Films and TV Shows that take place in Los Angeles
by j_jeannin | created - 11 May 2013 | updated - 06 Jul 2013 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Call (II) (2013)
R | 94 min | Drama, Thriller
When a veteran 911 operator takes a life-altering call from a teenage girl who has just been abducted, she realizes that she must confront a killer from her past in order to save the girl's life.
Director: Brad Anderson | Stars: Halle Berry, Evie Thompson, Abigail Breslin, Morris Chestnut
Votes: 129,748 | Gross: $51.87M
2. Gangster Squad (2013)
R | 113 min | Action, Crime, Drama
It's 1949 Los Angeles, the city is run by gangsters and a malicious mobster, Mickey Cohen. Determined to end the corruption, John O'Mara assembles a team of cops, ready to take down the ruthless leader and restore peace to the city.
Director: Ruben Fleischer | Stars: Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Giovanni Ribisi
Votes: 222,725 | Gross: $46.00M
3. Maniac (2012)
Not Rated | 89 min | Horror, Thriller
As he helps a young artist with her upcoming exhibition, the owner of a mannequin shop's deadly, suppressed desires come to the surface.
Director: Franck Khalfoun | Stars: Elijah Wood, Nora Arnezeder, America Olivo, Megan Duffy
Votes: 40,344 | Gross: $0.02M
4. Drive (I) (2011)
R | 100 min | Action, Drama
A mysterious Hollywood action film stuntman gets in trouble with gangsters when he tries to help his neighbor's husband rob a pawn shop while serving as his getaway driver.
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks
Votes: 704,315 | Gross: $35.06M
5. Battle Los Angeles (2011)
PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A squad of U.S. Marines becomes the last line of defense against a global invasion.
Director: Jonathan Liebesman | Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan, Ramón Rodríguez
Votes: 185,161 | Gross: $83.55M
6. NCIS: Los Angeles (2009–2023)
TV-14 | 43 min | Action, Crime, Drama
NCIS's covert operations team go undercover to investigate cases involving terrorism and National Security.
Stars: Chris O'Donnell, Daniela Ruah, LL Cool J, Eric Christian Olsen
Votes: 57,541
7. The Revenant (I) (2009)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
In Los Angeles, a fallen soldier who has joined the ranks of the living dead reunites with his best friend in order to deal with the city's drug dealers and killers - a perfect way to collect the blood that one of them so desperately needs.
Director: D. Kerry Prior | Stars: David Anders, Chris Wylde, Louise Griffiths, Jacy King
Votes: 11,313
8. Harsh Times (2005)
R | 116 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A tough-minded drama about two friends in South Central Los Angeles and the violence that comes between them.
Director: David Ayer | Stars: Christian Bale, Freddy Rodríguez, Eva Longoria, Chaka Forman
Votes: 68,564 | Gross: $3.34M
9. Entourage (2004–2011)
TV-MA | 28 min | Comedy, Drama
Film star, Vince Chase, navigates the vapid terrain of Los Angeles with a close circle of friends and his trusty agent.
Stars: Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara
Votes: 176,810
10. Collateral (2004)
R | 120 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A 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.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo
Votes: 433,022 | Gross: $101.01M
11. Hollywood Homicide (2003)
PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two LAPD detectives who moonlight in other fields investigate the murder of an up-and-coming rap group.
Director: Ron Shelton | Stars: Harrison Ford, Josh Hartnett, Isaiah Washington, Lena Olin
Votes: 39,340 | Gross: $30.94M
12. The Shield (2002–2008)
TV-MA | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Drama series following the lives and cases of dirty cop Vic Mackey and the corrupt LAPD unit under his command.
Stars: Michael Chiklis, Catherine Dent, Walton Goggins, Michael Jace
Votes: 88,076
13. Mulholland Drive (2001)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
After 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.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Jeanne Bates
Votes: 383,743 | Gross: $7.22M
14. Training Day (2001)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A rookie cop spends his first day as a Los Angeles narcotics officer with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears to be.
Director: Antoine Fuqua | Stars: Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Tom Berenger
Votes: 472,757 | Gross: $76.63M
15. L.A. Confidential (1997)
R | 138 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
As 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.
Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger
Votes: 617,693 | Gross: $64.62M
16. Escape from L.A. (1996)
R | 101 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Snake Plissken is once again called in by the United States government to recover a potential doomsday device from Los Angeles, now an autonomous island where undesirables are deported.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Steve Buscemi, Stacy Keach, A.J. Langer
Votes: 80,537 | Gross: $25.48M
17. Heat (1995)
R | 170 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A 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.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight
Votes: 719,175 | Gross: $67.44M
18. Friday (1995)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Drama
It's Friday, and Craig and Smokey must come up with $200 they owe a local bully or there won't be a Saturday.
Director: F. Gary Gray | Stars: Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Tom Lister Jr.
Votes: 124,554 | Gross: $27.47M
19. Speed (1994)
R | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A young police officer must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph.
Director: Jan de Bont | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton
Votes: 391,845 | Gross: $121.25M
20. Last Action Hero (1993)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
With the help of a magic ticket, a young movie fan is transported into the fictional world of his favorite action movie character.
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, F. Murray Abraham, Art Carney, Charles Dance
Votes: 163,763 | Gross: $50.02M
21. Menace II Society (1993)
R | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.
Directors: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes | Stars: Tyrin Turner, Larenz Tate, June Kyoto Lu, Toshi Toda
Votes: 64,447 | Gross: $27.90M
22. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
R | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A cyborg, identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor, must now protect her ten year old son John from an even more advanced and powerful cyborg.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick
Votes: 1,173,732 | Gross: $204.84M
23. Boyz n the Hood (1991)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama
Follows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.
Director: John Singleton | Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fishburne, Hudhail Al-Amir, Lloyd Avery II
Votes: 154,584 | Gross: $57.50M
24. Predator 2 (1990)
R | 108 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
The Predator returns to Earth, this time to stake a claim on the war-torn streets of a dystopian Los Angeles.
Director: Stephen Hopkins | Stars: Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Kevin Peter Hall, Rubén Blades
Votes: 182,510 | Gross: $30.67M
25. Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
R | 114 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Patsy Kensit
Votes: 188,779 | Gross: $147.25M
26. L.A. Takedown (1989 TV Movie)
97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Tough Los Angeles cop Vincent Hanna takes on a gang of professional bank robbers led by the precise, enigmatic Patrick McLaren.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Scott Plank, Alex McArthur, Michael Rooker, Ely Pouget
Votes: 2,567
27. They Live (1988)
R | 94 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
They influence our decisions without us knowing it. They numb our senses without us feeling it. They control our lives without us realizing it. They live.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, George 'Buck' Flower
Votes: 145,431 | Gross: $13.01M
28. Colors (1988)
R | 120 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An experienced cop and his rookie partner patrol the streets of East Los Angeles while trying to keep the gang violence under control.
Director: Dennis Hopper | Stars: Sean Penn, Robert Duvall, Maria Conchita Alonso, Randy Brooks
Votes: 29,818 | Gross: $46.62M
29. Lethal Weapon (1987)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Two newly paired cops who are complete opposites must put aside their differences in order to catch a gang of drug smugglers.
Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan
Votes: 276,320 | Gross: $65.21M
30. To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
R | 116 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A fearless Secret Service agent will stop at nothing to bring down the counterfeiter who killed his partner.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: William Petersen, Willem Dafoe, Jane Leeves, Cherise Bates
Votes: 39,326 | Gross: $17.31M
31. The Terminator (1984)
R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A 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.
Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield
Votes: 923,960 | Gross: $38.40M
32. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
R | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills.
Director: Martin Brest | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher
Votes: 203,097 | Gross: $234.76M
33. Blade Runner (1982)
R | 117 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
A blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos
Votes: 822,918 | Gross: $32.87M
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