I guess I could do a ‘Mars Mission’ flight with a list like this. Notice how ‘ALIENS’ is missing from my inflight entertainment list… Not highly recommended for quality mission to Mars entertainment – After all, it’s a long flight, a lot could happen…
In Alphabetical Order
The Abyss (1989)
A civilian diving team are enlisted to search for a lost nuclear submarine and face danger while encountering an alien aquatic species.
Director: James Cameron
Writer: James Cameron
Stars: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Michael Biehn
www.imdb.com/title/tt0096754/
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Avatar (2009)
A paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.
Director: James Cameron
Writer: James Cameron
Stars: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver
www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/
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Big Trouble (2002)
The lives of several Miami denizens, from ad agents to gunrunners to street thugs to law enforcement to school-children, intersect with humorous and dangerous results.
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Writers: Dave Barry (novel), Robert Ramsey (screenplay)
Stars: Tim Allen, Rene Russo and Tom Sizemore
www.imdb.com/title/tt0246464/
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Black Hawk Down (2001)
123 elite U.S. soldiers drop into Somalia to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord and find themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily-armed Somalis.
Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: Mark Bowden (book), Ken Nolan (screenplay)
Stars: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor and Tom Sizemore
www.imdb.com/title/tt0265086/
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The Book of Eli (2010)
A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.
Directors: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes
Writer: Gary Whitta
Stars: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis
www.imdb.com/title/tt1037705/
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The Boondock Saints (1999)
Fraternal twins set out to rid Boston of the evil men operating there while being tracked down by an FBI agent.
Director: Troy Duffy
Writer: Troy Duffy
Stars: Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus
www.imdb.com/title/tt0144117/
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The Bourne Identity (2002)
A man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet-riddled and without memory, then races to elude assassins and recover from amnesia.
Director: Doug Liman
Writers: Tony Gilroy (screenplay), W. Blake Herron (screenplay)
Stars: Matt Damon, Franka Potente and Chris Cooper
www.imdb.com/title/tt0258463/
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The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
When Jason Bourne is framed for a botched CIA operation he is forced to take up his former life as a trained assassin to survive.
Director: Paul Greengrass
Writers: Robert Ludlum (novel), Tony Gilroy (screenplay)
Stars: Matt Damon, Franka Potente and Joan Allen
www.imdb.com/title/tt0372183/
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The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Jason Bourne dodges a ruthless CIA official and his agents from a new assassination program while searching for the origins of his life as a trained killer.
Director: Paul Greengrass
Writers: Tony Gilroy (screenplay), Scott Z Burns (screenplay)
Stars: Matt Damon, Edgar Ramirez and Joan Allen
www.imdb.com/title/tt0440963/
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Braveheart (1995)
William Wallace, a commoner, unites the 13th Century Scots in their battle to overthrow English rule.
Director: Mel Gibson
Writer: Randall Wallace
Stars: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau and Patrick MaGoohan
www.imdb.com/title/tt0112573/
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Cast Away (2000)
A FedEx executive must transform himself physically and emotionally to survive a crash landing on a deserted island.
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writer: William Broyles Jr.
Stars: Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt and Paul Sanchez
www.imdb.com/title/tt0162222/
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Crash (2004)
Several stories interweave during two days in Los Angeles involving a collection of inter-related characters…
Director: Paul Haggis
Writers: Paul Haggis (story) Paul Haggis (screenplay)
Stars: Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock and Thandie Newton
www.imdb.com/title/tt0375679/
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Dead Poets Society (1989)
English professor John Keating inspires his students to a love of poetry and to seize the day.
Director: Peter Weir
Writer: Tom Schulman
Stars: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard and Ethan Hawke
www.imdb.com/title/tt0097165/
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Field of Dreams (1989)
An Iowa corn farmer, hearing voices, interprets them as a command to build a baseball diamond in his fields; he does, and the Chicago Black Sox come.
Director: Phil Alden Robinson
Writers: W.P. Kinsella (book), Phil Alden Robinson (screenplay)
Stars: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones and Ray Liotta
www.imdb.com/title/tt0097351/
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Forrest Gump (1994)
Forrest Gump, while not intelligent, has accidentally been present at many historic moments, but his true love, Jenny, eludes him.
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: Winston Groom (novel), Eric Roth (screenplay)
Stars: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise
www.imdb.com/title/tt0109830/
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Gladiator (2000)
When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by a corrupt prince, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge.
Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: David Franzoni (story), David Franzoni (screenplay)
Stars: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix and Connie Nielsen
www.imdb.com/title/tt0172495/
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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.
Director: Sergio Leone
Writers: Luciano Vincenzoni (story), Sergio Leone (story)
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef
www.imdb.com/title/tt0060196/
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Good Will Hunting (1997)
Will Hunting, a janitor at MIT, has a gift for mathematics but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.
Director: Gus Van Sant
Writers: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck
Stars: Robin Williams, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
www.imdb.com/title/tt0119217/
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Green Card (1990)
A man wanting to stay in the US enters into a marriage of convenience, but it turns into more than that.
Director: Peter Weir
Writer: Peter Weir
Stars: Gerard Depardieu, Andie MacDowell and Bebe Neuwirth
www.imdb.com/title/tt0099699/
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The Green Mile (1999)
The story about the lives of guards on death row leading up to the execution of black man accused of child murder & rape, who has the power of faith healing.
Director: Frank Darabont
Writers: Stephen King (novel), Frank Darabont (screenplay)
Stars: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan and David Morse
www.imdb.com/title/tt0120689/
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King Kong (2005)
In 1933 New York, an overly ambitious movie producer coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious Skull Island, where they encounter Kong, a giant ape who is immediately smitten with leading lady Ann Darrow.
Director: Peter Jackson
Writers: Fran Walsh (screenplay), Phillippa Boyens (screenplay)
Stars: Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody
www.imdb.com/title/tt0360717/
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The King’s Speech (2010)
The story of King George VI of Britain, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it.
Director: Tom Hooper
Writer: David Seidler (screenplay)
Stars: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter
www.imdb.com/title/tt1504320/
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A Knight’s Tale (2001)
After his master dies, a peasant squire, fueled by his desire for food and glory, creates a new identity for himself as a knight.
Director: Brian Helgeland
Writer: Brian Helgeland
Stars: Heath Ledger, Mark Addy and Rufus Sewell
www.imdb.com/title/tt0183790/
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The Ladykillers (2004)
An eccentric, if not charming Southern professor and his crew pose as a band in order to rob a casino, all under the nose of his unsuspecting landlord: a sharp old woman.
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Writers: Joel Coen (screenplay), Ethan Coen (screenplay)
Stars: Tom Hanks, Marlon Wayans and Irma P. Hall
www.imdb.com/title/tt0335245/
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The Last Samurai (2003)
An American military advisor embraces the Samurai culture he was hired to destroy after he is captured in battle.
Director: Edward Zwick
Writers: John Logan (story), John Logan (screenplay)
Stars: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe and Billy Connolly
www.imdb.com/title/tt0325710/
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The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
Three trappers protect a British Colonel’s daughters in the midst of the French and Indian War.
Director: Michael Mann
Writers: James Fenimore Cooper (novel), John L. Balderston (adaptation)
Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe and Russell Means
www.imdb.com/title/tt0104691/
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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
In a small village in the Shire a young Hobbit named Frodo has been entrusted with an ancient Ring. Now he must embark on an Epic quest to the Cracks of Doom in order to destroy it.
Director: Peter Jackson
Writers: J.R.R. Tolkien (novel), Fran Walsh (screenplay)
Stars: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen and Orlando Bloom
www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/
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The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Frodo and Sam continue on to Mordor in their mission to destroy the One Ring. Whilst their former companions make new allies and launch an assault on Isengard.
Director: Peter Jackson
Writers: J.R.R. Tolkien (novel), Fran Walsh (screenplay)
Stars: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen and Viggo Mortensen
www.imdb.com/title/tt0167261/
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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
The former Fellowship of the Ring prepare for the final battle for Middle Earth, while Frodo & Sam approach Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring.
Director: Peter Jackson
Writers: J.R.R. Tolkien (novel), Fran Walsh (screenplay)
Stars: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen and Ian McKellen
www.imdb.com/title/tt0167260/
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Man on Fire (2004)
In Mexico City, a former assassin swears vengeance on those who committed an unspeakable act against the family he was hired to protect.
Director: Tony Scott
Writers: A.J. Quinnell (novel), Brian Helgeland (screenplay)
Stars: Denzel Washington, Christopher Walken and Dakota Fanning
www.imdb.com/title/tt0328107/
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Maverick (1994)
Bret Maverick, needing money for a poker tournament, faces various comic mishaps and challenges, including a charming woman thief.
Director: Richard Donner
Writers: Roy Huggins, William Goldman
Stars: Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and James Garner
www.imdb.com/title/tt0110478/
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Meet Joe Black (1998)
A media mogul acts as a guide to Death, who takes the form of a young man to learn about life on Earth and in the process, fall in love with his guide’s daughter.
Director: Martin Brest
Writers: Ron Osborn (screenplay), Jeff Reno (screenplay)
Stars: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins and Claire Forlani
www.imdb.com/title/tt0119643/
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Message in a Bottle (1999)
A woman discovers a tragic love letter in a bottle on a beach, and is determined to track down its author.
Director: Luis Mandoki
Writers: Nicholas Sparks (novel), Gerald Di Pego (screenplay)
Stars: Kevin Costner, Robin Wright and Paul Newman
www.imdb.com/title/tt0139462/
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Midnight Run (1988)
An accountant is chased by bounty hunters, the FBI, and the Mafia after jumping bail.
Director: Martin Brest
Writer: George Gallo
Stars: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin and Yaphet Kotto
www.imdb.com/title/tt0095631/
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Notting Hill (1999)
The life of a simple bookshop owner changes when he meets the most famous film star in the world.
Director: Roger Michell
Writer: Richard Curtis
Stars: Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts and Richard McCabe
www.imdb.com/title/tt0125439/
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Open Range (2003)
A former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.
Director: Kevin Costner
Writers: Lauran Paine (novel), Craig Storper (screenplay)
Stars: Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall and Diego Luna
www.imdb.com/title/tt0316356/
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The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
A Missouri farmer joins a Confederate guerilla unit and winds up on the run from the Union soldiers who murdered his family.
Director: Clint Eastwood
Writers: Forrest Carter (book), Philip Kaufman (screenplay)
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke and Chief Dan George
www.imdb.com/title/tt0075029/
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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate “Captain” Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor’s daughter, from Jack’s former pirate allies, who are now undead.
Director: Gore Verbinski
Writers: Ted Elliott (screen story), Terry Rossio (screen story)
Stars: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush and Orlando Bloom
www.imdb.com/title/tt0325980/
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Platoon (1986)
A young recruit in Vietnam faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.
Director: Oliver Stone
Writer: Oliver Stone
Stars: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe
www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/
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Pulp Fiction (1994)
The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster’s wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writers: Quentin Tarantino (stories) Roger Avary (stories)
Stars: John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson
www.imdb.com/title/tt0110912/
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Scent of a Woman (1992)
A prep school student needing money agrees to “babysit” a blind man, but the job is not at all what he anticipated.
Director: Martin Brest
Writers: Giovanni Arpino (novel), Bo Goldman (screenplay)
Stars: Al Pacino, Chris O’Donnell and James Rebhorn
www.imdb.com/title/tt0105323/
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Shakespeare in Love (1998)
A young Shakespeare, out of ideas and short of cash, meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays.
Director: John Madden
Writers: Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard
Stars: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes and Geoffrey Rush
www.imdb.com/title/tt0138097/
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The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency.
Director: Frank Darabont
Writers: Stephen King (short story ‘Rita Hatworth and the Shawshank Redemption’), Frank Darabont (screenplay)
Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman and Bob Gunton
www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/
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Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
A Mumbai teen who grew up in the slums, becomes a contestant on the Indian version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” He is arrested under suspicion of cheating, and while being interrogated, events from his life history are shown which explain why he knows the answers.
Directors: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan
Writers: Simon Beaufoy (screenplay), Vikas Swarup (novel)
Stars: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto and Saurabh Shukla
www.imdb.com/title/tt1010048/
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Snatch. (2000)
Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers, and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond.
Director: Gut Ritchie
Writer: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Jason Statham, Brad Pitt and Benicio Del Toro
www.imdb.com/title/tt0208092/
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Thunderheart (1992)
An FBI man with Sioux background is sent to a reservation to help with a murder investigation, where he has to come to terms with his heritage…
Director: Michael Apted
Writer: John Fusco
Stars: Val Kilmer, Sam Shepard and Graham Greene
www.imdb.com/title/tt0105585/
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Tombstone (1993)
A successful lawman’s plans to retire anonymously in Tombstone, Arizona, are disrupted by the kind of outlaws he was famous for eliminating.
Director: George P. Cosmatos
Writer: Kevin Jarre
Stars: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer and Sam Elliot
www.imdb.com/title/tt0108358/
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True Romance (1993)
Clarence marries hooker Alabama, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the coke try to reclaim it.
Director: Tony Scott
Writer: Quentin Tarantino
Stars: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette and Dennis Hopper
www.imdb.com/title/tt0108399/
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Twelve Monkeys (1995)
In a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.
Director: Terry Gilliam
Writers: Chris Marker (film La Jetee), David Webb Peoples (screenplay)
Stars: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe and Brad Pitt
www.imdb.com/title/tt0114746/
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Unforgiven (1992)
Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner and a young man.
Director: Clint Eastwood
Writer: David Webb Peoples
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman
www.imdb.com/title/tt0105695/
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If you feel I’ve missed something for the return trip, I welcome you to post your list of ‘Top 10 Films’ (or more) that you would watch in an endless rotation.
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