CelticsStrong
Other Discussions => Entertainment => Off Topic => Movies => Topic started by: Eja117 on March 07, 2015, 05:53:48 PM
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So the GOT vs LOTR thing got me thinking. What were your top film experiences in terms of what just blew you away. Took you to a different place? Made you believe something else for a couple hours. Took you right there. Wowed you. Shocked you. Got your money's worth. Thought "Darn. That blew away a lot of other films". Pushed the envelope. Was mooooorrrree than just a mere movie. Took the campfire experience and blew it up. For example....lots of great films.....Rain Man. Great film. Not on this list.
1 Empire Strikes Back
2 ROTS
3 ROTJ
4 Clone Wars
5 Fellowship of the Ring
6 ET
7 Harry Potter 1
8 Return of the King
9 The Hobbit There and Back Again
10 Batman the Dark Knight
11 The Two Towers
12 Phantom Menace
13 Batman the Dark Knight Rises
14 Hobbit The Battle of Five Armies
15 Batman the Dark Knight Rises
16 All the rest of the Harry Potter movies
17 Lawrence of Arabia
18 The Matrixes
19 various movies aimed at tweens and girls like Hunger Games and stuff with vampires
20 Gladiator
21 Godfather 2
22 Last of the Mohicans
23 Godfather 1
24 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
25 Wizard of Oz
26 Amadeus
27 Saving Private Ryan
28 Dances With Wolves
29 The Passion
30 Jurassic Park
31 Glory
31 It's a Wonderful Life
32 Sixth Sense
33 Back to the Future II
Notably absent from my list.....Avatar. I just couldn't get into it. It was ok. Maybe even better than ok. But give me any movie on this list ahead of that one.
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Lord that's a tough one.
The visualization on the Lord of the Rings on the big screen were very memorable and special to me.
Avatar was cool in 3D.
Best 3D experience so far was Hugo.
When I saw The Big Chill for the first time I was kind of inebriatedd wit some friends and the only seats left in the huge theater were in the front row.
I think the first movie I ever went to by myself was Schindler's List. The heat broke in the theater.it is like 40 degrees in there. The management stopped the movie midway through to apologize and offered passes to return. They said they would continue shedding owing the fun fur those of us who wanted to stay. Just me and a few others hung around. I figured it was fitting to suffer a little while watching that particular movie.
Roudiest movie I ever went to was The Doors opening night at the ginormous Loews in Copley.
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And of course I'd be remiss if I didn't mention sneaking in with my friends to see Used Cars as a 13 year old. A pretty humorous movie starring Kurt Russell, but mostly memorable fur betting my first on screen boob viewing! ;D
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Dark Knight is definitely up there for me. Inception was pretty sick too.
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Based on your premise... the most recent film I can think of that left me thinking, "Holy crap that was a ride" was "Gravity". That movie made me feel like I was on a thrill ride.
In a way, "Birdman" had a similar effect on me. Those two movies had the same cinematographer. The single-take trick really does make it feel like you're there in the moment. Watching them in the theater is an experience.
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Blair Witch Project - it was opening weekend and every seat was filled in the theater. This was when it was thought that the film was actual footage (foolish, I know :0)
Scream - the intensity and the time in my life made this a pretty exciting movie
Saw - totally blown away by the ending.
It's not that these movies were necessarily epic pictures or had top notch acting, but the crowds and being immersed in the experience is what made these stand out.
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My favorites from when I was a kid were Back To The Future, Return Of The Jedi, Fantasia, and the Last Unicorn. Aladdin when I was a bit older, but still young.
Does Rocky Horror Picture Show count? Because that's always awesome.
Dark Knight in Imax was amazing.
Schindler's List... That's the most powerful one. It was an experience.
Saving Private Ryan and the first 20 minutes were intense.
Watching Insidious in an old, decrepit movie theater with my pregnant wife was probably the scariest movie experience I've had.
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Avatar, Point Break, Terminator 2 are a few that stand out.
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Not gonna make a list, and don't even really go to many movies, but V for Vendetta kinda came to mind looking at your criteria.
Not sure if it was just because I'm so into post-apocalyptic stuff (especially games) but I remember being on the edge of my seat thinking, "This definitely could happen in the future!!" (my super-crush on Natalie Portman ever since Star Wars probably didn't help).
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Watching Rocky 4 as a 6 year old was an awesome experience. I still remember the crowd, in the theater not just in the film, chanting "USA, USA" at the end. Pretty cool.
More recent...
Gravity
Avatar
LOTR...Return of the King especially
Star Wars Revenge of the Sith
Knocked Up (because my wife was weeks away at the time)
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Signs, The Fourth Kind, all of the Paranormal Activity movies... lol I was terrified of aliens and paranormal stuff due to an overactive imagination, and those were the cherry on the top.
Another good one was The Watchmen. Absolutely love that movie and was so deep into it, especially given its philosophical and ethical undertones.
Other good ones were 300, any of the Matrix movies, and Prometheus (even though it could have been soooooooo much better).
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The movies I feel were coolest in the theatres are great comedies. I think Team America, Anchorman, Old School, Superbad all stand out for me in my head where the theare was really dying laughing all together and it made it feel even more fun.
Some of those particular movies the first time you see them too... they killed me. I remember laughing til I cried during the Team America theme song.
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300. I get why people liked it (and maybe its sequel) but it just didn't do it for me.
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Armageddon, too. That was an excellent movie experience.
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First two Star Wars movies in theater were awesome and I was that right age.
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i dont tend to see that many movies in theaters so my list is very short. The Dark Knight as others have said and as 1 other person said Superbad. not sure why those 2 given 1 has a ton of quotes and the other doesn't really have any, maybe its who i saw them with?
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Back in the 70's .....me and my mate Jeff attended a then new horror show . Called
"It's Alive". about a baby that eats people. .....hokie today..but very ahead of its time in the type.with shock effects.It was advertised as the demon child would make an appearance at some point in the movie.
House was packed..... There were three young 13-15 yr old black girls sitting in front of us.
They were all huddle up , shaking , squished down in their seats .....scared silly by the movie.....on pins and needles the whole time.
So......about half way , one of the most intense scene is unfolding .......the baby is about to attack
The theater is silent ...Erie silent....even pop corn crunches were missing.
I jumped out of my seat and grabbed all three girls with. Crazed baby cry ....gotta ya.....LOL
I think all three peed in their pants .....as nearly jumped out of them screaming to top of their lungs.
The whole theater broke out into a howl of laughter......my sides hurt I was laughing so hard.
What fun
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Take off scene in Apollo 13
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgHYGw9OL7c
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i dont tend to see that many movies in theaters so my list is very short. The Dark Knight as others have said and as 1 other person said Superbad. not sure why those 2 given 1 has a ton of quotes and the other doesn't really have any, maybe its who i saw them with?
I think the beginning of Superbad is super strong and it's really good throughout. There's lots of great lines and gags and they come really rapid fire at times.
Like I said with mine, I find just laughing at one joke with a ton of people creates a good feeling. People you know and people you don't both.
Dark Knight was a good one for me too, just because it is such a strong movie. In my opinion one of the very best action/thrillers ever, comic book movie aside.
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The movies I feel were coolest in the theatres are great comedies. I think Team America, Anchorman, Old School, Superbad all stand out for me in my head where the theare was really dying laughing all together and it made it feel even more fun.
Some of those particular movies the first time you see them too... they killed me. I remember laughing til I cried during the Team America theme song.
This is where I'm at. I probably only laugh out loud at something when I'm by myself maybe 2-3 times a year. Obviously, in a room with friends or at the movie theater the enjoyment of jokes is heightened. On the other hand, I've never really been someone who's felt much benefit from seeing stuff in IMAX or whatever state of the art thing is current. I'm perfectly content with watching my favorite action, Sci-FI or dramatic thrillers on a 27 inch TV in the comfort of my home by myself. I actually prefer it. The only exception to this would be that I loved the Omni Theatre at the BMOS as a kid, but those technically aren't really movies.
So anyways, if memory serves me correctly, I've never laughed harder at a movie than seeing Napoleon Dynamite in the theatre with friends and strangers.
(http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view2/3607800/napoleon-dynamite-steak-throw-o.gif)
Compounding that you can only experience a joke for the first time once, and seeing it with other people, I'll never laugh or enjoy any comedy as much as the first time seeing it at the movie theatre.
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Armageddon, too. That was an excellent movie experience.
Loved it. Great example
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The l978 Superman movie starring Christopher Reeve. It was the first movie I had been to that the audience was so much into it that they were actually cheering Superman on and booing the bad guys...sort of like a sporting event! Great fun.
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Braveheart made me almost come out of my seat.
When I was a kid, E.T. made me cry like no other movie has ever done.
A bit cheesier, but the original Red Dawn was an amazing crowd movie.
WOLVERINES!!!
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No order just random movies coming to mind
Close encounters of the third kind
Jaws
Schindlers list
Pulp fiction
Saving private ryan
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Gravity and Avatar are the only movies I've seen where the 3-D actually added to the movie experience. I usually find it to be an unnecessary nuisance.
I saw both The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity in packed theatres right when they came out. There's something about watching a good scary movie in a packed house.
I don't think I've laughed more at a movie than when I saw Borat in the theatre.
I saw the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre at a midnight screening 4-5 years ago. Beforehand the crowd was really rowdy. At the end of the movie you could hear a pin drop. That movie does not mess around.
Also got to see Alien at a midnight movie. So glad I got to see that on a big screen.
Thin Red Like was amazing in a theatre setting. So many beautiful, powerful images. Love that movie.
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Sin City comes to kind as a visually provocative (not just because of Jessica Alba) film.
Avatar was really cool 3D.
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Good call. Sin City was a blast on the big screen.
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The most striking visual change from what came before was easily the original Star Wars. Saw it numerous times in various states of consciousness.
The first Indiana Jones was a hoot in a special packed sneak preview that my wife snagged tickets to. Comedies were Animal House and There's Something About Mary, both of which were in packed houses that were roaring. Saw Something About Mary in Rhode Island which added to the atmosphere. Same with seeing the first 2 Godfather movies in Providence, a heavily Italian-American area with a strong mafia presense where/when I grew up. By the same token seeing The Blues Brothers in Chicago when it came out added to the packed house atmosphere.
LOTR, Sin City, and 300 were all pretty inventive, but CGI was pretty established by that point. LOTR had a huge following before it became a film, so interest was intense. Gravity was very good as a visual experience too, but I liked the theme too. Avatar was good for 3D, but it's just OK as a movie. The Hobbit series is just overdone.
As far as original/unique screenwriting and editing, Memento attracted a lot of film buffs. Unique gimmick film, but well done. Put me on to Nolan as did Blood Simple for the Coen Brothers which was a great debut. As far as horror/murder/monster, Psycho, Aliens, Jaws had everyone in packed houses edgy as hell. Psycho was groundbreaking for its time and the women would scream and scream.
There's a lot of powerful films I've seen as opposed to the fun theatre experiences above, but that's another thread.
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Most recently, Interstellar and Inception in IMAX. Just phenomenal in every way. So much so that I went to both of them twice. Even with Blu-Ray, a 65" UHDTV and a Bose setup, it does not quite compare to seeing them the first time in IMAX.
I'll never forget the audience's reaction to The Departed when *spoiler alert* Martin Sheen's and Leo Dicaprio's characters died. Audible gasps all around. You could also sense everyone's relief when Matt Damon was finally busted by Marky-Mark.
By far the movie with the most laughter was There's Something About Mary. Everyone had good laughs throughout.
Batman (1989) was amazing at the time. Keaton and Nicholson were just so good.
(http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0070/7032/files/joker_makes_it_rain_large.gif?111732)
A classic I would like to see in the theater sometime (perhaps my all-time favorite movie):
(http://www.mattfind.com/12345673215-3-2-3_img/movie/d/w/w/amadeus_1984_580x994_978723.jpg)
I would imagine those of you who saw it in the theater were just awe struck.
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Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Saw it with 3 buddies and a fifth of Jack.
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1) Gladiator (took latin for 4 years, dreamed of Italy but never visited up to that point, and hadn't watched a movie in 6+ straight months b/c I was on a ship at sea... ergo I was really sensitive to the visual & audio of any movie)
2) Mad Max
3) The Matrix
4) The first Lord of the Rings
Honorable Mention: I saw Les Miserables the play on Broadway this year and was blown away. Technically that's a "theater" experience. The coordination of props, timing of lighting, and so many other nuances impressed me to no end.
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You mean besides doing the Rocky Horror Picture Show thing in the early-mid 80s? These aren't my favorite films but I had unique experiences in each that made them all quite memorable.
#1 - Aliens: Midnight showing + first really good surround sound theatre + first time in a stadium seating theatre = truly memorable experience.
#2 - LotR RotK - Opening night. The costumes many people were wearing were incredible. So was the movie.
#3 - Avatar - IMAX premier with James Cameron. It's interesting walking down the red carpet and on IMAX the visuals were great. But the audience - full of celebs - talked too much.
Honorable Mention:
Saving Private Ryan - New THX sound system in the theatre on one of the older really big screens. on opening night. I have never seen an audience so captivated as the first 20 minutes of that film. People forgot about their popcorn and the only movement was involuntary flinching when the sound of a very close round echoed through the speakers. I remember that some people were crying as the scene ended - almost a PTSD type reaction.
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Some not mentioned so far that I liked was Star Trek WOK, GhostBusters, Blade and "The Raid 2" were pretty awesome. Spawn though the movie wasn't great the fans were nuts.
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I want to say it was Inception in IMAX, but this may be just that I like the movie a lot.
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Probably Batman with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. That was the first movie I was old enough to remember the long lines and the merchandise and how heavily it was marketed. It was such an effort just to get into the theater (long lines, finding a seat) that once you were it felt like an accomplishment. I was too young to recall all that for the Star Wars movies.
Back to the Future 2, even though it wasn't great, there was this "finally" feeling. They say "To Be Continued" at the end of the first one and I'd been waiting four years (which is a long time for a kid). I was pretty excited for that one.
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in terms of leaving the theater having felt an 'experience' -- Avatar.
The LOTR series was terrific as well but not quite at the 'experience' level.
in terms of just having a great time because the rest of the audience enjoyed the movie: Deadpool, 40-year-old Virgin and Nutty Professor (Eddie Murphy version).
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Rumble in the Bronx was a lot of fun in the theatre. Jackie Chan was just so darn likeable and the out takes at the end were awesome. Dude just loved what he was doin'.
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The original Austin Powers.
It was in an old theater where they had replace the seats with tables. Pitchers and pizza.
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Original opening of Aliens .....I think late 70's
I grabbed the girls sitting in front of us during the most intense moments . They jump clean out of their seats .... :D
We laughed for days .
Good they were young or they d had heart failure.
Seriously .....I guess "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Best ever
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Gravity, 3D Imax
Mad Max: Fury Road, 3D Imax
I've seen many films in the theater over the years, but those two really stand out.
Really great stuff. Gravity was dizzying on the big screen. Never before has outer space seemed so close. Mad Max was a fantastic, intense, visceral movie, and the extra size and visuals fit the style of the film perfectly.
As good as they were on their own merits, both films were elevated even further by the imax/3D theater setting.
Interstellar was another good one.
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I think I am now putting Rogue One in my top spot
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I'll never forget the Return of The King in theaters. Some sort of crazy emotion came over me like none other.
I am Legend in the Jordans Furniture IMAX was pretty epic.
Titanic when I was a youngster just because of how crazy big it was at the time.
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Rocky Horror Picture show in Harvard Square with people acting the parts in the movie onstage while the movie played. Just an awesome time.