Movie Recommendations

[Chaotic_Theoretician]

I saw a thread that said 'Any Good Movie Recommendations?' - or something along those lines - and I was suddenly struck with the idea of creating a thread of my movie recommendations as I wrote up a list for the creator of the thread. So, here it is, divided by the category I think each movie fits into.

I have not seen every movie in the universe, nor will I claim that I have watched movies that I actually haven't seen. Contributions are more than welcome. Post them and I'll add them to the thread.

I will include the main actors of the movie, the year it was made, and a description about it. (This information will be pulled from IMDB.com., which I find to be a reliable movie database.)

DISCLAIMER: I realize that some movies fit into several categories, so I will do my best to classify them according to the most prominent genre the film displays.

 

[Chaotic_Theoretician]

ACTION/CRIME

Bangkok Dangerous - (200 cool Stars Nicholas Cage. A hitman who's in Bangkok to pull off a series of jobs falls for a local woman and bonds with his errand boy.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine - (2009) Stars Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds, Will.I.Am. Wolverine lives a mutant life, seeks revenge against Victor Creed (who will later become Sabertooth) for the death of his girlfriend, and ultimately ends up going through the mutant Weapon X program.
X-Men - (2000) Stars Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Anna Paquin. Two mutants come to a private academy for mutants whose resident superhero team must oppose a powerful mutant terrorist organization.
X-Men 2 - (2003) Stars Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Anna Paquin. The X-Men band together to find a mutant assassin who has made an attempt on the President's life, while the Mutant Academy is attacked by military forces.
X-Men 3: The Last Stand - (2006) Stars Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Anna Paquin. When a cure is found to treat mutations, lines are drawn amongst the X-Men, led by Professor Charles Xavier, and the Brotherhood, a band of powerful mutants organized under Xavier's former ally, Magneto.
Defiance - (200 cool Stars Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber. Jewish brothers in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe escape into the Belarussian forests, where they join Russian resistance fighters and endeavor to build a village in order to protect themselves and about 1,000 Jewish non-combatants.
Broken Arrow - (1996) Stars John Travolta, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis. Terrorists steal nuclear warheads from the US military but don't count on a pilot and park ranger spoiling their plans.
Gone In 60 Seconds - (2000) Stars Nicholas Cage, Angelina Jolie, Robert Duvall. A retired master car thief must come back to the industry and steal 50 cars with his crew in one night to save his brother's life.
The Whole Nine Yards - (2000) Stars Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet. A miserable suburban dentist in Canada is terrified when he finds out a former mob hitman from Chicago has moved next door to him; when he tells his greedy wife, however, she forces him to go to Chicago and try to sell the hitman's location to the mobsters he betrayed.
Ghost Rider - (2007) Stars Nicholas Cage, Wes Bentley, Eva Mendes, Sam Elliot, Peter Fonda. Based on the Marvel character, stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze gives up his soul to become a hellblazing vigilante, to fight against power hungry Blackheart, the son of the devil himself.
Lethal Weapon - (1987) Stars Mel Gibson, Danny Glover. A veteran cop, Murtough, is partnered with a young, suicidal homicide cop, Riggs. Both having one thing in common: hating working in pairs. Now they must learn to work with one and other to stop a gang of drug smugglers.
Lethal Weapon 2 - (1989) Stars Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci. Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.
Lethal Weapon 3 - (1992) Stars Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci. Martin Riggs finally meets his match in the form of Lorna Cole, a beautiful but tough policewoman. Together with Roger Murtaugh, his partner, the three attempt to expose a crooked former policeman and his huge arms racket.
The Rock - (1996) Stars Sean Connery, Nicholas Cage, Ed Harris. A group of U.S. marines, under command of a renegade general, take over Alcatraz and threat San Francisco Bay with biological weapons; a chemical weapons specialist and the only man to have ever escaped from the Rock are the only ones who can prevent chaos.
Swordfish - (2000) Stars Hugh Jackman, John Travolta, Halle Barry, and Don Cheadle. A secretive renegade counter-terrorist co-opts the world's greatest hacker (who is trying to stay clean) to steal billions in US Government dirty money.
Die Hard - (198 cool Stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia. New York cop John McClane gives terrorists a dose of their own medicine as they hold hostages in an LA office building
Die Hard 2 - (1990) Stars Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Atherton. John McClane is forced to battle mercenaries who seize control of an airport's communications and threaten to cause plane crashes if their demands are not met.
Die Hard: With A Vengeance - (1995) Stars Bruce Willis, Jeremy Irons, Samuel L. Jackson, Graham Green. John McClane and a store owner must play a bomber's deadly game as they race around New York while trying to stop him.
Live Free or Die Hard - (2007) Stars Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant, Maggie Q. John McClane takes on an Internet-based terrorist organization who is systematically shutting down the United States.
Snake Eyes - (199 cool Stars Nicholas Cage, Gary Sinise, John Heard, Carla Gugino. A shady police detective finds himself in the middle of a murder conspiracy at an important boxing match in an Atlantic City casino.
Next - (2007) Stars Nicholas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel. A Las Vegas magician who can see into the future is pursued by FBI agents seeking to use his abilities to prevent a nuclear terrorist attack.
Shooter - (2007) Stars Mark Walhberg, Michael Pena, Danny Glover. A marksman living in exile is coaxed back into action after learning of a plot to kill the president. Ultimately double-crossed and framed for the attempt, he goes on the run to track the real killer and find out who exactly set him up, and why.
Vantage Point - (200 cool Stars Dennis Quaid, William Hurt, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver. The attempted assassination of the American President is told and re-told from several different perspectives.
Crank - (2006) Stars Jason Statham, Amy Smart. Professional assassin Chev Chelios learns his rival has injected him with a poison that will kill him if his heart rate drops.
Frequency - (2000) Stars Dennis Quaid, James Caviezel, Shawn Doyle, Elizabeth Mitchell. An accidental cross-time radio link connects father and son across 30 years. The son tries to save his father's life, but then must fix the consequences.

 

[Chaotic_Theoretician]

ROMANCE

Kate and Leopold - (2001) Stars Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Meg Ryan, Breckin Meyer. A man in the 21st century discovers the means to time travel and accidentally brings back a 1870's Duke, who ends up falling in love with the time traveler's ex-girlfriend.
Hope Floats - (199 cool Stars Harry Connick, Jr., Sandra Bullock. A woman who comes back to her home town in Smithville, Texas, with her daughter after a very sloppy and painful divorce has to deal with the people in her town.
Always - (1989) Stars Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Brad Johnson. A romantic adventure about a legendary pilot's passion for dare-devil firefighting and his death that wrecks his wife's life until he eventually helps her find new love again, even though he is dead.
What Women Want - (2000) Stars Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt. A hilarious romantic-comedy. After an accident, a chauvenistic executive gains the ability to hear what women are really thinking.
Romancing the Stone - (1984) Stars Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner. A romance writer sets off to Colombia to ransom her kidnapped sister, and soon finds herself in the middle of a dangerous adventure.
P.S. I Love You - (2007) Stars Gerard Butler, Harry Connick, Jr., Hilary Swank, Lisa Kudrow, Kathy Bates. A young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life.
City of Angels - (199 cool Stars Nicholas Cage, Meg Ryan. Inspired by the modern classic, Wings of Desire, City of Angels involves an angel who is spotted by a doctor in an operating room and falls in love with her.
Sleepless in Seattle - (1993) Stars Tom Cruise, Meg Ryan. A recently-widowed man's son calls a radio talk show in an attempt to find his father a partner.
A Walk To Remember - (2002) Stars Shane West, Mandy Moore, Peter Coyote, Daryl Hannah. This is the story of two North Carolina teens, Landon Carter and Jamie Sullivan, who are thrown together after Landon gets into trouble and is made to do community service.
Message In A Bottle - (1999) Stars Kevin Costner, Robin Wright Penn, Paul Newman, John Savage. A woman discovers a tragic love letter in a bottle on a beach, and is determined to track down its author.
The Notebook - (2004) Stars Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, James Marsden, James Garner. A poor and passionate young man falls in love with a rich young woman and gives her a sense of freedom. They soon are separated by their social differences.
Nights in Rodanthe - (200 cool Stars Richard Gere, Diane Lane. A doctor who is traveling to see his estranged son sparks with an unhappily married woman at a North Carolina inn.
Mamma Mia - (200 cool Stars Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Julie Waters, Dominic Cooper, Amanda Seyfried. The story of a bride-to-be trying to find her real father told using hit songs by the popular '70s group ABBA.

 

[Chaotic_Theoretician]

COMEDY/FAMILY

Oscar - (1991) Stars Sylvester Stallone, Tim Curry. Angelo "Snaps" Provolone made his dying father a promise on his deathbed: he would leave the world of crime and become an honest businessman, but he has a few problems...nothing's going right, his henchmen only know about crime, and his daughter is supposedly pregnant from a guy he fired early on.
The Pacifer - (2005) Stars Vin Diesel, Lauren Graham, Brad Garrett. Disgraced Navy SEAL Shane Wolfe is handed a new assignment: Protect the five Plummer kids from enemies of their recently deceased father -- a government scientist whose top-secret experiment remains in the kids' house.
Miss Congeniality - (2000) Stars Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine, Benjamin Bratt, William Shatner. An FBI agent must go undercover in the Miss United States beauty pageant to prevent a group from bombing the event.
Stick It - (2006) Stars Jeff Bridges, Missy Peregrym. After a run-in with the law, Haley Graham is forced to return to the world from which she fled some years ago; enrolled in an elite gymnastics program run by the legendary Burt Vickerman, Haley's rebellious attitude gives way to something that just might be called team spirit.
Death Becomes Her - (1992) Stars Bruce Willis, Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn. When a woman learns of an immortality treatment, she sees it as a way to outdo her long-time rival.
Wild Hogs - (2007) Stars John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy, Marisa Tomei, Ray Liotta, Peter Fonda. A group of suburban biker wannabes looking for adventure hit the open road, but get more than they bargained for when they encounter a New Mexico gang called the Del Fuegos.
Paul Blartt: Mall Cop - (2009) Stars Kevin James, Keir O’Donnell. When a shopping mall is overtaken by a gang of organized crooks, it's up to the a mild-mannered security guard to save the day.
Get Shorty - (1995) Stars John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny Devito, Dennis Farina, Delroy Lindo. A mobster travels to Hollywood to collect a debt and discovers that the movie business is much the same as his current job.
Disney's The Kid - (2000) Stars Bruce Willis, Spencer Breslin. An unhappy and disliked image consultant gets a second shot at life when an eight year old version of himself mysteriously appears.
Michael - (1996) Stars John Travolta, William Hurt, Andie McDowell, Bob Hoskins, Robert Pastorelli. Two tabloid reporters checking out a report of the Archangel Michael living with an old woman find that it's true. But that's not the only surprise.
Get Smart - (200 cool Stars Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson. Maxwell Smart, Agent 86 for CONTROL, battles the forces of KAOS with the more-competent Agent 99 at his side.
Bruce Almighty - (2003) Stars Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Aniston. A guy who complains about God too often is given almighty powers to teach him how difficult it is to run the world.
Evan Almighty - (2007) Stars Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham. God contacts Congressman Evan Baxter and tells him to build an ark in preparation for a great flood.
Fun with d**k and Jane - (2005) Stars Jim Carrey, Téa Leoni, Alec Baldwin. The day before Globodyne's stock tanks, a la Enron, and its pension fund evaporates, the corporation's CEO and CFO set up middle manager d**k Harper to be the public face of the disaster. Jobless, and with no savings, pension, or home equity, d**k and his wife Jane sink slowly into poverty; a foreclosure notice sends d**k and Jane over the edge into a life of blue-collar crime.
Yes Man - (200 cool Stars Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper. A guy challenges himself to say "yes" to everything for an entire year.
You, Me and Dupree - (2006) Stars Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson, Matt Dillon, Michael Douglas. A best man stays on as a houseguest with the newlyweds, much to the couple's annoyance.
Drillbit Taylor - (200 cool Stars Owen Wilson, Nate Hartley, Troy Gentile. Three kids hire a low-budget bodyguard to protect them from the playground bully.
Meet the Fockers - (2004) Stars Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner. All hell breaks loose when the Byrnes family meets the Focker family for the first time.

 

[Chaotic_Theoretician]

DRAMA/TOUCHING/INSPIRATIONAL/INSIGHTFUL

Marley and Me - (200 cool Stars Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston. family learns important life lessons from their adorable, but naughty and neurotic dog.
Henry Poole Was Here - (200 cool Stars Luke Wilson, Adrianna Barraza, George Lopez. Henry Poole moves in to a house in his old neighborhood, to spend what he believes are his remaining days alone; the discovery of a "miracle" by a nosy neighbor ruptures his solitude and restores his faith in life.
Martian Child - (2007) Stars John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Amanda Peet. A science-fiction writer, recently widowed, considers whether to adopt a hyper-imaginative 6-year-old abandoned and socially rejected boy who says he's really from Mars.
Phenomenon - (1996) Stars John Travolta, Kyra Sedgewick, Robert Duvall, Forest Whitaker. An ordinary man sees a bright light descend from the sky, and discovers he now has super-intelligence and telekinesis.
Three Wishes - (1995) Stars Patrick Swayze, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Joseph Mazello. In an unexplained act of charity, Jeanne Holman picks up an injured, apparent tramp and takes him home to care for him, little realising who he was or the effect he would have on her life and those of her family.
August Rush - (2007) Stars Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathon Rhys Meyers, Robin Williams, Terrance Howard, William Sadler. A drama with fairy tale elements, where an orphaned musical prodigy uses his gift as a clue to finding his birth parents.
Shall We Dance - (2004) Stars Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Susan Sarandon. A romantic comedy where a bored, overworked Estate Lawyer, upon first sight of a beautiful instructor, signs up for ballroom dancing lessons.

 

[Chaotic_Theoretician]

SUSPENSE/HORROR/THRILLER
DISCLAIMER: I don't watch many horror movies, so there will be very few on here unless they are recommended by others.

Lady in the Water - (2006) Stars Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard. Apartment building superintendent Cleveland Heep rescues what he thinks is a young woman from the pool he maintains. When he discovers that she is actually a character from a bedtime story who is trying to make the journey back to her home, he works with his tenants to protect his new friend from the creatures that are determined to keep her in our world.
The Sixth Sense - (1999) Stars Bruce Willis. A boy who communicates with spirits that don't know they're dead seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.
Soul Survivors - (2001) Stars Wes Bentley, Melissa Sagemiller, Casey Affleck, Luke Wilson. A co-ed is caught between the world of the living and the dead.
Premonition - (2007) Stars Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon. Depressed housewife learns her husband was killed in a car accident the day previously, awakens the next morning to find him alive and well at home, and then awakens the next day after to a world in which he is still dead. (One suggestion: try and keep track of the days in the movie. It helps to make sense.)
Jurassic Park - (1993) Stars Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Joseph Mazello. Scientists clone dinosaurs to populate a theme park which suffers a major security breakdown and releases the dinosaurs.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park - (1997) Stars Jeff Goldblum, Julianne Moore, Vince Vaughn. A research team is sent to the Jurassic Park Site B island to study the dinosaurs there while another team approaches with another agenda.
In Bruges - (200 cool Stars Ralph Fiennes, Colin Farrell, Brendan Glesson. Holed up in Bruges, Belgium after a difficult job, two hit men begin to differ on their views of life and death as they become used to local customs.
Phantoms - (199 cool Stars Ben Affleck, Liev Schreiber, Peter O'Toole, Rose McGowan. In the peaceful town of Snowfield, Colorado something evil has wiped out the community. And now, its up to a group of people to stop it, or at least get out of Snowfield alive.
Sphere - (199 cool Stars Dustin Hoffman, Liev Schreiber, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Coyote, Queen Latifah. A spaceship is discovered under three hundred years' worth of coral growth at the bottom of the ocean...and it seems to attack the mind...
The Omen - (2006) Stars Liev Schreiber, David Thewlis, Julia Stiles. A remake of the 1976 horror classic The Omen, an American official realizes that his young son may literally be the devil incarnate.
Donnie Darko - (2001) Stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Patrick Swayze. A troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes, after narrowly escaping a bizarre accident.
Evil Dead 2 - (1987) Stars Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry. The lone survivor of an onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits holds up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.

 

[Chaotic_Theoretician]

OTHER

The Manchurian Candidate - (2004) Stars Liev Schreiber, Denzel Washington, and Meryl Streep. In the midst of the Gulf War, soldiers are kidnapped and brainwashed for sinister purposes.
Spinning Boris - (2003) Stars Jeff Goldblum, Liev Schreiber, Anthony LaPagalia. Russian political elite hires American consultants to help with President Yeltsin's re-election campaign when his approval rating is down to single digits.

 

[Chaotic_Theoretician]

RESERVED  

[Chaotic_Theoretician]

Queen Taru

Donnie Darko
Evil Dead 2

I think a lot of people usually like those....both really good films with big cult followings.

Fantastic! Thanks for the recommendations - they'll be up on the list shortly.