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I’m often asked for movies recommendations and picks so here are my rankings all time and by categories with some little known gems. Hit CTL+D to bookmark this page as I update it frequently. July 2021 updated.
Quick Tips 2021: Here Today (Billy Crystal, Brilliant, Moving, Prime), Ice Road (Liam N., White-knuckle time Netflix), Sweet Tooth (Season 1, 8 Episodes, Netflix – Addictive: Binge It), Fisherman’s Friend (True Story, Netflix), Holiday in the Wild (Romance, Netflix),
2020: Absolutely Anything, Cold Pursuit, Bullet Head, Fractured, The Hunt, The Platform (Bizarre A++).
2019: Arctic, Art of Racing in the Rain, Cold Pursuit, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Red Dog (True), The Salvation (Mads M), Triple Front, The Mustang, Hostiles (2017, A++).
1. Ben Hur
2. Blade Runner
3. Avatar
4. Alien & Aliens
5. Slumdog Millionaire
6. Cool Hand Luke
7. American Beauty
8. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
9. The Revenant
10. Dirty Harry
11. Silence of the Lambs
12. Jaws
13. Straight out of Compton
14. Leon the Professional (ext.ver. +26 min.)
15. Some Like It Hot
16. King Kong (1933, 2005)
17. No Country for Old Men
18. Apocalypse Now (Redux)
19. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
20. Art of Racing in the rain.
21. The Rose
22. Gone with the Wind
23. Thursday
24. Pulp Fiction
25. Se7en (“7” Brad Pitt)
26. Jean de Florette (French subtitled)
27. The Searchers
28. The Godfather
29. The Deer Hunter
30. Platoon
31. The Unforgiven
32. The Hateful Eight
33. Girl with Dragon Tattoo (2009)
Män som hatar kvinnor (Danish)
34. Prometheus
35. The Green Mile
36. Gladiator
37. Saving Private Ryan
38. Rocky
39. First Blood (I) & Rambo (V: Final)
40. Forrest Gump
41. Raiders of the Lost Ark
42. Inglorious Bastards
43. Groundhog Day
44. Pink Panther, Shot in Dark, Return & Revenge
45. Moulin Rouge (2001)
46. Lock, Stock & Two Smokin’ Barrels
47. Snatch – Brad Pitt’s best
48. Casablanca
49. The Platform
Bosch – Crime Drama – Titus Welliver – Renegade detective solves grisly murders. 4.5 stars.Amazon Prime 5 seasons to watch (50 episodes ended)
Dead to Me – Crime Drama – Christine Applegate, single mom after husband dies, befriends the killer. 4.5 stars.Netflix 2 seasons to watch (20 episodes)
Game of Thrones – Duh!?
Good Girls – Drama, Comedy – Christina Hendricks – Three suburban mothers suddenly find themselves in desperate circumstances and decide to stop playing it safe and risk everything to take their power back. Three seasons. 4.5 stars.Amazon Prime 3 seasons to watch
Grace and Frankie – Comedy – Lilly Tomlin, Jane Fonda living together in California Brach Home. Touching and funny. 4.5 stars. Netflix 6 seasons to binge.
Hunters – Drama – Al Pacino, Nazi hunters based on true events post-WWII. season 1 5.0 stars Amazon Prime
Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – Comedy – Rachel Broshahan, Jewish wife who moonlights doing standup comedy. VERY well written, funny. 2 Seasons (18 episodes). 5 stars.Amazon Prime Binge Now 3 seasons.
Narcos – Mexican drug trade beginnings to today, Pablo Escobar and the whole country’s story. 4.5 stars.Netflix 4 seasons total watch now.
Outlander (Top Pick) – Drama, Romance – While on a second honeymoon with her husband in 1946, British combat nurse Claire Randall is transported back in time to 1743 Scotland. Accused of being a spy, she is catapulted into danger and finds herself torn between two men in vastly different times. Diana Gabaldon’s best-selling eight book series is stunningly realized by Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore. Currently 6 seasons. 5.0 stars onStarz
Ozark – Drama – Jason Bateman, Laura Linney – Jason is a money launderer for Mexican Cartel. His partners cheats the cartel and is murdered, Jason is spared but must open a new territory in the Ozarks. Great writing, lots of twists and turns. 4.5 stars, Netflix 3 seasons to binge, seasons 4-5 TBA.
Schitt’s Creek – Comedy. Canadian Broadcast – Rich people have to live with poor in hick town – Eugene Levy and family, great cast. 4.5 stars. Netflix 5 Seasons 65 episodes to binge.
Sweet Tooth – A boy who is half human and half deer survives in a post-apocalyptic world with other hybrids. Netflix Season 1, 2 not announced, but will be happening. You will binge the 8 episodes, hard to stop.
The Kominsky Method – Comedy. Alan Arkin, Michael Douglas. A surprisingly poignant — if a little paint-by-numbers — portrait of life and aging for Hollywood agent and acting coach. 4.5 stars. Netflix Season 1, 2 not announced.
The Ranch – Drama, Comedy – On The Ranch with Sam Elliott, Ashton Kucher, Debra Winger, Elisha Cuthbert. Sam is the cranky old dad, Ashton returns to The Ranch after a failed pro football career, Debra runs the local bar in Colorado. Lots of fun, drama, great writing. Three seasons (2 parts each, so parts 1-8) are done. 4.5 stars on Netflix
This Is Us – Drama, Comedy – Easy to get hooked on network TV sometimes. 5.0 stars, 4 seasons (67 episodes). NBC Go to Prime to binge the seasons
What/If – Drama – Renee Zellweger, Jane Levy – Powerful woman seduces her assistants husband, Silicon Valley drama. Season 1 was great, season 2 date not announced. 4.5 stars Netflix binge now
Yellowstone – Drama – Kevin Costner, Cole Hauser – Great cast defends family legacy ranch in Montana – Action, Dram, Sex! Two seasons, season 3 coming June 2020. 5.0 stars Paramount TV, Amazon Prime binge seasons 1-2 now
ZeroZeroZero – Drama/Drugs – Italian, Mexican, US drugs lords 1 season. 5.0 stars Amazon Prime binge season 1
Blame it on Rio – Michael Caine comedy. 4 stars
Bullet Head – Crooks break into the wrong warehouse looking for treasure. Adrien Brody, John Malkovich. Drama 4 stars, Netflix.
Dead Calm – Nicole Kidman. One of her first movies on the open seas. 5 stars
Downfall – Bruno Ganz. Last days of Hitler (Foreign, subtitles). 4.5 stars
Elvis Has Left the Building – Comedy, Kim Basinger, set in Vegas. 4.5 stars
Headhunters – (Denmark) Drama, Aksel Hennie – Recruiter steals art from clients and crosses the wrong man (former CIA spook). 5 stars, subtitles.
Keeping Mum – Rowan Atkinson, Maggie Smith, mum has some time to kill. 5 stars
Kiss-Kiss, Bang-Bang – Robert Downey, Jr., Val Kilmer, Shane Black writer. 4.5 stars
Land of Mine – True- Post WWII Denmark made young (kids) German Soldiers remove 200,000 land mines. 5 stars, Best Foreign Film
Legend of 1900 – Tim Roth born on a ship and never leaves. 5 stars
Nightcrawler – Jake Gyllenhal, disaster video for news broadcasts, Academy nomination 2014. 4.5 stars.
Manhunter – William Peterson, first encounter with Hannibal Lecter. 4.5 stars
Phoenix – German subtitle, post WWII, camp survivor emerges with new face and life. 4.5 stars
Polar – Mads Mikkelsen retiring hitman is hunted. 5.0 stars
Red Belt – Tim Allen. Drama with movie star and karate instructor. 4.5 stars
Red Dog – Australia, True Story – Dog travels the Western continent search for his owner – amazing store, Red Dog has monument (Amazon prime). 5.0 stars
Spartacus Blood and Sand Season 1 (HBO) – Andy Whitfield. Better than “300,” murderous soap opera in the Coliseum. 5 stars
Strictly Ballroom – Paul Mercurio, Australian comedy about ballroom dancing. 5 stars
The Big Blue – Jean Reno. Free divers and true friends, great cinematography. 5 stars
The Best Offer – Geoffrey Rush. Art thieves counterfeit and auction. 5 stars.
The Cooler – William H Macy. Vegas loser. 4 stars
The Counterfeiters – Karl Markovics. WWII concentration camps force Jews to make fake Allied currency (German) 5 stars.
The Hero – Sam Elliott, aging cowboy movie star, best mustache, story to identify with. 5 stars.
The Lookout – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels. Down-and-out janitor with memory problems recruited by bank robbers planning a heist 4.5 stars
The Platform – Spanish/English dub, huge prison tower lowers food to 200+ levels each day, 2 person per level – major social statement. 5.0 stars, should be Best Picture (Foreign) for 2020.
The Punisher – Thomas Jane, from the graphic novel. 4.5 stars
The Raid: Redemption – Indonesian cops try to dig drug lords out of a building. Massive gunfights and martial arts. (Foreign) 5 stars.
The Salvation – Mads Mikkelsen wild west revenge, great action 5 stars.
Thursday – Thomas Jane, Aaron Eckhardt, Mickey Rourke. Pulp Fiction-ish, 5 stars.
Transsiberian – Ben Kingsley, Woody Harrelson. 4.5 stars
Used Cars – Kurt Russell comedy on a used car lot. 4.5 stars.
Why We Fight – Documentary about military industrial complex. 5 stars
Art of Racing in the Rain – Dog & Cars + Milo Ventimiglia
Arctic – Mads Mikkelsen – Survival in frozen wilderness
Alien, Aliens – Sigourney Weaver
Alita: Battle Angel – Seamless animation
Always – Holly Hunter, Dreyfuss
American Gangster – Denzel Washington
American Gigolo – Richard Gere
Aquaman – Jason Momoa
Basic Instinct – Michael Douglas
Best Offer – Geofrrey Rush art con artist
Big Blue – Jean Reno
Black Rain – Michael Douglas
Body Heat – Kathleen Turner
Born on the Fourth of July – Tom Cruise
Bridge on the River Kwai – Alec Guiness
Bullet Head – John Malkovich, Antonio Banderas
Cabin in the Woods – Tech cottage for death
Casablanca
Cast Away – Tom Hanks
Chicago – Musical, Catherine Zeta
Christine – Steven King – classic oldie
Cold Pursuit – Liam Neeon (Cohenesque, quirky)
Collateral – Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx
Current War – Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse
Dead Calm – Nicole Kidman
Dirty Dancing – Partrick Swazye
Dead Calm – Kidman
Dexter – Showtime
Eastern Promises – Viggo M.
Empire of the Sun – Spielberg
Falling Down – Michael Douglas
Final Destination – Can’t cheat death
Flash Dance
Forrest Gump – Tom Hanks
Fractured – Sam Worthington
Full Metal Jacket
Gerald’s Game – Carla Gogina handcuffed
Get In – French, squatters won’t leave
Ghost Dog – Forrest Whitaker
Glory – Denzel Washington
Glory Road – 1966 NCAA (my school UT El Paso)
Goodfellas – Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta
Green Mile – Tom hanks
History of Violence – Viggo Mortenson
Hold the Dark – Jeffrey Wright – Track wolves killing kids
House of Sand and Fog – Ben Kingsley
Hunt, The – Political horror flick (must see)
In Bruges – Colin Ferrell
Indecent Proposal – Demi Moore
Island of Dr. Marou – Val Kilmer
Jean de Florette & Manon of the Spring – French
romance/drama
Jerry Maguire – Tom Cruise
Jurassic Park I/II
Kodachrome – last role developed, Ed Harris
King’s Speech, The – Collin Firth
LA Confidential – Kim Basinger, Crowe, Guy Pearce
La Femme Nakita – French original
Legends of the Fall – Brad Pitt
Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels
Long Kiss Goodnight – Gena Davis
Mad Max – Fury Road (2015)
Man Who Loved Women – Burt Reynolds
Manhunter – William Peterson
Men in Black 1 & 2 – Will Smith
Misery – James Caan
Moulin Rouge – Kidman
Munich – Eric Bana
My Dog Skip – Frankie Munoz and Skip
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – Terrantino, Brad, Leo
Open Range – Kevin Costner
Outlander – Netflix series
Ozark – Netflix series – Jason Bateman
Payback – Mel Gibson
Patton – George C Scott
Philomena – Judi Dench, Steve Coogan
Polar – Mads Mikkelsen (A+) – Assassin tries to retire
Platform, The – Sheen, Oliver Stone
Platoon – Sheen, Oliver Stone
Prometheus – Ridley Scott
Quite Place – John Krasinski
Raging Bull – De Niro
Rambo 1 & 2 – Stallone
Ready Player One – Spielberg
Remember – Christopher Plummer (hunting Nazis)
Remember the Titans – Denzel W.
Revenge – Matilda Lutz – Tracking 3 cruel men (intense)
Risky Business – Tom Cruise
River Runs Through It – Brad Pitt
Road to Perdition – Tom hanks
Rock Star – Mark Wahlberg
Rocky 1, 2, 3 – Stallone
Saving Private Ryan – Tom Hanks
Scarface – Pacino
Sea of Love – Pacino
Sexy Beast – Ben Kingsley
Snatch – Brad Pitt, Guy Richey film
Spartacus Blood & Sand (HBO) – Season 1,2, 3
Stand By Me – Rob Reiner film
Straight Out of Compton – Fuck the Police
Terminator 1 & 2 – Arnold S.
The Best Offer – Geoffrey Rush (art thieves)
The Big Blue – Jean Reno – Free divers – beautiful friends
The Equalizer 1 & 2 – Denzel Washington
The Counterfeiters – Karl Markovics (Foreign)
The Godfather I – Brando
The Grey – Liam Neesom fighting wolves
The Hateful Eight – Tarantino
The Hero – Sam Elliott
The Insider – Russell Crowe
The Irishman – Deniro, Pacino epic
The Lookout – Joseph Gordon-Levitt
The Man Inside – Clive Owen
The Martian – Matt Damon
The Mustang – Convict gets rehab via horses
The Proposition – Guy Pearce
The Rose – Bette Midler
The Salvation – Mads Mikkelsen old west revenge
The Searchers – John Wayne
The Unforgiven – Clint Eastwood
The Walk – Twin Towers
Thelma & Louise – Gina & Susan
Thief – James Caan
Training Day – Denzel Washington
Triple Front – Ben Affleck – special forces and drug lord
Upgrade – Logan Marshall-Green – Stem implants in future
Venom – Tom Hardy (quirky good)
Very Bad Things – Jeremy Piven
Wall Street – Michael Douglas
3:10 to Yuma – Russell Crowe
300 – Jeremy Butler
Aquaman – Jason Mamoa – Fun underwater
Armageddon – Bruce Willis
Beowulf – Ray Winston
Black Panther
Braveheart – Mel Gibson
Casino Royale – Daniel Craig
Days of Thunder – Tom Cruise
Die Hard 1 & 2 – Bruce Willis
Endless Summer – Surf movie
Escape from New York – Kurt Russell
Executive Decision – Kurt Russell
Final Destination – Can’t cheat death
Flags of Our Fathers – Iowa Jima
Free Range – Kevin Costner
Gladiator – Russell Crowe
Heat – De Niro, Pacino
Hidalgo – Viggo M.
I am Legend – Will Smith
Alien, Aliens – Sigourney Weaver
Always – Holly Hunter, Dreyfuss
American Gangster – Denzel Washington
American Gigolo – Richard Gere
Basic Instinct – Michael Douglas
Black Rain – Michael Douglas
Body Heat – Kathleen Turner
Born on the Fourth of July – Tom Cruise
Bridge on the River Kwai – Alec Guiness
Casablanca
Cast Away – Tom Hanks
Chicago – Musical, Catherine Zeta
Christine – Steven King
Collateral – Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx
Dirty Dancing – Partrick Swazye
Dead Calm – Kidman
Dexter – Showtime
Eastern Promises – Viggo M.
Empire of the Sun – Spielberg
Falling Down – Michael Douglas
Final Destination – Can’t cheat death
Flash Dance
Forrest Gump – Tom Hanks
Full Metal Jacket
Ghost Dog – Forrest Whitaker
Glory – Denzel Washington
Goodfellas – Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta
History of Violence – Viggo M.
House of Sand and Fog – Ben Kingsley
In Bruges – Colin Ferrell
Indecent Proposal – Demi Moore
Island of Dr. Marou – Val Kilmer
Jean de Florette & Manon of the Spring – French
Jerry Maguire – Tom Cruise
Jurassic Park I/II
In the Heart of the Sea – Moby Dick created
Independence Day – Will Smith
Indian Jones 1, 2, 3 – Harrison Ford
Inglorious Bastards – Brad Pitt
Iron Man – Robert Downey, Jr.
Jurassic Park 1 & 3
Lethal Weapon 1 & 2 – Mel Gibson
Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome
Mad Max: Thunder Road (2015)
Pacific Rim – Fight monsters with monsters
Pearl harbor – Ben Affleck
Predator – Arnold S
Ready Player One – Spielberg awesome animation
Rush – Racing James Hunt vs. Nickie Lauda
Shooter – Mark Wahlberg
Sin City – Bruce Willis, Clive Owen
Sicario – Border drug action
King’s Speech, The – Collin Firth
LA Confidential – Kim Basinger, Crowe, Guy Pearce
La Femme Nakita – French original
Legends of the Fall – Brad Pitt
Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels – Guy Richie
Long Kiss Goodnight – Gena Davis
Sons of Katie Elder – John Wayne, Dino Martin
Sicario: Day of Soldado
Terminator 1 & 2 – Arnold S
The Abyss – James Cameron
The Bank Job – Jason Statham
The Deep – Nick Nolte, Robert Shaw
The Fifth Element – Luc Besson Dir.
The Getaway – Baldwin, Basinger
Taken – Liam Neeson
The Raid: Redemption (foreign)
The Revenant – Leo D., Tom Hardy
The Rock – Sean Connery, Nick Cage
Top Gun – Tom Cruise
True Lies – Arnold S.
Van Helsing -Hugh Jackson
1941 – John Belushi
40-Year Old Virgin – Steve Carell
Ace Ventura (1 & 2)
Absolutley Anything – Simon Peg, talking dog (FUNNY!).
All of Me – Steve Martin
Animal House – Belushi
As Good as it Gets – Jack Nicolson
Austin Powers Goldmember – Mike Myers
Bad Words – Jason Bateman
Best of Times – R.Williams & K.Russell
Big – Tom Hanks
Big Fish – Ewan McGregor
Blame it on Rio – Michael Caine
Blazing Saddles – Mel Brooks, Teri Garr
Caddy Shack – Rodney D., Bill Murray
Christmas Vacation – Chevy chase
City Slickers – Billy Crystal
Clerks II – Kevin Smith
Clueless – Alicia Silverstone
Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid – Steve Martin
Despicable Me – Animation, Minions
Dumb & Dumber– Jim Carey, Jeff Daniels
Elvis has Left the Building – Kim Basinger
Fish Called Wanda – Kevin Kline
Forget Paris – Billy Crystal
French Kiss – Meg Ryan
Game Night – Jason Bateman
Good Morning Vietnam – Robin Williams
Ground Hog Day – Bill Murray
Grumpy & Grumpier Old Men – Lemon
Hangover – Bradley Cooper, where’s Doug?
Inner Space – Dennis Quad, Martin Short
Kiss-Kiss, Bang-Bang – Robert Downey
LA Story – Steve Martin Legally Blonde – Reese Witherspoon
Lost in America – Albert Brooks
Love Stinks – F.Stewart, Bridgette Wilson
Major League – Tom Berringer
Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – Prime series
Minions – Animation
Miss Congeniality – Sandra Bullock
Mr. Mom – Michael Keaton, Teri Garr
My Blue Heaven – Stgeve Martin
Peter Sellers Flix – All Clouseau/Panther
Planes, Trains and Automobiles – Steve Martin
Risky Business – Tom Crusie
Ready to Rumble – David Arquette
Romancing the Stone – Douglas, Turner
Romy and Michells’ High School Reunion
Silver Linings Playbook – Bradley Cooper
Snatch – Brad Pitt’s best, Guy Ritchie directs
Some Like it Hot – Jack lemmon, Tony Curtis
Something’s Gotta Give – Nicolson
Strictly Ballroom – Australian comedy
The Meaning of Life – Monty Python
The Minions Movie – Animated
The Muse – Albert Brooks
The Pink Panther (1963, 1976)
The Three Amigo – Steve Martin
There’s Something About Mary
Tropic Thunder – Robert Downey
Used Cars – Kurt Russell
Vacation – Chevy Chase
War of the Roses – Douglas, Turner
Wayne’s World – Mike Myers
When Harry Met Sally
Witches of Eastwick – Nicolson, Cher
Young Frankenstein – Mel Brooks
61* – Thomas Jane, Berry Pepper
Art of Racing in the Rain – Dog, Cars, Milo
Big Wednesday – Gary Busey ’60 surf movie
Blind Side – Sandra Bullock
Blue Crush – Kate Bostworth chic’s surf
Bull Durham – Kevin Costner
Caddy Shack – Rodney D., Bill Murray
Creed – Rocky 99
Days of Thunder – Tom Cruise
Endless Summer – Bruce Brown classic surf
Field of Dreams – Kevin Costner
Follow the Sun – Ben Hogan story
For Love of the Game – Kevin Costner
Glory Road – Josh Lucas (my college ’66)
In God’s Hands – Best ever surf movie
Macfarland USA – Kevin Costner CA track team
North Dallas Forty – Nick Nolte
Remember the Titans – Denzel Washington
Rush – Racing: James Hunt vs. Nickie Lauda 1976
The Natural – Redford
Tin Cup – Kevin Costner
World’s Fastest Indian – Anthony Hopkins