HS kids to watch
by beaversgrad | created - 07 Sep 2021 | updated - 9 hours ago | PublicFilms my kids need to watch in High School
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1. Django Unchained (2012)
R | 165 min | Comedy, Drama, Western
With the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington
Votes: 1,696,217 | Gross: $162.81M
2. Idiocracy (2006)
R | 84 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Corporal Joe Bauers, a decidedly average American, is selected for a top-secret hibernation program but is forgotten and left to awaken to a future so incredibly moronic that he's easily the most intelligent person alive.
Director: Mike Judge | Stars: Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Dax Shepard, Terry Crews
Votes: 182,539 | Gross: $0.44M
3. Mr. Nobody (2009)
R | 141 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A boy stands on a station platform as a train is about to leave. Should he go with his mother or stay with his father? Infinite possibilities arise from this decision. As long as he doesn't choose, anything is possible.
Director: Jaco Van Dormael | Stars: Jared Leto, Sarah Polley, Diane Kruger, Linh-Dan Pham
Votes: 245,896 | Gross: $0.00M
4. Love, Death & Robots (2019– )
TV-MA | 15 min | Animation, Short, Action
A collection of animated short stories that span various genres including science fiction, fantasy, horror and comedy.
Stars: Fred Tatasciore, Scott Whyte, Joe Manganiello, Rosario Dawson
Votes: 197,310
5. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
G | 149 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
After uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter
Votes: 719,909 | Gross: $56.95M
6. New Jack City (1991)
R | 97 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A crime lord ascends to power and becomes megalomaniacal while a maverick police detective vows to stop him.
Director: Mario Van Peebles | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Allen Payne, Chris Rock
Votes: 38,844 | Gross: $47.62M
7. Clara (III) (2018)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
An obsessive astronomer and a curious artist form an unlikely bond which leads them to a profound, scientific discovery.
Director: Akash Sherman | Stars: Patrick J. Adams, Troian Bellisario, Ennis Esmer, Kristen Hager
Votes: 5,811
8. The Princess Bride (1987)
PG | 98 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
A bedridden boy's grandfather reads him the story of a farmboy-turned-pirate who encounters numerous obstacles, enemies and allies in his quest to be reunited with his true love.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright, Chris Sarandon
Votes: 451,088 | Gross: $30.86M
9. The Devil's Arithmetic (1999 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama, Fantasy, War
A 16-year-old American girl with an apathetic view towards her Jewish family history finds herself pulled through time into 1941 to a small Polish village where the Nazis have just begun their genocidal propaganda.
Director: Donna Deitch | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Brittany Murphy, Paul Freeman, Mimi Rogers
Votes: 4,487
10. Last and First Men (2020)
70 min | Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Two billion years ahead of us, a future race of humans finds itself on the verge of extinction. Almost all that is left in the world are lone and surreal monuments, beaming their message into the wilderness.
Director: Jóhann Jóhannsson | Star: Tilda Swinton
Votes: 4,463
11. Marjorie Prime (2017)
99 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A service that provides holographic recreations of deceased loved ones allows a woman to come face-to-face with the younger version of her late husband.
Director: Michael Almereyda | Stars: Geena Davis, Hannah Gross, Jon Hamm, India Reed Kotis
Votes: 6,868 | Gross: $0.18M
12. God Bless America (2011)
R | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
On a mission to rid society of its most repellent citizens, terminally ill Frank makes an unlikely accomplice in 16-year-old Roxy.
Director: Bobcat Goldthwait | Stars: Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr, Mackenzie Brooke Smith, Melinda Page Hamilton
Votes: 71,963 | Gross: $0.12M
13. Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth (1988– )
360 min | Documentary
Mythologist Joseph Campbell presents his ideas about comparative mythology and the ongoing role of myth in human society.
Stars: Joseph Campbell, Bill Moyers, George Lucas
Votes: 1,168
14. Willow (2022–2023)
TV-14 | Action, Adventure, Drama
Twenty years after vanquishing the wicked queen Bavmorda, the sorcerer Willow Ufgood leads a group of misfits on a dangerous rescue mission into the unknown.
Stars: Ruby Cruz, Ellie Bamber, Tony Revolori, Erin Kellyman
Votes: 33,621
15. Avalon (1990)
PG | 128 min | Drama
A Polish-Jewish family comes to the U.S. at the beginning of the twentieth century. There, the family and their children try to make themselves a better future in the so-called promised land.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Aidan Quinn, Elizabeth Perkins, Leo Fuchs, Eve Gordon
Votes: 6,781 | Gross: $15.74M
16. 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: 228,139 | Gross: $23.09M
17. Lost in Translation (2003)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Drama
A faded movie star and a neglected young woman form an unlikely bond after crossing paths in Tokyo.
Director: Sofia Coppola | Stars: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris
Votes: 489,354 | Gross: $44.59M
18. Dances with Wolves (1990)
PG-13 | 181 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Lieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, finds himself engaging with a neighbouring Sioux settlement, causing him to question his own purpose.
Director: Kevin Costner | Stars: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, Rodney A. Grant
Votes: 290,791 | Gross: $184.21M
19. The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
R | 112 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Three trappers protect the daughters of a British Colonel in the midst of the French and Indian War.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means, Eric Schweig
Votes: 187,761 | Gross: $75.51M
20. Silent Night (2002 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 100 min | Biography, Drama, War
In a cabin on a World War II front, a German mom with a young son mediates a truce between three German and three American soldiers so they can all celebrate Christmas Eve 1944 together.
Director: Rodney Gibbons | Stars: Linda Hamilton, Matthew Harbour, Romano Orzari, Alain Goulem
Votes: 1,881
21. The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986)
R | 98 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A young Cro-Magnon woman is raised by Neanderthals.
Director: Michael Chapman | Stars: Daryl Hannah, Pamela Reed, James Remar, Thomas G. Waites
Votes: 6,968 | Gross: $1.95M
22. Quest for Fire (1981)
R | 100 min | Adventure, Drama
This story takes place in prehistoric time when three tribesmen search for a new fire source.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud | Stars: Everett McGill, Ron Perlman, Nicholas Kadi, Rae Dawn Chong
Votes: 24,136 | Gross: $20.96M
23. Altered States (1980)
R | 102 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A psycho-physiologist experiments with drugs and a sensory-deprivation tank and has visions he believes are genetic memories.
Director: Ken Russell | Stars: William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban, Charles Haid
Votes: 38,654 | Gross: $19.85M
24. Extraterrestrial (2005)
47 min | Documentary, Animation, Sci-Fi
Astrophysicists and biologists come together to imagine how, where, and what types of extraterrestrial life forms can we hope to find in the near future.
Stars: Armand Leroi, Michael Dorn, Seth Shostak, Chris McKay
Votes: 102
25. Alien Planet (2004 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 94 min | Documentary, Animation, Adventure
The CGI or computer animated drama/documentary takes place on Darwin IV, a planet 6.5 light years from earth, with 2 suns and 60% of Earth's gravity. Having identified Darwin as a world ... See full summary »
Director: Pierre de Lespinois | Stars: Wayne D. Barlowe, Curtis Clark, James Garvin, Jamie Hanes
Votes: 1,668
26. Natural History of an Alien (1998 TV Movie)
60 min | Documentary, Animation, Sci-Fi
Stars: Brian Aldiss, Silven Read, Kevin Warwick
Votes: 13
27. The Future Is Wild (2003– )
25 min | Documentary, Animation, Sci-Fi
A group of scientists predict what Earth and Life will look like in the future
Stars: Christian Rodska, Jeremy Rayner, Bruce H. Tiffney, Stephen Harris
Votes: 882
28. Life (2009)
TV-G | 43 min | Documentary
David Attenborough's legendary BBC crew explains and shows wildlife all over planet earth. From giving an overview of the challenges facing life to hunting the deep sea and various major evolutionary groups of creatures.
Stars: Oprah Winfrey, David Attenborough, Doug Allan, Roger Munns
Votes: 42,822
29. The Genius of Charles Darwin (2008– )
60 min | Documentary
In this three-part series Richard Dawkins, the evolutionary scientist and bestselling author, takes us on a journey of discovery. How does evolution work? How do we know it's true - and why... See full summary »
Stars: Richard Dawkins, The Naked Cowboy, Steven Pinker
Votes: 999
30. 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: 531,656 | Gross: $59.70M
31. The Meaning of Life (1983)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Musical
The comedy team takes a look at life in all of its stages in their own uniquely silly way.
Director: Terry Jones | Stars: John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones
Votes: 125,356 | Gross: $14.93M
32. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)
PG | 109 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, journeyman Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
Director: Garth Jennings | Stars: Martin Freeman, Yasiin Bey, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel
Votes: 208,446 | Gross: $51.09M
33. The Seventh Seal (1957)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Fantasy
A knight returning to Sweden after the Crusades seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Max von Sydow, Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Nils Poppe
Votes: 198,558
34. America: The Story of the US (2010)
Documentary, History
Why did the United States become a global superpower? America The Story of Us is an epic 12-hour television event that explores the country's remarkable journey.
Stars: Daniel Webb, Liev Schreiber, Tom Brokaw, James Meigs
Votes: 1,969
35. The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)
PG-13 | 126 min | Drama, Fantasy, Sport
A down-and-out golfer attempts to recover his game and his life with help from a mystical caddie.
Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Will Smith, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, Bruce McGill
Votes: 59,472 | Gross: $30.70M
36. Armageddon Time (2022)
R | 114 min | Drama
A deeply personal coming-of-age story about the strength of family and the generational pursuit of the American Dream.
Director: James Gray | Stars: Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong, Banks Repeta, Jaylin Webb
Votes: 15,372
37. Poltergeist (1982)
PG | 114 min | Horror, Thriller
A family's home is haunted by a host of demonic ghosts.
Director: Tobe Hooper | Stars: JoBeth Williams, Heather O'Rourke, Craig T. Nelson, Beatrice Straight
Votes: 179,662 | Gross: $76.61M
38. The Exorcist (1973)
R | 122 min | Horror
When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb
Votes: 455,203 | Gross: $232.91M
39. The Exorcist: Believer (2023)
R | 111 min | Horror
When two girls disappear into the woods and return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, the father of one girl seeks out Chris MacNeil, who's been forever altered by what happened to her daughter fifty years ago.
Director: David Gordon Green | Stars: Lafortune Joseph, Leslie Odom Jr., Gastner Legerme, Tracey Graves
Votes: 39,104
40. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
PG-13 | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two friends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Christopher Evan Welch
Votes: 268,940 | Gross: $23.22M
41. Gattaca (1997)
PG-13 | 106 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.
Director: Andrew Niccol | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Gore Vidal
Votes: 323,347 | Gross: $12.34M
42. Dead Poets Society (1989)
PG | 128 min | Comedy, Drama
Maverick teacher John Keating returns in 1959 to the prestigious New England boys' boarding school where he was once a star student, using poetry to embolden his pupils to new heights of self-expression.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles
Votes: 546,490 | Gross: $95.86M
43. Empire of the Sun (1987)
PG | 153 min | Drama, War
A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation of China during World War II.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers
Votes: 134,355 | Gross: $22.24M
44. Contact (1997)
PG | 150 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Dr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, sending plans for a mysterious machine.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
Votes: 293,207 | Gross: $100.92M
45. Willow (1988)
PG | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young farmer is chosen to undertake a perilous journey in order to protect a special baby from an evil queen.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Warwick Davis, Jean Marsh
Votes: 129,932 | Gross: $57.27M
46. Agora (2009)
R | 127 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
A historical drama set in Roman Egypt, concerning a slave who turns to the rising tide of Christianity in the hope of pursuing freedom while falling in love with his mistress, the philosophy and mathematics professor Hypatia of Alexandria.
Director: Alejandro Amenábar | Stars: Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac, Ashraf Barhom
Votes: 73,075 | Gross: $0.62M
47. Harold and Maude (1971)
PG | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.
Director: Hal Ashby | Stars: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles, Cyril Cusack
Votes: 81,871
48. Queen & Slim (2019)
R | 132 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A couple's first date takes an unexpected turn when a police officer pulls them over.
Director: Melina Matsoukas | Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Chloë Sevigny
Votes: 34,628
49. Hamilton (2020)
PG-13 | 160 min | Biography, Drama, History
The real life of one of America's foremost founding fathers and first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. Captured live on Broadway from the Richard Rodgers Theater with the original Broadway cast.
Director: Thomas Kail | Stars: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Phillipa Soo, Leslie Odom Jr., Renée Elise Goldsberry
Votes: 113,892
50. Hamlet (1990)
PG | 135 min | Drama
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, finds out that his uncle Claudius killed his father to obtain the throne, and plans revenge.
Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Paul Scofield
Votes: 23,615 | Gross: $20.71M
51. Hamlet (1996)
PG-13 | 242 min | Drama
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle. Meanwhile, war is brewing.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Julie Christie, Derek Jacobi, Kate Winslet
Votes: 40,062 | Gross: $4.41M
52. Victor Frankenstein (2015)
PG-13 | 110 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Told from Igor's perspective, we see the troubled young assistant's dark origins, his redemptive friendship with the young medical student Viktor Von Frankenstein, and become eyewitnesses to the emergence of how Frankenstein became the man - and the legend - we know today.
Director: Paul McGuigan | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, James McAvoy, Jessica Brown Findlay, Andrew Scott
Votes: 60,289 | Gross: $5.78M
53. Dorian Gray (2009)
R | 112 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
A corrupt young man somehow keeps his youthful beauty eternally, but a special painting gradually reveals his inner ugliness to all.
Director: Oliver Parker | Stars: Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Rebecca Hall, John Hollingworth
Votes: 68,121
54. Brian's Song (2001 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 88 min | Drama, Sport
The story of professional football players Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo, and how their friendship on and off the field was affected when Piccolo contracted a fatal disease.
Director: John Gray | Stars: Mekhi Phifer, Sean Maher, Paula Cale, Elise Neal
Votes: 1,551
55. Brian's Song (1971 TV Movie)
G | 73 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Based on the real-life relationship between teammates Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers and the bond established when Piccolo discovers that he is dying.
Director: Buzz Kulik | Stars: James Caan, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Warden, Bernie Casey
Votes: 8,870
56. Franklin (2024– )
TV-MA | Biography, Drama, History
Explores the story of one of the greatest gambles of Franklin's career. At age 70, Franklin outmaneuvered British spies and French informers while engineering the Franco-American alliance of 1778.
Stars: Michael Douglas, Noah Jupe, Daniel Mays, Olivier Claverie
Votes: 1,491
57. Manhunt (2024)
TV-MA | Drama, History, Thriller
The aftermath of the first American presidential assassination and the fight to preserve and protect the ideals that were the foundation of Lincoln's Reconstruction plans.
Stars: Tobias Menzies, Anthony Boyle, Lovie Simone, Will Harrison
Votes: 4,880
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