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.
List activity
1.4K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
77 titles
- 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.