It took a really long time to finish this last part because there isn’t a lot of movies that start with the last 6 letters. For some letters I found a movie I really liked, but for others I had to list a movie that I wouldn’t really recommend but it’s the best that started with the letter.
U: There are a few popular movies that start with this letter. You’ll usually see “Unforgiven”, “Up”, “The Usual Suspects”, and “The Untouchables” at the top of the list of the best movies starting with “U”.
Originally, I was going to go with “Up in the Air” for the movie starting with U but after rewatching it recently I realized that the movie is very dated. In the movie, George Clooney’s character is against telling people their being let go over the internet. However, since the pandemic forced people to work from home for a few months, a lot of meetings are done via Zoom on Skype these days. So, I found a another “U” movie.
Used Cars (1980) – Brothers Luke and Roy Fuchs (both played by Jack Warner) own competing car lots across the street from each other. After Luke is “accidentally” killed, top car salesman Rudy Russo (Kurt Russell) does everything he can to stop Roy from taking over his brother’s car lot.
One of the first movies written by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale and directed by Robert Zemeckis. It’s the only R rated movie he directed for several years (until “Flight” in 2012). It’s also the first adult comedy that Kurt Russell starred in (before this movie, he mostly did Disney movies and TV series). This movie launched both of their movie careers but – somewhat oddly – they both switched to action movies after this. Kurt Russell’s next movie was “Escape From New York” and Robert Zemeckis next movies were “Romancing the Stone” and then “Back to the Future”.
The biggest problem I have with this movie is it is a raunchy 80s movie. It had to compete with movies like “Stripes” and “Animal House” so there’s some gratuitous nudity and a whole lot of swearing in it.
I give it a marginal recommendation of 6 out of 10 stars.
V: There are very few movies that start with the letter “V”. Fortunately, I’ve had a movie in mind for a while. You probably won’t find it on many other best movies starting with “V” lists because it’s a foreign film that doesn’t start with “V” in its country
The Valet (2006) (aka “La Doublure”) – A paparazzi gets a photo of married CEO Levasseur (Daniel Auteuil) with supermodel Elena (Alice Taglioni). When Levasseur’s wife Christine (Kristin Scott Thomas) sees the photos, he quickly dismisses it by saying that the model is with Francois Pignon (Gad Elmaleh), who coincidentally is on the other side of her in the photo. Levasseur gets Francois and Elena to pretend to be a couple for a month – under the watchful eye of both his and his wife’s investigators – until he can figure out how to divorce his wife.
Writer/director Francis Veber is fairly popular in the US where a few of his movies have been remade including “La Cage aux Folles” (“The Birdcage” in the US), “Les Comperes” (“Father’s Day”), and “Le Diner de Cons” (“Dinner for Schmucks”). This movie has also been remade in the US in 2022.
The biggest problem with this movie is that the jokes are in French. Unless you understand the language, you miss some of the visual jokes while you’re reading the subtitles. Also, I believe that some of the jokes don’t translate well.
I give it 7 out of 10.
W: There are a lot of great movies that start with the letter “W”. “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, “When Harry Met Sally”, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”, “Wizard of Oz”, etc. However, one of my personal favorites wasn’t on some of the “best of” lists that I’ve checked.
The Way Way Back (2013) – Duncan (Liam James), his mother Pam (Toni Colette), her new boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell), and the boyfriend’s daughter Steph (Zoe Levin) go on summer vacation at Trent’s summer beach house. Duncan doesn’t get along with Trent and Steph doesn’t like him, so he wanders over to the local water park where Owen (Sam Rockwell) offers him a job. He quickly bonds with the staff at the water park and spends more time there than at the house.
Written and directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash – who both won an Oscar for writing “The Descendants” – this movie has a very good cast including the always funny Sam Rockwell, Steve Carrell, and Allison Janney. Nat Faxon and Jim Rash are also funny as employees at the water park.
This movie doesn’t show a date when the events occurred, it doesn’t have an adult voiceover telling the story about when he was younger (like some other movies do), and the water park shown in the movie is a real place that’s still open, but the movie feels dated. A lot of the songs that are joked about are from the 80s including “I Can’t Fight This Feeling”, “Kyrie”, and “Holding Out For A Hero”. I don’t think teenagers in 2013 will relate to the movie as much as older people who may have had a summer similar to the movie.
I give it 7 out of 10.
X: Of all the movies on this list, this was the hardest for me to pick. Other than the “X-Men” movies, the “X-Files” movies, and the “XXX” movies starring Vin Diesel, there are VERY few movies that start with the letter X. I wouldn’t recommend any of those movies. I searched and found a couple other movies that start with the letter, but I didn’t like them either. So, I finally decided I’ll just go with this movie that I wouldn’t recommend except as a “it’s so bad it’s funny” movie.
Xanadu (1980) – Struggling artist Sonny Malone (Michael Beck) and former big band musician Danny McGuire (Gene Kelly) are both inspired by Kira (Olivia Newton John) – a muse sent to Earth to help them – to work together and build a place they’ve dreamt about.
This movie is notable because it’s Olivia Newton Johns second biggest movie (after “Grease”) and it’s the last movie Gene Kelly starred in. According to reports, Gene Kelly only agreed to star in it because they filmed the movie in Los Angeles where he lived – so he could sleep in his own bed every night – and the movie has a dance number that he took charge of. He only allowed himself, Olivia Newton-John, a cameraman, another choreographer, and two others on the set when it was filmed. The movie’s soundtrack was very popular due to the hit songs by Olivia Newton John – “Magic” and “Xanadu” were #1 hits – but the movie wasn’t as popular. In later years, some people consider the movie a cult classic. The movie was listed as one of the “Ten Most Enjoyable Bad Movies Ever Made”.
The movie has a lot of issues, especially the acting and the directing. There’s a lot of scenes of people roller-skating – which was popular when it was released. Also, the venue that they build in the movie is this very odd place. Part roller skating rink, part bar, part disco, part live stage show venue.
However, it is set and filmed in Los Angeles (I have a soft spot for movies in Los Angeles). There are a few Los Angeles landmarks shown in the movie including the old Pan Pacific Auditorium (which was destroyed by a fire in 1989).
I give it a 6 out of 10 on the “so bad it’s funny” scale. Otherwise, it gets a 4.
Y: There are a few popular movies that start with the letter “Y” such as “Young Frankenstein”, “Yentil”, and “You’ve Got Mail”, and there’s a few other movies well known movies that also start with that letter such as “Young Guns” (and its sequel), the James Bond movie “You Only Live Twice”, and Alfonso Curaróns “Y Tu Mamá También”. My pick isn’t any of those, but it is on some of the other “best movies that start with Y” lists.
Yesterday (2019) – After worldwide blackout, a struggling musician Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) find himself in a world where the Beatles were never a band. He quickly becomes famous when he starts singing The Beatles songs, but he feels guilty that his fame is because of songs he didn’t create. He also misses Ellie Appleton (Lily James), his manager and biggest fan, who chooses to stay home when Jack leaves to pursue fame.
Directed by Academy Award winner Danny Boyle, this movie is sort of like an alternative reality movie. A world where the band “The Beatles” – and all their hit songs – don’t exist. It’s an interesting theory and it’s very funny how the movie explores the theory. Ed Sheeran (playing himself in the alternate reality which is very similar to him in the regular reality) is very funny as the guy who helps him become famous. Plus, there’s some other things that aren’t in the alternate reality. For example, Coca Cola doesn’t exist. There are a couple funny scenes where Jack asks for “coke”.
However, the biggest problem with the movie is the ending. There are basically only two ways for the movie to end. The first is that the man goes back to the normal reality. The second is he continues to live in the new reality. The movie tries to create an alternate ending by basically changing the subject to a love story between Jack and Ellie. Changing the theme of the movie doesn’t work too well for me.
Also, if you aren’t really a fan of “The Beatles” – I like their music but I wouldn’t say I’m a big fan – you might get a little sick of how many times the movie says the songs are the “greatest songs ever written”.
I give it 6 out of 10 stars.
Z: There final letter of the alphabet is just as tough as the other letters in this part. There are a few popular movies including “Zootopia”, “Zoolander”, and “Zero Dark Thirty”, but there aren’t enough for me to find a unique movie that many people haven’t seen. My pick is also on many other lists for the best movie starting with the letter “Z”
Zodiac (2007) – Based on a true story. Newspaper cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) gets obsessed with tracking the Zodiac killer, a mass murderer in Northern California between 1968 and 1983.
The movie is based on the book by Robert Graysmith. Directed by David Fincher, it’s a very interesting retelling of what happened when the Zodiac killer went on a killing spree while taunting the media and the police with cryptic codes and letters. While the movie is considered a crime/mystery it could also be considered a thriller since it recreates some of the Zodiacs murders (based on reports of what happened). The movie has a great cast including Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Edwards, and Brian Cox.
The big issue with this movie – which director David Fincher mentioned in a recent interview – is that it’s primarily based on the book written by Robert Graysmith, so it skips over some things about what happened. As David Fincher recently said: “There was so much flak after Zodiac came out about people saying, ‘Why didn’t you go down this rabbit hole? Why did you only go down the Graysmith rabbit hole?’…. That’s the book that we bought. We didn’t buy everyone’s book about the Zodiac.” So, it’s the story based on Graysmiths experience, not the whole story.
I give it 7 out of 10 stars.
So, that’s the list from A to Z. While there are other films I could mention for some previous letters, I’m glad I finished this section since most of the letters in it are the only movies I would personally recommend that you might have missed.
LOS ANGELES FILM REVIEW 