John Malkovich – 10 Best Movies

By Vlad Zakh · April 6, 2026

United States Drama

John Malkovich has spent decades playing characters just slightly off from normal, which made him the only possible choice when a screenwriter decided to write a movie about crawling inside his own head.

The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) 01

The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

IMDb ★ 6.5

The aging Musketeers reunite to stop a king from destroying his own secret twin.

RED (2010) 02

RED (2010)

IMDb ★ 6.8

A retired black-ops team is targeted for elimination and reunites to fight back.

Places in the Heart (1984) 03

Places in the Heart (1984)

IMDb ★ 7.2

A widowed mother fights to keep her farm during the Depression with the help of two outsiders.

Con Air (1997) 04

Con Air (1997)

IMDb ★ 6.9

A wrongly imprisoned soldier is trapped aboard a prison transport plane hijacked by its own passengers.

Burn After Reading (2008) 05

Burn After Reading (2008)

IMDb ★ 6.9

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

Empire of the Sun (1987) 06

Empire of the Sun (1987)

IMDb ★ 7.7

A British boy survives a Japanese internment camp with the help of an opportunistic American.

In the Line of Fire (1993) 07

In the Line of Fire (1993)

IMDb ★ 7.0

A Secret Service agent haunted by JFK's assassination is taunted by a new presidential threat.

Dangerous Liaisons (1988) 08

Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

IMDb ★ 7.5

Two aristocrats wage a cruel seduction game against each other's targets.

Adaptation (2002) 09

Adaptation (2002)

IMDb ★ 7.7

A screenwriter's block spirals into a film about itself, with Malkovich playing a version of himself.

Being John Malkovich (1999) 10

Being John Malkovich (1999)

IMDb ★ 7.7

A portal into Malkovich's own mind turns into the strangest premise of his career, played completely straight.

Vlad Zakh

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix, built to fix a specific annoyance: most recommendation sites are just algorithm-driven noise. Our lists are researched and organized by who's in a film, where it's from, and the mood you're actually in tonight.