The Personal Favorites
by natalie_httm | created - 01 Aug 2011 | updated - 02 Aug 2011 | PublicA lot movies that considered to be very good won't be here even though I myself admit how really good they are. For some movie-watchers, movies are purely for trends or entertainment. For others, including me, movies hold a deeper importance. Every movie listed below is convey certain personal meanings that I can strongly relate to.
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1. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
PG-13 | 201 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Gandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron's army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom
Votes: 1,980,246 | Gross: $377.85M
Even though TLOTR overwhelms audience with its cinematography and special effects, let's not forget what truly makes the trilogy forever live is the lessons we learn from it and how our hearts are touched by it.
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
PG-13 | 178 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean
Votes: 2,008,130 | Gross: $315.54M
3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
PG-13 | 179 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
While Frodo and Sam edge closer to Mordor with the help of the shifty Gollum, the divided fellowship makes a stand against Sauron's new ally, Saruman, and his hordes of Isengard.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom
Votes: 1,784,792 | Gross: $342.55M
4. The Fountain (2006)
PG-13 | 97 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
As a modern-day scientist, Tommy is struggling with mortality, desperately searching for the medical breakthrough that will save the life of his cancer-stricken wife, Izzi.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Sean Patrick Thomas, Ellen Burstyn
Votes: 248,818 | Gross: $10.14M
It's a hate-it-or-love-it movie, I admit, and my heart and mind chose to love it. "The Fountain" taught a lesson that takes a person years to understand, or possibly takes forever: death is not the opposite of life, it's a part of life, and life is a part of it; embrace your life when you're in it, yet the moment death comes and take you or somebody you love away, the hardest part you must learn is to let go, in peace.
5. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
R | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy, War
In the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú
Votes: 703,261 | Gross: $37.63M
I know how it's like to be a kid and must put faith in something can't be seen or understood by others to survive in the big bad world. You won't like Pan's Labyrinth if you, by the end of the movie, ask whether it was just in Ofelia's mind or it was all real. But if you love it, if it breaks your heart yet makes you smile at the same time, you know why it is truly great.
6. The Wrestler (2008)
R | 109 min | Drama, Sport
A faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Mark Margolis
Votes: 320,033 | Gross: $26.24M
I was convinced by Mickey's performance, maybe because he could very much relate his life and career to Randy The Ram's. Some people complain it's too slow and not much happens in the movie. But hey, the deep pains can only be seen if you spend your time to observe, and yes, life, real life, isn't full of snappy thrills.
7. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
R | 102 min | Drama
The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans
Votes: 899,170 | Gross: $3.64M
Most characters in Darren Aronofsky's works are consumed by their own obsessions. But what's scary is, to a certain extent, aren't we all?
8. Heaven & Earth (1993)
R | 140 min | Action, Biography, Drama
During the Vietnam War, a Vietnamese woman struggles hustling on the streets, where she comes face to face with those involved in the conflict around her.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Hiep Thi Le, Tommy Lee Jones, Haing S. Ngor, Bussaro Sanruck
Votes: 15,120 | Gross: $5.86M
The great movie about my home country, what more to explain? :) Yet I need to add, thanks to Kitaro, my all time favorite musician who composed the score for the movie, Heaven & Earth is truly truly my personal favorite.
9. Babel (I) (2006)
R | 143 min | Drama
Tragedy strikes a married couple on vacation in the Moroccan desert, which jump starts an interlocking story involving four different families.
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael García Bernal, Mohamed Akhzam
Votes: 317,205 | Gross: $34.30M
Pains, no matter where they are on Earth, speak the same language. And no matter how individual we want to believe we are, we are all more connected; this fact, tragedies come when we ignore it and deny it.
10. Spirited Away (2001)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino, Rumi Hiiragi
Votes: 850,071 | Gross: $10.06M
When pencils do the moving magic. And yes, it's hard to understand all the layers of beautiful meanings in "Spirited Away" if you're not familiar with or interested in Asian generally and Japanese particularly cultures.
11. Memento (2000)
R | 113 min | Mystery, Thriller
A man with short-term memory loss attempts to track down his wife's murderer.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior
Votes: 1,323,520 | Gross: $25.54M
The most original, well-made, well-performed work by the Nolans. "Inception"? In term of visual pleasure alone maybe yes.
12. Memories of Murder (2003)
Not Rated | 132 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In a small Korean province in 1986, two detectives struggle with the case of multiple young women being found raped and murdered by an unknown culprit.
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Stars: Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyung, Kim Roe-ha, Song Jae-ho
Votes: 216,645 | Gross: $0.01M
Simply one of the best. Masterpiece with the slow start, heartbreaking real-life tragedy told with sarcastic and bitter laughs along the way. If your mind fits the American mold of film-making, you would wonder why there's no hero, no conclusion or no moral lesson in "Memories of Murder". But that's the beauty of the movie: sometimes that's just how it is in real life.
13. The Sixth Sense (1999)
PG-13 | 107 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, starts treating a young boy, Cole, who encounters dead people and convinces him to help them. In turn, Cole helps Malcolm reconcile with his estranged wife.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams
Votes: 1,051,805 | Gross: $293.51M
No need for explanations :)
14. The Fall (I) (2006)
R | 117 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
In 1920s Los Angeles, a bedridden patient in a hospital captivates a young girl with a fantastic tale of heroes, myths, and villains on a desert island.
Director: Tarsem Singh | Stars: Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, Justine Waddell, Kim Uylenbroek
Votes: 116,720 | Gross: $2.28M
Beautiful story was visually mind-blowing told, without CGI. It pains me to see how underrated this unique work of art is.
15. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
G | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi
Votes: 380,553 | Gross: $1.11M
If you don't love it, your kids will, and generations later, kids of your kids of your kids will still :D
16. I Am Sam (2001)
PG-13 | 132 min | Drama
An intellectually disabled man fights for custody of his 7-year-old daughter and in the process teaches his cold-hearted lawyer the value of love and family.
Director: Jessie Nelson | Stars: Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning, Dianne Wiest
Votes: 155,337 | Gross: $40.31M
It's rare to see fatherhood portraited on screen, a great one is even more rare. And hey, intelligence or normal social functions don't give you the monopoly on Love, Love belongs to the heart. Sam proved that!
17. The Chaser (2008)
Not Rated | 125 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A disgraced ex-policeman who runs a small ring of prostitutes finds himself in a race against time when one of his women goes missing.
Director: Na Hong-jin | Stars: Kim Yoon-seok, Ha Jung-woo, Seo Yeong-hie, Kim Yoo-jung
Votes: 72,805
Another amazing, truly amazing movie from South Korea, and again, based on real event.
18. Ratatouille (2007)
G | 111 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A rat who can cook makes an unusual alliance with a young kitchen worker at a famous Paris restaurant.
Directors: Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava | Stars: Brad Garrett, Lou Romano, Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm
Votes: 825,679 | Gross: $206.45M
I love cooking, and this is the most elegant, inspiring and charming movie about cooking I've seen. Yes yes, Ratatouille is so much more than just about "cooking", but it's animation movie that kids love, so give the kids a break, at least for now ;)
19. District 9 (2009)
R | 112 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Violence ensues after an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth finds a kindred spirit in a government agent exposed to their biotechnology.
Director: Neill Blomkamp | Stars: Sharlto Copley, David James, Jason Cope, Vanessa Haywood
Votes: 717,129 | Gross: $115.65M
I bet J. J. Abrams studied "District 9" a lot before he made the disastrous overrated "Super 8".
20. Love Actually (2003)
R | 135 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
Director: Richard Curtis | Stars: Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney
Votes: 531,681 | Gross: $59.70M
Watch it on Christmas or Valentine, because only it can bring the spirit :)
21. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
R | 141 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryô Kase
Votes: 170,094 | Gross: $13.76M
Together with "Flags of our Father", we see War from both of its sides. It's easy to hate and to kill the other side when you've chosen yours, but in wars, we belong to the same side, the side of shedding blood for the battle that is not really ours.
22. Saw (2004)
R | 103 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Two strangers awaken in a room with no recollection of how they got there, and soon discover they're pawns in a deadly game perpetrated by a notorious serial killer.
Director: James Wan | Stars: Cary Elwes, Leigh Whannell, Danny Glover, Ken Leung
Votes: 466,946 | Gross: $56.00M
Bloody original. Oh, just and only the first one, thank you :)
23. Up in the Air (I) (2009)
R | 109 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Ryan's job is to travel around the country firing off people. When his boss hires Natalie, who proposes firing people via video conference, he tries to convince her that her method is a mistake.
Director: Jason Reitman | Stars: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman
Votes: 349,457 | Gross: $83.82M
I think this charming movie should be shown in every junior high and high school in Sweden - where I'm living, because this is the land of the concept "No Emotional Strings Attached". Just kidding. Maybe ;)
24. Infernal Affairs (2002)
R | 101 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A story between a mole in the police department and an undercover cop. Their objectives are the same: to find out who is the mole, and who is the cop.
Directors: Andrew Lau, Alan Mak | Stars: Andy Lau, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Eric Tsang
Votes: 131,504 | Gross: $0.17M
No "Infernal Affairs" = no "The Departed". Simply said.
25. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Not Rated | 89 min | Animation, Drama, War
A young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
Director: Isao Takahata | Stars: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Akemi Yamaguchi, Yoshiko Shinohara
Votes: 310,680
Three reasons why it's a must-watch: it's one of the best animation movies ever made, it's one of the best movies about War ever made, and it's based on true story. If you want a good cry for a movie night, now you know another option.
26. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
PG-13 | 117 min | Biography, Drama
A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career
Director: Gabriele Muccino | Stars: Will Smith, Thandiwe Newton, Jaden Smith, Brian Howe
Votes: 561,199 | Gross: $163.57M
I love it because it's good, and I could see fragments of my life in it.
27. The Lake House (2006)
PG | 99 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A lonely doctor who once occupied an unusual lakeside house begins to exchange love letters with its former resident, a frustrated architect. They must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it's too late.
Director: Alejandro Agresti | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Christopher Plummer, Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Votes: 157,714 | Gross: $52.33M
If I know that what's in "The Lake House" is possible in real life, I'd wait for somebody like Alex, because true love is against all odds, even time and space.
28. Wicker Park (2004)
PG-13 | 114 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A young Chicago advertising executive believes a woman he sees in a café is his long-lost love. His belief leads to obsession, as he puts his life on hold in order to trail her.
Director: Paul McGuigan | Stars: Josh Hartnett, Diane Kruger, Matthew Lillard, Rose Byrne
Votes: 58,641 | Gross: $12.83M
I haven't seen "L'Appartement", but I enjoy this remake very much. Maybe because I'm into stories about finding your way back to love in weird situation, maybe I really love Josh, Diane and Rose as individuals, maybe the indie rock soundtracks got me, or maybe all the above.
29. American Beauty (1999)
R | 122 min | Drama
A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley
Votes: 1,211,388 | Gross: $130.10M
I admire Sam Mendes, for realizing the true, profound American "beauties" more than a decade before the world started to.
30. Black Swan (2010)
R | 108 min | Drama, Thriller
Nina is a talented but unstable ballerina on the verge of stardom. Pushed to the breaking point by her artistic director and a seductive rival, Nina's grip on reality slips, plunging her into a waking nightmare.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder
Votes: 825,213 | Gross: $106.95M
Yes, I am a Darren Aronofsky's geek.
31. 21 Grams (2003)
R | 124 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A freak accident brings together a critically ill mathematician, a grieving mother, and a born-again ex-con.
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Stars: Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Naomi Watts, Danny Huston
Votes: 245,907 | Gross: $16.29M
Alejandro González Iñárritu seems to enjoy cutting his heart-touching message into pieces, and let us ourselves put them together. While the success of "Babel" is well recognized, I want to say that "21 Grams" is marvellous just as much. It breaks my heart, but it shows me hope in the very end.
32. Lust, Caution (2007)
NC-17 | 157 min | Drama, History, Romance
During World War II era, a young woman, Wang Jiazhi, gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with a powerful political figure, Mr. Yee.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Tang Wei, Joan Chen, Leehom Wang
Votes: 45,542 | Gross: $4.60M
Ang Lee must have the eyes that see through and so much compassion for women to be able to tell the story this way.
33. Girl, Interrupted (1999)
R | 127 min | Biography, Drama
A directionless teenager, Susanna, is rushed to Claymoore, a mental institution, after a supposed suicide attempt. There, she befriends a group of troubled women who deeply influence her life.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall, Brittany Murphy
Votes: 211,459 | Gross: $28.87M
Because "I know what it's like to want to die. How it hurts to smile. How you try to fit in but you can't. How you hurt yourself on the outside to try to kill the thing on the inside." Enough said.
34. 5 Centimeters per Second (2007)
TV-PG | 63 min | Animation, Drama, Family
Told in three interconnected segments, Takaki tells the story of his life as cruel winters, cold technology, and finally, adult obligations and responsibility converge to test the delicate petals of love.
Director: Makoto Shinkai | Stars: Kenji Mizuhashi, Yoshimi Kondou, Satomi Hanamura, Ayaka Onoue
Votes: 63,807
We all start out as strangers. But there's a chance we meet, and there's the moment we feel together, we bond and we belong. But maybe, maybe the moment is fragile and momentary, and if we don't make an effort to hold on to each other, or if we let growing-old takes away our ability to feel it in our hearts, we might slip off each other, lose each other, and then again, we're back to strangers.
35. I Saw the Devil (2010)
Not Rated | 144 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A secret agent exacts revenge on a serial killer through a series of captures and releases.
Director: Jee-woon Kim | Stars: Lee Byung-hun, Choi Min-sik, Jeon Gook-hwan, Chun Ho-jin
Votes: 146,319 | Gross: $0.13M
Kim Ji Woon decided to be much more gory than "A Tale of Two Sisters". Even though there are parts that seem unnecessary and there are parts that seem missing, I love every bit of its cinematography and, of course, how he wants to bring us to life philosophy in the most powerful way possible.
36. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
R | 108 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
When their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories forever.
Director: Michel Gondry | Stars: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Gerry Robert Byrne
Votes: 1,078,526 | Gross: $34.40M
I don't think I need to explain why I adore it so much :)
37. Revolutionary Road (2008)
R | 119 min | Drama, Romance
A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Christopher Fitzgerald, Jonathan Roumie
Votes: 225,053 | Gross: $22.91M
I guess not every situation has a solution. We fall in love, and different values will bring us apart.
38. Blue Valentine (2010)
R | 112 min | Drama, Romance
The relationship of a contemporary married couple, charting their evolution over a span of years by cross-cutting between time periods.
Director: Derek Cianfrance | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, John Doman, Faith Wladyka
Votes: 211,424 | Gross: $9.74M
"Revolutionary Road" in a less tragic way. This is for all of us, because every now and then, we forget how and why we fall in love with each other.
39. The Hangover (2009)
R | 100 min | Comedy
Three buddies wake up from a bachelor party in Las Vegas, with no memory of the previous night and the bachelor missing. They make their way around the city in order to find their friend before his wedding.
Director: Todd Phillips | Stars: Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, Justin Bartha, Ed Helms
Votes: 846,884 | Gross: $277.32M
Well well, I hate "The Hangover II" just as much as I love "The Hangover"
40. Children of Men (2006)
R | 109 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
In 2027, in a chaotic world in which women have somehow become infertile, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Stars: Julianne Moore, Clive Owen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Caine
Votes: 529,587 | Gross: $35.55M
It's just pure awesome. Have I said it's awesome?
41. Moon (2009)
R | 97 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Astronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet's power problems.
Director: Duncan Jones | Stars: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott, Rosie Shaw
Votes: 376,811 | Gross: $5.01M
For the first time, in outer space, in a floating metal box, among robots, machines and clones, I've seen so much humanity, and love.
42. American Psycho (2000)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
A wealthy New York City investment banking executive, Patrick Bateman, hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.
Director: Mary Harron | Stars: Christian Bale, Justin Theroux, Josh Lucas, Bill Sage
Votes: 716,219 | Gross: $15.07M
Can't miss out the classic. I've met many Patrick Bateman myself, ones that don't harm with axes or tools.
43. The Pianist (2002)
R | 150 min | Biography, Drama, Music
During WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Emilia Fox
Votes: 912,879 | Gross: $32.57M
The most touching part to me in "The Pianist" is the ending, when Wladyslaw Szpilman met Wilm Hosenfeld, and music blurred the line between 2 people who were supposed to be enemies. (Spoiler) But Hosenfeld died, when we've just realized he's just like anybody else, another human being, in war.
44. The Prestige (2006)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
After a tragic accident, two stage magicians in 1890s London engage in a battle to create the ultimate illusion while sacrificing everything they have to outwit each other.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine
Votes: 1,441,959 | Gross: $53.09M
"The Prestige" is magic itself.
45. The Reader (2008)
R | 124 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Post-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial.
Director: Stephen Daldry | Stars: Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, Bruno Ganz, Jeanette Hain
Votes: 259,995 | Gross: $34.19M
No lesson is too late to learn.
46. Closer (I) (2004)
R | 104 min | Drama, Romance
The relationships of two couples become complicated and deceitful when the man from one couple meets the woman of the other.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Clive Owen, Julia Roberts
Votes: 236,164 | Gross: $33.99M
'Cause I was once an Alice that fell in love with a Dan who ran back and forth between me and an Anna, who thought she was in love with a manipulative Larry. Enough reason to love it?
47. Face/Off (1997)
R | 138 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
To foil a terrorist plot, FBI agent Sean Archer assumes the identity of the criminal Castor Troy who murdered his son through facial transplant surgery, but the crook wakes up prematurely and vows revenge.
Director: John Woo | Stars: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola
Votes: 401,066 | Gross: $112.23M
Face off, literally face off. Definitely one of the most original action thriller scifi I've seen.
48. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
R | 147 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born with a superior olfactory sense, creates the world's finest perfume. His work, however, takes a dark turn as he searches for the ultimate scent.
Director: Tom Tykwer | Stars: Ben Whishaw, Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman, Francesc Albiol
Votes: 265,873 | Gross: $2.22M
I disgust yet sympathize with Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, for him was never born out of love, lived among love, or was ever loved.
49. Notes on a Scandal (2006)
R | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her fifteen-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond a platonic friendship.
Director: Richard Eyre | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench, Andrew Simpson, Tom Georgeson
Votes: 84,605 | Gross: $17.51M
How much damage can a secret do?
50. Match Point (2005)
R | 124 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
At a turning point in his life, a former tennis pro falls for an actress who happens to be dating his friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode
Votes: 228,148 | Gross: $23.09M
Never underestimate the power of luck.
51. School of Rock (2003)
PG-13 | 109 min | Comedy, Music
After being kicked out of his rock band, Dewey Finn becomes a substitute teacher of an uptight elementary private school, only to try and turn his class into a rock band.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Jack Black, Mike White, Joan Cusack, Adam Pascal
Votes: 330,990 | Gross: $81.26M
I'm a big Rock fan and Jack Black. Enough said.
52. Freaky Friday (2003)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
An overworked mother and her daughter did not get along. When they switch bodies, each is forced to adapt to the other's life for one freaky Friday.
Director: Mark Waters | Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Mark Harmon, Harold Gould
Votes: 152,636 | Gross: $110.23M
Because it was enjoyable. And I never hated Lindsay Lohan.
53. The Others (2001)
PG-13 | 104 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
In 1945, immediately following the end of Second World War, a woman who lives with her two photosensitive children on her darkened old family estate in the Channel Islands becomes convinced that the home is haunted.
Director: Alejandro Amenábar | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, Fionnula Flanagan, Alakina Mann
Votes: 393,397 | Gross: $96.52M
There are different realities because there are different frequencies. You are here, now, in this place, but it doesn't mean you are the only one.
54. The Negotiator (1998)
R | 140 min | Action, Crime, Drama
In a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, a skilled police negotiator accused of corruption and murder takes hostages in a government office to gain the time he needs to find the truth.
Director: F. Gary Gray | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, David Morse, Ron Rifkin
Votes: 155,019 | Gross: $44.48M
The power of words.
55. Pay It Forward (2000)
PG-13 | 123 min | Drama
A young boy attempts to make the world a better place after his teacher gives him that chance.
Director: Mimi Leder | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Haley Joel Osment, Helen Hunt, Jay Mohr
Votes: 123,904 | Gross: $33.52M
It's too sincere, and Haley Joel Osment was just too good.
56. Dolores Claiborne (1995)
R | 132 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A big city reporter travels to a small town where her mother has been arrested for the murder of an elderly woman for whom she worked as a housekeeper.
Director: Taylor Hackford | Stars: Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Plummer, Judy Parfitt
Votes: 48,416 | Gross: $24.36M
"Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman has to hold onto."
57. Minority Report (2002)
PG-13 | 145 min | Action, Crime, Mystery
John works with the PreCrime police which stop crimes before they take place, with the help of three 'PreCogs' who can foresee crimes. Events ensue when John finds himself framed for a future murder.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max von Sydow
Votes: 584,585 | Gross: $132.07M
It's impossible to believe Philip K. Dick came up with the whole idea back in the late 50's.
58. Moulin Rouge! (2001)
PG-13 | 127 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A poor Bohemian poet in 1890s Paris falls for a beautiful courtesan and nightclub star coveted by a jealous duke.
Director: Baz Luhrmann | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent
Votes: 299,445 | Gross: $57.39M
A man can never understand how deep and selfless the love of his woman is. Craig Armstrong lift up the whole movie with his incredible scores, like he always does.
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