Movies that I have enjoyed the best so far
This list covers action, sci-fi, war, westerns and comedy. They also cover a wide range in terms of era.
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- DirectorBrian G. HuttonStarsRichard BurtonClint EastwoodMary UreAllied agents stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding American brigadier general George Carnaby prisoner, but that's not all that's really going on.As far as a war movie this has it all. Plenty of action, it also is a spy story and you don't know what is going to happen next. It also got a fresh faced Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton is masterful. The heroines are smart, tough and resourceful.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsCary GrantTony CurtisJoan O'BrienDuring World War II, a commander finds himself stuck with a decrepit (and pink) submarine, a con man executive officer, and a group of army nurses.Same war but now set on a submarine with a suave Cary Grant and Tony Currtis being his smart ass self. Its very funny and can be enjoyed by all. I just love the interaction between a bemused Grant and a cunning Curtis trying get back to his rich meal ticket. They don't make them like this anymore. More's the pity.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsGlenn FordShirley MacLaineLeslie NielsenA brash stranger and his sheep arrive in a small town, but not soon after, the townspeople decide they've seen enough of him.Glenn Ford is a man seeking revenge on a compatriot. This he does by bringing sheep to cattle country. Its done in a fun way and Shirley Maclaine has never looked sexier. By the way its a western.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsYul BrynnerBritt EklandClive RevillIn a complex piece of espionage the Russian secret service attempts to kidnap a high ranking officer in the CIA and replace him with a double of its own.This is a spy movie with Yul Brynner as a top American spy who comes to Europe for the funeral of his young son. He beleives the circumstances are strange and he starts to investigate. Britt Ekland is great as the eye candy and the story is taut and full of suspense.
- DirectorNimród AntalStarsAdrien BrodyLaurence FishburneTopher GraceA group of elite warriors parachute into an unfamiliar jungle and are hunted by members of a merciless alien race.I dont know really know why, but I really got a lot of enjoyment from this sci-fi actioner, which is basically a cute remake of the original Predator movie with Arnie. In fact, I thought this was better and I have watched many times.
- DirectorPhil Alden RobinsonStarsKevin CostnerJames Earl JonesRay LiottaIowa farmer Ray Kinsella is inspired by a voice he can't ignore to pursue a dream he can hardly believe. Supported by his wife, Ray begins the quest by turning his ordinary cornfield into a place where dreams can come true.For me this is Kevin Costner's best movie and if you haven't seen it then youre missing a treat. It gets me every time at the same moment in the movie (not telling you when). Also, it has Burt Lancaster and James Earl Jones.
- DirectorKen AnnakinStarsLeslie PhillipsJulie ChristieJames Robertson JusticeA naive Scotsman buys a vintage sports car and learns to drive in order to impress the daughter of an arrogant aristocrat who despises him.This is a british comedy with Stanley Baxter, Leslie Phillips and James R Justice. They are all in top form and its a great story of a guy trying to get a girl by having a fast car to impress her. Though I beleive its the Rabby Burns that does the trick.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith DavidA research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.This is a sci-fi horror that reaches the part other movies can only dream of reaching. The prequel made in 2011 is rubbish, but this John Carpenter effort is top notch. Its has plenty of scares and the ending is not the usual happy ending.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsLee MarvinErnest BorgnineCharles BronsonDuring World War II, a rebellious U.S. Army Major is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers.This is the only real dirty dozen movie and its a great watch. Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson and Jim Brown are heroic. Its peppered with good performances, e.g. Robert Ryan. It has been copied relentlessly, but this is way it should be done.
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsJohn WayneElla RainesWard BondRanch hand Rocklin arrives in town to start his new job but his employer has been murdered and the locals don't seem too friendly.This was early effort from John Wayne. Its one of those I enjoyed and wondered why it was shown so little. Ella Raines is feisty and gun toting heroine who always gets her man. John Wayne is not to be controlled and he doesn't trust women. It all works out in the end but the journey is pleasant.
- DirectorKihachi OkamotoStarsTatsuya NakadaiEtsushi TakahashiYuriko HoshiTwo ronin - an ex-samurai and an ex-farmer - get caught up in a local official's complex game of murder and betrayal.This is a top movie with the hero being a ronin who looks like a vagrant, but is smart and a killer with a sword. The hero comes into town and helps save the day in herioc and sometimes comedic fashion.
- DirectorRobert MontgomeryStarsRobert MontgomeryAudrey TotterLloyd NolanThe lady editor of a crime magazine hires Phillip Marlowe to find the wife of her boss. The private detective soon finds himself involved in murder.This is a "noir" and is seen from the eyes of the detective Philip Marlowe who is asked to find a missing wife of a publisher. Its actually well done and the hero solves the case after taking his beatings and he dishes out a few too.
- DirectorVal GuestStarsBernard CribbinsBill MaynardJoss AcklandWhen D. C. Dangerous Davies, not held in high regard by his superiors, is assigned to find a notorious criminal kingpin, he uncovers the details of 15 year old cold case.Dangerous Davies plays a detective in London who basically gets the jobs nobody else wants. He is separated from his wife, but they live in a place run by a overbearing lady in separate rooms. He has a friend who is work shy layabout. Anyway he tries to solve a case of a murdered girl which a provide a few twists and turns. Its a good watch.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEmbeth DavidtzMarcus GilbertWhen Ash Williams is accidentally transported to 1300 A.D., he must retrieve the Necronomicon and battle an army of the dead in order to return home.This is the final part of the evil dead trilogy and here the emphasis is more on the humour than on the scares. Bruce Campbell is in good form and there are some battles with demons and the damsel in distress, who seems take a lot beating (literally) before the hero can get his girl.
- DirectorCyril FrankelStarsStewart GrangerSusan HampshireCathleen NesbittScotland Yard Superintendent Cooper-Smith investigates the suspicious looking Emberday estate where the Emberday family and an order of nuns reside.This is a German krimi with Stewart Granger chasing some clever robbers hiding out in a convent. Sophie Hardy is very cute in this.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKoji YakushoTakayuki YamadaYûsuke IseyaA group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord.Again a barnstorming samurai movie about a "magnificent 13" put together to stop a shogun in waiting who will bring about an era of terror and war if he comes into power. The beginning explains why the bad guy is so bad and of course the bringing of the team together. Our heroes set-up an ambush through various means and the second half of the movie is the battle. Just watch it.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsJack ThompsonGraham KennedyFrank WilsonBoardroom and dressing-room intrigues spill on to the field at the Australian Rules football club.This is a really funny show about the goings on in an Aussie Rule Footie club, i.e. Collingwood. It even has some players, but you don't have to be interested in sport to enjoy this film. Jack Thompson kicks arse in his characterisation of the coach. You'll laugh out loud with some of the antics.
- DirectorPete TravisStarsKarl UrbanOlivia ThirlbyLena HeadeyIn a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO.I like my comic book heroes (Batman, Marshall Law, Hulk) to be dark and brooding. Also, I like there to be plenty of action and thrills to go with my popcorn. As a kid I enjoyed 2000AD where Judge Dredd was born and when in the 90s I heard they had made a Judge Dredd movie I was ecstatic. Shamw was that they broke every rule and Sly was worse than terrible as Dredd. I thought that was that!
However, in 2012 they had another go and this time they got it right. Karl Urban is Dredd and the movie is true to the comics and the character. This is a proper comic strip translation. Watch it. - DirectorRobert AldrichStarsMichael CaineCliff RobertsonIan BannenA reluctant hero, American Lieutenant Sam Lawson, is seconded to a motley British unit tasked with destroying a Japanese radio on a Philippine island.This movie was one that was a surprise to me. I was surprised how good it was and how much I enjoyed it. Its set on some island during WW2 where one side is controlled by the Japanese and the other by the British. An American translator is forced to join a mission to the Japanese side for recon with a bunch of misfit soldiers. It shows many of them not wanting to be there and those that do being pretty mental. Anyway Michael Caine is in top form as an anti hero type with Cliff Robertson being the heroic yank (or is he Canadian?).
You have to watch the last 15 minutes which is non-stop action with our heroes trying to get back to camp with vital information. - DirectorJonathan R. BetuelStarsJohn StockwellDanielle von ZerneckFisher StevensA high school student and his friend find a strange, orb-like piece of equipment to use as a science project, but must stop it when it begins to threaten mankind.This is pretty light weight stuff, but I liked the spunky heroine. Its one of those 80s teen movies with a sci-fi edge to it. It has a cameo with Dennis Hopper which is really entertaining since he forces our hero to come up with a science project or he won't graduate. The hero side kick is also good Carrie Fisher as he makes up for our hero's "woodeness".
It has dinosaurs, aliens, vietcong and somehow it is good inspite of all this. - DirectorGaylene PrestonStarsHeather BoltonDavid LetchPerry PiercyA small-town woman, fresh to the city, buys a second-hand Jaguar haunted by the ghost of a murdered woman and her killer.I watched this one late night late 80s or early 90s and have not seen it since. Its about a girl who buys a jaguar that is haunted by a victim who was murdered in it. Its nicely paced and I would like to see it again to see if it has the same effect. Very underrated effort from New Zealand.
- DirectorPete WalkerStarsVincent PriceChristopher LeePeter CushingAn American author finds a dilapidated Welsh manor perfect for writing until the residents host a bizarre family reunion.This has all the masters of horror, i.e. Peter Cushing, Christoper Lee, John Carradine and Vincent Price. Its about an author who makes a wager that he can write a horror book in a day. Our intrepid hero spends a night in a spooky house and then the fun begins.
Its another one of those that I enjoyed more due to nostalgia than the actual movie itself. - DirectorJuliusz MachulskiStarsWieslaw MichnikowskiJerzy StuhrOlgierd LukaszewiczTwo scientists are placed into a 3-year hibernation, but when they wake up, it turns out to have been 50 years, and they are the only two males in a new underground society composed exclusively of women.This polish movie about 2 scientists that are frozen just as a virus wipes out all the men in the world. They are then unfrozen to a underground world only populated by women in a totalitarian state. It sounds like a carry on movie and sometimes it feels like one. They are deemed a threat to the state and are to be executed so they have to escape even though the world outside is radioactive.
It hits the spot for me. - DirectorRoland KibbeeBurt LancasterStarsBurt LancasterSusan ClarkCameron MitchellAn ex-con, once a cop, now working as security in a college, decides to investigate the murder of one of the students, a daughter of a senator.Burt Lancaster plays a disgraced police detective just out of prison. He is hired to be night guard at a college campus. Then a girl is murdered and he takes it on himself to find out whodunnit. There are plenty of red herrings and police dept which is totally inept. They don't make them like this anymore, mainly because they don't have any actors as good as Burt anymore.
- DirectorBruce RobinsonStarsJohnny DeppGiovanni RibisiAaron EckhartAmerican journalist Paul Kemp takes on a freelance job in Puerto Rico for a local newspaper during the 1960s and struggles to find a balance between island culture and the expatriates who live there.This movie is about a journalist who is mainly drunk (Depp plays drunks really well) who is transferred to some south american country. Here he has a few adventures and meets Amber Heard. Enough said.
- DirectorHal NeedhamStarsKirk DouglasArnold SchwarzeneggerAnn-MargretFacing hanging, a bank robber makes a deal with the corrupt banker to avoid execution in exchange for a dirty assignment.This western has Kirk Douglas play the baddie Cactus Jack who is scheming to get money by various illegal means. He fails every time in many and varied ways. There is the beautiful Ann Margaret and the wooden Arnie (thou still good). I saw this in the cinema as part of a double feature with the Spiderman and the dragons challenge. This was better than the main feature.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsCharles BronsonLinda CristalAl LettieriA melon farmer battles organized crime and a hit man who wants to kill him.Charles Bronson is a melon farmer who is being harassed for protection and is being who to use for hi melon pickers. He gives the bad guy a slap and gets banged up. During his bang up he shares a transport with a big time assassin which is then hijacked. He escapes with the baddie and then the fun begins...
This also has the beautiful Linda Cristal. - DirectorJohn GlenStarsTimothy DaltonRobert DaviCarey LowellA vengeful James Bond goes rogue to infiltrate and take down the organization of a drug lord who has murdered his friend's new wife and left him near death.Timothy Dalton only made 2 bond movies both of which I like. This one is my favourite and it shows Bond getting revenge on a Drug Pedlar super villain for the murder of his friend's wife. It has the usual thrills and spills and for me Carey Lowell is an above average Bond girl. He should have made more and he is far better than the overhyped Daniel Craig efforts, which are very poor when compared to Sean's earlier era.
- DirectorChris NahonStarsJet LiBridget FondaTchéky KaryoA betrayed intelligence officer enlists the aid of a prostitute to prove his innocence from a deadly conspiracy while returning a favor to her.Jet Li plays a chinese cop working with the French police taking a chinese villain in Paris. Obviously, he gets set-up by the corrupt French cop, wouldn't you know it! He goes into hiding trying to get back to his own people so he can tell on the baddie. There is a side story of the hooker who helps him and he promises to get her daughter back for her.
Jet Li does his martial arts magic in some really good set pieces. - DirectorDeran SarafianStarsChristopher LambertMario Van PeeblesDenis LearyUSD400,000,000 is stolen and a drug lord wants it back. The killed thief's brother is broken out of prison by a DEA bounty hunter to help find the money boat. The body count continues in Latin America.This is one of those movies you expect to be terrible and they kind of surprise you. Our Chris is a criminal type with little in the way of brains and Mario is a fed chasing the bad guys and the money. Its turns out the Chris's brother hid a lot of drug money. Anyway, everyone is after it including Pucard from Star Trek.
Chris/Mario find out where the money is and the chase begins to get to them before they get to the money. - DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsRon PerlmanDoug JonesSelma BlairA demon raised from infancy after being conjured by and rescued from the Nazis, grows up to become a defender against the forces of darkness.Another comic strip hero translation. This time a demon helping the good guys. This is an above average effort since the hero is not usual one dimensional character we usually get. There are planty of monsters and John Hurt is good as the mentor/father figure of Hellboy.
- DirectorDavid MametStarsGene HackmanRebecca PidgeonDanny DeVitoA career jewel thief finds himself at tense odds with his longtime partner, a crime boss who sends his nephew to keep watch.Gene Hackman is always good value and in Heist he is in top form as a leader of team of thieves. There is plenty going on in this movie with double cross after double cross. You don't know who has the upper hand and who to trust. There are some good performances with Danny Devito being a dodgy fixer.
- DirectorRené ClairStarsFredric MarchVeronica LakeRobert BenchleyA beautiful 17th-century witch returns to life to plague politician Wallace Wooley, descendant of her persecutor.This is one of my favourites with Veronica Lake playing a witch who is out to get revenge on the descendant who had her and her father burned at the stake. This is a comedy by the way. Its corny and a blast with Frederic March falling in love with the witch. Just watch it.
- DirectorFrank TashlinStarsBob HopeJane RussellRoy RogersJunior Potter returns to claim his father's gold, which is nowhere to be found. "Mike" is the luscious head of a gang of thieves, and Roy Barton is the federal marshal hot on her trail.This is probably one of Bob Hope's best comedies and it has the stunning Jane Russell. Add to that Roy Rogers and you have quite a cast. Basically our hero goes back to his home in the west to collect his inheritance. He finds there is no money and he has to do some quick thinking from being since there are plenty of debters. Plenty of songs and plenty of comedy. The story is incidental but it highlights Hope's strengths.
- DirectorJohn MiliusStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerJames Earl JonesMax von SydowA powerful warrior seeks to avenge the genocide of his people and the murder of his parents at the hands of a snake cult.Arnie is Conan and this is the breakthrough role for the bodybuilder. There are villains that look capable of beating the "Terminator" which didn't really happen in most of his movies. Its a story of the making of our hero who witnesses the murder of his family and his people. His enslavement and then his escape for freedom. He meets a thief and they become a team, however, they steal from the same cult that butchered our hero's family.
They are captured by the king and he asks them to get his daughter back from Thulsa doom. Its a cracker and Arnie is good in it too. - DirectorAlbert PyunStarsLee HorsleyKathleen BellerSimon MacCorkindaleA mercenary with a three-bladed sword rediscovers his royal heritage's dangerous future when he is recruited to help a princess foil the designs of a brutal tyrant and a powerful sorcerer in conquering a land.This looks like a conan rip-off, but if it is one then its top notch for a low budget movie. It has heroes, damsels in distress and monstrous villains. Its really good and shame there wasn't a sequel. It deserved one!
- DirectorJohn McTiernanMichael CrichtonStarsAntonio BanderasDiane VenoraDennis StorhøiA man, having fallen in love with the wrong woman, is sent by the sultan himself on a diplomatic mission to a distant land as an ambassador. Stopping at a Viking village port to restock on supplies, he finds himself unwittingly embroiled in a quest to banish a mysterious threat in a distant Viking land.Another sword and sorcery type movie with an outsider being selected for a mission to save a kingdom of vikings from monsters.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsBurt ReynoldsEddie AlbertEd LauterA sadistic warden asks a former pro quarterback, now serving time in his prison, to put together a team of inmates to take on (and get pummeled by) the guards.This is he original and much better than the Adam Sandler effort, which quite frankly is a joke! Its about football, prisoners and its got Burt Reynolds looking his usual cool self. He's a football star who crashes a girlfriend's car and gets put into jail for his trouble. Here he ends up organising a game between the guards and the prisoners. There are a lot good characters in here with Burt. Another movie that entertains on multiple levels.
- DirectorMichael CrichtonStarsSean ConneryDonald SutherlandLesley-Anne DownEngland, 1850s. A master criminal aims to rob a train of a large sum of gold. Security is incredibly tight and the task seems an impossible one. However, he has a plan and just the right people to carry it out.This is Sean Connery post Bond in a heist movie during the Crimea war. Its sharp, thrilling and gripping. Will they get away with robbing a moving train?
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsSean ConneryBrigitte BardotStephen BoydIn 1880 New Mexico, a group of European hunters runs afoul of the Apache but is aided by an ex-cavalryman turned guide.This was during Sean's Bond phase and its a tidy western (looks like Spain) with a dashing hero and Bardot when she wasn't a loony. Well you could forgive her mental state when she was this hot!
- DirectorRobert Ellis MillerStarsJames CoburnOmar SharifRonee BlakleyA tale of two hustlers trying to set up a big game.James Coburn plays a pool hustler who was beaten down to his underpants by Omar Sharif. Well, Omar is back in town after sojourn in prison so our hero puts together money for a rematch. I like this but don't ask me why.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsChristopher ReeveMargot KidderGene HackmanAn alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.This is the original and the best including the 2013 effort. I think each of the characters for the same roles in the 78 version are better than the ones in 2013. This doesn't need an explanation.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames CaanThe aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.The first 2 godfather movies are just the best gangster/mafia movies and unlikely to be surpassed.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroRobert DuvallThe early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.Best sequel ever.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsRichard BurtonRoger MooreRichard HarrisA British banker hires a group of British mercenaries to rescue a deposed African President from the hands of a corrupt African dictator.This movie is with the 2 Richards (Harris and Burton) being hired to save imprisoned leader held by an army general. Our mercenary heroes get trained and drop behind enemy lines and save the leader, however they are double crossed by their employer. The latter half of the movie is about the boys trying to get back to blighty. Rip roaring action movie.
- DirectorEdwin SherinStarsBurt LancasterSusan ClarkFrank SilveraA Mexican-American sheriff (Burt Lancaster) must resort to violence against a powerful rancher (Frank Tanner, played by Jon Cypher) in order to get just compensation for the pregnant Indian widow of a wrongly killed black man.Burt plays a mexican sheriff who kills an innocent man for some reason that escapes me. Anyway, its not really his fault and he tries to get compensation from the so called wronged party, bullying local land owner. Anyway, he gets a good hiding but he somehow he escapes before they can kill him.
He goes after the guys to get back his honour and the compo for the widow. Its better than I make it sound! - DirectorRobert MooreStarsPeter FalkAlec GuinnessPeter SellersFive famous literary detective characters and their sidekicks are invited to a bizarre mansion to solve an even stranger mystery.Pretty good comedy mystery with David Niven and Peter Sellers plus Alec Guinness.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsLeonardo DiCaprioJoseph Gordon-LevittElliot PageA thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O., but his tragic past may doom the project and his team to disaster.This is movie with a fantastic concept, the idea that you enter people's dreams and construct your ideas and make them seem like the victim's. Industrial espionage and a whole more is involved. Our hero Leo needs to get back to his children but for some reason the authorities believe he killed his wife. Anyway, it gets quite complicated and there is plenty of clever twists and turns and the actions also keeps you glued.
- DirectorPierre MorelStarsLiam NeesonMaggie GraceFamke JanssenA retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who has been kidnapped while on a trip to Paris.Liam Neeson begins as a divorced father of a growing girl. He seems to be a security consultant trying to make up for lost time with his daughter without upsetting his ex-wife.
His daughter goes on holiday in Paris and she is about to be kidnapped when she calls her dad. He finds as much as he can before she is "Taken". Then it turns out he is James Bond in disguise. He tears up Paris looking for his daughter. - DirectorMario Van PeeblesStarsMario Van PeeblesStephen BaldwinCharles LaneIn 1898 Cuba, five Buffalo Soldiers find a gold cache, desert and return to America where they help defend a black town from the KKK, all the while trying to avoid capture by lawmen and military authorities alike.Mario Van Peebles is the hero who escapes from a crazed Colonel with a lot of loot during the american civil war. He goes back to his hometown to even the score for past crimes while being chased by this maniac.
- DirectorGeorge WaggnerStarsJohn WayneVera RalstonPhilip DornIn 1818 Alabama, French settlers are pitted against greedy land-grabber Blake Randolph but Kentucky militiaman John Breen, who's smitten with French gal Fleurette De Marchand, comes to the settlers' aid.This has John Wayne playing a soldier in a Kentuckian regiment who is left behind by his regiment after a hard night of drinking and brawling. He meets a beautiful girl who he falls in love with and then his problems begin. There is a group of french settlers who are being swindled and it is down to the Duke to get to bottom of it. Oliver Hardy is also present which is fantastic.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodLee Van CleefGian Maria VolontèTwo bounty hunters with the same intentions team up to track down a gang of outlaws led by a psychotic Mexican bandit, who is plotting an audacious bank robbery.This is the second in the trilogy of spaghetti westerns that Clint did with Sergio Leone. Its my favourite because of the interaction between Lee Van Cleef and Clint. Its where they partner up to bring down a gang of murdering bank robbers.
- DirectorIgor AuzinsStarsHugh Keays-ByrneIngrid MasonMax MeldrumAn insurance investigator, checking into the death of a man run over by a train in his back yard, uncovers a web of murder, land fraud swindles and supernatural beings.This is a strange movie about an insurance investigator who investigates the death of a man who is run over by a train in his back yard. Its a good mystery!
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellKim CattrallDennis DunA rough-and-tumble trucker and his side kick face off with an ancient sorcerer in a supernatural battle beneath Chinatown.Kurt Russel was a regular in John Carpenter movies. Here he plays a sidekick who gets involved with a China Town ghostly magician, human trafficking and the triads. There's comedy, martial arts and again there are some weird monsters. It wasn't a great hit, but it should have been.
- DirectorDavid R. EllisStarsSamuel L. JacksonJulianna MarguliesNathan PhillipsAn FBI agent takes on a plane full of deadly venomous snakes, deliberately released to kill a witness being flown from Honolulu to Los Angeles to testify against a mob boss.Samuel Jackson is after some bad guys and he has a witness. They are going to fly for him to give evidence when guess what the plane is loaded full of snakes to kill our heroes and everyone else for that matter. It sounds stupid but it works.
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsSteve McQueenJacqueline BissetRobert VaughnA nonconformist San Francisco cop is determined to find the underworld kingpin who killed the witness under his protection.Steve Mcqueen plays a detective who has a witness in protection before a big trial who is murdered. Steve tries to buy time when the victim is still alive and hides him from the prosecution and the rest of the force since he doesn't know who to trust. It has the famous car chase, but it also has a gripping story. Jacky Bisset is also stunning in this.
- DirectorMartha CoolidgeStarsDirk BenedictSydney WalshCatherine OxenbergEddie Mazda is a hard nosed private eye who gets in too close to the mob and is forced to leave Jersey City. He decides to open up shop in Hawaii. In no time, he finds a business, a partner, and lands the biggest case on the island: the murder of a land developer. With every step he takes getting close to the murder, he learns more about how the rich betray each other and how personal the murder is.Looks like a pilot for series that didn't quite make it. Enjoyable to watch.
- DirectorMichael PressmanStarsGeorge PeppardRichard BradfordCharles HaidHonest cop in corrupt 1940s Los Angeles fights against gangsters who are kidnapping and selling women into prostitution.George Peppard is a detective in LA who isn't dirty. He fighting the the criminals and the police force with his trusted unit.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsBenny HillBelinda LeeDavid KossoffThis movie debut for saucy British TV comic Benny Hill has Benny leaving his job as a sweeper after winning some money. He becomes a private detective and investigates a plot to assassinate British scientists.Benny Hill did a couple of movies and this is the one I enjoyed, where he is detective. He is up against Eastern european spies and assassins. Here he is impersonating a scientist who the bad guys will do in so they can steal a weather machine. What do you want its Benny Hill?
- DirectorMiguel Faria Jr.StarsJoaquim de AlmeidaAnthony O'DonnellMaria de MedeirosRio de Janeiro, 1886. Actress Sarah Bernhardt performs at the city's Municipal Theater, captivating the local audience enthralled by French culture. The city is at her feet, and even the Emperor Dom Pedro II comes to pay his respects. He confides a secret to her: the disappearance of a precious Stradivarius violin presented by him to the charming widow Baroness Maria Luiza. The actress suggests he hire her friend, the legendary British detective Sherlock Holmes, to solve the case. Under the heat of the tropical sun, the lives of Holmes and Watson are changed forever, as they find themselves knee-deep in a cultural hodgepodge that includes all the standard Brazilian tourist fare.This is a south american try at doing a Sherlock Holmes. Actually its very good with the hero being able to speak English to his Watson and Portuguese to the natives. There is a serial killer at large and Sherlock Holmes is on the hunt. Well he seems to spend most of his time with a beautiful lady, but I don't blame him.
- DirectorMichael RitchieStarsLee MarvinGene HackmanSissy SpacekA vicious Kansas City slaughterhouse owner and his hick family are having a bloody "beef" with the Chicago crime syndicate over profits from their joint illegal operations. Top enforcer Nick Devlin is sent to straighten things out.Lee Marvin plays a killer for the mob who goes to visit a gangster that has decided he doesn't need them anymore. Sissy Spacek looks very sexy in this as the damsel in distress who Lee frees from the clutches of Gene Hackman. Its a good movie with a high body count.
- DirectorPeter Graham ScottStarsJames Robertson JusticeLeslie PhillipsStanley BaxterA young married couple experience difficulties doing up a cottage, and are hindered by the wife's father.Another James Robertson Justice comedy where he is the father of new bride. Stanley Baxter is the poor put upon husband who has to deal with overbearing father in law. The happy couple buy a dream house and get the builders in who totally destroy the property. Leslie Phillips is also around as the estate agent.
- DirectorJocelyn MoorhouseStarsHugo WeavingGeneviève PicotRussell CroweThe life of a blind photographer who is looked after by a housekeeper is disrupted by the arrival of an agreeable restaurant worker.Hugo weaving plays a blind photographer who doesn't anyone, when he meets a restaurant worker Russell Crowe. There is also a housekeeper who loves Hugo but also tortures him because her love in unrequited. Its powerful stuff and this little movie shows what these 2 guys can do.
- DirectorSam NeillStarsDavid WenhamMick MolloyDeborah KennedyThe political adviser to Australia's Minister of the Arts investigates the suspicious death of a disgruntled artist.This is one of those crime dramas that starts small and spreads to all levels of the government. Well maybe not all levels, but our hero is likable and he gets to the bottom of the mystery.
- DirectorJeffrey WalkerStarsGuy PearceMarta DusseldorpAaron PedersenA former criminal lawyer is getting his life back together and now spends his days as a part-time investigator, debt collector, apprentice cabinet maker, punter and finding those who don't want to be found - dead or alive. When an ex-client wants his help, he lets it pass away. But then this guy turns up dead which forces him back into the ominous past he thought he left for good.Guy Pearce is perfectly cast as the down and out (due to the death of his wife) debt collector and investigator. He gets involved in a case with one of his clients who has just got out of prison. The guy dies under mysterious circumstances and our hero is on the trail. This series of movies is really good.
- DirectorMichael RitchieStarsChevy ChaseJoe Don BakerDana Wheeler-NicholsonWhile working undercover wisecracking newspaper reporter Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher is offered a large sum by a millionaire with a terminal disease to kill him. Intrigued, Fletch decides to unearth the full story behind the offer.Chevy chase at his best in a really good comedy crime thriller.
- DirectorAmy HeckerlingStarsAlicia SilverstoneStacey DashBrittany MurphyShallow, rich and socially successful Cher is at the top of her Beverly Hills high school's pecking scale. Seeing herself as a matchmaker, Cher first coaxes two teachers into dating each other.Alicia Silverstone seems to have not made the best choices in the movies. This one was however not one of them. Its a re-imagining of "Emma" set in the 90s. She is perfect as the spoiled rich kid who is part of the in crowd. She interfere's in a friends life and finds out that it backfires. She finds love where she least expected it.
- DirectorJohn IrvinStarsChristopher WalkenTom BerengerColin BlakelyMercenary James Shannon, on a reconnaissance job to the African nation of Zangaro, is tortured and deported. He returns to lead a coup.Christopher Walken is a mercenary for hire to the highest bidder. He has nothing else in his life. However, he has a mission and he gets a chance at redemption, will he use it?
- DirectorRalph ThomasStarsDirk BogardeSylva KoscinaRobert MorleyCzech-speaking, out-of-work Briton Nicholas Whistler (Dirk Bogarde) is unwittingly sent on a secret mission to Prague by British Intelligence.Dirk Bogarde plays a work shy writer who is unknowingly recruited as a spy. He meets a femme fatale and falls for her, but he is stuck in the eastern bloc with no route for escape. Its a comedy of sorts since not all the laughs come off. For all that Sylvia Koschina saves it with her allure.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsPeter SellersElke SommerGeorge SandersInspector Clouseau falls in love with a murder suspect and tries to clear her name.This is the best Inspector Clousea movie and Peter Sellers is at his funniest.
- DirectorBudd BoetticherStarsRandolph ScottKaren SteelePernell RobertsA bounty hunter (Randolph Scott) escorts a killer (James Best) to be tried for murder, but allows the man's outlaw brother (Lee Van Cleef) to catch up with them to have a showdown over a previous shocking murder.As revenge westerns go this one is a favourite as it has Randolph Scott doing his bounty hunter thing. He captures the brother of the man who murdered his wife. Then makes sure the guy knows where he is taking him and then goes the long way round. A few stragglers join him along the way to make things interesting.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsTom SelleckPaulina PorizkovaWilliam DanielsPhil has writer's block after 30 detective novels. In court for inspiration, he sees a cute Romanian murder suspect. He provides her alibi. She stays with him. Will he live to write another novel?Tom Selleck plays an crime write who decides to alibi a murder suspect because she is hot. The rest of the movie keeps you guessing (not really) whether she is the killer or not.
- DirectorCharles VidorStarsRita HayworthGlenn FordGeorge MacreadyA small-time gambler hired to work in a Buenos Aires casino discovers his employer's new wife is his former lover.Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford burn up the screen in this crime drama.
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsAlec GuinnessGlynis JohnsValerie HobsonEdward Machin, an Edwardian-era young rogue of lowly origin, decides he must do what he can to raise his living standards in order to see the world and shape his own destiny.This is the story of a young man who rises from poverty to the position of Mayor through his acumen. It has a youngish Alec Guinness and very young Petula Clark.
- DirectorSteve MinerStarsWilliam KattKay LenzGeorge WendtA troubled writer moves into a haunted house after inheriting it from his aunt.A haunted house movie that really rocks. William Katt is a horror author who returns to his home when his aunt dies. Its the place where his son disappeared and its the place of bad memories. He decides to write a book on his experiences in Vietnam in the house. Then things start to go bump in the night. It does have some good frights in it.
- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsMichael CaineNigel GreenGuy DolemanIn London, a wisecracking spy investigates the kidnapping and brainwashing of British scientists while dealing with the constraints of his agency's bureaucracy.Harry Palmer is the cure to all those Bond movies. He doesn't have any gadgets and he isn't cool. He isn't even very good as a spy, however, this first installment is the best of the series. Scientists are going missing and being returned with all knowledge being removed. They are being brain washed, but who is doing this?
- DirectorMichael AndersonStarsMichael YorkJenny AgutterRichard JordanA police officer in the future uncovers the deadly secret behind a society that worships youth.Michael York is sandman (policeman) in a society when you reach a certain age and you are euthenised. All those not prepared to do this are made to do so by the sandmen. Its set in the future after some catastrophic global event. Anyway York goes under cover to find out why some of the people are going missing (escaping). He decides to switch sides and then his problems begin.
- DirectorMarcel VarnelStarsWill HayMoore MarriottGraham MoffattWith the help of a relative, a hopeless railway employee is made stationmaster of Buggleskelly. Determined to make his mark, he devises a number of schemes to put Buggleskelly on the railway map, but instead falls foul of a gang of gun runners.Will Hay was very big in the 1930s-40s and this is one of his better efforts as a bumbling inept stationmaster. He finds himself against gun runners in Northern Ireland and through sheer luck he saves the day.
- DirectorEdward L. CahnStarsMarshall ThompsonShirley PattersonKim SpaldingThe first manned expedition to Mars is invaded by an unknown life form, which stows away on the rescue ship.This is a corny sci-fi from the 50's which has a monster hide in a space ship. Then it starts to kill the occupants one by one. Its so bad its good is my take on this.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsKenneth MoreJayne MansfieldHenry HullAfter inadvertently stopping an Indian attack on his stagecoach while traveling in the American West, an English gentleman finds himself appointed sheriff of a nearby town.Jayne Mansfield is the reason for watching this. Its a comedy western with Kenneth More with his stiff upper lip sent out to sell guns to all and sundry to save the company. Its fun and doesn't tax the mind.
- DirectorJûzô ItamiStarsNobuko MiyamotoYasuo DaichiTakehiro MurataA luxury hotel extorted by yakusa assigns an ordinary accountant to handle the situation. The chaotic results cause the hotel to rethink its plan.This story is about a hotel invaded by the Yakuza. The hotel hires an expert to help them get rid of the Yakuza. Its very japanese and something you wouldn't get made in the "west" which is why its so good.
- DirectorCy EndfieldStarsStanley BakerJack HawkinsUlla JacobssonOutnumbered British soldiers do battle with Zulu warriors at Rorke's Drift.This abou Rourkes Drift where the Zulus were held off by a small force of British soldiers after they had overun a regiment. Once the action gets going it never relents.
- DirectorVal GuestStarsDavid NivenFrançoise DorléacJohn Le MesurierA local doctor is recruited as a cold war spy to fulfill a very important secret mission in the Middle East, only to experience that his mission is complicated by a sexy female double agent.David Niven is a doctor who is convinced to spy with the reward of a classic car. It involves assasination of a head of an oil state which goes wrong and our Dr Love has to find an escape route.
- DirectorElliott NugentStarsBob HopePaulette GoddardJohn BealWhen an eccentric family meets in their uncle's remote, decaying mansion on the tenth anniversary of his death for the reading of his will, murder and madness follow.Bob Hope with Paulette Goddard in a engrossing comedy horror. Basically, a rich uncle dies and all the remaining family are called to the manor house in the swamps for a reading of the will. One of them is a killer since Uncle did in mysterious circumstances. Bob Hope is not playing a total buffoon in this and leading lady is very easy o the eyes. There are plenty of red herrings and suspects. Who will get bumped off next?
- DirectorPeter CollinsonStarsMichael CaineNoël CowardBenny HillA comic caper movie about a plan to steal a gold shipment from the streets of Turin by creating a traffic jam.This is the original and best version of the heist. Its set during a football match between Italy and England where Michael Caine's team rob the bullion from the Itialian car company. Its comedy action and the setup from Michael getting out of prison and being chauffeured by his girlfriend to an orgy as his coming out present. To the planning and training for the heist itself. There are many twists and turn in this movie. Trust me the ending is a cliff hanger!
- DirectorJack GoldStarsRichard BurtonLee RemickLino VenturaA telekinetic novelist causes disasters simply by thinking about them.Richard Burton plays a lawyer turned author turned mental case. He finds that throughout his life when he has wished certain things to happen and they have. Anyway, it turns out he has powerful psychic powers. Although this movie actually starts with him being attacked and being practically brain dead in hospital. We learn he basically wanted to destroy the establishment and he may yet do that from his hospital bed if he isn't stopped.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsWilliam HoldenErnest BorgnineRobert RyanAn aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.One of the best westerns ever. William Holden has never been better with his band of bank robbers. Him and his team are getting old so they go for one last score, which is to sell weapons to a warlord in Mexico. Anyway, things don't go according to plan.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsJoe Don BakerMartin BalsamJohn SaxonA tough, slobby, honest cop tries to simultaneously take down heroin dealers and a corrupt businessman who murdered a burglar, even if it costs him his life.oe Don Baker plays a detective who is not the smartest, but he gets the job done. Anyway, a burglar is killed running from a house by the psychotic owner. Mitchell is on his trail and the guy tries to buy him off with a premium hooker, but Mitchell thinks its a gift. He is really dumb remember. Another gangster is looking to get away with ill gotten gains and uses Mitchell to do this.
Mitchell in spite of this seems to survive and still is able to get his men and the girl too! - DirectorJohn WooStarsChow Yun-FatTony Leung Chiu-waiTeresa MoA tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew.Chow Yun Fat in his best movie where he plays a no nonsense cop after two gangs of gunrunners. There is an undercover cop who is starting to think he is criminal. These two guys collide and guns go off. The climax happens in a hospital where the guns have been hidden, however, there is an absolute bloodbath. You don't have time to catch your breath due the amount of gunplay.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsAlan LaddVeronica LakeWilliam BendixAn ex-bomber pilot is suspected of murdering his unfaithful wife.Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake make the screen sizzle in this noir thriller. The hero's wife is murdered and we see Alan try to find out who did it since it is pointing at a him or his friend. He has the help of a sexy lady so it all turns out well.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.Horror in space. Its top-notch thriller with a realistic science feel to it. Sigourney Weaver in her breakout role.
- 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.Action packed sequel to Alien with a return of our spunky heroine Ripley.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsKirsten DunstMinami TakayamaRei SakumaA young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.This is a magical story about a witch who has to leave home to become a proper witch. The animation is superb and the story is heart warming.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko TsushimaFarmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.The magnificent seven was based on this movie by Akira Kurosawa, and guess what it doesn't even come close to being as good as this original. All of our intrepid samurai are characters with real depth and flaws. I have watched this many times and it gets better with each viewing.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneEijirô TônoTatsuya NakadaiA crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.Another movie copied by hollywood, but the original with Toshiro Mifune is without comparison.
- DirectorWalter FordeStarsArthur AskeyRichard MurdochKathleen HarrisonHigh jinks and chills ensue when a group of people become stranded at an isolated station and a legendary phantom train approaches.Arthur Askey in a spooky tale of a ghost train. A group become stranded at station and things start to go bump, well they go chug, chug.
- DirectorJosé PadilhaStarsWagner MouraIrandhir SantosAndré RamiroAfter a prison riot, former-Captain Nascimento, now a high ranking security officer in Rio de Janeiro, is swept into a bloody political dispute that involves government officials and paramilitary groups.This is about an elite squad of police officers who find that by destroying the criminal elements, they have replaced them with crooked police officers. It heavy duty and really good.
- DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsAntonio BanderasSalma HayekJoaquim de AlmeidaFormer musician and gunslinger El Mariachi arrives at a small Mexican border town after being away for a long time. His past quickly catches up with him and he soon gets entangled with the local drug kingpin Bucho and his gang.Antonio Banderas got noticed after this action packed thriller. He is searching for the guys that killed his girl on their wedding day. He used to part of a Mariachi band and now they are all killers. Anyway, he finally finds the guy responsible after wiping out half the town. The he proceeds to finish off the job when he has the guy in is sights.
- DirectorRichard MurphyStarsJack LemmonRicky NelsonJohn LundDuring WW2, Lt. Rip Crandall, who was a yachtsman before the war, takes command of the USS Echo, a sailing ship, for a secret mission in waters patrolled by Japanese warships.Jack Lemmon gets conned into taking a small ship on a mission with a crew who have difficulty counting. There's plenty of humour and Jack doesn't let us down. Ricky Nelson is also present correct as the ey candy for the ladies (in the 60s).
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleTom HardyAnne HathawayEight years after the Joker's reign of chaos, Batman is coerced out of exile with the assistance of the mysterious Selina Kyle in order to defend Gotham City from the vicious guerrilla terrorist Bane.Best of the Christian Bale Batman movies (also the finale). Its got the action to sate all appetites and a baddie that makes you want to boo and hiss. There's plenty been written about this, but I like the way all the loose ends are tied together.