My Personal All-Time Favorite Films
I love films that make me feel hopeful. I particularly enjoy slice of life films where disparate elements come together to create something greater than their parts (ie. ensembles creating families of choice, teachers inspiring power in their students, travelers make new friends in their journeys, etc...) I also love magical mystical realism, food movies, and stunning cinematography.
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- DirectorRobert RedfordStarsRubén BladesRichard BradfordSonia BragaThe accidental breakdown of an irrigation valve launches a hot confrontation between the mainly Latino farmers in a tiny New Mexico town and the real estate developers and politicians determined to acquire their land for a golf resort.
- DirectorJames F. RobinsonStarsBrendan FraserJoanna GoingLou RawlsWhen artist and street performer Fletcher (Brendan Fraser) thinks con-artist Roz (Joanna Going) is the woman he has seen in a vision, he has no idea she sees him as her next victim.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsJon VoightPaul WinfieldMadge SinclairThe true story of Pat Conroy, a handsome, idealistic Caucasian who is an elementary-school instructor for a group of poor Black children in an isolated school.
- DirectorJoan Micklin SilverStarsAmy IrvingPeter RiegertReizl BozykA Manhattan single meets a man through her Jewish grandmother's matchmaker.
- DirectorCarl ReinerStarsSteve MartinLily TomlinVictoria TennantA dying millionaire has her soul transferred into a younger, willing woman. However, something goes wrong, and she finds herself in her lawyer's body - together with the lawyer.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsLaurence OlivierDiane LaneThelonious BernardAn American teenager living in Paris meets and falls in love with a local.
- DirectorMaria RipollStarsHector ElizondoJacqueline ObradorsTamara MelloA Mexican-American master chef and father to three daughters has lost his taste for food, but not for life.
- DirectorMaggie GreenwaldStarsJanet McTeerMichael HardingMichael DavisAfter being denied a promotion at the university where she teaches, Doctor Lily Penleric, a brilliant musicologist, impulsively visits her sister, who runs a struggling rural school in Appalachia. There she stumbles upon the discovery of her life - a treasure trove of ancient Scots-Irish ballads, songs that have been handed down from generation to generation, preserved intact by the seclusion of the mountains. With the goal of securing her promotion, Lily ventures into the most isolated areas of the mountains to collect the songs and finds herself increasingly enchanted - not only by the rugged purity of the music, but also by the raw courage and endurance of the local people as they carve out meaningful lives against the harshest conditions. It is not, however, until she meets Tom - a handsome, hardened war veteran and talented musician - that she's forced to examine her motivations. Is the "Songcatcher," as Tom insists, no better than the men who exploit the people and extort their land?
- DirectorLewis GilbertStarsPauline CollinsTom ContiJulia McKenzieShirley is a 42-year-old bored Liverpudlian housewife who takes a holiday trip to Greece and meets a local man who bolsters her self-confidence. She evolves and transforms to the point that her husband doesn't even recognize her.
- DirectorAgnieszka HollandStarsKate MaberlyMaggie SmithHeydon ProwseA young, recently-orphaned girl is sent to England after living in India all of her life. Once there, she begins to explore her new, seemingly-isolated surroundings, and its secrets.
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsLiesel MatthewsEleanor BronLiam CunninghamSara is sent to a strict boarding school after her father enlists in WWI. When he is presumed dead, the headmistress, knowing she will not receive any more money, forces the girl to become a servant.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsMorgan FreemanJessica TandyDan AykroydAn old Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur in the American South have a relationship that grows and improves over the years.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsCherNicolas CageOlympia DukakisLoretta Castorini, a bookkeeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she has agreed to marry.
- DirectorPeter CattaneoStarsRobert CarlyleTom WilkinsonMark AddySix unemployed steel workers form a male striptease act. The women cheer them on to go for "the full monty" - total nudity.
- DirectorEdward NortonStarsBen StillerEdward NortonJenna ElfmanTwo friends, a priest and a rabbi, fall in love with the same woman they knew in their youth, but the religious position of both men denies them romance.
- DirectorJeremiah S. ChechikStarsJohnny DeppMary Stuart MastersonAidan QuinnA mentally ill young woman finds her love in an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsMichael DouglasAnnette BeningMartin SheenA widowed U.S. President running for reelection and an environmental lobbyist fall in love. It's all above-board, but "politics is perception," and sparks fly anyway.
- DirectorTom McCarthyStarsRichard JenkinsHaaz SleimanDanai GuriraA college professor travels to New York City to attend a conference and finds a young couple living in his apartment.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsJohn CusackDaphne ZunigaAnthony EdwardsWalter Gibson is a university freshman going through a dry spell. His old buddy arranges a "sure thing" for him in California. Gibson and his classmate Allison then take a long road trip out to Cali, and both foil each other's plans.
- DirectorWillard CarrollStarsGillian AndersonEllen BurstynSean ConneryEleven articulate people work through affairs of the heart in Los Angeles.
- DirectorChris NoonanStarsRenée ZellwegerEwan McGregorEmily WatsonThe story of Beatrix Potter, the author of the beloved and best-selling children's book, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", and her struggle for love, happiness, and success.
- DirectorRichard CurtisStarsHugh GrantMartine McCutcheonLiam NeesonFollows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
- DirectorAndrew StantonLee UnkrichStarsAlbert BrooksEllen DeGeneresAlexander GouldAfter his son is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, a timid clownfish sets out on a journey to bring him home.
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsDaniel RadcliffeEmma WatsonRupert GrintHarry Potter, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their third year of study, where they delve into the mystery surrounding an escaped prisoner who poses a dangerous threat to the young wizard.
- DirectorPete DocterBob PetersonStarsEdward AsnerJordan NagaiJohn Ratzenberger78-year-old Carl Fredricksen travels to Paradise Falls in his house equipped with balloons, inadvertently taking a young stowaway.
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsJulie AndrewsDick Van DykeDavid TomlinsonIn turn of the century London, a magical nanny employs music and adventure to help two neglected children become closer to their father.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
- DirectorHarold RamisStarsBill MurrayAndie MacDowellChris ElliottA narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsGeorge ClooneyJohn TurturroTim Blake NelsonIn the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.
- DirectorJean-Pierre JeunetStarsAudrey TautouMathieu KassovitzRufusDespite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.
- DirectorJohn LasseterStarsTom HanksTim AllenDon RicklesA cowboy doll is profoundly threatened and jealous when a new spaceman action figure supplants him as top toy in a boy's bedroom.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie AndrewsChristopher PlummerEleanor ParkerA young novice is sent by her convent in 1930s Austria to become a governess to the seven children of a widowed naval officer.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEthan HawkeJulie DelpyAndrea EckertA young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.
- DirectorAndrew AdamsonVicky JensonStarsMike MyersEddie MurphyCameron DiazA mean lord exiles fairytale creatures to the swamp of a grumpy ogre, who must go on a quest and rescue a princess for the lord in order to get his land back.
- DirectorLasse HallströmStarsJuliette BinocheJohnny DeppJudi DenchA French woman and her young daughter open up a chocolate shop in a small remote village that shakes up the rigid morality of the community.
- DirectorBrad BirdJan PinkavaStarsBrad GarrettLou RomanoPatton OswaltA rat who can cook makes an unusual alliance with a young kitchen worker at a famous Paris restaurant.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEthan HawkeJulie DelpyVernon DobtcheffNine years after Jesse and Celine first met, they encounter each other again on the French leg of Jesse's book tour.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.
- DirectorRoger MichellStarsHugh GrantJulia RobertsRichard McCabeA set of circumstances makes Anna Scott, a famous actress, fall in love with William Thacker, owner of a bookstore in Notting Hill. But the paparazzi's fascination with her complicates their bond.
- DirectorWolfgang ReithermanStarsPhil HarrisSebastian CabotLouis PrimaBagheera the Panther and Baloo the Bear have a difficult time trying to convince a boy to leave the jungle for human civilization.
- DirectorGurinder ChadhaStarsParminder NagraKeira KnightleyJonathan Rhys MeyersTwo ambitious girls, despite their parents' wishes, have their hearts set on careers in professional football.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom CruiseColin FarrellSamantha MortonJohn works with the PreCrime police which stop crimes before they take place, with the help of three 'PreCogs' who can foresee crimes. Events ensue when John finds himself framed for a future murder.
- DirectorJohn CarneyStarsGlen HansardMarkéta IrglováHugh WalshA modern-day musical about a busker and an immigrant and their eventful week in Dublin, as they write, rehearse and record songs that tell their love story.
- DirectorJonathan LynnStarsJoe PesciMarisa TomeiRalph MacchioTwo New Yorkers accused of murder in rural Alabama while on their way back to college call in the help of one of their cousins, a loudmouth lawyer with no trial experience.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsTom BerengerGlenn CloseJeff GoldblumA group of seven former college friends gather for a weekend reunion at a South Carolina vacation home after the funeral of another of their college friends.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsBilly CrystalMeg RyanCarrie FisherHarry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.
- DirectorHenry SelickStarsDanny ElfmanChris SarandonCatherine O'HaraJack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartDonna ReedLionel BarrymoreAn angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDanny GloverWhoopi GoldbergOprah WinfreyA tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry.
- DirectorJoel ZwickStarsNia VardalosJohn CorbettMichael ConstantineA young Greek woman falls in love with a non-Greek and struggles to get her family to accept him while she comes to terms with her heritage and cultural identity.
- DirectorJohn MaddenStarsJudi DenchBill NighyMaggie SmithBritish retirees travel to India to take up residence in what they believe is a newly restored hotel. Less luxurious than advertised, the Marigold Hotel nevertheless slowly begins to charm in unexpected ways.
- DirectorJerome RobbinsRobert WiseStarsNatalie WoodGeorge ChakirisRichard BeymerTwo youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.
- DirectorTom McCarthyStarsPeter DinklagePatricia ClarksonBobby CannavaleWhen his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss.
- DirectorChris NoonanStarsJames CromwellMagda SzubanskiChristine CavanaughGentle farmer Arthur Hoggett wins a piglet Babe at a county fair. Narrowly escaping his fate as Christmas dinner, Babe bonds with motherly border collie Fly and discovers that he too can herd sheep. But will the other animals accept him?
- DirectorStanley DonenGene KellyStarsGene KellyDonald O'ConnorDebbie ReynoldsA silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsHumphrey BogartAudrey HepburnWilliam HoldenA playboy becomes interested in the daughter of his family's chauffeur, but it's his more serious brother who would be the better man for her.
- DirectorJoe JohnstonStarsJake GyllenhaalChris CooperLaura DernThe true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.
- DirectorEmilio EstevezStarsMartin SheenEmilio EstevezDeborah Kara UngerA father heads overseas to recover the body of his estranged son who died while traveling the "El camino de Santiago," and decides to take the pilgrimage himself.
- DirectorJon TurteltaubStarsJohn CandyLeonDoug E. DougWhen a Jamaican sprinter is disqualified from the Olympic Games, he enlists the help of a dishonored coach to start the first Jamaican Bobsled Team.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsOlympia DukakisSigrid ThorntonDerek FowldsAn American woman on vacation in Sydney buys a car and travels across Australia on a voyage of self-discovery.
- DirectorTony GatlifStarsLa CaitaThe journey of the Romany people told through musicians and dancers of India, Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, France, and Spain.
- DirectorDavid Hugh JonesStarsAnne BancroftAnthony HopkinsJudi DenchTrue story of a transatlantic business correspondence about used books that developed into a close friendship.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsSihung LungKuei-Mei YangWang Yu-wenA senior chef lives with his three grown daughters; the middle one finds her future plans affected by unexpected events and the life changes of the other household members.
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsMary McDonnellAlfre WoodardAngela BassettAfter an accident leaves her a paraplegic, a former soap opera star struggles to recover both emotionally and mentally, until she meets her newest nurse, who has struggles of her own.
- DirectorVictor NunezStarsAshley JuddTodd FieldBentley MitchumA young woman struggles for independence and identity in a small Florida tourist town.
- DirectorSteven KampmannWilliam PorterStarsMark HarmonJodie FosterBlair BrownEx-baseball player Billy comes home to receive his childhood darling's ashes.
- DirectorPeter Ho-Sun ChanStarsKate CapshawTom Everett ScottTom SelleckThe life of a provincial town becomes stormy after the appearance of an anonymous love letter.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsVal KilmerSam ShepardGraham GreeneA young mixed-blood FBI agent is assigned to work with a cynical veteran investigator on a murder on a poverty-stricken Sioux reservation.
- DirectorLewis GilbertStarsMichael CaineJulie WaltersMichael WilliamsAn alcoholic professor has been hired by a working-class girl for higher education.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsPeter FalkAlan ArkinRichard LibertiniOn the eve of their children's marriage, NYC in-laws Sheldon Kornpett and Vince Ricardo embark on a series of misadventures involving the CIA, the Treasury Department and Central American dictators.
- DirectorMark JoffeStarsJaneane GarofaloDavid O'HaraMilo O'SheaMarcy is an assistant to Senator John McGlory, who is having problems with a re-election campaign. Desperate for Irish votes, McGlory's chief of staff Nick sends Marcy to Ireland to trace McGlory's relatives or ancestors. Marcy arrives at the village of Ballinagra when it is preparing for an annual Matchmaking Festival. A well-dressed, handsome, single young lady, she becomes the center of attention for two professional matchmakers, Dermot and Millie, as well as for bartender Sean.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsRobin WilliamsMary Beth HurtGlenn CloseA struggling young writer finds his life and work dominated by his unfaithful wife and his radical feminist mother, whose best-selling manifesto turns her into a cultural icon.
- DirectorMichael LehmannStarsUma ThurmanJaneane GarofaloBen ChaplinA successful veternarian & radio show host with low self-esteem asks her model friend to impersonate her when a handsome man wants to see her.
- DirectorAlfonso ArauStarsMarco LeonardiLumi CavazosRegina TornéWhen tradition prevents her from marrying the man she loves, a young woman discovers she has a unique talent for cooking.
- DirectorBill ForsythStarsBurt LancasterPeter RiegertFulton MackayAn American oil company has plans for a new refinery and sends someone to Scotland to buy up an entire village, but things don't go as expected.
- DirectorShona AuerbachStarsEmily MortimerJack McElhoneGerard ButlerAfter having responded to her son's numerous letters in the guise of his father, a woman hires a stranger to pose as his dad when meeting him.
- DirectorMichael Caton-JonesStarsMichael J. FoxJulie WarnerBarnard HughesA young doctor on his way across the country to a job interview crashes his car in a small town and is sentenced to work for several days at the town hospital.
- DirectorGabriel AxelStarsStéphane AudranBodil KjerBirgitte FederspielDuring the late 19th century, a strict religious community in a Danish village takes in a French refugee from the Franco-Prussian War as a servant to the late pastor's daughters.
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsChris CooperElizabeth PeñaStephen MendilloWhen the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEthan HawkeJulie DelpySeamus Davey-FitzpatrickWe meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna.
- DirectorChris EyreStarsAdam BeachEvan AdamsIrene BedardArnold rescued Thomas from a fire when he was a child. Thomas thinks of Arnold as a hero, while Arnold's son Victor resents his father's alcoholism, violence and abandonment of his family.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsMia FarrowWilliam HurtJoe MantegnaA spoiled Manhattan housewife re-evaluates her life after visiting a Chinatown healer.
- DirectorMick JacksonStarsSteve MartinVictoria TennantRichard E. GrantWith the help of a talking freeway billboard, a wacky weatherman tries to win the heart of an English newspaper reporter, who is struggling to make sense of the strange world of early 1990s Los Angeles.
- DirectorSteve KlovesStarsJeff BridgesMichelle PfeifferBeau BridgesThe lives of two struggling musicians, who happen to be brothers, inevitably change when they team up with a beautiful, up-and-coming singer.
- DirectorDavid MametStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanWilliam H. MacyRebecca PidgeonA movie crew invades a small town whose residents are all too ready to give up their values for showbiz glitz.
- DirectorRobert BentonStarsSally FieldLindsay CrouseEd HarrisIn central Texas in the 1930s, a widow with two small children tries to save her small 40-acre farm with the help of a blind boarder and an itinerant black handyman.
- DirectorTim FywellStarsRomola GaraiRose ByrneBill NighyA love story set in 1930s England that follows 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain and the fortunes of her eccentric family struggling to survive in a decaying English castle.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJeff BridgesRobin WilliamsAdam BryantA former radio DJ, suicidally despondent because of a terrible mistake he made, finds redemption in helping a deranged homeless man who was an unwitting victim of that mistake.
- DirectorLasse HallströmStarsKevin SpaceyJulianne MooreJudi DenchAn emotionally beaten man with his young daughter moves to his ancestral home in Newfoundland to reclaim his life.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsRichard LinklaterRudy BasquezJean CaffeineA day in the life of Austin, Texas as the camera roams from place to place and provides a brief look at the overeducated, the social misfits, the outcasts and the oddballs.
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsMaggie SmithHelena Bonham CarterDenholm ElliottLucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) shares a brief romance with George Emerson in Florence. Yet as she tries to move on with her life and look for marriage elsewhere, can she truly forget the events of that summer?
- DirectorLasse HallströmStarsJennifer LopezRobert RedfordMorgan FreemanDesperate to provide care for her daughter, down-on-her-luck Jean moves in with her father in-law from whom she is estranged. Through time, they learn to forgive each other and heal old wounds.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsEileen AtkinsKate BeckinsaleSheila BurrellA recently orphaned young woman goes to live with eccentric relatives in Sussex, where she sets about improving their gloomy lives.
- DirectorJulian JarroldStarsChiwetel EjioforJoel EdgertonSarah-Jane PottsA drag queen comes to the rescue of a man who, after inheriting his father's shoe factory, needs to diversify his product if he wants to keep the business afloat.
- DirectorPeter HowittStarsGwyneth PaltrowJohn HannahJohn LynchAfter personal and professional setbacks, a woman experiences an alternate reality.
- DirectorNiki CaroStarsKeisha Castle-HughesRawiri ParateneVicky HaughtonA contemporary story of love, rejection and triumph as a young Maori girl fights to fulfill a destiny her grandfather refuses to recognize.
- DirectorBrandon CampStarsJennifer AnistonAaron EckhartDan FoglerA widower whose book about coping with loss turns him into a best-selling self-help guru, falls for the hotel florist where his seminar is given, only to learn that he hasn't yet truly confronted his wife's passing.
- DirectorAndrew BergmanStarsNicolas CageBridget FondaRosie PerezA police officer promises to share his lottery ticket with a waitress in lieu of a tip.
- DirectorHal AshbyStarsPeter SellersShirley MacLaineMelvyn DouglasAfter the death of his employer forces him out of the only home he's ever known, a simpleminded, sheltered gardener becomes an unlikely trusted advisor to a powerful tycoon and an insider in Washington politics.
- DirectorJohn HoughStarsEddie AlbertRay MillandDonald PleasenceTwo mysterious orphan children have extraordinary powers and are chased by a scheming millionaire. But where do these kids really call home?