Good Movies
Good movies takes us away to other times and places, or make us face the issues of today in stark and unrelenting terms. There’s no formula for what makes a great movie or what kind of story translates well to film. By looking over the list below, I reckon each of these as, at least, a "good movie", but the list has little else in common.
What Makes a Good Movie?
If I had to pick one component that makes a film excellent, I would say it starts with a good screenplay. I think we’ve all seen bad movies full of great actors and skilled directors, who just can’t overcome a lousy script. Sure, otherwise good screenplays might fall flat when performed, due to bad acting and or strange decisions by the director, but for the most part, a good script assures you’ll at least be enjoying a good story, whether it’s well-told or not.
With this list of good movies, I’ve tried to select films you aren’t likely to have seen. If a film made several hundred million dollars, there’s really no reason to list it below; you’ve probably already seen it. There are one or two blockbusters on our list of good movies, but they tend to be from a genre that might make certain movie-goers pass them over, when visiting the theater.
Your Own Personal List of Good Movies
Our list of good movies is a start. Once you watch these, use Netflix, Blockbuster, imdb or Rotten Tomatoes to find similar movies, or movies with the same actors, directors or screenwriters to find other good movies to watch.
The Lives of Others – Das Leben der Anderen (2006) – A German movie that takes you back to the days of the Cold War and East Berlin, where a writer and his lover are put under surveillance by the Stazi. When I watched this movie, I didn’t expect to be that drawn-in to something from this era, but The Lives of Others deserved all the awards it won. My friends and I have had a weekly movie watching party and review session for years now, and "The Lives of Others" is still the highest collective rating we’ve given to a movie. We’re not the crowd that goes for German period pieces, either.
Reservoir Dogs (1992) – For the younger generation who never saw this movie, go back and watch Quentin Tarentino’s first film. People tend to fawn over Tarentino’s 21st century offerings like Kill Bill and Inglorious Basterds, but his reputation was made by his first two movies, and they’re still (by far) the best of the bunch. Everyone has seen Pulp Fiction, but not everyone has seen Reservoir Dogs. If you haven’t, treat yourself.
Memento (2000) – Guy Pierce stars in a mystery movie about a man with amnesia, who has clues tattooed on his body, to help him track down the murderer of his wife. It seems Pierce and his wife were attacked by two men, but one apparently escaped, after hitting Pierce on the head and causing the amnesia. Obsessed with finding "John G", we see two stories intertwined throughout the movie: the present in color, the past in black and white. They eventually converge for the final scenes of the movie, as we learn that we can’t always trust tattoos, just like we can’t always trust our memories.
Glengarry, Glen Ross (1992) – David Mamet’s highly acclaimed stage play was turn into this highly acclaimed independent movie, starring Jack Lemon, Kevin Spacey, Alec Baldwin, Ed Harris and Al Pacino. You’ll never forget some of the lines in this movie, like Alec Baldwin’s "Coffee is for closers." Get ready for the profanity, though; Glengarry Glen Ross is about a bunch of real estate salesmen desperate to meet quota, fighting over the more promising Glengarry leads. Desperation eventually leads some of the salesmen, who fear they’ll be canned soon, to break into the manager’s office, steal the Glengarry leads and sell them to the competition for big money. David Mamet creates an oppressive work atmosphere full of slimy salesmen, using crisp dialogue and a no-holds-barred approach to film making.
Heat (1995) – Believe it or not, Heat comes in at #122 best reviewed movie on the Internet Movie Database. That is, of all the vast catalog of films reviewed by fans, Heat nearly breaks the Top 100.
In Bruges (2008) – Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson play a couple of hitmen hiding out in Bruges, after Farrell accidentally kills a boy on his first mission. Gleeson checks out the sites of historic Bruges, while Farrell comes to term with the killing, and starts dating a drug dealer. You might be surprised to learn In Bruges is considered black comedy, despite it all.
WALL-E (2008) – For those who don’t like CGI or animated movies, who have no interest in "cartoons", you might give WALL-E a try sometime. Wall-E has a different approach to storytelling, since the main character hardly talks, so most of the narrative is carried out by the actions of the characters and their body language. Maybe WALL-E will be too cute for you anyway, but the movie is good storytelling. Few movies can claim to be original, and WALL-E is original.
Amelie – Le fabuleux destin d’Amelie Poulain (2001) – For those who only know French movies through the New Extremity, you might check out what else France has to offer to movie-goers by watching Amelie, one of the feel-good movies of 2001. Amelie is about a strange girl and her attempt to connect to the world around her and, ultimately, to find love with another lost soul. The music adds a lot to the movie, but Audrey Tautou, known to American audiences as the woman from The Da Vinci Code, is the star of the show. My favorite scene includes when Amelie (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqT9kA1bcVQ) describes to a blind man in the street the scene around him, while Yann Tiersen’s "La Noyee" plays in the background. Women enjoy "Amelie" for the love story; their husbands and boyfriends will fall a little bit in love with Amelie herself.
Children of Men (2006) – It’s a dystopian future in 2027, as humanity has lost the ability to produce children. When one woman gets pregnant, you know everybody that is somebody is going to be interested in solving that mystery. The fate of mankind hangs in the balance, and only Clive Owen and Julianne Moore can save the day.
Ed Wood (1994) – If you’re tired of seeing Johnny Depp ham it up in Tim Burton movies, you might want to stay away from this one. But if you’re tired of seeing Johnny Depp ham it up in Tim Burton movies, you might want to go back to a time when that act was fresh. Ed Wood is a black-and-white movie about the making of what many call the worst movie ever made: Plan B From Outer Space. Depp plays the hapless title character, who tries to coax Bela Lugosi, played the an aging Martin Landau, into the starring in the movie.
Mystic River (2003) – An award-winning movie from some of the big names in movie-making today: Clint Eastwood and Sean Penn. There’s actually a whole litany of great performances in Mystic River, including appearances by Kevin Bacon, Tim Robbins and Laurence Fishburne. The story revolves around a coming-together of childhood friends after the murder of the daughter of one of them. When the murder isn’t solved to Sean Penn’s satisfaction, the grieving father (Penn) launches his own investigation into the crime. Tim Robbins and Sean Penn each received Oscars for their performances in this 2003 thriller.
Taken (2008) – Fans of old-fashioned action movies have to watch Taken. There’s something to be said for the movie where the hero gives the villains a chance to be reasonable, tells them what he’s going to do if they aren’t reasonable, then has the skills to punish them when they arrogantly refuse to listen to his request. There’s also something to be said for movies that have really bad evil guys versus one good guy who serves up justice. That’s what "Taken" is about, pure and simple.
Extract (2009) – Jason Bateman, Ben Affleck and Mila Kunis star in Mike Judge’s next comedy about crappy life in the workplace. Extract is a low-key comedy in an age of Judd Apatow and Todd Phillips over-the-top extravaganzas, but you’ll find plenty of uncomfortable moments and uncomfortable laughs. Ben Affleck turns up in a good role, while Jason Bateman plays a Bluth-type character. At times, you start to compare a number of the characters to similar individuals in Judge’s cult classic, Office Space, but Extract is still a good movie worth watching.
Old Boy (2003) – This is the 2nd installment of director Park-Chan wook’s "Revenge Trilogy", but these are self-contained movies, so you don’t have to watch "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" to understand the story in Old Boy. Choi Min-Sik plays a man who gets drunk one night and mysteriously wakes up in a hotel room he can’t escape from. After 15 years of imprisonment, it’s time for Old Boy to go on a revenge trip. There’s a reason everything happened the way it did, but like the protagonist, you probably don’t want to know the answer. Old Boy is one of those rare movies that can be called a tour de force, combining beautiful musical arrangements, brutal action sequences and a tale (or two) of forbidden love.
Good Old Movies to Watch
I wanted to include a few classic movie suggestions, for those wanting to learn what past generations of film makers have to offer. There are so many great movies that were made in the first couple of generations of Hollywood, just about any list would be insufficient. I wanted to include a few of my favorites of the moment, just to get you started.
Shichinin no Samurai – The Seven Samurai (1954) – I know how it sounds to put foreign movies on the list, but the Seven Samurai is a movie every film lover should watch at least once. The samurai have a certain laid back camaraderie that seems natural. They movie seems more mature than American movies of that era. The peasants seem a lot more pathetic than you could get in an American movie. If you want to ease into this 4 hour show and you enjoy anime, watch the "Samurai 7" anime series first.
Sunset Boulevard (1950) – Put a demented former silent movie actress and a struggling young screen writer together and you get 3 Oscars and 13 Oscar Nominations. Sunset Blvd is one of the classic movies about Hollywood itself. Stars William Holden and Gloria Swanson.
Shadow of a Doubt (1943) – An Alfred Hitchcock classic starring the underrated Joseph Cotten as the kindly uncle who comes into Teresa Wright’s boring life, bringing excitement and a friend. But when a journalist shows up and tells the teen that her uncle is one of two men under suspicion of being the "Merry Widow Murderer", she begins to investigate if her kindly uncle is really a serial killer. Shadow of a Doubt is classic Hitchcock, and Joseph Cotten is great in the role Charlie Oakley.
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) – You might see this movie named "C’era una volta il West", its Italian name. This Spaghetti Western from Sergio Leone is one of the first to explore new boundaries, after the 1966 change in the rating system and/or censorship practices in Hollywood. Everyone in "Once Upon a Time in the West" has a secret past and a motive. Henry Fonda plays a wonderful bastard, while we get to see Charles Bronson as "Harmonica". The film also stars Claudia Cardinale as the widow who hires Bronson and Jason Robards to get revenge, or justice, or whatever it’s called in a western.
High Noon (1952) – For those who enjoy watching "24" every week on television, you’ll notice something similar about High Noon: a clock keeping track of the action in real time. Otherwise, there’s probably not a whole lot of parallels in 24 and High Noon, except entertainment. Gary Cooper plays the town sheriff, who is systematically abandoned by everyone in town, when it’s learned an outlaw he put in jail is collecting his gang and returning to town for revenge. The outlaw (named Frank Miller) vowed to murdered Cooper (named "Will Kane"), if he ever got the chance. Strangely, the governor pardoned Miller, which sets up the action. Grace Kelly plays Cooper’s new bride. Since she’s a Quaker and a pacifist, she can’t understand why her husband has to stay around for this hopeless and senseless fight. Come high noon, Will Kane is going to face down Frank Miller and his gang.
Notorious (1946) – No, this is not a biopic about Notorious B.I.G. Notorious is another Hitchcock thriller, set in the immediate aftermath of World War II. Cary Grant is a U.S. agent who recruits Ingrid Bergman to infiltrate a Germany group who have relocated to Brazil after the war, a group that her Nazi father had been a part of. Love and intrigue intermix, as Bergman must marry Claude Rains to get close to the Nazis.