Movies I have rated 8 out of 10 or higher.
The list contains all the movies I can remember that I have rated 8 or higher. Since my ratings include half stars, this means 8.0, 8.5, 9.0, 9.5 and 10. Every film on this list I have seen at least twice.
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- DirectorSidney LumetStarsHenry FondaLee J. CobbMartin BalsamThe jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.8.0 - This courtroom drama with Henry Fonda gives real insight into the jury process.
- DirectorMikkel NørgaardStarsNikolaj Lie KaasFares FaresPilou AsbækThe murder of young twins initially implicates a group of upper class students as the killers, though the case takes a turn or two from its starting point.8.0 - This “Department Q Trilogy” film is a superb police thriller.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsEd HarrisMary Elizabeth MastrantonioMichael BiehnA civilian diving team is enlisted to search for a lost nuclear submarine and faces danger while encountering an alien aquatic species.9.0 - The ordinary dangers (whales, giant octopuses, etc.) are nothing compared to what befalls the crew of this deep sea mining and research station.
- DirectorGavin O'ConnorStarsBen AffleckAnna KendrickJ.K. SimmonsAs a math savant uncooks the books for a new client, the Treasury Department closes in on his activities, and the body count starts to rise.8.5 - If you are going to have a lot of action (violence), it helps if it’s well written, acted and directed … this one is.
- DirectorStephan ElliottStarsHugo WeavingGuy PearceTerence StampTwo drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.8.0 - On first viewing, you tend to be overwhelmed by the outlandish costumes and performances ... so I recommend additional viewings to fully understand this delightful, wacky and surprisingly touching film.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartKatharine HepburnRobert MorleyIn WWI East Africa, a gin-swilling Canadian riverboat captain is persuaded by a strait-laced English missionary to undertake a trip up a treacherous river and use his boat to attack a German gunship.8.5 - Bogart and Hepburn at their very best.
- 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.8.5 - This has been called a fable, a fantasy, and a fairy tale, and it certainly has aspects of all of these. As for me, it was a two-hour escape into another world, and that is all I ask of any film.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.9.0 - Unusual and unusually good space melodrama. Truly a landmark film, but not for the weak of heart or stomach.
- 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.8.5 - This sequel to "Alien" is almost as good, and every bit as frightening.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsCecilia RothMarisa ParedesCandela PeñaA comedy-drama about a bereaved mother, an overwrought actress, her jealous lover, and a pregnant nun.8.0 - Director Pedro Almodóvar is an expert at controlling the emotions of his audience. He leads the viewer from tears to laughter and back to tears again ... over and over.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsRichard DreyfussHolly HunterBrad JohnsonThe spirit of a recently deceased expert pilot mentors a newer pilot while watching him fall in love with the girlfriend that he left behind.9.5 - Bring your handkerchiefs and enjoy some of the most heart-warming and heart-rending scenes ever put on film.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsF. Murray AbrahamTom HulceElizabeth BerridgeThe life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.9.0 - The music, acting, staging, direction, all are wonderful. An absolute must for music lovers. Won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (F. Murray Abraham).
- DirectorAnton CorbijnStarsGeorge ClooneyPaolo BonacelliViolante PlacidoAn assassin hides out in Italy for one last assignment.8.5 - My favorite George Clooney film. Lots of action, romance and beautiful scenery … what more could you want.
- DirectorSam MendesStarsKevin SpaceyAnnette BeningThora BirchA sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.8.0 - Not a heart-wrenching tearjerker, a side-splitting comedy or a feel-good love story ... but a brilliantly written and superbly acted film that incorporates all of these elements.
- DirectorTony KayeStarsEdward NortonEdward FurlongBeverly D'AngeloLiving a life marked by violence, neo-Nazi Derek finally goes to prison after killing two black youths. Upon his release, Derek vows to change; he hopes to prevent his brother, Danny, who idolizes Derek, from following in his footsteps.8.5 - Whether or not you enjoy this film will depend on your tolerance for scenes of hate & violence, and the stupidity that leads to both.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsMichael DouglasAnnette BeningMartin SheenA widowed U.S. President running for reelection and an environmental lobbyist fall in love. It's all above-board, but "politics is perception," and sparks fly anyway.8.0 - This film won’t strain your brain, or shock your nerves, but it will warm your heart.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsJames StewartLee RemickBen GazzaraAn upstate Michigan lawyer defends a soldier who claims he killed an innkeeper due to temporary insanity after the victim raped his wife. What is the truth, and will he win his case?8.0 - This superb courtroom drama is dated, but it is still one of the all-time best.
- DirectorDavid AmphlettStarsAndrea BocelliSarah BrightmanA concert which took place at the Piazza dei Cavalieri in Pisa in 1997.8.5 - Blind Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli hosts an absolutely gorgeous concert in the Tuscan countryside. A multitude of talented guest performers add to the enjoyment.
- DirectorMichael RymerStarsJohn LynchJacqueline McKenzieColin FrielsTwo schizophrenics meet during therapy and fall passionately in love. Ahead of them lies the inevitable road to disaster - one they share to the end.8.0 - With happy parts where the characters find heights of joy and ecstasy that we can only dream of; and sad parts where they experience fear and depression that we, hopefully, will never know ... this film will wring your emotions dry.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsJohn BelushiKaren AllenTom HulceAt a 1962 college, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, but those troublemakers have other plans for him.8.0 - John Belushi’s best film, with a strong supporting cast. A classic “campus comedy” in the slapstick tradition. This film spawned a host of imitators, but none can match the original.
- DirectorJon BlairStarsKenneth BranaghGlenn CloseIsa BaschwitzTells the story of the Frank family and paints a portrait of their brash and free-spirited daughter Anne, perhaps the world's most famous victim of the Holocaust.9.0 - This documentary contains interviews, film clips and still photos which have never been available before.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsJack LemmonShirley MacLaineFred MacMurrayA Manhattan insurance clerk tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but complications and a romance of his own ensue.8.0 - Classic Jack Lemmon, possibly his best comedy. Lemmon loans out his apartment for his boss’s romantic trysts.
- 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.9.0 - This classic Vietnam War film is both surreal and confusing ... but it is also a graphic portrayal of the horrors of war in general, and this war in particular.
- DirectorTodd Douglas MillerStarsNeil ArmstrongMike CollinsBuzz AldrinA look at the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon led by commander Neil Armstrong and pilots Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins.9.0 - Watching this superb documentary is like reliving the day in 1969 when we were all glued to our TV sets for what was probably the most watched single event in history. Much of this footage we have already seen in other documentary and news programs, but some of it was new to me … and all of it is so well put together that we can experience again the sheer excitement that we all felt that day.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsTom HanksBill PaxtonKevin BaconNASA must devise a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft undergoes massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy.8.5 - The best of today’s techno-thriller authors ... Tom Clancy, Stephen Coonts, etc. ... could not possibly devise a more thrilling and dramatic film script than this true story.