All-Time Favorites
Best movies of all-time? No, who needs that? I'm not the American Film Institute. For better or worse these are simply my favorite movies of all-time.
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- DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerLinda HamiltonEdward FurlongA cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her ten year old son John from an even more advanced and powerful cyborg.One of my favorite movies from childhood is absolutely dazzling. Fusing interesting ideas with slick spectacle, James Cameron's game changer of a blockbuster still blows minds twenty years on. With the perfect blend of drama and action, T2 is a wholly satisfying cinematic epic.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonAfter visiting 2015, Marty McFly must repeat his visit to 1955 to prevent disastrous changes to 1985...without interfering with his first trip.This imaginative and inventive sequel is the reason I love movies. This is the movie that opened my mind to cinema. It's truly one of the most intelligent sequels ever made, and I may be alone on this but I think it outdoes the original.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.I have not yet seen every Kubrick film, but out of the ones I have seen, this is the one I always seem to gravitate towards. I'm not sure why. Could it be its thought-provoking questions on free-will and law and order? The stunning visuals? Malcolm McDowell's revolutionary villain/protagonist, Alex? It's probably the simple fact that I am a teenager, but most of all the reason is that no matter how many times I see it, and as much as I try to, I just can't quite wrap my head around the film and its many images, sounds, dialogues and ideas. And that right there is the brilliance of Kubrick. This film is the ultimate head trip.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioMatt DamonJack NicholsonAn undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.Scorsese's Bush-era gangster epic changed the way I saw movies. It entertained, riveted, and shocked me until the very end.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsMatt DillonKelly LynchJames Le GrosA pharmacy-robbing dope fiend and his crew pop pills and evade the law.The best drug movie I've ever seen.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleTom HardyAnne HathawayEight years after the Joker's reign of chaos, Batman is coerced out of exile with the assistance of the mysterious Selina Kyle in order to defend Gotham City from the vicious guerrilla terrorist Bane.'Rises' completely divided opinion. Is it a perfect film? No, it definitely has its fair share of problems, like all films do. Movies are about being taken on a ride, and damn it, The Dark Knight Rises took me on an exciting ride.
This is a Pulp Masterpiece. With Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Nolan set out to get Batman back to his gritty roots. With Rises, Nolan slowly backs out of the grittiness and enters a pulpier realm. A Bondian realm that begins with a mid-air high-jacking. Has a villain that wears a mask 99% of the film. Batman and Catwoman fighting side by side only to be stopped by gunfire from henchmen so incompetent they can only hit their own comrades rather than hitting their intended targets. And of course a nuclear bomb countdown. Nolan clearly has a love for James Bond films (as he also showed with Inception). As a fellow Bond aficionado, I really appreciate this, and it only adds to my overall enjoyment of the film.
Nolan's film has the feeling of a Coppola-sized epic from the 1970s, with its plot complexity, large cast of characters, intricate dialogue scenes with equal helpings of pain and tragedy. Many scenes in the film are shot in an orange/sepia tone that reminds me of The Godfather Part II. Tom Hardy's Bane is a mythical, Kurtz-like antagonist.
Superhero movies generally follow a particular formula. I could predict the plot beats of most of the recent Marvel films (this is not a complaint of Marvel's Cinematic Universe, just an observation). The point is that this film (as its predecessor did) threw me more surprises than most films of this genre typically do. And my expectations were blown away. TDKR has a very intricate structure, and for being 165 minutes long, the movie flies by at a nice pace. - 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.Coppola's epic tale of madness is one of the most amazing things ever put to film. A beautiful nightmare of a movie
- DirectorMichael BayStarsShia LaBeoufRosie Huntington-WhiteleyTyrese GibsonThe Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on the moon, and race against the Decepticons to reach it and to learn its secrets.I don't give a crap what anyone says, Transformers: Dark of the Moon is an outstanding work of film spectacle. Michael Bay's ultimate canvas of a blockbuster, takes the groundwork from its' two predecessors, and leads the audience into an even more outlandish and extreme assault of entertainment. In my eyes, Bay is up there with other auteurs such as Scorsese, Tarantino, Spielberg, Malick, etc. Their bodies of work always have their fingerprints on it, and their films are always distinguishable in style.
The technology at work here is even more impressive than the 2007 original. I can't think of a film that has blended live action and CG quite as well as T3. The smooth cinematography from Amir Mokri and the use of 3D give the action a smooth, kinetic feel. Shia LaBeouf is back, and you either love him or you hate him. I've always like Shia, but even I was unsure of what the hell he is doing in this movie. But after a few viewings, his "performance" really grew on me. All he does is shout! There's one particular scene in the film, where he just starts screaming at the top of his lungs. I don't know what it is, but for this movie, it works. A supermodel provides nice eye-candy. And Leonard Nimoy kills it as the series' ***SPOILER ALERT*** Best Villain, Sentinel Prime. But the true star is the Auteur of Destruction himself, Michael Bay.
Final note: To quote a review for the film, "I can't decide if this movie is so spectacularly, breathtakingly dumb as to induce stupidity in anyone who watches, or so brutally brilliant that it disarms all reason. What's the difference?" And that basically sums it all up. My favorite guilty pleasure, - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKate CapshawKe Huy QuanIn 1935, Indiana Jones is tasked by Indian villagers with reclaiming a rock stolen from them by a secret cult beneath the catacombs of an ancient palace.Spielberg at his most unrestrained. Pure non-stop Awesome.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsMichael KeatonDanny DeVitoMichelle PfeifferWhile Batman deals with a deformed man calling himself the Penguin wreaking havoc across Gotham with the help of a cruel businessman, a female employee of the latter becomes the Catwoman with her own vendetta.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsTom CruiseBryan LarkinRaymond J. BarryThe biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.Oliver Stone's best movie. Stone is not a director known for subtlety; there's a certain heavy-handedness to all of his films. Born on the Fourth of July is guilty of this as well, but there is heart and truth to this story. Tom Cruise gives his best performance as Ron Kovic. .
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsWilliam PetersenKim GreistJoan AllenFormer FBI profiler Will Graham returns to service to pursue a deranged serial killer dubbed "the Tooth Fairy" by the media.An underrated piece of 80s neon-noir. A riveting and moody thriller.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsJesse EisenbergAndrew GarfieldJustin TimberlakeAs Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, he is sued by the twins who claimed he stole their idea and by the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business."The Godfather" for the Internet Age.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsVal KilmerMeg RyanKyle MacLachlanThe story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band The Doors and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison, from his days as a UCLA film student in Los Angeles, to his untimely death in Paris, France at age 27 in 1971.One of the best psychedelic movies ever made. It's a mythic trip into mind of Jim Morrison, and it's quite trippy. Above all though, it's a film about the early rock scene and the American Dream as escapism in the world (and turmoil) of 1960s America.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsMark WahlbergJulianne MooreBurt ReynoldsBack when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, an idealistic porn producer aspires to elevate his craft to an art when he discovers a hot young talent.Just pure cinematic joy from the post-'Pulp Fiction' era. P.T. Anderson instills every frame of 'Boogie Nights' with a love and respect for the art of film. It's infectious and the feeling is shared by the viewer. Anderson paints a non-judgmental portrait of a "family" of people at the peak of 70s/80s Porn. It's a tale of excess that is surprisingly not excessive (at least to Oliver Stone standards). Mark Wahlberg is unforgettable in his breakthrough role.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerSharon StoneMichael IronsideWhen a man goes in to have virtual vacation memories of the planet Mars implanted in his mind, an unexpected and harrowing series of events forces him to go to the planet for real - or is he?I have yet to see the remake and I don't plan to unless its on cable, because it's all about the Original.
Get your ass to mars. - 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.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsSam NeillLaura DernJeff GoldblumA pragmatic paleontologist touring an almost complete theme park on an island in Central America is tasked with protecting a couple of kids after a power failure causes the park's cloned dinosaurs to run loose.
- DirectorJohn HughesStarsEmilio EstevezJudd NelsonMolly RingwaldFive high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroSharon StoneJoe PesciIn Las Vegas, two best friends - a casino executive and a mafia enforcer - compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.One of the fastest and most epic crime sagas ever made.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsElijah WoodViggo MortensenIan McKellenGandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron's army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.An Epic Mastetpiece that miraculously pays-off what has come before it, and out-does it in every way imaginable.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsRoger MooreMaud AdamsLouis JourdanA fake Fabergé egg recovered from the body of a fellow agent leads James Bond to uncover a jewel smuggling operation led by the mysterious Octopussy, and a plot to blow up a NATO air base.My favorite Bond movie.
- 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.Absolute perfection.
- DirectorRichard MarquandStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, the Rebel Alliance attempt to destroy the second Death Star, while Luke struggles to help Darth Vader back from the dark side.Sure it has the ewoks, but lets face it Star Wars is first and foremost, entertainment and this is the one that demonstrates that the best.