@ JeSoul, thanks for the intr,o LOL, well well well, wow! you know, I feel like I just walked into a room with a very attentive audience and I had absolutely no idea that was where I was going to be. Just checking my fly to make sure it was not undone. Speech time - Okay, it is or was so difficult to do a list of top 20 movies of all time, especially, when considering all the different genre's, range of interests that one ascribes to and what movies had struck a chord of some sort with me. I also realised that lots of us have a lot of movies in common, which reinforces my belief that we cannot all be off track. For all the movies that I failed to put on my list, that does not in any way belittle or make light of them. Old school movies do it for me too, so I felt they had to feathure in there somewhere.
I also have a lot of respect for your take on movies as you are way ahead in the game, so nice one, for giving me an indication of your movie style and interests. Two can play that game was one of those cheesy movies that I found very fascinating. A little cheesiness goes some way.

I haven't seen Memento yet, but I have heard good things about it. Am gonna have to add that to my to watch movie list. Cheers.

@ JeSoul - After much soul searching, hand wringing, deep meditation, agonising and hopping from foot to foot, LOL, I have finally come up with, in my humble opinion, my personal and my top twenty best movies of all time. I am aware that movies are also a very special kind of media which evolve over time, so for this particular and special moment in time, this is my list below. Enjoy,

Avatar

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Matrix Trilogy

Kung Fu Panda

The Green Mile

Saving Private Ryan

Antwone Fisher

Jurassic Park

Schindler's List

The Shawshank Redemption

The Silence of the Lambs

Heat

Two Can Play That Game

Top Gun

Star Wars Trilogy(Pre special edition)

Grease

Shaft – 1971

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Day the Earth Stood Still - 1951

The Ten Commandments - 1956

Writing a top 20 list of all time favourite movies. It was only when I started putting a list down that I realised how conflicted that could be, what to put in and what not to put in. Its not as simple matter a matter as it appears. I did say you are very clever didn't I. LOL I will work on it, but do manage your expectations.  

Movie prequels and sequels. That's the dream of movie financiers and marketers dreams and it is us movie goers pet peeves. Wouldn't it be nice if a movie was just a movie with no further crappy bits added on to make parts 2 to 5? Well, life was never that simple.  

Yeah, teenage years, we all been and done something or the other in our little rebellious ways, I guess.
You said I am a brilliant movie mind, aww, you are flattering me. You are way sharper than I am.
I never thought of my top 20 movies of all time. LOL, That is a wicked idea. I will have to give it some thought and post something sometime. Regarding George RR Martin, I am glad you'll consider giving it a shot, believe me, once you get into his novels of Ice and Fire, you will be glad you did. There is a saying in those novels Winter is Coming. When you say that to any one whose read the novels of Ice and Fire, they smile and carry on about those books. That said, it is strangely appropriate to say winter is coming given the ongoing freeze in UK, and most likely in your neck of the woods on the other side of the pond. Stay on point

Hormonal imbalance, youthful exuberance . At that age, I imagine the need to belong, conform, peer pressure, susceptibility all that stuff is a huge issue with teenagers. I read the Jason Bourne novels and they were quite good. Again, the movie trilogy was a good effort, passable? I would say so. I looked at your list on the other thread and I was taken aback to notice that I actually own about 15 DVD's of the titles on your list. LOL. You may want to know Shawshank Redemption was voted no.1 movie of all time on one of the respected TV channels in the UK about 2 years ago. I never get tired of watching that movie. The Matrix trilogy is one of my favourites too. Love Neo and Morpheus and Trinity to bits. Trading Places is an evergreen favourite of mine, Shrek too. I would say Eddie Murphy does do good work when he has a good script. I even went on to get the Hannibal Lecter trilogy. I do enjoy horror too and I am currently waiting for my copy of Drag Me To Hell. That is one movie I want to see. Cheesy I hear, but good. If you are into fantasy, political intrigue, assassination and dragons mixed with morally ambiguous heroes, then I would recommend George RR Martin's books of Ice and Fire to you.

Harry Potter is definitely a very cynical way to make money of the movie going public. There is something to be said about how tiresome a movie franchise can get with parts going on 1, 2, 3, 4, etc etc especially if they tend to be indifferent and unable to live up to expectations. I suspect it has a lot to do with the movie's bank rollers.

I guess movies or no, nothing beats a good read of a very good book. Very seldom does one see a movie that equals the well written book on which it is based.

One thing I must say is that you have done a great job of managing your expectations. I am curious as to what sort of movie strikes all the right notes in your expectations. I see that you are resisting the urge to go see Sherlock Holmes. That is very interesting. The famous detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes is excellent. One of my favourite books. I must confess I am curious to know if the movie will live up to the book. I was thinking of waiting for it to be out on DVD and consider if I want to get a copy.

My best book so far is George RR Martin of A Song of Ice and Fire. I am waiting for the release of a Dance of Dragons, the lastest sequel which has been snapped up by HBO to be converted into a mini-series. I fear you may prove me wrong, if Iron Man 2 turns out to be a damp squib. I will probably hung my head in shame.

I hope with Shrek 4 means 4, another Rocky Balboa style franchise may not be so appealing. I hope these directors do note that. Anyway box office takings will always tell whether a fourth sequel was worthwhile or not.


Somewhere in my distant past are the remains of a slight brush with Greek Mythology too. The Epic of Odysseus/Ulysses as it was known was excellent reading. I never found any movie to convey the imagery of the Iliad of Homer. That may be why I never really made the connection with the movies of today. I hope Clash of the Titans changes that. I mean in these days of CGI, they should do a better job than previously. I have to concur that there is by far too much to be seen of the Craigs, Pitts, Cruises and Bales of this world.

Well, with Iron man 2, am going to have to disagree with you there, I feel there it is promising and there were some threads in the first Iron movie which need development and may prove attention grabbing if handled properly. Example, the attraction between Iron man and his PA gets progressed. The new villains Whiplash and Black widow may provide more stunts and effects that the previous villains. Do re-visit your crystal ball after the movie comes, and hopefully your crystal ball may give us a different opinion.

Yes the Robin Hood trailer looks quite dark, deadly even. Russell Crowe on horse back swinging a sword in Robin Hood reminds me in a disturbingly familiar way of Crowe on horse back in Gladiator. Hate to think Ridley Scott has nothing better up his sleeve than a rehash of Robin Hood. And Shrek OMG, they really ought to spare us. Thankfully this is the last of the Shrek movies. Clash of the Titans, the more I look at the trailer, the more I like it. The Kraken looks really mean, and Medusa is proper menacing. 2010 must be a very good year for actor Sam Worthington with Avatar under his belt and he is looking very good in 2010 for Clash of the Titans. I'll put money down that it will turn out to be a blockbuster movie in 2010 too. I think am sold on that movie. Iron Man 2, am so looking to see that too (pardon my pun). Don Cheadle looks so wicked as war machine. I do like his movies.

My man Denz seems to get miscast quite frequently, I am not sure why. The Book Of Eli would not have been my choice for Denz. Training Day was his highlight movie for me.

@ JeSoul Did I say brother, I am so sory I mean my sister.

Thank you for your appreciation my brother. You are right about Crowe in Robin Hood being similar to Gladiator, personally, I cannot see how Robin Hood can be improved upon again, you would think there are other projects Crowe could have picked. Maybe the money was right for him or maybe they are going to try to improve on Robin Hood. Rumour also has it Shrek 4 is going to see Shrek back to his old grouchy ogre-ish self, and less un-ogre-ish as he has been in the recent Shrek movies. We will see. Regards.

Avatar has now crossed the $1 billion box office speed record. After seeing the movie, I knew that it was going to be big. I just didn't know how big. Well done to them. Excellent movie.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8438824.stm

Nothing is more aggravating, annoying or more embarrassing than working in an open office with white guys and girls who keep talking about this idiot bomber, and casting glances at your Nigerian/West African backside. You keep your head down and try to do your job but you keep hearing words like Nigerians, Muslims, tried to bomb a plane, tried to kill 300 people, he is so young, what was wrong with him, are they always like that?
When you look up, the oyinbos chatting about this idiot bomber look right back at you and you feel angry, embarrassed, uncomfortable. You want to say something, but what is there to say? You just face down and keep working and cuss the Muttallabs of this earth with all the curses. You know in your heart of hearts that this punk has just made that corporate ladder/promotion ladder just a little bit more difficult to climb. And you know why, because they do not trust us black people, but now and more especially, they got more reasons to fence you out a Nigerian young man. Life is happening.

Other big movies to watch out for in 2010 are:

A-Team - harder movie and more explosions than the old TV series,

Robin Hood (with Russell Crowe) and yes it is another Hollywood remake,

Clash of the Titans (looking very good for this movie with Sam Worthington from Avatar),

Iron Man 2 - Most definitely worth seeing. Robert Downey Jr again (look out for War Machine, and villains - Whiplash and Black Widow),

Legion - (Supernatural thriller – Man against God, as God decides to end human existence),

Kick Ass – another Superhero movie that could be quite good,

Shrek 4 (Forever After) – Shrek is a wanted man, he is on the run, and is being sought by ogre hunting witches.

Toy Story 3 – The toys are leaving home after being abandoned by their owner who is now all grown up and left college,

Shutter Island – Martin Scorsese working again with Leonardo DiCaprio in a detective thriller chiller set on an Island mental hospital,

Wolfman (bad as.s Horror movie, a must see for me),

Lovely Bones, (already mentioned in this thread),

The Expendables – Should be interesting (All the 80's and 90's macho actors - Sly Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgreen, Jet Li, Jason Statham, etc as mercenaries going to take down a South American Warlord, serious gorefest and body count to expect).

Date Night – Romance comedy with Tina Fey & Steve Carrell featuring big names Ray Liotta & Mark Wahlberg.

Prince of Persia – Sands Of Tme produced by Disney Studios, Love story type with lots of magic effects and a bald scheming Grand Vizier LOL

Twilight Saga – Eclipse (War between vampires & Werewolves with the love interest human girl caught in the middle),

Green Zone – With Matt Damon and Bourne Identity Director Paul Greengrass (a must see for me) back to Iraq searching for WMD, nice stunt moves and serious action sequences,

Sex and the City 2 – Looking good for all the babes with fabulous clothes, shoes, bags and accessories for 2010 summer,

Up in the Air – George Cloony – Comedy about corporate hire and fire and downsizer guru falling in love with girl of his dreams,

The Princess and the Frog – Disney cartoon classic love story with first ever black heroine (hmmm, finally),

The Road – Father and son looking for refuge in post apocalypse USA and trying to avoid mad killers and cannibals,

Inception – Leonardo Di Caprio – A man who can predict crime becomes involved in a yet to happen/about to happen murder,

Book of Eli – My man Denzel Washington in another post apocalypse USA movie and Denz is trying to keep safe this item which could lead to the salvation of mankind. Offs a lot of bad people,

Obermind – Animated movie following in the tradition of the Incredibles, but very different theme and story about a super Villain who whips the hero bad bad,

The Green Hornet – Superhero movie – millionaire by day, crimefighter by night, should be a familiar theme but good.

Salt – Angelina Jolie – On the run as a CIA agent after being falsely accused of being a double agent and wanted dead or alive by different organisations,

Tron Legacy – Sci-fi CGI movie, should be as good if not better than the original Tron movie
Jonah Hex – Anti-hero, scarred hard man role for John Malkovich (Gunfighter from the US civil war Era battling demons and supernaturals) I want to see this.
The Losers – Abandoned group of mercenaries left for dead by their government planning big time payback,
Harry Potter & The Death Hallows Pt 1 – last but one of the Harry Potter series – Harry, Ron & Hermione leave Hogwarts Wizard school to go searching for some potent magical artifacts – Could be very good, Potter movies keep getting bigger and darker and better. Have fun,

Sounds like you are over-analysing her motives for wishing you happy new year. when she says happy new year to you as her ex, that does not mean she wants a relationship with you again. She is just being civil and polite, so respond politely or ignore/delete the message.

Oh, what a shame that is one hell of a movie, and you should watch it if you get another opportunity and find the time to do so.

Yeah, inception is looking good to me too in the new year. That is a definitely maybe,

So worldwide, every flight is going to be delayed and the knock on effect is that most Nigerian students travelling will suffer delays and unnecessary hassles over the issue of this first Nigerian terrorist. Why does this have to happen?

@IbrahimB, now that you mention it, I have noted it. Thanks for flagging that up. I will now be looking at dates of topics closely before posting.

@Poster, you do not want to be held responsible for the break up of her marriage with her husband, and have that haunt you in the distant future. She seems quite unhappy, and if you encourage her by associating with her and spending time with her, that will give her the moral courage to break out of her marriage. You do not want to be apportioned blame if that happens. You want to be very far away if that marraige fails and far away from an angry husband looking for someone to vent anger on. Best thing, step off and step away. Let her deal with her marital issues and play no part in this unhappily married woman's life.