This has probably been done a zillion times before, but anyway, here are some of my favourite movies. I didn't make an attempt to list them all - it'd be too much work and I'd leave nothing for others to post.

Lost Highway - A creepifying sensual mystery tale. By David Lynch - that should tell you enough.

Mulholland Drive - Another mindboggling mystery by David Lynch for those who liked 'Lost Highway'

A Clockwork Orange - Rebellious youth gone wild - A Stanley Kubrick masterpiece

Eyes Wide Shut - A troubled relationship leads to unexpected and dangerous situations - Last movie made by Stanley Kubrick, and definitely a must see. Plus! You get to see Nicole Kidman naked (And she's not the only one hehe)

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - One of the most hilarious gangster movies you'll ever see. By Guy Ritchie - remember that name

Snatch - Another Guy Ritchie film, easily as good as 'Lock, Stock...' Don't mess with gypsies! Starring Brad Pitt.

Once upon a Time in the West - The Sergio Leone masterpiece about the man with a harmonica, looking for revenge...

Twelve Monkeys - Director Terry Gilliam sends Bruce Willis on a dangerous mission into the past, to save mankind from extinction. Genius story about the complications of time travelling.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - A story about two idiots taking as many different drugs as they can... absolutely crazy and hilarious.

Pulp Fiction - THE gangster movie cult classic by Quentin Tarantino.

Reservoir Dogs - Another one by Tarantino, the master of rude and hilarious dialogue.

Das Boot (Director's Cut) - One of the best war movies ever made - Moving story about a German U-boat crew. The 6-hour TV series is even better than the theatrical version.

Post yours! (Include short descriptions)

You forgot Fight Club. It's a story of what happens when you get a split personality. Like me and cavey <3

-GC

Haha, you're giving away the clue of the movie in your description!

The French Connection! Pretty good cop-in-New-York movie. And it had the greatest car chase (for its time).

STFU.

Lawrence of Arabia - Love it for so many reasons. O'Toole's best role, and his introducing credit. A great score by Maurice Jarre and settings that take your breath away. Lean captured with 70mm what other director's could only dream. That, and the making of the movie is almost as epic as the film itself.

The Godfather Trilogy - Say what you will about Part III, but the character arc of Michael Corleone is amazingly captivating and by the end of III, tragic. III had a lot of faults, but the last ten minutes of that film make up for whatever happened in the other 2+ hours.

The Third Man - I love this movie so much that it is hard to describe, its film noir to its very bones. Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten work off each other's lines so well throughout the movie despite Welles only being in the last half. The same can be said for Citizen Kane.

Others that I do not feel like relishing over:

Casablanca
The Philadelphia Story
Notorious
Fight Club
American Beauty
Twelve Monkeys
Z
Der Untergang

I saw Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas just the other day. Awesome stuff.

Also, random fact! It was directed by the same guy who did 12 Monkeys, Terry Gilliam.

Ben-Hur - the travels and such of a young Judean noble. My favorite movie ever.
Passion of the Christ - last several hours of Christ's life before He was crucified. Closest i've ever come to crying in a movie.
Hero - my favorite work by Jet Li, morally ambiguous tale about reuninting several nation states.
Stargate - My favorite science fiction movie, about the U.S. air force treking across a portal to another planet/ancient conspiracy.
Star Trek (VII) - What I see as the bridge between the original star trek and st: tng . Mostly involves crew of tng as they come across what I think is a space/time vortex thingy.
A New Hope - My favorite SW movie simply because of Han Solo's and Obi-Wan's performance.
Indecent Proposal - A couple goes through the effects of adultery and the jealousy that ensues. How they make up and get on with life is soo good..

Just some of my favorites...

Boondock Saints - This movie just has such a feeling of awesomeness to it. When you're watch some of the fight scenes, they're just so well played out and executed. Halfway through the movie, the main characters (two brothers, who are on a mission to clear the city of a certain mafia group) get captured, and tortured. You really start to root for them, you really get into the movie and start hoping for the best for the characters.

Seven / 7 / Se7en - Or however it's spelt, is sort've mystery, trying to unravel the clues of a series of murders to find the killer. Awesome, big name actors in this movie. The plot was awesome too, and the twists are incredibly shocking. The main idea is that two detectives are after a killer who murders people along the same lines as the 7 deadly sins. So, for example, one man he feeds to death for gluttony. The whole movie felt like a CSI episode (which I love) with more intense violence, and more plot.

Trainspotting - I've seen it once, and I think I might need to see it again. This movie seems boring, strange, and confusing, all tied up in one messy ball at first. Once you finish it and think back about everything, you start to realize what was going on, what was happening, and the message. The characters are all so different and funny, and you really feel it when they change. Trainspotting is about a group of friends, all heroin addicts. One is trying desperatly to get off it, while his friends arn't making things easier for him to do so.

HEY NOW! Hunter S. Thompson and Oscar Zeta Acosta were NOT idiots.

If you really liked the movie I suggest you read the book, if you already haven't that is. I guarantee you'll love it.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ( would you chose the same path ?)
Donnie Darko (would you sacrifice for others, one person effects many)
V for Vendetta ( Even one person's voice can make a difference, dont let your government control you)
LOTR Trilogy (its going to go down as a classic)
Gone With the Wind ( a woman overcoming adversity)
Casablanca ( knowing the right choice isnt always the easiest choice)
Night of the Living Dead (it deals with race themes)
X-Men (even those who are different and outcast are really the same deep down)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (all the kids have diff. things they do wrong, being selfish etc, and its about making the right choices)
The Godfather (it just rocks)
Streetcar Named Desire (who wouldnt love Brando that young and handsome)
The Notebook (one of the best love stories to be told on film)

i'll think of more later. i love movies too much to name everything

bah I could go on. Yeah most of those arent "classics" in the typical sense. But they are classics to me, because they are movies that caused me to think. A lot of them have underlying issues that you have to look past to see

Clerks-A movie about a couple of guys ****ing off at work. What's not to like?
Slacker-Richard Linklater's first 'big' movie. Basically, it's about a day in Austin, Texas. It starts off with a guy coming into town on a bus, then moves from character to character (over a hundred, total) for the rest of the film.
Jacob's Ladder- Drama/thriller about a Vietnam vet. who starts having flashbacks and encounters with what he believes are demons. Supposedly a big inspiration for the original Silent Hill. Oh, and one of the strangest plot twists ever.
Dawn of the Dead-Pretty much the quintessential zombie movie. Four people trying to survive in a shopping mall full of the undead.
Johnny Mnemonic-Say what you will about Keanu, it really does capture the feel of Cyberpunk, and it's based off of a short story by William Gibson. What more do you need?

Yeah, my friend said it's good too. I think I'll go pick it up next time I'm in a Chapters or something.

The Matrix - Screw the crappy sequels this is where it's at. My favourite move of all-time.

Mallrats - Funniest movie ever. Brodie is my hero. It's a really, really, really stupid Kevin Smith movie about a bunch of losers who hang out at their local mall all day. It's farking hilarious.

Goldfinger - 007 battles with gold magnate Auric Goldfinger. Best Bond film ever, with the best quote from a movie ever: 'My name is Pussy Galore' ' I must be dreaming'

Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels - See above. The best example of a '2 hours have passed since this movie started??!' movie ever.

Back To the Future Trilogy - Do you really need a synopsis? Kid and scientist travel backwards and forwards through time. My favourite movie as a child, guess these things stay with you.

Starship Troopers - A satirical sci-fi action move where young Earthians battle giant insects on the far away plant of Klendathu. Falls into the 'so bad it's good' category, but in my opinion it's so bad it's freaking good.

Fight Club - See above. If you dont like this movie you suck.

Rear Window - Two words: Grace Kelly. Grace makes any Hollywood actress these days look like a hooker in rehab. Also it's directed by Hitchcock has wonderful suspense is supremely well written and also has Jimmy Stewart in it... But it's all about Grace, really.

Movies I love but cant be bothered writing about:

Garden State
Aliens
Army of Darkness
Dr Strangelove
Star Wars trilogy
Lord of the Rings trilogy

There are HEAPS more.

Dang, I forgot that one. That movie is incredible.

Yes, yes it is

filmed at Eden Prairie mall, just 20 minutes away from me. haha.

it's much bigger now, though.

I forgot Fight Club because others had written it lol. thats such a good movie as well

The "Dead or Alive" trilogy.

Trippy stuff undeed.

My list of filsm that I love, but nobody really notices:

Uncle Buck - FUNNAY
Very Bad Things - The blackest of black comedies
A Knight's Tale - Early Paul Bettany awesomeness + THE BEST SOUNDTRACK EVAAR
Duece Bigalow Male Gigolo - Get derrunk, watch this, sillyness fun

And lots of other films that everyine else likes

Haha, yeah, bad choice of words on my part. Anyway, they're crazy in a good way.



True, almost forgot about that!



Yeah, I was talking about 'personal classics', if you will. The ones you consider to be classics.

MORE!

Dead Man - By Jim Jarmusch. Now this is really something else. A spiritual adventure in late 19th / early 20th century America, with Johnny Depp. A moving story, features poetry by William Blake and a hilarious appearance by mr. Iggy Pop!

And to emphasize cazors point further, if you think its just about "taking as many different drugs as they can" then I think you're getting it wrong as to who the idiot is.

The Legend of 1900 - Story of a man born, raised and died on a cruise ship in the early 1900's starring Tim Roth as Daniel Budman T.D. Lemon 1900. Soundtrack by Ennio Morricone writer of 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly' Theme.

Tank Girl - Comic book tale about a girl who destroys a large corporation in post-apocolyptic america.

Secretary - Its about neuroses, and sexuality.

THX-1138 - even after watching this multiple times, i'm still not sure what the point is. but its a blast to watch.

My Fair Lady - Classic Musical starrin Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison

Labrynth - David Bowie and muppets. need i say more?

The Dark Crystal - More muppets.

My favourites (not in any particular order):

The Matrix - Basically repeating what was said about this movie

2001: A Space Odyssey - One of the greatest science fiction movies ever

The Empire Strikes Back - The best of all of the Star Wars movies

Ocean's Eleven - It has George Clooney in it! Also, I love heist movies

O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Same as above, plus it's hilarious

Batman Begins - Has an amazing score and (mostly) great acting

Alien + Aliens - These two were great. I've heard negative things about the sequels though

I think it falls into the So good, people didn't understand it, and thought it was bad even though it's an awesome fun movie that delves into the horror of Fascism.

Also:

Mafia:

Road To Perdition: Awesome Chicago mafia flick starring Tom Hanks (co-starring Jude Law). Just goes to show that Tom Hanks does really well in whatever role he's put in.

Knockaround Guys: Barry Pepper, Seth Green, Vin Diesel, John Malkovich. Story of the son of a major player in the mob, who screws up a job to pick up some money and tries to fix it. Has a couple dumb scenes (such as Vinny's famous "500 fights" convo) but they're crappy enough that you enjoy watching for the sake of making fun.

Sales Movies:

Glengarry Glen Ross: Awesome sales movie. Adapted from a play. All-star lineup, Kevin Spacey, Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Alec Baldwin, Jack Lemmon, etc. Story of a bunch of guys trying to sell real estate with their jobs on the line.

The Boiler Room: Again, awesome sales movie with all-star lineup. Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Ben Affleck. Guys work in a call center selling stock. Well portrayed story, and awesome soundtrack.

Good call on Starship Troopers Sarn.

I watched office space on the telly the other week, that was awesome.

Casablanca
Boondock Saints
All of the classic Disney movies (:D)
Original star wars trilogy
LotR trilogy
Moulin Rouge
Guys and Dolls
The Notebook (hey, sorry to add the chick flicks, but seriously, you know that's going to be one of the biggest classics out of our generation)
Fight Club
Serenity was amazing, but the tv show was better.

Has nobody has mentioned Monty Python and the Holy Grail!

-Monty Python and the Holy Grail
-Spaceballs (any Mel Brooks really)
-The Incredibles (Pixar in general)
-Minority Report and Gattaca (I like these sort of sci-fi movies, even though I prefer Star Trek's optomistic view of the future)
-Alien (for defining sci-fi horro)
-animated Disney movies in general (Aladdin, Lion King, and Mulan being favorites)
-The Neverending Story (yeah, I know...)

There's definately a lot others, but I'd have to think about it more... eh, I'm lazy.

Did anyone mention Taxi Driver?

oh those definitely count as classics. Everything from Snow White (which I hate) up until Mulan and everything in between.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I fell for the books when I read them and these movies, to the most part, do the books justice. Some slight deviations but damnit those Ents were spot on.

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. I think Darth Vader made this movie bar none. That character was written fantastically.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Modeled after what was then recent historical event the fall of the Soviet Union. It was a great finish for the cast the almost two generations came to know.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. KHAAAAAAAAAN!! Need I say more

These four really stand out to me.

Gattaca's awesome, but it saddens me that you mention it along with Minority Report (which imo was mediocre at best)

Dont know if I'd go that far, but yes definitely people just take it on face value but there's a real message in that movie. But to appreciate it on that level you have to get past the pathetic acting, lame cheesy dialogue, over the top violence, and a plot that could be adequately summised in 6 words.

But yeah, it's one of my favourite movies of all-time

Copypasta:

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Will Ferrell is a sexist anchorman in San Diego. He and his buddies have a bad reaction when a strong willed woman named Veronica Corningstone joins the station. The film details his meteoric fall from grace and embarassing struggle to rise again, complete with Jack Black stating how he rolls and the best fight scene between Tim Robbins, Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, and Steve Carell EVER filmed.

The Big Lebowski
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski (Jeff Bridges), formerly of the Seattle Seven, the Port Huron Statement (The original, not the compromised second draft) and the Metallica "Speed of Sound" tour, is living in sunny Los Angelos. One day, some thugs from a guy named Jackie Treehorn bust into his house, ruin his milk, crack his bathroom floor, insult him, and, here's the clencher, they piss on his ****ing rug. That was a valuable rug. It really tied the room together. The Dude's reactionary vietnam vet friend Walter (John Goodman) advises that the Dude Lebowski seek out the true target of the carpet pissing, the millionaire Geoffery Lebowski. This is where the Dude's life falls apart. The Dude never wanted any trouble. The Dude never wanted to get involved in a kidnapping struggle or a vicious rumble in the parking lot of his favorite bowling alley. All the dude ever wanted was his rug back.
**** it dude, let's go bowling.

Kung Pow: Enter the Fist!
Meet Chosen One (Steve Oedekerk's head pasted on Hui Lou Chen's body), the warrior who will do some crazy stuff with a weird thing on his tongue. It's not a porn movie. He must fight the evil "Betty" witht he help of various poorly dubbed friends. He must destroy the little pyramid cap thingies of evil. He must not look like a total dork while trying to grab Betty's chest. He must get a lot of nuts. He must beware the guardian in the pasture. He must...
You know what? this movie's really silly and stupid. Seriously, it's a laugh and a half.

This is Spinal Tap
Four... well, three musicians from England, plus a drummer living on borrowed time, venture into the wilderness of America in order to keep this crazy tradition going a little longer. They've been playing since the early 60's (when the lead singer still had blue eyes) and it's now the mid 80's, and they're blowing all the other hair bands out of the water... well, not really. Will they succeed in their "Smell the Glove" tour? Will they stick together through herpes, 18" tall stonehenges, and cancellation after cancellation? Can they find their way to the stage, or will they forever be trapped somewhere far behind the curtain screaming "Hello Detroit!" How much blacker can it get? The answer is none. Not, uh, none blacker.

The Life Aquatic
Half Jacques Cousteau, half washed up Steve Irwin, half Lost in Translation, half Pirates of the Carribean. That's two full movies of weirdness. Seriously.
Steve Zissou is washed up, lame, and rediculous. Nobody really believes that his friend Estaban was eaten by the mysterious "Jaguar Shark". Now there's this guy named Ned Plimpton (played by the lovely and talented Owen Wilson) who says he might be Steve's son. There's a journalist by the name of Jane Richardson chronicaling his latest journey (the pregnant and talented Cate Blanchette). There's his estranged wife, our for his balls (the haughty and talented Anjelica Houston). A whiny first mate (the aging and talented Willem Defoe) and a bond company stooge (the portly and talented Bud Cort) round out his crew, as he faces off agains the dastardly Alistair Hennessey (the gaunt and talented Jeff Goldblum), his wife's ex-husband.
This is an adventure.

Bandits
Joe Blake and Terry Collins are the sleepover bandits, taking bank managers hostage in the evening then robbing their banks the next morning. It's a good racket until Terry gets involved with a woman as mentally and emotionally ****ed up as him, Kate Wheeler. Joe and Kate immediately fall for one another, and a few heists later, get seperated by circumstances, strandign Terry with Kate, who also hit it off. The wacky stuntman/frontman Harvey Pollard, their getaway driver, is constantly distracted by the spectre of a pink-booted blonde hitchiker, and the melodramatic Darren Head, host of Criminals at large, is desperately on their case. Word of advice to all bank robbers:
If you ever think you're going to be apprehended, if this is your "last big job", don't robt a bank in downtown Los Angelos. If you do, don't show the tellers your guns, just do it the old fashioned way. If you do, make sure the bank's not called "The Alamo". Bad Karma.

-Teh end.

sugarless: I would either have included the "classics" up to Tarzan (while Emperor's New Groove and Lilo and Stitch were good, they were the first of a trend to divulge from the classic musical set-up), or only include anything before "The Little Mermaid." Not sure why that point, but anything after seems too new somehow. Also, I can't imagine why you hate Snow White... Oh right, the ear-piercing singing of the character Snow White...

Sarn: Gattaca was definately better in the social commentary department and the dangers of genetic engineering. I threw in Minority Report because the idea of stuff scanning your eyes to "personalize" craploads of ads and holographic services to people really freaked me out. Oh, and the shotgun-type weapon was cool. Otherwise, I mostly just found it entertaining, as I do with a lot of movies, good or bad in the eye of most people.

ANOTHER MOVIE!

ARMY OF DARKNESS!!!!!

Hail to the King, baby!

Second funniest movie ever. Hi-larious.

A Clockwork Orange - Neat adaptation of the book in a neat setting with awesome music

Once Upon A Time in America - An awesome story about friendship in a mafia setting, managed to impress me more than Godfather - and awesome score too.

Star Wars Episodes III-VI - Packed with neat action and story, the original trilogy managed to inspire me enough to buy all these SW games and start editing games. RotS also has enough balls to be as worthy as RotJ for me too.

I'd probably have something to say about everything but bleh

Alien, Aliens
Batman Begins
X-Men Trilogy
Terminator Trilogy
Godfather I, II
Gladiator
Pirates of the Caribbean
Saving Private Ryan