My Top 50 Films
Films you can watch during the Lockdown
Silver Lining Playbook
David O. Russel's fun way of making serious films helps them stand out in a genre full of formulaic movies. It was so refreshing to see such well written characters in a rom com 💑. Robert DeNiro did his first good movie in a decade, Bradley Cooper got an Oscar nomination , and Jennifer Lawrence put so much empathy and raw emotion into her performance.
Ratatouille
The whole “the new needs friends” 🐭🍴 aside by Anton Ego is one of the best bits of dialogue that Pixar or Disney have ever done, and it never fades from my admiration.
Mard Ko Dard Nhae Hota
It is stylish and cool and silly all at once, which does work in its favour as well.The film does start slow but as it progresses it gets gets more and more engaging, intresting and entertaining.Gulshan deviayah 🦸♂️🦹♂️!!! My Man!! Its always a pleasure to watch him.
American History X
It's the sort of story that you absorb and get the sense that you've seen before, but still very powerful, raw, and moving.🇺🇸❌ The film takes on timeless themes of family, brotherhood, race, what is right and what is wrong, and what it means to be a man. The systemic nature of racist behavior/ideology, when showed from the perspective of Ed's character makes for a fascinating watch. Even though I was not much convinced by the ending but still it was far more interesting analysis on racism then the trash ‘Crash’ .
Inside Out
As a kid 👦 who had to move to a new city every 3~4 years I felt as if film spoke directly to my soul. The movie shows exactly how it feels like going to somewhere new against your will, the turmoil of emotions you feel. I thought it was Pixar's best film. Truly an inspiring creative work.
End of Watch
Movie starring Jake Gyenhall and Michael Pena . I have never seen better chemistry with two actors. They both seem like they were really partners for years on the force. They actually loved and cared for each other and seemed like every gun fight they had was to better LA 👮♂️🚔 .
About Time
While the relationship between Gleeson ❤️ McAdams was pretty good what elevates the film from good to great is the father-son relationship.
The good the bad the ugly
This movie has Ennio Morricone's most iconic soundtrack. Tuco is arguably Leone's most compelling character/protagonist, an anti-hero created by the circumstances of his life. But he doesn't become good, he just becomes better. And Eli Wallach's performance is fantastic. Also Clint Eastwood persona , his iconic glaze and the way he stubs on tobacco. The final shootout with that enriching background score is one of the best climax scene for a western.
Snow Piercer
Its hard to classify as a genre film. Its a neat dystopian film which has a weird mesh of humor and darkness. The narrative of film although blunt is also extremely layered. Its an interesting take on the class conflict which has plagued this world since time immemorial and probably still be there even when the world as we know it cease to exist. It was directed by Boong Joon Ho (Parasite) and even though if you don’t resonate well with the premise of the story , it's a decent action/thriller.
Oceans Trilogy
I've always loved films where the plot focus is on a master robbery plan and Ocean's 11 has plenty of, which makes the final scene when they complete the heist (spoiler alert) feel all the more satisfying. Ocean's 13 was a lot better than 12 and Al Pacino was great in the film as the antagonist, but it still didn't top the first for me.
My cousin Vinny
Pesci does his trademark tough guy routine, but he's actually the good guy this time. I totally fell in love with Marisa Tomei 🧖♀️. The way she pretends to be high maintenance but is completely down-to-earth...and so beautiful!
The Founder
The story of the man who perhaps have had the most significant impact on food industry in the last half century. Ray Kroc is the founder of muti billion dollar food enterprise known to us as McDonalds 🍟🍔 . A salesman from Illinois,he met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers' speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. Later what follows is the sort of drama you expect in a ‘true story’ although cleverly done. I particularly enjoyed the scene with Kroc and the brothers in the restaurant as they told their story. It was edited so tightly, and the way Lynch and Offerman quickly played off each other's sentences was great.
The Departed
The movie has an almost Game of Thrones quality in the tension, where it feels like anything can happen at any moment. I also love the layers of acting and story - everyone is pretending to be someone pretending to be someone.
Kanpuriye
Its such a great time for Bollywood with so many character actors like khurana brothers, vicky kaushal, rajkumar rao, nawaz, manoj, pankaj tripathi gracing the screen and the tonal shift in movies. This is one of those rare gems which can be streamed on Hotstar. Its a bitter sweet story with great acting and direction.
Tripling
Treat it as a 2 hr long movie instead of a webseries 👪. My go to feel good movie when I am feeling low and just want something upbeat to watch.
Baadshah
I always thought that's how SRK got the title of 'Baadshah of Bollywood' 🕵️. Lol just kidding. It's a fun family movie that you can still enjoy after so many years. SRK proved that he has a funny bone in his body with his comic timings, stunts & dialogues. Johnny Lever was an amazing co star as always
Bhak
A truly underrated gem. It used to be on Hotstar when they were partners with Hooq. Faizal and Rahul are two small time independent filmmakers who have a great script but no one willing to finance them. Their path cross with Ramakant a has been actor who wants to make a comeback. They team up and then begins a hilarious roller coaster ride of passion, betrayal andlove of cinema. I loved its pacing, editing, dialogues and the nostalgia of carefree good old college days.
Oldboy
If you haven't watched a Korean 🇰🇷 movie before then you are missing on whole new level of entertainment. This is perhaps the most well known Korean movie apart from Parasite. Believe me it would remain with you for a long period of time.
Nightcrawler
I think Jaka Gyenhall really gets into the skin of his character. Often what's understated about his performance is his eyes. He certainly has the most expressive eyes. He plays a perfect sociopath, unapologetic, wicked lacking any emotion whatsoever.
Good Times
Kinda similar to the style of Uncut Gems but I think it was a far better movie. Before this I had only heard of Pattinson in Twilight series and didn't have much expectations. But damn this was such a great thriller. Every turn in this movie was so unexpected and I loved every second of it.
The Report
I love a good investigative docudrama. The actual report is over thousands of pages 📚 but the movie does a good job of narrowing it down to 2 hours to bring general awareness to public.
Kaamyab
Its affectionate lovable look into a life of an artist 👮👨🏻🎤👨⚕️👨🎨 . It gives us a motto for these trying times : Enjoying Life, aur option hi kya hai !!
Training Day
I love most of what Denzel has done, but this has got to be one of his greatest roles.
Scent of a woman
I watch this film occasionally on TV. The Tango scene 💃🕺 and the last speech are memorable with his iconic 'hoo-rah'. My personal favorite is when Al he refers to Jack Daniels as John. I mean this movie has so many memorable moments.
The Big Lebowski
I can watch this movie anytime and come out feeling better than the way I did on the way in. Its soo quotable 🎳 and just soo damn good
Mad Max
It's certainly one of the best blockbuster in last decade .There's also a lot of great world building. It has a great feel of a deep fantasy world, so many different tribes and people, and we only learn about them through clever visuals.
Up in the air
Up In The Air 🛬 is one of the reasons that I think that Clooney is actually a great actor . You aren't going to be experiencing any big emotions when it ends but it will stick with you for a few days which is something I always find interesting.
Thank you for smoking
Aron Eckhart, JK Simmons, Robert Duvall, Katie Holmes, and Rob Lowe. A fantastic film that makes you laugh, but also makes you think. It has to be one of the cleverest film that I have ever seen. Makes some rather good arguments on personal freedoms and choice. Fun fact about the movie even after so much talk of smoking no one actually smokes in the movie.
Magic Mike
A movie about male strippers starring Mathew McConaughey and Channing Tatum . Need I say more ladies !
Superbad
It has to be one of the all time best teen comedies. 🔞 It absurd and so cool at the same time . Its a fun movie to watch when you are hanging out with friends.
Kick Ass
Perhaps the first super hero 🦹♂️movie which went with a R rating and didn't shy away from showing some gory stuff. I liked the beginning of Kick-Ass because of the idea of a vigilante superhero in a universe of no superheroes with realistic consequences. The Big Daddy death scene is such a great scene.....The daughter and the apprentice saving the father/ master..... the way he still tells her what to do whilst saving him also makes the scene emotional.
Casino Royale
Casino royal 🃏 did for James Bond 0️⃣0️⃣7️⃣ what The Dark knight did for Batman. It reinvented a franchise that was on life support. It had the perfect mixture of darkness, comedy and coolness. Vesper Lynd actually felt like a character with her own arc. She also played hard to get and was pretty much immune to Bond's charms.
Remember the Titans
I strongly believe that 'Remember the Titans' is one of the most underrated Disney movies and one of the most underrated Denzel performances.I loved the scene where Denzel takes the boys to Gettysburg and asks them to put aside their differences and work together as a team. You listen, and you take a lesson from the dead. If we don't come together right now on this hallowed ground, we too will be destroyed, just like they were. I don't care if you like each other or not, but you will respect each other 👨🏿👨. And maybe... I don't know, just maybe we'll learn to play this game like men."
Limitless
Although the film perpertrates the myth that humans use only 20% of our brains 🧠. This common but wrong idea annoys me because it is used so much in so many different places, movies etc. and is stated as fact. Nevertheless Neil Burger's direction style and cinematography makes the movie feels like a power fantasy . That part is snappy and fun enough to get you through the film.
Reservoir Dogs
It was Tarantino's first studio film and introduced us to his non linear style of story telling. It's basically a classis whodunnit but instead of looking for the murderer in a group of innocents, you're looking for cop in a group of murderers. It's about the aftermath of heist gone awry but you never see the actual heist take place. The scene where Madsen sings "Stuck in the middle with you.. " and cuts the dudes ear 👂 off has to be one of the most frightening scenes ever.
Swingers
This movie is like a chick flick but made by guys, for guys, about guys. The part where Jon calls up Heather after a date and leaves a bunch of messages lol was so awkward. I think Jon Favreau is a great director but perhaps he doesn't have a distinctivestyle is probably why people remember his films more than they remember him. Also his movie Chef is by far the greatest feel good movie I have ever seen.
21 Jump Street
Its a great action comedy. The best part is action aides the comedy, rather than replacing it. The chase and shootout scenes feel like elaborate jokes, rather than an interruption in the comedy to show cars driving fast .It keeps the comedy flowing at an almost constant rate throughout the film. The leads are both goofy idiots that interact rather pretty well .
Shaun of the Dead
It's strange to fit Shaun of the Dead (Edgar Wright, 2004) in a genre. Of course it's funny, so it's a comedy. But it also has lots of zombies and tension, so it's a horror movie. But it actually has some really engaging character interactions and character moments, so it's a drama. The best part is none of the humor comes from the zombies themselves 🧟, but instead come from the characters reaction to them. It doesn't feel like a spoof but rather a sit-com where the characters are trapped inside a serious horror movie.
Goodfellas
Goodfellas is one of my favorite movies and Martin Scorsese is probably my favorite director. The movie hypes you up with a glimpse into life of mob but rightly pulls you down and you become disgusted by Henry's transformation. The lifestyle that was so enticing to us and to Henry has gone too far off and becomes unmanageable.
Easy A
I thought Emma Stone was absolutely perfect for this role . The script is so smart, Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as the best movie parents, then there's Emma's excellent sense of timing 💁, makes this for a fun watch.
Dolemite
I had no idea this was based on a true story so when they showed the clips in the credits I was laughing so hard. “Bitch are you for real?” 🤣
Chashme Badoor
I am not talking about the classic but the one starring Ali Zafar which some critics have accused of slurring the original's name. I know its terrible filmmaking but this movie is super funny and so quotable.
Sonchiriya
A masterpiece! A bold decision by Abhishek Chaubey to use Bundeli and not dumb it down for hindi audience. Although it is about the dacoits and their code, it is really about the dilemma of the women and girls of these rural areas in India. They are the true sonchiriyas 🐤
The perks of being a wallflower
The book was incredible. The plot, the characters, the overall emotion that it conveyed was something special. And it made me love the movie even more because of how great everyone did and how faithful it was to the book. It really captured the vibe perfectly.
Dealt
Its a biography on Richard Turner, a legendary card mechanic. I watched this movie when I was in second year. I remember seeing him on Pen & Teller. I mean he was very good like Shawn level good. I was a bit puzzled by his stoic gaze and little did I realize that the guy was blind. I was blown away by his skills and the level of determination and effort it would have taken to be as good as he was now. He went blind at an early stage but his card skills overshadow most professional magicians. The movie is an equally fascinating and moving portrait of a driven, complex, and sometimes conflicted man who becomes a master of his art through not only hard work and sheer dedication, but also his wife Kim’s and son Asa’s unwavering support and, often, patience.
The Lincoln Lawyer
McConaughy has mad charisma 👨⚖️. In my opinion good actors are able to assume a variety of roles and perform skillfully within them. Stars have one character which they are good at acting like in different scenarios, but the character itself doesn't change. I think Matthew McConaughey falls into the category of "star" and this movie perhaps marks the very beginning of the McConaissance
Real Steel
I thought it was fun for the visuals and fantasy. The CGI is great honestly. I liked how the fight scenes 🥊 were shown in a logical manner- wide angles, low shots etc, just like in a boxing match. Obviously the movie is not leading up to any profound realisation or has the character depth of 'Rocky but still a good watch.
The Longest Yard
This movie provides much more football 🏈 action than an actual game.
Nice Guys
This film was absolutely excellent. Great upbeat noir feel, great music, incredible chemistry between the leads, and a spunky kid sidekick that is not annoying, but one of the best parts of the movie. Its a shame that very less people have seen this. The establishing shot of the movie where Gosling cuts his wrist while breaking into a house was so unexpected.
Only the brave
I thought that this movie was amazing. Awesome cinematography as well. Also some really strong standout performances from Jennifer Connelly and Josh Brolin. I love that this movie managed to be both entertaining and respectful to the men that the movie is about 🧑🚒🚒 . Its good to see th efilm celebrating the lives of these guys rather than feed on the drama of the tragedy.