Favorite American Movies
Some of these films started out on my Guilty Pleasures List, but I decided to move them here if the IMDb rating was 7 or above. I still feel a little guilty about them.
And in turn, I have moved films that may have originated here to my Guilty Pleasures List if the IMDb rating is below 7.
The list isn't necessarily in order, but I've watched the titles near the top more times than I have the titles near the bottom.
See if you can pick the guilty ones.
And in turn, I have moved films that may have originated here to my Guilty Pleasures List if the IMDb rating is below 7.
The list isn't necessarily in order, but I've watched the titles near the top more times than I have the titles near the bottom.
See if you can pick the guilty ones.
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- DirectorHal HartleyStarsAdrienne ShellyMartin DonovanRebecca NelsonAfter being thrown out of her house, Maria encounters a married woman who complains of not having children. Maria ends up in an abandoned house, where she meets Matthew. When a baby is kidnapped Maria sets out to find the woman.Post modern disgust at its finest and most endearing. Hal Hartley at his best. Nobody acts in this film, they just deliver lines. Guy carries around a hand grenade at all times. "Just in case."
- DirectorDavid MametStarsSteve MartinBen GazzaraCampbell ScottAn employee who develops a lucrative secret process for his corporation is tempted to betray the company when higher ups attempt to take the process from him. Dastardly intrigue ensues.A perfectly cast film by David Mamet.
- DirectorJohn MaddenStarsGwyneth PaltrowJoseph FiennesGeoffrey RushThe world's greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare, is young, out of ideas and short of cash, but meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.I will call this my all-time favorite movie. I don't think I'll ever tire of watching it. Such a smartly written film. People often ask me how I can watch a movie over and over again. I tell them "it's the same way you listen to a piece of music over and over again. Once you've heard the lyrics to a song you know what it's about, right?" Something about the experience just makes your mind and body feel good. Movies can do that too.
- DirectorHarold RamisStarsBill MurrayAndie MacDowellChris ElliottA narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.I read somewhere that a group of clergymen praised this film for it's theological value. This was the true beginning of Bill Murray's career as an actor.
- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsDustin HoffmanRobert RedfordJack Warden"The Washington Post" reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon's resignation.A film I watch over and over again, although Dustin Hoffman is beginning to wear on me.
- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsGeorge ClooneyMark WahlbergIce CubeIn the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, four soldiers set out to steal gold that was stolen from Kuwait, but they discover people who desperately need their help.Funny, engaging.
- DirectorJudd ApatowStarsSteve CarellCatherine KeenerPaul RuddGoaded by his buddies, a nerdy guy who's never "done the deed" only finds the pressure mounting when he meets a single mother.Somehow Steve makes locker room humor palatable. It took me a couple years to finally watch this film because I was sure I would hate it. It's the kind of film I hate. I've watched it a dozen times now. It's funny and very sweet and every film with Katherine Keener has Katherine Keener in it. She's wonderful.
- DirectorLorene ScafariaStarsSteve CarellKeira KnightleyMelanie LynskeyAs an asteroid nears Earth, a man finds himself alone after his wife leaves in a panic. He decides to take a road trip to reunite with his high school sweetheart. Accompanying him is a neighbor who inadvertently puts a wrench in his plan.
- DirectorMichel GondryStarsJim CarreyKate WinsletTom WilkinsonWhen their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories forever.A brilliantly written and directed film. Jim Carey and Kate Winslet are fantastic but all the acting isn't that high caliber. It is one of the best love stories ever conceived. Charlie Kaufmann is Genius.
- DirectorAdrian LyneStarsTim RobbinsElizabeth PeñaDanny AielloMourning his dead child, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusions, and perceptions of death.Tim Robbins is so cuddle cute in this.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsBill MurrayOwen WilsonAnjelica HustonWith a plan to exact revenge on a legendary shark that killed his partner, oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife, a journalist, and a man who may or may not be his son.Bill Murray executes the surreal landscape of Wes Anderson' script perfectly. The humor is droll and quick and it seems like it could drive off into the weeds at any moment but it keeps going, it seems, because Bill Murray wants it to.
- DirectorDavid AyerStarsJake GyllenhaalMichael PeñaAnna KendrickShot documentary-style, this film follows the daily grind of two young police officers in LA who are partners and friends and what happens when they meet criminal forces greater than themselves.
- 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.The gold standard.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMartin SheenMarlon BrandoRobert DuvallA U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.So much passion went into the making of this film it drips off the screen.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsPaul GiamattiThomas Haden ChurchVirginia MadsenTwo men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment embark on a week-long road trip through California's wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the aisle.Paul Giamatti.
- DirectorSofia CoppolaStarsBill MurrayScarlett JohanssonGiovanni RibisiA faded movie star and a neglected young woman form an unlikely bond after crossing paths in Tokyo.The apex of Bill Murray's career, the quintessential Bill Murray film. It was written for him--that's when you know you've made your mark as an actor. Wonderful pacing and great music highlight this platonic love story set in Japan.
- 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.This might have been just a good film but Val Kilmer made it a great one.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioMatt DamonJack NicholsonAn undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.Better than INFERNAL AFFAIRS if you ask me. Jack.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsTom CruiseJack NicholsonDemi MooreMilitary lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder. They contend they were acting under orders.There are a few awful scenes in this film but overall it's smart and engaging. I'm a fan of Aaron Sorkin's writing.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsMorgan FreemanBrad PittKevin SpaceyTwo detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.For the record: Brad Pitt is a fine actor. This is a fine film. Brutal. I dare anyone to imagine going through what my man Brad experiences at the end of this film.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsEllen BurstynJared LetoJennifer ConnellyThe drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..This is a pretty difficult film dealing with addiction ... on many different levels to many different things. Jennifer Connelly is beautiful because she can't help herself, Ellen Burstyn is beautiful because she lets herself become so ugly. The film is really about her. Very creative camera work and editing add to the sense of dread, as do fine performances all around.
- DirectorAndrew DavisStarsHarrison FordTommy Lee JonesSela WardDr. Richard Kimble, unjustly accused of murdering his wife, must find the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt led by a seasoned U.S. Marshal.A film that remains suspenseful even after repeated viewings.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsTim RobbinsGreta ScacchiFred WardA Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected, but which one?I love the sense of dread running through his movie.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsMark WahlbergJulianne MooreBurt ReynoldsBack when sex was safe, pleasure was a business and business was booming, an idealistic porn producer aspires to elevate his craft to an art when he discovers a hot young talent.Too many 'best' scenes in this film to count. But the 'Motorin' scene ... wow.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSigourney WeaverMichael BiehnCarrie HennDecades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.Everybody loves Bill Paxton in this film.
- DirectorJoel 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.Sometimes I get tired of the Goodman's yelling all the time, but this thing is so casual it doesn't seem like a film. there's magic in that.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsAndie MacDowellJulianne MooreTim RobbinsThe day-to-day lives of several suburban Los Angeles residents.Perfect cast. Perfect Altman.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsLuke WilsonOwen WilsonNed DowdThree friends plan to pull off a simple robbery and go on the run.I was hip to these guys before they were hip. Now they're not so hip any more.
- DirectorJoel 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.Wonderful cast, great script, great directors, beautiful cinematography. The Coen Brothers at their best.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsGeorge ClooneyJennifer LopezVing RhamesA career bank robber breaks out of jail, and shares a moment of mutual attraction with a U.S. Marshal he has kidnapped.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsGriffin DunneRosanna ArquetteVerna BloomAn ordinary word processor has the worst night of his life after he agrees to visit a girl in Soho he met that evening at a coffee shop.
- DirectorSpike JonzeStarsNicolas CageMeryl StreepChris CooperA lovelorn screenwriter becomes desperate as he tries and fails to adapt 'The Orchid Thief' by Susan Orlean for the screen.
- DirectorTom McCarthyStarsPaul GiamattiAmy RyanJeffrey TamborA struggling lawyer and volunteer wrestling coach's chicanery comes back to haunt him when the teenage grandson of the client he has double-crossed comes into his life.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsJosh HartnettEwan McGregorTom SizemoreThe story of 160 elite U.S. soldiers who dropped into Mogadishu in October 1993 to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord, but found themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily armed Somalis.
- DirectorDavid MametStarsLindsay CrouseJoe MantegnaMike NussbaumA psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led by a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMatt DamonTom SizemoreFollowing the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsEd HarrisMary Elizabeth MastrantonioMichael BiehnA civilian diving team is enlisted to search for a lost nuclear submarine and faces danger while encountering an alien aquatic species.
- DirectorMarc ForsterStarsWill FerrellEmma ThompsonDustin HoffmanI.R.S. auditor Harold Crick suddenly finds his mundane Chicago life to be the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins to affect his entire existence, from his work to his love life to his death.I like Will's dramatic roles a lot more than his comedic roles.
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsAdrian PasdarJenny WrightLance HenriksenA small-town farmer's son reluctantly joins a traveling group of vampires after he is bitten by a beautiful drifter.
- DirectorRichard KwietniowskiStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanMinnie DriverJohn HurtA bank manager with: (a) a gambling problem and (b) access to a multimillion dollar account gets into a messy situation. Based on the story of the largest one-man bank fraud in Canadian history.
- DirectorTom DiCilloStarsSteve BuscemiCatherine KeenerDermot MulroneyThis ultimate tribute to all independent filmmakers takes place during one day on the set of a non-budget movie.
- DirectorNoah BaumbachStarsJosh HamiltonEric StoltzSamuel GouldA bunch of guys hang around their college for months after graduation, continuing a life much like the one before graduation.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerCarl WeathersKevin Peter HallA team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
- DirectorFrank MarshallStarsPaul WalkerJason BiggsBruce GreenwoodBrutal cold forces two Antarctic explorers to leave their team of sled dogs behind as they fend for their survival.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsGeorge ClooneyBrad PittJulia RobertsDanny Ocean and his ten accomplices plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously.
- DirectorVincent WardStarsJason Scott LeeAnne ParillaudPatrick BerginArctic, 1965: Avik tells his story starting in 1931. A mapmaker flies Avik, then a preteen Eskimo boy with TB, to a hospital in Montreal where he meets Albertine. They meet again when Avik joins World War II in the UK.
- DirectorJohn DahlStarsLinda FiorentinoPeter BergBill PullmanA devious sexpot steals her husband's drug money and hides out in a small town where she meets the perfect dupe for her next scheme.
- DirectorMick JacksonStarsMichael KeatonHelena Bonham CarterJoshua LeonardCNN producer Robert Wiener, his colleague and their crew venture to the Iraqi capital to cover the Gulf War.
- DirectorBarry SonnenfeldStarsTommy Lee JonesWill SmithLinda FiorentinoJames, an NYC cop, is hired by Agent K of a secret government agency that monitors extraterrestrial life on Earth. Together, they must recover an item that has been stolen by an intergalactic villain.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsTom CruiseJason RobardsJulianne MooreAn epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.I started watching this film several times, from different places, and never thought I would become attached to it. Sometimes it seems like the director lets the story get lost and just concentrates on the scene for the sake of the scene. Other times the story lines overwhelm in their intricacy. We should pay attention.
- DirectorDoug LimanStarsVince VaughnHeather GrahamJon FavreauA wannabe actor has a hard time moving on from a break-up, but he is lucky to have supportive friends.Before the act got tired, this was wonderful stuff.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsJohn CusackIben HjejleTodd LouisoRob, a record store owner and compulsive list maker, recounts his top five breakups, including the one in progress.
- DirectorZack SnyderStarsGerard ButlerLena HeadeyDavid WenhamIn the ancient battle of Thermopylae, King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fight against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. They face insurmountable odds when they are betrayed by a Spartan reject.
- 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.I can't put my finger on what attracts me to this film but I keep coming back to it and keep getting sucked in.
- DirectorCharlie KaufmanStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanSamantha MortonMichelle WilliamsA theatre director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he creates a life-size replica of New York City inside a warehouse as part of his new play.Relentlessly bleak, but it's also belly crunch hilarious. I had to stop and rewind a dozen times because I missed things, overcome by a wheezing laughter. There is not a feel good moment in the film and yet it left me strangely uplifted.
- DirectorAlejandro G. IñárrituStarsSean PennBenicio Del ToroNaomi WattsA freak accident brings together a critically ill mathematician, a grieving mother, and a born-again ex-con.There are many ways to talk about how great this film is, not the least of which is Naomi Watts's performance of a lifetime. There are also a few ways to be mad at this film, not the least of which is that it is made deliberately hard to follow ... but in the end, great wins. Watch "Babel" and then "Love's a Bitch (Amores Perros)". Keep an eye on this director. He's mastered a narrative style that other writers and directors constantly try to execute.
- DirectorTom TykwerStarsCate BlanchettGiovanni RibisiRemo GironeA woman takes the law into her own hands after police ignore her pleas to arrest the man responsible for her husband's death, and finds herself not only under arrest for murder but falling in love with an officer.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsTommy Lee JonesJavier BardemJosh BrolinViolence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and over two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.There isn't a misstep in this film. Javier Bardem is one of the creepiest bad guys to come along in quite a while. His downright silly haircut adds to it. The man lives outside the bounds. It's hard to imagine someone so evil. And it's a great morality play without ....
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsJesse EisenbergAndrew GarfieldJustin TimberlakeAs Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, he is sued by the twins who claimed he stole their idea and by the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.I didn't/don't care at all about the FB connection. This is an Aaron Sorkin film all the way ... well, and Fincher.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsPaul NewmanRobert RedfordKatharine RossIn 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid lead a band of outlaws. When a train robbery goes wrong, they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. After considering their options, they escape to South America.Probably the first film I ever called my favorite.
- DirectorShane BlackStarsRobert Downey Jr.Val KilmerMichelle MonaghanAfter being mistaken for an actor, a New York thief is sent to Hollywood to train under a private eye for a potential movie role, but the duo are thrown together with a struggling actress into a murder mystery.
- 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.What, you think I'm funny? Like I'm a clown? Huh? You think I'm here to amuse you? Huh?
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartGrace KellyWendell CoreyA wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
- DirectorEdgar WrightStarsMichael CeraMary Elizabeth WinsteadKieran CulkinIn a magically realistic version of Toronto, a young man must defeat his new girlfriend's seven evil exes one by one in order to win her heart.
- 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.Illuminating, well done, unbelievable, sad. Stunning. A world I can't comprehend. It's movies like this that should repeat endlessly on cable TV instead of "Flatliners." Everyone should see this film.
- DirectorMartin McDonaghStarsColin FarrellWoody HarrelsonSam RockwellA struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster's beloved Shih Tzu.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsTilda SwintonTom HiddlestonMia WasikowskaA depressed musician reunites with his lover. However, their romance, which has already endured several centuries, is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister.
- DirectorAlejandro G. IñárrituStarsMichael KeatonZach GalifianakisEdward NortonA washed-up superhero actor attempts to revive his fading career by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway production.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsJoaquin PhoenixJosh BrolinOwen WilsonIn 1970, drug-fueled Los Angeles private investigator Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of a former girlfriend.
- DirectorNoah BaumbachStarsBen StillerNaomi WattsAdam DriverA middle-aged couple's career and marriage are overturned when a disarming young couple enters their lives.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsMatt DamonJessica ChastainKristen WiigAn astronaut becomes stranded on Mars after his team assume him dead, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive and can survive until a potential rescue.
- DirectorPaco CabezasStarsAnna KendrickSam RockwellTim RothA girl falls for the "perfect" guy, who happens to have a very fatal flaw: he's a hitman on the run from the crime cartels who employ him.
- DirectorJason KrawczykStarsHenry RollinsBooboo StewartKate GreenhouseJack, a social outcast, is thrust out of his comfort zone when the outside world bangs on his door and he can't contain his violent past.
- DirectorNoah BaumbachStarsEric StoltzAnnabella SciorraChris EigemanA writer becomes obsessed with his girlfriend's former boyfriend, now a very successful novelist. To discover if the ex-boyfriend still has feeling for his old love, the writer joins the novelist's group therapy meetings.
- DirectorPeter O'FallonStarsChristopher WalkenDenis LearySean Patrick FlaneryA group of youngsters kidnap a respected Mafia figure.
- DirectorRichard J. LewisStarsPaul GiamattiRosamund PikeJake HoffmanThe picaresque and touching story of the politically incorrect, fully lived life of the impulsive, irascible and fearlessly blunt Barney Panofsky.
- DirectorPanos CosmatosStarsNicolas CageAndrea RiseboroughLinus RoacheThe enchanted lives of a couple in a secluded forest are brutally shattered by a nightmarish hippie cult and their demon-biker henchmen, propelling a man into a spiraling, surreal rampage of vengeance.