Col Needham's Top 20 Movies from 1990-2010
I'm the founder and CEO of IMDb and here are my favourite movies from the last 20 years. Of course this list needs a little trimming to say the least ...
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- 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.My #2 favourite movie of all-time and also a proxy for Chris Nolan's other masterpiece: The Prestige
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsMorgan FreemanBrad PittKevin SpaceyTwo detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.Also a proxy for other great David Fincher movies: Fight Club / The Social Network / Panic Room / The Game / Zodiac.
- 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.Also a proxy for other great QT movies: Kill Bill / Inglourious Basterds
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsTom CruiseNicole KidmanTodd FieldA Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.An extremely underrated Kubrick film with one of the best last lines in movie history. A massively misunderstood story about love and obsession and where (not) to draw the line.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSam WorthingtonZoe SaldañaSigourney 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.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsTom CruiseJason RobardsJulianne MooreAn epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.Also a proxy for other great PTA movies: Punch Drunk Love / There Will Be Blood
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsJodie FosterMatthew McConaugheyTom SkerrittDr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, sending plans for a mysterious machine.One of the most well-written movies ever
- DirectorsLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossWhen a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.
- 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.The best Harry Potter book and the best Harry Potter movie and the only one outside the all-time top 25 highest grossing movies. Also a proxy for the other HP movies.
- 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.Another brilliant script with masterful direction by Joe Wright
- 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.Also a proxy for Steven Spielberg's other great movies from this period: Schindler's List / Jurassic Park / Saving Private Ryan
- DirectorMichael MannStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroVal KilmerA group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD when they unknowingly leave a verbal clue at their latest heist.Also a proxy for Michael Mann's other great movies from this period: The Last of the Mohicans / The Insider
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsMichael DouglasSharon StoneGeorge DzundzaA violent police detective investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist.A guilty pleasure but who can forget this sexy Hitchcock homage by Paul Verhoeven?
- 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.It's all in the writing and, here, the casting too!
- 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.Thrilling horror and unforgettable characters
- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsMel GibsonJoaquin PhoenixRory CulkinA widowed former reverend living with his children and brother on a Pennsylvania farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields, which suggests something more frightening to come.Everything is on a slow burn to the amazing final sequence where everything comes together and rewards the viewer who has been paying attention (one of my favourite scenes ever).
- DirectorGore VerbinskiStarsJohnny DeppGeoffrey RushOrlando BloomBlacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow to save Elizabeth Swann, the governor's daughter and his love, from Jack's former pirate allies, who are now undead.Amazing fun
- DirectorVadim PerelmanStarsJennifer ConnellyBen KingsleyRon EldardAn abandoned wife is evicted from her house and starts a tragic conflict with her house's new owners.Another writing masterpiece and a very attractive leading lady
- DirectorTony GilroyStarsGeorge ClooneyTilda SwintonTom WilkinsonA law firm brings in its "fixer" to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multibillion-dollar class action suit.Yet another writing masterpiece.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsKevin CostnerGary OldmanJack LemmonNew Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.Oliver Stone creates a rich story which leads to the unforgettable assassination recreation courtroom sequence (another all time favourite scene).
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsBruce WillisMadeleine StoweBrad PittIn a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsTom CruiseJack NicholsonDemi MooreA military lawyer intends to prove that two US Marines charged with murdering a fellow Marine were only following their base commander's orders.
- 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?
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsEllen BurstynJared LetoJennifer ConnellyThe drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGene HackmanMorgan FreemanRetired Old West gunslinger Will Munny reluctantly takes on one last job to avenge an injustice with the help of his old partner and a newer outlaw known simply as The Schofield Kid.