30 Best Movies That Start With M
In the captivating world of cinema, a simple letter can unlock a treasure trove of unforgettable stories and masterpieces. From timeless classics to contemporary gems, the letter “M” boasts a plethora of remarkable films that have captured the hearts and minds of audiences for generations. In this article, we dive into a curated list of the best movies starting with the letter “M,” showcasing the impressive range and diversity of stories gracing the silver screen.
Our selection spans multiple genres, decades, and cultures, offering a compelling mix of iconic and lesser-known films bound to intrigue casual moviegoers and avid cinephiles alike. As you embark on this alphabetical adventure, be prepared to embark on a cinematic journey that explores the depths of human emotion, the resilience of the human spirit, and the power of storytelling. Whether you’re seeking inspiration for your next movie night or eager to discover a new favorite, this collection of “M” films promises to deliver unforgettable experiences that will keep you coming back for more.
Mad Max (1979)
In the time after the nuclear disaster, the Earth is devastated. The survivors managed to organize their lives, but anarchy reigns, and various gangs run rampant. The police are powerless.
When he loses his partner, police officer Max Rockatinsky (Mel Gibson) decides to retire and live a family life, but in one of his devastating raids, a motorcycle gang kills his wife and child. Since then, his only goal is to catch the killers.
Mad Max 2 (1981)
A few years after avenging the death of his wife, child and partner killed by members of the infamous Toecutter gang, ex-cop Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) wanders the roads of post-apocalyptic Australia, looking for fuel, food and other necessities for mere survival.
Max encounters a group of survivors terrorized by a gang of brutal bikers led by Humangus (Kjell Nilsson) and his best warrior Wez (Vernon Wells). The community hires Max to help them move their gas supply and fight for a free life without fear.
Malcolm X (1992)
Boston during World War II. Young African-American Malcolm Little (D. Washington) and his friend Shorty (S. Lee) go crazy at dance parties trying to overcome a difficult upbringing marked by his father’s violent death.
Malcolm’s father, Baptist preacher Earl (T. Hollis), was killed by the infamous Ku Klux Klan members, which changed the boy’s life forever, just like the separation from his mother Louise (Lonette McKee)…
Man of Steel (2013)
Clark Kent, a young journalist, is forced to confront his alien origins when General Zod, one of the last members of Kent’s people, invades Earth. To protect humanity and his new home, the young hero accepts fate and becomes Superman – the Man of Steel.
Mary Poppins (1964)
In 1910, banker George W. Banks (D. Tomlinson) lives in a beautiful house in London with his wife Winifred (G. Johns) and two children, a girl Jane (K. Dotrice) and a boy Michael (M. Garber). Everything would be nice if these otherwise lovely children didn’t drive every babysitter crazy. One just got away from the Banks. The parents want to put an ad in the newspaper looking for a new babysitter, but Jane and Michael put together their own ad describing the ideal babysitter.
The father throws the ad into the fireplace, from which the wind blows it away through the chimney. On the second day, many women show up who would like to be nannies, but the strong wind blows them away as if they were newsprint. And from the air, with a big bag in her hand and an open umbrella, Mary Poppins (J. Andrews) descended. The Banks take her as a nanny, and she immediately delights them and the children. Through a game and a song, he first makes the children clean the room, and then takes them to the park.
There, in front of the park, on the sidewalk, Mary’s friend Bert (D. Van Dyke), a street musician with an always cheerful spirit, painted scenes from the park. He and Mary take the children by the hands and “jump” with them into those pictures. Here everyone finds themselves in a world of dance and song, where even animals dance and sing. And that’s just the beginning of the experience with Mary Poppins, the ideal nanny who also performs some magic…
M*A*S*H (1970)
The film, which takes place during the war in Korea, was filmed when the war in Vietnam was at its peak, and its anti-war charge is more pronounced than in the series. The events are guided by a masterful direction, while the characters are interpreted by several acting stars, some of whom gained that status just after this film. And here, it is a series of incidents in a mobile military surgical hospital in which the antagonists are doctors who do not respect the military hierarchy and like to drink but are excellent surgeons with a lot of human understanding for their patients’ problems, opposite the rigid Major Frank Burns and Major Houlihan.
Their conflicts are more violent than in the series (the broadcast of the love scene between Burns and Houlihan over the loudspeaker, the demolition of the tent where she is showering), while the climax of the film and the conflict between the human approach to war and the rigid military point of view is a rugby match between M.A.S.H. and the team that compiled by the general who is leading the investigation into the events at M.A.S.H.
Matilda (1996)
The married couple (Rhea Perlman and Danny DeVito) had an adorable baby girl named Matilda (Mara Wilson). Unlike her spoiled brother (Brian Levinson) and mean parents, Matilda becomes a sweet and extremely intelligent girl, who is very interested in school and reading books. After a while, her parents send her to a school run by the worst principal.
There, Matilda meets a dear and good teacher and makes good friends. While trying to cope with the cruelty of his parents and the principal, he unwittingly uses his telekinetic powers. Over time, he learns to control them and ” practices” them on the principal.
The Matrix (1999)
A retired software professional leads a double life. He spends his nights in front of his computer where, under the pseudonym Neo, he becomes a hacker trying to discover something unknown. After he comes into contact with Morpheus, a legendary hacker the government claims is a terrorist, he is pursued by the police led by the dangerous agent Smith (H. Weaving).
Morpheus reveals to him that he is part of the matrix, an illusion of the world, a virtual reality that computers have been using for centuries to control the enslaved human race. Morpheus is the leader of a small group of people who have learned the truth and are trying to start a war for liberation from the computers. A new hope awakens in them, because, according to legend, the Chosen One is coming – the only one who can stand up to the machines. Everything indicates that Neo could be the one.
Memento (2000)
Leonard (G. Pearce) is a man with no long-term memory, only short-term. Thanks to a complex system of reminders scattered across Polaroid photos, pieces of paper, and even tattoos on his body, he knows that after receiving a blow to the head in a fight with the rapist and murderer of his beloved wife, he was forever pushed into the present.
From the past, brief flashes of faces and events that he can’t connect keep coming to him. Everything he does, and it’s obvious that he’s looking for the killer to get revenge on him, is questionable and probably wrong.
There is no solid point for him to cling to, and giving up on dealing with the elusive shadows of the past would also make his future questionable. Has he turned into a deadly weapon controlled by others? Doesn’t revenge, with which he tries to put an end to what he lost, open a new cycle of crime?
Men in Black (1997)
Agent K and Agent J are government employees determined to do their job as well as possible. But what will happen when they encounter an interstellar cockroach that wants to destroy the Earth?
Since 1960, Earth has been a haven for numerous extraterrestrial life forms. The 1,500 visitors are mostly based in New York, and their behavior and movements are monitored by a secret organization led by the strict manager Zed (Rip Torn). One of the best agents is the middle-aged Kay (Tommy Lee Jones), and his new partner is the young and unrestrained agent Jay (Will Smith), recruited from the New York police force.
After an unforgettable baptism of fire and their first encounter with an alien, Jay and Kay receive the news that one of the deadliest forms of life has arrived on earth – a gigantic insect, determined to destroy the planet. With the help of the beautiful doctor Laurel (Linda Fiorentino), the agents begin to deal with the bloodthirsty being.
Midsommar (2019)
Dani and Christian are a young American couple whose relationship is on the verge of breaking up. But after a family tragedy keeps them together, Dani joins Christian and his friends on a trip to an isolated Swedish village for an unusual summer solstice festival and celebration that only happens once every 90 years.
- RELATED: 35 Scariest Movies Like Midsommar
What begins as a carefree summer vacation in the land of eternal sunlight takes a sinister turn when the island’s inhabitants invite their guests to participate in festivities that make this shepherd’s paradise increasingly terrifying and disturbing.
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Legendary boxing trainer Frankie Dunn (C. Eastwood) dedicates himself to training “Big” Willie Little (M. Colter), an ambitious dark-skinned boxer who could one day become a champion. At the same time, a friend draws his attention to Margaret “Maggie” Fitzgerald (H. Swank), an energetic 31-year-old girl who, despite her hard work as a waitress, trains diligently every day.
Frankie thinks that Maggie is too old and too soft a person who, just like all women, has nothing to ask for in boxing. When Willie soon cancels his cooperation and wins the title under the tutelage of manager Mickey Mack (B. MacVittie), a disappointed Frankie agrees to train Maggie.
Minority Report (2002)
In 2054, humanity has reached such a level of technological development that it can recreate people’s dreams using computers and monitors that turn them into holograms. After John Anderton (Tom Cruise) loses his son, to prevent others from experiencing the same pain, he joins a special police team that catches criminals before they commit murder. Three mediums with special mental abilities can see future murders. What they see, with the help of modern technical aids, can also be seen by the members of Anderton’s unit, who analyze the data, identify the victim and the perpetrator, and try to prevent the murder.
One day, however, John’s life is turned upside down when the media has a vision of him killing a man he doesn’t even know. On the run from his colleagues, Anderton must prove his innocence and find out if this murder is one of the rare cases where one medium sees things differently from the other two – known as a special report.
Misery (1990)
Paul Sheldon (J. Caan) is a prolific and very successful writer of popular novels about the romantic heroine Misery, who one snowy winter day has a serious car accident. Waking up in bed in an unfamiliar room, Paul can’t remember either the blizzard in which his car ran off the road, or who saved him.
When a buxom and temperamental woman (K. Bates) enters the room, Paul learns that it is his big fan Annie Wilkes, a simple-minded and somewhat naive nurse who knows the characters and plots of all his Misery novels extremely well. Paul has no idea that the nice and caring Annie, after reading the manuscript of his latest and at the same time the last novel about Misery, will turn into a violent psychopath…
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Ethan Hunt (T. Cruise) is the leader of a secret operative unit tasked with preventing the theft of a list containing the code names and the real identities of all US secret agents.
In addition, Hunt must photograph the thief and track him to the data drop-off location. Hunt’s team plans the operation in detail but unexpectedly fails because someone gave away the whole plan. The question arises about who the traitor is, and suspicion falls on Hunt, since he is among the survivors. Hunt has no choice but to go in search of the real culprit…
Mississippi Burning (1988)
A political thriller by acclaimed director Alan Parker about the investigation conducted against the notorious Ku Klux Klan in 1964, after the murder of three human rights fighters. Gene Hackman and Willem Dafoe play FBI agents, tasked with uncovering this massacre’s perpetrators.
Moana (2016)
From Disney’s animation studios comes Vaiana, a spirited computer-animated film about an adventurous teenage girl who sets sail on a dangerous mission to save her people. During her journey, Moana meets the once-powerful demigod Maui, who guides her on her mission to become the ultimate navigator.
- RELATED: 30 Best Island Movies
Together, they sail across the ocean in a dangerous, action-packed adventure and encounter giant monsters. Along the way, Moana fulfills the ancient mission of her ancestors and discovers the one thing she’s always been searching for: her own identity.
Moneyball (2011)
The story’s main character is Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball club, who will try to rebuild it in a completely new, more modernized way.
Monsters University (2013)
The movie tells how Mike Wazowski and Sulley met and became best friends. It begins with a young Mike Wazowski, a one-eyed green monster who dreams of becoming a scarer when he grows up. Mike is very intelligent and hardworking but lacks a natural fear of becoming a scarer.
When Mike starts attending Monsters University, he meets Sulley, a big blue monster from a family of famous scarers. Sulley is naturally scary but lacks Mike’s work ethic and discipline. Despite their differences, they both enroll in the Scare Program, hoping to become top scarers.
The Scare Program is highly competitive, and the two friends soon find themselves competing against each other. However, they are eventually kicked out of the program and must work together with a group of misfit monsters to win the Scare Games and prove themselves worthy of re-enrollment.
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
The story follows two monsters, Sulley and Mike Wazowski, who work for Monsters, Inc., a company that collects the screams of children to generate energy for the city. Sulley, a large, blue-furred monster, is the company’s top scarer, while Mike, a small, green one-eyed monster, is his best friend and assistant.
One day, while on the job, Sulley accidentally lets a human girl named Boo into the monster world. Humans are considered toxic and dangerous to monsters, so Sulley and Mike must find a way to return Boo to her world without getting caught by the company’s rival, Randall, who wants to use Boo for his evil purposes.
As Sulley and Mike navigate the monster world with Boo, they discover that laughter generates even more energy than screams and devise a plan to change the company’s operations. Along the way, they face obstacles and challenges, but ultimately they succeed in their mission and become the story’s heroes.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
King Arthur (Graham Chapman) searches for brave knights, along with faithful servant Patsy (Terry Gilliam) who bounces around hitting coconut halves behind his master to simulate the tramp of horses.
They meet peasants with whom they enter into extremely unusual dialogues and engage in a philosophical discussion about migratory birds, to confront the famous, fearless Black Knight, whose severed arm and leg represent a superficial wound. All this happens at the beginning of the film, and which is hard to find related work.
Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (1983)
Python stars John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin play multiple roles, male and female, beginning with the birth scene and continuing with the family of at least fifty children.
We experience the Catholic view of sex through priest Cleese’s sermon to the children in the class. Then they introduce us to the meaning of war, the Middle Ages and death, and finally, the question of the eternity of singers singing Christmas songs.
Moon (2009)
Sam Bell still has two weeks left on his three-year contract with Lunar Industries. During those three years, Sam’s job was to collect and send Helium-3 to Earth. Since he has no direct communication with Earth, except for messages from his wife that arrive occasionally, Sam’s only friend is GERTY, an intelligent computer whose function is to care for his daily needs.
With almost no human contact, Sam begins to believe that three years of isolation from the rest of civilization is too much and is convinced that he is beginning to hallucinate. All he wants is to return to Earth to enjoy himself with his wife and three-year-old daughter, born just before he left for the moon.
However, two weeks before the end of the contract, Sam has an accident with one of the machines that collect Helium-3. After he wakes up, he discovers a terrifying secret that makes him question his sanity, identity, the company he works for, and even the computer GERTY.
Moonstruck (1987)
Loretta Castorini (Cher) is 37 years old, works as an accountant and lives with her parents. She is a widow, her husband died in an accident just two years after the wedding. Johnny Cammareri (D. Aiello) is an old guy, not very attractive or passionate, but he proposes to Loretta because he likes her and cares for him. Loretta is superstitious and makes him propose properly, on one knee and with a ring, because she doesn’t want the bad luck she had the first time to happen again.
She believes that her first marriage ended badly because she did not get married properly, in a church, in a wedding dress, accompanied by her father. Her father, Cosmo (V. Gardenia), disapproves of the marriage because he doesn’t like Johnny and is superstitious, so he believes that Loretta can’t be lucky in marriage. Loretta’s mother, Rose (O. Dukakis), is pleased that Loretta is not in love. “A man takes advantage of you when you love him because he knows he can,” she teaches her daughter. The wedding is arranged, but before that, Johnny has to travel to Palermo because his mother is tired.
In the meantime, he asks Loretta to give birth to his younger brother Ronny (N. Cage), with whom he has been at odds for five years, and invites him to the wedding. Unlike Johnny, Ronny is passionate and temperamental but also an unhappy young man because he lost his hand in an accident. He blames his brother for the accident, and that’s why he doesn’t talk to him, and because he was disabled, the girl he loved left him. Although rude and awkward, or maybe because of that, Ronny awakens feelings in Loretta that Johnny never…
Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) likes to entertain children, and makes money by giving voices to characters in animated films. However, after he clashes with the management of the studio for which he is filming over the voice of one of the characters, he is fired, and at the most inconvenient time, on his son’s birthday. Wanting to do something nice for his son, Daniel prepares a party, but it gets out of control.
Faced with chaos at home and the news of his dismissal, his wife Miranda (Sally Field) suggests that they separate as they are clearly on different paths in life. Since he just lost his job, the judge thinks it’s appropriate that Daniel only sees the kids once a week, which hits him more than anything else. But when Miranda hires a babysitter, Daniel uses the opportunity to disable the ad’s publication. Hence, he is the only one who answers it disguised as Mrs. Doubtfire and becomes the new babysitter under the guise!
Mulholland Drive (2001)
After a serious car accident in Los Angeles, Rita remains the only survivor, but as a result, she has total amnesia. Wandering around a now foreign part of the city center, her story strangely intertwines with that of Betty, a bright-eyed young woman looking for her fortune in a movie in Hollywood.
However, Bett, intrigued by Rita’s situation, puts aside her dreams for the moment in her desire to help her solve her mystery.
The two women soon discover nothing is as it seems in the city of dreams. Both get drawn into a psychotic illusion concerning the dangerous blue box, director Adam Kesher, and the mysterious Silencio nightclub.
Munich (2005)
After the terrorist organization Black September killed eleven Israeli athletes during the Munich Olympics in 1972, Prime Minister Golda Meir authorized a super secret operation to find and eliminate all those responsible. The Israeli leadership in Switzerland gathers a five-member team led by Avner (Eric Bana), a junior Mossad operative whose father was a war hero and whose wife is pregnant.
Despite the initial difficulties and high costs, Avner and his colleagues still manage to find and kill several Palestinian terrorists in Europe and Lebanon. Still, increasingly they encounter situations that they cannot understand. Besides constantly being on the lookout for CIA, KGB, or PLO agents, they can’t fully trust their bosses, who seem to be using them as killers of people who have nothing to do with Munich. Doubts and questions arise, and loyalty slowly melts – Avner wonders what it means to be a responsible Jew.
My Fair Lady (1964)
In old London lives Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison), an arrogant and conceited professor of phonetics who believes that the accent and tone of one’s voice are the main determinants of success in society.
He brags about his knowledge and abilities to Colonel Hugh Pickering (Wilfrid Hyde-White), also an expert in phonetics, whom he assures that he could teach any woman the speech of a noblewoman. To prove his point, he chooses a young flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) with a strong accent, whom he intends to make into a real lady…
My Girl (1991)
One of the most beautiful but also the saddest romantic comedies, “My Girl”, is an unforgettable story about first love and growing up, an honest look at the adult world through the eyes of a child. Eleven-year-old Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky) is surrounded by death: her mother died during childbirth, and her father, Harry (Dan Aykroyd), is a private undertaker.
In addition, little Vada suffers from hypochondria, and her best friend, Thomas (Macaulay Culkin), from numerous allergies. When Vada’s father hires the attractive beautician Shelly (Jamie Lee Curtis), Vada reacts jealously, fearing that she will get an unwanted stepmother. But a tragic event will change Vada’s life forever…
Mystic River (2003)
Boston, mid-seventies. Three boys, Sean (K. Bacon), Jimmy (S. Penn) and Dave (T. Robbins), are carefree playing until their game is interrupted by several unknown men. They pose as policemen, kidnap Dave, lock him in the basement and rape him for several days. Some thirty years later, they still live in Boston, all are married, Jimmy owns a store, Sean is a police detective, and Dave is a laborer, forever scarred by a childhood tragedy.
One day, Jimmy’s eldest daughter is found tortured to death in a nearby park. During the police investigation, some details are revealed that are not able to immediately shed light on the case, but a lot indicates that the killer could be Dave.
