Looking for a movie rental off the beaten track?
You're sure to find something here.
All films listed link directly to the Internet Movie Database!
I'm a film buff. Not in the nostalgic
or trivia sense. But in the pure enjoyment of the craft & genius that goes into
making a great & entertaining film. Here's a list of my top faves, in loose
order. Keep in mind that my favorite activity is laughing extremely hard, which
will explain a few of the less critically acclaimed pictures on the list ; )
- Pulp
Fiction (Film Noir at it's finest, witty, clever, great acting)
- One
Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (Nicholson's best)
- Runaway
Train (Non-stop tension & GREAT acting)
- Annie
Hall (Most human insights you'll ever see in 2 hours)
-
North By Northwest (Easily the most copied director of all time)
- LA Confidential
(Ensemble acting and plot top notch!)
- Total
Recall (Sure you can make fun of it, but what a creative plot & action!)
-
The Naked Gun (This movie totally & completely cracks me up!)
- The
Sixth Sense (Litmus test for film snobbery)
- Naked
Gun 2 (Almost as much as above)
- Top
Secret! (Ditto!)
- The
GodFather (This movie single-handedly got me hooked on the Mafia movie
genre)
-
Days of Heaven So misunderstood.
SO much more here than pretty pictures.
- Rocky
(I've watched this movie to death. I wish Stallone had stayed on this path)
- 12
Monkeys (I left the theatre in an absolute daze!)
- Fargo
(Recommended this one to everyone, yet I get asked by the same people
if I've seen it!)
- Bound
(Incorporates a lot of the style & techniques I always thought of using
if I made a movie)
- GodFather
2 (more of the same greatness & Pacino is superb)
- American
Beauty (If this movie bothered you too much, you may want to
take a long look in the mirror)
- The Matix (almost
too obvious a choice to even list!)
- Sleeper
(Woody throws restraint out the window in this CRAZY film)
- Platoon
(Sorry Brando, but this is easily the best Vietnam film made)
- Angel
Heart (Totally creepy & super tense. Wish Rourke built from this one)
- Being
John Malcovich (Twisted, hilarious and totally original, but too bizarre
for some)
- The
Road Warrior (Inspired many a B movie!)
- Blow
Out! (Forgotten movie, but great plot twists & tension!)
- Manchurian Candidate
(Has really aged well! a plot that operates on many
levels)
-
Menace II Society
(Not sure if any movie has been judged by those who
haven't seen it...)
- Aliens
(What a thriller!)
- Saving
Private Ryan (Hanks takes this one to the next level)
- Fight
Club (Suprise, hardly any fighting in the
movie at all!)
- Spanish Prisoner
(overlooked gem. Twists & what a screenplay!)
- Altered
States (A total mind trip)
- The
Game (If only I could watch it again, without
knowing the ending!!)
- After
Hours (Ever had a bad night? Not this bad! Dark humor at its best)
-
Terminator (Yeah, yeah, I know. But if you want action! Plot sets it above
its sequal)
- Apocolypse
Now (Impossible to ignore, though imitations have weakened its impact
a bit.)
- Seven
(Sick, disturbed, gruesome, great movie :)
- Blood Simple Still great
story telling.
- Silence
of the Lambs Jodie Foster's breakthrough.
- Gladiator (Perfect
score and cinematography, push this past a mere good action film)
- Vertigo
Yes, the effects are dated & imitated, but what a gut wrencher!
- Dancer
in the Dark (Ripped my heart right out of
my chest. Watch it alone, if you are afraid
of embarrassing yourself)
- Fresh
(Easily dismissed as "another street movie", this one is much much more)
- A
Simple Plan (a taunt stomach clenching plot twister!)
- Hope
& Glory (Another little-seen film that is a pleasure to watch)
- Notorious
(Like Hitchcock? See this! Don't like Hitchcock? Why not?!!)
- Memento
(Not a movie for the impatient :)
-
Mulholland Drive
(email me with your thoughts. Eerie, deliciously creepy, mysterious film)
- Ghost World (You know characters
are well done, when you don't want the movie to ever end!)
- The
Omen (At the time it was the scariest movie I ever saw & not much gore)
- Contact
(If you thought about anything other than it for the rest of the evening,
you weren't paying attention.)
- Donnie
Brasco (Impeccable acting)
- GodFather
3 (Another great one. Pacino is excellent again!)
- Last
of the Mohicans (Made me depressed for at least 2 weeks)
- The
Accidental Tourist Curiously under rated quirky film. Geena Davis' best
work.
- The
Last Emporer Grand scale, yet still poignant
- Joy
Luck Club (Not normally my type, but extremely well-made heart wrencher)
- Rocky2
(Inspired work out fads after each viewing!)
Have to stop somewhere!
Exit
