This is the sister list to the book list. I'll add more to it as I have time. I'm putting in both good, bad and so-so movies.
Dead Again Starring Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson. This is one of the best screenplays I've ever heard/seen.
Much Ado About Nothing Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Michael Keaton, and other greats. The best movie of a Shakespeare play I've ever seen. Absolutely delightful.
Life is Beautiful Roberto Benigni. One of the only movies about the Holocaust that I can stand to watch. You would not think a movie about this subject could be funny and charming, but it is. The heartbreak is there, too, but there is enough hope, something nearly all movies lack when dealing with this subject.
Saving Private Ryan Tom Hanks, others. I saw it, made myself watch it, and I never want to see it again. It's a good movie, I suppose, but I wouldn't put myself through it again.
Blazing Saddles Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, a host of character actors, including Mel Brooks as an Indian speaking Yiddish. One of the funniest movies of all time. The only movie that made me literally fall out of my chair laughing. (And I stuck to the floor of the movie theater, yeecchhhh!)
The Great Dictator Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard. Made in 1940, this is a late but absolutely priceless effort by Chaplin. It has full sound. Chaplin later said that if he had known what horrors were being perpetrated by the Nazis, he would not have made this film. Thank God he did. This film is genius, if you haven't seen it, rent it today and I dare you not to be moved. You might have a double feature with Life is Beautiful. One wonders if Roberto Benigni studied this movie before his made his.
Artificial Intelligence Haley Joel Osment, William Hurt, Jude Law, others. By Steven Spielberg. I swear there was a black and white movie called "David," or perhaps it was a book that built a black-and-white movie in my head as I read it, that this movie is an extension and remake of. Regardless of that, this is an incredible journey that touches on the nature of love, intelligence, soul, hope, the nature of of our essence. Beautifully done. It's very long and worth every minute. Probably the best performance Haley Joel Osment has ever given.