The 20 best movies ever

by ned78 | created - 07 Apr 2011 | updated - 16 May 2012 | Public
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1. Red Rock West (1993)

R | 98 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

79 Metascore

Upon arriving to a small town, a drifter is mistaken for a hitman, but when the real hitman arrives, complications ensue.

Director: John Dahl | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Dennis Hopper, Lara Flynn Boyle, Craig Reay

Votes: 25,179 | Gross: $2.50M

2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

R | 142 min | Drama

82 Metascore

Over the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.

Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler

Votes: 2,887,586 | Gross: $28.34M

3. Heat (1995)

R | 170 min | Action, Crime, Drama

76 Metascore

A group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD when they unknowingly leave a verbal clue at their latest heist.

Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight

Votes: 719,094 | Gross: $67.44M

4. The Hitcher (1986)

R | 97 min | Action, Mystery, Thriller

32 Metascore

A young man who escapes the clutches of a murderous hitchhiker is subsequently stalked by the hitcher and framed for his crimes.

Director: Robert Harmon | Stars: Rutger Hauer, C. Thomas Howell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey DeMunn

Votes: 52,522 | Gross: $5.84M

5. The Terminator (1984)

R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

84 Metascore

A human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.

Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield

Votes: 923,884 | Gross: $38.40M

6. Joy Ride (2001)

R | 97 min | Action, Mystery, Thriller

75 Metascore

Three young people on a road trip from Colorado to New Jersey talk to a trucker on their CB radio, then must escape when he turns out to be a psychopathic killer.

Director: John Dahl | Stars: Steve Zahn, Paul Walker, Leelee Sobieski, Jessica Bowman

Votes: 75,918 | Gross: $21.97M

7. Johnny Handsome (1989)

R | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

60 Metascore

After being double crossed and thrown in jail, a deformed gangster gets a new face and rehabilitation, but his desire for revenge looms.

Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Elizabeth McGovern, Morgan Freeman

Votes: 10,999 | Gross: $7.24M

8. The Green Mile (1999)

R | 189 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy

61 Metascore

A tale set on death row, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the lead guard, Paul Edgecombe, recognizes John's gift, he tries to help stave off the condemned man's execution.

Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt

Votes: 1,406,758 | Gross: $136.80M

9. Kill Me Again (1989)

R | 94 min | Action, Crime, Drama

61 Metascore

A young detective becomes involved with a beautiful woman on the run from the mob and her psychopath boyfriend.

Director: John Dahl | Stars: Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Pat Mulligan, Nick Dimitri

Votes: 5,683 | Gross: $0.28M

10. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

R | 125 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

86 Metascore

Three amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a bank. A nice simple robbery: Walk in, take the money, and run. Unfortunately, the supposedly uncomplicated heist suddenly becomes a bizarre nightmare as everything that could go wrong does.

Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Penelope Allen, Sully Boyar

Votes: 272,992 | Gross: $50.00M

11. Angel Heart (1987)

X | 113 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller

61 Metascore

A private investigator is hired by a man who calls himself Louis Cyphre to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite. But the investigation takes an unexpected and somber turn.

Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling

Votes: 95,793 | Gross: $17.19M

12. Road House (1989)

R | 114 min | Action, Thriller

36 Metascore

A bouncer hired to clean up the baddest honkytonk in a Missouri town. Armed with a black belt in karate and a degree in philosophy, Patrick Swayze sets out to tame the Double Deuce for its owner.

Director: Rowdy Herrington | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliott, Ben Gazzara

Votes: 100,352 | Gross: $30.05M

13. 48 Hrs. (1982)

R | 96 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

71 Metascore

A hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him in order to track down a killer.

Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole, Frank McRae

Votes: 85,236 | Gross: $78.87M

14. First Blood (1982)

R | 93 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

61 Metascore

A veteran Green Beret is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.

Director: Ted Kotcheff | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Brian Dennehy, Richard Crenna, Bill McKinney

Votes: 275,457 | Gross: $47.21M

15. Blind Date (1987)

PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Romance

49 Metascore

A workaholic needs a date for a dinner with new important clientele, but who his brother sets him up with could lead to disaster.

Director: Blake Edwards | Stars: Kim Basinger, Bruce Willis, John Larroquette, William Daniels

Votes: 24,159 | Gross: $39.32M

16. Revenge (I) (1990)

R | 124 min | Action, Crime, Drama

35 Metascore

A retired US Navy pilot comes to Mexico, where he falls in love with the wife of a powerful businessman. The consequences will be cruel and unforeseen.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Kevin Costner, Anthony Quinn, Madeleine Stowe, Tomas Milian

Votes: 20,514 | Gross: $15.65M

17. Romancing the Stone (1984)

PG | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

63 Metascore

A mousy romance novelist sets off for Colombia to ransom her kidnapped sister, and soon finds herself in the middle of a dangerous adventure hunting for treasure with a mercenary rogue.

Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Zack Norman

Votes: 103,271 | Gross: $76.57M

18. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

R | 145 min | Biography, Drama, War

75 Metascore

The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Tom Cruise, Bryan Larkin, Raymond J. Barry, Caroline Kava

Votes: 115,901 | Gross: $70.00M

19. Insomnia (2002)

R | 118 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

78 Metascore

Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.

Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Martin Donovan

Votes: 319,033 | Gross: $67.36M

20. Basic Instinct (1992)

R | 127 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

43 Metascore

A violent police detective investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist.

Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn

Votes: 219,043 | Gross: $117.73M

21. Sneakers (2011)

111 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

The story of a Summer shared by six young people. It all begins with their escapes from the bleak and dreary City. Each one of them escapes East of Hell... to the point farthest away, the ... See full summary »

Directors: Ivan Vladimirov, Valeri Yordanov | Stars: Ivo Arakov, Phillip Avramov, Ivan Barnev, Dorothy Brusowska

Votes: 1,054



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