My Favorite Movies
I have rated around 2,500 movies on Netflix. These are just my overall favorites. There are foreign, drama, independent, mainstream, action, and classics. These are the movies that I rate as 4 or 5 stars (with a few 3 star movies in there just because the actress was hot).
Here are my top 15 to watch (generally excluding mainstream movies since everybody knows them. These are not necessarily my favorite 15 films, just the ones that are less well known but gems):
1) Amelie
2) Atanarjuat (hard to find except on PB)
3) Black
4) Born Free (feel good/family friendly)
5) Castway on the Moon (quirky and fun)
6) Children of Heaven (very cute, learn about Iran)
7) City of Men (TV show)
8) Electric Shadows
9) Frozen River (wonderful)
10) Grave of Fireflies (extremely sad)
11) Great Teacher Onizuka (TV)
12) Let the Right One In (better than the American version)
13) Life As a House (inspirational)
14) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (wonderful old movie)
15) Sin Nombre (in my top five/gritty)
16) Tsotsi (African movie)
***In Alphabetical order***
Here are my top 15 to watch (generally excluding mainstream movies since everybody knows them. These are not necessarily my favorite 15 films, just the ones that are less well known but gems):
1) Amelie
2) Atanarjuat (hard to find except on PB)
3) Black
4) Born Free (feel good/family friendly)
5) Castway on the Moon (quirky and fun)
6) Children of Heaven (very cute, learn about Iran)
7) City of Men (TV show)
8) Electric Shadows
9) Frozen River (wonderful)
10) Grave of Fireflies (extremely sad)
11) Great Teacher Onizuka (TV)
12) Let the Right One In (better than the American version)
13) Life As a House (inspirational)
14) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (wonderful old movie)
15) Sin Nombre (in my top five/gritty)
16) Tsotsi (African movie)
***In Alphabetical order***
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- DirectorRobert LuketicStarsJim SturgessKate BosworthKevin SpaceyInspired by real events and people, 21 is about six MIT students who become trained to be experts in card counting in Black Jack and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings.
- DirectorKevin ReynoldsStarsSamuel L. JacksonJohn HeardKelly Rowan15 months after being stabbed 9 times by a student at work as a high school teacher in NYC, Mr. Garfield is working in LA as a substitute teacher come full-time. He refuses to be a victim anymore.
- DirectorMichael DavisStarsJonathan TuckerEmmanuelle ChriquiJames DeBelloMatt spends the night with a girl in an elevator during power outage in a girls' college dorm. He never sees her. Waking up in the morning, panties are all that's left of her. How does he find her in a building with 100 girls?
- DirectorMichael CuestaStarsConor DonovanJesse CamachoZoe WeizenbaumAfter his twin brother is accidentally killed by vengeful bullies, a 12-year old boy and his friends face the harsh realities of death, teenage hormones, and family dysfunction.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsHenry FondaLee J. CobbMartin BalsamThe jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.
- 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.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsCillian MurphyNaomie HarrisChristopher EcclestonFour weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.
- DirectorKim Ki-dukStarsLee Seung-yunJae HeeHyuk-ho KwonA transient young man breaks into empty homes to partake of the vacationing residents' lives for a few days.
- DirectorCurtis HansonStarsEminemBrittany MurphyKim BasingerFollows a young rapper in the Detroit area, struggling with every aspect of his life; he wants to make it big but his friends and foes make this odyssey of rap harder than it may seem.
- DirectorMikael SalomonStarsReese WitherspoonEthan EmbryJack ThompsonWhen a gang of African poachers raid her family's farm, young Nonni, visiting American teenager Harry Winslow and a local bushman guide must escape into the Kalahari desert and reach the nearest town.
- DirectorBrad AndersonStarsMarisa TomeiVincent D'OnofrioHolland TaylorNew Yorker Ruby Weaver believes she has found the man of her dreams in Sam Deed, who is her best catch in some time--except that he assures her that he came from the future.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsLaurence OlivierDiane LaneThelonious BernardAn American teenager living in Paris meets and falls in love with a local.Young Diane Lane
- DirectorGuy GreenStarsSidney PoitierShelley WintersElizabeth HartmanA blind, uneducated white girl is befriended by a black man who becomes determined to help her escape her impoverished and abusive home life by introducing her to the outside world.
- DirectorRobert RedfordStarsCraig ShefferBrad PittTom SkerrittTwo sons of a stern minister - one reserved, one rebellious - grow up in rural 1920s Montana while devoted to fly fishing.
- DirectorMax MayerStarsHugh DancyRose ByrnePeter GallagherAdam, a lonely man with Asperger's Syndrome, develops a relationship with his upstairs neighbor, Beth.
- DirectorDoug AtchisonStarsAngela BassettLaurence FishburneKeke PalmerAkeelah, a young gifted girl, comes from a dysfunctional family and is on the verge of quitting school. She discovers that she has a high aptitude for spellings and enters a spelling bee contest.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsCecilia RothMarisa ParedesCandela PeñaA comedy-drama about a bereaved mother, and overwrought actress, her jealous lover, and a pregnant nun.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsF. Murray AbrahamTom HulceElizabeth BerridgeThe life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.
- DirectorManmohan DesaiStarsVinod KhannaRishi KapoorAmitabh BachchanThree brothers are separated and united after many years - one is brought up a Hindu, another a Muslim and the last (and most memorable) a Christian. Hilarity and adventure ensues.
- DirectorJean-Pierre JeunetStarsAudrey TautouMathieu KassovitzRufusDespite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.
- DirectorPaul WeitzChris WeitzStarsJason BiggsChris KleinThomas Ian NicholasFour teenage boys enter a pact to lose their virginity by prom night.
- DirectorMatthew BonifacioStarsHugo AlemanSophia AntoniniMichael AronovA look at the bond between an illegal immigrant and a blue-collar Italian-American from Queens.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsEmily WatsonRobert CarlyleJoe BreenAn Irish Catholic family returns to 1930s Limerick after a child's death in America. The unemployed I.R.A. veteran father struggles with poverty, prejudice and alcoholism as the family endures harsh slum conditions.
- DirectorAndy TennantStarsJodie FosterChow Yun-FatBai LingThe story of the romance between the King of Siam and widowed British schoolteacher, Anna Leonowens, during the 1860s.
- DirectorMike CahillStarsBrit MarlingWilliam MapotherMatthew-Lee ErlbachOn the night of the discovery of a duplicate Earth in the Solar system, an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer cross paths in a tragic accident.
- DirectorDiane CrespoStefan C. SchaeferStarsZoe Lister-JonesFrancis BenhamouMimi LieberARRANGED centers on the friendship between an Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman who meet as first-year teachers at a public school in Brooklyn. Over the course of the year they learn they share much in common - not least of which is that they are both going through the process of arranged marriages.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsSylvester StalloneAntonio BanderasJulianne MooreProfessional hit-man Robert Rath wants to fulfill a few more contracts before retiring but unscrupulous ambitious newcomer hit-man Miguel Bain keeps killing Rath's targets.
- DirectorZacharias KunukStarsNatar UngalaaqSylvia IvaluPeter-Henry ArnatsiaqThe telling of an Inuit legend of an evil spirit causing strife in the community and one warrior's endurance and battle of its menace.
- 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.
- DirectorPenny MarshallStarsRobert De NiroRobin WilliamsJulie KavnerThe victims of an encephalitis epidemic many years ago have been catatonic ever since, but now a new drug offers the prospect of reviving them.
- DirectorMichael BayStarsWill SmithMartin LawrenceLisa BoyleTwo hip detectives protect a witness to a murder while investigating a case of stolen heroin from the evidence storage room from their police precinct.
- DirectorGrigoriy ChukhrayStarsVladimir IvashovZhanna ProkhorenkoAntonina MaksimovaYoung Russian soldier Alyosha earns a medal, but asks to visit his mother instead. His journey recounts various kinds of love during wartime.
- DirectorStuart TownsendStarsAndré 3000Jennifer CarpenterIsaach De BankoléActivists arrive in Seattle, Washington en masse to protest a meeting of the World Trade Organization. Riots and chaos ensue as demonstrators successfully stop the WTO meetings.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsRussell CroweEd HarrisJennifer ConnellyA mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.
- DirectorAlejandro MonteverdeStarsEduardo VerásteguiTammy BlanchardManny PerezA chef with a mysterious past spends the day with a waitress who needs a friend.
- DirectorFernando TruebaStarsFernando Fernán GómezJorge SanzPenélope CruzA 1931 Spanish military deserter finds himself on a lonely farm until the farmer's four daughters pay a visit and he falls for all of them.
- DirectorNic BalthazarStarsMarijke PinoyGreg TimmermansCesar De SutterAs an alternative to getting bullied at school, an autistic teenager retreats into the world of online role-playing games.
- DirectorGurinder ChadhaStarsParminder NagraKeira KnightleyJonathan Rhys MeyersTwo ambitious girls, despite their parents' wishes, have their hearts set on careers in professional football.
- DirectorSanjay Leela BhansaliStarsAmitabh BachchanRani MukerjiShernaz PatelThe cathartic tale of a young woman who can't see, hear, or speak, and the teacher who brings a ray of light into her dark world.
- DirectorCraig BrewerStarsChristina RicciSamuel L. JacksonJustin TimberlakeA God-fearing bluesman takes to a wild young woman who, as a victim of childhood sexual abuse, looks everywhere for love, never quite finding it.
- DirectorTony RichardsonStarsJessica LangeTommy Lee JonesPowers BootheCarly moves with her military husband and their two daughters to an isolated army base, only to quickly become part of a cover-up involving nuclear bomb tests.
- DirectorBen YoungerStarsGiovanni RibisiVin DieselNia LongA college dropout, attempting to live up to his father's high standards, gets a job as a broker for a suburban investment firm which puts him on the fast track to success. But the job might not be as legitimate as it first appeared to be.
- DirectorJean-Paul RappeneauStarsIsabelle AdjaniGérard DepardieuVirginie LedoyenAn actress, a writer, a student, and a government worker band together in an effort to escape Paris as the Germans move into the city.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsWarren BeattyFaye DunawayMichael J. PollardBored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.
- DirectorJames HillTom McGowanStarsVirginia McKennaBill TraversGeoffrey KeenThe story of George and Joy Adamson and the orphaned lion cub, Elsa, they adopt.
- DirectorZana BriskiRoss KauffmanStarsKochiAvijit HalderShanti DasTwo documentary filmmakers chronicle their time in Sonagchi, Calcutta and the relationships they developed with children of prostitutes who work the city's notorious red light district.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreCharlton HestonMarilyn MansonFilmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsNicolas CagePatricia ArquetteJohn GoodmanHaunted by the patients he failed to save, a monumentally burned-out Manhattan ambulance paramedic fights to maintain his sanity over three increasingly turbulent nights.
- DirectorZoe R. CassavetesStarsParker PoseyMelvil PoupaudGena RowlandsSince college, Nora hasn't had much luck with men. Now in her 30s, she works in a NYC hotel going nowhere. That is, until she meets Julien.
- DirectorNir BergmanStarsOrly SilbersatzMaya MaronNitai GvirtzDaphne and her four children try to cope with the abrupt death of husband/father. As the family seems to fall apart, a sudden incident gives them a chance to heal their 'broken wings'.
- DirectorMarc LevinStarsTariq TrotterKaren StarcBonz MaloneA charismatic rapper falls in love with a young Jewish girl despite the confines of her religious background.
- DirectorSusanne BierStarsUlrich ThomsenNikolaj Lie KaasConnie NielsenTwo brothers must negotiate changing roles and shifting family dynamics when one is sent to war in Afghanistan.
- DirectorMorten TyldumStarsNicolai Cleve BrochAksel HennieAnders BaasmoKristoffer is a billboard hanger, 24 years old and carefree. When his girlfriend Elisabeth dumps him for the boss of her trend bureau, his life falls into pieces. He feels like a loser. By coincidence some of Kristoffer's video diaries end up with the producer of the popular talk show "Karsten Tonight" in TV2. A few weeks later Kristoffer's life has become TV entertainment. People love the sequences from his commune at Tøyen: Kristoffer's half-twisted view of his surroundings, his crazy best friend Geir, not to mention the weird web designer Stig Inge, who hasn't set foot outside the Tøyen shopping center for two years. Kristoffer's future again looks bright, everyone likes him, but revealing your life on national television comes with a price tag. As Kristoffer's future in the TV business looks brighter and brighter, his friends start suffering. Geir's big secret is revealed, and Stig Inge's personal problems are much more serious than Kristoffer first thought. It will cost him a great deal to win his friends back. Kristoffer knows what he wants, but does he have enough guts to follow his heart?
- DirectorLarry ClarkStarsBrad RenfroNick StahlBijou PhillipsA pack of naïve teenagers conspire to murder a mutual friend, whose aggressive demeanour has proven too much.
- DirectorShaad AliStarsAbhishek BachchanRani MukerjiAmitabh BachchanA small-town pair become the legendary Bunty and Babli, turning the world on its head caper after caper--until they meet a very upset police officer.
- DirectorYan-Yan MakStarsJosie HoEric KotYuan TianA married teacher/closeted lesbian meets a young, free spirited singer who will allow her to rediscover herself.
- DirectorHector BabencoStarsEnrique DiazWagner MouraCaio BlatStories of crime, revenge, love, and friendship at the Carandiru Penitentiary, the largest prison in Latin America.
- DirectorLee Hae-junStarsJeong Jae-yeongJung Ryeo-wonYeong-seo ParkA failed suicide attempt leads a heartbroken man to live a life in the wilderness.
- DirectorSatyen BoseStarsAshok KumarMadhubalaAnoop KumarThree woman-hating brothers face changes in their respective lifestyles when two of them fall in love.
- DirectorEmile ArdolinoStarsCybill ShepherdRobert Downey Jr.Ryan O'NealA reincarnated man unknowingly falls in love with his own daughter from his previous life. Once he realizes this, he tries to end their relationship before angels erase his memory.
- DirectorMajid MajidiStarsMohammad Amir NajiAmir Farrokh HashemianBahare SeddiqiAfter a boy loses his sister's pair of shoes, he goes on a series of adventures in order to find them. When he can't, he tries a new way to "win" a new pair.Great one for learning about Iranians.
- DirectorLasse HallströmStarsJuliette BinocheJohnny DeppJudi DenchA French woman and her young daughter open up a chocolate shop in a small remote village that shakes up the rigid morality of the community.
- DirectorRamin BahraniStarsAlejandro PolancoIsamar GonzalesRob SowulskiAlejandro, a resourceful street orphan on the verge of adolescence, lives and works in an auto-body repair shop in a sprawling junkyard on the outskirts of Queens, New York. In this chaotic world of adults, Alejandro struggles to make a better life for himself and his sixteen-year-old sister.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsRussell CroweRenée ZellwegerCraig BierkoThe true story of James J. Braddock, a supposedly washed-up boxer, who returned to the spotlight to win the heavyweight championship of the world.
- DirectorFernando MeirellesKátia LundStarsAlexandre RodriguesLeandro FirminoMatheus NachtergaeleIn the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.
- DirectorMarc CaroJean-Pierre JeunetStarsRon PerlmanDaniel EmilforkJudith VittetA scientist in a surrealist society kidnaps children to steal their dreams, hoping that they slow his aging process.
- DirectorPaulo MorelliStarsDouglas SilvaDarlan CunhaJonathan HaagensenBest buddies Acerola and Laranjinha, about to turn 18, discover things about their missing fathers' pasts which will shatter their solid friendship, in the middle of a war between rival drug gangs from Rio's favelas.Watch the TV show first.
- StarsDarlan CunhaDouglas SilvaCamila MonteiroA realistic yet humorous look at the lives of Laranjinha and Acerola, two friends who live adventurous and dangerous lives in a Rio de Janeiro slum.Watch the TV show before the movie. I stayed up all night to watch it; so good.
- DirectorThomas CarterStarsSamuel L. JacksonRick GonzalezRobert Ri'chardControversy surrounds high school basketball coach Ken Carter after he benches his entire team for breaking their academic contract with him.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsDon AmecheWilford BrimleyHume CronynWhen a group of trespassing seniors swim in a pool containing alien cocoons, they find themselves energized with youthful vigor.
- DirectorChris SmithStarsMichael RuppertA documentary on Michael Ruppert, a police officer turned independent reporter who predicted the current financial crisis in his self-published newsletter, From the Wilderness.
- DirectorLucy WalkerStarsGraham AllisonJames Baker IIIBruce BlairA documentary about how the likelihood of nuclear weapons (or fissile materials) usage has increased due to the rise of terrorism and lack of safeguards and verification.
- DirectorTamra DavisStarsBritney SpearsAnson MountZoe SaldanaThree childhood friends embark on a cross-country adventure to pursue dreams they once put aside, taking risks that are sure to change their lives forever.
- DirectorRoger KumbleStarsSarah Michelle GellarRyan PhillippeReese WitherspoonTwo vicious step-siblings of an elite Manhattan prep school make a wager: to deflower the new headmaster's daughter before the start of term.
- DirectorPeter HedgesStarsSteve CarellJuliette BinocheDane CookA widower finds out the woman he fell in love with is his brother's girlfriend.
- DirectorKevin CostnerStarsKevin CostnerMary McDonnellGraham GreeneLieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, finds himself engaging with a neighbouring Sioux settlement, causing him to question his own purpose.
- DirectorJohn N. SmithStarsMichelle PfeifferGeorge DzundzaCourtney B. VanceLouAnne, a retired US marine, becomes a teacher in a Californian high school. But her mostly Latino and black students from an impoverished and racially segregated locality do not easily embrace her.
- DirectorBill DukeStarsLaurence FishburneJeff GoldblumLira AngelA uniformed police officer is recruited by the DEA to infiltrate a drug smuggling ring looking to expand its operation.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsRay MillandGrace KellyRobert CummingsA former tennis star arranges the murder of his adulterous wife.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsBruce WillisAlan RickmanBonnie BedeliaA New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.
- DirectorAditya ChopraStarsShah Rukh KhanKajolAmrish PuriWhen Raj meets Simran in Europe, it isn't love at first sight but when Simran moves to India for an arranged marriage, love makes its presence felt.
- DirectorNancy SavocaStarsRiver PhoenixLili TaylorRichard PanebiancoBefore leaving to fight in Vietnam, a group of teenagers play a game where they try to seduce the ugliest girl they can find.
- DirectorMarc RoccoStarsCorey FeldmanJason RobardsCorey HaimAn accident puts the consciousness of an elderly dream researcher into the body of a bratty teenager. The problem? The kid prefers dreamworld limbo to real life.
- DirectorCarroll BallardStarsAlex MichaeletosCampbell ScottHope DavisAn orphaned cheetah becomes the best friend and pet of a young boy living in South Africa.
- DirectorDeepa MehtaStarsAamir KhanNandita DasRahul KhannaIt's 1947 and the borderlines between India and Pakistan are being drawn. A young girl witnesses tragedy as her ayah (nanny) is caught between the love of two men and the rising tide of political and religious violence.
- DirectorAchero MañasStarsJuan José BallestaPablo GalánAlberto JiménezAlfredo is a kid who begins in a new new school where he makes a friend, Pablo. Alfredo realizes that Pablo is a victim of home abuse by his father, and decides to involve his own family in order to help his friend.
- DirectorJiang XiaoStarsYu XiaHaibin LiYijing ZhangFor no apparent reason, a mute young woman assaults a youth who delivers water on his bicycle, injuring him and ruining his bike. Surprisingly, she asks him to feed her fish while she is in custody. Her tiny apartment, he discovers, is a shrine to his favorite escape, the movies. He finds her diary - a screenplay of her life built around scenes from favorite films - and it sets off his imagination. Maybe they have more in common than a love of the movies.
- DirectorJosé PadilhaStarsWagner MouraIrandhir SantosAndré RamiroAfter a prison riot, former-Captain Nascimento, now a high ranking security officer in Rio de Janeiro, is swept into a bloody political dispute that involves government officials and paramilitary groups.Second movie. Watch this after the first movie.
- DirectorAllan MoyleStarsAnthony LaPagliaDebi MazarMaxwell CaulfieldTwenty-four hours in the lives of the young employees at Empire Records when they all grow up and become young adults thanks to each other and the manager. They all face the store joining a chain store with strict rules.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsJulia RobertsAlbert FinneyDavid BrisbinAn unemployed single mother becomes a legal assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a California power company accused of polluting a city's water supply.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHenry ThomasDrew BarrymorePeter CoyoteA troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape from Earth and return to his home planet.
- DirectorMichel GondryStarsJim CarreyKate WinsletTom WilkinsonWhen their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories forever.
- DirectorMikael HåfströmStarsAndreas WilsonHenrik LundströmGustaf SkarsgårdA teenage boy expelled from school for fighting arrives at a boarding school where the systematic bullying of younger students is encouraged as a means to maintain discipline, and decides to fight back.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsTom CruiseNicole KidmanThomas GibsonA young Irish couple flee to the States, but subsequently struggle to obtain land and prosper freely.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsBrad PittEdward NortonMeat LoafAn insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.
- DirectorDeepa MehtaStarsShabana AzmiNandita DasKarishma JhalaniTwo women who are abandoned by their husbands find love and solace in each other.
- DirectorWilliam NicholsonStarsSophie MarceauStephen DillaneDominique BelcourtA governess agrees to bear a child to help her father.
- 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.
- DirectorDror ZahaviStarsShredi JabarinHili YalonShlomo VishinskyA suicide bomber becomes dependent on the kindness of strangers when his explosives won't detonate, giving him time to meet some of the people he's targeting.
- 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.