Woundwort over at Silflay Hraka posts a list of his favorite movies ("Fletch" at number one? whatever...).

I started making up my own list of favorites, and found I was duplicating other movies nominated in Woundwort's comments, or just making obvious choices. (Casablanca, Star Wars, The Matrix, Princess Bride...)

So instead, here's a list of movies -- not necessarily my favorites, but really good nonetheless -- that probably won't make anyone else's list.

Henry V (Kenneth Branagh version)
Get it for the St. Crispin's Day speech alone. And Brian Blessed in full medieval armor is as imposing as an M-1 Abrams. Derek Jacobi, Ian Holm, Paul Scofield, Robbie Coltrane, and Judi Dench also star.

Grosse Pointe Blank
A screwball romantic comedy about a hitman attending his high school reunion while on the run from a former client and a former partner. Really. Stars John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Minnie Driver, and Dan Aykroyd.

Dead Again
Ken Branagh, Emma Thompson, and Derek Jacobi try to out-act each other (and Branagh fakes a credible American accent) in a murder mystery based on reincarnation. Andy Garcia in a supporting role, Robin Williams in an uncredited cameo.

Noises Off
Michael Caine. Do I need to go on? Okay: Carol Burnett, Denholm Eliot (in one if his last roles), Christopher Reeve, Marilu Henner, John Ritter, and Julie Hagerty in a screwball comedy about an off-Broadway troupe putting on a screwball comedy -- badly.

Cast a Deadly Spell
Gritty detective drama with snappy dialog and some comic relief, set in an alternate 1940s Los Angeles where everyone uses magic. Everyone, that is, except our hero, private dick Phil Lovecraft, played by Fred Ward (who was born to wear a fedora). David Warner and Clancy Brown co-star.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
More actors trying to out-act one another, in this case Gary Oldman and Tim Roth, playing R & G (or may be it's G & R; they're not sure themselves which is which), the hapless, ill-starred minor characters from Hamlet. It came out about the same time as Mel Gibson's Hamlet, and would make a nice double-bill if you have the stamina. Richard Dreyfuss plays the Player King.

The Big Lebowski
Don't watch this one unless you have watched Bogart & Bacall in The Big Sleep first, or have read Hammett's novel. Jeff Bridges plays our profoundly laid-back hero, The Dude. John Goodman is one of the good guys, but scarier than most of the nominal bad guys. Steve Buscemi, John Turturro, Ben Gazzara, and Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) also appear.

Dangerous Liaisons
Glenn Close can be really scary when she wants to be. John Malkovich is horribly miscast -- I would have loved to see Timothy Dalton assay the role of Valmont -- but fun to watch anyway. Intrigue, debauchery, and sadism among the aristocracy of pre-Revolutionary France; by the time it's over, you may think the guillotine wasn't such a bad idea after all. Michelle Pfeiffer, Uma Thurman, and Keanu Reeves also star.

Get Shorty
John Travolta plays -- no, don't stop reading, it's good, really. JT plays a loan shark who's come to Hollywood in pursuit of a "client" on the lam; Gene Hackman and Rene Russo want to make a movie about him, and to get Danny DeVito to play him. Dennis Farina guest stars, and says the "F" word a lot. Based on a novel by Elmore Leonard.

Lola Rennt (aka, Run Lola Run)
Don't like subtitles? Tough. The dubbed version is awful; get the original German-language version and read along. Lola's boyfriend, Manni, is going to be killed by mobsters in 20 minutes unless she comes up with DM 100,000. We see events play out three times, with three alternate endings; and there is a neat device showing how the lives of the people Lola runs into turn out vastly differently in each alternative. The animation is still dumb, though.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension
Speaking of dumb ... okay, that's not fair. Buckaroo Banzai is dumb in the same way the old Adam West Batman was dumb -- in a sly, amusing, entirely intentional way. The producers deny that this is a pastiche of Doc Savage; they are, of course, lying. ("Perfect Tom"? C'monnn...) John Lithgow chews more than his share of scenery; Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Goldblum, Ellen Barkin, and Clancy Brown co-star.

Immortal Beloved
Think "Amadeus", except with Gary Oldman as Beethoven instead of Tom Hulce as Mozart. It's an attempt to answer a real-life historical riddle: to whom was Beethoven referring when, in his will, he left his worldly possessions to someone he refers to only as "my Immortal Beloved"?

Mystery Men
Some critics wondered how the producers fo this movie could make such ruthless fun of superhero conventions and cliches, and then fall back on those very cliches as the story played out? But the best parodies have genuine affection for their subjects. Based on supporting characters from Bob Burden's "Flaming Carrot Comics".

Big Trouble in Little China
As with "Buckaroo Banzai", if you go into this looking for serious adventure, you'll be disappointed; but if you go in looking for some silly fun, you'll find it in abundance. Kurt Russell swaggers, Dennis Dun kicks butt, James Hong and Victor Wong throw lightning around, Kim Catrall ... well, she's in it, too. And a good time was had by all.

The Last Remake of Beau Geste
Marty Feldman directed, produced, and starred in this farce (and I mean that in a nice way), which comes off kind of like an anglicized Mel Brooks production. Ann-Margret, Michael York, and Peter Ustinov co-star.

Okay, so I have weird tastes.