Boston: The Departed (2006)

Honorable Mention: Good Will Hunting (1997), Mystic River (2003)

Boston has a boatload of mid-tier films and a small upper echelon of great films. The best film coming out of Boston is Martin Scorsese’s The Departed. What’s most shocking is the fact that Scorsese won his only Best Picture award for. I’m not sure it’s one of his five best movies. But that’s not the point here. The Departed is the best Boston based film with a monster cast of Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Matt Damon. I find there to be plot holes a mile wide like Nicholson’s character allowing DiCaprio’s character in his circle, but the tension and drama of The Departed is unmatched.

New York City: 12 Angry Men (1957)

Honorable Mention: The Godfather (1972), Taxi Driver (1976), Do The Right Thing (1989)

There are many people who would make this argument and I’d surely hear it: 12 Angry Men is the greatest work of film ever created. While it’s not my favorite film ever, I can acknowledge its pure genius. The way that Sidney Lumet tackles the tense topic of race in one room amongst 12 men is engrossing. New York is a city with great films being set there like Taxi Driver, The Godfather, and Do The Right Thing, but 12 Angry Men takes the crown even though you might not know that it’s set there.

Washington D.C.: All The Presidents Men (1976)

Honorable Mention: The Exorcist (1973), Burn After Reading (2008)

When it comes to Washington D.C., you’d obviously expect some great political pictures, but maybe the best horror flick ever is based in D.C. with The Exorcist. While The Exorcist is a fantastic, trailblazing horror film, All The Presidents Men is the best D.C. set movie. It covers the most important work of journalism of the last 200 years as we see Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford playing Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward as they break the Watergate scandal that leads to President Nixon resigning. I recently rewatched All The Presidents Men and it simply gets better and better every time I see it. It has great performances, a tense plot, and never leaves the confines of Washington D.C.

Philadelphia: Rocky (1976)

Honorable Mention: The Wrestler (2008), The Sixth Sense (1999), Blow Out (1981)

There’s a handful of solid films set in Philadelphia like one of my all time favorites, Blow Out, but I’d be remised to not crown Rocky as the best movie set in the City of Brotherly Love. The first Rocky is exclusively in Philly. While I’m a bigger fan of Rocky IV, a lot of its set in Russia so the first one gets the nod. It’s a fantastic film about an underdog story and the galvanization of a community coming around Rocky. Another reason why it gets the nod is because there’s the iconic running up the stairs scene. I mean the city of Philadelphia erected a statue for Rocky.

Atlanta: Gone With The Wind (1939)

Honorable Mention: Baby Driver (2017), Flight (2012)

I wanted to put Baby Driver as the best film set in Atlanta, but I couldn’t do it in good conscience. Baby Driver is one of my favorite films ever, but it’s not on the same wave length as Gone With The Wind impact wise. Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable play off each other very nicely and make this and enjoyable viewing. I don’t traditionally gravitate towards films pre 1950, but this Victor Fleming picture is fantastic. Surprisingly there aren’t many films set in Atlanta, but Gone With The Wind takes the cake.

Miami: Moonlight (2016)

Honorable Mention: Scarface (1983), Caddyshack (1980), Goldfinger (1964)

Miami has a sneaky good movie scene. My all-time favorite James Bond movie, Goldfinger, was shot there. Also, one of the greatest comedies of the 20th century, Caddyshack, is based there, and one of the most overrated movies with a great performance, Scarface, is set in Miami. While those are all great films, none of them touch the Best Picture winning Moonlight. Moonlight was a groundbreaking film that explored the sensitive themes of sexuality, drug abuse, and loneliness in brutal ways that made you uncomfortable, but by doing that, Barry Jenkins drove his point home.

Chicago: The Sting (1973)

Honorable Mention: The Breakfast Club (1985), High Fidelity (2000), The Untouchables (1987)

Of any Best Picture winner, The Sting is my favorite, and I also think the best film set in Chicago. Surprisingly, Chicago doesn’t have a packed troop of great films set in modern day. The Sting is a fantastic heist flick with two legendary actors that exhibited fantastic chemistry in Robert Redford and Paul Newman. The films second and third acts are gripping and the way they devise a plan to rip off Robert Shaws character, even going to the lengths to fake a shooting is awesome. I absolutely adore The Sting and think that it clears any other Chicago set picture.

Detroit: True Romance (1993)

Honorable Mention: Robocop (1987), The Irishman (2019)

Detroit was tough to decipher what their best film was, but I have to go with the Tony Scott banger, True Romance. What sticks out most about True Romance is the cast. It’s, in my opinion, the greatest one assembled. With Gary Oldman, James Gandolfini, Brad Pitt, Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Bronson Pinchot, Michael Rapaport, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Sizemore, Saul Rubinek, Chris Penn, and Val Kilmer, not many other casts touch True Romance.

The bananas plot feels like a Tarantino movie. And that’s probably because he wrote it. With the first half/third of the film being set in Detroit, I feel very confident giving it the nod as the best film set in Detroit. Also, the iconic Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken scene is in Detroit. “I’m the Anti-Christ. You got me in a vendetta kind of mood.“

Dallas: JFK (1991)

Honorable Mention: Office Space (1999), Bottle Rocket (1996)

The entirety of the film JFK isn’t set in Dallas due to there being scenes across Texas and in New Orleans, but everything comes back to Dallas where Kennedy was killed. So much happens in JFK that’s strange, but that’s also because Oliver Stone was strange. It feels like the furthest thing from a biographical film, especially when Tommy Lee Jones and Joe Pesci are in an orgy painted gold and Pesci is getting slapped, but it’s wildly entertaining. We also get a great breaking of the fourth wall in the final court scene from Costner.

Houston: Boyhood (2014)

Honorable Mention: Rushmore (1998), Apollo 13 (1995)

Whether you like the film or not, there is great genius from Richard Linklater with Boyhood. To film it over a 12 year period with the same actors is brilliant. And somewhat lucky that it all worked out. When watching Boyhood, I felt remnants of Noah Baumbachs The Squid and the Whale where it shows the hell that divorce is for children experiencing it. Divorce is a war and Linklater properly portrays it. I find this to be Ethan Hawkes best performance despite him being great in Training Day. Overall, this was an ambitious project that took balls to make and it worked. There’s no doubt this is the best film set in Houston.

Los Angeles: Heat (1995)

Honorable Mention: Nightcrawler (2014), Magnolia (1999), Mulholland Drive (2001), Chinatown (1974)

Los Angeles is LOADED with great films being set in the city and I had a tough time deciphering this. I love films like Nightcrawler and Magnolia, but are they really the best ones set in Los Angeles? Probably not. Then there’s the great David Lynch picture Mulholland Drive or the Roman Polanski classic Chinatown, but none of them touch the greatest heist film ever, Michael Manns 1995 film Heat. Everything from the cast packed with Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, Danny Trejo, Natalie Portman, and Ashley Judd to the dynamic plot, the film is amazing.

We’re treated to one of the best dialogue scenes of all-time when De Niro and Pacino meet at the diner and discuss their aspirations and dedication to their work. Just riveting stuff that’s unmatched. Heat walked in order for heist films like The Town, Baby Driver, and Logan Lucky could run.

San Diego: Almost Famous (2000)

Honorable Mention: Top Gun (1986), Traffic (2000)

I recently watched Almost Famous for the first time and while the entirety of the film isn’t in San Diego, it is where William Miller began his journalism escapade following Stillwater so I’m counting it. I love this movie. Cameron Crowe picked the perfect soundtrack to have in this film, especially using Elton John’s Tiny Dancer to bring the band together. The whole story revolving around the music scene of the 1960s-1970s hits me in the right spot and is something I find tremendously interesting. Don’t get me wrong, Top Gun is fun, but Almost Famous has a deeper plot and characters with more substance.

Las Vegas: Casino (1995)

Honorable Mention: Leaving Las Vegas (1995), The Hangover (2009), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

Surprisingly, there are a lot of great films set in Las Vegas that don’t solely rely on gambling. While the Martin Scorsese masterpiece Casino is named after a place that people gamble, it goes much deeper. Casino is a mafia crime flick that might be his best work. De Niro with Pesci always works and their chemistry in this is probably better than Goodfellas. I also love this film because of De Niro’s wardrobe. He rocks multiple blue, pink, and yellow pastel suits with designer shades. His fit feels like one you’d see on a gambler leaving a casino in Vegas.

San Francisco: Zodiac (2007)

Honorable Mention: Vertigo (1958), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), The Conversation (1974)

The 2000s is a loaded film decade, but I believe Zodiac is the best or second best film of the decade. It’s a David Fincher masterclass on how to build tension through city wide hysteria, kind of how the Zodiac Killer built tension through hysteria. While the film takes place in areas of northern California like Vallejo and Napa, the main newspaper covering the story, which the film focuses on, is the San Francisco Chronicle. In Zodiac we see Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, and John Carroll Lynch’s best career performances. Along with that we see one of Gyllenhaals best as he grows obsessed over the case.