<p>I’m a big Netflix fan too. And my whole family is particularly into the independent and foreign films. Some favorites we’ve seen over the past few months…</p>
<p>(in no particular order)
Manda Bala
War Dance
Arranged
The Red Balloon
The Red Violin
Mostly Martha
Children of Heaven</p>
<p>Also loved In Bruges, which several others have mentioned.</p>
<p>Oh! And the two French films: The Chorus and To Be and To Have! They’re excellent!</p>
<p>And one more set of must-sees:
(Told you I love indies!)</p>
<p>Rabbit Proof Fence
Whale Rider
The Dish
Babel
Hotel Rwanda
The Full Monty
Billy Elliot
The Last King of Scotland
Life is Beautiful
Spellbound
The Story of the Weeping Camel
Tsotsi
Waking Ned Devine</p>
<p>We loved ALL of these very much!</p>
<p>I’d suggest an Eddie Vedder theme. 
( he wrote or performed some or all of the music in these films)- </p>
<p>Into the Wild </p>
<p>Singles ( Cameron Crowe director, comedy with Bill Pullman and Kyra Sedgewick- Eddie plays a drummer- also starring Matt Dillion , Bridget Fonda & Matt Dillions’ wig.)</p>
<p>Body of War ( directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, documentary about the face of war through the story of an injured Iraqi war veteran, - )</p>
<p>Reign O’er me ( starring Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Adam Sandler-)</p>
<p>Dead Man Walking ( Susan Sarandon- Sean Penn)</p>
<p>I’m Not There- ( Bob Dylan)</p>
<p>Oh yeah, I forgot about Weeds. In the queue!</p>
<p>And The Chorus! I’d forgotten I wanted to see that. In the queue!</p>
<p>This is fun.</p>
<p>Reign O’er me - the only one I haven’t seen. In the queue!</p>
<p>SimpleLife, I’ve seen all on your list and own more than half. We have similar taste.</p>
<p>"just"aMom, I kind of guessed our tastes in movies were similar after reading your posts on this thread.</p>
<p>Could you post a list here of some of your top 10 or 20 (!) films, or great films that you’ve seen lately? Thanks!</p>
<p>We really enjoyed “Man On Wire”, the Oscar-winning documentary about Phillippe Petit and wire-walking between the buildings of the World Trade Center. Surprisingly fun to watch, quirky, and fascinating. Also enjoyed “The Visitor”, The Bucket List, Waitress, Kite Runner.</p>
<p>Looking forward to receiving In Bruges, and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Our kids gave us a 3 month subscription to Netflix, so we’re packing in as many movies as we can. Netflix’s management online of our “Queue” and distribution has been impressive. I’ve really loved it!</p>
<p>We just saw Harvard Beats Yale 29-29, which was purely wonderful. I have only the slightest interest and patience for football, but I was riveted by the story of this final game of 1968 and how the “characters” reverberated into today’s social and political realities. If/when this is out on DVD, it’s definitely worth watching. Here’s a little blurb for it from Very Short List:</p>
<p>In November 1968, the Harvard and Yale football teams — both undefeated for the first time since 1909 — met to play the final game of their seasons. The rosters included future Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones and future NFL star Calvin Hill. Yale’s captain, Brian Dowling, had already become famous as B.D. in his classmate Garry Trudeau’s Doonesbury comic strip. Many of the players appear as talking heads — 40 years down the line, they remember every snap, pass, and fumble. Rafferty has dug up terrific footage of the game itself, and the historical context gives his film more weight than it might have had. We hear from and about veterans (one of the Harvard players had fought at Khe Sahn), war protesters (several on each team), movie stars (Meryl Streep dated one of the Yale players), and future presidents (Yale cheerleader George W. Bush, who was arrested in 1967 for tearing down the goal posts after a victory over Princeton). It all adds up to something remarkable.</p>
<p>SimpleLife: Favs from days gone by (which I can enjoy over and over again)…
Wizard of Oz
Cat Ballou
Me, Natalie
The Graduate
The Apartment
Plaza Suite
Barefoot in the Park
Desk Set
Woman of the Year
Monty Python, Now For Something Completely Different
Clockwork Orange
HELP!
Hard Day’s Night
Annie Hall
Manhattan
The Producers (original)</p>
<p>More recent films I’ve seen that float my boat:
Slumdog Millionaire
Kite Runner
Into the Wild
Rachel Getting Married
The Reader
Doubt
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Milk
Hotel Rwanda
Waking Ned Devine
Calendar Girls
Wordplay
King of Kong
Burn After Reading
Garden State
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Amelie
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Before Night Falls
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
The Last Shot</p>
<p>Just to name a few ;)</p>
<p>Oh curiouser, Man on Wire - it’s in my queue, and forgot about The Boy in the Striped Pajamas…good one.</p>
<p>Alia - hmmm, I don’t know. I care less about sports than I do about almost anything. Maybe I can see if it’s an “instant watch” on computer.</p>
<p>I Love “Into the Wild”. I just went out and bought it instead of renting it since I will watch it over and over. I have the music on my IPod. love it, love it, love it!!!</p>
<p>The Illusionist</p>
<p>O, Brother Where Art Thou</p>
<p>The Cooler</p>
<p>About “Into the Wild”, I just watched it recently for the first time. I wasn’t familiar with it or the true story(not sure how I missed it when it was out); but thought it was outstanding, one of my all time faves!!!</p>
<p>LA Confidential</p>
<p>Great list here, many with “why you should see it” descriptions that pop up when you hover your mouse over them.</p>
<p>[100</a> Movies to See Before You Die - Yahoo! Movies](<a href=“http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/100-movies-to-see-before-you-die.html]100”>http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/100-movies-to-see-before-you-die.html)</p>
<p>Just a Mom, I hear you about sports, but holy cow, the last few minutes of that game are worth watching, especially because by the time they come along, you are fully invested not only in the “characters,” but in a perspective on a historical period we all think we remember well. Really, the film was funny, provoking, and thrilling – don’t let the football stand in the way of this amazing football movie.</p>
<p>Alia, I added Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 to my queue. What’s the worst that’ll happen? I loved The Hurricane, so who knows.</p>
<p>winchester - thanks for that link. Great food for thought. I’ve seen nearly everything on there, but definitely missed a couple. And did see LA Confidential.</p>
<p>AZKMom - Loved The Illusionist for the cinematography. Saw O, Brother Where Art Thou & added The Cooler to my queue!</p>
<p>In no particular order: </p>
<p>The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
The Lion in Winter (1968)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Last of the Mohegans (1992)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
12 Angry Men (1957)
Mr. Roberts (1955)
The Searchers (1956)
Never Cry Wolf (1983)
The Sixth Sense (1999)</p>
<p>Just a Mom, you’ll have to let me know how you liked it – six months from now when it edges into the front of your queue!</p>
<p>The Red Violin
The Usual Suspects
The Road to Perdition
The Green Mile
Spirited Away
Shawshank Redemption
The Color of Heaven (The Color of Paradise)
Chocolat (I’ve watched this about 5 times over the years!)
Twister
The American President</p>
<p>You might want to look at:
Life is Beautiful
The Tiger and The Snow</p>
<p>“Before Sunset” and “Before Sunrise” with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy! Directed by Linklater.</p>
<p>“Millions” (Same director as Slumdog Millionaire – Danny Boyle). Absolutely adorable and fantastic movie.</p>
<p>“Closer” with Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen, and Julia Roberts.</p>
<p>“The Matador” with Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear.</p>
<p>Throw in “Cinema Paradiso” as well.</p>