Movies From A Hat #5
by acharpentier2010 | created - 27 Feb 2013 | updated - 16 Mar 2013 | PublicA new 40 movie list, watched as they're pulled from a hat and re-ordered by whether they're great or terrible, simple as that. https://twitter.com/MovieHat
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1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama
Charlie, a 15-year-old introvert, enters high school and is nervous about his new life. When he befriends his seniors, he learns to cope with his friend's suicide and his tumultuous past.
Director: Stephen Chbosky | Stars: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Paul Rudd
Votes: 547,498 | Gross: $17.74M
#18 -
Buy It!
2. Mr. Mom (1983)
PG | 91 min | Comedy, Drama
After he's suddenly laid off, a husband switches roles with his wife. She returns to the workforce, and he becomes a stay-at-home dad, and he has to take care of three young children, a job he has no clue how to do.
Director: Stan Dragoti | Stars: Michael Keaton, Teri Garr, Frederick Koehler, Taliesin Jaffe
Votes: 27,764 | Gross: $64.80M
#25 -
Buy It
3. Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969)
G | 155 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A shy, withdrawn English schoolteacher falls for a flashy showgirl.
Director: Herbert Ross | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Petula Clark, Michael Redgrave, George Baker
Votes: 3,810 | Gross: $2.55M
#13 - This movie is so sentimental, well-acted, and fairly sung, as quintessential a musical as The Sound of Music, and worth watching again and again.
Buy It!
4. Return to Oz (1985)
PG | 113 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, is somehow called back to Oz when a vain witch and the Nome King destroy everything that makes the magical land beautiful.
Director: Walter Murch | Stars: Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie
Votes: 30,322
#11 - Return to Oz is exceedingly watchable, possibly more so than when I was a child. Oz feels much more like a child's imaginary world this go-round and is all the more wonderful and horrific because of it.
Buy It!
5. Smashed (2012)
R | 81 min | Drama
A married couple whose bond is built on a mutual love of alcohol gets their relationship put to the test when the wife decides to get sober.
Director: James Ponsoldt | Stars: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aaron Paul, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally
Votes: 17,698 | Gross: $0.38M
#35 -
Buy It!
6. Night of the Comet (1984)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi
A comet wipes out most of life on Earth, leaving two Valley Girls fighting against cannibal zombies and a sinister group of scientists.
Director: Thom Eberhardt | Stars: Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, Robert Beltran, Sharon Farrell
Votes: 24,095 | Gross: $14.42M
#1 - A very intriguing film with incredibly 80's themes, style and soundtrack. Unfortunately, most of the movie seems thrown together and while the plot is coherent, conflicts are generated very spontaneously, and the antagonists suffer from a distinct lack of motivation. Still, it's interesting enough, Catherine Mary Stewart is a great lead, and the dialogue is spot on.
Buy It!
7. Take This Waltz (2011)
R | 116 min | Comedy, Drama
A happily married woman falls for the artist who lives across the street.
Director: Sarah Polley | Stars: Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen, Sarah Silverman, Aaron Abrams
Votes: 30,270 | Gross: $1.24M
#30 -
Buy It!
8. Going the Distance (2010)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Romance
A romantic comedy centered on a guy and a gal who try to keep their love alive as they shuttle back and forth between New York and San Francisco to see one another.
Director: Nanette Burstein | Stars: Drew Barrymore, Justin Long, Ron Livingston, Charlie Day
Votes: 59,973 | Gross: $17.80M
#14 - Not a particularly innovative romantic comedy, but there's plenty of realistic dialogue, Jim Gaffigan, Christina Applegate, Drew Barrymore, and Justin Long. Most of the actors are top-notch (although someone should put that puppy from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia to sleep) and it's an endearing film overall.
Buy It! (if you're a completest of those actors, especially)
9. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 (2012 Video)
PG-13 | 76 min | Animation, Action, Crime
Batman has not been seen for ten years. A new breed of criminal ravages Gotham City, forcing 55-year-old Bruce Wayne back into the cape and cowl. But, does he still have what it takes to fight crime in a new era?
Director: Jay Oliva | Stars: Peter Weller, Ariel Winter, David Selby, Wade Williams
Votes: 63,155
#15 -
Buy It (because Part 2 doesn't make sense without it)!
10. The Impossible (2012)
PG-13 | 114 min | Drama, History, Thriller
The story of a tourist family in Thailand caught in the destruction and chaotic aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Director: J.A. Bayona | Stars: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Oaklee Pendergast
Votes: 243,811 | Gross: $19.02M
#9 - I cannot believe this film wasn't up for a makeup award! While the effects were fine, the story was very narrowly focused and in a sea of Asian faces, it's disconcerting to focus so much on the white folks, but the makeup was terrifyingly realistic and the characters really look as if they were put through the ringer. The movie doesn't quite earn its ending and there's a lot of very specific suggestion that Naomi Watts loses her leg, but she doesn't, which is odd.
Buy It! (Maybe)
11. Music and Lyrics (2007)
PG-13 | 104 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
A washed up singer is given a couple days to compose a chart-topping hit for an aspiring teen sensation. Though he's never written a decent lyric in his life, he sparks with an offbeat younger woman with a flair for words.
Director: Marc Lawrence | Stars: Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore, Scott Porter, Nick Bacon
Votes: 107,149 | Gross: $50.57M
#7 - Music & Lyrics is a dopey, safe romantic comedy with plenty of PG-13 eye candy for both sexes but not much conflict. The worst that can be said about it is that there just isn't much to say about it.
Buy It! (Since it's typically packaged with other/better films)
12. Wonder Boys (2000)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Drama
An English Professor tries to deal with his wife leaving him, the arrival of his editor who has been waiting for his book for seven years, and the various problems that his friends and associates involve him in.
Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand, Robert Downey Jr.
Votes: 66,573 | Gross: $19.39M
#19 -
Buy It (?)!
13. Terms of Endearment (1983)
PG | 132 min | Comedy, Drama
Follows hard-to-please Aurora looking for love and her daughter's family problems.
Director: James L. Brooks | Stars: Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito
Votes: 65,397 | Gross: $108.42M
#29 -
Buy It (?)!
14. Shark Night (2011)
PG-13 | 90 min | Horror, Thriller
A weekend at a lake house in the Louisiana Gulf turns into a nightmare for seven vacationers as they are subjected to shark attacks.
Director: David R. Ellis | Stars: Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Katharine McPhee
Votes: 27,178 | Gross: $18.87M
#4 - Much like The Innkeepers, the only good thing that can be said about Shark Night is "Sara Paxton". She is a GREAT actress. This movie should be watched only expecting it to be popcorn flick fantastic and it is...for 45 minutes. Then it SINS beyond reproach: it gets boring. The antagonists monologue (not the sharks, that would be terrific) and force me to fast forward. Too bad.
Buy It! (If you're a Sara Paxton completest)
Rent It! (otherwise)
15. The American President (1995)
PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A widowed U.S. President running for reelection and an environmental lobbyist fall in love. It's all above-board, but "politics is perception," and sparks fly anyway.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox
Votes: 60,597 | Gross: $65.00M
#20 -
Rent It
16. The Brothers Bloom (2008)
PG-13 | 114 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
The Brothers Bloom are the best con men in the world, swindling millionaires with complex scenarios of lust and intrigue. Now they've decided to take on one last job - showing a beautiful and eccentric heiress the time of her life with a romantic adventure that takes them around the world.
Director: Rian Johnson | Stars: Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rinko Kikuchi
Votes: 52,576 | Gross: $3.52M
#10 - The Brothers Bloom hung precariously on the thread of patience typically allotted to a film marketed on the basis of being whimsical with an all-star cast and fell to its death just before the precipice had been cleared. The ending is NOT earned. It hinges on the audience caring about the relationship between Stephen and Bloom, but why should they since Stephen is a con man that never EVER relents or lets his guard down?
Rent It!
17. Surf's Up (2007)
PG | 85 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A behind-the-scenes look at the annual Penguin World Surfing Championship, and its newest participant, up-and-comer Cody Maverick.
Directors: Ash Brannon, Chris Buck | Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, Jeff Bridges
Votes: 90,693 | Gross: $58.87M
#16 -
Rent It
18. YellowBrickRoad (2010)
R | 98 min | Horror, Thriller
1940: the entire population of Friar, New Hampshire walked up a winding mountain trail, leaving everything behind. 2008: the first official expedition into the wilderness attempts to solve the mystery of the lost citizens of Friar.
Directors: Jesse Holland, Andy Mitton | Stars: Michael Laurino, Anessa Ramsey, Alex Draper, Cassidy Freeman
Votes: 6,926
#28 -
Rent It
19. Benefit of the Doubt (1993)
R | 90 min | Thriller
A convicted wife murderer returns twenty two years later to seek revenge on the daughter who help convict him.
Director: Jonathan Heap | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Amy Irving, Rider Strong, Christopher McDonald
Votes: 662 | Gross: $0.15M
#12 -Benefit of the Doubt seems, at first, to be a brilliant "did he or didn't he?" film about a father newly released from prison and trying to reconnect with his daughter. It deserves a wholeheartedly recommendation, or would if not for the third act molestation reveal that felt rushed, undeveloped, and unwarranted given that so-and-so had committed murder only moments before, providing plenty of fuel to finish the film on. As a result, it's...just okay.
Rent It!
20. The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
The sensuous wife of a roadside diner proprietor and a rootless drifter begin a sordid, steamy affair and conspire to murder her Greek husband.
Director: Bob Rafelson | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Jessica Lange, John Colicos, Michael Lerner
Votes: 25,750 | Gross: $12.38M
#5 - Assuming this film was about an affair between a postman and a housewife will probably disappoint. Worth watching for the cinematography and controversial landmark sex scene that broke a barrier or two in Hollywood, but it's too sleazy and repugnant to watch without chapter skipping.
Rent It! (if there's nothing better)
21. Les Misérables (1998)
PG-13 | 134 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Valjean, a former criminal, has atoned for his past and now finds himself in the midst of the French Revolution, avoiding a law-obsessed policeman hell-bent on capturing him.
Director: Bille August | Stars: Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, Uma Thurman, Christopher Adamson
Votes: 43,168 | Gross: $14.10M
#23 -
Skip It
22. The Producers (1967)
PG | 88 min | Comedy, Music
A stage-play producer devises a plan to make money by producing a sure-fire flop.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Dick Shawn, Kenneth Mars
Votes: 59,764 | Gross: $0.11M
#3 - This movie was made by children and (presumably) for children. Five year olds will love it.
Skip It
23. A Fantastic Fear of Everything (2012)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Horror
A crime novelist whose research on Victorian serial killers has turned him into a paranoid wreck must confront his worst fears when a film executive takes a sudden interest in his movie script.
Directors: Crispian Mills, Chris Hopewell | Stars: Simon Pegg, Paul Freeman, Amara Karan, Clare Higgins
Votes: 15,206
#6 - Simon Pegg is wonderful, but watching him act like a spastic for fifteen minutes without any discernible plot (alright, there is one, but it's bare bones) is plenty.
Skip It
24. Titan A.E. (2000)
PG | 94 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A young man learns that he has to find a hidden Earth ship before an enemy alien species does in order to secure the survival of humanity.
Directors: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman | Stars: Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore, Bill Pullman, Jim Breuer
Votes: 63,911 | Gross: $22.75M
#26 -
Skip It
25. Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011)
TV-14 | 116 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
A coming of age story involving young love and a mysterious music, coming from a crystal radio left as a memento by an absent father, that leads a young heroine deep into a hidden world.
Director: Makoto Shinkai | Stars: Hisako Kanemoto, Miyu Irino, Kazuhiko Inoue, Junko Takeuchi
Votes: 16,982
#2 - A cardinal sin, luring viewers with striking visuals and then displacing those with long periods of inactivity. Boring, boring, boring!
Skip It
26. Sleeping Beauty (2011)
TV-14 | 101 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A haunting portrait of Lucy, a young university student drawn into a mysterious hidden world of unspoken desires.
Director: Julia Leigh | Stars: Emily Browning, Rachael Blake, Ewen Leslie, Bridgette Barrett
Votes: 34,603 | Gross: $0.04M
#17 -
Skip It
27. Rust and Bone (2012)
R | 120 min | Drama, Romance
Put in charge of his young son, Alain leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Alain's bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.
Director: Jacques Audiard | Stars: Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Armand Verdure, Céline Sallette
Votes: 70,263 | Gross: $2.06M
#24 -
Skip It
28. Edmond (2005)
R | 82 min | Drama, Thriller
A fortune-teller's teasing rumination sends Edmond Burke lurching into New York City's hellish underworld.
Director: Stuart Gordon | Stars: William H. Macy, Julia Stiles, Joe Mantegna, Frances Bay
Votes: 12,430 | Gross: $0.13M
#21 -
Skip It
29. One for the Money (2012)
PG-13 | 91 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Unemployed and newly-divorced Stephanie Plum lands a job at her cousin's bail-bond business, where her first assignment puts her on the trail of a wanted local cop from her romantic past.
Director: Julie Anne Robinson | Stars: Katherine Heigl, Jason O'Mara, Daniel Sunjata, John Leguizamo
Votes: 44,107 | Gross: $26.41M
#22 -
Skip It
30. Klute (1971)
R | 114 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A small-town detective searching for a missing man has only one lead: a connection with a New York prostitute.
Director: Alan J. Pakula | Stars: Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi, Roy Scheider
Votes: 29,577 | Gross: $17.44M
#27 -
Skip It
31. Detective Dee: The Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010)
PG-13 | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An exiled detective is recruited to solve a series of mysterious deaths that threaten to delay the inauguration of Empress Wu.
Director: Hark Tsui | Stars: Tony Ka Fai Leung, Chao Deng, Carina Lau, Bingbing Li
Votes: 11,875 | Gross: $0.46M
#8 -
Skip It
32. Spartan (2004)
R | 106 min | Action, Crime, Drama
The investigation into a kidnapping of the daughter of a high-ranking US government official.
Director: David Mamet | Stars: Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, William H. Macy, Tia Texada
Votes: 33,024 | Gross: $4.43M
#31 -
33. Letters to Juliet (2010)
PG | 105 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Sophie dreams of becoming a writer and travels to Verona, Italy where she meets the "Secretaries of Juliet".
Director: Gary Winick | Stars: Amanda Seyfried, Gael García Bernal, Vanessa Redgrave, Marcia DeBonis
Votes: 107,119 | Gross: $53.03M
#32 -
34. Leap Year (2010)
PG | 100 min | Comedy, Romance
Anna Brady plans to travel to Dublin, Ireland to propose to her boyfriend Jeremy on February 29, leap day, because, according to Irish tradition, a man who receives a marriage proposal on a leap day must accept it.
Director: Anand Tucker | Stars: Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, Adam Scott, John Lithgow
Votes: 110,617 | Gross: $25.92M
#33 -
35. Poison Ivy (1992)
R | 93 min | Drama, Thriller
A seductive teen befriends an introverted high school student and schemes her way into the lives of her wealthy family.
Director: Katt Shea | Stars: Drew Barrymore, Sara Gilbert, Tom Skerritt, Cheryl Ladd
Votes: 20,137 | Gross: $1.83M
#34 -
36. Red Lights (2012)
R | 114 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Psychologist Margaret Matheson and her assistant debunk paranormal activity, which leads them to investigate a world-renowned psychic who has resurfaced after many years out of the limelight following the suspicious death of his toughest critic.
Director: Rodrigo Cortés | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro, Cillian Murphy, Elizabeth Olsen
Votes: 66,022 | Gross: $0.05M
37. Cold Souls (2009)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Paul is an actor who feels bogged down by his participation in a production of Chekov's play, Vanya.
Director: Sophie Barthes | Stars: Paul Giamatti, Emily Watson, Dina Korzun, Armand Schultz
Votes: 10,220 | Gross: $0.90M
38. Steel Magnolias (1989)
PG | 117 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young beautician, newly arrived in a small Louisiana town, finds work at the local salon, where a small group of women share a close bond of friendship, and welcome her into the fold.
Director: Herbert Ross | Stars: Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Sally Field, Julia Roberts
Votes: 62,976 | Gross: $83.76M
39. Liberal Arts (2012)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When 30-something Jesse returns to his alma mater for a professor's retirement party, he falls for Zibby, a college student, and is faced with a powerful attraction that springs up between them.
Director: Josh Radnor | Stars: Josh Radnor, Elizabeth Olsen, Zac Efron, Elizabeth Reaser
Votes: 40,261 | Gross: $0.32M
40. Not Fade Away (2012)
R | 112 min | Drama
Set in suburban New Jersey in the 1960s, a group of friends form a rock band and try to make it big.
Director: David Chase | Stars: John Magaro, Jack Huston, Will Brill, Brahm Vaccarella
Votes: 4,948 | Gross: $0.61M
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