Movies

My Favourite Movies
This is a temporary list of my favourite movies. More will be added, when I think of them. The directors are not sorted in any particular order.

Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam is master of schizophrenia. A common theme is the ever thinning line between sanity and insanity. And might that other world in your head not be as real or as wonderful as this one?


 * Brazil (1985)
 * The Fisher King (1991)
 * Twelve Monkeys (1995)

David Fincher
Fincher is hardcore, his movies are brutal yet elegant in every way. The movies have a very cool design, and the stories are intellectually interesting.


 * Se7en (1995)
 * Fight Club (1999)

Tim Burton
Tim Burton is a child with hyperactive imagination. His movies are fantastic and humourous, and the pictures have a dreamy atmosphere to them. His many collaborations with composer Danny Elfman take everything to an even higher level.


 * Batman (1989)
 * Batman Returns (1992)
 * Edward Scissorhands (1990)
 * Beetle Juice (1988)
 * Henry Selick: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Christopher Nolan
The very experimental 'Memento' was a artistic masterpiece, but Nolan is also a great mainstream director, as displayed in 'Insomnia' and of course the extremely cool 'Batman Begins'.


 * Batman Begins (2005)
 * Memento (2000)

Peter Jackson
I thought 'Bad Taste' was just too crummy to be good, although Derek (played by Peter himself) is rather funny. But 'Braindead' is great all the way through, and contains very innovative (and disgusting) effects. Of course, I fell completely in love with 'The Lord of the Rings', but I guess everyone did. An important point to make about LotR is that the extended versions are much better than the original cut. The flow of the story is much better, and they are not too long in any way.


 * Braindead (1992)
 * The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

Hayao Miyazaki
'Chihiro' came very highly recommended by a large group of my friends, and I was not disappointed. The calm and dreamy anime exhibited an artistic quality that Disney cartoons rarely have (I still like them, though). Totoro moved me to tears, and both movies portray the most realistic and lovable children I have ever seen in any movie, animated or not. I also noted that Totoro didn't contain any evil at all. The movie is still exciting, and that is surely a sign of something special, a H. C. Anderson quality that is rare in cartoons.


 * Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (Chihiro) (2001)
 * Tonari no Totoro (1988)

Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott is above everything a visual artist. His pictures are atmospheric and stunning. In the earlier years, his movies had a smoky quality, which has been replaced by grandeur and handheld camera in the newer ones. Characters were never really his strength, but collaborations with great actors such as Sigourney Weaver, Harrison Ford, and Russell Crowe has made up for this weakness.


 * Alien (1979)
 * Blade Runner (1982)

Sam Raimi
I do like his newer works ('The Gift', and of course 'Spiderman'), but the old ones are just a bit closer to my heart. They experiment with super-close-ups, crazy sound design, and Bruce Campbell is so funny.


 * Evil Dead II (1987)
 * Army of Darkness (1993)

James Cameron
James Cameron is a bit of a naive director, but he really speaks to my inner teenager :). His movies contain robots, aliens and other great stuff. How can you not like that?


 * Aliens (1986)
 * The Abyss (1989)
 * The Terminator (1984)
 * Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Irvin Kershner
The director of sequels that are better than the originals. Episode V was one of my absolute favourites as a teenager, and the dark and extremely violent 'RoboCop 2' is a macabre masterpiece. Don't listen to the critics (they hate it :), and enjoy the action, the effects, and Frank Miller's satirical and sinister screenplay. Don't miss the preliminary tests of the other cyborgs, they are so funny!


 * Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
 * RoboCop 2 (1990)

Guy Ritchie

 * Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
 * Snatch (2000)

Other Directors

 * Richard Kelly: Donnie Darko (2001)
 * Adrian Lyne: Jacob's Ladder (1990)
 * Michel Gondry: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
 * Darren Aronofsky: Pi (1998)
 * Mamoru Oshii: KÃ´kaku kidÃ´tai (Ghost in the Shell) (1995)
 * Katsuhiro Ã”tomo: Akira (1988)
 * Brad Bird: The Incredibles (2004)
 * Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino: Sin City (2005)
 * Yimou Zhang: Shi mian mai fu (The House of Flying Daggers) (2004)
 * Andy & Larry Wachowski: The Matrix Trilogy (1999, 2003)
 * George Lucas: Star Wars (1977)
 * Richard Marquand: Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
 * Steven Spielberg: Minority Report (2002)
 * Stuart Gordon: Dagon (2001)
 * Paul W. S. Anderson: Event Horizon (1997)
 * Danny Boyle: Trainspotting (1996)
 * Frank Darabont: The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
 * David Cronenberg: The Fly (1986)
 * Alan Parker: Angel Heart (1987)
 * Paul Verhoeven: RoboCop (1987)

Candidates
These movies are candidates for the list, possibly because I haven't seen them yet. - This last one deserves a comment. The Thing is a creepy and wonderful horror movie with extremely good and inventive effects. However, if you consult IMDB, you might read a review stating:
 * Chan-wook Park: Oldboy (2003)
 * Danny Boyle: 28 Days Later... (2002)
 * Sam Raimi: Spiderman I & II
 * Peter Jackson: Heavenly Creatures (1994)
 * David Cronenberg: Spider (2002)
 * Terry Gilliam: Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (1998)
 * Tim Burton: Big Fish (2003)
 * Tim Burton: Sleepy Hollow (1999)
 * Atom Egoyan: Exotica (1994)
 * Brad Anderson: The Machinist (2004)
 * David Fincher: AlienÂ³ (1992)
 * Paul Thomas Anderson: Magnolia (1999)
 * John Carpenter: The Thing (1982)
 * "All of the actors give strong, realistic performances"

This is, however, not exactly the case. In fact, Kurt Russell delivers one of the worst acting performances in the history of movies... And of course, John Carpenter is not really a genius at character direction in the first place. Still a great movie though. :) --Schmid 11:50, 21 Mar 2005 (CET)

Best Schizophrenia Movies
My favourite genre of movies. I (badger) don't know why I like them so (pink drawbridge) much. The (they are after me) best include: (the square root of two is one million)
 * Adrian Lyne: Jacob's Ladder (1990)
 * Fight Club (1999)
 * Brazil (1985)
 * Richard Kelly: Donnie Darko (2001)
 * Alan Parker: Angel Heart (1987)
 * A Beautiful Mind
 * David Cronenberg: Spider (2002)
 * Brad Anderson: The Machinist (2004)
 * The Fisher King (1991)
 * Twelve Monkeys (1995)
 * Darren Aronofsky: Pi (1998)

Best Robot Movies
I have a real weakness for robot movies. These are the greatest: I have not seen this movie, but from the title it looks absolutely superb: Robot Ninja (1990). On IMDB, it gets about 2 stars. Doesn't get much worse than that... :)
 * RoboCop 2
 * RoboCop
 * Terminator
 * Terminator 2
 * Star Wars: Episode I
 * Star Wars: Episode II
 * Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
 * The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
 * Virus (1999)

Favourite Series

 * The Muppet Show (1976)
 * Simpsons (1989-?)
 * Futurama (1999-2003)
 * Fawlty Towers (1975-1979)
 * Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969-1974)
 * 24 (2001)
 * Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
 * Angel (1999-2005)
 * Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

Worst Movies of All Time

 * Evil Alien Conquerors (2002)
 * Hellbreeder (2003)