101 Guilty Pleasures
A list of films I've enjoyed screening that, 1) were not necessarily hailed for cinematic brilliance/creativity, 2) did not find or win over audiences at the time of release, 3) have had the general consensus of being classified as underrated, 4) are often recognized as being dated, or 5) are quite justifiably chalked up as just pointless, silly or ridiculous.
And while some critics, cinephiles & standard movie goers could simply dismiss many as total disasters, outright failures/mistakes, disappointments or just forgettable, I still enjoy them based on their own merit regardless of their unpopularity, dismal box office success, irrelevance or flawed imperfections.
And while some critics, cinephiles & standard movie goers could simply dismiss many as total disasters, outright failures/mistakes, disappointments or just forgettable, I still enjoy them based on their own merit regardless of their unpopularity, dismal box office success, irrelevance or flawed imperfections.
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102 titles
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsWilliam HurtKathleen TurnerGeena DavisAn emotionally distant writer of travel guides must carry on with his life after his son is killed and his marriage crumbles.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonHenry HathawayStarsBurt LancasterDean MartinGeorge KennedyA bomber on board an airplane, an airport almost closed by snow, and various personal problems of the people involved.
- DirectorClaude LelouchStarsJeremy IronsPatricia KaasThierry LhermitteA jazz singer and a British jewel thief are brought together by their mutual desire to forget the past.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHaley Joel OsmentJude LawFrances O'ConnorA highly advanced robotic boy longs to become "real" so that he can regain the love of his human mother.
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsMichael CaineMichelle JohnsonDemi MooreBest friends and their daughters vacation in Rio de Janeiro only for one to fall for the other's daughter.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsTom HanksBruce WillisMelanie GriffithAfter his mistress runs over a young teen, a Wall Street hotshot sees his life unravel in the spotlight and attracts the interest of a down-and-out reporter.
- DirectorDennis DuganStarsJohn TurturroBob NelsonMel SmithThree manic idiots; a lawyer, cab driver and a handyman team up to run a ballet company to fulfill the will of a millionaire. Stooge-like antics result as the trio try to outwit the rich widow.
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsJoe MortonDaryl EdwardsRosanna CarterA mute alien with the appearance of a black human is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem.
- DirectorDaniel PetrieSidney SheldonStarsJan-Michael VincentJoan GoodfellowPamela Sue MartinIn a rural 1940s southern town, a socially awkward high school girl is taken advantage of by the boys, because it's the only way she knows to relate to boys.
- DirectorBen StillerStarsJim CarreyMatthew BroderickLeslie MannA designer makes a grievious mistake when he rejects the friendship of a borderline cable guy.
- DirectorVal GuestKen HughesJohn HustonStarsDavid NivenPeter SellersUrsula AndressIn an early spy spoof, aging Sir James Bond comes out of retirement to take on SMERSH.
- DirectorPitofStarsHalle BerrySharon StoneBenjamin BrattA shy woman, endowed with the speed, reflexes, and senses of a cat, walks a thin line between criminal and hero, even as a detective doggedly pursues her, fascinated by both of her personas.
- DirectorFrank SimonStarsPhil SilversEd LauterSteve GuttenbergA high school senior tries to score with Margaret.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsCharles DurningLouis Gossett Jr.Perry KingA group of Los Angeles cops decide to take off some of the pressures of their jobs by engaging in various forms of after hours debauchery.
- DirectorJeremy KaganStarsMaximilian SchellRod SteigerRobby BensonIn 1944, in Brooklyn, two Jewish kids become friends. One is from a very conservative family, and the other is more liberal. The issues of importance of tradition, parental expectations and the formation of Israel cause constant friction.
- DirectorRichard FranklinStarsHenry ThomasDabney ColemanMichael MurphyA young boy and his imaginary friend end up on the run while in possession of a top-secret spy gadget.
- DirectorSara SugarmanStarsLindsay LohanMegan FoxAdam GarciaA teenage girl is convinced that her home city revolves around her until her family packs up and moves to the suburbs, where she finds herself competing for attention.
- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsKevin KlineMary Elizabeth MastrantonioKevin SpaceyDuring a joint dinner at the restaurant, the neighbors offer to exchange wives for one night. It was a joke, but only at first.
- DirectorAlvin RakoffStarsGeorge KennedyRichard CrennaNick MancusoA mysterious ghostly freighter rams and sinks a modern day cruise ship whose survivors climb aboard the freighter and discover that it is a World War II Nazi torture vessel.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsKyle MacLachlanVirginia MadsenFrancesca AnnisA Duke's son leads desert warriors against the galactic emperor and his father's evil nemesis to free their desert world from the emperor's rule.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsCharlton HestonAva GardnerGeorge KennedyVarious interconnected people struggle to survive when an earthquake of unimaginable magnitude hits Los Angeles, California.
- DirectorLee TamahoriStarsAnthony HopkinsAlec BaldwinElle MacphersonAn intellectual billionaire and two other men struggle to band together and survive after getting stranded in the Alaskan wilderness with a blood-thirsty Kodiak Bear hunting them down.
- DirectorEllory ElkayemStarsDavid ArquetteKari WuhrerScott TerraVenomous spiders get exposed to a noxious chemical that causes them to grow to monumental proportions.
- DirectorSteve BarronStarsLenny von DohlenVirginia MadsenMaxwell CaulfieldAn artificially intelligent PC and his human owner find themselves in a romantic rivalry over a woman.
- DirectorTommy O'HaverStarsAnne HathawayHugh DancyCary ElwesElla is under a spell to be constantly obedient, a fact she must hide from her new stepfamily in order to protect the prince of the land, her friend for whom she's falling.
- DirectorLes MayfieldStarsSean AstinBrendan FraserPauly ShoreWhen they find a frozen caveman in their back yard, two high school outcasts thaw him and introduce him to modern life while he in turn gets them to actually enjoy life.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellSteve BuscemiStacy KeachSnake Plissken is once again called in by the United States government to recover a potential doomsday device from Los Angeles, now an autonomous island where undesirables are deported.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellLee Van CleefErnest BorgnineIn 1997, when the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in to rescue him.
- DirectorMarvin J. ChomskyStarsGeorge HamiltonSue LyonBert FreedBiography of the famed motorcycle daredevil, much of which was filmed in his home town of Butte, Montana. The film depicts Knievel reflecting on major events in his life just before a big jump.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenGoldie HawnJulia RobertsA New York girl sets her father up with a beautiful woman in a troubled marriage while her stepsister gets engaged.
- DirectorJames GlickenhausStarsRobert GintySamantha EggarChristopher GeorgeA man's best friend is killed on the streets of New York City. The man (Robert Ginty) then transforms into a violent killer, turning New York City into a great war zone, and Christopher George is the only one to stop him.
- DirectorBilly CrystalStarsBilly CrystalDebra WingerJoe MantegnaMickey, an NBA referee, meets Ellen, an American airline official, in Paris. It develops into a relationship of ups and downs.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsCraig WassonJodi ThelenMichael HuddlestonA group of four friends form strong bonds while in high school in the early 1960s, then desperately cling to that love during the turbulent counterculture movement and social upheavals that marked the end of the decade.
- DirectorGeoff MurphyStarsEmilio EstevezMick JaggerRene RussoBounty hunters from the future transport a doomed race car driver to New York City in 2009, where his mind will be replaced with that of a dead billionaire.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsKirk DouglasJohn CassavetesCarrie SnodgressA former CIA agent uses the talents of a young psychic to help retrieve his telekinetic son from a shadowy secret government agency.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliStarsTony CurtisDebbie ReynoldsPat BooneWomanizing Charlie is shot by an angry husband and falls in the sea. He arrives home after his memorial as a cute, amnesic woman. His old friend helps her/him.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsWilliam HurtLee MarvinBrian DennehyA Moscow police officer investigates a vicious triple homicide and stumbles upon a high-level international political conspiracy.
- DirectorMathieu KassovitzStarsHalle BerryPenélope CruzRobert Downey Jr.A psychiatrist awakens as a patient in a mental institution, with no memory of the murder she's accused of committing. As she tries to regain her memory, a vengeful spirit manipulates her.
- DirectorJoe DanteStarsDee WallacePatrick MacneeDennis DuganAfter a bizarre and near deadly encounter with a serial killer, a television newswoman is sent to a remote mountain resort whose residents may not be what they seem.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsJeff GoldblumMichelle PfeifferStacey PickrenAfter discovering that his wife is cheating on him, an insomniac aerospace engineer accidentally meets, and tries to help, a beautiful model on the run from some extremely dangerous people.
- DirectorJoe JohnstonStarsSam NeillWilliam H. MacyTéa LeoniA decidedly odd couple with ulterior motives convince Dr. Grant to go to Isla Sorna for a holiday, but their unexpected landing startles the island's new inhabitants.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsEvan C. KimBong Soo HanBill BixbyThe daily programming of a fictional local TV channel presented as a series of highly irreverent skits.
- DirectorSimon WestStarsAngelina JolieJon VoightIain GlenVideo game adventurer Lara Croft comes to life in a movie where she races against time and villains to recover powerful ancient artifacts.
- DirectorJan de BontStarsAngelina JolieGerard ButlerChris BarrieAdventurer Lara Croft goes on a quest to save the mythical Pandora's Box, before an evil scientist finds it, and recruits a former Marine turned mercenary to assist her.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerF. Murray AbrahamArt CarneyWith the help of a magic ticket, a young movie fan is transported into the fictional world of his favorite action movie character.
- DirectorWhit StillmanStarsChloë SevignyKate BeckinsaleChris EigemanStory of two female Manhattan book editors fresh out of college, both finding love and themselves while frequenting the local disco.
- DirectorJeff NathansonStarsMatthew BroderickAlec BaldwinToni ColletteA movie director-screenwriter finds a man to finance his latest project but soon discovers that the producer is actually an undercover FBI agent working on a mob sting operation.
- DirectorBrett LeonardStarsJeff FaheyPierce BrosnanJenny WrightA simple man is turned into a genius through the application of computer science.
- DirectorTom ShadyacStarsJim CarreyMaura TierneyAmanda DonohoeA pathological liar-lawyer finds his career turned upside down when he inexplicably cannot physically lie for 24 whole hours.
- DirectorStephen HerekStarsAngelina JolieEdward BurnsTony ShalhoubA reporter interviews a psychic, who tells her that she's going to die and her life is meaningless.
- DirectorGlenn Gordon CaronStarsWarren BeattyAnnette BeningKatharine HepburnTwo people meet on a flight to Sydney. Although both are engaged to others, they fall in love during their evacuation after a forced landing, and agree to meet in New York City three months later if the attraction lasts.
- DirectorJohn WarrenStarsScott BakulaCorbin BernsenDennis HaysbertA lousy minor league baseball team full of many different personalities gets a new manager, an aging minor league pitcher.
- DirectorJoe DanteStarsJohn GoodmanCathy MoriartySimon FentonThe teenage son of a navy sailor newly stationed in Key West gets some excitement with his friends when a small-time film producer comes to town to premiere a kitschy horror film during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- DirectorMike NewellStarsJulia RobertsKirsten DunstJulia StilesA free-thinking art professor teaches conservative 1950s Wellesley girls to question their traditional social roles.
- DirectorAlan RudolphStarsDemi MooreGlenne HeadlyBruce WillisTwo detectives interrogate a hairdresser on two homicides she may or may not have been involved in.
- DirectorPaul MazurskyStarsRobin WilliamsMaria Conchita AlonsoCleavant DerricksA Russian saxophonist visiting New York City with a USSR circus troupe suddenly decides to defect in Bloomingdale's.
- DirectorStan DragotiStarsMichael KeatonTeri GarrFrederick KoehlerAfter he's suddenly laid off, a husband switches roles with his wife. She returns to the workforce, and he becomes a stay-at-home dad, and he has to take care of three young children, a job he has no clue how to do.
- DirectorBilly CrystalStarsBilly CrystalDavid PaymerJulie WarnerThe life of Buddy Young, a comic legend in flashbacks but an old man looking for work in the present.
- DirectorBarbet SchroederStarsSandra BullockBen ChaplinRyan GoslingTwo gifted high school students execute a perfect murder - then become engaged in an intellectual contest with a seasoned homicide detective.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsJohn BelushiDan AykroydKathryn WalkerA quiet man's peaceful suburban lifestyle is threatened by the new, obnoxious couple that moves in next door.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsJason RobardsBritt EklandNorman WisdomA naive young Amish woman runs away from her home in Pennsylvania to New York City, where she hopes to act in religious stage plays but ends up performing in Burlesque theatre.
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsRobby BensonAnnette O'TooleG.D. SpradlinA small-town basketball star goes to college and tries to impress his tutor, teammates, and coach.
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsNatasha RichardsonWilliam ForsytheVing RhamesIn the 1970s, Patricia Hearst is abducted by American revolutionaries, but eventually joins their cause instead.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsWalter MatthauCris CampionDamien ThomasThe adventures of pirate Captain Red and his first mate Frog.
- DirectorKevin CostnerStarsKevin CostnerWill PattonLarenz TateA nameless drifter dons a postman's uniform and bag of mail as he begins a quest to inspire hope to the survivors living in post-apocalyptic America.
- DirectorHoward FranklinStarsJoe PesciBarbara HersheyRichard RiehleIn the early 1940s, an infamous New York paparazzo gets an assignment from a club owner to do a background search on a mysterious gangster, which leads him down a very dangerous path.
- DirectorRichard BenjaminStarsSean PennElizabeth McGovernNicolas CageIn 1942 California, two young men await induction into the U.S. Marines and say goodbye to their girlfriends.
- DirectorMichael TolkinStarsMimi RogersDavid DuchovnyDarwyn CarsonA telephone operator living an empty, amoral life finds God and loses him again.
- DirectorJerry ZuckerStarsBreckin MeyerAmy SmartWhoopi GoldbergA Las Vegas casino magnate determined to find a new avenue for wagering sets up a race for money.
- DirectorJohn ByrumStarsBill MurrayTheresa RussellDenholm ElliottHe had everything and wanted nothing. He learned that he had nothing and wanted everything. He saved the world and then it shattered. The path to enlightenment is as sharp and narrow as a razor's edge.
- DirectorAlex CoxStarsHarry Dean StantonEmilio EstevezTracey WalterA young punk, recruited by a car repo agency, finds himself in pursuit of a Chevrolet Malibu with a huge, $20,000 bounty--and something otherworldly stashed in its trunk.
- DirectorDavid MirkinStarsMira SorvinoLisa KudrowJaneane GarofaloTwo dim-witted, inseparable friends hit the road for their ten-year high school reunion and concoct an elaborate lie about their lives in order to impress their classmates.
- DirectorClark JohnsonStarsSamuel L. JacksonColin FarrellMichelle RodriguezAn imprisoned drug kingpin offers a huge cash reward to anyone that can break him out of police custody, and only the L.A.P.D.'s Special Weapons and Tactics team can prevent it.
- DirectorMichael Caton-JonesStarsJohn HurtJoanne WhalleyBridget FondaBased on the Profumo Scandal of 1963, an affair between an exotic dancer and the Minister of War shakes up the British government.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsLaurence FishburneGiancarlo EspositoTisha CampbellA not so popular young man wants to pledge to a popular fraternity at his historically black college.
- DirectorPeter ChelsomStarsJohn CusackKate BeckinsaleJeremy PivenA couple search for each other years after the night they first met, fell in love, and separated, convinced that one day they'd end up together.
- DirectorHerbert RossStarsAlan ArkinVanessa RedgraveRobert DuvallTo treat his friend's cocaine induced delusions, Watson lures Sherlock Holmes to Sigmund Freud.
- DirectorBobby FarrellyPeter FarrellyStarsJack BlackGwyneth PaltrowJason AlexanderA shallow man falls in love with a 300-pound woman because of her inner beauty.
- DirectorBurt ReynoldsStarsBurt ReynoldsRachel WardVittorio GassmanTom Sharky is demoted to vice after a bust goes terribly wrong. He and his team stumble across a mob murder tied to prostitution and government.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsTom BerengerBob HoskinsGreta ScacchiAfter a horrific car wreck leaves him an amnesiac, a man slowly begins to unravel his shocking past.
- DirectorTony GoldwynStarsAshley JuddGreg KinnearHugh JackmanAfter being jilted by her boyfriend, a talk show talent scout writes a column on the relationship habits of men which gains her national fame.
- DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsNatasha HenstridgeMichael MadsenBen KingsleyA group of scientists try to track down and trap a killer alien seductress before she successfully mates with a human.
- DirectorBob FosseStarsMariel HemingwayEric RobertsCliff RobertsonA successful young model finds trouble when her obsessive manager-turned-husband becomes dangerously jealous.
- DirectorBud YorkinStarsGene WilderDonald SutherlandHugh GriffithTwo mismatched sets of identical twins, one aristocrat, one peasant, mistakenly exchange identities on the eve of the French Revolution.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsRichard DreyfussDanny DeVitoBarbara HersheyA minor car accident drives two rival aluminum-siding salesmen to the ridiculous extremes of man versus man in 1963 Baltimore.
- DirectorMelvin FrankStarsGeorge SegalGlenda JacksonPaul SorvinoRomantic comedy about a pair of clandestine lovers in a London-Spain tryst.
- DirectorBruno BarretoStarsGwyneth PaltrowChristina ApplegateKelly PrestonA small-town woman tries to achieve her goal of becoming a flight attendant.
- DirectorBrett LeonardStarsDenzel WashingtonRussell CroweKelly LynchWhen a virtual reality simulation created using the personalities of multiple serial killers manages to escape into the real world, an ex-cop is tasked with stopping its reign of terror.
- DirectorHarold BeckerStarsMatthew ModineLinda FiorentinoMichael SchoefflingA high school wrestler in Spokane, Washington has trouble focusing on his training regimen when a beautiful young drifter takes up temporary residence at his home.
- DirectorKevin ReynoldsStarsKevin CostnerJeanne TripplehornDennis HopperIn a future where the polar ice-caps have melted and Earth is almost entirely submerged, a mutated mariner fights starvation and outlaw "smokers," and reluctantly helps a woman and a young girl try to find dry land.
- DirectorTom NoonanStarsTom NoonanKaren SillasJackie and Michael are coworkers at a large law firm, who decide to meet at Jackie's for dinner one night. As this 'first date' plays out, the audience is guided through a mental minefield of disappointment.
- DirectorClive DonnerStarsPeter SellersPeter O'TooleRomy SchneiderA playboy who refuses to give up his hedonistic lifestyle to settle down and marry his true love seeks help from a demented psychoanalyst who is having romantic problems of his own.
- DirectorWoody AllenSenkichi TaniguchiStarsWoody AllenThe Lovin' SpoonfulFrank BuxtonWoody Allen re-dubs the Japanese spy film Kokusai himitsu keisatsu: Kagi no kagi (1965), turning it into a comedy about an agent pursuing the world's greatest egg salad recipe.
- DirectorHenry LevinStarsDolores HartGeorge HamiltonYvette MimieuxFour very different college girls drive to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for spring break and seek out various adventures and romance for themselves.
- 19711h 48mR5.4 (1.1K)DirectorUlu GrosbardStarsDustin HoffmanBarbara HarrisJack WardenGeorgie Soloway, a pop hit love song writer who cannot love, himself, or others. He spends his days with various women flying his plane, and dropping in to the world around him.
- DirectorJohn McNaughtonStarsKevin BaconNeve CampbellMatt DillonA police detective uncovers a conspiracy behind a case involving a high-school guidance counselor when accusations of rape are made against him by two female students.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsDanny DeVitoJoe PiscopoHarvey KeitelHarry Valentini and Moe Dickstein are both errand boys for the Mob. When they lose two hundred fifty thousand dollars, they are set up to kill each other. But they run off to Atlantic City, and comedy follows.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsMelanie GriffithHarrison FordSigourney WeaverWhen a secretary's idea is stolen by her boss, she seizes an opportunity to steal it back by pretending she has her boss' job.
- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsNicholas RoweAlan CoxSophie WardWhen assorted people start having inexplicable delusions that lead to their deaths, a teenage Sherlock Holmes decides to investigate.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenMia FarrowPatrick Horgan"Documentary" about a man who can look and act like whoever he's around, and meets various famous people.