26) Bulworth— Warren Beatty plays a suicidal liberal politician who puts a contract out on himself and takes the opportunity to be bluntly honest with his voters. When he falls head over heels for a younger woman (Halle Berry), he tries to cancel the contract, but it turns out that the woman is the hit man.
25) Molly’s Game— The true story of Molly Bloom, a young woman who ran the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game and later became an FBI target, when Russian mobsters joined the poker game. This movie is a continuation of a book she wrote about her experiences.
24) Dave— Guy who runs an employment agency is recruited by the Secret Service to become a momentary stand-in for the President of the United States- he looks exactly like the President. But the President dies suddenly, and his henchmen keep the lookalike in charge, so they can run the country…….or so they think.
23) The Verdict— Paul Newman plays an outcast, alcoholic Boston lawyer who sees the chance to salvage his career and self-respect by taking a medical malpractice case to trial rather than settling. Jack Warden is his friend/co-counsel; one of the great supporting actors of all-time.
22) Lost In Translation— A movie star on the down side of his career and a neglected young woman form an unlikely friendship after crossing paths in Tokyo. Bill Murray is great in this; Scarlett Johansson is the young woman.
21) Good Will Hunting— Matt Damon plays a janitor at M.I.T. who has a gift for math, but needs help from a psychologist (Robin Williams) to find direction in his life. Robin Williams is great in this, and Ben Affleck is excellent as Damon’s best friend.
20) The Hangover— Three friends wake up from a bachelor party in Las Vegas, with no memory of the previous night and the fourth friend (the bachelor) missing. They make their way around the city trying to find their friend so he can drive back to Los Angeles to get married.
This movie had two sequels; Hangover Part 2 is one of the worst movies ever, Hangover Part 3 is pretty good.
19) Let It Ride— A cab driver gets a hot tip on a race horse and wins big, but he can’t seem to stop gambling. Hilarity ensues; Richard Dreyfuss is the gambler, Teri Garr is his frustrated wife, Robbie Coltrane adds a lot as the ticket seller at the racetrack. Jennifer Tilly is in this, before we knew she was hanging out with professional poker player Phil Laak.
18) One on One— A small-town basketball star goes to a big-time college and tries to impress his tutor, teammates, and coach. He isn’t always successful. Robbie Benson was excellent as Henry Steele, the ballplayer. G.D. Spradlin was the coach; he also played Tom Landry in North Dallas Forty. Melanie Griffith has a cameo appearance as a hitchhiker early in the movie.
17) Begin Again— A chance encounter between a down-and-out music executive and a young singer-songwriter, new to Manhattan, turns into a promising collaboration between the two talents. If you like music, you’ll enjoy this movie; Mark Ruffalo is the music executive, Keira Knightley the singer. James Corden adds a lot as her friend from back home.
16) Any Given Sunday— Al Pacino plays an aging football coach with a struggling team that is owned by an impatient young lady (Cameron Diaz). Jim Brown is an assistant coach, Lawrence Taylor is a linebacker. Two of the team’s three QB’s are Dennis Quaid, Jamie Foxx.
Pacino’s Miami Sharks play teams all coached by Hall of Famers: YA Tittle, Johnny Unitas, Bob St Clair, Warren Moon, Dick Butkus.
15) Heaven Can Wait— An NFL quarterback, accidentally taken away from his body by an overanxious angel before he was meant to die, returns to life in the body of a recently murdered millionaire. I was 18 when this movie came out, at a time when the Rams made the playoffs every year but never won the Super Bowl.
For the next 20 years, I was convinced that this movie was the only time I was ever going to see the Rams win the Super Bowl— I still have the actual movie poster from the theater.
Warren Beatty, Jack Warden, James Mason are in this: Beatty/Warden were both in Bulworth, Mason/Warden were both in The Verdict.
14) Fast Break— Gabe Kaplan plays a New York City basketball enthusiast who works in a deli, but he really wants to coach ball. He is offered the coaching job at a small Nevada college; he recruits some players, who are a bit odd but good- one of his starters is a young lady.
Bernard King, Michael Warren played big-time basketball for real; they’re on his team, too.