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

[RobinHood26]

Love the Lethal Weapon movies

[Plain Old Tele]

63. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

 

I'm not a huge horror buff, but there are a few that not only stick with me, but inspire me as a filmmaker. This is one of them -- made on a shoestring budget, it uses the cheapness to full effect: the grimy 16mm film feels more "realistic" and quasi-documentary than 35mm would've, and there's actually very little gore (or even violence), especially considering the title and the reputation the movie has. Almost everything is achieved through ambience, mood, and letting the audience's imagination do the rest, and it's incredibly effective. My favorite section is when Leatherface appears in the middle of the forest at night, and pursues poor Marilyn Burns through the woods, revving his chainsaw the entire time. It's an incredible piece of filmmaking and you feel like you're there in the forest with her.

 

[baumer]

64. Lethal Weapon (1987)

 

The movie that put Shane Black on the map and jump-started a whole sub-genre of buddy cop movies. So many characters, lines, and moments from this movie have become classics. Good clean R-rated action movie, 1980s-style. Terrific fun. The sequel is arguably even better, but the original has a special place in my heart.

 

 

The movie that got me to notice:

 

Shane Black

Al Leong

Joel Silver

and Dar Robinson (who died making the film)

 

Epci, epic film

[Plain Old Tele]

62. His Girl Friday (1940)

 

One of the most famous screwball comedies. Cary Grant (he shows up in this genre a lot) is a newspaper editor who's out to stop his ex-wife from re-marrying. Why? Because she's his ace reporter. This movie was a partial inspiration for Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher THE SOCIAL NETWORK -- the two leads are whip-smart characters and talk a mile a minute at (and past) each other. What's also amusing for audiences nowadays is the fact her new suitor is played by Ralph Bellamy... someone we're more familiar with as a conniving old man in TRADING PLACES, not as the sweet-faced straight man.

 

Edited March 9, 2015 by Telemachos

[baumer]

63. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

 

I'm not a huge horror buff, but there are a few that not only stick with me, but inspire me as a filmmaker. This is one of them -- made on a shoestring budget, it uses the cheapness to full effect: the grimy 16mm film feels more "realistic" and quasi-documentary than 35mm would've, and there's actually very little gore (or even violence), especially considering the title and the reputation the movie has. Almost everything is achieved through ambience, mood, and letting the audience's imagination do the rest, and it's incredibly effective. My favorite section is when Leatherface appears in the middle of the forest at night, and pursues poor Marilyn Burns through the woods, revving his chainsaw the entire time. It's an incredible piece of filmmaking and you feel like you're there in the forest with her.

 

 

 

[Plain Old Tele]

61. The Sting (1973)

 

A casual, breezy movie that makes entertainment seem effortless. Set in the 1930s, this single-handed brought a ragtime renaissance to the US with Marvin Hamlisch's popular arrangement of Scott Joplin's iconic tunes. Two of the biggest stars in the world at the time -- Paul Newman and Robert Redford -- are at the top of their game, and the script is amazing in how it sets everything up and then plays the con out. This movie adjusts to $739m today... it was an absolutely huge hit at the time.

 

Edited March 9, 2015 by Telemachos

[RobinHood26]

The Sting is GREAT and that is also my favorite part of Texas Chainsaw, horrifying. 

[baumer]

The trailer for TCM is a blast from the past, to a time when the trailers for horror movies were allowed to be horrific.  It's one of the most horrifying trailers ever made, imo.

[The Futurist]

The movie that got me to notice:

 

Shane Black

Al Leong

Joel Silver

and Dar Robinson (who died making the film)

 

Epci, epic film

You forget the score done by Michael Kamen (RIP) and Eric Clapton which gave a unique vibe to the Lethal Weapons movies.

[The Futurist]

When you listen to the Mel Gibson leaked tapes, you realize the craziness you can see in his eyes in most of his movies is real.

It was always there, in the early Mad Max.

Playing a cop with a death wish or suicidal tendencies suited him perfectly.

Lethal Weapon stopped being good in Episode 3, which was just an action comedy. 4 doesn t even exist.

Lethal Weapon trivia : the woman who plays Danny Glover s wife in the movies is not an actress, her name is Darlene Love and she is one of the most famous back up singers of all time, she recorded dozens of classics in the 60's, 70's with the most high profile artists of the century. You hear her on the radio every day without knowing it.

[The Stingray]

The Game is so f**king good. Fincher's most underrated film, imo.

 

Out of Sight is excellent.

 

And yeah, Lethal Weapon is a favorite of mine as well. My favorite scene: You're not trying to draw a psycho pension. You really are crazy...

 

Not a fan of the Evil Deads. Love horror, but comedy horror just don't do it for me.

[IndustriousAngel]

A lot of my 9/10 movies in here

Just watched "Arsenic&OL" the other day; never gets old. And as with "Planes,Trains&Automobiles" - also excellent choice - it belongs to a kind of comedy that seems to have died out in US moviemaking nowadays, US comedies are defined by offensiveness. (no offense I hope)

[Jessie]

When the fuck is someone going to put Cast Away on their list.

[4815162342]

67. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

 

This was a huge Broadway hit before it became a movie. It's an black screwball comedy: Cary Grant is just trying to get married and start his honeymoon with his new bride, when he gets waylaid by his two sweetheart aunts and gradually comes to realize his entire family is not only mad, but possibly murderous as well. The body count rises quickly. Quick-paced, funny, with Grant as the straight man confronted with absolute insanity.

 

 

Charge!

[chasmmi]

When the fuck is someone going to put Cast Away on their list.

 

Personally for me, not until another film gets made with the title 'Cast Away'

[Jake Gittes]

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.

 

I actually just saw this yesterday. It's a small gem - could have been a tossed-off '90s potboiler with a ridiculous plot, but everyone involved actually decides to commit to the craziness and put on a show. Another thing that surprised me was that it was actually a hit - $38m in 1991 is nothing to sneeze at for a movie like this. Yet, looking back, I can hardly remember seeing anyone talk about it in the past few years. 

Edited March 9, 2015 by Jake Gittes

[grey ghost]

Great list so far.

I'm surprised how much my taste overlaps with Tele.

I expected way more Cary Grant type movies instead of faves like Tremors, Groundhog Day and Beetlejuice.

[TServo2049]

Kudos for Arsenic and Old Lace. I first saw it when I was 9 or 10, at the recommendation of my father. (Ah, the days when you could go to Blockbuster and rent old movies.) I enjoyed it then, and I enjoy it more as I get older. Hilarious movie.

Edited March 9, 2015 by TServo2049

[Plain Old Tele]

When the fuck is someone going to put Cast Away on their list.

It was one of my almost's. Close enough that if I did my list another time, it might get in.

[The Futurist]

When the fuck is someone going to put Cast Away on their list.

The Fedex commercial ?