Here are some picks that almost always show up in the conversation. Of course for me this is just scratching the surface and I could go on for days about movies I love
Jurassic Park, for obvious reasons. It made me want to tell stories for a living and definitely lit a creative spark in me the first time I saw it as a kid. Probably one of the single biggest movies that shaped me growing up, and I can still look back on it now as an incredibly solid blockbuster with some pretty silly but fun dated 90's stuff.
My Dinner With Andre...It's two guys having dinner and talking for two hours...That's it! But my god the conversation they have is one of the most mind blowing pieces of writing I've ever experienced, penned by the great Wallace Shawn who also stars alongside theater director and all around eccentric Andre Gregory.
@Sam4D23 can vouch for it.
Lilo and Stitch...Probably the Disney movie that I have the biggest personal attachment towards. It's total bias as I saw it two days before going to Disneyland for the first time and the film will always have a place in my heart for forever being connected to that memory. That and I LOVE the setting, the watercolor art style, and has a relationship between sisters that's way more complex and heartbreaking than the one in Frozen, in all honesty...
The Rescuers Down Under...Just...Yes. I love the hell out of this film and it's still one of the most under-rated animated movies ever. Total fun action fest from front to back. George C. Scott is THE great forgotten Disney villain.
Dumbo...Last Disney movie, I promise. It's perfection. That's all I have to say. Also honorable mention to
Inside Out for being my all time favorite Pixar movie not even a year after its release.
The Social Network...Brilliant film that is SO much more than just "the Facebook movie". Eisenberg is haunting, Andrew Garfield earned his break out status, and Justin Timberlake is honestly priceless as the villain. Also it's probably the most well made and tightly told David Fincher movie and has some serious dramatic pathos. Definitely takes liberties with how the real story went down, but it allowed for one of the most heart pounding dramatic films I've ever seen. It's hard to find a flaw in it.
Moonrise Kingdom...I was interested in Wes Anderson before this, but Moonrise Kingdom turned me into a fanatic for his work. Top to bottom PERFECT casting, looks like it comes right out of a shoe box diorama just like the best of Anderson's movie, and has a light and breezy pace to it and a nostalgic atmosphere that makes it an all time favorite for me.
Punch Drunk Love...Paul Thomas Anderson might be one of the most talented directors working today for sheer technical skill, but with all due respect to his huge opuses like Magnolia and There Will Be Blood...Punch Drunk Love knocks me off my feet every time I see it. It's at once both almost cringe-worthy uncomfortable to watch and totally heart-on-sleeve optimistic. This tone won't work for everyone but it's a magical combination for me.
Adam Sandler will NEVER do a better performance than this unless he teams up with PT Anderson again, but suffice to say he's a powerhouse here. The whole performance is basically a dark subversion of his "goofy man-child" routine.
Speaking of PT Anderson, while
Magnolia might be a little too bloated for its own good and has some dated elements to it, the ending absolutely takes my breath away. Without spoiling anything, it ends on a shot of a certain character smiling for the first time in the film. I think that's a terrific example of how the art of film is so powerful that something as simple as a smile can be one of my favorite film endings ever.
