And sometime we have missed them just because we were too young too see them when they were released
Totally on board with what you're trying to do, but a massive list and growing isn't the best way to do it, just mixes up a whole load of different people's tastes and I doubt many will go "oh yeah, I'm going to check out lots of those based on their titles"
I won't mix my suggestions in, just list a few films with a brief synopsis so people can decide if they want to watch. Some you may know, some you might not
STONE COLD
Cop Action Adventure. A friend recorded this by accident for me once, I am soooooo glad she did. Brian Bosworth is blackmailed by the FBI into infiltrating a biker gang who have nothing but contempt for the law. He flexes his ample muscles, plenty of testosterone on show and a bloody finale/climax
Excellent film, one of those that seems to be hard to get hold of in this country and I've never seen on TV in the UK.
BY DAWN'S EARLY LIGHT
WWIII nuclear war thriller, USA and Soviet Union start firing missiles at each other when neither side actually started it. The respective presidents are trying to stop it, but one is incapacitated and a loon is calling the shots.
CATHOLIC BOYS
Teen Comedy with some of the brat pack, set in a school with monks for teachers the kids get up to mischief. They face a sadistic teacher who they eventually stand up to
WILDCATS
Sport Comedy about US football which is one of the better sports related films. Star studded cast including Wesley Snipes, Goldie Hawn and Woody Harrelson, and you may recognise a few others. Goldie Hawn wants to coach and ends up at a 'rough' school in order to do it, except the players don't like her.
FATAL BEAUTY
Cop Action Adventure with Whoopi Goldberg, about a cop trying to track down a bad batch of drugs that proves fatal to its users. Don't see it much on TV here, ranks up with Jumpin' Jack Flash in my book.
REAL GENIUS
Comedy with Val Kilmer as a brainiac who is joined by a young brainiac at college. Despite being geniuses, they goof a lot and enjoy themselves. They are working on a laser project, except their tutor doesn't tell them it is for the military.
LES MAITRES DU TEMPS (MASTERS OF TIME)
Animated Sci-Fi Adventure. Saw this as a kid, only acquired it in the last year or two. It is in French, but with subtitles, a surprisingly good soundtrack and a real twist at the end - if a somewhat abrupt end. The lead character receives a distress call, a kid is left stranded on a hostile planet all alone after hornets killed his parents. He has only a communicator and the odd life on the planet to guide and help him as the hero rushes to reach and save him.
PROJECT ALF
Comedy based on the TV series back in the 80s (I guess) ALF is an Alien Life Form, captured by the US government and being held for questioning and testing. ALF delivers his lines impeccably.
QUATERMASS 2/QUATERMASS AND THE PIT
Sci-Fi Adventure/Horror. Quatermass is a scientist, in Quatermass 2 he investigates a bodysnatcher like invasion. In Quatermass and the Pit he is helping investigate the discovery of what appears to be a spaceship surrounded by ape-like skeletons.
VIRUS/GHOST SHIP/DEEP RISING
Sci-FI/Horror. A trio of horror films set on abandoned ships. In each film a crew go aboard a ship where the occupants were slaughtered, only after they've been on a while do they realise how and in some cases why.
They may sound like they are similar and therefore not worth watching all three, trust me when I say they are all excellent and very different while being all the same kind of beginning - find an abandoned ship, board it, lose their own vessel at some point................ etc
NIGHTBREAKER
Hard to classify, I guess drama based on factuality. It looks at the testing of nuclear weapons and how the government used troops. Might not be high octane action, but very very interesting.
BAD TASTE
Comedy/Sci-Fi/Horror. Saw this way back, watched it then but it only later sank in how good the film is and I found myself wanting to watch it again. An alien corporation has invaded a small town, massacred the inhabitants and boxed them up for their fast food chain. Time to send in the boys, including nerdy Derek and "Derek's don't run!"
Absolutely worth watching, if only the once.
TWELVE MONKEYS
Sci-Fi. Humans live underground, Bruce Willis is sent outside and then back in time to gather information about a virus that wiped out humanity. I don't go a bundle on Brad Pitt, but his part in the film is brilliantly done.
SOUTHERN COMFORT
Thriller I guess. US National Guard gather for a training exercise, one platoon gets lost and decides to borrow locals' boats. One fires blanks at the locals and the platoon end up being hunted by the locals with blanks and one pack of live ammo between them.
THE LIGHT AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD
Action Adventure/Thriller. Pirates led by Yul Brinner approach a lighthouse on an island, butcher the lighthouse keeper and so Kirk Douglas goes into hiding. He continues a struggle against them to try and stop them sinking passing ships, and indeed ambushing the supply ship when it is next due.
IMPOSTOR
Sci-Fi thriller. Absolutely brilliant film based on a short story by Philip K Dick. Earth is at war with an alien race, Gary Sinise is a scientist but is believed to be an impostor, designed to get close to a target and detonate. He sets out to prove he is human.
THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT
Sci-Fi. Ashton Kutcher blacks out through his childhood and can't remember key events during those black outs. His friend is victim of child abuse, one of the episodes of black outs he suffers. He keeps a journal to try and help his memory, he later finds he can travel back in time to events if he reads his journal. In doing this he hopes to right wrongs, however it has knock-on effects and he is constantly trying to correct those effects.
SERENITY
Sci-Fi. Based on Firefly series, I recently watched the series and the film manages to capture something the series couldn't quite. Malcolm Reynolds is captain of a ship, Serenity, named after the battle of Serenity Valley. They pick up a passenger played by Summer Glau, she can read minds and has 'hidden talents' which directs the storyline. I won't say any more in case you haven't seen it, let's just say the film is excellent.
POINT BREAK
Cop action adventure. Keanu Reeves is an FBI agent who goes undercover as a surfer (!) to try and track down and apprehend a gang who rob banks wearing the masks of former presidents.
THE QUICK AND THE DEAD
Western. Much under-rated film, perhaps because one of the stars is Sharon Stone. Gene Hackman runs a town, bleeds it dry, but every year holds a competition where people enter and shoot it out on the draw. Russell Crowe is a preacher forced to compete, it has a star studded cast including Lance Henriksen, Leonardo Di Caprio, and even the guy who plays Jigsaw in the Saw series of films! Soundtrack by Alan Silvestri is excellent
USED CARS
Comedy. Kurt Russell tries to run a car lot when the rival car lot owner kills off his own brother and the lot has no owner.
UNCOMMON VALOUR
War Action Adventure. Gene Hackman is trying to find his son who he believes is a POW in Vietnam still held. He assembles a team to go in and mount a rescue mission
BAT*21
War Action Adventure. Gene Hackman again, this time as a senior officer shot down during the Vietnam war and the attempts to airlift him out. 'Bird Dog' Danny Glover watches over him. Similar to Behind Enemy Lines, but for me way better.
NO WAY OUT
Cold War Thriller. Gene Hackman AGAIN, this time he is the bad guy - or is he? Hackman kills Sean Young, but a photo of Kevin Costner with her incriminates Costner. They are both stuck in the Pentegon and time is running out as Costner tries to prove it wasn't him. Twist at the end.
TOO LATE THE HERO
WWII Action Adventure. A mission is mounted from one end of an island to destroy radio facilities and avoid a convoy being sunk. The mission doesn't exactly go to plan and the remnants struggle to get back to base with the japs in hot pursuit - once their secret is at jeopardy.
GO TELL THE SPARTANS
Vietnam War film. Not disimilar to the Green Berets with the yanks trying to hold a defensive position and becoming over-run.
WILD GEESE
Action/War drama. Richard Burton assembles a force to rescue a former African president. He is double crossed and attempts to escape. Also stars Roger Moore, Richard Harris, Hardy Kruger and many more big names of yesteryear in smaller roles.
CODENAME WILD GEESE
Action Adventure/War drama. Lewis Collins is sent in with a small unit to destroy drug producing facilities in Vietnam. He finds out there is more to it than meets the eye, but has to finish the job off and escape. Also stars Ernest Borgnine, Lee Van Cleef and Klaus Kinski.
THE BLACK HOLE
Sci-Fi. A crew come across a colossal ship, the Cygnus, that was thought lost and it is holding out against the gravitational pull of a black hole. Only one man remains on board, or so it seems, and the crew is made up of robots. As the film goes on they find out more, try to escape but will Dr Hans Reinhardt let them go?
YANGTSE INCIDENT
War drama. A British ship is shelled while on patrol on the Yangtse. They are pinned down on the bank of the river and attempts to rescue her by other vessels are unsuccessful. They decide to attempt escape themselves.