not really warning anyone but just as a general suggestion some sort of like, actual explanation of why you think such and such thing is so particularly good generally makes for better thread content than just a lot of lists.

Desperado never really thrilled me but I would totally recommend Once Upon A Time in Mexico for this list. If only for the device where it was basically fourth in a series of movies where the third one was never actually made, which I thought was a quite clever way to go about things.

Usual Suspects was interesting for its use of the unreliable narrator though I could never quite figure the ending in that if Verbal is Kaiser and they have the witness that IDs him as the dude who was doing the killing then doesn't that mean Kaiser's whole scheme for the entire movie was a big fat Pthbbbbt, cause now there's another guy who can identify him?

Memento was quite good plus it has value-added in that you'll end up watching it at least another couple times to figure out what on Earth was going on. Donnie Darko was the same way, though for obviously different reasons. Though I understand they did some director's-cut rerelease where all the cool mysterious WTFness got pretty much Buckleyboxed into suckitude? So don't watch that version.

Any Disney movie from the Disney Renaissance period. All of them had great stories, and some of the best music from movies. Even though they're kids movies, I still think they're great.

Anything by Mel Brooks. He is the master of comdey as far as movies go. I especially love Spaceballs.

And I'd say the original Star Wars trilogy, but who HASN'T seen those? (I know someone is just itching to prove me wrong.)

So it's a step up from the earlier movies? We watched El Mariachi in one of my Spanish classes, and it entertained us for the wrong reasons... though now, all that stands out in my memory is the production value. I mean, I'm aware that a lot happened in the intervening period, it's just kind of hard to get my mind around.

No Country for Old Men is one I would recommend for this list. It's basically the closest thing I could think of to a cross between a 20's detective film and a western. Also, when the main villain wields a modified cattle gun that's as effective as any sniper rifle and almost totally silent, you can tell it's going to be one hell of a battle.

EDIT: I've been beat to it, but in fairness I skipped right on past the Fargo row, as I figured you were just justifying it.

Star Wars- Because it revolutionized sci-fi/fantasy in film.
Logan's Run - Because it makes you appreciate that fact more.

Children of Men - Because it's a terrific dystopian movie, and for the incredible cinematography.

Princess Mononoke - Because it's one of the best animated movies, gives a look at another era and culture, has excellent morals about shitloads of stuff without ever being over the top, and makes use of unusual pacing for a very unique movie.

The Big Lebowski, just because it's so damn different than alot of other movies. It's a very special piece of cinematic magic that's hard to describe in words, let alone describe what's so astoundingly quality about it. It's just... it's wizardry at work.

No one should have to watch The Boondock Saints. How about the Breakfast Club instead? Beautiful acting, brilliant script, and it's hugely influential.

If you have pets, I can think of no better way to appreciate them infinitely more than watching "Where the Red Fern Grows" and hugging anything nearby with four legs.

"City of God" is a great example of boiling the essentials of what made Pulp Fiction great into an immensely devastating piece of entertainment.

I just watched "Election" again recently and was reminded of why it's a great, probably timeless, look at politics and school life.

"Waking Life" is a great example of what happens when a guy wants to bring some esoteric and mind boggling theories to viewers in a mesmerizing fashion.

As some who has seen Trolls 2 and Manos, I can safely say that "Southland Tales" is hands-down the best So Bad It's Good movie of our generation (hell, the best SBIG ever).

"Oldboy" is the perfect example of taking a genre (revenge) and pushing it as far as it can go.

If you've ever enjoyed/defended movies like Saw, Hostel, or basically any slasher, you need to see "Funny Games" (either version, they're literally the same movie in different languages) so that you can properly feel like absolute shit and reevaluate your movie choices.

"Taxi Driver" is probably the closest you can get to watching someone succumb to inescapable insanity.

Together, "Godfather I + II" make up probably the greatest accomplishment in American cinema. However, "Goodfellas" is the best gangster movie.

I clicked on this thread, ready to say this, scrolling up through the posts only to find you said it on the first.

The Princess Bride is definitely one of my favorite movies. I recently made a whole bunch of my friends watch it (they had never seen it!) and they all were poking fun at my minor fanboyism before shit started actually happening what with the chickflicky-ness of the beginning. There were quite a few people so they were restless by the end but most everyone got it and they pretty much all liked it.

I can't really give a reason why its so important you must see it in your lifetime, but it's a damn fine movie and it'll only take a couple hours.

That's not so bad!

A really good friend of mine hasn't seen Star Wars, Indiana Jones, or Lord of the Rings.

Fight Club. First of all for the "Who would you fight scene?" Second of all because this movie still says a lot about out culture today. This was the first movie I ever saw where I realized that some people were really trying to get a message across.

A George Romero movie other than Day of the Dead. It will help you realize why zombie movies are awesome. My favorite is Diaries because of the whole theme of being able to observe everything but not be connected to it.