Some Movie Recommendations from Someone Who Watches WAY too Many Movies...

So I suddenly felt like posting a blog, since it has been awhile, and I have nothing else to do at the moment.

 

I just bought a new movie today (to celebrate my acceptance into the Education Program here at Winona State; and yes, that is how I usually celebrate things like that) and it got me thinking that maybe other people who read my blog might be interested, or not, to hear some movie recommendations from a guy who goes to and watches far too many movies for his own good, i.e. ME.

 

You may also notice, upon starting to read through the movies I have listed, that not all of them, in fact I think very few of them, are movies that people or so-called ‘professional movie critics’ would recommend for people.  Many of these movies have also never had the apparent “privilege” of having, ‘Academy Award Nominee/Winner’ plastered in front of the title.  I think some people get too stuck on wanting to go see or watch a movie that has been liked by critics and the Academy, when in fact there are HUNDREDS of brilliant and awesome movies out there that never get so much as a sideways glance by critics or the Academy.  Or if they do get any attention, they are ridiculed and ripped to shreds by them, and since so many people take movie critics’ words for it, they never allow themselves to see what might become their all-time favorite movie.

 

I do not expect you, in fact I implore you to NOT, take my word for it on any of these movies.  I only am sharing these to possibly open some new entertainment possibilities to some people, and hope that people will only watch them if they are interested or curious.  You do not have to like these movies at all, in fact you may not like some of the films I list here, and that is what’s so great about movies, there is NO ONE that can tell you a movie is bad or good, it’s totally up to you, I for one thoroughly enjoy some of what critics and the Academy have called some of the worst movies of all time, but I don’t care at all, since I like them.

 

I'll list by genre some of my favorites as well as ones that, while they weren't particularly my favorites, are still incredibly good films.  However, only a few of my absolute favorites and ones that I have considered very good will make this list, since I have a tendency to get bored of writing blogs after a period of time.

 

Also make note that these recommendations will not be in any specific order, and that to me, they are all very very good.  And a final note, that nearly all of these movies are part of my own personal DVD collection, which means I consider them good enough to watch more than once, i.e. several times.

 

We'll start with Comedies.  While I really really REALLY like them, there aren't a whole lot that make the list, mostly because, for some reason, I don't always make a huge effort to see them.  This is primarily because Comedies are one of those movie genres where they are either REALLY great or REALLY bad, since the basis for which they are considered a good movie rests solely on whether or not it makes you laugh.  This is also a very difficult genre to "recommend" movies to people, since everyone has a very specific sense of humor, and what will make one person laugh uncontrollably, will be completely disgusting or stupid to another.

 

1.     50 First Dates*

2.     Liar Liar

3.     Role Models (warning, this one is kind of explicit and may not be good for small kids)

4.     The Wedding Singer*

5.     Happy Gilmore*

6.     Mrs. Doubtfire

7.     Tommy Boy

8.     Murder By Death

9.     Clue

10. Airplane

11. Dave

12. Steel Magnolias

13. Drop Dead Gorgeous

14. A Fish Called Wanda

*Please note that while these particular Adam Sandler movies make my list, I do not really recommend most of his newer films.  The ones I have chosen are absolutely hilarious, but as time has gone on, Sandler’s movies have become progressively less funny.

 

Now onto Family and Kids movies; and yes, I do watch my share of these.  They really have a way of “taking you back” to a time when your imagination ran wild and your knees were always skinned and dirty.  These movies I have listed here really make me feel like a kid again, and it’s awesome.  Be warned as well, that many of these movies are cartoons, not live-action, so if you don’t like that kind of thing, do a little research to find out more about them!

 

1.     Harry Potter series

2.     Chronicles of Narnia series

3.     Disney’s Peter Pan

4.     Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

5.     Disney’s Cinderella

6.     Shrek

7.     Cars

8.     Finding Nemo

9.     Spirited Away

10. Howl’s Moving Castle

11. Castle in the Sky

12. Mirror Mask*

13. Pan’s Labyrinth*

14. The Goonies*

15. Treasure Planet

16. Anastasia

17. Labyrinth

18. The Prince of Egypt

19. The Swiss Family Robinson

*These movies are slightly scarier than the rest and may not be suitable for young children.  I would suggest parents of young kids watch these movies before deciding to let their kids watch them, to determine if they are ok for their kids to watch.

 

The next genre I’ll cover is Drama/Musicals.  This is another genre I am not as well versed in, as it is not one of my favorites.  I do, however, have a few movies, which I really enjoy in this category, as well as a movie that, while it’s not one of my all-time favorites, is still a very well done movie.

 

1.     The Queen

2.     Titanic

3.     Elizabeth (The one starring Cate Blanchett)

4.     Elizabeth: The Golden Age

5.     American Beauty

6.     On Golden Pond

7.     Big Fish

8.     Meet Joe Black

9.     Step Up

10. Step Up 2: The Streets

11. Sound of Music

12. The Fountain*

13. The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

14. Moulin Rouge

15. Chicago

16. Hairspray

*This is the movie I discussed earlier, while it is not one of my favorite movies, it is still a very well done film.  It is also something I call a “beautiful” movie.  The visuals in this movie are incredible and it is basically, if nothing else, fascinating to watch, if only for the visual effects and settings.

Now we’ll move onto the genre of Science Fiction.  Being a little bit of a nerd, this is one of my favorite genres of movies.  Since this genre is particularly small, you have probably heard of many of these movies I’m about to list.

 

1.     Star Wars episodes 1-6

2.     Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow*

3.     Minority Report*

4.     The Matrix*

5.     The Island*

6.     Aeon Flux

7.     Timeline

8.     Back to the Future series

9.     Gattaca

10. The Time Machine*

*These movies may also be considered Action/Adventure.

 

Moving onto another genre that is not of my particular taste, but still contains a few of my favorites.  Note, however, that I do not own any of the movies in this genre.  The genre I am speaking of is Horror.  Here are a few good ones to scare you silly.

 

1.     Hostel

2.     The Sixth Sense

3.     Silent Hill

4.     The Strangers

5.     Scream series

6.     The Ring

7.     The Birds

8.     Psycho

9.     Carrie

10. Final Destination series

11. Jeepers Creepers

12. I Know What You Did Last Summer

13. The Others

14. Skeleton Key

 

Now we go onto what is probably the smallest list in my list of favorite movies: the Western genre.  They just aren’t for me, but these are two that I have really enjoyed.

 

1.     West World

2.     American Outlaws

 

And finally we move into what is probably my all-time favorite movie genre; Action/Adventure.  Most of these are probably what would widely be considered “Guy Movies” but I can’t help it, I’m a 100% All American Man, and I like some explosions and gun fights and disasters.  Here are some of my favorites:

 

1.     ANY James Bond movie, in particular either Casino Royale or Quantum of Solace

2.     The Mummy series

3.     Kill Bill Vols. 1 & 2

4.     Indiana Jones series

5.     Lord of the Rings trilogy

6.     Big Trouble in Little China

7.     Mr. & Mrs. Smith

8.     The Day After Tomorrow

9.     Poseidon

10. The Poseidon Adventure

11. Tomb Raider

12. The Golden Compass

13. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

14. Hero

15. The DaVinci Code

16. Stardust

17. Jumanji

18. Pirates of the Caribbean series

19. X-Men series

20. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

21. Troy

22. Jurassic Park series

23. Wanted

24. The Avengers

25. Speed Racer

So there you have it.  Keep in mind that the movies listed here do not, by any means, contain ALL of my favorite movies, mostly because I didn’t want to bore you (sorry if I already did) If you’re ever curious about any other movie, please don’t hesitate to ask, it’s good practice for me since I recently got a job at our local Hollywood Video store, and I get asked all the time for advice.

 

And if you need any more information about any of the movies I listed or if a title of one intrigues you, go to www.imdb.com and search the title there, it gives you just about everything you need to know about the movie!

 

Thanks for reading!

 

-Nate

Oh and sorry for the lack of a few movie posters, I couldn't figure out how to get them to a reasonable size...