Movie Critic

Obviously, I am not a (real) movie critic. (I like the late Roger Ebert's tastes the most.) These are opinions about the movies I like and the movies I do not like. I tend to watch movies on a large projection screen (Bluray or DVD) a few months after they come out—I hate movie theaters with neighbors munching or communicating on their cellphones during the movie.

Bluray: Unfortunately, the studios are doing everything in their power to kill Bluray: from long notices about all sorts of irrelevant stuff, to the inability to continue where one has just accidentally hit the stop button, to the inability to stream a disc directly to other home devices like the ipad, to the inanely long, useless, and complex HDMI handshake which sometimes fails when one starts the equipment in the wrong order. Some commercial bootleggers have hi-res setup that shoot frame by frame with high accuracy. With a one-time $50,000 expense, anyone can make a practically perfect copy 1ms after the video reaches the screen rather than 1ms before. And once the first digital copy is out, the genie is out of the bottle. A much better and more intelligent system would have been a simple handshake over the internet, at least when available, that informs customers whether their copy is legal or illegal and offers them a legal alternative. Such a system shouldn't even have to block such copies—in case the server is down, do not aggravate your customers! But you can assume that most customers would prefer to pay a modest amount and ask a pirate reseller for a refund; and, as importantly, the studios could pinpoint the origin of the false copies and trace them back. The studios are simply stupid. It is only their monopolies on their specific content that has saved them so far.

TV vs Movies: These days, I tend to watch longer TV series. They have to an extent assumed the mantle of most interesting story-telling vehicles from the movies. I like the fact that they engross the audience in longer and more complex stories. This is because they are less predictable than 99% of Hollywood movies. The Wire is indeed so good, it would make the A1 movie list below. Foyle's War, The Forsyte Saga, Downton Abbey (1st Season) Battlestar Galactica (3rd and 4th Seasons), Sons of Anarchy would make the A2 list. I am still working my way through Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and Homeland. (For the same reason, Roger Ebert is correct that video games will probably never rival the movies as story-telling vehicles. Even the best games are only modestly more complex than a 5 minute trailer.) There were also some more episodic good shows, such as Homicide, but this page focuses on longer story arcs.

What qualities make a great movie? Not a secret: A great script. If the story is historically correct, it is much better—reality is often more interesting than fiction. To be an interesting story, you as the audience must not know in advance what will happen next (and you want to learn it), and characters must be self-aware. It must transport you and engross you. No, the secret is not the actors, director, producer, music or cinematography, although all of these can help greatly. And good scripts are the opposite of what sells in Hollywood movies: Save the Cat! scripts, which are so utterly ridiculously predictable.

Frankly, I am a little envious. I have been as successful in my career as I could have ever hoped for, but I would have loved to participate in telling engrossing stories to larger audiences.

Early on, this document is well organized. The further down you get, the worse it becomes. Apologies

Some Great Movies Post 2008 or so

click here. This is not perfectly separate from the below.

Some Great Movies Pre 2008 or so

Many classical movies were great in their time, so great that they have been imitated many times. Unfortunately, it is for this reason that many of these classics have been outdone by their imitations. Thus, they are no longer on my A1-list of films to watch. Many Black-and-White movies fall into this category, for example the terrific Citizen Kane or The Searchers or The Manchurian Candidate, but also films like All About Eve and many Hitchcock classics (e.g., Psycho). (Heck, even Shakespeare's comedic formula was obsoleted by its many sitcom descendants. He invented it.)

The followup movies were not as innovative or important, but my list is about movies that I would recommend to friends to watch today, and not to a film-critic or a film-historian. Of course, many of the originals are still very good films and worth watching, but just not A-1.

To change ordering, click on table header.

A1-List:

When I started adding notes to the list below, every one of my notes contained "fantastic story"...obviously. so I deleted this particular comment again. Sci-fi flicks are listed separately, even if they are A-1 (like Bladerunner, 1984, 2001, Gattaca, etc.)

Movie	Year	Rating	Notes
Avalon	(1990)	6 Superb	I love charming and long family histories.
Braveheart	(1995)	6 Superb	unfortunately not historically accurate.
Chinatown	(1974)	6 Superb	"la confidential" is another great movie with similar 1930s los angeles setting.
Das Leben Der Anderen	(2006)	6 Superb	a portrait of a totalitarian era. first movie by director. what do you do afterwards?
Doctor Zhivago	(1965)	6 Superb	epic portrait of a totalitarian era. I love mclean epics.
Enemy At The Gates	(2001)	6 Superb	could have done without the love line, but this stalingrad duel is still captivating.
Farewell My Concubine	(1993)	6 Superb	a portrait of a totalitarian era.
Gandhi	(1982)	6 Superb	historically accurate.
Godfather I	(1972)	6 Superb	held up well: still the godfather of all great mob films.
Godfather Ii	(1974)	6 Superb	the best sequel of any film ever
Gone With The Wind	(1939)	6 Superb	the only dramatic epic before 1960 that has held up.
Hoop Dreams	(1994)	6 Superb	the only documentary on my a1 list.
In The Heat Of The Night	(1967)	6 Superb	the Jim Crowe south explained, better than in any book.
Jean De Florette And Manon Of The Spring	(1986)	6 Superb	you need to see both, incl the ending.
Kiss Of The Spider Woman	(1985)	6 Superb	rare case where acting dominates the story.
Lawrence Of Arabia	(1962)	6 Superb	historically accurate. I love mclean epics.
No Country For Old Men	(2007)	6 Superb	one of two (almost) horror movies on my a-1 list
Once Upon A Time In America	(1984)	6 Superb	I love the long story arc. failed at the box office.
Once Upon A Time In The West	(1969)	6 Superb	stylish. bronson did well filling in for eastwood.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest	(1975)	6 Superb	the chief is as brillant as jack
Raise The Red Lantern	(1991)	6 Superb	a chick flick but not for chicks. sad that zhang yimou went commercial later.
Roman Holiday	(1953)	6 Superb	just thoroughly charming. pg rated, too.
Shoah	(1985)	6 Superb	very painful. (my dad was in auschwitz.)
Silence Of The Lambs	(1991)	6 Superb	one of two (almost) horror movies on my a-1 list
The Age Of Innocence	(1977)	6 Superb	wonderful atmosphere in this movie
The Elephant Man	(1980)	6 Superb	unusual, slow, b-w. evokes great empathy.
The English Patient	(1996)	6 Superb	Epic. Not as good as made out at the time, but still A1.
The Great Gatsby	(1974)	6 Superb	portrait of an era about money...
The Last Emperor	(1987)	6 Superb	historically accurate and educational, too.
The Name Of The Rose	(1986)	6 Superb	the medieval atmosphere transports us. please don't compare to the book.
The Reader	(2008)	6 Superb	food for thoughts about ethics
The Usual Suspects	(1995)	6 Superb	kaiser sosse is clever.
Three Days Of The Condor	(1975)	6 Superb	best agent-spy movie ever.

A2-List:

The separation between A1 and A2 is arbitrary. The distance between many of the A-1's and A-2's can be tiny. The distribution of movie quality is probably Gaussian normal (bell-shaped). Thus, there are many more A2 movies than there are A1 movies.

Movie	Year	Rating	Notes
...And Justice For All	(1979)	5.5 Excellent
12 Angry Men	(1957)	5.5 Excellent
48 Hours	(1990)	5.5 Excellent
A Better Life	(2011)	5.5 Excellent	Almost A-1 list. Very depressing. Trump Supporters--this movie is for you.
A Fistful Of Dollars	(1964)	5.5 Excellent	leone's spaghetti movies have held up well.
A Prophet	(2009)	5.5 Excellent	hard (and great) prison movie
A River Runs Through It	(1992)	5.5 Excellent
A Separation	(2011)	5.5 Excellent
Affliction	(1998)	5.5 Excellent	unpleasant
All The President's Men	(1976)	5.5 Excellent
Amadeus	(1984)	5.5 Excellent	sorry, this story is an invention
American History X	(1998)	5.5 Excellent
Annie Hall	(1977)	5.5 Excellent
Apocalypse Now	(1979)	5.5 Excellent
Apollo 13	(1995)	5.5 Excellent	historically accurate
As Good As It Gets	(1997)	5.5 Excellent
Awakenings	(1990)	5.5 Excellent	based on a true story
Bad Lieutenant	(1992)	5.5 Excellent
Basic Instinct	(1992)	5.5 Excellent
Basquiat	(1996)	5.5 Excellent
Ben Hur	(1959)	5.5 Excellent	Very weak ending..
Birdman Of Alcatraz	(1962)	5.5 Excellent
Blues Brothers	(1980)	5.5 Excellent
Born On The 4th Of July	(1989)	5.5 Excellent
Bound	(1996)	5.5 Excellent	unusually clever, covers up its low budget.
Boyz In The Hood	(1991)	5.5 Excellent
Bridge On The River Kwai	(1957)	5.5 Excellent	I like Mclean, though this...
Broadcast News	(1987)	5.5 Excellent
Buena Vista Social Club	(1999)	5.5 Excellent	Almost A-1
Cabaret	(1972)	5.5 Excellent	almost a-1
Carlito's Way	(1993)	5.5 Excellent
Carlos	(2010?)	5.5 Excellent	long miniseries
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof	(1958)	5.5 Excellent
Chaplin	(1992)	5.5 Excellent
Children Of A Lesser God	(1986)	5.5 Excellent
Cinema Paradiso	(1988)	5.5 Excellent	Almost A-1
City Slickers	(1991)	5.5 Excellent	almost a-1
Coogan's Bluff	(1968)	5.5 Excellent
Crocodile Dundee	(1986)	5.5 Excellent	yes, the Aussie low-budget comedy flick
Crumb	(1995)	5.5 Excellent
Cyrano De Bergerac	(1990)	5.5 Excellent
Dances With Wolves	(1990)	5.5 Excellent	almost a-1
Dangerous Liaisons	(1988)	5.5 Excellent	almost a-1
Das Boot	(1981)	5.5 Excellent	almost a-1
Dead Man Walking	(1995)	5.5 Excellent
Dead Poets Society	(1989)	5.5 Excellent
Deer Hunter	(1978)	5.5 Excellent
Der Untergang	(2004)	5.5 Excellent	German movie about Hitler is historically extremely accurate.
Die Hard	(1988)	5.5 Excellent	die hard 2 was also great. then it became too repetitive.
Dirty Harry(And Magnum Force)	(1971)	5.5 Excellent
Donnie Brasco	(1997)	5.5 Excellent
Driving Miss Daisy	(1989)	5.5 Excellent
Easy Rider	(1969)	5.5 Excellent	I hate predictable endings...
Ed Wood	(1994)	5.5 Excellent
Elizabeth	(1998)	5.5 Excellent
Fargo	(1996)	5.5 Excellent
Fiddler On The Roof	(1971)	5.5 Excellent
Forrest Gump	(1994)	5.5 Excellent
From Here To Eternity	(1953)	5.5 Excellent
Frost/Nixon	(2008)	5.5 Excellent	almost a-3
Giant	(1956)	5.5 Excellent
Glengary Glen Ross	(1992)	5.5 Excellent	unpleasant
Glory	(1989)	5.5 Excellent	almost a-1
Good Morning Vietnam	(1987)	5.5 Excellent
Good Will Hunting	(1997)	5.5 Excellent
Goodfellas	(1990)	5.5 Excellent	almost a-1
Gorky Park	(1983)	5.5 Excellent
Great Expectations	(1946)	5.5 Excellent	A-1 for many decades
Green Card	(1990)	5.5 Excellent
Guess Who's Coming To Dinner	(1967)	5.5 Excellent	almost A-1
Heat	(1995)	5.5 Excellent
Henry V	(1989)	5.5 Excellent
High Noon	(1952)	5.5 Excellent	open range is essentially a better remake
Highlander	(1986)	5.5 Excellent
House Of Games	(1987)	5.5 Excellent	brillantly clever...like the Usual Suspects
Howard's End	(1992)	5.5 Excellent
Hugo	(2011)	5.5 Excellent	Almost A-1
In The Name Of The Father	(1993)	5.5 Excellent
Jfk	(1991)	5.5 Excellent	but note that this movie is completely factually wrong.
Jefferson In Paris	(1995)	5.5 Excellent
Jeremiah Johnson	(1972)	5.5 Excellent	An anti-western. See also Josey Wales.
Jerry Maguire	(1996)	5.5 Excellent
Judgment At Nuremberg	(1961)	5.5 Excellent	Almost A-1. historically accurate
Kalifornia	(1993)	5.5 Excellent	unpleasant
L.A. Confidential	(1997)	5.5 Excellent	almost a-1
La Story	(1991)	5.5 Excellent	good if you have lived in LA
La Femme Nikita	(1991)	5.5 Excellent
Le Clan Des Siciliens	(1969)	5.5 Excellent	Wanna see a jet land on a freeway?
Le Samourai	(1967)	5.5 Excellent	alain delon as an assassin. precedes "the american".
Leon (The Professional)	(1994)	5.5 Excellent
Lone Star	(1996)	5.5 Excellent	I love understated films
Looking For Richard	(1996)	5.5 Excellent
Magnolia	(1999)	5.5 Excellent
Malcolm X	(1992)	5.5 Excellent	historically accurate
Manhattan	(1979)	5.5 Excellent
Margin Call	(2011)	5.5 Excellent	I teach finance. This is great.
Memento	(2001)	5.5 Excellent	almost a-1
Men In Black	(1997)	5.5 Excellent
Million Dollar Baby	(2003)	5.5 Excellent
Mississippi Burning	(1988)	5.5 Excellent	almost a-1
Monsieur Klein	(1976)	5.5 Excellent	hard to believe that Delon is a neo-nazi in real life
Monsters Inc	(2001)	5.5 Excellent	my favorite animated movie
Mutiny On The Bounty	(1962)	5.5 Excellent
My Beautiful Laundrette	(1985)	5.5 Excellent
My Left Foot	(1989)	5.5 Excellent
Network	(1976)	5.5 Excellent
Night Of The Generals	(1967)	5.5 Excellent
Nineteen Eighty-Four	(1984)	5.5 Excellent	Almost A-1
Nobody's Fool	(1994)	5.5 Excellent	just thoroughly charming
North By Northwest	(1959)	5.5 Excellent
Notre Dame De Paris	(1956)	5.5 Excellent
Open Range	(2003)	5.5 Excellent	better "high noon" remake.
Out Of Africa	(1985)	5.5 Excellent
Pascali's Island	(1988)	5.5 Excellent	slow. you have to like slow melancholic history pieces.
Patton	(1970)	5.5 Excellent
Philadelphia	(1993)	5.5 Excellent	This movie changed our society's view of AIDS
Platoon	(1986)	5.5 Excellent	this movie changed our society's view of vietnam.
Precious	(2009)	5.5 Excellent
Presumed Innocent	(1990)	5.5 Excellent
Pulp Fiction	(1994)	5.5 Excellent	innovative. almost a-1.
Q&Amp;A	(1990)	5.5 Excellent
Raging Bull	(1980)	5.5 Excellent
Raiders Of The Lost Ark	(1981)	5.5 Excellent	innovative
Rain Man	(1988)	5.5 Excellent
Ran	(1985)	5.5 Excellent
Rebel Without A Cause	(1955)	5.5 Excellent
Reservoir Dogs	(1992)	5.5 Excellent	extremely violent
Revolution	(1985)	5.5 Excellent	underrated
Ridicule	(1996)	5.5 Excellent
Rocky	(1976)	5.5 Excellent
Roots (Tv Miniseries)	(1977)	5.5 Excellent
Roxanne	(1987)	5.5 Excellent
Saturday Night Fever	(1977)	5.5 Excellent
Saving Private Ryan	(1998)	5.5 Excellent	But trumped easily by "Band of Brothers"
Scarface	(1983)	5.5 Excellent
Scent Of A Woman	(1992)	5.5 Excellent
Schindler's List	(1993)	5.5 Excellent	almost a-1
Sense And Sensibility	(1995)	5.5 Excellent
Serpico	(1973)	5.5 Excellent
Shakespeare In Love	(1998)	5.5 Excellent
Shutter Island	(20??)	5.5 Excellent	Mind-twisting.
She's Gotta Have It	(1986)	5.5 Excellent
Shogun (Tv Miniseries)	(1980)	5.5 Excellent	do not watch the awful movie adaptation.
Something The Lord Made	(2004)	5.5 Excellent
Sunset Blvd	(1950)	5.5 Excellent
The American	(2010)	5.5 Excellent	clooney as a lone assassin. see also le samourai.
The Big Chill	(1983)	5.5 Excellent
The Breakfast Club	(1985)	5.5 Excellent
The Cider House Rules	(1999)	5.5 Excellent
The Crying Game	(1992)	5.5 Excellent	almost a-1
The Defiant Ones	(1958)	5.5 Excellent
The Departed	(2006)	5.5 Excellent
The Duellists	(1977)	5.5 Excellent
The Fall	(2008)	5.5 Excellent	Tarsem Singh's fantasy film is incredibly creative.
The French Connection	(1971)	5.5 Excellent	almost a-1
The Fugitive	(1993)	5.5 Excellent
The Graduate	(1967)	5.5 Excellent
The Great Dictator	(1940)	5.5 Excellent	prescient. brillant. meaningful.
The Horse Whisperer	(1998)	5.5 Excellent
The Hustler	(1961)	5.5 Excellent
The Insider	(1999)	5.5 Excellent
The Killing Fields	(1984)	5.5 Excellent
The King's Speech	(2010)	5.5 Excellent	historically accurate
The Last Seduction	(1994)	5.5 Excellent
The Last Temptation Of Christ	(1988)	5.5 Excellent
The Lion In Winter	(1968)	5.5 Excellent
The Lonely Guy	(1984)	5.5 Excellent
The Milagro Beanfield War	(1988)	5.5 Excellent
The Natural	(1984)	5.5 Excellent	Almost A-1
The Negotiator	(1998)	5.5 Excellent
The Outlaw Josey Wales	(1976)	5.5 Excellent	Book was written by a Klansman, but still great.
The Paper Chase	(1973)	5.5 Excellent	my favorite professor...
The People Vs. Larry Flint	(1996)	5.5 Excellent
The Piano	(1993)	5.5 Excellent
The Princess Bride	(1987)	5.5 Excellent	great PG movie for children, too
The Remains Of The Day	(1993)	5.5 Excellent
The Right Stuff	(1983)	5.5 Excellent	Historically accurate
The Secret In Their Eyes	(2010)	5.5 Excellent	an argentinian understated film
The Spanish Prisoner	(1998)	5.5 Excellent
The Straight Story	(1999)	5.5 Excellent
The Thin Blue Line	(1988)	5.5 Excellent
The Third Man	(1949)	5.5 Excellent
The Verdict	(1982)	5.5 Excellent
The Wedding Banquet	(1993)	5.5 Excellent
The Wild Bunch	(1969)	5.5 Excellent	among the earliest westerns to transform the previously all-too-predictable genre.
The Wind And The Lion	(1975)	5.5 Excellent
The Witness	(1985)	5.5 Excellent	almost a-1
Thelma &Amp; Louise	(1991)	5.5 Excellent
Three Kings	(1999)	5.5 Excellent
To Kill A Mockingbird	(1962)	5.5 Excellent
Trading Places	(1983)	5.5 Excellent
Traffic	(2000)	5.5 Excellent
Training Day	(2001)	5.5 Excellent
Trainspotting	(1996)	5.5 Excellent
Unforgiven	(1992)	5.5 Excellent	Almost A-1
Wall Street	(1987)	5.5 Excellent
Wall-E	(2007)	5.5 Excellent
What's Eating Gilbert Grape?	(1993)	5.5 Excellent
When Harry Met Sally	(1989)	5.5 Excellent	Almost A-1
Where Eagles Dare	(1969)	5.5 Excellent
Who'll Stop The Rain	(1978)	5.5 Excellent
Who's Afraid Of Virginia Wolfe?	(1965)	5.5 Excellent	(unpleasant)
Wonder Boys	(2000)	5.5 Excellent
Working Girl	(1988)	5.5 Excellent
Year Of The Dragon	(1985)	5.5 Excellent

Close to or Almost A2-list:

Movie	Year	Notes
8 Mile	(2002)	5 Excellent
A Beautiful Mind	(2001)	5 Excellent
A Few Good Men	(1992)	5 Excellent
American Beauty	(1999)	5 Excellent
Accidental Tourist	(1988)	5 Excellent
Ali: Fear Eats Soul	(1974)	5 Excellent
American Gigolo	(1998)	5 Excellent
An Officer And A Gentleman	(1982)	5 Excellent
Atlantic City	(1980)	5 Excellent
Becket	(1964)	5 Excellent
Bekenntnisse Des Hochstaplers Felix Krull	(1982)	5 Excellent	(European TV Miniseries)
Belle Epoque	(1994)	5 Excellent
Beverly Hills Cop	(1984)	5 Excellent
Bram Stoker's Dracula	(1992)	5 Excellent
Bugsy (Maybe)	(1991)	5 Excellent
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid	(1969)	5 Excellent
Carlos (Long Version)	(2010)	5 Excellent
Casino	(1995)	5 Excellent
Chocolat	(2000)	5 Excellent
Cleopatra	(1963)	5 Excellent
Days Of Heaven	(1978)	5 Excellent
Die Blechtrommel	(1979)	5 Excellent
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels	(1988)	5 Excellent
Do The Right Thing	(1989)	5 Excellent
Exodus	(1960)	5 Excellent	But the book is much, much better.
Footnote	(2011)	5 Excellent
Funny Girl	(1968)	5 Excellent
Heaven Can Wait	(1978)	5 Excellent
Husbands And Wives	(1992)	5 Excellent
Inception	(2010)	5 Excellent
Interview With The Vampire	(1994)	5 Excellent
Julia	(2009)	5 Excellent
Jungle Fever	(1991)	5 Excellent
Last Tango In Paris	(1972)	5 Excellent
Little Man Tate	(1991)	5 Excellent
Lord Of The Rings (Trilogy)	(2000)	5 Excellent
Mean Streets	(1973)	5 Excellent
Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil	(1997)	5 Excellent
Mississippi Masala	(1992)	5 Excellent
Poetic Justice	(1979)	5 Excellent
Quo Vadis?	(1951)	5 Excellent
Reds	(1981)	5 Excellent
Rich Man Poor Man (Tv Series)	(1976)	5 Excellent
Roger&Amp;Me	(1994)	5 Excellent
Se7en	(1997)	5 Excellent
Sleepless In Seattle	(1993)	4.5 Excellent	only for irony
Sleuth	(1973)	5 Excellent
Solitary Man	(2010)	5 Excellent
The 6th Sense	(1999)	5 Excellent
The Boxer	(1997)	5 Excellent
The Crimson Pirate	(1952)	5 Excellent
The Gods Must Be Crazy	(1990)	5 Excellent
The Guns Of Navarone	(1961)	5 Excellent
The Hunt For Red October	(1990)	5 Excellent
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance	(1962)	5 Excellent
The Social Network	(2010)	5 Excellent
Titus	(1999)	5 Excellent
To Live And Die In La	(1985)	5 Excellent
Tom Waits: Big Time?	(1988)	?
Up In The Air	(2008)	5 Excellent
Wag The Dog	(1997)	5 Excellent
When We Were Kings	(1996)	5 Excellent

Maybe Drive (2011).

A-List, Science-Fiction:

I love science fiction, so I have grouped science fiction movies separately. Unfortunately, most Sci-fi movies are dread awful. Here is my selection of better choices:

Movie	Year	Rating	Notes
2001: A Space Odyssey	(1968)	Excellent	A-1 unconditionally
A Clockwork Orange	(1971)	Excellent
Ai	(2001)	Excellent	possibly A-2 unconditionally. great ending.
Alien(S)	(1979)	Excellent	often overrated, but still good. aliens
Bladerunner	(1982)	Excellent	A-1 unconditionally
Brazil	(1985)	Excellent	A-1 unconditionally
Children Of Men	(2006)	Excellent	bleak
Conan	(1982)	Excellent	just barely on this list.
Contact	(1997)	Excellent	A-2 unconditionally
Dark City	(1998)	Excellent	A-1 unconditionally
Dark Star	(1974)	Excellent
District 9	(2009)	Excellent
Dune	(1984)	Excellent	(but poor end; avoid the scifi channel tv remake)
Escape From New York	(1981)	Excellent	barely on this list
Existenz	(1999)	Excellent	more original than inception. cronenberg...
Gattaca	(1997)	Excellent	A-1 or A-2 unconditionally
Highlander	(1986)	Excellent
Inception	(2010)	Excellent
K-Pax	(2001)	Excellent	spacey a different way...
Mad Max 1	(1979)	Excellent
Men In Black	(1997)	Excellent
Metropolis (1926+1984)	(1984)	Excellent
Minority Report	(2002)	Excellent
Moon	(2009)	Excellent
Nineteen Eighty-Four	(1984)	Excellent	A-1 unconditionally
On The Beach	(1959)	Excellent
Outland	(1981)	Excellent
Planet Of The Apes	(1968)	Excellent	just barely. the remake is good,too.
Predator	(1987)	Excellent
Serenity	(2005)	Excellent	Just barely...
Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan	(1982)	Excellent
Star Trek 4: The Search For Whales	(1986)	Excellent
Silent Running	(1971)	Excellent
Soylent Green	(1973)	Excellent
Sunshine	(2007)	Excellent
Star Wars	(1977)	Excellent	The original one. Others can be entertaining.
Surrogates	(2009)	Excellent	often underrated. not as bad as often claimed to be.
Terminator 1	(1991)	Excellent	a-2 unconditionally: probably the lowest-budget film on my a-2 list
Terminator 2	(1991)	Excellent	a-2, too. the second-best sequel ever. this one did have the budget...
The Andromeda Strain	(1971)	Excellent
The Day The Earth Stood Still	(1951)	Excellent	The rare old sci-fi flick that has held up.
The Fifth Element	(1997)	Excellent	lousy ending.
The Lord Of The Rings	(2003-)	Excellent
The Matrix	(1999)	Excellent	great 1st half. lousy 2nd half
The Road	(2009)	Excellent	bleak...like children of men
The Thing From Another World	(1951)	Excellent
The Thirteenth Floor	(2000)	Excellent
The Time Machine	(1960)	Excellent	(not the 2002 version!)
Time Bandits	(1981)	Excellent	a-2 unconditionally
Total Recall	(1990)	Excellent	lousy predictable ending.
Twelve Monkeys	(1995)	Excellent	a-2 unconditionally
28 Days Later	(2002)	Excellent	bleak...like children of men.
Wall-E	(2008)	Excellent	not really sci-fi, but still...
War Of The Worlds	(2003)	Excellent	a-2 unconditionally
Westworld	(1973)	Excellent
Zardoz	(1974)	Excellent

Reasonable: Monsters, Inc. I have not seen "2046" or "The Man from Earth" or "The Host" or "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya" or "The Adjustment Bureau" or "Super 8" or "The Fountain" or "A Scanner Darkly" or "The book of Eli" , or any Transformers or "Looper" or "Timecrimes" or "John Carter" or "Cloud Atlas" or "The Arrival" or "Underworld" or "In Time" or "The Island" or "The Dark Knight" (on Netflix Instant:) "Troll hunter" or "Vanilla Sky" or "Thor" or "The X Files" yet. I did not like Donnie Darko. I thought Star Trek (2009) was just ok (but better than most ST films, which does not mean much), just like Avatar (2009) which is a copy of Dances with Wolves in space, Equilibrium (2002), "I Robot" (2004), Solaris, and "Pitch Black" (2000). Tron has not aged well. I did not like later Terminator films, "V for Vendetta" or Stargate or 2010. I am not sure what to think of Starship Troopers.

A-List, Comedy:

Interestingly, it appears that while most people can relatively easily agree on what is a good drama, tastes diverge greatly when it comes to comedy. I personally like the British sense of humor, but it is definitely not to everyone's tastes.

Movie	Year	Rating	Notes
Crocodile Dundee	(1986)	Excellent	yes, the aussie low-budget comedy flick
Romy And Michelle's High School Reunion	(1997)	Excellent
The Full Monty	(1997)	Excellent
Young Frankenstein	(1974)	Excellent
Brazil	(1985)	Excellent
This Is Spinal Tap	(1984)	Excellent
Being There	(1979)	Excellent
Dr. Strangelove	(1964)	Excellent
A Fish Called Wanda	(1988)	Excellent
Delicatessen	(1991)	Excellent
Time Bandits	(1981)	Excellent
Down And Out In Beverly Hills	(1986)	Excellent
Ruthless People	(1986)	Excellent
Bowfinger	(1999)	Excellent
Other People's Money	(1991)	Excellent
Wayne's World	(1992)	Excellent
The Court Jester	(1956)	Excellent
Me And The Colonel (Maybe)	(1958)	Excellent
Coming To America (Maybe)	(1988)	Excellent
The Jewel Of The Nile	(1985)	Excellent
Romancing The Stone	(1985)	Excellent
Crossing Delancey	(1988)	Excellent
The Fearless Vampire Killers	(1967)	Excellent
The Rocky Horror Picture Show^*.	(1975)	Excellent
Tootsie	(1982)	Excellent
Without A Clue	(1988)	Excellent

^* if you are <15, you might like the Rocky Horrow Picture Show. If you can laugh, read the Rocky Horror Review, a Christian Analysis of the movie — though they have not yet figured out https (only http)..

To see or resee:

Maybe The Replacements.

Movie	Year	Rating	Notes
A Hard Day's Night	(1964)	TBS
Aguirre	(1972)	TBS
AlienS	(1986)	TBS
Austin Powers	(1997)	TBS
Pride And Prejudice	(1995)	TBS
The Big Sleep	(1946)	TBS	(only the original, not the remake!)
The Game	(1997)	TBS
The Night Of The Hunter	(1955)	TBS
8 Mile	(2002)	5 Superb
A Man For All Seasons	(1966)	Superb
Adaptation	(2002)	Superb
Alexis Zorba The Greek	(1964)	Superb
All Quiet On The Western Front	(1979)	Superb
All The Real Girls	(2003)	Superb	chick flick
Almost Famous	(2000)	Superb
Altered States	(1980)	Superb
Avalon (Jap Scifi)	(2001)	Superb
Babe -- Pig In The City	(1998)	Superb
Bend It Like Beckham	(2003)	Superb
Blazing Saddles	(1974)	Superb
Body Heat	(1981)	Superb
Breaking The Waves	(1996)	Superb
Chicago	(2003)	Superb
City Of God	(2002)	Superb
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind	(2003)	Superb
Exotica	(1995)	Superb
Far From Heaven	(2002)	Superb
Gates Of Heaven	(1978)	Superb
Howard Stern, Private Parts	(2001)	Superb
In The Company Of Men	(1997)	Superb
Inspector Maigret	(1957)	Superb	(maigret tend un pihge [year na])
Invincible	(2002)	Superb
Kill Bill	(2003)	Superb
Kokaku Kidotai	(1995)	Superb
Le Fils (The Son)	(2003)	Superb
Les Amants Du Pont-Neuf	(2000?)	Superb
Les Diabolique	(1955)	Superb
Lion In Winter	(1968)	Superb
M	(1931)	Superb
Miller's Crossing (Coen Bros)	(1990)	Superb
Minority Report	(2002)	Superb
Monster's Ball	(2001)	Superb
Moscow On The Hudson	(19??)	Superb
Mr. And Mrs. Bridge	(1990)	Superb
Nowhere In Africa	(2003)	Superb
On The Waterfront	(1954)	Superb
One False Move	(1992)	Superb
Out Of The Past	(1998)	Superb
Rear Window	(1954)	Superb
Seize The Day	(1986)	Superb
Snatch	(2000)	Superb
The Departed	(2006)	Superb
Spartacus	(1960)	Superb
Streetcar Named Desire	(1951)	Superb
The Aviator	(2004)	Superb
The Battle Of Algiers	(1965)	Superb
The Chess Player (India)	(19??)	Superb
The China Syndrome	(1979)	Superb
The Conversation	(1974)	Superb
The Grapes Of Wrath	(1940)	Superb
The Hours	(2002)	Superb
The Hunted	(2003)	Superb
The Jerk	(19??)	Superb
The Long Walk Home	(1990)	Superb
The Maltese Falcon	(1941)	Superb
The Quiet American	(2003)	Excellent	Spies and love
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (Not On Dvd)	(1965)	Superb
Yellow Submarine	(1968)	Superb
Z	(1969)	Superb

Some Star Ratings

Movie	Year	Rating
Amistad	(1997)	Good
Brother's Keeper	(1997)	OK
The Legend Of Bagger Vance	(2000)	OK
The Producers	(1968)	OK
Brassed Off	(1996)	OK
Full Metal Jacket	(1987)	Good
Stealing Beauty	(1996)	Good
The Man Who Fell To Earth	(1976)	blah
Empire Of The Sun	(19??)	OK
The Golden Bowl	(2000)	OK
Go	(1999)	Good
The Year Of Living Dangerously	(1983)	Good

Neglected

Everything below here has been neglected for many years.

Movies Still To See

My selection is influenced by Roger Ebert, because of all the movie critics, my tastes are closest to his. Amandla (SA Music) (2003)

Movie	Year	Rating
Argo	(2012)	TBS
Life Of Pi	(2012)	TBS
Lincoln	(2012)	TBS
End Of Watch	(2012)	TBS
Black Swan	(2010)	TBS
I Am Love	(2010)	TBS
The Kids Are All Right	(2010)	TBS movie about "The Who"
The Ghost Writer	(2010)	TBS
Another Year	(2010)	TBS
Never Let Me Go	(2010)	TBS
Bad Lieutenant	(2009)	TBS
Crazy Heart	(2009),	TBS
An Education	(2009),	TBS
A Serious Man	(2009)	TBS
Departures	(2009)	TBS
Disgrace	(2009)	TBS
Goodbye Solo	(2009)	TBS
Revolutionary Road	(2008),	TBS
Encounters At The End Of The World	(2008)	TBS
Shame	(2011)	TBS
The Tree Of Life	(2011)	TBS
Le Havre	(2011)	TBS
The Artist	(2011)	TBS
Melancholia	(2011)	TBS
The Mill And The Cross	(2011)	TBS
Another Earth	(2011)	TBS
Flight	(2012)	TBS

maybe: Chloe (2010) All Good Things (2010), Somewhere (2010), Greenberg (2010), Secretariat, (2010) Everlasting Moments (2009), Sin Nombre (2009), Ballast (2008), The Dark Knight (2008), W (2008), I.O.U.S.A. (2008), Terri (2009), Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011), Arbitrage (2012), Rogue Trader (1999), Boiler Room (2000), Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005),

Movie	Year	Rating	Notes
Better Luck Tomorrow	(2003)	TBR	asian american teens
Spirited Away	(2002)	TBR	japanese animation
The Pianist	(2003)	TBR	depressing
Walking Life	(2001)	TBR	animation
Y Tu Mama Tambien	(2002)	TBR	? sex film
Requiem For A Dream	(2000)	TBR	avoid: this is from the same guy who made "pi."

Unorganized

Books:

J.B. Bury, The Invasion of Europe by the Barbarians: A great history book on the fall of the Roman Empire. Easy to read and informative.
Matt Ridley: Genome
SciFi Books: Greg Bear: The Forge of God, Anvil of Stars, Eon, Eternity, and Blood Music, are among my favorite sci-fi readings. I do not like his later work as much. Gibson's Neuromancer is also terrific (but not the followups). Other great authors: Orson Scott Card, Vernor Vinge, and Jack Vance.
Among Sci-Fi Shorts: A.E. van Vogt's The Battle of Forever (1971?), is an absolute sci-fi classic, and unfortunately largely forgotten (as seems to be van Vogt). George R.R. Martin's Sandkings (1981) is easily among the five best scifi shorts ever written.
And here is a forgotten great one: Mike Resnick, Birthright: The Book of Man. Give yourself a treat.

Wear Sunscreen

Interesting lyrics, funny urban legend.