I’ve written posts about money jokes and money quotes. To play along the same lines, I’m gonna post about movies about money. Believe it or not, there are quite a number of movies out there about money. Whether it be in the genre of action, suspense, love story and even comedy, there is bound to be one or more movies about money in those areas. Because as the saying goes, money makes the world go round. Whether we want to admit it or not, it’s hard, if not impossible, to go around without money and so filmmakers have capitalized on this by entertaining us with movies about the wonderful world of money.

There are so many movies about money I can write down here but I’ll just focus on those I personally know about and think are among the best.

Casino. A very popular film in 1995 starring Robert de Niro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci, Casino is all about “the evils of money.” Set in the ’70s, the story is about a gambling genius Ace Rothstein (de Niro) who was asked by the mob to run the Tangiers Casino. With his gambling skills, he turned the place into a money-making machine, but not without problems later on, thanks to a bombshell hustler Ginger (Stone) and mobster Nicky Santoro (Pesci).

The Firm. The story is about ambition and manipulation gone wrong. A bright, young lawyer, Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise), gets hired by a small but promising law firm. But he discovers the deaths of many other lawyers in the firms, all connected to the mob. His wife is not happy with the new prestige and material wealth and prefers the old, simple life.

Indecent Proposal. A very popular yet controversial movie in the early ’90s, the story is about a financially-tight couple who gets a chance to earn quick money but with a twist: a handsome billionaire offers $1 million dollars to sleep with the wife. The story touches on morality and the evils of money.

Jerry Maguire. This is the story of an ambitious sports agent who suddenly grows a “conscience” and develops a new motto: fewer clients, less money. The consequence? He loses his job, his clients, his fiancee and his career altogether. But that’s when he discovers what and who matters most in life. A very heartwarming, touchy story. Definitely a must-see.

Ocean’s Eleven. A remake, the story is about a notorious businessman Terry Benedict, played by Andy Garcia, who will do everything to take out his competition in the casino business. Danny Ocean (George Clooney) organizes an uncanny group to steal his wealth from his chain of casinos. The movie is a power cast also starring Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Julia Roberts.

The Pursuit of Happyness. An award-winning drama in 2006, this is a true story about a single father who tries to raise his son with little, almost zero, income selling overpriced medical equipment that it not doing well at all. He goes through very difficult times but with sheer determination and love for his son, he overcomes everything and soon becomes a successful, wealthy man.

Slumdog Millionaire. Another award-winning, true story drama, this tells the story of an Indian teenager who won in the famous game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Since he came from a poor community and therefore assumed dumb, he became questioned for winning. But it was exactly what difficult times he went through life that made him acquire all those knowledge.

Wall Street. Gordon Gekko, the famous, ruthless stock broker who worships money and the power it brings. But in comes an ambitious young broker who equally emulates him and soon finds himself trapped in the dangers of fast money. A story about greed and conscience.

There are many more movies about money I haven’t written here so feel free to fill in for yourself. “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” “Friends with Money” and many more should be added to the list. But the point in all these is that money is indeed a very important part of our lives and unless we know how to handle it, it can either better or destroy us.