I am a fan of many movies, but in the history of cinema, I can think of only 30 Movies that I would tell people they must see. Some including action, gore and language strewn against walls of pure human emotion, others being romantic beauties with soundtracks that will drain tears out of your eyes.
1. Passengers (2008): Now, I am a big fan of Edward Shearmur because of his beautiful music in the sci-fi epic K-Pax, but when I first noticed the little-seen film that was Passengers, I was a bit questionable. With a cast of exceptional detail, why hadn’t anyone seen this? And for that matter, the director (Rodrigo Garcia), is a no-name to me. I picked it up at the local Blockbuster and put it in and was amazed. This was the best movie I’ve ever seen…but how? It had the best twist I had seen in a while, and made my heart sink and my eyes drip in the end from the most beautiful song ever (“End Titles” – Edward Shearmur). This is the MUST-SEE movie of a lifetime.
2. The Departed (2006)
3. Children of Men (2006)
4. Miracle at St. Anna (2008)
5. Moon (2009)
6. Dark City (1998)
7. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
8. The Thin Red Line (1998)
9. Jarhead (2005)
10. Pulp Fiction (1994)
11. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
12. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)
13. Fight Club (1999)
14. Silence of the Lambs (1991)
15. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
16. Forrest Gump (1994)
17. American History X (1998)
18. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
19. The Big Lebowski (1998)
20. The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
21. The Hangover (2009)
22. Death at a Funeral (2007)
23. Gangs of New York (2002)
24. Sunshine (2007)
25. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
26. 28 Days Later (2002)
27. Saw (2004)
28. Pineapple Express (2008)
29. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
30. Lost in Translation (2003)
There you have it. These are all great and will make you laugh, cry, shiver and throw up, regardless of the reasoning.
Your oldest movie is from 1991. Did they not make any good movies before then?
Well, none of them struck out to me as a “need to see”. Some people say “oh, the Godfather and Citizen Cane and Scarface.” I’ve have seen all three, and have to say that besides Godfather, most of the “classics” suck. These are all movies with twists,perfect plot, and especially good camerawork.
plus, I am a nineties child.
There are so many things I could say right now but all I can do is laugh…and feel really really sad. But hey, to each his own, right?
Dude… can’t believe you left out The Godfather, Braveheart, Titanic, etc.!
You should maybe change the title to 30 films you must see (1990-2009). I would agree that a lot of those are must see but there are better movie sthat are older that I’d say before some of these.
I personally liked 28 weeks later better than the first.
Would you not put Crash on this list?
oh, I would. I would change this shit around completely.
I personally could have lived happily without seeing Saw, The Mothman Prophecies, or Miracle at St. Anna.
Miracle at St. Anna was amazing, though. Spike Lee actually made a well balanced war movie.
But certainly there are better films for the list.
yes, yet again, this was one of my first posts.
Wow, I REALLY feel stupid for making this list. It is terrible.
not a bad list coming from a nineties (really?) child.
It is a terrible list, man, and yes, I am 16, so I’m from ’94.
I like your list but it could have used some older classics. I really like that you had Dark City so high on the list. I really like that movie. It makes you think and had a strong story with cool effects.
Agreed. Wow, this review brings back some memories. I think that it was the first review I ever did, back in October of 2009.