TM's "Favourite (Insert Person, Place, or Thing) Movie" Thread

[Mr. TM]

These movies typically come along and are sappy movies, where women cry, Oprah loves them, and people go to see them. They can be well done, and they can be horribly done, either poor film, or poor form looking at mental illnesses.

Mental illness is pretty common, with conditions such as depression being a mental illness, nut there are movies that focus directly on a mental illness that we should look at when answering this question.

My choice is a movie involving a man who has a bit of an inaccurate style, but emphasized to make a case of schizophrenia. A Beautiful Mind was a great movie I though, and I am a pretty big Russell Crowe fan, so it goes along with it. The movie makes the mind of Crowe's character seem so lifelike, it is amazing.

 

[gd]

I'm going with "I am Sam." It's Sean Penn as a mentally ******ed man, and it's absolutely fantastic. If I cried during movies, I would've cried during this one. A great movie that was extremely heart warming and taught me how to love again.

Also, it launched the mega star that is Dakota Fanning, who has about a 90% chance of becoming the next Lindsay Lohan. That is, after Miley Cyrus does it first.

 

[JayBriscoe2010]

Manic and Girl Interrupted both, but i'll go with the less known here. Manic is a very realistic film about a teen kid in a mental hospital. It's just so realistic and doesent even seem like a Movie in that aspect. It has Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Don Cheadle and Zooey Deschanel. Here's a wikipedia description of it...

Lyle Jensen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is admitted to the juvenile wing of a mental institution after beating another teen with a baseball bat during a baseball game; the other teen thought "it was funny" that Lyle's father was physically abusive. It's Dr. David Monroe's (Don Cheadle) job to get Lyle to talk in group therapy sessions. Lyle's mother placed him in the institution against his will after the incident in hopes of helping him control his anger. Lyle is placed in a room with Kenny (Cody Lightning) a reticent, thirteen-year-old child molester and they form somewhat of a sibling relationship. Lyle has problems adjusting to the confinements of the institution; he continually has confrontations with Michael (Elden Henson) and the two come to blows multiple times. One night, Lyle is awoken by screaming; Tracy (Zooey Deschanel), another patient, has recurring nightmares of her rape.

Lyle finds himself attracted to Tracy, but she is reluctant to become close to him due to her low self-esteem and her fear of him. While in their room at night, Kenny and Lyle began a discussion about their fathers, at which point Kenny announces that his stepfather is going to visit him. When Kenny's stepfather visits, Kenny is hesitant to be left alone in a room alone with him, and the audience later finds out that the stepfather molests him. Due to a confrontation between Dr. Monroe, Kenny, and his stepfather, Kenny is transferred to another unit of the institution, leaving Lyle without a roommate. Lyle becomes upset when he hears of the sexual abuse, so in an attempt to comfort him, Tracy apologizes for the situation. This sets Lyle off and he pushes her against the wall. After she begins crying, he throws himself at her and kisses her, which causes her to run off. After the incident, a group meeting takes place in which the patients and Dr. Monroe discuss about their worries and the situation with Kenny. Michael feels no remorse for Kenny and states that he received what he deserved. At this point, Lyle jumps up and attacks Michael, but the guards pull them apart. Dr. Monroe becomes upset at Lyle and begins throwing chairs around the room, demonstrating to Lyle that reacting out of anger accomplishes nothing. The two later have a conversation in which the doctor points out the similarities between Lyle and his abusive father.

During his stay, Lyle forms a friendship with Chad (Michael Bacall) and the two make plans to go to Amsterdam with the money from Chad's trust fund. Chad and another patient, Sara (Sara Rivas) have an argument over Van Gogh's painting "Wheat Field with Crows." Sara states that the painting represents freedom, while Chad states that the painting represents depression and confinement because of the borders on the painting and the fact that the road leads to nowhere. When it comes close to Chad's eighteenth birthday, he backs out of the plan to go to Amsterdam stating that running off to another place will not change his life, however, he encourages Lyle to go ahead without him. The day before his release, Chad attacks one of the guards and cuts the guard's neck causing him to be removed from the ward. During the scuffle between Chad and the guard, the guard drops his keys, which Lyle takes without notice. The night before the plane departure to Amsterdam, Lyle uses his key to get into Tracy's room. He apologizes and the two embrace.

The day of his escape, Lyle searches for Tracy, whether or not he wanted to say goodbye or to bring her along on the trip is uncertain. Unable to find her, he asks Michael of her whereabouts. Michael inquires if Lyle has raped Tracy yet since "she wants it." This enrages Lyle to the point that he breaks into Michael's room and attacks him, leaving him lying bloody in a corner. When he leaves Michael's room, he sees Tracy and tells her that he was looking for her. She says nothing and does nothing as he unlocks the door of the institution and runs out the gate. Lyle leaves the institution thinking that it is no place for him since there is nothing wrong with him. He waits at the bus terminal and when it pulls up, there is a poster of Van Gogh's "Wheat Field with Crows" on the side of it. Seeing the painting, Lyle is reminded of the argument between Chad and Sara. Lyle does not board the bus, instead he walks back to the institution.

 

[DigitalNight]

My "Mental Illness Flick" is actually a tie between two movie I still have on my DVR:

"Girl. Interrupted" is a great movie and is fairly well acted as far as almost all of the characters go. It features a younger Jolie as a light haired psyho.


"Stateside" stars the yummy Rachel Leigh Cook, and she suffers from a pretty serious case of schizophrenia. It's also a "wages of war" kind of movie as well as the "finding love no matter what" kind of movie.

((and a great mental Illness song is Special K's "Everything for Free" ))

 

[Cookie]

For all the sentimental reasons (and just because I love it) What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

If I had to pick favourites I'd go with Fight Club and American Psycho. I love both films so much and have seen them countless times and each time I watch them I take away something new and thought provoking. Not to mention both of them include incredible performances from the cast - Brad Pitt (as Tyler Durden, one of the greatest movie characters of all time) + Ed Norton, and then Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman - that really make them something special. Honourable mentions go to Awakenings, Donnie Darko, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Rain Man.

 

[X]

For all the sentimental reasons (and just because I love it) What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

If I had to pick favourites I'd go with Fight Club and American Psycho. I love both films so much and have seen them countless times and each time I watch them I take away something new and thought provoking. Not to mention both of them include incredible performances from the cast - Brad Pitt (as Tyler Durden, one of the greatest movie characters of all time) + Ed Norton, and then Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman - that really make them something special. Honourable mentions go to Awakenings, Donnie Darko, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Rain Man.

First off, all great choices man, all great films. Donnie Darko is my second favorite film ever made (MAYBE third...not sure, it's in there somewhere with my other top two films, Blue Velvet and Halloween), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind rounds out my top ten as well. I'm a HUGE Charlie Kaufman fan (writer of that film), and few films have ever left such an emotional impact on me as Sunshine of the Spotless Mind did. But, I mean technically it's not really a mental illness movie. All of the hallucinations and the dreamlike state the film takes place in is all because of the treatment being given to Carrey and Winslet's characters, technically they aren't really mentally ill. I mean I suppose you could argue that Clementine was mentally unstable and Carrey was anti-social but I'm not sure I'd qualify those under this category that TM is looking for. Amazing film regardless.

A few mentions from myself here; drug addiction being in large part a mental disorder, I would consider Requiem For a Dream for this category. This is by far the greatest film ever made about drug addiction, take it from someone familiar with the subject, no film has ever captured the highs, the lows, and the sheer fucking horror as well as this film. I'd go so far as to call it one of the most frightening films ever made, and it's not even remotely a horror film!

Speaking of Charlie Kaufman from earlier, Adaptation is another film worth mentioning here. One of Cage's very best performances (Yes, he can in fact act his fucking ass off, if you don't believe it watch Adaptation or Leaving Las Vegas) and a film that captures that famous Kaufman bittersweet romanticism and the surreal settings that can come with mental illnesses and disorders. Another amazing film.

As Cookie mentioned, Awakenings is another great film. I absolutely despise Penny Marshall but damnit if she didn't make a wonderful film there, although that's mostly because of the amazing performances by both Robert De Niro and Robin Williams. I really, really have a special place in my heart for that film.

I'm sure there are plenty of others I could name, and I know I'm forgetting them. One I'd like to mention is the film Maniac, which is a low budget slasher film made in the early 80s which in large part delivered one of the most realistic and somehow sympathetic portrayals of a serial killer/maniac. The performance by Joe Spinell is astounding.

Speaking of serial killers films, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I didn't mention Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, which take that same formula that I just described with Maniac, cuts out all of the cheesy and fat parts, and creates one of the most disturbing and visceral films ever made. Michael Rooker's performance fucking SCREAMS Oscar and it's a god damn shame he wasn't recognized for his role here as Henry Lee Lucas, the real life serial killer who claimed to have killed hundreds of people.

Another film, which is a much more recent one, worth mentioning is William Friedkin's film Bug, starring Ashley Judd and the absolutely amazing Michael Shannon. That film really just got under my skin (no pun intended) like few I've seen over the last few years, and the film really is just like a fucking punch in the stomach. It's brilliant stuff.

Right, I'll stop there, because now I'm just naming a shitload of films. Rest assured if I get bored enough I'll come back and bring up some more.

 

[Cookie]

First off, all great choices man, all great films. Donnie Darko is my second favorite film ever made (MAYBE third...not sure, it's in there somewhere with my other top two films, Blue Velvet and Halloween), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind rounds out my top ten as well. I'm a HUGE Charlie Kaufman fan (writer of that film), and few films have ever left such an emotional impact on me as Sunshine of the Spotless Mind did. But, I mean technically it's not really a mental illness movie. All of the hallucinations and the dreamlike state the film takes place in is all because of the treatment being given to Carrey and Winslet's characters, technically they aren't really mentally ill. I mean I suppose you could argue that Clementine was mentally unstable and Carrey was anti-social but I'm not sure I'd qualify those under this category that TM is looking for. Amazing film regardless.

Kaufman is wonderful! I'm also a big fan of his. I'm not sure if you've seen it or not but Synecdoche, New York is incredible. And I love Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.

Yeah, you're right. Eternal Sunshine isn't explicitly a film about mental illness. I guess the reason why I threw it in there is because I likened the treatment to amnesia. Definitely amazing though, I can't imagine Carrey or Winslet seeing too many better roles than Joel and Clementine come around.

Requiem is such a haunting movie. It's one of those that I can't really watch often because it puts me in such a mood afterwards.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

American Psycho is in my top 3 movies of all time. So by default I'd have to go with that one. There's something so awesome about watching that movie, and knowing that he's just REALLY fucking insane. Plus Bale plays Bateman to a T. His best role yet, and the fact that it's a BEE book set on the big screen makes it even better.

I just really love the inner battles he has, the deaths, and the final snap at the end. Then after thats over, you wonder if he really did do it or not. Is he really a murderer? Or is he just psychopathic. Great, great film.

 

[jmt225]

If people do consider drug addiction as a mental illness, then Requiem for a Dream would definitely be my choice. I've explain many times over this board just how much I love that film.

However, let me say that Leonardo DiCaprio's performance in What's Eating Gilbert Grape is by far and large the best performance I've ever seen with an actor portraying someone mentally disabled. That dude was simply incredible in that movie; so much so that my mom told me when she first saw it, she actually thought Leo really was like that in real life and that she thought the filmmakers decided to cast a real mentally disabled person in the film to make it realistic, lol. To be honest with you, I probably would have thought the same thing. He was THAT good. If any of you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and do so now. The movie itself isn't a masterpiece, but Leo's performance is definitely up there with some of the greatest in history. It's a true shame he didn't get an Oscar for that.

 

[Mr. TM]

I have been a huge fan of his film adaptations for a long time, but I have never read his books, only getting half way through Pet Cemetery. I guess I don't care for his style of literature, but maybe I would if I sat down and read it. But as far as his movies goes, I have seen many of them.

To make it interesting, I would say the Shawshank Redemption is my favourite, but since it is also my favourite prison movie, I pick The Mist. Maybe because I didn't know the first time that Shashank was a Stephen King book before I watched the movie, I knew the Mist was.

The Mist was a great film, came out around the same time as a movie with a similar name, The Fog. However, they are completely different, as The Mist is one incredible movie. Maybe it is because of the Ending, but who knows, and if you agree with me about the Mist, don't spoil the ending, because its one of the biggest shockers I have ever watched.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I loved The Mist also, but I'm going to have to go with Secret Window. This movie was so awesome. The story was gold,it was a great thriller, and we saw great performances from Johnny Depp and John Turturro. This movie has one of those endings, that you never see coming, and not only was the ending a total surprise, it was just classic.

 

[RAUl Mf. L0wk0]

Mine would be Dreamcatcher! When I first saw the movie i thought it was great until i read the book. The book was epic! The movie was average it couldve done better but it wasnt that bad either, but i guess its my favorite because i actually finished book. haha the Secret Window was an awesomee movie to another to throw out there would be the Green Mile! Great perfomances from Tom Hanks and Duncan. Dangg Shawshank was a King project? I had noo idea it was from him! =O!

 

[Dagger Dias]

My favorite Stephen King Movie was "It" because it was really scary and had such a great story. I remember that movie being so scary back when I was a kid, and it was still great when me and a couple of friends re-watched it last year one night. The movie had a great plot, great characters, and some of the scary parts were still scary to me as an adult.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

My favorite Stephen King movie would undoubtedly have to be 1408. First of all. John Motherfucking Cusack, and Samuel L. Jackson. Is there anymore that needs to be said? Not really, the cast in that movie is phenomenal, but the plot of it is just uber creepy. How would you like to sit in a room like that? I know I sure as fuck wouldn't. With superb acting, superb writing, and the direction of the movie, it will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I'd have to agree with The Mist as well. The ending is just soo...awesome. If you haven't seen it. Go now.