My All-Time Top 1000 +
Been compiling this list on napkins and pizza boxes. So nice to have a way to track them. Thanks IMDB. This is my favorite list. Not claiming they are "the best" ever. But they are mine. Critique away. Criteria was tough, but in short I basically asked myself, if these two movies were on simultaneously, which one would I watch. Just a college basketball coach with long layovers in airports and bus rides. Surprising how quickly you get to 1000. The middle of the list is in flux as I am reminded of movies not listed and also as I take in new one. The bottom of the list will hopefully rarely change as I don't think I can stand another Mama Mia or The American. Enjoy!!
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- DirectorRob ReinerStarsTom CruiseJack NicholsonDemi MooreMilitary lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder. They contend they were acting under orders.Ensemble cast. And this one has it all for me. I love military drill team lines, memorable/quotable scenes, some unexpected plot lines, and I'm a sucker for courtroom dramas. Aaron Sorkin's best in my book. Gonna take a great movie that stands the test of time to unseat this one in the #1 spot.
- 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?Growing up in the height of the Cold War probably moves this one higher on my list than most non-children of the 80s list. This was when we still hated/feared all things Russian. I can see why someone watching today for the first time wouldn't totally grasp my love for it. Now living in Washington, I have seen some of the spots where this movie was filmed. But still not enough to move higher than #2.
- 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.Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins) would have been enough to get this one into Top 10, but the supporting cast vaults into Top 3. Every detail of this one is top shelf... the soundtrack, the imagery, the great ending leaving us waiting for another chapter. Having worked at a movie store at a young age, I had seen the original MANHUNTER, so to see this in one theaters years later was entertaining.
- DirectorDavid AnspaughStarsGene HackmanBarbara HersheyDennis HopperA coach with a checkered past and a local drunk train a small-town high school basketball team to become a top contender for the state championship in 1950s Indiana.As a basketball coach myself, this one was an easy Top 10er. After meeting Bobby Plump, the real life Jimmy Chitwood, it vaulted into the Top 5. While the real story of the '54 Milan Indians is even better, I don't think it would have made as good of a movie. A must see for anyone in sports, especially basketball.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsGeorge ClooneyJohn TurturroTim Blake NelsonIn the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.
- DirectorBennett MillerStarsBrad PittRobin WrightJonah HillOakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.Aaron Sorkin strikes again... First movie since 1994 to crack the Top 10. The scouting room scenes are instant classics. Rewatchability very high. This one could climb higher as the years go by...
- DirectorTony ScottStarsTom CruiseTim RobbinsKelly McGillisAs students at the United States Navy's elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.Saw this one at least a dozen times in the theater. Bought a surround sound system for home when it was released to video. Only movie I still own in VHS, DVD, and now Blu-Ray. I refuse to re-create my collection in any format beyond that!!
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJessica ChastainJoel EdgertonChris PrattA chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011.
- DirectorRoger AllersRob MinkoffStarsMatthew BroderickJeremy IronsJames Earl JonesLion prince Simba and his father are targeted by his bitter uncle, who wants to ascend the throne himself.Having a young child in 1994 was only an excuse for me to see this one myself multiple times in the theater. We also bought it at least five times on disc due to leaving it in a grandparents dvd player. Also used the Circle of Life to help soothe the death of several family pets. Re-watchability factor very high in this one.
- DirectorAlbert MagnoliStarsPrinceApollonia KoteroMorris DayA young musician, tormented by an abusive situation at home, must contend with a rival singer, a burgeoning romance, and his own dissatisfied band, as his star begins to rise.If teenagers had a voted in the Academy Awards during 1985, this one would have swept the categories. Apollonia for best actress, Morris Day best supporting actor, Wendy/Lisa best supporting... c'mon!!! Let's Go Crazy!!!
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTim RobbinsMorgan FreemanBob GuntonOver the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.
- 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.
- DirectorJohn HughesStarsEmilio EstevezJudd NelsonMolly RingwaldFive high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.
- DirectorSylvester StalloneStarsSylvester StalloneTalia ShireBurt YoungRocky Balboa proudly holds the world heavyweight boxing championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago, a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsKevin CostnerGary OldmanJack LemmonNew Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.Having written a junior thesis paper on the JFK conspiracy in 1986, this Oliver Stone release was destined to be a favorite. Again, the liberties taken to bring it to film jumped out to me because of the research I had done. But anyone who knows me, knows i LOVE a good conspiracy and there has never been a bigger one than this.
- DirectorJeremiah S. ChechikStarsChevy ChaseBeverly D'AngeloJuliette LewisThe Griswold family's plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.
- DirectorGeorge Tillman Jr.StarsCuba Gooding Jr.Robert De NiroCharlize TheronThe story of Carl Brashear, the first African-American U.S. Navy Diver, and the man who trained him.
- DirectorMick JacksonStarsKevin CostnerWhitney HoustonGary KempA former Secret Service agent takes on the job of bodyguard to an R&B singer, whose lifestyle is most unlike a President's.
- DirectorGarry MarshallStarsRichard GereJulia RobertsJason AlexanderA man in a legal but hurtful business needs an escort for some social events, and hires a beautiful prostitute he meets... only to fall in love.Too high for a Rom-Com? Maybe, but this is a masterpiece in my book. I also love to catch "film flubs" and this one is full of them!! I remember being in the theater pointing some out but had to wait until it was released on video to prove it. Little know trivia fact that I am also not sure I can prove, but, i think it was first "video" released to buy under $20.
- DirectorMel GibsonStarsMel GibsonSophie MarceauPatrick McGoohanScottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.
- DirectorChristopher CainStarsGeorge StraitLesley Ann WarrenIsabel GlasserDusty gets tired of all the smoke and light effects, wonders what happened to doing it the way that made him famous and happy. Takes a walk to find what seems to be missing and finds himself and his music again!
- DirectorRon SheltonStarsKevin CostnerSusan SarandonTim RobbinsA fan who has an affair with one minor-league baseball player each season meets an up-and-coming pitcher and the experienced catcher assigned to him.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsRoy ScheiderRobert ShawRichard DreyfussWhen a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsMichael DouglasAnnette BeningMartin SheenA widowed U.S. President running for reelection and an environmental lobbyist fall in love. It's all above-board, but "politics is perception," and sparks fly anyway.
- DirectorGeorge P. CosmatosKevin JarreStarsKurt RussellVal KilmerSam ElliottA successful lawman's plans to retire anonymously in Tombstone, Arizona, are disrupted by the kind of outlaws he was famous for eliminating.