It's movie night. You don't know who's coming but you have to pick a movie everyone vibes with. What do you choose?

MeatsOfRage@lemmy.world to Asklemmy@lemmy.ml – 191 points –
308

The Princess Bride

If you have seen it. You are happy to watch again. If you haven't, you will love it.

It's got romance, action, comedy, fantasy, safe for kids and families... Covers most groups

The fire swamp is a little intense for the little ones, but for teens and up it's a great choice.

I think it's fine for kids younger than teenagers. Maybe around 8 and up. By the time they are teenagers, most kids are watching anything and everything, included R-rated movies.

I wonder how I would have turned out if more sheltered growing up. I think I was around 7 when i watched Childs play and Nightmare on Elm Street. Then here you are saying some flames killing a fake looking big rat might be too scary for kids.

I watched The Neverending Story in my 30's and realized the Artax scene had caused me decades of nightmares.

Oh yeah. Nothing like a painful death by drowning in a swamp pit that you led your horse/pet/friend into. Did not expect that to go down.

I just heard an interesting fan theory, that the scene with Artax and the swamp represents being unable to help a friend or family member through depression. That for the friend it can be perplexing (move or you'll die!), but it's so hard to do anything for a depressed person in a slump.

Even funnier since I ended up being metaphorical Artax.

My husband has a close friend who's currently going through a rough patch. We know our Artax will pull through, but it's going to be hard going for a while. Meanwhile my husband is trying to at least keep in touch.

It's all you can do sometimes. When the darkness sets in for me I can't recognize the light. I'm starting to break out of it somewhat, but there's a lot of self hate still etched in. It does kind of improve once you're on the other side.

I watched all that stuff as a kid too, I remember having nightmares for weeks over Children of the Corn. I want to avoid that with my kid and let her choose when to watch that stuff.

Oh, I chose to watch it all. It's just that my parents allowed it. Lol

Oddly enough, the only thing that I ever remember getting nightmares about was an alien abduction movie called "fire in the Sky" that said it was based on a true story. That one kept me up at night.

Fifth Element

The largest indoor explosion ever recorded on camera, I believe.

If kids are around, probably Howl’s Moving Castle or another Studio Ghibli movie.

If I am gearing for adults, a comedy like Chef where the premise is lighthearted but not a total snooze fest.

another Studio Ghibli

Grave of the Fireflies it is!

Sadness entered the chat...

Those movies are so great. Probably stick with the G and PG options if there's a young kid in the mix (thinking of Princess Mononoke, which is PG-13, IIRC). The PG ones often have just the right amount of "safe-scary" elements that it absolutely grabs their attention. Great movies for grown-up/kid conversation-starters to boot, just due to the deep, rich, human themes they explore.

My two year old daughter loves My Neighbor Totoro, we even got her a giant Totoro stuffy for Christmas.

Chef actually made me want to go to culinary school, and what drove me to pursue food service work in general.

Human centipede.

You just said "vibes", not "good vibes".

This reminds me of one definition of art: that it creates an emotion or reaction in the viewer.

Not that this movie in particular is art lol. Feels like a fetish film, if anything.

Art as an experience by John Dewey (not that one, or the other one) would probably agree it is art

But not the tame first one. Sandpaper wanking baby squisher or bust!

Sandpaper wanking baby squisher or bust!

...is not a good sign to hold up while hitchhiking.

Back To the Future

Watched recently with my 8 year old and while it's certainly still a justifiable classic, there's still some things that are pretty problematic in this movie that made it a challenging watch with a kid...

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Just made plans to go to a drive in theatre near me to watch all 3 movies

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The Incredibles or Megamind

Got Superheros? Check.

Got Supervillain? Check.

For kids? Check.

Fun for adult as well? Check.

Non-marvel/DC? Check.

It's perfect.

Megamind. Just Megamind. The Incredibles is good, but Megamind is first class.

Megamind is far more rewatchable than Incredibles

I politely disrespect your opinion

Correct. In my opinion, Megamind relies a bit too much on the humor, which is still pretty great and holds up however many years later.

But Incredibles relies more on the story and dynamics of the family, and imo will hold up through time a bit better for that.

I love both though.

Hell, I'm always down to watch Incredibles just for the soundtrack and Edna Mode.

I came to say the Incredibles as well! Heartwarming, funny, quotable, great music, good for kids and adults. A real masterpiece

Clue - it's got a little bit for everyone.

Plenty of adult jokes and themes that toe the line, but subtle enough to go over the head of any kid that doesn't already get it.

Honestly, the most objectionable thing for hyper-conservatives would probably be Yvette's cleavage.

Where tf are all my The Mummy (1999) stans???

Saw it on the big screen last night at the drive in. Flawless as always.

Is playing this weekend in a local theatre

Hook. It’s always Hook.

That movie has a 29% rotten tomato rating..

How the fuck?

Rotten Tomatoes is, and always has been, an absolutely abysmal place to go to find out if a movie is good.

Aren't those tomato meter scores the aggregate of critic reviews? On cult classics, low-brow, or franchises with baggage, the user reviews are way more likely to match the vibe of a movie.

Funnily enough, it's almost the complete opposite for independent movies made for "film people". Or plots that require critical thinking or deep attention (the latter is my own Achilles' heel)--where the user score is garbage, but the critic score (and thus, the tomato meter) is more likely to match your own (if you're into movies like that).

Hook! Hook! Give us the Hook! Hook! Hook! Show us the Hook!

Young Frankenstein.

Kung fu hustle

Kung Pow.

I once forgot the name of this movie, but remembered the "one clean chunk" line and immediately found it again.

I've used this movie for movie night multiple times and people who come always love it!

Recently had a movie night where we watched Oscar. Only one person (the person that wanted to watch it) had seen it before, but it was their birthday, so we all sat down to watch. It is a fantastic comedy of errors movie with Sylvester Stallone. None of us could believe that we had never even heard of it before, because we all loved it so much, and laughed so frequently. Fantastic movie night movie. I can't recommend it enough.

Excellent suggestion. One of my favorites.

I watched that when it was released, and I can't remember that much about it. But I do remember everyone in the theater just laughing our asses off. For some reason I always kind of put in the same basket as Men at Work.

I love finding those excellent movies that have somehow floated just below the surface of the consciousness of my sphere of community.

The Big Lebowski

I know quite a few people who can't stand that movie. Now, that's just, like, their opinion, man.

Count me as one of those people. I just don't understand what everyone likes about it so much. It's a highly quotable, but otherwise boring movie.

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Shawshank Redemption, for sure. It's not just a masterpiece, it's a masterpiece that has incredibly broad appeal compared to most other great movies.

That's probably the reason why it has been the top rated movie on IMDb for decades even as trends, opinions, and tastes have changed dramatically over the years.

It isn't obvious but it's pretty damn violent in some scenes. I didn't realize until I tried this on my friend who couldn't handle it.

The Emperor’s New Groove.

Airplane!

12 Angry Men.

The problem with Airplane is that you have to pay attention to appreciate it. That's a little harder to do with invited guests

The Police Squad TV show failed because nobody was used to paying attention to TV.

+1000 for 12 Angry Men. A fantastic drama for a group to watch together.

The problem with Airplane is that you have to pay attention to appreciate it. That's a little harder to do with invited guests

Get drunk first. ;-)

Or make it a movie night about the movie.

Really, you need to pay attention to any movie if you want to know what’s going on. Except for primer.

https://xkcd.com/657/

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star Trek 10 - First Contact is also pretty solid.

isn't the 10th movie is Nemesis? but I'm glad you added the title as well to clarify it's not that what you had in mind, because Nemesis... well... definitely exists, that's for sure.

You're right. It was the eighth movie. My bad. I didn't even remember Nemesis. It kinda is the Star Trek V but for TNG.

I'll be damned, nobody mentioned Lord of the Rings.

Lock the doors and show them the Extended edition, followed by The Hobbit extended edition.

It's only 20 hours and 18 minutes.

My ex roommate made me watch the extended edition after I told him I never actually watched all the movies. I'm not mad at him. It was a weekend well spent.

I came here to say LotR. Whoever doesn't vibe with LotR doesn't have a place in my house.

The Trueman Show is super fun and seems pretty widely likable

Rocky Horror Picture Show — If they've seen it before they'll still love it, if they hate it they can leave

I finally watched it. I left. Was probably best watched in its day.

Best watched with a shadow cast and props.

Yes, no one should be watching this without the shenanigans. You need to be in a certain silly, horny mood with some added alcohol if you're still too cool for school, and a group of others who feel the same and have memorized the callbacks.

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21 Jump Street. Lighthearted, don't need to worry about how deep it is or not, but it's well-written, well-executed comedy, and I've already seen it a couple times and know that's not just nostalgia talking.

I think a general group of adults would get a kick out of it.

The second one is dumb, but it plays into it, which I kind of like.

Evolution.

Haven't met anyone yet who hasn't loved that film.

That's the one with the aliens with the circular writing characters right?

edit: Oops nevermind, it's the dandruff shampoo commercial. Despite that its a decent movie, I agree.

I think we’ve established that “ca-caw ca-caw” and “tookie tookie” don’t work.

Sean William Scott is probably the best part of that movie.

Honestly, probably the best part of any movie he's in. Role Models was great, and Goon is amazing.

_I amar prestar aen._

The world is changed.

_Han matho ne nen._

I feel it in the water.

_Han mathon ned cae._

I feel it in the earth.

_A han noston ned gwilith._

I smell it in the air.

Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it.

It's a shame I always miss that monologue because I use that time to run around locking all the exits and eating the keys.

Raiders of The Lost Ark.

It's a timelessly classic action/adventure movie that anyone can enjoy. It has memorable characters, great set pieces, an interesting story, an incredible score, and Harrison Ford.

I'm surprised I scrolled a decent way through the list and hadn't seen it posted yet.

LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring (Directors Cut)

should be good in filtering out some of the people I wouldn't want to interact with anyway

Duck Soup, a comedy from about 100 years ago about a selfish clown who fails upward to political leader and ruins the country.

Duck Soup, a comedy (...)

Sounds like a documentary

Well, I guess time travel does exist after all. I don't know why they'd choose to go back to that time period to make a movie about Trump though. Maybe it should have been more obvious and they could have prevented it from happening, but we all know the people who elected them have zero media literacy anyway so probably not.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of The King Extended Edition.

This is the correct option because during the day before movie night you watch Fellowship and Two Towers

"Now, has everyone brushed up on their Silmarillion beforehand as agreed? Good. Now I'll just roll once for initiative before we start the film."

No, we just jump to the Return of the King without seeing the other 2. It would be a total experience.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery -- because everyone loves a good whodunnit.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Great for kids, and the dry sarcastic humor is great for adults. All around great movie.

The iron giant

If you’ve doing it, do me a favor. Keep an eye on these guys, 'cause around the 74 minute mark, there's gonna be a room full of grown men crying.

Which will be weird if it is only women and children that showed up.

Apollo 13.

Mostly factual, great pacing, gripping story, excellent acting, and an honest feel-good ending,

In fact, that and The Incredibles are two movies that I could show to almost any crowd with confidence.

For me, I could watch Muppet Treasure Island over and over. The perfect movie.

For a movie I need to play for others: A Goofy Movie.

Something that everyone will love, like The Room or maybe Samurai Cop or maybe even Hard Ticket to Hawaii.

Depending on the group, sometimes old Jet Li flicks will work, too, like The New Legend of Shaolin / Legend of the Red Dragon which has some great baby-kung-fu.

Its a really long movie but it's got everything. RRR

Its got bromances, romances, comedy and tragedy. It's got plenty of over the top action and musical dance numbers. 10/10 movie.

I randomly stumbled on that movie recently and I agree. What a fucking film. It does 100 things I would hate in an American movie but somehow they pull it all off in a priceless and charming way

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Any of Simon Pegg's movies (the trilogy of sorts).

Was going to say Hot Fuzz. You can watch it multiple times and it is still funny.

Since someone already said The Princess Bride...

Penguins of Madagascar, The Movie

It is the funniest film I have ever seen. Starring John Malkovich as the villain and Benedict Cumberbatch as the other villain.

I'm open to trying this after reading your explanation. The Lego Movie was also surprisingly amazing.

This is a perfect time for the Christmas cracker approach - you're unlikely to be able to pick a movie that everyone agrees is good, so pick a movie that everyone agrees is bad, and bond over shared mockery.

Space Truckers (1996) - Dennis Hopper, Charles Dance. Terrible movie with some wacky bullshit, cube pigs, neon space twinks, and a cyborg love prosthetic.

Moonfall (2022) - another classic from Roland Emerick where most of the movie is nonsense but there is a seed of a brilliant idea buried in there.

Mega Shark Vs Mecha Shark (2014) - it starts with a giant shark catapulting a fishing boat from Manhattan to Giza, and gets more and more ridiculous as it goes on. Featuring Christopher Judge in one of his less believable roles.

Moonfall was quite entertaining and simultaneously so bad. And the mooning (pun intended) over Elon must be making everyone who worked on that movie (presumably in 2020-21) absolutely cringe. I did.

I would honestly love to see a series based on moonfall, like Stargate, where we fully explore who made the "moon" and what the implications of its true nature are.

Yeah I've always been a fan of the whole 'we're not alone in the universe, we're just one of the survivors' concepts

Either "Tucker and Dale Versus Evil", or "The Cabin in the Woods".

If I want everyone to leave as quickly as possible, then "Martyrs", Antichrist", or "A Serbian Film".

Since no one has said it yet, original Ghostbusters.

Contact.

Why build one when you can build two for twice the price?

Def a point in the column of it was all an elaborate hoax to grift some government funding.

You like to make enemies. Great choice nonetheless the less

Ladyhawke

I have no idea why this movie isn't more popular.

Because it's dated. People have a hard time watching movies filmed on older technologies

It's from the same era sas RoboCop, The Princess Bride, and Star Trek II, all Lemmy favorites

It was made then. Doesn't mean it holds up as well.

Look at both the robin hood movies released the same year.

Uma thurmans looks like shite, kevin costners holds up a lot better

If they'd done a version with Uma and Alan Rickman that would have been great.

Are you saying Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio was not a good maod marion? Or that Alan Rickman should have played Robin Hood?

Rickmans Sheriff would be a tragedy not to have. But Mary was a better actress for the role in PoT. Uma would have been completely miss cast for that script

Just trying to understand your vision

I liked Uma's Maid Marion and Rickman as the Sheriff.

I can see Rickman playing Robin as a harrassed executive, with Jack Black as an overly imaginative bard who comes up with the laughing and swaggering schtick.

If you want a really off the wall version, try 'Robin And Marion' with Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn. I particularly enjoyed Connery and Robert Shaw having a rematch after their 'From Russia With Love' fight.

Hmm i also liked umas marion.. but her marion is used very differently in her portayal

Everyone vibes with? No such movie exists.

If I look at it as : everyone I know vibes with.. Again no such movie exists.

If I look at it as what certain people people would like.

Red with Bruce Willis

Knight and day with Tom Cruise

Lord of the rings

Day after tomorrow

Entrapment with Sean Connery

Replacements with Keanu Reeves

Empire Records just felt good and I think it could pull that off with a crowd.

We mustn't dwell. No, not today. We can't. Not on Rex Manning day!

Haha, it boils down to a few choices for me, including a few non movie series.

My immediate answer: Violent Night. It's such a good, weird Christmas movie with Santa being a badass, an actual engaging story, tons of gore and tons of humor. You can't go wrong with David Harbour either. In my opinion, it has a lot going for it that makes it worthy both in and out of seasonal viewing.

https://youtu.be/a53e4HHnx_s?si=jUT6GhgSApjszQjk

If we COULD choose non movies, just as added fluff to my post, I'd choose either Fallout or Impractical Jokers. A second choice for me would be The Nightmare Before Christmas. It's quick, simple, stylish and a fun watch.

Roller Town. Largely because I'm trying to introduce more people to the fever dream of a movie that is Roller Town.

Free on YouTube, highly recommend if you're into comedy and absurdity. Just go in blind, have fun!

RoboCop or Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade

I'm gonna go off the beaten path a little here and go with Jonathan Demme's "Something Wild", chances are the guests haven't seen it and that film is one helluva ride, it's got a little bit of something for everyone - comedy, romance, thriller, you name it.

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

If they can't vibe with that I don't want them ever coming over again

Well growing up in Utah there's a lot of people that would not tolerate anything. Gotos are Princess Bride, Sandlot, most Disney movies.

I pick a random movie because I'll never satisfy everyone.

Minor stipulation, it would be from my personal collection of movies, which I know I like.

Mulholland Drive. Not only is it the best movie ever made, it also has everything: love, romance, crime, horror, humor, action, mystery, ...

I can’t stand David Lynch and find nearly every thing he’s made insufferable. I will not be vibing with your choice.

To be fair, it wasn't a completely serious answer to the question. I do really believe what I said but I'm aware that Lynch isn't for everyone.

Titan AE, Treasure Planet, Terminator, LA Confidential, El Dorado

Titan AE is an interesting choice for the prompt because the movie flopped specifically because no one vibed with it. Don Bluth's art style is often taken as shorthand for "this is for kids" but the movie really isn't; like one character snaps another one's neck on screen. So no one knew what to do with it and defaulted to "not seeing it."

Right, because they marketed it wrong. The movie is quite good and me and my friends actually watched in theaters when it came out and enjoyed it, but this is also why I added a couple of on there movies in there.

Oh man Titan AE was how I discovered Lit, was really into them back then. Still love Over my HeaD!

It's an odd choice but Naked Lunch. Strange adaptation of a strange book. It gives everybody something to talk about.

My partner is still processing that film eight years later. She thinks she’ll be able to watch it again in another couple of years. I think I’ll keep her away from the book, whatever happens.

Just read the synopsis on Wikipedia. Eager to see it now

I just did the same. That’s a fantastic synopsis. Hope you enjoy watching it.

The book is MUCH stranger and dark. There is also the real like stuff they added in the movie.

The author shoot and killed his wife in a William Tell stunt in real life. He then fled toTangierr where he would go out have sex do drugs and come back to his room and write what became Naked Lunch.

His real life friends and authors Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac visited him collected the pages he had written showed then to a publisher and Naked Lunch was born.

The friends in the beginning who show up later to visit are based on Ginsberg and Kerouac.

Yeah, that’s the thing. When I heard they were gonna make a film of Naked Lunch my first thought was: “wtf? you can’t put that on camera.” I think they delivered a great compromise in the end.

Anything by Aki Olavi Kaurismäki. If someone can't appreciate masterpieces of Finnish cinema, I'll be happy to show them the door.

Nothing But Trouble, so they don't come back

Speak no evil, the original. Perfect family movie :p

When I was that age my parents took me to see Midnight Cowboy and The Stepford Wives at the drive in

Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers.

Get something so bad that everyone comes together to make fun of it, making the night more fun in general.

D.E.B.S. It’s a campy fun love story in the 00’s spy comedy style

It’s not quite as funny as But I’m a Cheerleader, but I can see how that one would make some people uncomfortable.

Schindler's List. If they don't like it they're a Nazi. Eliminate. Cry because the movie is sad. Just vibes.

Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines

An increadibly fun movie that plays with all nation's stereotypes equally mercilessly, add a ridiculous setting and you got a brilliant movie.