The Panda's Top 250 Movies of All Time Countdown (FINISHED)

[The Panda]

170

Breakfast at Tiffany's

A classic romance story by the great Truman Capote, this is (in my opinion) the best adaption of any of Capotes novels (although In Cold Blood is his best novel, in my opinion with Breakfast at Tiffany's in a close second).  Breakfast at Tiffany's is funny, with many scenes that absolutely punch at your heartstrings.

[The Panda]

169

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

By far the best of the series, Curse of the Black Pearl was not only incredibly original, but an incredible mix of swashbuckling action, an epic storyline, and a strong comedic lead performance by Johnny Depp.  The biggest negative of this film though is once Johhny Depp went Jack he literally never went back (and by that I mean he tries to play Jack Sparrow in nearly every post-Pirates movie he starred in)

[The Panda]

168

The Goonies

A classic and fun adventure movie that is fond in nearly every kids memories.  Steven Spielberg again proves he is an excellent, crowd-pleasing director, as well as being a fantastic breakout movie for a lot of the soon-to be stars.

[The Panda]

167

True Grit (2010)

Another fantastic effort from the Coen Bros who are some of the best modern filmmakers out there.  True Grit is an awesome western combined with some incredibly powerful performances, including God's gift of Hailee Steinfield who pulls off one of the best performances given by a child actor out there.

 

[The Panda]

166

The Killing Fields

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFQY1H7TVV8

One of the most humane, and powerful films out there.  While it is definitely hard to re-watch it, The Killing Fields is a heartbreaking epic, filled with honest performances, and a politically motivated message that is very hard to forget.

[The Panda]

165

A History of Violence

​A very underrated and unappreciated film that never got as much recognition as it deserved.  It is thrilling, dark and trimly cut, with great (well done) restraint in the action, while also boasting a highly intelligent and subliminal script that makes it a movie worthy to keep viewing.

Edited March 9, 2014 by The Panda

[The Panda]

164

Pinocchio

This is weirdly the darkest of all of Disney's movies (all the boys turning into jackasses (that's how they are referred to in the movie) after going to pleasure island drinking and smoking) with one of the most classic Disney songs in it.  It's a heartwarming story, and one of the most intelligent of the classic Disney flicks.

Edited March 9, 2014 by The Panda

[The Panda]

163

Seven Samurai

With how much depth there is in Samurai history I am surprised that there are so few good Samurai movies, however Seven Samurai is one of them.  Seven Samurai is a bloody, fun action film with great complexity and depth to back up the thrilling fights.

Edited March 9, 2014 by The Panda

[The Panda]

162

The Ladykillers (1955)

What's weird is what was one of the Coen Bros worst movies, the original is one of my favorites.  It's a hilarious dark comedy with great slapstick and (although at times foolish) a superb plot about how an old women drives the intelligent crooks mad. (Kind of resembles real life except the intelligent crooks resembling everybody who deals with the old women)

 

[The Panda]

161

Groundhog Day

A classic, intelligent comedy with a very thought provoking premise.  Bill Murray has a great performance and character arc here, and that is probably one of the best parts of the movie (watching the same character stuck in the same day change and grow) next to the incredibly inventive story. 

 

[The Panda]

160

Grave of Fireflies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo877i45Seg

One of the most hauntingly sad of not only Studio Ghibli's films, or animated films in general, but just movies as a whole.  Grave of Fireflies makes its case clear, a brilliant, heartbreaking story that remains as one of the saddest stories ever put to screen.

[Films]

Great thread, sorry completely forgot to read recently. Now up to date

[The Panda]

159

Poltergeist

Okay, here is another Spielberg film (I'm not sure how many of his I have put on here so far, and yes I consider it a Spielberg film, Hooper isn't good enough to make Poltergeist alone), the special effects are masterful, and the movie is absolutely frightening.  It is the perfect example of what a horror movie should be.

[The Panda]

158

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

This is some of Taylor and Burton's best work, the acting is so real, the fights are so believable, the relationship itself is completely, brutally honest.  Nichols has a fantastic directorial debut (which the closest he ever gets to this sort of brilliance is Charlie Wilson's War), it overall a fantastic adaption of its play. 

[The Panda]

157

Zodiac

David Fincher is another one of Hollywood's best that is working today and Zodiac is a testament to that with its quiet, dark, and almost terrifying tone that carries the movie.  It moves slowly, with intent, and is one of the great thrillers out there.

[The Panda]

156

A Hard Day's Night

The best concert film out there, and an incredible way to capture the spirit and personality of the Beatles within it.  There's quite a bit of humor in it, as well as some great music from the classic band.  All in all it's always a really great watch.

 

[The Panda]

155

Apollo 13

One of the best space films ever made, it does a great job recreating the realism of the situation and the stakes of it as well.  Apollo 13 is a fantastic based on a true story movie from the very consistent director Ron Howard, and a strong performance from Hanks, Apollo 13 is always a great watch.

Edited March 11, 2014 by The Panda

[The Panda]

154

The Exorcist

An all time horror classic, while some may call it looking back campy and stupid, the Exorcist was a visual effects wonder and was able to pack in some great scares as well through a well-crafted atmosphere.  Although it does appear quite dated, it's still a great movie to this day.

[The Panda]

153

Young Frankenstein

A hilarious spoof on the Frankenstein story, it is incredibly corny but that is pretty much the point in its hilarity.  It also manages to turn its campy satire and create a bit of shallow depth to go along with the jokes and add just a bit more.  This is definitely the best movie to come out of Mel Brooks.

[The Panda]

152

12 Years a Slave

You may have heard me tote my disdain during awards season about 12 Years a Slave winning, but that doesn't change the fact that this movie really did effect me.  It is an incredibly powerful movie with powerful performances that moved the movie along, and it was these performances that gave the movie more depth than the typical, "Slavery is bad" movie angle.