# More suggestions for "smart" movies in the Scorcese/Aaron Sorkin/Michael Lewis vibe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 19, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325 "2016-07-19T15:23:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oedipus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Oedipus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oedipus)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/1 "2016-07-19T15:23:05Z")
I’ve been on a roll rewatching my favorite stuff from the past - Goodfellas, Money Ball, Big Short, Wolf of Wall Street, Social Network, and even some of the West Wing. I’ve watched a lot from these same directors/writers and in a weird way love everything about these “smartest guys in the room showing up everyone” kind of movies. I love the narration, the pace, the outside the box thinking. Anyone have suggestions from lesser known directors/writers along the same lines? I feel like the well is dry now that I’ve seen all the Scorcese movies, read all the Michael Lewis books, and seen most everything Sorkin has done. ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/2 "2016-07-19T16:10:33Z")
These aren’t necessarily written/directed by unknowns, but I think they fall into the range of movies described in the OP and if you haven’t seen them, they’re all what I think of as “smart” movies with an action bent helmed by skilled directors: \*Spartan \*(2004), written and directed by David Mamet (Mamet-esque dialog and a very quick pace) \*Ronin \*(1998), directed by John Frankenheimer (very smart actioner, with an outstanding cast) \*Haywire \*(2011), directed by Steven Soderbergh – it’s not quite as good as it could have been, but still worth the watch. Soderbergh’s remake of _Ocean’s Eleven_ (2001), if you haven’t seen it, is pretty slick; the sequels are too self-aware, but the first one is great. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/3 "2016-07-19T16:37:00Z")
I’ll second _Ronin_ – outstanding movie AND with some of the greatest car chase scenes ever. _Limitless_ – Bradley Cooper takes a pill that makes him a genius. ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/4 "2016-07-19T17:20:13Z")
Are you looking for movies that make you think? Or just smart movies? I’d list the Godfather movies and The Deer Hunter as being “Smart” movies One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Awakenings ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/5 "2016-07-19T17:36:42Z")
> [@Oedipus](#): > > I’ve been on a roll rewatching my favorite stuff from the past - Goodfellas, Money Ball, Big Short, Wolf of Wall Street, Social Network, and even some of the West Wing. I’ve watched a lot from these same directors/writers and in a weird way love everything about **these “smartest guys in the room showing up everyone” kind of movies**. I love the narration, the pace, the outside the box thinking. > > Anyone have suggestions from lesser known directors/writers along the same lines? I feel like the well is dry now that I’ve seen all the Scorcese movies, read all the Michael Lewis books, and seen most everything Sorkin has done. [Boiler Room](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181984/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) [The Freshman](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099615/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) [Real Genius](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089886/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) [Michael Clayton](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465538/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) [Heist](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0252503/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/6 "2016-07-19T17:40:30Z")
Oh yeah, another second for _Michael Clayton_. Any I’ll throw \*Syriana \*on the pile too. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/7 "2016-07-19T17:45:03Z")
Check out Sports Night. Sorkin’s first foray into television and my favorite TV show ever. It’s on Hulu I know that, Don’t know if other On Demands carry it since it’s pretty old. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/8 "2016-07-19T18:49:50Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Oh yeah, another second for _Michael Clayton_. Any I’ll throw \*Syriana \*on the pile too. I have to disagree on _Syriana_. I didn’t think it was dumb, but it was pointless and filled with detestable characters. I know that was part of the point it was making, but it was a wretched experience to watch that film. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/9 "2016-07-19T19:00:13Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I have to disagree on _Syriana_. I didn’t think it was dumb, but it was pointless and filled with detestable characters. I know that was part of the point it was making, but it was a wretched experience to watch that film. You could say the exact same thing about _Michael Clayton_. There were no good people in it either. Oh, and how about a smart war movie? Another George Clooney flick, _Three Kings_. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/10 "2016-07-19T19:50:36Z")
Not sure if this is quite the thing you’re looking for, but I recommend: - The Usual Suspects - Ex Machina (for a different twist on who’s the smartest) - The Imitation Game ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/11 "2016-07-19T19:55:00Z")
Still one of the best in the genre: [True Believer](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098524/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/12 "2016-07-19T20:47:04Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > You could say the exact same thing about _Michael Clayton_. There were no good people in it either. You seem to have misread what I wrote. And certainly there were good people in _Michael Clayton_. Flawed people but also good people. > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Oh, and how about a smart war movie? Another George Clooney flick, _Three Kings_. Aye, that’s a good pick for a smart war movie. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/13 "2016-07-19T20:50:12Z")
We might as well list these two Michael Caine flicks: [Sleuth](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069281/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) and [Deathtrap](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083806/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_77). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/14 "2016-07-19T21:13:15Z")
> [@Gordon\_Urquhart](#): > > These aren’t necessarily written/directed by unknowns, but I think they fall into the range of movies described in the OP and if you haven’t seen them, they’re all what I think of as “smart” movies with an action bent helmed by skilled directors: > > \*Spartan \*(2004), written and directed by David Mamet (Mamet-esque dialog and a very quick pace) > > \*Ronin \*(1998), directed by John Frankenheimer (very smart actioner, with an outstanding cast) …and also written by Mamet. (Speaking of which, there’s also _The Spanish Prisoner_ and _House of Games_.) ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/15 "2016-07-19T21:18:35Z")
[_Donnie Brasco_](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/donnie_brasco/). The last great Al Pacino movie, and a sad reminder of just how good Johnny Depp used to be before he became a clown in whiteface. The scene where Pacino silently takes off his jewellery gets me every time. From a generation earlier, Coppola’s [The Conversation](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/conversation/?search=the%20conversation) is tight, twisty, and staggeringly good. Gene Hackman is outstanding. I can watch the scene where Gene Hackman throws away the envelope again and again: a lesser director - and a lesser actor - would have done it in close-up, but even in long shot you can read exactly what Hackman is thinking. For my money, though, [The Day of the Jackal](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/day_of_the_jackal/?search=the%20day%20of%20the%20jackal) is the smartest, tautest, most intelligent thriller ever made: this movie is just a master-class in tense economy: half of you is cheering for the killer to succeed, the other half is yelling “For Christ’s sake stop him!”. Bonus points for being a police procedural that actually shows just how real policing works, _ie_ hard work. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/16 "2016-07-19T21:51:28Z")
As courtroom dramas go, PRIMAL FEAR is especially good at having Richard Gere and Laura Linney do the whole I-Know-That-You-Know-That-I-Know schtick on each other as rival lawyers, though it’s Edward Norton who earned that Oscar nomination. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/17 "2016-07-19T22:34:39Z")
I feel like the OP is looking more for dialogue-heavy movies than, necessarily, smart movies. It would probably make the most sense to look for movies based on stage plays. Mamet, I believe, is just as much a playwright as screenwriter, so as others suggest his films would be a good option. Some plays that I can think of which became good movies are: 12 Angry Men Casablanca Amadeus Harvey ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2016, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/18 "2016-07-19T22:48:22Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I feel like the OP is looking more for dialogue-heavy movies than, necessarily, smart movies. It would probably make the most sense to look for movies based on stage plays. > > Mamet, I believe, is just as much a playwright as screenwriter, so as others suggest his films would be a good option. And yet, somehow, none of us mentioned GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/19 "2016-07-20T01:04:55Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > And yet, somehow, none of us mentioned GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS. I didn’t want to hog the Mamet recommendations. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325/20 "2016-07-20T01:07:32Z")
Burn After Reading- - a brilliant very dark comical spy movie [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-suggestions-for-smart-movies-in-the-scorcese-aaron-sorkin-michael-lewis-vibe/760325.md?page=2)