Movies

These are ranked based on my personal
opinions.

These are ranked by whether or not I, personally, think you should watch. If
you disagree, that’s fine. Feel free to make your own list!

Extraordinary
- Must-watch, innovative, outstanding
Great
- Recommended, excellent, memorable
Worthwhile
- Enjoyable, fun, lacking distinction
Decent
- Situational, forgettable, passable
Mediocre
- Technically a movie, noise
Bad
- Avoid!

Not yet ranked
- Have seen but haven’t scored
Not yet watched
- (Or need to re-watch)

Extraordinary

Must-watch. Innovative and outstanding execution. These set the standard for excellence and leave a lasting impression.

A

Alien
Akira

D

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

F

Fargo

G

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

I

The Incredibles
- My favorite Pixar movie.

L

The Lion King

P

Princess Mononoke

S

The Shining
Spirited Away

#

12 Angry Men
2001: A Space Odyssey

Great

Highly recommended. These films excel in entertainment or artistic value with qualities that make them memorable and engaging.

A

Aladdin
Apollo 13
American Psycho

B

The Banshees of Inisherin
The Big Lebowski

D

District 9
Donnie Brasco

E

Everything Everywhere All at Once

F

Forrest Gump

G

Galaxy Quest

J

Jaws

L

Leaving Las Vegas
Lilo & Stitch
Licorice Pizza

M

Mean Girls
Monster’s Inc
Moon
Moonrise Kingdom
Moonstruck

O

O’ Brother Where Art Thou
Office Space

N

Nightcrawler

P

Parasite
Primer
Pulp Fiction

R

The Raid
Rain Man
Redline

S

Singin’ in the Rain
The Shawshank Redemption

T

Train to Busan
The Thing
The Truman Show
Toy Story

U

Uncut Gems

V

My Cousin Vinny

W

The Way Way Back
Wolf Children

Z

Zootopia

#

50 First Dates

Worthwhile

Recommended. A solid experience with several commendable qualities, though they may lack distinction or impact.

Walk Hard
- Forrest Gump meets Talladega Nights meets every music movie ever.
Apocalypse Now
- Need to rewatch. This is likely a better movie than this category but it’s been a long time since I saw it.
Donnie Darko
The Man from Earth
Promare
Men Who Stare at Goats
Cube
Cube Zero
Pacific Rim
John Wick
Inglourious Basterds
Kill Bill
Isle of Dogs
Monster’s University
Sing
Sing 2
The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Star Wars
Cars
Moonlight
The Godfather
The Godfather II
A Streetcar Named Desire
Face/Off
The Lord of The Rings
Aliens
Prometheus
Pinnochio
Night of The Living Dead
Cabin in The Woods
Raiders of The Lost Ark
Raising Arizona
500 Days of Summer
The One I Love
Inception
Safety Not Guaranteed
Spaceballs
The Midnight Sky
- Good slow burn sci-fi drama. Has a good amount of dramatic moments and unexpected elements.

W

White Noise
- Pretty weird but still fun and enjoyable. Comedy horror.
- ??? quote “Spoiler” People are trying to live their lives and not think about death. Everyone has a fear of death. The world is constantly reminding us of death in every way imaginable.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
- Impressive use of hand-drawn animation composited over live-action video. The way that lighting is blended between the two is especially great.

Have Watched

I have seen these. Haven’t ranked yet

Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind
Click
The Departed
Goodfellas
Mulholland Drive
The Dark Knight
Spider-man
Spiderverse
Carol
Elf
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
A Muppet Christmas Carol
You’ve Got Mail
When Harry Met Sally
Catch Me if You Can
Clue
Fight Club
Cool Hand Luke
The Raid
Dredd
Game Night
Frozen
Zombieland
Oliver and Company
Aristocats
AI: Artificial Intelligence
Big
Groundhog Day
The Matrix
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
Se7en
Interstellar
Gravity
The Silence of The Lambs
Asteroid City
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
Saving Private Ryan
Black Hawk Down
Lord of War
The Green Mile
Terminator
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Léon: The Professional
American History X
The Nice Guys
The Usual Suspects
The Prestige
Whiplash
Barbie
WALL·E
Oldboy
Amadeus
Avengers
Braveheart
Good Will Hunting
The Master of Disguise
Full Metal Jacket
A Clockwork Orange
Heat
Up
Hamilton
Die Hard
Taxi
Taxi Driver
Batman Begins
Top Gun
Top Gun: Maverick
The Wolf of Wall Street
Shutter Island
Jurassic Park
Jumanji
Jumanji 2
A Beautiful Mind
No Country for Old Men
Monty Python and The Holy Grail
V for Vendetta
Trainspotting
My Neighbor Totoro
Blade Runner
Blade Runner: 2047
Gone Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
How to Train Your Dragon
Ford v Ferrari
The Exorcist
300
2012
The Iron Giant
The Brave Little Toaster
The Grey
Dawn of the Dead
E.T the Extra Terrestrial
Ratatouille
Big Hero Six
Turning Red
Inside Out
21 Jump Street
22 Jump Street
28 Days Later
A Bug’s Life
A Fish Called Wanda
Airplane!
Executive Decision
America: The Motion Picture
Team America: World Police
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Anaconda
Atlantis: The Lost Empire
The Computer Wears Tennis Shoes (old one)
The Computer Wears Tennis Shoes (new one)
Blank Check
Smart House
AVP: Alien Vs. Predator
Baby Driver
Back to The Future
Back to The Future Part II
Back to The Future Part III
Bad News Bears
Barton Fink
Battle Royale
Battleship
Beetlejuice
Dr. Strange
Big Daddy
Big Trouble in Little China
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
BlacKkKlansman
Blade
Blad II
Blazing Saddles
The History of The World: Part I
Blood Simple
Brave
Chicken Run
But I’m a Cheerleader
Captain Fantastic
Clueless
Legally Blond
Paddington
Paddington 2
Con Air
Contagion
Crank
Crash
Speed
Crazy, Stupid, Love.
The Notebook
P.S. I Love You
Sweet Home Alabama
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Dredd
Drive
Dune
Dumb & Dumber
Dumb & Dumberer
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Rat Race
Sixteen Candles
Edge of Tomorrow
Elysium
Edward Scissorhands
Event Horizon
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Finding Nemo
Finding Dory
Free Willy
The Holdovers
Twister
Crazy Rich Asians
Galaxy Quest
Gattaca
Get Out
Nope
Don’t Look Up
Geostorm
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Godzilla
Gremlins
Gremlins 2: The New Batch
GoldenEye
GoldFinger
Gone in Sixty Seconds
Good Burger
Hackers
Halloween
Scooby Doo
Happy Gilmore
Heat
Holes
Home Alone
Hot Fuzz
Honey, I Shrunk The Kids
Howl’s Moving Castle
I, Robot
I, Tanya
Idiocracy
In Bruges
Inception
Independence Day
Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom
Jerry Maguire
Joe Dirt
John Wick: Chapter 2
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
John Wick: Chapter 4
Lilo and Stitch
Little Miss Sunshine
Little Shop of Horrors
Tick, Tick,… Boom!
Rent
Local Hero
Looper
Mandy
Matilda
Meet the Fockers
Meet the Parents
Megamind
Memento
Men in Black
Men in Black II
Men in Black 3
Midsommar
Minority Report
Miss Congeniality
Pitch Perfect
Pitch Perfect 2
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
Taken
Moonfall
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Mulan
Napoleon Dynamite
Gentlemen Broncos
National Treasure
Night at The Museum
No Country for Old Men
No Time to Die
Ocean’s Eleven
Hunt for The Red October
Old School
Pain & Gain
Pearl Harbor
Patriot
Pirates of The Caribbean (Series)
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Predator
Prey
The Expendables
Red Dawn
RoboCop
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
The Princess Bride
Ponyo
The Little Mermaid
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Rush Hour
The Pokemon Movie
Shark Boy and Lava Girl
Spy Kids
Spy Kids 2
Saw
Saw II
Saw III
Zach and Miri Make a Porno
Hairspray
Scream
Serenity
Shaun of The Dead
Shrek
Shrek 2
Shrek 3
Sling Blade
Snowpiercer
Source Code
Spaceballs
Sphere
Starship Troopers
Step Brothers
Stranger than Fiction
Super Troopers
Superbad
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
The Big Short
The Blues Brothers
The Bourne Identity
The Bourne Supremacy
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Breakfast Club
The Core
Armageddon
The Darjeeling Limited
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The French Dispatch
The Day After Tomorrow
The Devil Wears Prada
The Devil’s Advocate
The Emperor’s New Groove
The Equalizer
The Equalizer 2
The Equalizer 3
The Transporter
The Fast and The Furious
The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift
The Goonies
The Fifth Element
The Italian Job (old)
The Italian Job (new)
The Karate Kid
The Longest Yard
The Martian
The Mummy
The Mummy Returns
The Net
James and The Giant Peach
Pinnochio (Del Toro)
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Perfect Storm
The Prince of Egypt
The Road to El Dorado
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Death Race 2000
Gamer
Ready Player One
Radio City Murder Mystery
The Sandlot
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (old)
The Tomorrow War
Tomorrow Never Dies
Total Recall (old)
Total Recall (new)
Austin Powers (series)
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Treasure Planet
TRON
TRON: Legacy
Zoolander
What We Do in The Shadows
Waterworld
(what was that movie where the
War of The Worlds (old)
War of The Worlds (new)
Wedding Crashers
Tropic Thunder
Tremors
Transformers (series)
The Village (wait am I thinking of the lottery?)
The Room
Flubber
Zodiac
The Santa Clause
The Santa Clause 2
The Rock
The Producers
The Mask
Waterboy

Decent

Optionally recommended. Average and has appeal to certain audiences or in a specific context (i.e. only good in a theater). If it piques your interest or comes recommended, give it a chance.

Clockstoppers
- Largely forgettable but it had some cute concepts.
- ??? quote “Spoiler” The scene with the bees being stopped mid-air is pretty memorable for me. Also the frozen paintballs.
The Conjuring
- Watched because it was a friend’s favorite. Not my favorite but it had some good qualities.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy
Kiki’s Delivery Service
- Some people love this movie. It isn’t for me. I’d take the time to watch if you like other Miyazaki works.
The Killer (2023)
- It felt to me that it was trying to be a lot deeper than it actually was. The main hand-to-hand fight scene was incredible though.
- ??? quote “Spoiler” Okay but c’mon, the premise of the movie is that the guy is bad at his job? If only we could all be so lucky to retire after our first mistake at our jobs. He incessantly talks about his “rules” while in the process of breaking them. Annoying.
Speed Racer
- It’s fine. I first saw it in IMAX which was a fun experience, but I started to watch it another time at home and didn’t enjoy it as much.
Turbo Kid
- Very unique style. Very gory and cheesy. It’s not trying to be an incredible film and largely accomplishes what it set out to do.
Wild Wild West
- Giant mechanical spider! Otherwise, nothing to telegraph home about.
Young Frankenstein
- Some of the humor doesn’t hold up to modern tastes. That said, it also is quite quotable and original in many aspects. Consider watching if you like other movies involving the same people.
Zoolander 2 (2016)
- It’s hard to recreate the magic of the original. Falls flat but still coaxed a few laughs out of me.

Mediocre

Not recommended. Below average and unlikely to be a rewarding experience. Proceed with modest expectations.

The Hangover
The Happening
- This movie changed directors halfway through and you can really feel it. The payoff is pretty poorly constructed despite the interesting premise.
It Follows
- Watched this soon after it came out at the recommendation of several friends. I didn’t really enjoy it it all and thought the main premise felt very lame and forced.
King Kong (2005)
- I walked out of the theater. Perhaps I should give it another shot, but it is over three hours long. After watching an hour of the movie with nothing happening, my friends and I decided we didn’t care to finish it.

Bad

Avoid. Fail to deliver on most accounts and are generally not worth your time.

The Expendables (2010)
- Pointless. Hard to track, not because it is complex but because it is so uninteresting that I just wanted it to be over. I can’t believe there are so many movies in this series.
Sixteen Candles (1984)
- A lot of people seem to enjoy this movie and it shows up on many recommendation lists, but I had a hard time watching due to so many elements that are no longer culturally acceptable. Couldn’t finish.