Tele's 100 Favorite Movies aka "Comfort Food" (complete)

[#ED]

Pink...

Stahp.

[MrPink]

Pink...

Stahp.

I'm finished

[Jack Nevada]

Where are the damn art movies?!

[4815162342]

Where are the damn art movies?!

 

This is a favorites list. Deep down Tele is as much a red-blooded American like many of us.

 

You want art movies, have him make his best list.

[Plain Old Tele]

There's gonna be a wrinkle here and there.

[Plain Old Tele]

80. A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

 

A delightful mix of witty and crude humor. Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline star as lovers in a gang that sets out to rob $20m in diamonds. They double-cross their boss and report him to the police only to find out he's already double-crossed them and hidden the diamonds, so they turn their attention to his attorney, played by John Cleese. Kline (rather amazingly, given Academy tastes) won an Oscar for his outrageous and over-the-top performance, and he's really hilarious... but then again, so are Cleese, Curtis, and Michael Palin, the stammering fourth member of the gang.

 

[Plain Old Tele]

79. Raising Arizona (1987)

 

This is the quintessential Coen brothers comedy: mad-cap, surreal, elliptical, filled with imaginative camerawork and iconic characters. Nicolas Cage stars as H.I. McDunnough, a dimwitted petty criminal who falls in love with the cop (Holly Hunter) that takes his mug-shots. They marry but discover they're unable to have kids... so they decide to "take" one from the rich local businessman who just had quintuplets.

 

[Plain Old Tele]

78. Dead Again (1991)

 

Coming off his amazing directorial debut with HENRY V, Branagh turns to a different genre with this modern noir that's very reminiscent of Hitchcock. He stars as Mike Church, a Los Angeles detective who takes in a beautiful amnesiac (Emma Thompson) who's having horrific dreams about a famous murder in the past. Somehow, she seems to be tied to it... and Mike, who believes only in facts and solid reality, has to turn to a hypnotist to help her delve into her dreams.

 

[The Futurist]

78. Dead Again (1991)

 

Coming off his amazing directorial debut with HENRY V, Branagh turns to a different genre with this modern noir that's very reminiscent of Hitchcock. He stars as Mike Church, a Los Angeles detective who takes in a beautiful amnesiac (Emma Thompson) who's having horrific dreams about a famous murder in the past. Somehow, she seems to be tied to it... and Mike, who believes only in facts and solid reality, has to turn to a hypnotist to help her delve into her dreams.

 

Dead Again Trivia : this movie inspired an entire concept album from progressive metal masters Dream Theater. Album is called Metropolis Part II: Scenes from a Memory.(1999)

[Plain Old Tele]

77. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension (1984)

 

This cult classic was an epic bomb when it first came out, but found new life on home video. It's definitely one of the more bizarre bigger-budget movies ever released by an American company. It starts off in medias res without any exposition or back story, and it's up to the viewer to slowly piece things together -- very much like it's the middle issue in some comic run and so you're expected to already know all about the characters. And what a list of characters! The story revolves around evil aliens coming to Earth to rescue their dictatorial leader, who's been imprisoned in the body of an Italian scientist (John Lithgow). The only people who can stop them are physicist/rockstar/neurosurgeon Renaissance man extraordinaire Buckaroo Banzai and his team of cohost, the Hong Kong Cavaliers. The movie is filled with odd dialogue, random little easter eggs that don't pay off, and it all sort of feels like a punchline without the setup. In spite of all this (or because of it?) it's pretty dang awesome.

 

[Plain Old Tele]

76. Beetlejuice (1988)

 

A Tim Burton classic. It's a perfect blend of whimsy, chills, and quirky production design. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis are a nice young couple who die and end up as ghosts in their house. When a terrible yuppie family moves in, they try to scare them away, but they're simply too side and can't tap into anything truly dark. But they find out about a ghost exorcist who can drive away the living -- Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton). Keaton goes big in a role that would probably have been played by Jim Carrey if this were made in the mid-90s, and it's all really damn great.

 

[terrestrial]

77. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension (1984)

 

I usually do not like comedies or movies with strong comedic aspects.

 

I have a rather short list of movies I not only like but even love despite them being one of those.

 

This one is on said list.

 

Very unique in lots of ways and IMHO at the time of its release sadly not appreciated enough. An impressive cast too, including on the 'bad' side

[TServo2049]

Buckaroo Banzai does have a great cast, I also like all the "that guy" actors that show up in supporting roles (Ronald "The slimy Nazi henchman from Raiders" Lacey, Clancy "The Kurgan" Brown, Vincent "The biology teacher from Fast Times" Schiavelli, Matt "The bartender from Back to the Future Part III" Clark...)

Edited March 8, 2015 by TServo2049

[4815162342]

78. Dead Again (1991)

 

 

Bravo

[Kalo]

79. Raising Arizona (1987)

 

This is the quintessential Coen brothers comedy: mad-cap, surreal, elliptical, filled with imaginative camerawork and iconic characters. Nicolas Cage stars as H.I. McDunnough, a dimwitted petty criminal who falls in love with the cop (Holly Hunter) that takes his mug-shots. They marry but discover they're unable to have kids... so they decide to "take" one from the rich local businessman who just had quintuplets.

 

[Fancyarcher]

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai is a truly bizarre movie, yet at the same it's extremely entertaining. 

[Empire]

Raising Arizona.......YES! Love that movie! My favorite Coen Brothers film!

[Kalo]

I find it interesting that all these movies i loved as a child end up being directed/written by some of my favorite filmmakers and I had no Idea at the time. 

[Plain Old Tele]

75. The Game (1997)

 

Arguably Fincher's least known movie, it's also one of his best. Michael Douglas is Nicholas van Orton, a wealthy businessman who lives a cold, clinical life under his complete control. His younger brother (Sean Penn) gives him a membership to a mysterious club as a birthday present... and when van Orton joins "the game", he soon finds himself in a increasingly threatening world where his every move is watched. Fincher and Andrew Kevin Walker (the screenwriter for SEVEN), do a great job of setting up audience expectations, then slowly pulling the rug out from under them.... and then pulling the rug out again. When it came out, the ending got flack for being unrealistic, but once you've seen it, you realize realism isn't the main goal here and the end result is cathartic, emotional, and very satisfying.

 

[Plain Old Tele]

74. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

 

This is a lush, beautiful, and haunting movie by Tim Burton. It starts off like a fairytale, moves into a suburban satire, and ends up as a fairytale again (darker, tragic, and poignant). Dianne Wiest is an Avon sales-lady who discovers a man-child with scissors for hands in a old Gothic mansion. A kindly soul, she adopts him, and Edward has to learn how to fit into society, the meaning of love and acceptance (and the reverse emotions of fear and rejection). Johnny Depp does a great job as the innocent and misfit Edward, and Danny Elfman's score is one for the ages.