Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 film that took home 8 Academy Awards. The overall film is great and one of Director Danny Boyle’s greatest accomplishments.

The film is set in India, and follows a young man as he attempts to win the one million dollar prize; on the Indian version of “Who wants to be a Millionaire?” As the young man inches closer to the ultimate prize, the film shows how the events of his life have prepared him for the show and provided him with the knowledge needed to answer the tough questions.

Of course, mixed in there is a young Indian woman that he is in love with and wants to be with.

The film is great and we recommend you watch it, even if you think this is not one of those films that you would like. It is that good.

Budget: $15 million
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring:
Dev Patel
Saurabh Shukla
Anil Kapoor
Raj Zutshi
Freida Pinto

This 1996 film stars Tom Cruise in one of his best performances. He’s a sports agent, that one night has a moral epiphany, writes it down, then distributes it to the people he works with. This of course gets him fired, so he’s left trying to hold onto the clients he has, as the other agents reach in and take them away; while also taking his financial security. Jerry Maguire is a really great drama; it was great back then and is still to this day.

Eventually, Jerry is able to convince his last remaining athlete to stay with him — only problem is, he’s a third round draft pick that has an attitude problem and his value isn’t what it used to be. This is also the film that saw the rise of Cuba Gooding Jr. as an actor. His and Tom Cruise’s performance were perfect together, eventually leading to Gooding Jr. receiving the Oscar.

Budget: $50 million
Director: Cameron Crowe
Starring:
Tom Cruise
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Renee Zellweger
Kelly Preston
Jerry O’Connell
Jay Mohr
Bonnie Hunt
Regina King

As Good as It Gets is a 1997 film, starring Helen Hunt and Jack Nicholson. Nicholson plays an OCD type writer who goes into the same restaurant and orders the same thing everyday. He eventually begins to fall for the waitress (Hunt). When he learns that she has a son, who is sick, and may have to leave her job – Nicholson sends a doctor friend over to her home to look at the boy. Though he likes Hunt, he tells her he did it so she wouldn’t quit her job.

At the same time, he’s having issues with his gay neighbor and his manager (Gooding Jr.). Towards the end, Hunt, Nicholson, and Greg Kinnear take a trip to visit Kinnear’s family (looking for money). This trip, while almost ripping them all apart, actually strengthens their bond as friends.

Overall, it was a great movie. A mix between comedy and drama, with hilarious moments on everyone’s part.

Budget: $50 million
Director: James L. Brooks
Starring:
Jack Nicholson
Helen Hunt
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Greg Kinnear
Skeet Ulrich

The Notebook is a 2004 film that has been adapted from a book. The movie is a very well put together love story about two people, one poor, one rich, and a family that comes between them. the story covers several years of their lives, and how, though they may separate for a little while, love always finds its way back.

It doesn’t matter if you’re the biggest burly man on the planet, you’ll want to have a box of tissue handy for this film. While it is a drama – it does have some very sad, upsetting moments. A very good movie.

Budget: $30 million
Director: Nick Cassavetes
Starring:
Ryan Gosling
Rachel McAdams
James Garner
Gena Rowlands
Sam Shepard
James Marsden
Kevin Connolly
Heather Wahlquist

Ghost is a 1990’s film, that when originally seen, left very few dry eyes in the room. I’m not sure what the response would be today, but at the time of it’s release, it was considered one of the best film. It’s still a really good movie. It stars Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, as a couple that were robbed. Only problem, Swayze was killed during the robbery and now has to figure out how to find his killer, adjust to being a ghost, and communicate with the woman he loves, all in a short period of time.

The main plot is about him finding his killer, when he realizes that the robbery wasn’t random. He also needs to protect Moore as the killers didn’t find what they were looking for and will be coming back.

Budget: $22 million
Director: Jerry Zucker
Starring:
Patrick Swayze
Demi Moore
Whoopi Goldberg
Vincent Schiavelli

Cast Away is a 2000 Tom Hanks film, where he plays a FedEx worker on a flight to Malaysia. Enroute, his plane crashes and he is marooned on a deserted island. During his time on the island, ever the loyal worker, Hanks collects all the packages that wash ashore, and makes a new best friend with a soccer ball he calls Wilson.

The film is dramatic while also being very funny at points. Eventually, Hanks makes it back to civilization, where he finds, that his adjustment there is just as hard as his adjustment on the island. Most people, in his absence, had written him off as dead.

It’s a really good film to watch and own.

Budget: $90 million
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Starring:
Tom Hanks
Nick Searcy
Helen Hunt
Wilson

This is a really good country movie about a drunk country music singer named Bad Blake (Bridges). Basically, the better days of his country music career are gone and he is stuck traveling town to town performing in bars and bowling alleys. Lucky for him, one of the guys he mentored when he was younger, has made it big. Tommy Sweet (Farrell), never forgot the help that Blake gave him years ago and has vowed to help him get back on top.

You’ll enjoy this film if you like country music, bars, and really good acting.

Budget: N/A
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring:
Jeff Bridges
Colin Farrell
Maggie Gyllenhaal

This is a really great film. Initially, I didn’t think I was going to like it, but something about it really pulls you in. If you’re a fan of dramas, The Lovely Bones is for you.

It’s about a young girl named Susie Salmon, who is murdered, and the story is told from her point of view. It shows how her murder affected her family, the person that killed her, and the trials and tribulations that parents go through, when they know they’re daughters dead, but never find the body.

The performances by everyone involved were completely awesome. Even the evil Stanley Tucci, who you can’t wait til something bad happens to him, did an outstanding job in bringing his character to life.

Budget: $65 million
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring:
Saoirse Ronan
Mark Wahlberg
Rachel Weisz
Stanley Tucci
Susan Sarandon
Jake Abel
Michael Imperioli

This is probably one of the greatest films Tom Hanks has ever starred in. Sleepless in Seattle is about a widowed mans son calls a radio station, trying to find his father a new wife. Hanks and his son are located in Seattle and on the other side of the continent, located in Baltimore is Meg Ryan. The film really is a well put together drama, going back and forth between father and son, of how Hanks is not ready to date again. The highlight takes place when the son gets on a plane and flies to NYC so that he can meet Annie (Ryan) on top of the Empire State Building.

Budget: $21 million
Director: Nora Ephron
Starring:
Tom Hanks
Meg Ryan
Ross Malinger
Rita Wilson
Victor Garber
Bill Pullman

A really good and successful film starring Matt Damon as an MIT janitor, who turns out to be brilliant, especially when it comes to math. The problem, he’s also a deviant with a short fuse and always landing in trouble with his friends. An MIT professor, after realizing Will’s talent, negotiates with the courts for his freedom, and takes responsibility for ensuring he gets treatment and meets the courts requirements.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck both won Oscars for the screenplay.

Budget: $10 million
Director: Gus Van Sant
Starring:
Matt Damon
Ben Affleck
Robin Williams
Minnie Driver
Stellan Skarsgård
Casey Affleck
Cole Hauser