The 20 Best Movies in the First 20 Years of IMDb
Off the top of my head...
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- 20 titles
- DirectorsJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsJeff BridgesJohn GoodmanJulianne MooreJeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.Achievers don't need to explain. Calmer than you are.
- 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.The last Western. Period.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsElijah WoodIan McKellenOrlando BloomA meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.I'm listing Fellowship, but it's hard not to consider the whole trilogy a single work.
- 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.Best bank robbery scene ever.
- 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.I went to this with my dad. He was by far the oldest guy in the theater and he loved it.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleHeath LedgerAaron EckhartWhen a menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman, James Gordon and Harvey Dent must work together to put an end to the madness.Ledger's super creepy Joker made this one.
- 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.So many great performances here, and it was less confusing than Chinatown.
- DirectorLarry CharlesStarsSacha Baron CohenKen DavitianLuenellKazakh TV talking head Borat is dispatched to the United States to report on the greatest country in the world.Shock and laughter made it hard to breathe at my first movie out with Col!
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsJulianne MooreClive OwenChiwetel EjioforIn 2027, in a chaotic world in which women have somehow become infertile, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea.My favorite of the recent batch of post-apalyptic/dystopian future flicks.
- DirectorNeill BlomkampStarsSharlto CopleyDavid JamesJason CopeIn a future Earth in which aliens are isolated in a remote ghetto, a government agent finds himself banished there.Alien insect people as refugees and urban slumdwellers? Brilliant!
- DirectorTom TykwerStarsFranka PotenteMoritz BleibtreuHerbert KnaupAfter a botched money delivery, Lola has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 Deutschmarks.I was really taken by the different-endings experiment. Still trying to get my wife to dye her hair red.
- DirectorsJoel 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.Yeah, people really do talk like that.
- DirectorJudd ApatowStarsSeth RogenKatherine HeiglPaul RuddFor fun-loving party animal Ben Stone, the last thing he ever expected was for his one-night stand to show up on his doorstep eight weeks later to tell him she's pregnant with his child.Apatow makes the most crass, sweetest comedies. This is my favorite.
- DirectorTony KayeStarsEdward NortonEdward FurlongBeverly D'AngeloLiving a life marked by violence, neo-Nazi Derek finally goes to prison after killing two black youths. Upon his release, Derek vows to change; he hopes to prevent his brother, Danny, who idolizes Derek, from following in his footsteps.This is the movie that made me a fan of Ed Norton.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroRay LiottaJoe PesciThe story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.I really liked Dances With Wolves, but come on.
- 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.Coolest action movie with trippy dream aspects since The Matrix.
- 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.I'm not supposed to talk about this.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsGene HackmanGwyneth PaltrowAnjelica HustonThe eccentric members of a dysfunctional family reluctantly gather under the same roof for various reasons.I don't know. It's just awesome.
- DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsBruce WillisHaley Joel OsmentToni ColletteAfter being shot by a resentful former patient whom he failed to help, a Philadelphia child psychologist seeks redemption by treating a young boy with a disturbing secret.I didn't see it coming. He totally got me.
- 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.Stop after this one.