Five (and some Four-and-a-Half) Star Movies (That I’ve Seen)
…And Justice for All
12 Angry Men
2001: A Space Odyssey
29th Street
48 Hours
A Clockwork Orange
Adaptation
Airplane!
Aladdin
Alien
Aliens
All the President’s Men
Almost Famous
Amadeus
American Beauty
American Graffiti
American Splendor
Animal House
Annie Hall
Apocalypse Now
Apollo 13
A Streetcar Named Desire
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Back to the Future
Barbarians At the Gate
Batman
Beauty and the Beast
Before Sunrise
Before Sunset
Being John Malkovich
Being There
Better Off Dead
Beverly Hills Cop
Big
Blazing Saddles
Bob Roberts
Bonnie & Clyde
Boogie Nights
Born on the Fourth of July
Boyz in the Hood
Braveheart
Bridge Over the River Kwai
Broadcast News
Bull Durham
Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid
Caddy Shack
Capturing The Friedmans (Documentary)
Casablanca
Chasing Amy
Chicago
Chinatown
Citizen Kane
City of God
Clerks
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Cool Hand Luke
Crimes & Misdemeanors
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Crumb (Documentary)
Dances with Wolves
Das Boot
Dazed and Confused
Dead Man Walking
Dirty Harry
Do The Right Thing
Dog Day Afternoon
Don't Look Back (Documentary)
Dr. Strangelove
Driving Ms. Daisy
Drugstore Cowboy
Double Indemnity
E.T.
Easy Rider
Ed Wood
Escape from Alcatraz
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Fantasia
Fargo
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (Documentary)
Fatal Attraction
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Field of Dreams
Finding Nemo
First Blood
Five Easy Pieces
Fletch
Flirting with Disaster
Galipoli
Ghost World
Ghostbusters
GlenGarry/GlenRoss
Glory
Good Morning, Vietnam
Good Will Hunting
Goodfellas
Grease
Halloween
Hannah and Her Sisters
Happiness
Hearts of Darkness—A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (Documentary)
Heaven Can Wait
Heaven’s Gate (Documentary)
Henry V
High Fidelity
History of the World Part I
Honeymoon in Vegas
Hoop Dreams (Documentary)
Hoosiers
House of Games
House of Sand and Fog
Husbands and Wives
In America
In the Bedroom
In the Heat of the Night
In The Name of The Father
Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade
Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom
It's A Wonderful Life
Jacob's Ladder
Jaws
JFK
Kids
Kill Bill 1 & 2
LA Confidential
Leaving Las Vegas
Lenny
Lethal Weapon 2
Life Is Beautiful
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Lost In America
Lost in Translation
Magnolia
Malcolm X
Maria Full of Grace
MASH
Matchstick Men
McCabe and Mrs. Miller
Memento
Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Express
Midnight Run
Mississippi Burning
Monster
Monster’s Ball
Monty Python & The Holy Grail
Mother Night
Moulin Rouge
My Brother's Keeper (Documentary)
Mystic River
Naked Lunch
Nashville
National Lampoon's Vacation
Natural Born Killers
Network
No Way Out
Nothing But a Man
North By Northwest
Notorious
On Golden Pond
On the Waterfront
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Open Water
Paradise Lost (Documentary)
Patton
The Right Stuff
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
Platoon
Pleasantville
Poltergeist
Primary Colors
Primer
Psycho
Pulp Fiction
Quiz Show
Raging Bull
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Rain Man
Raising Arizona
Raising Victor Vargas
Ray
Rear Window
Requiem For A Dream
Reservoir Dogs
Return of the Jedi
Richard III (1994)
Risky Business
Rocky
Roger & Me (Documentary)
Rushmore
Saving Private Ryan
Say Anything
Scarface
Schindler's List
Scream
Searching For Bobby Fischer
Sexual Independence (Bolivia)
Shakespeare in Love
Shine
Shrek
Silence of the Lambs
Slapshot
Slingblade
Some Kind of Monster (Documentary)
Some Like it Hot
Spider-Man
Spider-Man II
Star Wars
Stir Crazy
Straight, No Chaser (Documentary)
Strangers on a Train
Stripes
Superman
Superman II
Taxi Driver
Terms of Endearment
The Apartment
The Aviator
The Bad News Bears
The Big Kahuna
The Birds
The Blair Witch Project
The Blues Brothers
The Breakfast Club
The Cell
The Conversation
The Cruise (Documentary)
The Deer Hunter
The Dirty Dozen
The Empire Strikes Back
The Fog of War (Documentary)
The French Connection
The Fugitive
The Godfather
The Godfather, Part II
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The Graduate
The Grapes of Wrath
The Green Mile
The Hustler
The Incredibles
The Jerk
The Karate Kid
The Kentucky Fried Movie
The Last Tango in Paris
The Last Waltz (Documentary)
The Lion King
The Long Goodbye
The Manchurian Candidate
The Naked Gun
The Natural
The Outsiders
The Player
The Princess Bride
The Producers
The Right Stuff
The School of Rock
The Shawshank Redemption
The Shining
The Spanish Prisoner
The Station Agent
The Sting
The Thin Blue Line (Documentary)
The Truman Show
The Unforgiven
The Usual Suspects
The Wizard of Oz
There's Something About Mary
This Is Spinal Tap
Three Kings
To Kill a Mockingbird
Tootsie
Top Gun
Top Secret!
Touching the Void
Toy Story
Toy Story 2
Trading Places
Trainspotting
Vertigo
Wag the Dog
Waking Life
Wall Street
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
X-2: X-Men United
X-Men
Y Tu Mama Tambien
You Can Count on Me
Young Frankenstein
…And Justice for All
12 Angry Men
2001: A Space Odyssey
29th Street
48 Hours
A Clockwork Orange
Adaptation
Airplane!
Aladdin
Alien
Aliens
All the President’s Men
Almost Famous
Amadeus
American Beauty
American Graffiti
American Splendor
Animal House
Annie Hall
Apocalypse Now
Apollo 13
A Streetcar Named Desire
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Back to the Future
Barbarians At the Gate
Batman
Beauty and the Beast
Before Sunrise
Before Sunset
Being John Malkovich
Being There
Better Off Dead
Beverly Hills Cop
Big
Blazing Saddles
Bob Roberts
Bonnie & Clyde
Boogie Nights
Born on the Fourth of July
Boyz in the Hood
Braveheart
Bridge Over the River Kwai
Broadcast News
Bull Durham
Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid
Caddy Shack
Capturing The Friedmans (Documentary)
Casablanca
Chasing Amy
Chicago
Chinatown
Citizen Kane
City of God
Clerks
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Cool Hand Luke
Crimes & Misdemeanors
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Crumb (Documentary)
Dances with Wolves
Das Boot
Dazed and Confused
Dead Man Walking
Dirty Harry
Do The Right Thing
Dog Day Afternoon
Don't Look Back (Documentary)
Dr. Strangelove
Driving Ms. Daisy
Drugstore Cowboy
Double Indemnity
E.T.
Easy Rider
Ed Wood
Escape from Alcatraz
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Fantasia
Fargo
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (Documentary)
Fatal Attraction
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Field of Dreams
Finding Nemo
First Blood
Five Easy Pieces
Fletch
Flirting with Disaster
Galipoli
Ghost World
Ghostbusters
GlenGarry/GlenRoss
Glory
Good Morning, Vietnam
Good Will Hunting
Goodfellas
Grease
Halloween
Hannah and Her Sisters
Happiness
Hearts of Darkness—A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (Documentary)
Heaven Can Wait
Heaven’s Gate (Documentary)
Henry V
High Fidelity
History of the World Part I
Honeymoon in Vegas
Hoop Dreams (Documentary)
Hoosiers
House of Games
House of Sand and Fog
Husbands and Wives
In America
In the Bedroom
In the Heat of the Night
In The Name of The Father
Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade
Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom
It's A Wonderful Life
Jacob's Ladder
Jaws
JFK
Kids
Kill Bill 1 & 2
LA Confidential
Leaving Las Vegas
Lenny
Lethal Weapon 2
Life Is Beautiful
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Lost In America
Lost in Translation
Magnolia
Malcolm X
Maria Full of Grace
MASH
Matchstick Men
McCabe and Mrs. Miller
Memento
Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Express
Midnight Run
Mississippi Burning
Monster
Monster’s Ball
Monty Python & The Holy Grail
Mother Night
Moulin Rouge
My Brother's Keeper (Documentary)
Mystic River
Naked Lunch
Nashville
National Lampoon's Vacation
Natural Born Killers
Network
No Way Out
Nothing But a Man
North By Northwest
Notorious
On Golden Pond
On the Waterfront
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Open Water
Paradise Lost (Documentary)
Patton
The Right Stuff
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
Platoon
Pleasantville
Poltergeist
Primary Colors
Primer
Psycho
Pulp Fiction
Quiz Show
Raging Bull
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Rain Man
Raising Arizona
Raising Victor Vargas
Ray
Rear Window
Requiem For A Dream
Reservoir Dogs
Return of the Jedi
Richard III (1994)
Risky Business
Rocky
Roger & Me (Documentary)
Rushmore
Saving Private Ryan
Say Anything
Scarface
Schindler's List
Scream
Searching For Bobby Fischer
Sexual Independence (Bolivia)
Shakespeare in Love
Shine
Shrek
Silence of the Lambs
Slapshot
Slingblade
Some Kind of Monster (Documentary)
Some Like it Hot
Spider-Man
Spider-Man II
Star Wars
Stir Crazy
Straight, No Chaser (Documentary)
Strangers on a Train
Stripes
Superman
Superman II
Taxi Driver
Terms of Endearment
The Apartment
The Aviator
The Bad News Bears
The Big Kahuna
The Birds
The Blair Witch Project
The Blues Brothers
The Breakfast Club
The Cell
The Conversation
The Cruise (Documentary)
The Deer Hunter
The Dirty Dozen
The Empire Strikes Back
The Fog of War (Documentary)
The French Connection
The Fugitive
The Godfather
The Godfather, Part II
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The Graduate
The Grapes of Wrath
The Green Mile
The Hustler
The Incredibles
The Jerk
The Karate Kid
The Kentucky Fried Movie
The Last Tango in Paris
The Last Waltz (Documentary)
The Lion King
The Long Goodbye
The Manchurian Candidate
The Naked Gun
The Natural
The Outsiders
The Player
The Princess Bride
The Producers
The Right Stuff
The School of Rock
The Shawshank Redemption
The Shining
The Spanish Prisoner
The Station Agent
The Sting
The Thin Blue Line (Documentary)
The Truman Show
The Unforgiven
The Usual Suspects
The Wizard of Oz
There's Something About Mary
This Is Spinal Tap
Three Kings
To Kill a Mockingbird
Tootsie
Top Gun
Top Secret!
Touching the Void
Toy Story
Toy Story 2
Trading Places
Trainspotting
Vertigo
Wag the Dog
Waking Life
Wall Street
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
X-2: X-Men United
X-Men
Y Tu Mama Tambien
You Can Count on Me
Young Frankenstein
11 comments:
Chief here, responding 'cause I know you love to argue about this shit, and so do I...
Ones on your list that I've seen and would say are below 4 1/2 stars:
Apollo 13
Born on the 4th of July
Bull Durham
Chasing Amy
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom
Primary Colors
Spider Man
Stir Crazy
The Cell
Top Gun
Top Secret
Off the top of my head, ones you should consider adding:
A Few Good Men
American History X
Analyze This
Awakenings
Birdcage
Brazil
Cabaret
Dial 'M' for Murder
Fight Club
Full Metal Jacket
Gangs of New York
Heat
Heathers
King of Comedy
Meet the Parents
Mindwalk
Misery
Office Space
Once Upon a Time in the West
Ordinary People
Presumed Innocent
Rounders
The Accused
The Firm
The Freshman
The Hunt for Red October
The Insider
The Untouchables
Touch of Evil
Wargames
When Harry Met Sally
Your welcome, Michael.
For anyone reading this that's curious, he's referring to an Independent article about his indie film "The Motel" which I'll link to as soon as it's up on the web next week. Worth checking out. The movie, that is.
And as for you, Chief:
You seem to have some evil predeliction for shitty movies made from legal/techno thriller novels. Specifically "The Firm" and "The Hunt for Red October" but not "Presumed Innocent" which I loved as a book and liked as a film. But it ain't any better in any way than something timeless like "Fast Times" or "Bull Durham."
Can you name a more knowing, not-condescending film about high school not named "Dazed and Confused"? And can you name a more knowing, not-condescending film about baseball? Please don't say "The Natural." And mention of "Major League" disqualifies you from all future conversations.
"Full Metal Jacket" is a great first act looking for a second one.
"Mindwalk" is a conversation for masturbatory stoned college students. An interesting one, sure. But not a filmic experience.
"Gangs of New York" would belong on the list if I wasn't holding Scorsese to the standards of "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull," "Mean Streets," "Goodfellas" or even "Casino." It's all Daniel Day-Lewis, great production values and a silly storyline that takes in too much with too much cheese. But an excellent failure, that I will concede belongs on the list as much as fun fluff like "Stir Crazy."
"American History X" is a great performance by Ed Norton in a ludicrous movie.
"Analyze This" is a sit-com, not a great film.
"Fight Club" is a ridiculous movie that thinks it's smarter than it is.
"The Cell" is the kind of film you really need to give yourself over to. It got under my skin in ways I hadn't experienced in a long time. I felt it. Maybe because I was stoned to the bejesus.
"Apollo 13" basically recreated that space flight to the perfect detail. Just an amazing accomplishment in a story that didn't need dramatic embellishment.
I recently saw "Dial M For Murder," and loved it. Not the same caliber as all the other Hitchcock films on my list, which is perhaps unfair in the same vein as the above Scorsese critique.
"Office Space" is great. Belongs on the list. "Wargames," too. I didn't have that?
"Top Secret" is just as funny as "Airplane!" You don't agree?
"Top Gun" is a touchstone of slick, bombastic 80s cinema. You just have something against Tom Crusie. I hate his guts, too. But he makes the occasional decent movie.
"Indy & the Temple of Doom" is the weakest in the trilogy, but still belongs as part of the whole in a way that "The Godfather III" doesn't.
"The Freshman?" "The Freshman"??
i see i pushed all the right buttons
To retort, you may be right about “Fast Times”. I've reconsidered. It really is a classic. It's just hard to put a Judge Reinhold movie into this category. Although, somehow you managed two. Good for you.
“Top Secret” is funny, yes, but not 5-star funny. It’s a step below “The Naked Gun” and “Airplane!”. “Johnny Dangerously” is funnier, and I'd actually consider adding that instead. “Spaceballs” is funnier too. So is “The Three Amigos”.
Your criticism of “Full Metal Jacket” is the most overused criticism of any movie ever. I hear that all the time from people. It's silly. It's wrong. See it again. Add it to the list.
I think you're off about my predilection for Clancy/Grisham type thrillers. I don't have one. I just think “The Firm” is well put together. Well acted. A perfect cast. Same for “The Hunt”. You want to argue they're 4 stars and don't belong, fine. I won't fight you too hard on that. But they’re not shitty movies. Surely, you jest. I'm sorry, when somebody puts “Primary Colors” onto their greats list, it pretty much opens the door wide open for a lot of movies. Maybe I'm just playing down to your level.
Speaking of predilections, what's up with yours for comic book heroes? “Superman”, of course it belongs here. “Batman”, OK, I'll agree. “X-Men” and “X-Men 2”? I'll have to take your word for it, because I don't plan on ever seeing them. “Spider Man”? “Spider Man”!!? Good grief, man, what the hell is wrong with you? Terribly average. You really have to remove that one. Or maybe I just need to see “Spidey 2”. I’ll bet that ties everything together.
“Temple of Doom” - Kate Capshaw - worst leading leading lady of all time. Annoying and very little sex appeal. But maybe the movie still belongs as part of the whole package – fine. I'll accept that.
"The Cell" is a ridiculous movie that thinks it's smarter than it is.
"Fight Club" is the kind of film you really need to give yourself over to. It got under my skin in ways I hadn't experienced in a long time. I felt it. Maybe because I was stoned to the bejesus.
C’mon already with “Top Gun”. I don’t care if you think it’s the quintessential 80s flick. It doesn’t belong on any list that contains “Casablanca” and “Citizen Kane”. Seriously Rick, let’s put an end to this nonsense. It belongs on a list with “Rocky IV”, “Dirty Dancing”, “Red Dawn”, “Young Guns”, “Goonies”, “Gremlins”, and “The Lost Boys”.
“The Freshman” – you’re right. It doesn’t belong. Still a good movie though.
Lastly, I’m surprised you’re missing “The Terminator”, “Titanic”, “Lawrence of Arabia”, and “Stand By Me”. Intentional on any of those? I would also add “Total Recall”. You may disagree.
Ooh! "Red Dawn!"
I see your point about "Primary Colors" and its relative mediocrity on par with "The Firm" and "Red October." I was just so impressed with "Colors's" uncanny depiction of the Clinton's political marriage of convenience and Bill's shambling, condescending charisma. It worked in its fictional world to reveal reality to me, and that's more than I can say for most "reality-based" movies and truckloads of documentaries.
But this is a list of recommendations more than anything. But even if it were a Hall of Fame, we are dealing with a sliding scale. Does Kirby Puckett stack up to Babe Ruth? Does Jackson Browne compare with Bob Dylan? Does anything rise to the level of "The Godfather?" There needs to be a large allowance here.
And the Spider-Man and X-Man movies are really the first films that succesfully use CG to capture the fun of comic books in a story that doesn't re-write the rich history of the book or condescend to the audience. It helps to have read these growing up, of course. And I have high hopes for Christopher Nolan's Batman.
"The Terminator" was an oversight. Same as "Titanic," though I can't imagine rushing out to see it ever again or showing it to anyone unless I had a TV the size of a side of beef. I had "Laurence of Arabia" on my DVR before it crashed, but resisted watching it because --similar to my Titanic reservations-- the film is a spectacle that would just look dinky on 27 inches of screen. Too bad I missed the recent re-release.
And as for your Hits of the 80s equivalence list, riddle me this: If you had a choice to show Quinn “Rocky IV”, “Dirty Dancing”, “Red Dawn”, “Young Guns”, “Goonies”, “Gremlins”, and “The Lost Boys”--or "Top Gun," which would you pick?
OK, OK. So you hate Tom Cruise.
Great question. I would choose in this order:
Gremlins
Goonies
The Lost Boys
Rocky IV
Young Guns
Top Gun
Red Dawn
Dirty Dancing
And for the record, I don't hate Tom Cruise. I'm putting "The Firm" up there remember.
Perl, good comments.
I'll admit "Total Recall" doesn't belong if and only if you guys admit that '"If things have gone wrong, I'm talking to myself, and you've got a wet towel wrapped around your head."' is amongst the greatest movie lines of all time.
-Chief
OK - I give in to the blog!
Tim - I think we need to start our list of the greatest Arnold lines (probably all from the 80s or early 90s), and I agree that the Total Recall line probably tops the list. Others to consider:
1) Here is Sub-Zero! Now, plain zero!
2) Let off some steam, Bennett! [before throwing a huge pipe through the villian's torso]
3) I'll be back (the perennial favorite)
4) If it bleeds, we can kill it.
5) I had to let him go [referencing dropping a guy off a cliff]
6) He's dead tired. [referencing the dead goon in the airplane seat next to him]
7) He had to split. [referencing the guy he killed with a chainsaw to the crotch]
8) Go on! Kill me! I'm here! Kill me!
Now that's a list Perl!
Here's a few more...
- "Now we're going to play a game called 'Who Is Your Daddy and What Does He Do?'"
- "If I'm not me, then who the hell am I"
- "Could I speak to the drug dealer of the house please?"
- "Stick around" (after stabbing a guy into the wall in Predator)
- "You're one...ugly...motherfucker"
- "I eat green berets for breakfast, and right now I'm VERY HUNGRY!"
- "C'mon Cohagen, you got what you want. NOW GIVE THESE PEOPLE AIR!"
Do it doo-so-may. Do it very slowly.
Well, I thought I'd break your neck, then use you as a human shield, then kill the guard with that knife there on your table and take his gun.
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