Hi all! Welcome to the Movie Recommendation Thread! This is also a place to just gush about your favourite movies and discuss them! I’ll start with some questions to help you think of things to add!
First, what’s the movie you rewatch again and again, even if it’s not the first one you usually recommend to others? Secondly, what’s a movie that you feel changed you as a person? And thirdly, give us some general recommendations!!
I’ll start it off! My favourite movie, and the one I watch over and over (where possible) is Mirror Mask. It’s sinister without being horror, speaks of life without trying to dig too deep, and the aesthetics are so weird and wonderful that I’m enchanted every single time I watch it! I do always recommend this one, but it’s never the first thing I recommend.
A movie that changed me was Origin: Spirits of the Past. Not only did it shape my whole art goals when I was very young, but it turned a little brat who hated nature because of allergies into a gal who can actually appreciate it from a distance. That doesn’t seem like much, but it was a very sharp contrast. I used to want dragons to burn down the trees so my eyes would stop itching, after watching the movie I wanted the trees to be the dragons.
Movies I will always recommend, now and forever are Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (trust me, I don’t like romcoms OR zombie movies, so a zomromcom that I actually enjoyed has to be good, right?), Spider-man: Into the Spiderverse, and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
Oh, adding on another thing! Chappie is an incredible movie if you can handle more ‘mature’ themes and a ridiculous amount of swearing. It’s one of my absolute favourites, hands down. Technically I, personally, only own 2 movies of my own (the rest belong to dad and he lends them to me whenever) and those movies are Origin: Spirits of the Past, and Chappie!
A really good movie that I had forgotten about until recently is “9”. I can’t think of a good way to succinctly put the plot into words so you’ll have to look into it yourself but I really enjoyed it, though fair warning it’s a little creepy at parts if that’s not something you’re looking for.
Oh, I can give so many recommendations depending on what you’re looking for. Back when I had access to the SyFy channel, I would make it a point to catch all the new terrible shark-themed movies; I’m a bit of a connoisseur.
One that I know @Skylad and I both happen to like a fair bit is Romancing The Stone. There’s action, and comedy, and romance (I mean, it is in the title), and it pokes at some of the bodice-ripper tropes… Writer goes on an adventure, totally recommend.
I guess the beginning could kind of be compared to it, since it’s a narrated scene from one of her books, but the rest is all supposed to be real-world. She feels like more of a Reluctant Hero type than I recall being in Princess Bride (then again, it’s been a good bit since I last saw PB).
I think this is a great thread idea, thanks for making it!
My favorite movies I think most Mounties would like:
The Neverending Story
A story about reading a story and finding out you’re part of the story you’re reading AND part of the story of the people watching you? mind-blown Very on the nose for daily life of a Mountie.
(pretend the sequels don’t exist…wait they made sequels?..see? much happier)
Labyrinth - I think Legend is considered to be the better fantasy movie of this time period, but Labyrinth and David Bowie’s performance is one I’ll always stop and watch whatever I’m doing. Plus it has some great Jim Henson Muppet work (Actually Jim Henson directed this) without the intense emotional scaring that goes along with the Dark Crystal.
Unless you want to get some like-minded friends together and Mystery Science Theater 3000 the crap out of them, because that was the best part of seeing Lightning Thief in theaters and having it mostly to ourselves.
Also, @Rimor, I personally don’t think Percy Jackson and Maze Runner are bad films. I’ve never read Maze Runner, but taken Percy Jackson isn’t bad so long as you can seperate it from the books (maybe I’m too forgiving when it comes to adaptations?).
Personally, I’d so recommend all things Marvel (far too biased not to, lol), Harry Potter (again, seperate from the books), and The Dark is Rising (again again, seperate from the book series which is also an amazing read and the only series I ever read twice! Also called The Seeker in some countries; it’s the one with Christopher Eccelston).
I think a lot of what my friends and I had issue with re: PJ was the blatant disregard for particulars of that one major plot thing and not adjusting it so it would still function. [spoiler]If the big over-arcing prophecy specifies age as a key thing, and you still have four more books before you get the characters to said age, and you cast them as high schoolers to (I assume) keep it slightly removed from HP comparisons… Either adjust the prophecy accordingly or get ready to shove a lot of plot into the span of a year.[/spoiler]
Also recommend Foul Play. I really enjoy it, just fair warning for some adult content (Dudley Moore is…very prepared, shall we say), though nothing actually happens on screen beyond making out.
Also features the only Barry Manilow song I will actively seek out during the beginning credits.
Movie I could watch again and again, but might not recommend:
The entire Tinkerbell movie-verse I know it’s not for everyone, but Pixie Hollow is my jam, and I can cry without judgement at the saccharine sweet life lessons about friendship. :Dons her Disney-licensed Tinkerbell wings and cuddles on a couch with a tub of cookie dough:
A movie that changed me as a person:
The Labyrinth 100%. A girl who loved theatre, hated babysitting, but buckled down and did the right thing; a magical alternate reality; puzzles, riddles, wacky sidekicks; David Bowie as a smoldery magical, singing, dancing, heart breaker who’s good with kids! Disney didn’t ruin me for relationships - The Goblin King did.
General Recs:
Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away I love non-dialogue based narratives, and the way Cirque managed to tie aspects from all their shows into a single narrative is magnificent.
Any Michael Flatley “Lord of the Dance” See above - also, I was part of a touring Irish Step Dance troupe from age 10-16? I still try to make it to a good ceilidh when I can. But it has to be Michael Flatley and Lord of the Dance, not Riverdance - Riverdance is a bunch of bullies who didn’t appreciate Flatley’s genius
Animusic I don’t know if this really counts as a movie, per se. It’s CG music videos of imaginary Rube Goldberg instruments playing elaborate suites. It’s fun and upbeat - like if Fantasia was fan-fic’d by engineers and techies.
I just checked the ratings, apparently Foul Play is PG (Romancing the Stone as well). I’d expect at least PG13 by today’s standards.
The worst of the ratings offences in things I’ve recommended specifically are probably some language and varying states of undress (I think the amount of said things was probably what pushed Pirate Radio to an R, like how you can get away with a PG13 if you keep specific swearing instances to two).
If memory serves, I picked this up on the cheap. I won’t throw down any spoilers, but the film does take a hardline right wing stance on abortion at one point, so if that’s a trigger for you, steer clear, and if that’s ideologically problematic for you, but you’re still interested in seeing it for the 99% of it that doesn’t mention the issue, maybe look for it used, so the creator doesn’t see the money from it. (Not looking to talk politics with it, just tossing the content warning out there, since it wasn’t really marketed in such a way that you’d know that going in, and that’s a pretty heavy topic for a lot of people.)
So Re-Cycle is a Japanese horror film that’s split into two parts, and despite my misgivings about how it ultimately plays out, I found the movie, right up to the ending, fascinating. The first 30-40 minutes of it are pretty typical of what I’ve seen of Japanese ghost horror. Lots of creeping dread, some brief flashes of terror but avoiding the largely American idea of gory slasher as horror. At a certain point, though, the movie makes a hard turn, and while there’s still horror elements present, it winds up making its way through a visually fascinating dark fantasy setting. This is what I recommend for anyone interested in seeing something visually stunning. It’s something I’ve thought of whenever I’ve been drafting up gaming ideas, as there was so much menacing weirdness there that I could either straight up poach (since it isn’t a particularly well known source) or draw inspiration from and file a few serial numbers off of what I lift. For people of a mind to at least tolerate the politics of the film (and again, buying used is a great way to make sure your dollars don’t endorse the idea,) I’d recommend giving it a watch to enjoy the spectacle.
Anyway, hopefully that doesn’t edge into politics too much. I know that’s not what this forum is for. I just don’t want anyone going into the film and getting blindsided by the political stance it takes the way I was, especially if that someone has some sort of trauma associated with the subject.
Either adjust the prophecy accordingly or get ready to shove a lot of plot into the span of a year.[/spoiler]
