What was the last movie to REALLY grab you?

[Quintus 5,399]

I'm talking about a movie you fall in love with, a movie which never leaves your dvd player, a movie you can return to over and over again, seemingly unable to grow tired of it, at least for a good while. Very few of these movies exist, but when they come along it's great!

For me, it would be The Lord of the Rings. I absolutely hammered all three instalments; to the point of sheer exhaustion - indeed I cannot actually watch them anymore, which I concede is entirely my own fault, but it was worth it. Good times. Maybe in a few years I'll pick up the Blu-rays.

[indy4 155]

Return of the King for me also. I was going to say Shutter Island, but I haven't seen it since my trip to the theatres (though I really want to see it again).

[Charlie Brigden 7]

I have a few movies like this, but they're mostly older flicks. The last one to come close in recent times is probably The Dark Knight or WALL-E.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,556]

The last films that REALLY grabbed me were "Traffic", and "Prisoner Of Azkaban" - a truly beautiful piece of work.

I fell in love with "Master And Commander" only when I saw it on dvd, and after hating it at the cinema. A similar thing happened with "Star Trek: Nemesis".

[Quintus 5,399]

The last one to come close in recent times is probably The Dark Knight.

Yeah that film had that effect on lots of people, but not me. Great film but I can only watch it once a blue moon.

[BurgaFlippinMan 7]

The most recent movies to that was probably FOTR and PoA (I was far less taken by the LOTR sequels). The film I have most recently seen to do that is....Singin' In The Rain

[Naïve Old Fart 9,556]

Singin' In The Rain

Ah, bless!

[Quintus 5,399]

Yeah the old one always have that effect. I went through a Some Like It Hot and The Odd Couple phase last year, but they didn't come close to the devotion I poured into watching LotR.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

I used to watch LOTR a lot, but I got a bit bored of it. I've managed to watch the BDs, but I still can't get back into them. Which kind of sucks.

Leaving recent flicks, the only movies that are always a constant around my DVD player are Wrath of Khan, An American Werewolf In London, and - inevitably - the OT. And the Futurama seasons 1-4 box.

[Jay 37,376]

Hmmm, probably Up, the only non-Potter-or-LOTR film of the 2000s I've seen more than 2 times

[Trent Hoyt 13]

The Dark Knight and Toy Story 3.

[Quintus 5,399]

If we're talking regular favourites then I'd say Jaws, Indiana Jones, Total Recall, Predator, Pulp Fiction, North By Northwest, Die Hard, Chicago and Finding Nemo are always in a pile next to the tv. Most of them aren't even in my all time top ten, but they have that certain something which makes them very watchable.

Past faves which have been retired for one reason or another (bad sequel for eg) include The Matrix, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Grease, Oliver! and the Star Wars trilogy.

[John Crichton 4]

Star Trek. Before that, probably LotR too.

[Wojo 2,453]

Avatar

The inspiration to quit my job, shave off my body hair, paint my skin blue, and live in the woods for two weeks was overwhelming.

[John Crichton 4]

Did you grow psychic hair too?

[Jay 37,376]

Hmmm yea, I guess I've seen Star Trek more than twice as well, though thats mostly due to analyzing the score

[King Mark 3,631]

I'd say Kick-Ass, but in the theater. I thought the days where a new movie could become one you your favorites was over, because I was beginning to think with age maybe we lose that sense of wonder with movies. I guess it made me realize they mostly make crappy, ineffective films nowadays.

[rant]

Some critics tried to plant a huge guilt trip in everyone's mind by implying that you must be some kind of morally corrupted person to love this film (such a Roger Ebert, who I wanted to rip to shreds when I read his review and instantly lost all respect I had for him as a film critic), but I stand behind the movie 100%. Children involved in fight scenes or violence in films is very common, and it took Kick-Ass for some people to notice and be up in arms about it because a little girl gets a bloody nose and you actually see some gore when she uses weapons? I think those out of touch, scandalized people are just a testament to how convincing and viscerally effective the action/fight scenes were, especially in the acting and editing department [/end rant]

I'll buy the DVD/BluRay and I haven't bought a movie in several years.I'm already disappointed they won't be including deleted scenes or an extended cut

[Quintus 5,399]

Yeah, it's a super-cool, great little movie that one. The girl in it blew me away, actually.

[Trent B 337]

Avatar, before that Star Trek.

Star Trek actually grabbed at me more than Avatar, probably because when I went to see it I was expecting to hate it. I was going on the premise because it was a reboot but the way how J.J. Abrams made it and have it take place in an alternate timeline was a really bold move. Plus the acting and visual effects were top notch as is Giacchino's score. I even like the new design of the Enterprise now.

[Red 75]

All of Pixar's recent films, starting with Ratatouille. They are simply unrivaled in American animation today, in fact the only studio who I think competes with them world-wide is Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli.

[indy4 155]

I forgot about RotS! Despite it's large flaws, it emotionally resonates with me very strongly.

[Demondm810 399]

Toy Story 3. Seriously a masterpiece.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

There are plenty of films that really grab me, but I don't go and watch them an endless amount of times. That's something I just don't do often with movies. I'll never get tired of them, so why even bother to watch them so many times?

But if we're just simply talking movies that we always watch over and over, for me they are mainly: Pulp Fiction, Weekend At Bernie's, Big Trouble, and The Fifth Element.

[King Mark 3,631]

That's the point. If you'd watch a movie over and over than it's earned a special status in your all time best movie list, above all the other ones you see only once. I think that's what this thread it about

But for a lot of us these are 20-30 year old movies...Star Wars,TESB,Jaws,Raiders,E.T....has any recent movie joined that list recently?

[Corellian2019 386]

The most recent film(s) I can think of that REALLY grabbed me personally couldn't be more different from each other; they were The Fisher King and Che.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

That's the point. If you'd watch a movie over and over than it's earned a special status in your all time best movie list, above all the other ones you see only once. I think that's what this thread it about

But for a lot of us these are 20-30 year old movies...Star Wars,TESB,Jaws,Raiders,E.T....has any recent movie joined that list recently?

But the ones I watch the most aren't the ones that are on my Top 10 list.

[King Mark 3,631]

I'm not sure that makes any sense

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Sure it does. Most of my favorite movies are like 3 hours long. I could watch The Last Airbender 100 times, that wouldn't make it my favorite movie of all time.

[fommes 153]

Munich and The X-Files: I Want to Believe.

[King Mark 3,631]

I could watch The Last Airbender 100 times

err?

[Quintus 5,399]

I'm not sure that makes any sense

As I hinted at earlier: only Jaws and Raiders are in my top 10 or even top twenty, out of the many titles I mentioned. One I missed though was Aliens, which IS in my top 10.

[Charlie Brigden 7]

I do this all the time. I know fully well that Star Trek V is borderline awful, but I'll watch it more times in a year than The Godfather or Once Upon A Time In The West.

[Quintus 5,399]

That's what I'm talking about

[tharpdevenport 4]

"Serenity" -- I love that big damn movie.

I don't think I've seen a movie since "The X-Files: I Want to Believe". It goes from random: don't have the time, to no money, to mostly: there's nothing but SHIT in theaters.

The next movie I might (MIGHT) see is the upcoming (no U.S.A. release date yet, though Thanksgiving is rumored) "The Way Back" (by the director of "The Truman Show"); a historical war film about prisoners who escape (I forget the exact details). Burkhard Dallwitz did the score (the film has been completled for almost a year now).

[Henry B 50]

In theaters? Star Trek. Bland and formulaic, sure, but it just hit all the right buttons. Avatar was similar, only with far less emotional resonance.

[John Crichton 4]

"Serenity" -- I love that big damn movie.

Very good to be sure, and I loved it in the theater. But compared to the TV series there always seems to be a little something missing.

Cloverfield is also one of my favorites of recent years, but not an all-time classic.

[Morlock 11]

There have been several films that are in constant rotation, with at least 1-2 new ones added every year, in addition to older films I see for the first time.

Morlock- who really doesn't connect with the 'jeez, stuff sure does suck now' mentality.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

The first 5-10 mins. of KOTCS. It was a feeling like no other in recent memory. As bad as it all may have been, especially as it went on, in that time frame I was grabbed.

[Melange 446]

Lawrence of Arabia

A Passsage to India

Both those are DVDS I can watch again and again and never tire of their mastery.

In modern times........it would probably be the Bourne Movies. I enjoyed them all.

But I don't have them on DVD. I only buy DVDs of films I KNOW I'll not tire of.

[King Mark 3,631]

Yeah, it's a super-cool, great little movie that one. The girl in it blew me away, actually.

Yeah I really love the film. When it came out I wanted to start a dedicated thread about it so we could discuss it like we do other superhero or fantasy movies, then someone said something that pissed me off and I said fuck it. Just thought I'd mention it, 2 months later.

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

RE: Kick-Ass - We're so desensitized to everything nowadays, I was also surprised at the slight backlash due to the violence and the little girl. It didn't bother me, but I didn't find the movie overall to be anything special. But I also didn't dislike it.

[King Mark 3,631]

It was the execution of it that was perfectly done, and it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The acting was great overall and I became attached to almost every character in a way that you really care to what's going to happen to them by the end of the film (because of how the movie is done...you don't really know for sure how it's going to end). I also thought that every line of dialogue was smart and essential to the film.

But if you didn't like it as much it's ok too, the middle part of the film may be a bit meandering

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

It just lost me for the last half hour or so. Up until then I liked it enough. I felt like maybe the climax was beneath the rest of the movie. Maybe I'm just too particular about that. I also didn't like the climaxes of Star Trek, The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 3 and other recent movies. I feel like 3/4 of the way through the writers complete lose any and all creativity. Even if they've got something really special going on up to that point, they fall into a trap. And you get a God awful sequence like the ferries and the ridiculous virtual reality Batman in Dark Knight or a typical shootout/everything blows up deal in the case of Star Trek (really, how can you defend that atrocious ending, even if you are a fan?). But I don't know, that's just me.

[King Mark 3,631]

I love the climax, because again I felt the fight scenes had this raw intensity about them. There's one bit where Hit-Girl comes out of an elevator and slays 3 bad guys almost instantly with a hunting knife tied to a rope...that was just too cool, reminded me of something out of an old Clint Eastwood western. Then when Hit-Girl fights Frank D'Amico at the end , there's never any question in your mind that they want to kill each other. I think I got to see flashes of great scenes from other movies in that film, except with new characters that are just as cool.

I agree about The Dark Knight ferries sequence and whatever happened in that building with the cell phone goggles. It was terrible.I was never really to sure of what the fuck was going on through most of the film anyways. The opening bank robbing sequence...the Joker, Scarecrow,fake Batmans, various locations and trucks going off in every direction ...maybe I was trying to hard to link everything together

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

While I wasn't quite as confused, overall I found those climactic scenes to be quite painful to watch. Those lame stock extras on the boats--sniveling businessman type who suggests the prisoners made their choices and should be killed; "think of the children" woman; the warden or whoever that was in charge of shit that gives up the detonator to the big prisoner; of course, the big prisoner who surprises everyone by, uh, THROWING the DETONATOR into the sea. The cell phone gag in the building felt completely out of place in the movie. The light-up goggle thing in the cowl was taken from Batman Forever and didn't seem to make sense in the movie's overall straight-forward "this is our world, only with Batman and Joker" universe. The one thing it sort of got right in concept was having Batman and Joker sort of fight, except Joker was actually kicking his ass! Gah. The rest of the movie after this with Harvey and the family was too grim and depressing for me. There's a time and place for that kind of stuff, I suppose. But I digress.

[King Mark 3,631]

I guess the one thing that turns me off the most about TDK is Batman's voice .It's not cool,it just sounds stupid and ruins the superhero .I liked the Joker better than Batman

[QMM 4]

Master and Commander

[artyjeffrey 20]

I'm gonna be real predictible and boring, and say Citizen Kane. I first saw it waaaaayy back when I was 17, but I can honestly say that's the last time a movie really "got" me, and became one that I obsessed over and watched a million times.

[John Crichton 4]

Master and Commander

I really need to get off my keister and see that, from everything I've heard I'm sure I'll love it.

[King Mark 3,631]

Avatar kind of grabbed me the first viewing,the second viewing the cliche story and dialogue became too obvious to make it something I'd watch a third time.

I liked Star Trek, but also I feel it ran it's course for me after 2 viewings .I'm not enough of a trekkie to care about finding out more details in the film.

I have to include also Revenge of the Sith. Must have seen it 5 times . My appreciation of it seemed to vary from viewing to viewing.

So before that I guess I'd have to go back to 2004 and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azcaban. This was a movie with a prime Williams score and interesting enough to watch several times .I think I saw it 4-5 times in the theater but never watched the DVD.