John Malkovich – 10 Best Movies

By Vlad Zakh · April 6, 2026

John Malkovich has spent decades playing characters slightly off from normal, which made him the only possible choice when a screenwriter decided to write a film about crawling inside his own head. Being John Malkovich is that one. Con Air traps a wrongly jailed soldier on a hijacked prison plane, RED reunites a retired black-ops team, The Man in the Iron Mask brings back the ageing Musketeers, and Places in the Heart helps a widowed mother keep her farm. Adaptation, Burn After Reading, Dangerous Liaisons and Empire of the Sun round out the list.

The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

TMDB ★ 6.5

Ageing musketeers conspire to swap a tyrannical king for his secretly imprisoned identical twin.

Directed by Randall Wallace · 2h 12m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

RED (2010)

TMDB ★ 6.8

Helen Mirren plays a retired, still-lethal black-ops assassin pulled back into the field.

Directed by Robert Schwentke · 1h 51m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Stream: YouTube TV, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Places in the Heart (1984)

TMDB ★ 7.2

A newly widowed mother struggles to save her cotton farm with the help of unlikely allies.

Directed by Robert Benton · 1h 51m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Stream: Howdy Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Con Air (1997)

TMDB ★ 6.9

A paroled army veteran is trapped aboard a prisoner transport plane hijacked by dangerous convicts.

Directed by Simon West · 1h 56m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: YouTube TV, TNT, TBS, tru TV · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Burn After Reading (2008)

TMDB ★ 6.9

A misplaced CD of memoirs spirals into a Coen brothers espionage farce.

Directed by Ethan Coen & Joel Coen · 1h 36m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Empire of the Sun (1987)

TMDB ★ 7.7

A privileged English boy is separated from his parents and must survive a Japanese internment camp in wartime Shanghai.

Directed by Steven Spielberg · 2h 33m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

In the Line of Fire (1993)

TMDB ★ 7.0

Clint Eastwood plays a veteran Secret Service agent racing to stop an assassin obsessed with outsmarting him.

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen · 2h 08m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, YouTube TV, MGM Plus, Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

TMDB ★ 7.5

Two scheming French aristocrats wager on the seduction and ruin of an innocent young woman.

Directed by Stephen Frears · 1h 59m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Adaptation (2002)

TMDB ★ 7.7

A screenwriter struggles to adapt a book about a passionate, eccentric orchid collector.

Directed by Spike Jonze · 1h 55m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Being John Malkovich (1999)

TMDB ★ 7.7

A portal into an actor's own mind turns into the strangest premise of the decade, played completely straight.

Directed by Spike Jonze · 1h 53m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

John Malkovich – 10 Best Movies

The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

RED (2010)

Places in the Heart (1984)

Con Air (1997)

Burn After Reading (2008)

Empire of the Sun (1987)

In the Line of Fire (1993)

Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

Adaptation (2002)

Being John Malkovich (1999)

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