Ask Mike: Cool movie titles
Hey Guys,
The other day, I watched a bit of “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” Both the original and 1978 remake are great movies. Part of that greatness is the title. It’s fun, cool, ominous… everything that the movie aims to be. It got me thinking about other movies with awesome titles.
The one that immediately came to mind was the Sam Peckinpah classic, “Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia.” Now, this isn’t a great movie (in my humble opinion), but darn if the title isn’t one of the all-time classics. It’s a bit hard to explain why, but I think most people with a sense of humor and a certain immunity to cinematic ultra violence would agree.
I posed the question to some of my friends, and they came back with some more inspired suggestions. “Revenge of the Nerds,” one friend said. Another said, “The Good, the Bad & the Ugly,” while yet another chimed in with the film noir classic, “The Postman Always Rings Twice.”
Of course, this is all subjective, but most people would agree that those titles are bold. And with boldness, I argue, comes coolness. There are also those movies that have such bad titles that they’re almost good. “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo” is the textbook example. As a friend of mine pointed out, the film always seems to get mentioned whenever anybody makes fun of an unnecessary sequel.
What do you guys think about cool movie titles? I’d love to hear your opinions. A few more possibilities to get the juices flowing: “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” “The Last House on the Left,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,” and, and, and… Sound off with your own favorite movie title in the comments below.
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Raiders of the Lost Ark
Thank You For Smoking, Pulp Fiction, Back to the Future, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Death at a Funeral, The Men Who Stare at Goats, No Way Out.
Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is the best, hands down
> with boldness, I argue, comes coolness
I might almost agree if it weren’t for movies like “Convoy” or “The Recruit”, where with shortness comes coolness, and both movies, though from different decades, are about some real cool guys.
American Graffiti
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Night of the Living Dead
Psycho
Singing in the Rain
Cape Fear
Dog Day Afternoon
“burn hollywood burn” has to be the coolest movie title ever. too bad it’s attached to such an unfortunate film…
killer clowns from outer space
I’ve always like “Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot!”, “Throw Momma From The Train”, “The Day The Earth Stood Still”, and “Total Recall”, just to name a few.
Sweetback’s really is the greatest.
i think a good movie title is diary of a wimpy kid rodrick rules dont you think so? your movie title sounds like its a good movie title.
How about “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”
“The Mouse that Roared”
OMG finally someone else who loves The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I haven’t seen it in a while but at one point I was watching that movie everyday for about three months straight. Sad right? I tend to get hooked on movies that way. SMH. I have been trying to figure out the title of a movie that I only remember one scene to. A guy has a wound on his hand and is in horrid pain. He goes to take a bath or soak his hand and the water starts to boil. Do you know what that is?
“Duck, You Sucker!”
Cool Hand Luke
The Last Prophet Saves Rock n’ Roll: Episode 1
I’ve always liked many of the James Bond movie titles: “Dr. No”, “From Russia with Love”, “Live and Let Die”, “The Living Daylights”, and so on. And, of course, who could forget the one all teenage boys remember the name of: “Octopussy”.
I always like “Invasion of the Snotty Batchers” and “Night of the Flavigator” and Clonnie and Byde
Kiss Me Deadly
The Empire Strikes Back
Curse of the Wererabbit
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
How about Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, The Crawling Eye, Little Shop of Horrors, and the cult classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians with Pia Zadora.
I love movie titles with hints that tell something more about the story. Some good ones:
A Perfect Storm
Being John Malcovich
500 Days of Summer
Back to the Future
Miss Congeniality
Good Will Hunting
12 Angry Men
The King’s Speech
SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD.
Halloween (1978) – The most classic movie title ever. I’m just surprised it wasn’t taken before this.
How about, “Big Trouble in Little China”.
Hobo With A Shotgun
Lesbian Vampire Slayers lol
“One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest”
“Reservoir Dogs”
“Goodfellas”
“Notes On A Scandal”
“Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind”
“Requim For A Dream”
“The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing”
“Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood”
“To Kill a Mockingbird”
“Secondhand Lions”
“The Silence of the Lambs”
“Sometimes a Great Notion”
“They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”
“Invasion” was purported to be a sci-fi movie, when in reality it was a movie exposing the McCarthy era and its over excesses. I found that undercurrent out later, because I was just a youngster when I first saw it and saw only the surface story.
I would add:
1. The Man Who Fell to Earth — Great because it immediately makes you wonder WHERE he fell from, and what is meant by “fell to earth”
2. The Day the Earth Stood Still – A study in understatement
3. The Quiet Earth – This one just begs to have the reason for the quietness explained
4. Paycheck — for what? By whom? How cryptic!
5. A Boy and His Dog — Another study in understatement, since this one involves a post-apocalyptic world and cannibalism. And it really is about a Boy and His Dog.
6. Next / Once — I love one word movie titles. They tell so little and yet so much!
7. I, Robot — Pompous and imperious, and therefore classic in its boldness.
8. The Illustrated Man — I love the arcane sound of the phrase. Everyone knows it’s a guy with tattoos, but to call him illustrated makes it much more mysterious, which it indeed is.
9. “9″ — Like one-word titles, numeric titles have a similar effect.
10. The Book of Eli — You mean, like a book of the Bible? A book belonging to Eli? Who is Eli? The title begs all of these questions, and yet seems classic and conservative despite the classic SF ending and the slow reveal.
I like: “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.”
I think Debbie Does Dallas and Deep Throat are just about the BEST ‘adult titles out there
A couple of ones I like are old Coffin Joe movies (Jose Mojica Marins is a Brazilian movie director who created one of the baddest mothers in the history of horror films). “At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul” and “This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse.”
Mars needs women, naked gun, oh dad, poor dad, mama’s hung you in the closet and i’m feeling so sad….
Cool question. I totally agree ‘There Will Be Blood’ is an awesome title for a better movie. Some of my favorites.
Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas
The full title of Dr. Strangelove is:
Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Natural Born Killers
Ghost Dog, Way of the Samurai (Forrest Whittaker!)
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels
I just googled this question and while in film school Ben Affleck made a movie called “I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her On a Meathook, and Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal with Disney.”
Thats all.
cradle 2 the grave
My favourite movie title of all time is “The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed Up Zombies” a 1960′s cheese fest which is that rarest of things, a horror musical!
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds.
It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Before The Devil Knows Your Dead
Maximum OverDrive
How did the term “long john’s” become a name for longjohns?
Nostalgia for the Light. It’s a documentary, something about a woman’s quest to find the body of her dead husband in the same desert where astronomers have a telescope that looks for intelligent life on other planets. I just got it from Netflix and haven’t watched it yet.
“The adventures of Buckaroo Banzai across the 8th dimension”
Inception.
I’m pretty old, so some of the truly cheesy horror movies were first run when I was a girl. I recall seeing a double feature @ the Majestic theater (and it was). It was “The Attack of the Puppet People” and something having to do with a “Fifty Foot Woman”.
My brother and I went to a Saturday Matinee to see “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” I can sing the whole theme song if you’d like. Those Saturday movies were at the infamous Texas Theater in Dallas. And our folks would take us there and drop us off for hours! We laugh about that to this day.
BE COOL,starring john travolta,just about as cool as you can get in relation to your question.
cheers
RIGGS
Throw Momma From the Train
Microwave Massacre
Stop or my Mom Will Shoot
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Friday the 13th
Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things
Saturday the 14th
American History X
The Thing
IT
I’m Gonna Git You Sucka
Lust in the Dust
I Spit on Your Grave
One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest
The Man With One Red Shoe
Requiem for a Dream
Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead
Bad Day at Black Rock.
Your awesome Mike! Plz be my contact!
MY HUBBY SAYS ” ANIMAL HOUSE”
Personally I think ‘Die Hard with a Vengeance’ is a pretty good title as well as ‘The Longest Day’ and ‘Shaun of the Dead’ sums up that film quite well.I do like the ‘Man who shot Liberty Valence’ as well but John Wayne annoys me. You’ve definitely brought up an interesting conversation topic! I’m going to be thinking about this all night now!
Thanks.
Frankenstein’s Great Aunt Tillie
I’d rather look at the really good classics. They had some really good titles. My favorites are taken from actual novels and stores like The Pit and the Pendulum or House of Wax. Both of those leave a lot to the imagination even before you see them. Some other good ones are titles that leave you wondering what the movie is even about so it gets your suspicions up right in the beginning like Willard and then Ben. You have no idea that they are even thrillers by their names. I watched both of those in a theater that would really go all out when they showed a good movie. We actually went to see Tales From the Crypt and Willard and Ben were advertised “and for dessert we will be showing…” The entire staff were dressed in scary costumes and the ticket man who looked a pale greenish color was actually in a coffin and sat up to take your ticket making sure he touched you with his icy cold hands. The coffin had to be rigged with air conditioning or his hand was kept on ice or something. It was eerie. Then there were titles like “Let’s Scare Jessica to Death” which already has you by the throat just thinking about it long before you even go to see it. But on the other side of the coin there were some great classics like Gone with the Wind, Yankee Doodle Dandy and Oklahoma that just make you feel good when you say them not to mention the shows were also just as great as their names.
Faster Pussycat! Kill Kill!
The Postman Always Rings Twice is a crime novel. And are you talking about the 40′s film or the 80′s film? Because the 40′s film is more like the novel than the 80′s version.
Reservoir Dogs
Pineapple Express
My Cousin Vinny
and many more I can’t remember
“A Fish Called Wanda”
“Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension”
“The World According to Garp”
“Dead Poets Society”
What about FIRST BLOOD the title is both strong and aggressive and it sums up the movie quite well.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Scared the hell out of me. Almost as scary as the birds.
Cool
A good movie title may be Death On Main st
Read The Book Super Diaper Baby and The Invaision of the potty snatchers
How about “Three Heads in a Duffel Bag”?
Gingerdead Man 2: Passion of the Crust. Best title ever!
The silence of the Lambs, Quantum of Solace, Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow
“Around the World in Eighty Days”
“To Kill a Mockingbird”
mike is it u don’t mess with the zohan or don’t mess with the zohan cause im have a $5 bet with my cousin
The B movie classic “Run! Bitch Run!”…unforgetable classic!!!
Demolition Man.
I’d have to say…
Shoot ‘Em Up
Secondhand Lions
Hocus Pocus(Corny, but who hasn’t seen it?)
It
Your cool mike. I want to be just like you spending my days asking cool questions. Also i love the big yahoo logo on your shirt. That is just pure awesomeness. You rock my friend. Keep up the great work!
DONT TELL MOM THE BABYSITTERS DEAD!
The Day BEFORE Tomorrow
One of the coolest titles ever- Easy Rider
Children of the Damned.
I loved the Hannibal Lecter Series, The Thing (can’t wait for the remake because it’s going to explain what happened to the Norwegiens in John Carpenter’s version), The Fugitive, The Boondock Saints, A Nightmare on Elm Street (saw both and surprisingly liked the remake better), the Halloween series (Go Myers!), Shutter Island (loved watching it again after I found out what happened at the end), Click, War of the Worlds, Black Water, and Frayed (even though I still don’t understand what happened). I could go on forever but I just put in a few that came to my head.
Kokoa, i think the movie you are tring to think of is ‘Touch’. Another great title. Weird and cool movie, too.
“Around the World in Eighty Days’
Adventures in babysitting.
The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!?
In Search of Historic Jesus. -I really remember this title because when I looked it up in a movie rating book it said it should’ve been called “In search of morons who will believe anything”.`Gotta love that!
The Fearless Vampire Killers or Pardon Me but your teeth are in my neck.
The Abominable Doctor Phibes.
I married a monster from outer space.
I agree with Invasion of the Body Snatchers.Great!
The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The director Lena Wertmuller had some great titles:
Swept Away by an unusual destiny in the blue sea of August.
Summer Night, with Greek Profile, Almond Eyes and Scent of Basil
The Blue Collar Worker and the Hairdresser in a Whirl of Sex and Politics
The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover.
Long Strange Trip, or The Writer, the Naked Girl, and the Guy with a Hole in His Head.
Little Shop of Horrors.
The Devil wears Prada.
My Dad’s in Heaven with Nixon.
human centipede
hamburger hill
the edukators
sophie scholl (final days) – has the same bird in it as the edukators
the idiots (cool film)
The shining (my fave) fantastic head slapping from JN
The one that got away (sas story from iraq 1) might be partly true
Brass eye (not actually a film but a real must see)
Apocalypse (fantastc de-capitations mmmm)
Amityville (nice chick – looks a bit like natalie dormer who played anne berlin)
scum (prison is not ‘bed and breakfast’!)
Blue velvet (great helium mask scenes )
Eraser head ( too weird for my friend after several pipes)
Almost Famous- it just makes you think of the 60s and 70s even before you see the movie
Donnie Darko- souds as psychotic as the main character is
The Breakfast Club- conpletely unrelated from the movie yet somehow perfectly fits
Cruel Intentions- explains the movie perfectly while still teasing those who havent seen it
Brick- love 1 word titles espcially when the movie rules
The Big Chill- self explanitory on awesomeness
It Might Get Loud- documentary on music from the point of view of 3 all time great guitarists(Jack White, The Edge, and Jimmy Page) couldnt have a better title
Pulp Fiction is the complete embodiment of “Cool title/Cool movie”. Other favorites are:
*Throw Momma from the Train
*WW & the Dixie Dance Kings
*Don’t be A Menace to South Central while Drinking Your 40 in the Hood
*Reservoir Dogs
*Die Hard
*The Brother from Another Planet
*Just a Man
*Do the Right Thing
*Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
@ccromdome The real title to that is “Don’t Be A Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood” I’ve got it on VHS. It’s a spoof of Boyz in the Hood.
brooklands finest?
“Amilie”
“Run Lola Run”
- Pretty girls names.
in case you haven’t noticed , the THING. is a remake of the invasion of the body snatchers. they’re are two good remakes out there . one with kurt russell and the new one ,try viewing the movie trailers for them .
It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
Officer and a Gentleman
I’ve always liked “Blacula.”
But I actually have the winner – “Ankle Biters.”
It’s about midget vampires. Seriously.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0344843/
Midnight Meat Train
“Teenage Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory” was made some time in the late 1950s or early 60s.
I saw it on the Saturday night creature features a couple times.
What about “Teenage Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory”? Pretty sad excuse for a film.
Godmonster of Indian Flats
“True Confessions”, a 1981 film set in 1947, based on the infamous “Black Dalhia” murder case. The film involves two brothers, one a police detective, the other a Catholic priest.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Enter The Dragon (!!!)
The People Under The Stairs
A Kiss Before Dying
The Last Starfighter
Dial M for Murder
THX 1138
Death Proof
*Just about any Stanley Kubrick film* such as:
Full Metal Jacket
The Shining
Eyes Wide Shut
Spartacus
The Killing
2001: A Space Odyssey
A Clockwork Orange
you guys really came up with some good ones, it is difficult to think of more, but here goes:
The Last Detail
Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
Silent Running
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
Etermal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Milagro Beanfield War
The Serpent and the Rainbow
one more…..
The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Revenge of the Killer Tomatoes!
Dog Day Afternoon
Inside Man
Memento
The Departed
A Fish called Wanda
Culpepper Cattle Company… nice alliterative title for a classic western featuring some actors who were relative unknowns then, including Bo Hopkins, Luke Askew, Geoffrey Lewis, Bill Green Bush, and others whom you would recognize when you see their faces.
confessions of a sociopathic social climber, bickford schmeckler’s cool ideas, john tucker must die, kiss kiss bang bang, once upon a time in mexico, nick and norah’s infinite playlist, white oleander
dont know if its been said but “A History Of Violence” is really good because it can be interpreted in a few different ways. plus is pretty cool as well
These are also movies I own and LOVE! I’ve included some of the leading stars names in case you are intriqued by the title and like the actor as well!
Welcome to Woop Woop – I like the title AND the film!
Anonymous Rex – (Sam Trammell)
Love Comes to the Executioner – (Jeremy Renner)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown – (dir. by Almodovar, hilarious!)
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang – (Kilmer, Downey)
My Stepmother Is an Alien – (Dan Ackroyd, Kim Basinger)
The Saddest Music in the World – (Isabella Rossellini)
Creatures From the Pink Lagoon
I Sell the Dead – (Dominic Monaghan)
Man with the Screaming Brain – (Bruce Campbell)
Otto; Or, Up With Dead People – (Katharina Klewinghaus)
Die Mommie Die! (Charles Busch, Jason Priestley)
The Wild Man of the Navidad
Killer Drag Queens on Dope (Alexis Arquette)
Better Living Through Killing
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter
Dick – (Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Williams)
Snatch – (Brad Pitt, Jason Statham)
That’s enough for now, I have more!
“Leonard Part 6″, “Requiem for a Dream”, “Scott Pilgrim vs the World”, “Gone with the Wind”, “Casablanca”, “City of Lost Children”, as a movie buff, I can keep naming good movies with awesome titles (except “Leonard Part 6″, that was a piece of sh**). Funny you mention watching “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”, I watched the ’78 one as well. Getting ready for Halloween you know
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Kamikaze Earth, best movie of all time hands down.
Dude, Where’s my Car?
1. Double Indemnity
2. 12 Monkeys
3. Buckaroo Banzai and the 8th Dimension
4. Five Easy Pieces
5. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
2.342 [MICHAELmATICIAN]
Me, Myself, & Irene, DEFINITELY! =D
JFK
Ordinary People
Spiderman
How about these:
- Ginger Snaps
- An American Werewolf In London
- The Howling
- The Monster Squad
- Black Christmas
- Inglourious Basterds
- Kill Bill
- Death Proof
- Hobo With a Shotgun
- 187 (movie’s a little iffy, but I love the title)
- Eight Legged Freaks (I’m Surprised this doesn’t get more love)
- The Devil’s Backbone
AND
- Critters
Baby Blue Marine,
I think that “Attack of the killer tomatoes” is an awesome movie title, but it’s kinda an old movie. And I didn’t like the movie..
Street time cops
The Godfather.
Goodfellas
Dracula(1992)
Interview with a vampire
The Nightmare before Christmas
Bruce Lee trilogy
The Simpson movie
The Wolfman
I love the one who flew over the cuckoo’s nest!! Jack Nicholson is cRazy at the end!!!
The Departed: Leo DiCaprio and Matt Damon.
Interview with a Vampire: Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.
The Godfather 1,2: Marlon Brando and Robert DeNiro.
Goodfellas: Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro.
Titanic: Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
Midnight Express: Brad Davis and Randy Quid.
Withnail and I: Richard E Grant and Paul Mcgann.
Scarface: Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer.
Im sorry that I wrote the celebritys.
“Cowboys and Aliens”
The only way it could be cooler, is by adding “and Boobs”
The Strangers – Liv Tyler
I rented it because I like her and the title left alot to the imagination. I have never watched a more suspenseful, scary movie in all of my life. If you haven’t seen it, and enjoy sitting on the edge of your seat, I highly recommend it.