Fifty_Faves
Movies with a well told story and a mixture of themes that include comedy, drama, action adventure and sound track. It is hard to state an exact order but the top ten is pretty close to accurate as my all time favorites.
List activity
187 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
50 titles
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsTom HanksRobin WrightGary SiniseThe history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.Great music, fantasy, love and loss story.
- DirectorCurtis HansonStarsKevin SpaceyRussell CroweGuy PearceAs corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.Excellent story and acting in a well cast film.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodMichael MoriartyCarrie SnodgressA mysterious preacher protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.Who are you? Preeeecher!
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsGene HackmanWillem DafoeFrances McDormandTwo F.B.I. Agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists.Corrupt cops only get part of what they deserve. More than a good slapping and jail time. Maybe they found love in prison.
- 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.Great soundtrack, great lines by Jackson and Travolta.
- DirectorEmile ArdolinoStarsPatrick SwayzeJennifer GreyJerry OrbachSpending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances "Baby" Houseman falls in love with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle.Great story plus the music. Skip the summer guests amateur play skits.
- DirectorTom HanksStarsTom HanksLiv TylerCharlize TheronA local Pennsylvania band scores a one-hit wonder in 1964 and rides the star-making machinery as long as they can, with lots of help from their manager.Well written parallel to many one hit wonder rock & roll bands.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsKathleen TurnerNicolas CageBarry MillerPeggy Sue faints at a high school reunion. When she wakes up, she finds herself in her own past, just before she finished school.Great music and funny. If you get the chance to go back in time and change events you may not after all.
- DirectorFrank OzStarsSteve MartinGoldie HawnDana DelanyCon artist Gwen moves into Newton's empty home without his knowledge and begins setting up house, posing as his new wife.Goldie is the greatest liar on the planet. She can house sit for me anytime.
- DirectorTed KotcheffStarsSylvester StalloneBrian DennehyRichard CrennaA veteran Green Beret is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers."It's Not a switch, you just don't turn it off". Low life cop leaders who think they are superior get what they deserve and so do the dummies who follow them.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsLeonardo DiCaprioBrad PittMargot RobbieA faded television actor and his stunt double strive to achieve fame and success in the final years of Hollywood's Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles.Pumpkin Puss and Easy Breezy. Too much to list but history gets changed.
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsJude LawEd HarrisJoseph FiennesA Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad.Horrors of war from a non American point of view. Intense action and the art of propaganda throughout.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsMichael DouglasSharon StoneGeorge DzundzaA violent police detective investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist.The acting by Stone and Douglas is spine tingling and emotionally intense. Cat and mouse superiority complex personalities laced with jealous and unpredicatble twists.
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsLeonardo DiCaprioDjimon HounsouJennifer ConnellyA fisherman, a smuggler, and a syndicate of businessmen match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond.gripping and intense and tragic.
- DirectorMel GibsonStarsMel GibsonSophie MarceauPatrick McGoohanScottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.Excellent epic and love story.
- DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsMark WahlbergMichael PeñaRhona MitraA marksman living in exile is coaxed back into action after hearing of a plot to kill the President. After being-double crossed for the attempt and on the run, he sets out for the real killer and the truth.Good triumphs over evil once again. Nothing better that corruption at the highest level getting stamped out.
- DirectorGary RossStarsTobey MaguireJeff DanielsJoan AllenTwo 1990s teenage siblings find themselves transported to a 1950s sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that colorless, complacent world.I love the metaphoric transition from black and white to color. The court room scene literally hits the mark.
- DirectorDarnell MartinStarsAdrien BrodyJeffrey WrightBeyoncéChronicles the rise of Chess Records and its recording artists.Good soundtrack, historical detail and acting especially liked the cars. Beyonce is excellent.
- DirectorBilly Bob ThorntonStarsBilly Bob ThorntonDwight YoakamJ.T. WalshKarl Childers, a simple man hospitalized since his childhood murder of his mother and her lover, is released to start a new life in a small town.What you got that's good to eat in there? Umm Hmm.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsTom CruiseJamie FoxxJada Pinkett SmithA cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.A cold and intense thriller.
- DirectorTaika WaititiStarsRoman Griffin DavisThomasin McKenzieScarlett JohanssonA young German boy in the Hitler Youth whose hero and imaginary friend is the country's dictator is shocked to discover that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.Funny Nazis indoctronating children. But then there is the real Nazis to help you realize it was not fun and games.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsRichard DreyfussRon HowardPaul Le MatA group of teenagers in California's central valley spend one final night after their 1962 high school graduation cruising the strip with their buddies before they pursue their varying goals.Great music and coming of age love story. Released when I was a high school senior. Perfect timing.
- 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.Many war films have tried to capture the real horrors of war. This one is at the top with its realistic wounds.
- DirectorPeter BergStarsJamie FoxxChris CooperJennifer GarnerA team of U.S. government agents are sent to investigate the bombing of an American facility in the Middle East.Scary to think about once it settles in.
- 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.Cops and mobsters at their crooked best.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsHarrison FordKelly McGillisLukas HaasWhile protecting an Amish boy - who is the sole witness to a brutal murder - and his mother, a detective is forced to seek refuge within their community when his own life is threatened.Life in vastly different worlds. I love it when Ford's character punches the red neck tourist in the nose.
- DirectorNeil BurgerStarsEdward NortonJessica BielPaul GiamattiIn turn-of-the-century Vienna, a magician uses his abilities to secure the love of a woman far above his social standing.Well told story with good ending.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleHugh JackmanScarlett JohanssonAfter a tragic accident, two stage magicians in 1890s London engage in a battle to create the ultimate illusion while sacrificing everything they have to outwit each other.A good fantasy and historical story. David Bowie as Tesla.
- DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsMel GibsonHeath LedgerJoely RichardsonPeaceful farmer Benjamin Martin is driven to lead the Colonial Militia during the American Revolution when a sadistic British officer murders his son.Story of love and loss during the American revolutionary war. Based on Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsCharlie SheenTom BerengerWillem DafoeChris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.Realistic Vietnam and rookie soldiers.
- DirectorAnthony MinghellaStarsJude LawNicole KidmanRenée ZellwegerIn the waning days of the American Civil War, a wounded soldier embarks on a perilous journey back home to Cold Mountain, North Carolina to reunite with his sweetheart.Civil War epic, Renée Zellweger is great in this movie.
- DirectorRobert BentonStarsDustin HoffmanNicole KidmanLoren DeanIn the year 1935, a teen named Billy Bathgate finds first love while becoming the protégé of fledgling gangster Dutch Schultz.Hometown boy makes good during the depression era America.
- DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsKevin CostnerGene HackmanSean YoungA coverup and witchhunt occur after a politician accidentally kills his mistress.Excellent political and spy story. Will Patton is great as the evil cover up genius for Hackman's senator character.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsTom CruiseJeanne TripplehornGene HackmanA young lawyer joins a prestigious law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side.Another great Gene Hackman performance.
- DirectorPenny MarshallStarsTom HanksElizabeth PerkinsRobert LoggiaAfter wishing to be made big, a teenage boy wakes the next morning to find himself mysteriously in the body of an adult.Lots of fun being grown up.
- 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."We all got it comin', kid.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsBruce WillisJeremy IronsSamuel L. JacksonJohn McClane and a Harlem store owner are targeted by German terrorist Simon in New York City, where he plans to rob the Federal Reserve Building.Well told story. Samuel L. Jackson is excellent in his part.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerLinda HamiltonMichael BiehnA human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.I'll take the Uzi nine millimeter. The first and best of the series.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsAl PacinoMichelle PfeifferSteven BauerIn 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed.Say hello to my little friend.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerJamie Lee CurtisTom ArnoldA fearless, globe-trotting, terrorist-battling secret agent has his life turned upside down when he discovers his wife might be having an affair with a used-car salesman while terrorists smuggle nuclear war heads into the United States.Good one liners and plot line. The fake spy Bill Paxton is really funny.
- DirectorEric IdleGary WeisStarsEric IdleJohn HalseyRicky FataarCharts the adventures of the prefab four, possibly the most famous band of all time.Beatles parody with excellent original mirrored sound track.
- DirectorJim SharmanStarsTim CurrySusan SarandonBarry BostwickA newly-engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.Excellent sound track and bizarre characters with multiple plot lines.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsLee MarvinErnest BorgnineCharles BronsonDuring World War II, a rebellious U.S. Army Major is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers.Slipped on a bar of soap.
- DirectorBrian G. HuttonStarsClint EastwoodTelly SavalasDon RicklesA group of U.S. soldiers sneaks across enemy lines in WWII France to get their hands on a secret stash of Nazi treasure.Spoofing Patton.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsKevin McCarthyDana WynterLarry GatesA small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.Original and best version of this scary story.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsGary CooperBarbara StanwyckEdward ArnoldA penniless drifter is recruited by an ambitious columnist to impersonate a non-existent person who said he'd be committing suicide as a protest, and a social movement begins.I love Barbara Stanwyck in this movie. Excellent story as well.
- DirectorDon SiegelClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodAndrew RobinsonHarry GuardinoWhen a man calling himself "the Scorpio Killer" menaces San Francisco, tough-as-nails Police Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to track down the crazed psychopath.Sometimes vigilantism is the only solution.
- 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.Let's be Frank, it's a crazy and weird story. May scare the hell out of you.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsNaomi WattsLaura HarringJustin TherouxAfter a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.A bizarre loop of odd logic to try and figure out but probably never will.
- DirectorBrian G. HuttonStarsRichard BurtonClint EastwoodMary UreAllied agents stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding American brigadier general George Carnaby prisoner, but that's not all that's really going on.Fight on a ski lift and thrown off a plane.