Note: This is an unfinished list of movies I think should be seen, at least once. It’s from 2008 and I’ll probably never finish it. There are just too many to list, and I’m much, much too lazy. But, I leave it here for completeness sake. Enjoy
You need to see these movies! If you haven’t seen at least 50% of the movies on this list then you are an uncultured savage!
Some of these movies are just guilty pleasures of mine (e.g., Bill and Ted), and some are movies that move my mind in ways I can’t quite describe (e.g., Children of Men).
All these movies deserve to be seen at least once…just because. I mean, there are so many movies now that one person cannot see them all in a lifetime. So, here is a list you can use to find something entertaining on a whim.
Here is the list in no particular order:
Movies You Need to See At Least Once
I started, but didn’t finish, putting these into categories. The rest of the list will start after the categories
Fantasy Movies
- Mirrormask – A pure piece of fantasy – Neil Gaiman
- Pan’s Labyrinth – Dark fantasy – Alice in a not so wonderful land
- The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring – If you read it you should see it!
- The Lord of the Rings – The Two Towers – If you read it you should see it!
- The Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King – If you read it you should see it!
Anime and Animation Movies | Computer Animation
- Beauty and the Beast – Truly a Broadway musical, yet animated
- Ninja Scroll – Some classic anime – very, very good stuff
- The Incredibles – Pixar doing what it does! And yes, this is a movie for the WHOLE family to enjoy.
- Blood – The Last Vampire
- Ghost in the Shell
- Mezzo Forte
- Kite
- Princess Mononoke
- South Park – Bigger, Longer & Uncut
Science Fiction Movies | Science Fantasy Movies | Science Fiction Comedy
- The Fifth Element – Watch for the Diva
- Gattaca – Very good science fiction – Near future
- Children of Men – Probably an accurate assessment of how we’d behave in such a situation – Near future
- Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey
- Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
- Serenity
Horror | Horror Comedy
- Jeepers Creepers – Unorthodox horror
- Jeepers Creepers 2 – More from the Creeper
- Shaun of the Dead – A must see for all fans of zombie movies
- 28 Days Later – The zombie movie redefined
- The Evil Dead
- Evil Dead II
Comedy | Stand Up Comedy
- Eddie Murphy Raw – A little dated but still hilarious
- Eddie Murphy – Delirious – Even more dated – Watch before watching Raw
- Chris Rock – Bigger and Blacker
- Chris Rock – Never Scared
- Half Baked
Unsorted List
- The Man in the Iron Mask – The later tale of the Three Musketeers
- Blown Away – A guilty pleasure of my youth – The Two Coreys
- Pulp Fiction – More quotable lines than a bible with the words of Jesus in red
- Memento – Short term memory and reverse ordered scenes…but in a good way
- The Prestige – Magic!
- Street Thief – It almost seems like a real, live documentary of a thief
- Faster Pussycat Kill!..kill! – If you want to see where Tarantino gets it from
- Batman Begins – The guy that gave us Memento gave us this. Nolan
- O Brother, Where Art Thou? – A retelling of the Odyssey – Man of Constant Sorrows
- Little Shop of Horrors – Music by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman before Disney
- Malcolm X – Based on Alex Haley’s novel (as told by Malcolm) – Denzel at 100%
- American History X – All things being equal in American race relations
- Clerks – Dante: My girlfriend’s sucked 37 dicks! Customer: In a row?
- Clerks II – More pop culture from Kevin Smith
- Mallrats – Yup more Kevin Smith goodness…the guy just does good work *shrugs*
- Kill Bill, Volume 1 – Tarantino doing what he does best, entertaining us! A mashup of over the top action and kung fu tropes.
- Kill Bill, Volume 2 – Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey. A continuation to Volume 1 – both should be taken as one long movie.
- Hustle & Flow – It’s hard out here for a pimp!!! Three 6 Mafia got an Oscar for Christ’s sake!!!!! …Three 6 Mafia…An Oscar…
- Wild Things – Neve Campbell and Denise Richards…kissing…also, a very good mystery movie too.
- Unbreakable
- Mystic River
- Reservoir Dogs
- The Matrix
- El Mariachi
- Desperado
- From Dusk Till Dawn
- Swordfish
- Thirteen
- King of the Ants
- Coming to America
- Casino
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
- Kids
- American Beauty
- 12 Monkeys
- Knocked Up
- Superbad
- The Godfather
- The Godfather, Part II
- 7 Grand Masters
- Chasing Amy
- Big Fish
- The Butterfly Effect
- Final Destination
- Man on Fire
- Ong-Bak – The Thai Warrior
- Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
- Saw
- Saw II
- King of New York
- Chicago
- The Transporter
- The Blues Brothers
- Crash
Some Obvious Things Are Missing
This list is incredibly subjective and tuned to my personal tastes. Some things the majority considers as classic or must-see, I might not care for or think you should check out. For example, some people may have noticed I didn’t include Scarface or any of the Star Wars.
Remember, this list isn’t done yet. And probably never will be. If you have some suggestions, let me know!
Read more Movie Reviews by S. Barnes
