Best movies: Movies that hooked me
A multi genre list of movies that spoke to me in some way, in no particular order. I find all these exceptional for different reasons. If you stumble across this list at four in the morning, I feel quite assured you'll find something suitable.
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- DirectorScott DerricksonStarsEthan HawkeJuliet RylanceJames RansoneA controversial true-crime writer finds a box of Super 8 home movies in his new home, revealing that the murder case he is currently researching could be the work of an unknown serial killer whose legacy dates back to the 1960s.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsEmil JanningsMarlene DietrichKurt GerronAn elderly professor's ordered life spins dangerously out of control when he falls for a nightclub singer.
- DirectorBarry SonnenfeldStarsGene HackmanRene RussoDanny DeVitoA mobster travels to Hollywood to collect a debt, and discovers that the movie business is much the same as his current job.
- DirectorStan WinstonStarsLance HenriksenJeff EastJohn D'AquinoAfter a tragic accident, a man conjures up a towering, vengeful demon called Pumpkinhead to destroy a group of unsuspecting teenagers.
- DirectorRob McKittrickStarsRyan ReynoldsAnna FarisJohn Francis DaleyYoung employees at ShenaniganZ restaurant collectively stave off boredom and adulthood with their antics.
- DirectorGreg MottolaStarsMichael CeraJonah HillChristopher Mintz-PlasseTwo co-dependent high school seniors are forced to deal with separation anxiety after their plan to stage a booze-soaked party goes awry.
- DirectorTim Blake NelsonStarsDavid ArquetteVelizar BinevDavid ChandlerA Nazi doctor, along with the Sonderkommando, Jews who are forced to work in the crematoria of Auschwitz against their fellow Jews, find themselves in a moral gray zone.
- DirectorBryan BertinoStarsMarin IrelandMichael Abbott Jr.Julie Oliver-TouchstoneOn a secluded farm in a nondescript rural town, a man is slowly dying. His family gathers to mourn, and soon a darkness grows, marked by waking nightmares and a growing sense that something evil is taking over the family.
- DirectorOliver HirschbiegelStarsBruno GanzAlexandra Maria LaraUlrich MatthesTraudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.
- DirectorFatih AkinStarsJonas DasslerVasiliki Georgina PseimadaChristine JensenA serial killer strikes fear in the hearts of residents of Hamburg during the early 1970s.
- DirectorDoug GerberCaleb PennypackerStarsKevin KennySamantha BogachJamie GrecoA mentally ill homeless man begins a killing spree on the streets of New York City.
- DirectorAlex CoxStarsGary OldmanChloe WebbDavid HaymanThe relationship between Sid Vicious, bassist for British punk group Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is portrayed.
- DirectorJonas ÅkerlundStarsRory CulkinEmory CohenJack KilmerA teenager's quest to launch Norwegian Black Metal in Oslo in the early 1990s results in a very violent outcome.
- DirectorRobert RossenStarsPaul NewmanJackie GleasonPiper LaurieAn up-and-coming pool player plays a long-time champion in a single high-stakes match.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsGreta GarboCharles BickfordGeorge F. MarionA young woman reunites with her estranged father and falls in love with a sailor, but struggles to tell them about her dark past.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsBette DavisLeslie HowardFrances DeeA young man finds himself attracted to a cold, unfeeling waitress who might ultimately destroy them both.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsRay MillandJane WymanPhillip TerryThe desperate life of a chronic alcoholic is followed through a four-day drinking bout.
- DirectorBrett SimmonsStarsC.J. ThomasonStephen LangMichelle PierceJake is given a Monkey's Paw that grants 3 wishes. After the first 2 wishes leave his friend Cobb undead, Cobb pushes Jake to make a final wish.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsHarrison FordRutger HauerSean YoungA blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.
- DirectorS. Craig ZahlerStarsVince VaughnJennifer CarpenterDon JohnsonA former boxer-turned-drug runner lands in a prison battleground after a deal gets deadly.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsBurt LancasterKarl MaldenThelma RitterA surly convicted murderer held in permanent isolation redeems himself when he becomes a renowned bird expert.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsSteve McQueenDustin HoffmanVictor JoryA French convict in the 1930s befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence in the South American penal colony on Devil's Island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.
- DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsDenzel WashingtonEthan HawkeScott GlennA rookie cop spends his first day as a Los Angeles narcotics officer with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears to be.
- DirectorBryan SingerStarsIan McKellenBrad RenfroJoshua JacksonA boy blackmails his neighbor after suspecting him to be a Nazi war criminal.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsRussell CroweJoaquin PhoenixConnie NielsenA former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.
- DirectorDennis HopperStarsPeter FondaDennis HopperJack NicholsonTwo bikers head from L.A. to New Orleans through the open country and desert lands, and along the way they meet a man who bridges a counter-culture gap of which they had been unaware.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsDustin HoffmanJon VoightSylvia MilesA naive hustler travels from Texas to New York City to seek personal fortune, finding a new friend in the process.
- DirectorZak HilditchStarsThomas JaneMolly ParkerDylan SchmidA simple yet proud farmer in the year 1922 conspires to murder his wife for financial gain, convincing his teenage son to assist. But their actions have unintended consequences.
- DirectorJames FoleyStarsChris O'DonnellGene HackmanFaye DunawayA young man fresh out of law school tries to win a reprieve for his racist grandfather who is on death row.
- DirectorGregory HoblitStarsRichard GereLaura LinneyEdward NortonAn altar boy is accused of murdering a priest, and the truth is buried several layers deep.
- DirectorMike FiggisStarsRichard GereAndy GarciaNancy TravisAn Internal Affairs agent becomes obsessed with bringing down a cop who has managed to maintain a spotless reputation despite being involved in a web of corruption.
- DirectorRobert BiermanStarsNicolas CageMaria Conchita AlonsoJennifer BealsAfter an encounter with a neck-biter, a publishing executive thinks that he's turning into a vampire.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsMichael J. FoxSean PennDon HarveyDuring the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerCarl WeathersKevin Peter HallA team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
- DirectorLev KulidzhanovStarsGeorgiy TaratorkinInnokentiy SmoktunovskiyTatyana BedovaRaskolnikov, an impoverished ex-law student, kills an old pawnbroker and her sister, perhaps for money, perhaps to prove a theory about being above the law. He comes to police attention through normal procedures (he was the victim's client), but his outbursts make him the prime suspect of the clever Porfiry. Meanwhile, life swirls around Raskolnikov: his mother and sister come to the city followed by two older men seeking his sister's hand; he meets a drunken clerk who is then killed in a traffic accident, and he falls in love with the man's daughter, Sonia, a young prostitute. She urges him to confess, promising to follow him to Siberia. Will he accept responsibility?
- DirectorGraeme CliffordStarsJessica LangeJonathan BanksBonnie BartlettThe story of Frances Farmer's meteoric rise to fame in Hollywood and the tragic turn her life took when she was blacklisted.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsNaomi WattsJack BlackAdrien BrodyA greedy film producer assembles a team of moviemakers and sets out for the infamous Skull Island, where they find more than just cannibalistic natives.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMel GibsonBruce SpenceMichael PrestonIn the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline-rich community get rid of a horde of bandits.
- DirectorGeorge MillerGeorge OgilvieStarsMel GibsonTina TurnerBruce SpenceAfter being exiled from the most advanced town in post-apocalyptic Australia, a drifter travels with a group of abandoned children to rebel against the town's queen.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJack NicholsonShelley DuvallDanny LloydA family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsJeff GoldblumGeena DavisJohn GetzA brilliant but eccentric scientist begins to transform into a giant man/fly hybrid after one of his experiments goes horribly wrong.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsMickey RourkeRobert De NiroLisa BonetA private investigator is hired by a man who calls himself Louis Cyphre to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite. But the investigation takes an unexpected and somber turn.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsMickey RourkeEllen BarkinElizabeth McGovernAfter being double crossed and thrown in jail, a deformed gangster gets a new face and rehabilitation, but his desire for revenge looms.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroJodie FosterCybill ShepherdA mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroJerry LewisDiahnne AbbottA passionate yet unsuccessful comedian stalks and kidnaps his idol to take the spotlight for himself.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroCathy MoriartyJoe PesciThe life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroRay LiottaJoe PesciThe story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroSharon StoneJoe PesciIn Las Vegas, two best friends - a casino executive and a mafia enforcer - compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.
- DirectorHarold BeckerStarsJohn SavageJames WoodsFranklyn SealesAn LA police officer is murdered in the onion fields outside of Bakersfield. However, legal loopholes could keep his kidnappers from receiving justice, and his partner is haunted by overwhelming survivor's guilt.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsGeorge C. ScottStacy KeachJane AlexanderAn idealistic rookie cop joins the L.A.P.D. to make ends meet while finishing law school, and is indoctrinated by a seasoned veteran. As time goes on, he loses his ambitions and family as police work becomes his entire life.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsDavid CarradineStacy KeachDennis QuaidThe origins, exploits and the ultimate fate of the Jesse James gang is told in a sympathetic portrayal of the bank robbers made up of brothers who begin their legendary bank raids because of revenge.
- DirectorDon SiegelClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodAndrew RobinsonHarry GuardinoWhen a man calling himself "the Scorpio Killer" menaces San Francisco, tough-as-nails Police Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to track down the crazed psychopath.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGene HackmanMorgan FreemanRetired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsHilary SwankClint EastwoodMorgan FreemanFrankie, an ill-tempered old coach, reluctantly agrees to train aspiring boxer Maggie. Impressed with her determination and talent, he helps her become the best and the two soon form a close bond.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodBee VangChristopher CarleyAfter a Hmong teenager tries to steal his prized 1972 Gran Torino, a disgruntled, prejudiced Korean War veteran seeks to redeem both the boy and himself.
- DirectorPeter HyamsStarsMichael DouglasHal HolbrookYaphet KottoFrustrated with a legal system gone haywire, a secret society of judges hires hitmen to snuff out criminals who escape courtroom justice - but one young judge questions the ethics of their vigilante system.
- DirectorCharles BurnettStarsDanny GloverPaul ButlerDeVaughn NixonA charismatic old acquaintance drifts into town, stirring up trouble for a mild-mannered family.
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsMatthew BroderickDenzel WashingtonCary ElwesRobert Gould Shaw leads the U.S. Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both his own Union Army, and the Confederates.
- DirectorDenzel WashingtonStarsDenzel WashingtonViola DavisStephen McKinley HendersonA working-class African-American father tries to raise his family in the 1950s, while coming to terms with the events of his life.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsBrad DavisIrene MiracleBo HopkinsBilly Hayes, an American college student, is caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey and thrown into prison.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsCharlie SheenMichael DouglasTamara TunieAn impatient young stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless, greedy corporate raider who takes the youth under his wing.
- 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.
- DirectorPhillip GuzmanStarsMick RossiRobert MianoAaron GallagherThe plan was easy; the job was not. On a snowy night a tight crew of four criminals plan to pull off a routine heist. When things go horribly wrong, friendship, loyalty and trust are pushed to the limit.
- DirectorDerrick BorteStarsRussell CroweCaren PistoriusGabriel BatemanAfter a confrontation with an unstable man at an intersection, a woman becomes the target of his rage.
- DirectorLarry CharlesStarsSacha Baron CohenKen DavitianLuenellKazakh TV talking head Borat is dispatched to the United States to report on the greatest country in the world.
- DirectorLarry CharlesStarsSacha Baron CohenGustaf HammarstenClifford BañagaleFlamboyant, gay Austrian Brüno looks for new fame in America.
- DirectorLarry CharlesStarsSacha Baron CohenAnna FarisJohn C. ReillyThe heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsAl PacinoJohn CazalePenelope AllenThree amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a bank. A nice simple robbery: Walk in, take the money, and run. Unfortunately, the supposedly uncomplicated heist suddenly becomes a bizarre nightmare as everything that could go wrong does.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanEthan HawkeAlbert FinneyWhen two brothers organize the robbery of their parents' jewelry store the job goes horribly wrong, triggering a series of events that sends them, their father and one brother's wife barreling towards a shattering climax.
- DirectorBryan ForbesStarsGeorge SegalTom CourtenayJames FoxFast-talking wheeler-dealer Corporal King is stuck in a Malaysian P.O.W. camp during World War II and uses bribery and larceny to take de-facto control of the camp.
- DirectorVincente MinnelliGeorge CukorStarsKirk DouglasAnthony QuinnJames DonaldThe life of brilliant but tortured artist Vincent van Gogh.
- DirectorGeorge PalStarsRod TaylorAlan YoungYvette MimieuxA man's vision for a utopian society is disillusioned when travelling forward into time reveals a dark and dangerous society.
- DirectorJean de SegonzacStarsAlix KoromzayBruno CamposWill EstesA human mimicking giant bug survived Mimic (1997) and is killing humans and stalking a woman, who's bug/biology school teacher in NYC.
- DirectorJames FoleyStarsAl PacinoJack LemmonAlec BaldwinAn examination of the machinations behind the scenes at a real estate office.
- DirectorDick RichardsStarsRobert MitchumCharlotte RamplingJohn IrelandLos Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by paroled convict Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend Velma, former seedy nightclub dancer.
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsTom CruiseKen WatanabeBilly ConnollyIn 19th century Japan, Nathan Algren, a US army captain, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Captain Algren finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsForest WhitakerDiane VenoraMichael ZelnikerThe troubled life and career of jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker.
- DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsJames McAvoyForest WhitakerGillian AndersonBased on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970s.
- DirectorJohn AndersonStarsPaul ButterfieldElvin BishopMike BloomfieldLife and career of legendary blues musician Paul Butterfield.
- DirectorGeorge HuangStarsKevin SpaceyFrank WhaleyMichelle ForbesA young, naive Hollywood studio assistant finally turns the tables on his incredibly abusive producer boss.
- DirectorKieron HawkesStarsEd SkreinPaul AndersonMartin CompstonLondon, modern day: Joe, a mild mannered young man is bored by his life. When his beloved brother is murdered Joe finds solace in Piggy, one of his brother's old friends. Piggy helps Joe to cope with grief, intent on saving him and helping him get justice for his brother's killing. As their friendship grows Joe finds himself in an increasing dangerous and murky world of violence and revenge. As Joe life collapses around him he starts to question who Piggy really is, and how honest he's really been with him. When Joe confronts Piggy a series of events are put in place that lead to a disastrous climax.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsMorgan FreemanJessica TandyDan AykroydAn old Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur in the American South have a relationship that grows and improves over the years.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaJane DarwellJohn CarradineAn Oklahoma family, driven off their farm by the poverty and hopelessness of the Dust Bowl, joins the westward migration to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsHarrison FordHelen MirrenRiver PhoenixAn inventor spurns his city life and moves his family into the jungles of Central America to make a utopia.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsJack NicholsonHope DavisDermot MulroneyA recently retired man embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.
- DirectorJoe MaggioStarsDennis FarinaMatt DeCaroMeredith DroegerJoe May is an aging hustler clinging to the belief that he's one scam away from his big score. With his health failing and resources dwindling, Joe is presented with one last shot at redemption.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsJames CaanTuesday WeldWillie NelsonAn ace safe cracker wants to do one last big heist for the mob before going straight.
- DirectorBernard RoseStarsXavier SamuelCarrie-Anne MossDanny HustonA married couple of scientists create a modern-day monster.
- DirectorJoseph SargentStarsGregory HinesPeter RiegertKimberly EliseThe life of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, African-American tap-dancing star of stage and screen.
- DirectorBuddy GiovinazzoStarsRick GiovinazzoVeronica StorkMitch MaglioA dangerously disturbed Vietnam veteran struggles with life 15 years after his return home, and slowly falls into insanity from his gritty urban lifestyle.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsGregory PeckRichard BasehartLeo GennThe sole survivor of a lost whaling ship relates the tale of his captain's self-destructive obsession to hunt the white whale, Moby Dick.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsMartin SheenSissy SpacekWarren OatesAn impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town, and her older greaser boyfriend, embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota Badlands.
- DirectorDwight H. LittleStarsRobert PatrickHeather GrahamBruce DavisonThe true story of the infamous prison break of Gary Tison and Randy Greenwalt from the Arizona State prison in Florence, AZ, in the summer of 1978.
- DirectorMichael Caton-JonesStarsLiam NeesonJessica LangeJohn HurtIn 1713 Scotland, Rob Roy MacGregor is wronged by a nobleman and his nephew, becomes an outlaw in search of revenge while fleeing the Redcoats, and faces charges of being a Jacobite.
- DirectorJustin SteeleStarsBrad DourifJeremy SumpterScott ElrodIn a typical American suburb filled with middle class morals, a lonely 59-year-old, Stan, contributes to society by offering cremation services from his basement. In fact, Stan murders neighbors he perceives to be social bullies. Jarod, a fatherless 17-year-old high school outcast, lands an after-school job in Stan's cremation house and the two develop an unusual working relationship that quickly evolves into a partnership. As detective Matt Fairchild puts together clues from local disappearances, Stan must decide if protecting his newfound trainee is worth killing for.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsMickey RourkeMarisa TomeiEvan Rachel WoodA faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.
- DirectorJ.P. SchaeferStarsJared LetoLindsay LohanJudah FriedlanderA film about Mark David Chapman in the days leading up to the infamous murder of Beatle John Lennon.
- DirectorJohn IrvinStarsArmand AssanteSonny MarinelliRaffaello DegruttolaA detective tries to hunt down a serial killer who broadcasts his murders live on the internet.
- DirectorDanny DeVitoStarsJack NicholsonDanny DeVitoArmand AssanteThe story of the notorious American labor union figure Jimmy Hoffa, who organizes a bitter strike, makes deals with members of the organized crime syndicate and mysteriously disappears in 1975.
- DirectorEmanuel Hoss-DesmaraisStarsThomas Haden ChurchMarc LabrècheAnie PascaleThomas Haden Church stars in this darkly comic thriller about a snowplow driver who, after accidentally killing a man, attempts to escape the cops by fleeing into the harsh Canadian wilderness.