Some of my favorite movies
*Top 20 mostly set in stone, the rest mostly in order
*Pure Comedies excluded (some "dramedy's",crime comedies, coming-of-age movies included)
*Pure Comedies excluded (some "dramedy's",crime comedies, coming-of-age movies included)
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- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.Why it's my favorite movie:
1) Samuel L. Jackson's brilliant and hilarious performance
2) The dialogue is unlike anything I've ever heard in a movie and is the definition of hilarious. I've never had a movie make me laugh and feel kind of bad that I was laughing at it. The dialogue isn't there to advance the plot and some of it isn't even needed at all, but it's a character driven movie. So whether or not we like the main characters or not, we feel for them in some one way or another
3)The plot is full of so many clever twists and turns and it all ties up so well. This produces a great, coherent, and unique ending, something very few movies are able to accomplish today
4) How the story is out of order, and the ending is actually the beginning. This makes such an impact on the viewer because what Jules is saying at the end is so much more significant considering that we know what is going to happen afterwards.
5) It is the most influential movie of the 90's and maybe of all time. Though there have been many attempts, there has not been a movie in the same genre as Pulp Fiction better than Pulp Fiction since it came out in 1994.
6) Marvin, The Wolfe, Jimmy, Dead N storage, Adrenaline shots, Gold Watches, Christopher Walken.
Like one critic said (the great Roger Ebert), great movies have a few great scenes, but Pulp Fiction has more great scenes than bad ones. - DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTim RobbinsMorgan FreemanBob GuntonOver the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.Reasons I love this movie:
1) Morgan Freeman's voice.
2) Definitely the most inspirational movie I've ever seen. Even a man in prison, probably the worst place you could be, still has reasons to be hopeful. Just shows how important friendship can be.
3) The ending is absolutely beautiful. And I definitely cried the first time I saw it.
4) Brooks (and his crow). His story was extremely depressing, but it made for a great contrast with Red's transformation. - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroRay LiottaJoe PesciThe story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.Reasons I love this movie:
1) Joe Pesci is absolutely insane and the standout to me. The rest of the cast is great as well, especially Liotta, but De Niro, Bracco, and Sorvino are excellent as well. I think De Niro's performance is somewhat overrated, whereas Liotta's is very underrated. So probably not Deniro's best role, but there's too many to compare it to.
2) One of the most realistic portrayals of the mob and the consequences of their actions. So many scenes are oozing with such style and finesse that it's hard to ignore. The violence is just incredibly real as well.
3) How well Scorsese is able to cover so many decades of life in the mob and pace it so beautifully. Few movies have conveyed the life of someone from a kid up until he "retires" basically. Scorese is a genius and this is his masterpiece (Along with Raging Bull maybe).
4) The amazing soundtrack - DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsWilliam H. MacyFrances McDormandSteve BuscemiMinnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.Reasons I love this movie:
1) Frances McDormand's accent: "He's fleein the interview!". Also, William H. Macy is exceptional. Steve Buscemi is excellent and hilarious and Peter Stormare is great. Harve Presnell is very good too. Really a movie of Shakespearean proportions.
2) How well it contrasts between the evil and good in the world. And how making bad choices can spiral things out of control.
3) The Coen's are geniuses and know how to fit morality into their movies, usually ending their movies showing the good people in the story, even if they aren't the protagonist, and how they are affected. - DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsHarvey KeitelTim RothMichael MadsenWhen a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.Reasons I love this movie:
1) By far Tarantino's best movie if he had never made Pulp Fiction. It may be put in the shadow a bit, but it's impressive Tarantino could make this and then make an even better movie after it. And that's saying something when that movie is Pulp Fiction. Because Pulp Fiction is better, but not by much.
2) Well what can I say, the violence is absolutely graphic and realistic, but I've never seen anything like it.
3) Instead of focusing on the robbery itself (like the whole entire movie "Ocean's Eleven"), we get to see the realistic aftermath of a botched robbery.
4) I must say also, Steve Buscemi is just fantastic. Harvey Keitel is great. Tim Roth and Chris Penn are very good. Michael Madsen and the rest round out the cast nicely as well. - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMatt DamonTom SizemoreFollowing the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.Greatest war movie there is except maybe Schindler's list if you consider that a war movie. The sequence at the beginning is one of the best shot and choreographed scenes probably in film history. Though the movie does take awhile to get to where it wants to go, the build up is perfect and the payoff is even better.
- DirectorRichard KellyStarsJake GyllenhaalJena MaloneMary McDonnellAfter narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.Pretty trippy movie but one of my favorites. Really unique with it's take on time travel and a great satire of American high schools and society. The movie also hits you with many ranges of emotions as it manages to be funny, creepy, sad, uplifting, or depressing at different points throughout the movie. It's also slightly difficult to understand the movie if you watch the theatrical version the first time you see it, but after reading an explanation of the movie it all makes more sense. So I didn't really know what to make of the movie my first viewing, but now it's one of my faves to re-watch over and over.
- DirectorCameron CroweStarsBilly CrudupPatrick FugitKate HudsonA high-school boy in the early 1970s is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour.As a huge fan of classic rock music, this movie is a great period piece that so well captures what it was like to be a rock band in the 70's, just as rock-n-roll was "starting to die". Being semi-biographical based on the director and writer of the movie and his own experiences as a teenager, he's able to capture the essence of that time very well and get convincing performances to go along with it, many by relatively unknown actors at the time.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsTom CruiseJason RobardsJulianne MooreAn epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.Great great great drama. PT Anderson weaves the lives of these characters together in such a unique way and every character is three dimensional. Really just shows how our actions end up effecting others and how life is full of coincidences.
And I cannot think of a fault in the cast either. Tom Cruise, outstanding in a bit of a different role for him. Also loved Philip Seymour Hoffman for his genuine kindness in the care-taking role, similarly John C. Reilly is superb as the truly honest and caring cop who crosses paths with Melora Walters' drug-addled and scarred character, also a fantastic performance from her. Then you have Julianne Moore who is just as fantastic as the rest of the cast, basically in total breakdown mode the whole movie because her much older husband (Jason Robards) is dying of cancer, who she only married for money, but fell in love with once he got sick. Robards is exceptional as well. Also Philip Baker Hall does a wonderful job, and William H. Macy as the former quiz kid brings a heartbreaking story, but eventually a hopeful one, and Macy is so great expressing this through his acting and range of emotions.
Overall great movie, the cast is a huge standout, but the feeling after watching is a great one. - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleHeath LedgerAaron EckhartWhen the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.Not just the best superhero movie ever, but one of the best movies ever. So many great things about it: the action, suspense, thriller, fantastic ending and just overall great movie. The acting is also top notch- Christian Bale as usual who has become one of the best actors of his generation, Caine and Freeman are great as usual, Eckhart and Gyllenhaal also. But goes without saying, Heath Ledger steals the show with one of the best acting performances I have ever seen.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonMarty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.Not THEE best movie of all time, but a true true classic and I love great classics, so it's in my top 15. Again, a movie you can watch OVER and OVER again and not get tired of it. I wasn't born until 10 years after this movie was released, but watching it today it still has the same relevance that it had in 1985. The plot and story is TIMELESS and really this movie can be watched by generations for centuries to come. I would say the best element to this movie, is the cleverness. I'm sure in the 1985 it was clever as hell, but even today it is beyond its time.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsIsabella RosselliniKyle MacLachlanDennis HopperThe discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.Weeeeird movie, but a very thrilling one. This is probably David Lynch's best (just ahead of Mulholland Dr. and The Elephant man imo) and most straightforward movie, but it still manages to have the elements of surrealism he is so well-known for. Examples being the scene at suave Ben's house and near the end of the movie at the apartment.
Also I have to point out the cast, as Dennis Hopper is absolutely great as Frank Booth as his character is extremely unlikable and bizarre. Kyle MacLachlan does a fine job as well in this pre-twin peaks role and Laura Dern is good as well. Isabella Rossellini's character is very strange too, but she gives a fine performance.
Overall, the movie looks at the darkest and most deep roots of evil and the world and contrasts this with the love and hope that is possible in life. - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJack NicholsonShelley DuvallDanny LloydA family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.One of the best horror movies of all time. It's not like the horror movies you see these days that are played for cheap thrills. The characters are developed well from the beginning, and the environment is one of the key parts to the chilling atmosphere of the movie. You have a guy simply overlooking a hotel during the winter, who turns insane. He seems to be a pretty typical guy at the beginning, but he slowly falls into a descent of craziness. Overall, my favorite Kubrick movie, and one of the best performances from Jack Nicholson.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsJason LondonWiley WigginsMatthew McConaugheyThe adventures of high school and junior high students on the last day of school in May 1976.One of Richard Linklater's best and one of the best "coming of age" movies of all time with a fantastic soundtrack and nostalgia galore. Great performances all around, especially from Matthew McConaughey, Rory Cochrane, Jason London, and Wiley Wiggins. I recently watched it for the first time and probably watched it 5 more times in a two week period. And probably thought about watching everyday since I first saw it. Tarantino has it in his top 10 movies of all time, so I am glad to have it in my top 20.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsJim CarreyEd HarrisLaura LinneyAn insurance salesman discovers his whole life is actually a reality TV show.Maybe not as clever as "Back to the Future", but a wonderful concept and the movie is set up and executed perfectly. Just coming out at the cusp of the 21st century, it shows how much technology and the media can affect and control us in our every day lives, and may even make you a bit paranoid after watching. Jim Carrey manages to be funny as usual, but also brings seriousness and innocence to the role. Ed Harris is awesome and brings a touching performance as well. Overall, very thought provoking and will leave you with a warm feeling inside.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsAnthony HopkinsJohn HurtAnne BancroftA Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.This movie has to to be the most emotional movie I've ever seen. I was just expecting some story about a deformed man, but it just hits you right in the feels. He is an outcast and seen as that way by people, but he is a person just like anyone else. Never cried more watching a movie in my life.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGene HackmanMorgan FreemanRetired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."One of the best, if not thee best, Western out there. Im not usually a huge fan of them but when it is Eastwood it's hard to resist. "The Good, Bad, and the Ugly" is great, but I find I can watch this many times and see something new I hadn't seen before. Clint is, of course, great, but Gene Hackman is excellent. Morgan Freeman gives another fine performance as well as the "kid" he teams up with in the movie. Great story, great movie
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsRobin WilliamsMatt DamonBen AffleckWill Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.Such an awesome movie. Much respect to Matt Damon, great actor and writer, as well as Ben Affleck. But how can you hear the name of this movie and not think of Robin Williams? Exceptional dramatic performance by one of the funniest to ever live. Some of my favorite scenes are the park bench scene, "it's not your fault" and basically any of the other interactions between Williams and Damon in therapy sessions, and also Ben Affleck's "you owe it to me" speech near the end, and obviously the ending: "that son of a b*tch, he stole my line". Even better it was totally improvised by Robin Williams. Love it.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroJodie FosterCybill ShepherdA mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.As a huge Robert De Niro fan, I first checked this movie out in my younger days and found it quite strange. But as I've grown up I've learned to appreciate it a lot more. Much of it is simply about a man's descent into madness, but also about a guy who may be crazy, but also means well. It also details very well all the scum that exists in the world. Again, hard to compare De Niro roles, but has to be one of his best.
- DirectorJonathan DaytonValerie FarisStarsSteve CarellToni ColletteGreg KinnearA family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus.I first watched this movie when it came out, and was too young to really enjoy it. But watching it again now that I am older, I realized how great this movie is. If I could describe it in one word, it would be: UPLIFTING. And it's uplifting without really trying hard to do so. All the characters in the movie you slowly start to relate to as the movie goes on. The main plot, a family road trip across the country, sounds a bit formulaic, but the movie itself is anything but. The way the road trip plays out is quirky and unexpected at times.
From the beginning, we meet Olive, who dreams about being a beauty queen. Her father Richard, who is an unsuccessful motivational speaker, his wife Sheryl and father, who is a heroin addict and loud mouth. Sheryl's son, Dwayne, who wants to become a test pilot and is taking an oath of silence. And finally Frank, Sheryl's brother, who has just attempted suicide after a series of events involving a gay lover.
Everyone in the family is different, and throughout the movie you see each of them have their dreams crushed and hearts broken in one way or another. But the end really ties up the movie together wonderfully, when they all end up dancing on the stage at the beauty pageant, showing that you should just get up and dance and not worry who cares, and just follow your dreams. Steve Carell is really the standout to me, but the whole ensemble does a great job. - DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsBruce WillisAlan RickmanBonnie BedeliaA New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.Best action movie OF ALL TIME. I'm not a huge fan of action movies, but this movie is an all-time classic. A movie you can watch over and over and over and it never gets old. Bruce Willis is at his best in this movie, very different than his character in Pulp Fiction, as the cop John McClane: tough, clever, and funny; he really owns the movie. Alan Rickman is great as the leader of the terrorists too, and Reginald VelJohnson is awesome as one of the few cops who is on McClane's side. The action is high packed and unpredictable even after multiple viewings. A movie that will never age and even enjoyable for those who don't like action movies.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodEli WallachLee Van CleefA bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.One of the best westerns EVER. Great story, Clint Eastwood at his very best. And that standoff at the end! Wow!
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsJack NicholsonLouise FletcherMichael BerrymanIn the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.Awesome movie, after the Shining, probably Jack Nicholson's best movie. Very sad but uplifting at the same time.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSigourney WeaverMichael BiehnCarrie HennDecades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.Wow. Such an incredible movie. I really love "Alien" and think it is a true classic horror movie, but "Aliens" is one of the best movie sequels of all time. Probably one of the most action-packed movies of all-time while also being very suspenseful. I felt the original had better acting and dialogue overall and is a classic psychological horror movie for the ages, but this one kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMartin SheenMarlon BrandoRobert DuvallA U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.One of the best War movies ever. Great performances by Sheen and everyone else. Also Brando gives a classic performance, though he has very little screen time.