I'm a big fan of storytelling. I adore novels, of course, but I think there is a lot to be said for film. I've considered (and would still love) being a director. I run a website on the subject of horror movies, but would love to be involved in the art in some hands-on way. People who claim that the art of film is dead, annoy me. You don't have to look far for some truly amazing movies. My question is, what movies made you stop and think, left you speechless and just in awe, haunted you for days, or any combination of the three. You don't necessarily have to enjoy the movie. Movies like these usually command your love or respect, not always both. Some of them are difficult to get through, though you feel better for having finished it.

As for me:

Brokeback Mountain - One of the biggest. It's one of those that I have no intention of watching again. The story was just too tragic, though necessary. I cried during the movie, and for days I was bothered by the ending.

Oldboy - For the second half, I'm not entirely sure my mouth ever closed. I remember sitting through the credits, just trying to process all of these mixed emotions. It's a movie that really makes one question morality in ways that would make the ancient Greeks envious.

Donnie Darko - Cliche'? Maybe. It's just a movie that really portrays high school as hell, along with equally thoughtful themes. To this day, hearing the song "Mad World" leaves me unnaturally introspective.

Momento - One of those "awe" movies. It was simply a grand example of filmmaking.

American History X - Another movie I'm not sure I could watch again, and another than haunted me.

May - I think it's the ending of this one that got to me. For some reason I found the main character easy to sympathize with. It's difficult to to explain without watching.

Frailty - Another "awe" movie and while I'm not a Christian, I don't think it appealed to that group specifically. It makes you wonder.

Almost any Miyazaki movie - This time in a very good way. Somehow, he always makes me feel like a kid again.

I'm sure there are more, but that's all I can think of at the moment. I haven't seen it yet, but I hear a newer movie called "Hard Candy" is very much like this. I'm looking forward to seeing it soon.

As I'm sure will surprise no one here, the ones that tend to stand out the most in my mind are sci-fi films. None of these are particularly popular movies, and I would be surprised if anyone here has seen more than one of these:

Silent Running (1972) - The story on the surface is rather corny and was heavily influenced by the environmental movement that got started in the late 60s. Unfortunately, the movie isn't helped by having Bruce Dern in the lead role. Bruce Dern isn't a particularly good actor, in fact he pretty much just does the same character in every movie he's in. So why am listing such a movie? It's because the story beneath the surface is much more interesting. Among other things, it's about one man's struggle to stand up for what he believes in a world gone insane. The consequences of this causes him a great deal of isolation and he kind of goes somewhat insane himself. The movie is basically a tragedy and primarily focuses on the lead character's personal journey.

Dark Star (1974) - This is basically John Carpenter's student film he did while in film school that he later spruced up and released theatrically. The movie is a warped comedy but with a really intriguing subtext. John Carpenter himself referred to it as "Waiting for Godot" in space. The movie is even better because it was done on an ultra-low budget. The special effects and the sets are all really cheessy, but this just enhances the absurdity of the whole thing. For example, they have a pet alien on the ship which is basically a large beach ball painted red with feet. :) Among other things, the movie shows the effects of isolation on the crew and the break down of their small society. Along the way, they're trying to find meaning to what they're doing, speaking with their dead captain and discussing philosophy with the artificially intelligent thermo-stellar bombs they carry on the ship, who impatiently wait for their chance to detonate themselves (it's their purpose in life, after all). It's a weird and strange movie.

The other thing of note regarding this movie is that it's about the only film appearance for Dan O'Bannon who plays Sgt. Pinback. If you don't know him, he's a screenplay writer who's biggest claim to fame is creating and writing the movie "Alien". He's been involved with quite a few sci-fi films and is also involved with special effects. His name is in the credits for some of the Star Wars movies, for example.

Dark City (1998) - I talk about this movie a lot here, so I keep it short this time. It's probably the best sci-fi thriller ever made. Just excellent film making. Among other things, it looks at whether there's any more to a person's life than the sum of their memories.



Those are the main three I would list. There are of course other movies that stand out for other reasons. For example, "Alien" was the first movie I had ever seen with that level of gore and shock. It's not the kind of movie that makes you think, but boy did I have trouble sleeping for a few nights after watching that one. I've even had nightmares about being trapped on a ship infested with those aliens. Yeesh.

"Star Wars" was of course an important milestone as well. That was pretty much the first time anyone had put together a mythic hero action adventure saga against a sci-fi background. Prior to "Star Wars", sci-fi movies were mostly cerebral like "2001" with little action in them. This was a real turning point.

I would also list Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" as a milestone as well. It of course built on the momentum from "The Little Mermaid", but it was the first time an animated film got such a broad range of appeal. It worked for me as well, which I found surprising since I don't really go for love stories. It's not sci-fi, there are no elaborate chase scenes (except maybe the wolf attack) and nothing much blows up, so you wouldn't think I'd like it ;), but I was surprised to find I did. And so did lots of other people since it launched Disney's pretty epic run of movies through the 90s.

I think I would also have to list "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" since I was laughing for days after seeing it for the first time. I think it was the spring board for zany movie comedies. It still makes me laugh, so I think that counts as movie that moved me. :)

There are more "event" movies I could list, like "Indiana Jones" and "The Terminator" movies, but I think the ones listed above moved me more than those.

The only movie I can really say that moved me was the 2005 remake of King Kong. It was mostly the last bits of the movie, because Kong and Anne, despite being two different species, had this special bond that was so sad and all because you know that Kong's gonna be dead by the end, which makes it all the more sadder.

Myeah, most of the movies I watch are somewhat shallow in emotional depth. :P

Lord Of The Rings- I read the novel before seeing the film, and really enjoyed it. I wish Tom Bombadil was in the film though, he was such a crazy character...and Orlando Bloom's Legolas annoyed me.

Brokeback Mountain- I cried. My mum cried. That guy sitting next to us cried. That and I love Jake. The acting was superb.

Donnie Darko- Because I'm the kid the jocks picked on until I turned freaky and scared them. Although I was not nearly as violent as some of the people at Middlesex.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children- The Sephiroth clones rock my world. If you want to see this I say do some reaserch if you haven't played the game. AND WATCH THE JAPANESE VERSION! The english version kills Kadaj's voice...

Okay, I didn't quite mean "films you feel" like that. I was one of the losers who downloaded the movie about a week before it was released in Japan (bless those fileshare pirates). The English version wasn't bad, though Reno's voice was a little cuter in Japanese.

Just a quick edit:

I just finished watching "Hard Candy". Wow, that was film-making at its finest. It certainly wasn't as "controversial" as I thought it would be, but the level of serious thought it demanded from the viewer was significant. It really blurs the lines between predator and prey. How much can you really sympathize with a pedophile and how fine are the lines between voyeurism and the action itself? Can you sympathize with a vigilante? I found myself switching sides at least twice in this film and it's something that troubles me. :unsure:

The movie Radio moved me. It was so sad when they tied him up and locked him in the shed.

Movie that moved me.

Documentaries
Micheal Moore HATES America.
FahrenHYPE 9/11
Is It True What They Say About Ann?
We Sold Out Souls For Rock And Roll (OZZFEST Documentary)

Everything Else
Titanic (I thought that was a BEAUTIFUL movie)
Deep Impact
The Green Mile
Click


Movies I dont plan on seeing
Snakes on A Plain
BrokeBack Mountain
The Grid Iron Gang
All Other Chick Flicks

Definitely.

Wasn't "Click" an Adam Sandler movie? :unsure:

Yes, but the ending was very sad and, Me being the person I am. I loved the moral of the story...Family Comes First.

One of the only movies that made me cry was lord of the rings, Return of the king, when Frodo leaves Sam on that jagged cliff face, and continues up the path without him, because smeagal said he ate all a' the bread stuff.
That made me cry my stone cold eyes out!!
(I usually don't cry during movies, no matter how heart wrenching they may be!)
Then when Frodo's paralyzed by that ugly (Yet awsome) spider, and Sam comes to save him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ugh, I'm getting teary just thinking about it!! :(
Then he risks his life and chases off the spider, then loses Frodo to a band of Orcs that just happen to be walking by!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That just SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <_<
Then he Braves Mordor all by himself to save Frodo,......AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ugh,.......... what an awsome movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Fullmetal Alchemist, The Conquerer of Shambala (S?)

Just seeing all the characters again after finishing the series made me almost cry. COS is more for fans of the anime than the manga, (or that's how I feel) and...I thought I saw a Scar-less scar sitting with Lust with the Gypsies. That made me jump up and do a happy dance around the room. (But Scar had dark hair...a really weird grey-brown colour. They should have kept it white.)

Spirit stallion of the cimarron, because I just saw it, it was a preety good movie! I loved it!

and

White chicks! That was a VERY funny movie that I saw on sunday I'm still cracking up when I remember the powder breast milk comment

I saw these movies recently, so thats all I can think about right now, butI have seen some good movies other than those two, I'll try to remember them.

I gotta agree, phsycopathicdragon.
Spirit stallion of the cimarron, was really a cool movie!
It was awsome how they could make the horses show sooooooo much expression
without having them talk!! That always makes for an awsome movie when the animals are reallistic, yet fictional. I love the movies like that! :)

I guess I'll slip in here with my meager contributions....

Aside from the spectacular entertainment of the Spider-Man movies, Alien(s), and other similar more modern-day equivalents--

The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I was at the showing on trilogy day, when all three movies were shown at once, and the feeling it left was wonderful. Had me chanting to myself, "Don't forget that." I'm not going to analyze how seeing merely a scraping of the depth left an impact.

Fantasy buff and more a reader than a move watcher, Dragonheart remains my top movie. Despite its flaws....bah, forget it.

Draco's just the best! :D

"I merely chewed in self defense." *snicker*

I adore that conversation!!

"Who's the girl?"
"A nuisance, get rid of her!"
"Why?"
"Their trying to playgate you with a sacrifice."
"Now, who ever gave them that bright idea?"
"Just get rid of her!!"
"How?"
"Eat her!"
"Oh please, yuck!"
"Partly squeamish? You ate Sereglsmore, hypocrite!!"
"I merely chewed in self defense, but I never swallowed him.."
"Just....improvise!!"
"All right....all right"
*flys off and takes screaming girl to waterfall*
That's one of my favorite movies!!

I realize that I have been reviving a lot of old topics lately, but I can't resist!
Some movies that moved me are:

World Trade Center(Cried through the ENTIRE movie, especially when the peoples bodies were hitting the roofs, even from the first minute. Don't know why, but 9/11 has always made me REALLY sad. I will NEVER watch that movie again, I hate crying.)

Dragon Heart (of course)

Click

Fullmetal Alchemist, The Conquerer of Shambala

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (dont know why)

Flicka (that one surprises me)

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

and last but NOT least:
The Breakfeast Club (one of my FAVORITE movies!)
Grease(ONE not the second one. Wierd I know.)

Click was one movie that really surprised me. I thought it would simply be another movie with various scenes of immaturity , but I was wrong. I cried my eyes out as Adam was crawling on the ground, dying in the rain. *sniff*

Ladder 49. My sister told me I woul dcry, and I didn't believe her. But I did, at teh end as they were carrying the casket out and down the street.

I can't forget Titanic. As if watching Rose lose Lenardo (was his name in the movie Jack? I have a horrible memory) after the Titanic sunk was bad enough, the ending got me as well.

Anyone see The Chorus? It's a French movie I had to watch in French class at school. I was expecting a boring movie, but this one was very, very good, IMO. Though I watched it in French and had only the subtitles to go by, it was an incredibly good movie! It's about Clement Mattheiu, who arrives at a school to become the new Prefect. This all boys school is called the Fond D'Etang, or something like that which translates as the bottom of the pond. The boys aren't the nicest around, and the discipline methods at the school are somewhat questionable. Anyway, Mattheiu transform his class into a chorus. The boys are incredibly good at singing, especially one in particular. Good movie and I nearly cried at the end. :)

i thought the new king kong movie was awsome, my favourite part was when he was fighting those three t-rexs

the other movie that i also thought was awsome was The Pursute of Happyness
based on a true story, it was truly beautiful, Will Smith and his son were awsome. i loved the part where Will actually solved the rubic cube

both very good



---->

Grave of Fireflies
Brave Heart
Blade Runner
SW: Return of Jedi
Lion King
The Call of the Wild
Salem
Your name is Justine

I think none has mentioned Brave Heart. Man I was so moved at the good old 'Fight for freedom' talk.
And Your name is Justine was also so smashing sad- especialy because it was so brutal and true.

Dragonheart
The Lion King
Titanic
World Trade Centre
United 93
Spirit
Brother Bear

lots more. i just can't remember 'em

Dragonheart? sounds good. what's it about?