favourite 20 movies

by stanleymowatt | created - 12 May 2016 | updated - 16 Sep 2016 | Public

no particular order

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1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

R | 133 min | Drama

84 Metascore

In the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.

Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco

Votes: 1,072,172 | Gross: $112.00M

2. On the Waterfront (1954)

Approved | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

91 Metascore

An ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.

Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger

Votes: 164,851 | Gross: $9.60M

3. Menace II Society (1993)

R | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

76 Metascore

A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.

Directors: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes | Stars: Tyrin Turner, Larenz Tate, June Kyoto Lu, Toshi Toda

Votes: 64,451 | Gross: $27.90M

4. Goodfellas (1990)

R | 145 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

92 Metascore

The story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco

Votes: 1,257,037 | Gross: $46.84M

5. A River Runs Through It (1992)

PG | 123 min | Drama

68 Metascore

Two sons of a stern minister - one reserved, one rebellious - grow up in rural 1920s Montana while devoted to fly fishing.

Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt, Tom Skerritt, Brenda Blethyn

Votes: 65,460 | Gross: $43.44M

6. Billy Madison (1995)

PG-13 | 89 min | Comedy

16 Metascore

In order to inherit his fed up father's hotel empire, an immature and lazy man must repeat grades 1-12 all over again.

Director: Tamra Davis | Stars: Adam Sandler, Darren McGavin, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, Bradley Whitford

Votes: 156,536 | Gross: $25.59M

7. King of New York (1990)

R | 103 min | Crime, Thriller

66 Metascore

A drug kingpin is released from prison and seeks to take total control of the criminal underworld in order to give back to the community.

Director: Abel Ferrara | Stars: Christopher Walken, David Caruso, Laurence Fishburne, Victor Argo

Votes: 42,092 | Gross: $2.55M

8. What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

PG-13 | 118 min | Drama

73 Metascore

A young man in a small Midwestern town struggles to care for his mentally-disabled younger brother and morbidly obese mother while attempting to pursue his own happiness.

Director: Lasse Hallström | Stars: Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis, Mary Steenburgen

Votes: 254,033 | Gross: $9.17M

9. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

R | 103 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery

73 Metascore

After being mistaken for an actor, a New York thief is sent to Hollywood to train under a private eye for a potential movie role, but the duo are thrown together with a struggling actress into a murder mystery.

Director: Shane Black | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, Corbin Bernsen

Votes: 237,375 | Gross: $4.24M

10. Fresh (1994)

R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

81 Metascore

Death and violence anger a twelve-year-old drug courier, who sets his employers against each other.

Director: Boaz Yakin | Stars: Sean Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Samuel L. Jackson, N'Bushe Wright

Votes: 14,583 | Gross: $8.09M

11. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

R | 229 min | Crime, Drama

75 Metascore

A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Treat Williams

Votes: 377,635 | Gross: $5.32M

12. Dazed and Confused (1993)

R | 103 min | Comedy

82 Metascore

The adventures of high school and junior high students on the last day of school in May 1976.

Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, Matthew McConaughey, Rory Cochrane

Votes: 199,427 | Gross: $7.99M

13. Swingers (1996)

R | 96 min | Comedy, Drama

71 Metascore

A wannabe actor has a hard time moving on from a break-up, but he is lucky to have supportive friends.

Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Vince Vaughn, Heather Graham, Jon Favreau, Ron Livingston

Votes: 88,122 | Gross: $4.51M

14. Bottle Rocket (1996)

R | 91 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

67 Metascore

Three friends plan to pull off a simple robbery and go on the run.

Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Ned Dowd, Shea Fowler

Votes: 83,503 | Gross: $0.56M

15. Friday (1995)

R | 91 min | Comedy, Drama

54 Metascore

It's Friday, and Craig and Smokey must come up with $200 they owe a local bully or there won't be a Saturday.

Director: F. Gary Gray | Stars: Ice Cube, Chris Tucker, Nia Long, Tom Lister Jr.

Votes: 124,553 | Gross: $27.47M

16. The Usual Suspects (1995)

R | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

76 Metascore

The sole survivor of a pier shoot-out tells the story of how a notorious criminal influenced the events that began with five criminals meeting in a seemingly random police lineup.

Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin

Votes: 1,145,175 | Gross: $23.34M

17. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Approved | 178 min | Adventure, Western

90 Metascore

A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.

Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè

Votes: 811,030 | Gross: $6.10M

18. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

PG-13 | 141 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

75 Metascore

Barely 17 yet, Frank is a skilled forger who has passed as a doctor, lawyer and pilot. FBI agent Carl becomes obsessed with tracking down the con man, who only revels in the pursuit.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen

Votes: 1,095,276 | Gross: $164.62M

19. Out of Sight (1998)

R | 123 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

84 Metascore

A career bank robber breaks out of jail, and shares a moment of mutual attraction with a U.S. Marshal he has kidnapped.

Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Ving Rhames, Steve Zahn

Votes: 99,272 | Gross: $37.56M

20. Wall Street (1987)

R | 126 min | Crime, Drama

56 Metascore

An impatient young stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless, greedy corporate raider who takes the youth under his wing.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Michael Douglas, Tamara Tunie, Franklin Cover

Votes: 165,134 | Gross: $43.85M



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