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Everyone needs a go to movie – What’s yours?

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The Go To Movie – Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen

Everybody has one.  A movie you own on DVD, maybe even had on VHS once upon a time, and it’s your standby entertainment for those days when you want to watch something that’s:

  1. Familiar
  2. Awesome

It’s a movie that makes you feel good.  Something that’s probably a little predictable, has plenty of chemistry between the actors, and is easily quotable.  Maybe you identify with it, maybe you don’t.  Maybe it speaks to something deeper within your, or it’s shallow as all hell.  But it’s that movie you reach for time and time again when you want to let all your obligations go, zone out a bit, and completely relax.  You might even have favorite and least favorite scenes picked out.  And there’s no shame in skipping ahead to the best ones.

If you’ve spent more than a few weeks on this website, it’s not tough to figure out my own personal go to movie.  I reference it enough.  Ocean’s 11.  12 and 13 too, but the first re-make with Clooney and the rest is tops.  Yeah, it’s candy.  But so what…

………………………….

A close second is Casino Royale.  Not nearly as lighthearted as the suited up caper flicks of the Ocean’s trilogy (i.e. Benedict never tortures Danny Ocean by mangling his testicles) but it’s hard to argue with this scene on the train between Bond and Vesper.  Third place goes to the first six innings or so of the made for PBS documentary Baseball by Ken Burns.  That thing got me through some very poor and not the smoothest of times.

We all have one.  And it’s probably something that cinema snobs would turn their nose up at.

So what’s yours?

If you‘d like, leave your pick in the comments section below.  No slights or questioning someone else’s favorite here either (unless it’s like, The Music Man or something).  We all have different cinematic forms of comfort food.
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Comments

  2. Hard to pick just one. Fight Club is always a favorite. As is The Brothers Bloom. I think it received pretty mediocre reviews, but in my opinion it’s top notch. I think Inception will probably become my next go-to. Say what you want about the ending, that movie was fantastic.

  3. I like the Ocean’s series, but I cant get in to the new James Bond. I just ordered “Baseball” and cant wait to get it. I’ve played baseball my entire life and still play (at 29) for a few local wood-bat leagues but have never even heard of this documentary. So thanks!

    My #1 go-to is: The Big Lebowski
    This is just a brilliant movie and it cracks me up every time I watch it.
    My favorite part is the end when Walter is spreading Donny’s ashes and the wind is blowing them in to Dude. Walter is so oblivious to whats going on as he rants on about Vietnam.

    #2: Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels
    One of, if not the best, Guy Ritchie movie.
    #3: Dumb and Dumber
    No matter how many times I watch it, its just as hilarious as the first time.
    #4: No Country for Old Men
    Pretty self explanitory if you’ve seen it.

  4. tough call, it really depends on my mood…i like old school eddie murphy movies, BHC 1,2, Boomerang, Harlem Nights…I dig all bond movies, even the old Roger Moore ones where I could probably kick his butt after looking at those fight scenes now…But it all depends on the mood Im in and who I am with…The wife like lovey dovey stuff so i have actually gotten into some of them…Dont Judge me, hahahah

  6. Agree with Oceans and Casino Royale. One of my favorite go to movies is “La Confidential.” Just love everything about that movie.

  8. 1. Cool Hand Luke “Sometimes nothin’ can be a real cool hand.”

    2. Caddyshack I’ll also watch Caddyshack as many times as Versus or the Golf Channel will play it, despite the fact that I own a copy.

    3. The Big Lebowski- Great movie that leaves me with a sudden hankering for a White Russian.

  9. Mine is definitely either an Ocean’s movie, The Italian Job or Casino Royale. But my sleeper pick would be Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

  12. The Godfather 1 & 2 as well but it’s definitely part 2 I watch the most. Sartorially the movie is nice to watch. Look at DeNero’s shows when thery are playing with Freido after putting down the new rug they stole. I always wanted to ask on here about those great shoes.

  13. Mine has got to be A Few Good Men. It is always on tv so you can hit it up without the full commitment of sticking in the DVD. There are so many parts that I enjoy I can jump in at any time. Nothing life changing about it but extremely quotable.

  14. A lot of great picks above which I agree with. And then I have my “B” movies that I just have to watch at times. Marked for Death, Point Break, The Rundown, etc. *hangs head in shame*

  15. It’s really a mood thing (have go-to comedies, dramas etc), but I’ll list a few:

    Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (RDJ’s best work), 25th Hour, Swingers, Forest Gump (could watch this 50 times in a row), Dark City

  18. Casino Royale is definitely up there, as are the Ocean’s movies, but I also really like any of the other Bond movies, Indiana Jones, and a personal favourite: North by Northwest.

    Cheers,
    Ben

  19. So hard to pick just one. Favorite go-to movies are American Graffiti, Caddyshack, Dazed and Confused, Donnie Darko, Good Will Hunting, High Fidelity, Swingers and The Big Lebowski.

  21. I’m going the less “manly” route. Drop Dead Gorgeous. Same midwest humor as Fargo but it hit closer to home due to where I grew up. Heck, I went to a wedding at the VFW in the movie.

  22. Got a few, but I’ll just give some love to “That Thing You Do”. I first saw it on a plane, and was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. It’s fun, zips along, and has a young Charlize Theron in it. If I ever catch it on TV, I always watch it.

  23. I hate to break into the boys club…but, wanted to add my picks. :)

    Favorite chick flick, that I can watch anytime: Chocolat
    Favorite of all time: The Hunt for Red October

  25. @Amber: Never hate to break into the boys club. Ladies are always welcome. Hunt for Red October = Awesome. Montana’s chamber of commerce must have been lovin’ Sam Neil after that one.

  26. Casino Royale for sure. I am also a big Royal Tenenbaum’s fan. Great cast and quirky drama/comedy

  27. There are three, depending on how badly I need picking up.

    North by Northwest, Roxanne with Steve Martin, and the musical 1776.

  29. Everyone who likes action movies with a twist should see Eastern Promises…this movie is really good…you wont be disapointed

  33. 1) Infernal Affairs: A Hong Kong film about an undercover cop and a triad mole within the HK Police who have the same objective: Find the leak. There was an American remake known as “The Departed”. The Hong Kong version is much better than “The Departed” in my opinion, and it’s one of the few trilogies that has a sequel that surpasses the first film.

    2) In The Mood For Love: Another Hong Kong film, set in the 60s. Beautifully shot, the whole movie makes you feel like a voyeur watching the drama unfold. The dialogue, costume designs, and sets are just excellent. I can look at stills from this movie all day long.

    3) Heat: Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro. Cops and Robbers. 3 hours long. One of the best urban shootout scenes ever.

  37. Lord, I’ve got so many.

    Fight Club, Gosford Park, Raiders of the Lost Ark, any of the original Star Wars trilogy, Jason and the Argonauts, any Sergio Leone film, Godfather, Millers Crossing, Alien(s), etc, etc

  39. Some great picks above for sure.

    I’ll chime in with my number one as “Shawshank Redemption” and followed by, and only by a whisker, “Rudy”.

    Bonus, since it’s the holidays, I take also guilty pleasure in watching “Love Actually” annually this time of year.

  42. Agree with A Few Good Men.

    Would like to add:
    The Great Santini
    Serpico
    The Rules of Engagement (one of Samuel L. Jackson’s best performances, plus Tommy Lee Jones – how could you go wrong?!)
    George Clooney movies: especially the most recent ones. Up in the Air has great potential as a date movie, and The American was really good in general.

  43. I’ve watched Office Space more times than I can remember. And Say Anything.

    Of course Star Wars is the all time favorite.

  44. I could only guess the amount of times I’ve watched Swingers or Saving Private Ryan is somewhere near 1000.

  45. Don’t laugh but mine is The Protector with Tony Jaa. Silly to the extreme but crazy stunts and just a fast and fun movie. Other “go to”s are Pulp Fiction, Full Metal Jacket, and Scarface.

  46. I realize that I am about 6 months too late to this thread, and I wasnt going to post anything, but there is a glaring ommission, especially because so many of you said Bond was on your list (its on mine too, the oceans are my favorite, have all three in the boxed set).  What has really got me flummoxed is why no one mentioned The Jason Bourne Series.  Its a fantastic, action packed, fast paced trio of films that keeps you hanging to the end.  We watch them almost as much as the Ocean’s movies at my house.