memorable characters are portrayed beautifully. Absolutely awesome for fans of Star Trek and movie goers in general.
-The Breakfast Club - So awesome that every teen series has had to rip it off. Everyone can identify with at least one character in this movie.
-Knocked Up - The first of Judd Apatow's 2007 comedy home runs. Absolutely hysterical. Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd are both hysterical in their roles. Personally, my favorite of Apatow's films is...
-Superbad - Because these kids are so dumb about everything, and everyone was that dumb about everything at least once in their lives. To put it simply, these kids are newbs at life. If you went to high school in the 2000s, you can say that you know kids like that or that you even identify with either Evan, Seth, or McLovin. For me, it's Evan. Michael Cera, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, and Bill Hader are all awesome in this film. But, honestly, the show has to go to Christopher Mintz-Plasse for his performance as McLovin. Judd Apatow hit two home runs in one summer.
-Big Daddy - This movie makes every guy somewhat paternal.
-Children of Men - Proof that if everyone randomly became infertile, Britain would still stand tall and survive.
-The Original Rocky - The best feel good sports movie ever.
-The Empire Strikes Back - The 2nd movie of a trilogy is always the best, in my opinion. Star Wars before Star Wars became all show and one-liners (See: Episodes 1, 2, 3, and, to an extent [although the film still succeeds], 6).
-Sin City - Awesome visual style. Feels like a comic book. Great cast.
-Crank - The ultimate guy movie. 'Nuff said. It's Speed without a bus.
-The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - Because if 9 hours is too short, you know 12 hours won't be. Epic feel. Epic story. Based on an epic book. In short, epic.
-Kill Bill Vol.1 and Vol. 2 - Tarantino, a true fan of films, brings forth a current day old school Japanese film.
-Unbreakable - My favorite M. Night Shyamalan movie. Bruce Willis and Samuel L. are absoutely incredible in their roles. The music is also on a different level.
-Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story - IMO, the last great piece of Family Guy media.
-Lost in Translation - Incredible shots of Japan. The sort of story about being a minority in Japan that makes you question how tough it would really be on you. Bill Murray's best film since his glory days. Johansson's best acting performance.
-National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - Can't start Christmas without it.
-Terminator 2 - Oh boy. As a sci-fi fan and a fan of intense action movies, this one is an instant classic. It is also the reason why I felt incredibly depressed after Terminator 3 came out, since comparing T3 to T2 is like comparing the Pittsburgh Pirates to a real baseball team.
-Supertroopers - Goofy and extremely amusing cop comedy.
-Jerry Maguire - The other Tom Cruise film I actually enjoy, and my second favorite sports film. Very powerful drama.
-The Matrix - The prophecy and philosophy are actually interesting, instead of the post-modern bull[censored] found in the sequels. Action scenes are also very fascinating.
-Speed - The other great Keanu Reeves film. Very intense. Makes you sit on the edge of your seat, and you easily get sucked in.
-Forrest Gump - History in a movie. Anyone else find it funny that Alabama is the school that took the guy with an IQ of 75?
-Back to the Future - Awesome sci-fi flick. Michael J. Fox is at the top of his game. Makes you wonder what it would be like if you met your parents when they were your age.
-The Blues Brothers - Best car chase scenes ever.
There's more, but I don't want to keep going.
