Col Needham's Top 30 Movies from the Last 30 Years
I am the Founder and CEO of IMDb and in honour of our 30th anniversary here are my favourite movies from 1990 to 2019. One movie per year and in chronological order.
This is a companion list to my Top 30 International Movies from the Last 30 Years list and my Top 30 Hidden Gem Movies from the Last 30 Years list.
This is a companion list to my Top 30 International Movies from the Last 30 Years list and my Top 30 Hidden Gem Movies from the Last 30 Years list.
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30 titles
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsSean ConneryAlec BaldwinScott GlennIn November 1984, the Soviet Union's best submarine captain violates orders and heads for the U.S. in a new undetectable sub. The American CIA and military must quickly determine: Is he trying to defect or to start a war?Honourable mentions: Miller's Crossing (1990), Goodfellas (1990), The Grifters (1990) & Total Recall (1990)
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJodie FosterAnthony HopkinsScott GlennA young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.Honourable mentions: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Grand Canyon (1991), JFK (1991) & Cape Fear (1991)
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsMichael DouglasSharon StoneGeorge DzundzaA violent police detective investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist.Honourable mentions: A Few Good Men (1992) & The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
- 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.Honourable mentions: Schindler's List (1993), The Firm (1993), In the Line of Fire (1993) & Fearless (1993)
- 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.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsMorgan FreemanBrad PittKevin SpaceyTwo detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.Honourable mentions: The Usual Suspects (1995), 12 Monkeys (1995), Heat (1995) & A Little Princess (1995)
- DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsJennifer TillyGina GershonJoe PantolianoTough ex-con Corky and her lover Violet concoct a scheme to steal millions of stashed mob money and pin the blame on Violet's crooked boyfriend Caesar.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsJodie FosterMatthew McConaugheyTom SkerrittDr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, sending plans for a mysterious machine.
- 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.Honourable mentions: Out of Sight (1998) & Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsTom CruiseNicole KidmanTodd FieldA Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsEllen BurstynJared LetoJennifer ConnellyThe drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..Honourable mentions: Memento (2000) & Snatch (2000)
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsNicole KidmanEwan McGregorJohn LeguizamoA poor Bohemian poet in 1890s Paris falls for a beautiful courtesan and nightclub star coveted by a jealous duke.Honourable mentions: Mulholland Drive (2001) & The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom CruiseColin FarrellSamantha MortonJohn works with the PreCrime police which stop crimes before they take place, with the help of three 'PreCogs' who can foresee crimes. Events ensue when John finds himself framed for a future murder.Honourable mentions: Panic Room (2002) & Signs (2002)
- DirectorGore VerbinskiStarsJohnny DeppGeoffrey RushOrlando BloomBlacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor's daughter, from Jack's former pirate allies, who are now undead.Honourable mentions: House of Sand and Fog (2003) & Freaky Friday (2003)
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsDaniel RadcliffeEmma WatsonRupert GrintHarry Potter, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their third year of study, where they delve into the mystery surrounding an escaped prisoner who poses a dangerous threat to the young wizard.Honourable mentions: Closer (2004) & Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
- DirectorRobert SchwentkeStarsJodie FosterPeter SarsgaardSean BeanA bereaved woman and her daughter are flying home from Berlin to America. At 30,000 feet, the child vanishes, and nobody will admit she was ever on the plane.Honourable mentions: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) & Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)
- 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.
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsKeira KnightleyJames McAvoyBrenda BlethynThirteen-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit.Honourable mentions: Michael Clayton (2007) & There Will Be Blood (2007)
- DirectorDanny BoyleLoveleen TandanStarsDev PatelFreida PintoSaurabh ShuklaA teenager from the slums of Mumbai becomes a contestant on the show 'Kaun Banega Crorepati?' When interrogated under suspicion of cheating, he revisits his past, revealing how he had all the answers.Honourable mentions: 27 Dresses (2008), Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008) & Flashbacks of a Fool (2008)
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSam WorthingtonZoe SaldanaSigourney WeaverA paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.Honourable mentions: Father of My Children (2009) & Triangle (2009)
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsLeonardo DiCaprioJoseph Gordon-LevittElliot PageA thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O., but his tragic past may doom the project and his team to disaster.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsGeorge ClooneyShailene WoodleyAmara MillerA land baron tries to reconnect with his two daughters after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident.Honourable mentions: Drive (2011), Melancholia (2011) & Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)
See also: My 2011 Top 10 - DirectorRidley ScottStarsNoomi RapaceLogan Marshall-GreenMichael FassbenderFollowing clues to the origin of mankind, a team finds a structure on a distant moon, but they soon realize they are not alone.Honourable mentions: The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), Zero Dark Thirty (2012) & Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)
See also: My 2012 Top 10 - DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsSandra BullockGeorge ClooneyEd HarrisDr Ryan Stone, an engineer on her first time on a space mission, and Matt Kowalski, an astronaut on his final expedition, have to survive in space after they are hit by debris while spacewalking.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsMatthew McConaugheyAnne HathawayJessica ChastainWhen Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.Honourable mentions: Gone Girl (2014), The Theory of Everything (2014) & Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
See also: My 2014 Top 10 - DirectorRupert GooldStarsJames FrancoJonah HillFelicity JonesWhen disgraced New York Times reporter Michael Finkel meets accused killer Christian Longo - who has taken on Finkel's identity - his investigation morphs into a game of cat-and-mouse.Honourable mentions: The Martian (2015), Carol (2015) & Suffragette (2015)
See also: My 2015 Top 10 & 2015 Hidden Gems - DirectorJ.A. BayonaStarsLewis MacDougallSigourney WeaverFelicity JonesConor, a twelve-year-old boy, encounters an ancient tree monster who proceeds to help him cope with his mother's terminal illness and being bullied in school.Honourable mentions: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Arrival (2016), The Neon Demon (2016)
See also: My 2016 Top 10 & 2016 Hidden Gems - DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsSally HawkinsOctavia SpencerMichael ShannonAt a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.Honourable mentions: Dunkirk (2017), Molly's Game (2017) & Baby Driver (2017)
See also: My 2017 Top 10 & 2017 Hidden Gems - DirectorTom HarperStarsJessie BuckleyMatt CostelloJane PattersonA troubled young Glaswegian woman dreams of becoming a Nashville country star.Honourable mentions: Ready Player One (2018) & Black Panther (2018)
See also: My 2018 Top 10 & 2018 Hidden Gems - 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.Honourable mentions: The Aeronauts (2019), Avengers: Endgame (2019) & Knives Out (2019)
See also: My 2019 Top 10 & 2019 Hidden Gems