Movies

My thoughts on films worth watching (or avoiding)

2020s

F1

2025 • Directed by Joseph Kosinski

Liked

Synopsis:

A former Formula 1 driver, Sonny Hayes, comes out of retirement to mentor and race alongside a young rookie driver for the fictional APX GP team, competing against the world's elite F1 drivers.

Genre:

Sports Drama, Action

Writer:

Ehren Kruger

Awards:

Not yet released

One Battle After Another

2025

Liked

Synopsis:

The exact title 'One Battle After Another' does not correspond to a major, standalone movie or TV series in standard databases. It may be an episode title, a documentary segment, or a minor short film.

Gran Tourismo

2023 • Directed by Neill Blomkamp

Liked

Synopsis:

Based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough, the film follows a teenage Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills win him a series of Nissan competitions to become a professional race car driver.

Genre:

Action, Drama, Sport

Writer:

Jason Hall, Zach Baylin, Alex Tse

Box Office:

$121.7 million

Awards:

None major known

Topgun 2

2022 • Directed by Joseph Kosinski

Liked

Synopsis:

After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy's top aviators, Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. He must confront the ghosts of his past when he leads an elite squad of graduates for a specialized mission.

Genre:

Action, Drama

Writer:

Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, Christopher McQuarrie

Box Office:

$1496 million

Awards:

Academy Award for Best Sound, BAFTA Award for Best Sound, Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture - Drama

Triangle of Sadness

2022 • Directed by Ruben Östlund

Liked

Synopsis:

A cruise for the super-rich sinks, leaving a handful of survivors, including a celebrity couple and a cleaning woman, stranded on a deserted island where the social hierarchy is suddenly inverted.

Genre:

Satire, Black Comedy, Drama

Writer:

Ruben Östlund

Box Office:

$25.5 million

Awards:

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival), European Film Award for Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenwriter, and Best Actor (Zlatko Burić)

2010s

Serpent Netflix

2017 • Directed by Amanda Evans

Liked

Synopsis:

A couple on a romantic getaway in a secluded nature reserve finds themselves trapped in a tent with a deadly, venomous snake. They must fight for survival while also confronting their strained relationship.

Genre:

Thriller, Horror

Writer:

Amanda Evans

Box Office:

null

Awards:

null

Shape of Water

2017 • Directed by Guillermo del Toro

Liked

Synopsis:

In 1960s Baltimore, a mute cleaning woman working at a secret government laboratory falls in love with a captured amphibious creature and attempts to help him escape.

Genre:

Fantasy, Drama, Romance

Writer:

Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor

Box Office:

$195.2 million

Awards:

4 Academy Awards (including Best Picture and Best Director), 2 Golden Globe Awards (including Best Director)

Now You See Me

2013 • Directed by Louis Leterrier

Liked

Synopsis:

An FBI agent and an Interpol detective track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money.

Genre:

Heist, Thriller, Mystery

Writer:

Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin, Edward Ricourt

Box Office:

$351.7 million

Awards:

People's Choice Award for Favorite Thriller Movie

Now You See Me

2013 • Directed by Louis Leterrier

Liked

Synopsis:

An FBI agent and an Interpol detective track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money.

Genre:

Thriller, Crime, Mystery

Writer:

Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin, Edward Ricourt

Box Office:

$351.7 million

Awards:

None major listed

2000s

Ip Man

2008 • Directed by Wilson Yip

Liked

Synopsis:

A biographical account of Ip Man, the first person to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun openly. The film focuses on events in Foshan during the Sino-Japanese War, where Ip Man must defend his community and the honor of Chinese martial arts against the invading Japanese forces.

Genre:

Action, Biography, Drama

Writer:

Edmond Wong

Box Office:

$21.8 million

Awards:

Best Film and Best Action Choreography at the 28th Hong Kong Film Awards

Ratatouille

2007 • Directed by Brad Bird

Liked

Synopsis:

A rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great French chef despite his family's wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a profession that detests rodents. He forms an unlikely partnership with a young kitchen worker at a famous Parisian restaurant.

Genre:

Animation, Comedy, Family

Writer:

Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco

Box Office:

$623.7 million

Awards:

Academy Award for Best Animated Feature (2008), Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature Film

No Country for Old Men

2007 • Directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Liked

Synopsis:

In 1980 Texas, a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong, taking a satchel of money. This act sets a relentless killer, Anton Chigurh, on his trail, while a weary local sheriff tries to make sense of the escalating violence.

Genre:

Neo-Western, Thriller, Crime

Writer:

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy)

Box Office:

$85.1 million

Awards:

4 Academy Awards (including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor), 2 Golden Globe Awards, 3 BAFTA Awards

Once

2007 • Directed by John Carney

Liked

Synopsis:

A busker working the streets of Dublin and a Czech immigrant selling flowers strike up an unlikely friendship and collaborate musically, writing and recording songs about their broken hearts.

Genre:

Musical, Drama, Romance

Writer:

John Carney

Box Office:

$23.3 million

Awards:

Academy Award for Best Original Song ("Falling Slowly"), Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film

Kill Bill

2003 • Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Liked

Synopsis:

After awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin known as The Bride seeks revenge against her former boss and fellow assassins who betrayed her, culminating in a brutal attack on her wedding day.

Genre:

Action, Crime, Thriller

Writer:

Quentin Tarantino

Box Office:

$180.9 million

Awards:

BAFTA nomination (Best Actress), Golden Globe nomination (Best Actress), Saturn Award (Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film)

Amelie

2001 • Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Liked

Synopsis:

Amélie, a shy waitress in Paris, decides to change the lives of those around her for the better while struggling with her own isolation and searching for love.

Genre:

Comedy, Romance

Writer:

Guillaume Laurant, Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Box Office:

$174.2 million

Awards:

5 César Awards (including Best Film and Best Director), 4 BAFTA Awards, Nominated for 5 Academy Awards (including Best Foreign Language Film)

Battle Royale

2000 • Directed by Kinji Fukasaku

Liked

Synopsis:

In a dystopian future Japan, the government passes the 'Battle Royale Act,' forcing a randomly selected class of high school students to fight each other to the death on a remote island until only one survivor remains.

Genre:

Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi

Writer:

Koushun Takami (novel), Kenta Fukasaku

Box Office:

$30.6 million

Awards:

Japanese Academy Award for Popularity

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

2000 • Directed by Ang Lee

Liked

Synopsis:

A young Chinese warrior steals a legendary sword and escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a noblewoman who is also a skilled martial artist. A master warrior, Li Mu Bai, pursues the sword, leading to a complex web of loyalty, love, and destiny.

Genre:

Wuxia, Action, Romance, Drama

Writer:

Wang Hui-Ling, James Schamus, Kuo Jung Tsai

Box Office:

$213.5 million

Awards:

4 Academy Awards (including Best Foreign Language Film), 2 Golden Globe Awards (including Best Director), BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language

Amores Perros

2000 • Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Liked

Synopsis:

Three interconnected stories set in Mexico City are triggered by a devastating car crash. A teenager is involved with his brother's wife, a model's life is shattered after an accident, and a former hitman tries to reconcile with his estranged daughter, all while dealing with the fierce loyalty and brutal reality of their dogs.

Genre:

Drama, Thriller

Writer:

Guillermo Arriaga

Box Office:

$20.9 million

Awards:

Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language, Cannes Film Festival Critics' Week Grand Rail d'Or

1990s

The Matrix

1999 • Directed by The Wachowskis

Liked

Synopsis:

A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers, a malevolent artificial intelligence.

Genre:

Sci-Fi, Action

Writer:

The Wachowskis

Box Office:

$465 million

Awards:

4 Academy Awards (Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects)

Face Off

1997 • Directed by John Woo

Liked

Synopsis:

In order to catch a terrorist, an FBI agent undergoes a radical surgical procedure to swap faces with the comatose criminal. However, the terrorist awakens and takes the agent's face, leading to a desperate struggle where neither man knows who they truly are.

Genre:

Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Writer:

Mike Werb, Michael Colleary

Box Office:

$245.4 million

Awards:

Saturn Award for Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film

Con Air

1997 • Directed by Simon West

Liked

Synopsis:

Newly paroled ex-con Cameron Poe is flying home to his wife and daughter when he finds himself trapped aboard a prison transport plane hijacked by the most dangerous criminals in the country, led by the ruthless Cyrus 'The Virus' Grissom.

Genre:

Action, Thriller

Writer:

Scott Rosenberg

Box Office:

$224 million

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Academy Awards (Best Original Song, Best Sound)

Bad Boys

1995 • Directed by Michael Bay

Liked

Synopsis:

Two hip, reckless narcotics detectives, Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett, must protect a witness to a murder while investigating a case of stolen heroin from a police vault.

Genre:

Action, Comedy, Crime

Writer:

Michael Barrie, Jim Mulholland, Doug Richardson

Box Office:

$141.4 million

Awards:

None major

Pulp Fiction

1994 • Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Liked

Synopsis:

The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.

Genre:

Crime, Drama

Writer:

Quentin Tarantino (story by), Roger Avary (story by)

Box Office:

$213.9 million

Awards:

Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival), BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay

True Romance

1993 • Directed by Tony Scott

Liked

Synopsis:

A comic book store employee and an aspiring call girl fall in love and accidentally steal a suitcase full of cocaine from the Mafia, forcing them to flee across the country.

Genre:

Crime, Romance, Thriller

Writer:

Quentin Tarantino

Box Office:

$12.3 million

Awards:

Saturn Award for Best Actor (Christian Slater), Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor (Dennis Hopper)

Dazed and Confused

1993 • Directed by Richard Linklater

Liked

Synopsis:

The adventures of a group of Texas teenagers on the last day of school in 1976, centering on the confusion and excitement of high school life, including hazing rituals, cruising, and partying.

Genre:

Comedy, Drama

Writer:

Richard Linklater

Box Office:

$7.9 million

Awards:

None major, but highly acclaimed and culturally significant.

Grand Canyon

1991 • Directed by Lawrence Kasdan

Liked

Synopsis:

A chance encounter between an immigration lawyer and a tow truck driver in Los Angeles sets off a chain of events that connects several disparate characters dealing with the anxieties and opportunities of modern life.

Genre:

Drama

Writer:

Lawrence Kasdan, Meg Kasdan

Box Office:

$33.2 million

Awards:

Golden Bear (Berlin International Film Festival)

La Story

1991 • Directed by Mick Jackson

Liked

Synopsis:

A wacky weatherman, tired of his superficial life in Los Angeles, finds his existence changed by a talking freeway sign and a blossoming romance with a British journalist.

Genre:

Comedy, Romance, Fantasy

Writer:

Steve Martin

Box Office:

$28.1 million

Awards:

null

Last Boyscout

1991 • Directed by Tony Scott

Liked

Synopsis:

A cynical private detective and a disgraced former professional football quarterback team up to investigate the murder of a stripper, uncovering a vast conspiracy involving corruption in professional sports.

Genre:

Action, Comedy, Crime

Writer:

Shane Black, Greg Hicks (story)

Box Office:

$59.5 million

Awards:

None major known

Hunt for Red October

1990 • Directed by John McTiernan

Liked

Synopsis:

In 1984, Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius defects to the United States with his nation's newest and most technologically advanced nuclear submarine, the Red October. CIA analyst Jack Ryan must prove that Ramius is not planning an attack, while the U.S. and Soviet navies race to find the sub.

Genre:

Action, Thriller, Adventure

Writer:

Larry Ferguson, Donald E. Stewart (Screenplay); Tom Clancy (Novel)

Box Office:

$200.5 million

Awards:

Academy Award for Best Sound Editing (1991)

The Hairdresser's Husband

1990 • Directed by Patrice Leconte

Liked

Synopsis:

Antoine, who has been obsessed with hairdressers since childhood, finally marries Mathilde, the owner of a salon. Their relationship is characterized by intense, sensual devotion, leading Antoine to believe he has found eternal happiness.

Genre:

Comedy, Romance, Drama

Writer:

Patrice Leconte, Claude Klotz

Box Office:

null

Awards:

César Award for Best Director (Nomination), César Award for Best Actor (Nomination)

1980s

The Killer (john Woo)

1989 • Directed by John Woo

Liked

Synopsis:

A professional assassin, Ah Jong, accidentally blinds a singer, Jennie, during a shootout. Driven by guilt, he decides to take on one last job to earn the money necessary for her sight-restoring operation, all while being hunted by both the police and his former triad associates.

Genre:

Action, Crime, Thriller

Writer:

John Woo

Box Office:

HK$18.5 million

Awards:

Best Director (John Woo) and Best Editing (Fan Kung Ming) at the 9th Hong Kong Film Awards

Cinema Paradiso

1988 • Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore

Liked

Synopsis:

A successful film director returns to his Sicilian hometown for the funeral of his old friend, Alfredo, the projectionist at the local cinema who profoundly influenced his childhood.

Genre:

Drama, Romance

Writer:

Giuseppe Tornatore

Box Office:

N/A

Awards:

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language, Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival

Full Metal Jacket

1987 • Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Liked

Synopsis:

A two-part story following a group of U.S. Marines through basic training under the brutal drill instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, and their subsequent deployment to Vietnam during the Tet Offensive.

Genre:

War, Drama

Writer:

Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr, Gustav Hasford

Box Office:

$46.4 million

Awards:

Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, BAFTA nomination for Best Sound

Lethal Weapon

1987 • Directed by Richard Donner

Liked

Synopsis:

A veteran detective, Roger Murtaugh, is partnered with a younger, reckless detective, Martin Riggs, who is struggling with depression after the death of his wife. They must set aside their differences to investigate a major drug smuggling ring involving former special forces operatives.

Genre:

Action, Thriller, Crime

Writer:

Shane Black

Box Office:

$120.2 million

Awards:

None major (nominated for one Oscar for Best Sound, but did not win)

A Better Tomorrow

1986 • Directed by John Woo

Liked

Synopsis:

A Hong Kong Triad member, Ho, is betrayed and imprisoned. Upon his release, he attempts to go straight, but his younger brother, Kit, now a police officer, resents him. Ho must navigate the criminal underworld alongside his former associate, Mark Gor, to protect his family and seek revenge.

Genre:

Action, Crime, Thriller

Writer:

Chan Chi-wah, Tsui Hark, John Woo

Box Office:

$3.4 million

Awards:

Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film, Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actor (Chow Yun-Fat)

Top Gun

1986 • Directed by Tony Scott

Liked

Synopsis:

As the Cold War heats up, the US Navy sends its best pilots to the Top Gun Naval Fighter Weapons School. Maverick, a young, cocky fighter pilot, struggles to balance his competitive nature, the memory of his father's death, and a budding romance with his civilian instructor, Charlie.

Genre:

Action, Drama, Romance

Writer:

Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr.

Box Office:

$356.8 million

Awards:

Academy Award for Best Original Song ("Take My Breath Away")

Police Story

1985 • Directed by Jackie Chan, Chi-Hwa Chen

Liked

Synopsis:

A Hong Kong police officer, Chan Ka-Kui, is assigned to protect a key witness in a major drug trial. When the witness disappears, Ka-Kui is framed for murder and must fight to clear his name while evading both criminals and the police.

Genre:

Action, Crime, Comedy

Writer:

Jackie Chan, Edward Tang

Box Office:

N/A

Awards:

Best Film and Best Action Choreography at the 5th Hong Kong Film Awards

Blood Simple

1984 • Directed by Joel Coen

Liked

Synopsis:

A Texas bar owner hires a private detective to murder his wife and her lover. When the detective double-crosses him, a complex and bloody series of misunderstandings and betrayals ensues.

Genre:

Neo-Noir, Thriller, Crime

Writer:

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Box Office:

$3.8 million

Awards:

Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize (1985)

Scarface

1983 • Directed by Brian De Palma

Liked

Synopsis:

In Miami in 1980, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed.

Genre:

Crime, Drama

Writer:

Oliver Stone

Box Office:

$66 million

Awards:

Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor (Al Pacino), Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor (Steven Bauer), Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Score

Shining

1980 • Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Liked

Synopsis:

A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and future.

Genre:

Horror, Drama

Writer:

Stanley Kubrick, Diane Johnson (based on the novel by Stephen King)

Box Office:

$47 million

Awards:

Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor (Scatman Crothers), National Film Registry induction (2018)

1970s

The Jerk

1979 • Directed by Carl Reiner

Liked

Synopsis:

Navin R. Johnson, a white, sheltered, and incredibly naive man raised by poor black sharecroppers, leaves home to discover the world and his destiny, leading to a series of hilarious misadventures and an unlikely rise to wealth—followed by an equally rapid fall.

Genre:

Comedy

Writer:

Steve Martin, Carl Gottlieb, Michael Elias

Box Office:

$100 million

Awards:

null

Drunkenmaster

1978 • Directed by Yuen Woo-Ping

Liked

Synopsis:

Wong Fei-hung, a mischievous young man, is sent by his father to train under the notoriously strict beggar So, who specializes in the Drunken Fist style of kung fu. After initial resistance, Fei-hung masters the technique and uses it to defend his family and local businesses from a ruthless assassin.

Genre:

Action, Comedy, Martial Arts

Writer:

Chiang Chuan, Lung Hsiao

Box Office:

HK$6.76 million

Awards:

None major (Highly influential, but did not win major contemporary awards)

Taxi Driver

1976 • Directed by Martin Scorsese

Liked

Synopsis:

A mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City and descends into madness as he attempts to save a young prostitute.

Genre:

Crime, Drama, Thriller

Writer:

Paul Schrader

Box Office:

$28.3 million

Awards:

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival), 4 Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture and Best Actor)

Silver Streak

1976 • Directed by Arthur Hiller

Liked

Synopsis:

A book editor traveling by train from Los Angeles to Chicago witnesses a murder, gets framed for the crime, and must team up with a petty thief to expose the killer, leading to a series of hilarious and dangerous encounters.

Genre:

Comedy, Thriller, Action

Writer:

Colin Higgins

Box Office:

$51.1 million

Awards:

None major

One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

1975 • Directed by Miloš Forman

Liked

Synopsis:

Upon arriving at a mental institution, a charming criminal named R.P. McMurphy inspires his fellow patients to rebel against the tyrannical Nurse Ratched and the oppressive system.

Genre:

Drama

Writer:

Lawrence Hauben, Bo Goldman (based on the novel by Ken Kesey)

Box Office:

$109 million

Awards:

Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Jack Nicholson), Best Actress (Louise Fletcher), and Best Adapted Screenplay (The 'Big Five'). Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Director, Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama, and Best Screenplay.

The Conversation

1974 • Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Liked

Synopsis:

A surveillance expert, Harry Caul, is hired to record a seemingly innocuous conversation between two lovers in a crowded park, but he soon becomes obsessed with the possibility that the couple will be murdered.

Genre:

Mystery, Thriller, Drama

Writer:

Francis Ford Coppola

Box Office:

$4.4 million

Awards:

Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival), 3 Academy Award nominations (Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Sound)

Clockwork Orange

1971 • Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Liked

Synopsis:

In a futuristic Britain, a young man named Alex is imprisoned for violent crimes and undergoes an experimental aversion therapy called the Ludovico Technique to curb his criminal tendencies.

Genre:

Sci-Fi, Drama, Crime

Writer:

Stanley Kubrick (screenplay), Anthony Burgess (novel)

Box Office:

$26.6 million

Awards:

New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film, Venice Film Festival Pasinetti Award for Best Foreign Film

Five Easy Pieces

1970 • Directed by Bob Rafelson

Liked

Synopsis:

A former classical pianist, now working on an oil rig, drifts through life, avoiding commitments and his upper-class family until he returns home to visit his ailing father, forcing him to confront his past.

Genre:

Drama

Writer:

Carole Eastman (as Adrien Joyce), Bob Rafelson

Box Office:

N/A

Awards:

4 Academy Award nominations (including Best Picture, Best Actor for Jack Nicholson, Best Supporting Actress for Karen Black), New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress (Karen Black)

1960s

Easy Rider

1969 • Directed by Dennis Hopper

Liked

Synopsis:

Two counterculture motorcyclists travel from Los Angeles to New Orleans in search of personal freedom, funded by a cocaine deal, encountering various characters and prejudices along the way.

Genre:

Drama, Adventure

Writer:

Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Terry Southern

Box Office:

$60 million

Awards:

Cannes Film Festival: Best First Work (Dennis Hopper), Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay

Point Blank

1967 • Directed by John Boorman

Liked

Synopsis:

After being betrayed and left for dead following a heist, professional criminal Walker embarks on a relentless, brutal quest for revenge against his former partner and the powerful criminal organization that double-crossed him.

Genre:

Crime, Thriller, Neo-Noir

Writer:

Alexander Jacobs, David Newhouse, Rafe Newhouse (based on the novel The Hunter by Donald E. Westlake, writing as Richard Stark)

Box Office:

N/A

Awards:

National Film Registry (2016)

Dr Zhivago

1965 • Directed by David Lean

Liked

Synopsis:

The life of a Russian physician and poet, Yuri Zhivago, who is torn between his wife and the woman he loves, against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution.

Genre:

Drama, Romance, War

Writer:

Robert Bolt (screenplay), Boris Pasternak (novel)

Box Office:

$111.7 million

Awards:

Five Academy Awards (including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Cinematography) and Five Golden Globe Awards (including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director).

Sword in the Stone

1963 • Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman

Liked

Synopsis:

A young orphaned boy named Arthur, or Wart, is being trained as a squire when he encounters the eccentric wizard Merlin, who takes it upon himself to educate the boy in preparation for his destiny.

Genre:

Animation, Family, Fantasy

Writer:

Bill Peet (based on the novel by T.H. White)

Box Office:

$12 million

Awards:

null

Lawrence of Arabia

1962 • Directed by David Lean

Liked

Synopsis:

A biographical epic about T.E. Lawrence, the controversial British officer who united warring Arab tribes against the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

Genre:

Adventure, Biography, Drama, War

Writer:

Robert Bolt, Michael Wilson

Box Office:

$44.9 million

Awards:

Won 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. Won 4 Golden Globe Awards.

Breakfast at Tiffanys

1961 • Directed by Blake Edwards

Liked

Synopsis:

A young, eccentric New York socialite, Holly Golightly, becomes interested in her new neighbor, Paul Varjak, a struggling writer who is currently being supported by an older, wealthy woman.

Genre:

Comedy, Drama, Romance

Writer:

George Axelrod (screenplay), Truman Capote (novel)

Box Office:

$14 million

Awards:

Academy Award for Best Original Score, Academy Award for Best Original Song ("Moon River"), Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy

1950s

In a Lonely Place

1950 • Directed by Nicholas Ray

Liked

Synopsis:

A cynical Hollywood screenwriter, Dixon Steele, is suspected of murder when a hat-check girl is found dead. His neighbor, Laurel Gray, provides an alibi, and they begin a passionate relationship that is increasingly strained by his violent temper and her growing doubts about his innocence.

Genre:

Film Noir, Drama, Romance

Writer:

Andrew Solt (Screenplay), Edmund H. North (Adaptation), Dorothy B. Hughes (Novel)

Awards:

National Film Registry (1991)

1940s

Key Largo

1948 • Directed by John Huston

Liked

Synopsis:

A World War II veteran, Frank McCloud, visits a hotel in Key Largo to pay his respects to the family of a fallen comrade. He finds the hotel taken over by a notorious gangster, Johnny Rocco, and his crew, who are waiting out a hurricane. McCloud must decide whether to fight the criminals or protect the innocent bystanders.

Genre:

Film Noir, Crime, Thriller

Writer:

Richard Brooks, John Huston (Screenplay); Maxwell Anderson (Play)

Box Office:

N/A

Awards:

N/A

The Big Sleep

1946 • Directed by Howard Hawks

Liked

Synopsis:

Private investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by General Sternwood to deal with the blackmailing of his youngest daughter, Carmen. Marlowe soon finds himself entangled in a complex web of murder, double-crosses, and deceit involving Sternwood's two daughters and a host of shady characters.

Genre:

Film Noir, Mystery, Crime

Writer:

William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett, Jules Furthman (based on the novel by Raymond Chandler)

Box Office:

null

Awards:

null

To Have and Have Not

1944 • Directed by Howard Hawks

Liked

Synopsis:

An American expatriate fishing boat captain, Harry Morgan, living in Martinique during World War II, is reluctantly drawn into helping the French Resistance smuggle people and arms, leading to a romantic entanglement with a beautiful American drifter.

Genre:

Adventure, Romance, Thriller

Writer:

Jules Furthman, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway (novel)

Box Office:

null

Awards:

null

Casablanca

1942 • Directed by Michael Curtiz

Liked

Synopsis:

A cynical American expatriate, Rick Blaine, owns a nightclub in Casablanca during the early days of World War II. His life is complicated when his former lover, Ilsa Lund, appears with her resistance leader husband, Victor Laszlo, needing Rick's help to escape the Nazis.

Genre:

Drama, Romance, War

Writer:

Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch

Box Office:

N/A

Awards:

Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay

My Review:

my favorite movie

Fantasia

1940 • Directed by James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, Ford Beebe Jr., Norman Ferguson, David Hand, Jim Handley, T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Ben Sharpsteen

Liked

Synopsis:

An experimental film that sets eight animated segments to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, featuring Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice.

Genre:

Animation, Family, Fantasy, Musical

Writer:

Joe Grant, Dick Huemer

Box Office:

$76.4 million

Awards:

Two Honorary Academy Awards (Special Awards for Walt Disney and Leopold Stokowski), National Film Registry inductee (1998)