Friday, December 11, 2009

ET – 1982
Directed by Steven Spielberg.
A science fiction film written by Melissa Mathison.It tells the story of Elliott (played by Thomas), a lonely boy who befriends a friendly extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth. Elliott and his siblings help the extraterrestrial return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government.

Scarface – 1983
Directed by Brian De Palma .
When Castro opened the port at Mariel Harbor, thousands of Cubans fled to the United States. One is a young tough named Antonio (Tony) Montana, who, with his friend Manny Ray, starts in with Miami's cocaine trade. He survives attack by chainsaw after a deal goes bad, and several other attempts by other dealers to eliminate him. Eventually the grandiose Montana becomes the head of a cocaine cartel. But his enemies start coming after him, and his paranoia threatens to drive Montana's empire into the ground...

Terminator – 1984
Directed by James Cameron .
It is a sci–fi based action thriller where a seemingly unstoppable cyborg assassin who has been sent back from the year 2029 by a collection of artificially intelligent computer-controlled machines bent on the extermination of the human race. The Terminator's mission is to kill Sarah Connor whose future son, John Connor, leads a resistance against the machines. Soldier Kyle Reese , is also sent back from the future by John Connor himself to protect her.

Clue – 1985
Directed by Jonathan Lynn
This is one of the comedy thrillers which involves 6 guests , a butler and a maid who find themselves tangled in a web of murder , lies and hilarity .A classic detective game … and quite a funny one .

Aliens – 1986
Directed by James Cameron .
Its another science fiction action movie .The only survivor of the Nostromo, Ripley is discovered in deep sleep half a century later by a salvage ship. When she is taken back to Earth, she learns that a human colony was founded on the same planet where the aliens were first found. After contact with the colony is lost, she finds herself sent back to the planet along with a team of warriors bent on destroying the alien menace forever, and saving any survivors -- if any remains.

House of Games - 1987
Directed by David Mamet .
A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led my a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men.


Rainman – 1988
Directed by Barry Levinson.
It is a comedy drama film where it tells the story of an abrasive yuppie, Charlie Babbitt, who discovers that his estranged father has died and bequeathed all of his multimillion-dollar estate to his other son, Raymond, a savant, of whose existence Charlie was unaware.


Born on the Fourth of July - 1989
Directed by Oliver Stone
The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for


Pretty woman – 1990
Directed by Garry Marshall .
A romantic comedy movie which was originally supposed to be a dark drama about prostitution in New York but was reconceptualized into a romantic comedy. The film was a critical success and became one of 1990's highest  grossing films, and today is one of the most financially successful entries in the romantic comedy genre .

The silence of lambs – 1991
Directed by Jonathan Demme .
It is a crime /horror thriller that is based on the novel with the same name by Thomas Harris . In this film, Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee, seeks the advice of the imprisoned Lecter on catching a serial killer known only as "Buffalo Bill". The film won the top five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Screenplay.

Scent of a woman - 1992
Directed by Martin Brest
An american drama film directed by Martin Brest that tells the story of a preparatory school student who takes a job as an assistant to an irascible, blind, medically retired Army officer.


Reservoir Dogs – 1992
Directed by Quentin Tarantino.
The tale of a group of thugs who are hired to rob a diamond store. But the plan starts to fall apart when the alarm is tripped and the cops show up within moments. Of the group of men, all of whom are identified by colors, only four survive with one being seriously wounded. It is suspected that there is a police informant in the group, but no one is sure who it is .

Mrs Doubtfire – 1993
Directed by Chris Columbus.
An American comedy film starring Robin Williams and based on the novel  Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine. The film was placed 67th in the American  Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies , a list of the  100 funniest movies of the 20th century, and was also rated #39 on Bravo's  100 Funniest Movies of All Time.

Schindler’s list – 1993
Directed by Steven Spielberg .
A drama film about oskar schindler who saved  thousands of  polish jews during  holocaust by employing them in his factory . The film was a huge success and  recipient of 7 oscar awards.

Forrest Gump – 1994
Directed by Robert Zemeckis.
Forrest Gump, who isnt intelligent, has accidentally been present at many historic moments, but his true love, Jenny, eludes him.The film won 6 oscar awards including the best actor in leading role , best director , best picture and best screenplay and film editing .

Shawshank redemption – 1994
Directed by Frank Darabont
The film portrays Andy spending nearly two decades in Shawshank State Prison, a fictional penitentiary in Maine and his friendship with Red, a fellow inmate. Despite a lukewarm box office reception that was barely enough to cover its budget, The Shawshank Redemption received favorable reviews from critics and has been rated as # 1 .

Speed – 1994
Directed by Jan De Bont
An action thriller where a cop must save the passengers of the bus that has a bomb set to explode if the bus goes below 50 mph .The movie won 2 oscars , one for sound effects and another for film editing .

Dead man walking – 1995
Directed by Tim Robbins.
A nun, while comforting a convicted killer on death row, empathizes with both  the killer and his victim's families. The movie is based on the novel by the same name and fetched susan sarandon an oscar .

Casino – 1995
Directed by Martin Scorsese.
Greed, deception, money, power, and murder occur between two mobster best friends and a trophy wife over a gambling empire.

Se7en – 1995
Directed by David Fincher .
A mystery thriller where two homicide detectives desperately hunt for a serial killer who justifies his crime as absolution for the world’s ignorance of the Seven Deadly sins .

The usual suspects - 1995
Directed by Bryan Singer .
Police investigating an exploded boat on a San Pedro pier discover 27 bodies and $91 million worth of drug money. The only survivor is a severely burned and very scared Hungarian terrorist Kint, a crippled con-man. Reluctantly, Kint is forced into explaining exactly what happened on the boat. His story began six weeks earlier with five criminals being dragged in by New York police desperate for suspects on a hijacked truck and ends with the possible identification of a criminal mastermind.The movie won oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and  Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.

L.A. Confidential – 1997
Directed by Curtis Hanson .
It is based on a crime fiction novel by James Ellroy . Both the book and the film tell the story about a group of Los Angeles police in the 1950s, and police corruption bumping up against Hollywood celebrity.The movie won 2 oscar awards .

Titanic – 1997
Directed by James Cameron
An american romantic film which turned out to be an enormous critical and  commercial success, winning eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It became the highest-grossing film of all time, with a worldwide total of over $1.8 billion .

Goodwill Hunting - 1997
Directed by Gus Van Sant
Will Hunting who is a janitor at MIT  has a gift for mathematics that can take him light-years beyond his blue-collar roots, but to achieve his dream he must turn his back on the neighborhood and his best friend. .The movie won 2 oscars .

Saving Private ryan – 1998
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Following the Normandy Landings, a group of US soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.The movie won 5 oscar awards.

The matrix – 1999
Directed by Andy Wachowski.
A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against the controllers . The movie won 4 oscar awards.

American beauty - 1999
Directed by Sam Mendes.
Lester and Carolyn Burnham are on the outside, a perfect husband and wife, in a perfect house, in a perfect neighborhood. But inside, Lester is slipping deeper and deeper into a hopeless depression. He finally snaps when he becomes infatuated with one of his daughter's friends. Meanwhile, his daughter Jane is developing a happy friendship with a shy boy-next-door named Ricky, who lives with a homophobic father.The movie won 5 oscars.

Fight Club – 1999
Directed by David Fincher .
An office employee and a soap salesman build a global organization to help vent male aggression. Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk. Fight Club failed to meet the studio's expectations at the box office, and received polarized reactions from critics. It was cited as one of the most controversial and talked-about films of 1999. The Guardian saw it as an omen for change in American political life, and described its visual style as ground-breaking. The film later found commercial success with its DVD release, which established Fight Club as a cult film.

Gladiator – 2000
Directed by Ridley Scott
When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by a corrupt prince, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge . This movie won 5 oscar awards.

Snatch – 2000
Directed by Guy Ritchie
Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers, and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond .

The lord of the rings – 2001
Directed by Peter Jackson.
In a small village in the Shire a young Hobbit named Frodo has been entrusted with an ancient Ring. Now he must embark on an Epic quest to the Cracks of Doom in order to destroy it.It won 4 oscars .

The score - 2001
Directed by Frank Oz
An aging thief hopes to retire and live off his ill-gotten wealth when a young kid convinces him into doing one last heist.

Insomnia – 2002
Directed by Christopher Nolan
In the small fishing town of Nightmute, Alaska, a local 17-year-old girl named Kay Connell is found murdered. Two LAPD detectives, Will Dormer and Hap Eckhart are sent up to assist the local police with their investigation. This is a remake of the Norwegian movie with the same name which was released in 1997.

Chicago -2002
Directed by Rob Marshall
Murderesses Velma Kelly (a chanteuse and tease who killed her husband and sister after finding them in bed together) and Roxie Hart (who killed her boyfriend when she discovered he wasn't going to make her a star) find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago.It won 6 oscars.

Finding Nemo – 2003
Directed by Andrew Stanton
The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. It was a financial blockbuster as it grossed over $864 million worldwide.

Memories of murder - 2003
Directed by Bong Joo ho .
A south korean movie based on a true story of the country’s first known serial murders that took place between 1986 – 1991 . At the end its heart breaking to see that justice was not delivered even  though the police came to know about the real killer .

Kill Bill 1 &2 - 2003 , 2004
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
The Bride wakes up after a long coma. The baby that she carried before entering the coma is gone. The only thing on her mind is to have revenge on the assassination team that betrayed her  - a team she was once part of.
In the second part , The murderous Bride continues her vengeance quest against her ex-boss, Bill, and his two remaining associates; his younger brother Budd, and Bill's latest flame Elle.

Downfall - 2004
Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel
Depicting the final ten days of Adolf Hitler's life in his Berlin bunker and  Nazi Germany in 1945 .

Hotel Rwanda – 2004
Directed by Terry George.
The true-life story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who housed over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda.

The Chatterley Affair – 2006
Directed by James Hawes
The trial, under The Obscene Publications Act, of the publishers of D.H. Lawrence's 'Lady Chatterley's Lover'in 1960 was a sensation that consumed the nation. The movie follows two fictional jurors, Helena and Keith, who become passionate lovers during the course of the trial and whose affair mirrors the themes of the novel.

The Holiday - 2006
Directed by Nancy Meyers .
A romantic movie where two jilted lovers ( one in london and the other in Los Angeles ) come upon a website called home exchange and decide to swap their houses for two weeks just to forget their boyfriends … But little do they know that this small vacation will help them in finding their true loves . With Kate Winslet , Cameron Diaz and Jude law playing the leading roles this is something quite refreshing and entertaining as well .

Gran Torino – 2008
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Disgruntled Korean War vet Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, a young Hmong teenager, who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: his 1972 Gran Torino.

The changeling – 2008
Directed by Clint Eastwood.
A grief-stricken mother takes on the LAPD to her own detriment when it stubbornly tries to pass off an obvious impostor as her missing child, while also refusing to give up hope that she will find him one day.

The Boy in the stripped pyjamas - 2008
Directed by Mark Herman
Set during World War II, a story seen through the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a concentration camp, whose forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences.

The Dark Knight – 2008
Directed by Christopher Nolan
It is a superhero crime thriller where Bruce Wayne, Gordon and Harvey Dent are forced to deal with the chaos unleashed by an anarchist mastermind known only as the Joker, as it drives each one of them to their limits. It won oscars for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role and Best achievement in Sound editing.

The Bank Job - 2008
Directed by Roger Donaldson.
A crime based thriller where Martine offers Terry a lead on a foolproof bank hit on London's Baker Street. She targets a roomful of safe deposit boxes worth millions in cash and jewelry. But Terry and his crew don't realize the boxes also contain a treasure trove of dirty secrets - secrets that will thrust them into a deadly web of corruption and illicit scandal.

The curious Case of Benjamin Button – 2008
Directed by David Fincher.
The movie is about Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences .It won oscars for Best Achievement in Visual Effects, Best Achievement in Makeup and Best Achievement in Art Direction.

The Reader – 2008
Directed by Stephen Daldry
Post-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial. The movie won an oscar for the best performance by an Actress in a leading role.

Wall E - 2009
Directed by Andrew Stanton
In the distant future, a small waste collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.It won an oscar for the Best Animated Feature Film of the Year.

Inglorious Basterds- 2009
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.

Avatar- 2009
Directed by James Cameron.
A paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.