IMDB's 20 Years, 20 Movies
MY favorite movie from each of the last 20 (actually 21) years - in celebration of IMDB's 20th birthday! I love movies!! Enjoy.
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21 titles
- DirectorChris ColumbusStarsMacaulay CulkinJoe PesciDaniel SternAn eight-year-old troublemaker, mistakenly left home alone, must defend his home against a pair of burglars on Christmas Eve.One of the best Christmas movies ever, I've seen it about 20 times.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDustin HoffmanRobin WilliamsJulia RobertsWhen Captain James Hook kidnaps his children, an adult Peter Pan must return to Neverland and reclaim his youthful spirit in order to challenge his old enemy.Tough to beat this one when it comes to Fantasy-Adventure. Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman are amazing.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsRobert Downey Jr.Geraldine ChaplinPaul RhysAn elderly Charlie Chaplin discusses his autobiography with his editor, recounting his amazing journey from his poverty-stricken childhood to world-wide success after the ingenious invention of the Little Tramp.It takes someone as brilliant as Robert Downey Jr to play someone as brilliant as Charlie Chaplin.
- 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.In a really great year for movies with greats like Groundhog Day, Rudy, and The Fugitive, Steven Spielberg's dinosaur epic is still........well it has ****ing dinosaurs in it! And Jeff Goldblum. "Must go faster! Must go faster!"
- 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.In an even BETTER year for movies, Quentin Tarantino's breakout film, which seems to be everyones "best of '94", just beats out Clerks and the Jim Carrey trifecta (Ace Ventura, Dumb and Dumber, and The Mask).
- DirectorMartin CampbellStarsPierce BrosnanSean BeanIzabella ScorupcoYears after a friend and fellow 00 agent is killed on a joint mission, a secret space based weapons program known as "GoldenEye" is stolen. James Bond is assigned to stop a Russian crime syndicate from using the weapon.Best Bond movie ever. I don't care what you say. Also spawned one of the greatest video games ever. Honorable mention to the "Kevin Spacy psycho-killer" duo, Se7en and Usual Suspects, Toy Story, and Billy Madison.
- 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.Oh you betcha. One of the Coens' best. Honorable mention to "From Dusk Till Dawn".
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsBruce WillisMilla JovovichGary OldmanIn the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr. Zorg at bay.Gooey Sci-Fi cheesiness. Honorable mention to Orgazmo, Chasing Amy and Liar, Liar. Relatively weak year for movies.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsJim CarreyEd HarrisLaura LinneyAn insurance salesman discovers his whole life is actually a reality TV show.Jim Carrey gets one of the biggest Oscar snubs ever. One of those few movies that feels bigger than itself, if that makes any sense.
- DirectorNick DavisStarsDan FuttermanAllyson DowneyJennifer GarnerA group of twentysomething New Yorkers discuss their lives and future at the party on New Year's Eve 1999.Ignore the 1998 in parentheses - The best film of 1999 is basically every movie made in 1999. Take your pick from: The Matrix, The Sixth Sense, Galaxy Quest, Star Wars: Phantom Menace, Office Space, Toy Story 2, The Mummy, Sleepy Hollow, South Park: BLU, Mystery Men, Man on the Moon, Fight Club, American Beauty, Boondocks Saints, Girl, Interrupted, Being John Malkovich, The World is Not Enough, The Blair Witch Project, Audition, and Fantasia 2000, all of which make up one of the best years in the history of movies.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsRussell CroweJoaquin PhoenixConnie NielsenA former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.Epic revenge masterpiece.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsDaveigh ChaseSuzanne PleshetteMiyu IrinoDuring her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.Arguably Hayao Miyazaki's best film.
- DirectorGore VerbinskiStarsNaomi WattsMartin HendersonBrian CoxA journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone one week to the day after they view it.One of the creepiest, most disturbing, coolest, scariest movies I've ever seen, all with basically no gore. Psychological horror at its finest, this movie sets a tremendous atmosphere and really builds the suspense using investigation-style storytelling, leading up to the shocking, nightmare-inducing ending. Perhaps the best horror movie of all-time.
- DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossFreedom fighters Neo, Trinity and Morpheus continue to lead the revolt against the Machine Army, unleashing their arsenal of extraordinary skills and weaponry against the systematic forces of repression and exploitation.Another phenomenal year for movies, 2003 featured the final chapters of not 1 but 2 epic trilogies, 'Matrix' and 'Lord of the Rings'. Also worth mentioning: Kill Bill Vol 1, Bruce Almighty, School of Rock, Love, Actually, and Finding Nemo.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsUma ThurmanDavid CarradineMichael MadsenThe Bride continues her quest of vengeance against her former boss and lover Bill, the reclusive bouncer Budd, and the treacherous, one-eyed Elle.A great cast of characters in the more story-focused Kill Bill Vol 2. And now I know how to explode someones heart with my hand! Phenomenal soundtrack as well. Honorable mention to Shaun of the Dead and Kung Fu Hustle.
- DirectorDon HertzfeldtStarsMurwarid AbdianiJaden AlexanderLance AndersonThe evolution of humanity, through countless eons.Tied with 1997 for the weakest year for movies of the last 20 years. So weak in fact that a chose a short film to represent it, but don't be deceived, it is one of the most powerful short films ever made. Don Hertzfeldt single-handedly drew, inked, shot, animated, scored, and edited this animated masterpiece that deals with that essential philosophical question. It is very open-ended, in that you can take what you want from it - it can be interpreted in many different ways. Just be sure to brace yourself for a crushing sense of insignificance afterwards :P
- DirectorLarry CharlesStarsSacha Baron CohenKen DavitianLuenellKazakh TV talking head Borat is dispatched to the United States to report on the greatest country in the world.Movies made a major up-swing in 2006. There are few movies I have laughed harder at than Borat. Sacha Baron Cohen takes an in-character trip through U-S-and-A!, exposing many a homophobic/sexist/racist American along the way. Honorable mentions to The Prestige, Little Miss Sunshine, United 93, Clerks II, Idiocracy.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsJake GyllenhaalRobert Downey Jr.Mark RuffaloBetween 1968 and 1983, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.Masterful and immersive mystery thriller by David Fincher. It's long - 2 hours & 37 minutes, but it efficiently uses every moment to build an impressively accurate account of perhaps the most infamous serial killer of all time. Great cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Bryan Cox, John Carroll Lynch and Charles Fleischer. Honorable mention to Hot Fuzz and No Country for Old Men.
- 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.There were a LOT of great movies in 2008, but none of them can quite match this film, made even more popular by Heath Ledgers last major, and instantly legendary, performance. Just an awesome comic book movie. Honorable mentions to Ponyo, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Cloverfield, Tropic Thunder, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Slumdog Millionaire.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsBrad PittDiane KrugerEli RothIn Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.Rivaling 1999 for the best year in movies of the last 20 years (I guess it's all the years ending in 9!), 2009 delivered memorable films in messy, copious piles. Inglourious Basterds is so cool that it can rewrite history to make it conform to its awesomeness. And no one minds. In fact, I think a lot of people wish it had gone down the Basterds' way. A well-deserved oscar to Christoph Waltz for his impressive portrayal of nazi baddie Hans Landa. Cool, cool flick. Honorable mentions to Where the Wild Things Are, Star Trek, Up, Watchmen, and District 9.
- DirectorMatthew VaughnStarsAaron Taylor-JohnsonNicolas CageChloë Grace MoretzDave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan who one day decides to become a superhero, even though he has no powers, training or meaningful reason to do so.We've still got some time left before 2010 comes to a close, but any movie that's yet to come out will be hard-pressed to top Kick-Ass, an awesome movie that's a send-up of the comic book movie genre in a way, but ends up being way more badass than many of the comic book movies that inspired it. Many things about this movie rock, but Hit Girls action scenes are particularly mind-blowing. Lots of good action and fun. Honorable Mentions: Toy Story 3, Despicable Me, Machete