Movies that left a lasting impression on you

Caddyshack II
Blues Brothers 2000
Rollerball (2002)

NONE OF THESE EVER HAPPENED

 

Saw that in some elementary school class, as well as Shirley Jackson's The Lottery.

Each of them jolted me and left me with a "WTF?!?" as a 10-year-old.

 

Same here. There was one more -- I remember a women morphing into an old woman in a cinema verite style, too. The sheer power available to create emotions with storytelling was partly why I gravitated toward the written/spoken word instead of a career as a mathematician.

 

Have not seen 1 and 4 but I'm definitely with you on Rollerball and Andromeda Strain (just watched again and DVR'ed the other day). I would add the original Planet of the Apes, especially the ending.

 

In no particular order:
Room - Jakob Tremblay and Brie Larson had revelatory performances and the story was such a gut punch. It stayed with me for days.
Spotlight - As noted in my post below, I'm a lapsed Catholic largely because of the abuse scandals. Add into the mix my journalism background and this film hit home on a number of levels.
A Star is Born - Great performances by Cooper, Gaga and Elliott, great direction by Cooper, great music and a story that avoided easy cliches and happy endings. Having had to deal with an alcoholic ex, the story rang true in many ways.
Seven - What a tense, gripping drama, and wow what an ending.
Glory - One of the most powerful films I've ever seen. Denzel at his best.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Beautiful film with acting that transcended language.
Life of Pi - see post below
Avatar - it was a visual achievement. The story doesn't hold up without the large-screen 3D format, but it's arguably the best cinematic "experience" I've ever had.
The Silence of the Lambs - Among the most intense films I've ever watched
Jaws - The most richly drawn characters in just about any horror movie ever made.
Get Out - Shined a light on how seemingly innocent, everyday language used by white people can quickly take on a sinister tone to a black person.

Maybe I'll tackle the rest of these later:
Gladiator
A Beautiful Mind
Slumdog Millionaire
Mystic River
Traffic
The Fighter
Black Swan
Hugo
The Greatest Showman
BlacKkKlansman
Lion
Goodfellas

 

With bigpern23's post, it occurs to me that we ought to be including why/how we were impacted by these movies. Because I, for example, barely could get through Life of Pi, and I never did get all the way through Slumdog Millionaire. On the other hand, I liked Glory, Lion and Spotlight, but didn't see The Greatest Showman at all and, based on what I've heard of it and the reviews I've seen of it, I wonder what was so impactful about it for bigpern23.

Not questioning that any of our choices could have been memorable, influential, and impressive to us, but I'm curious and think it'd be interesting to know the reasons.

 

Good idea. These threads often end up just being lists, with little discussion, so the reasons we include these films seem like a good jumping off point to a more interesting thread.

Aside from the gorgeous visuals and superb acting, Life of Pi really resonated with me because it was a well-told metaphor about faith and religion and how to cope with hideously painful life events. I grew up in the Catholic Church and have moved away from it beginning when the abuse scandals originally broke, so the film's outlook on religion and faith really spoke to me.

The Greatest Showman caught me from opening notes and zipped along with a brisk storytelling backed by fantastic songs, dance numbers and great visuals. Jackman was very good and I liked his character's arc. Zendaya and Zac Effron had great chemistry and their duet is really strong. I didn't view the film as a truthful telling of the life of P.T. Barnum. I enjoyed it for what it was and didn't get too wrapped up in the historical facts (or lack thereof) surrounding the film, which is not unlike how audiences viewed his show. The main criticisms I've read were about the historically inaccurate treatment of Barnum and the fact that the film ignores the Civil War. Those facts exist outside the film, and I'm fine with focusing on what was presented onscreen and ignoring them in favor of a tight story.

Slumdog, I thought, was a well-told love story framed around the game show, with excellent acting. It was a truly surprising film-going experience and an uplifting story despite the horrors Jamal went through.

 

Fandango. Ending still makes me tear up. I think it's an extremely measured movie about youth, irresponsibility, future expectations, lost love, missed chances, early regrets, and dropping a match and walking away. It's also a great road movie. It doesn't seem to have caught on with younger generations in the same way that The Breakfast Club did, but I re-watched it a few months ago and it still holds up remarkably well. Plus, that soundtrack, especially the closing tune by Blind Faith ("Can't Find My Way Home.")

 

Continuing in my memorable horror movie experiences, there was the Halloween night in 1968 when a Wesleyan professor who was a real card had a screening of "Night of the Living Dead," which in those pre-Internet days none of us had heard of (still just out) to a hall full of really, really stoned college kids. Still remembering his intro, "this delightful little film."

 

Jaws- hit the sweetspot intersection of youth and terror
Halloween - high school, a child's holiday and terror
Star Wars - pure fun
Saturday Night Fever - great confluence of music and dancing for the times
Reservoir Dogs - just wild, the dialogue
Out of Africa - I vowed never to see another "soaring love story epic"
Avatar - beautiful to watch and to imaging
Contact - just maybe