The John F. Krotzer Best Movies of All Time List

by john-krotzer | created - 01 Apr 2013 | updated - 01 Apr 2013 | Public

These are my favorite movies of all time. It is currently a work in progress, and not in any order.

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1. 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: 2,890,074 | Gross: $28.34M

2. Best in Show (2000)

PG-13 | 90 min | Comedy

78 Metascore

A behind-the-scenes look into the highly competitive and cut-throat world of dog shows through the eyes of a group of ruthless dog owners.

Director: Christopher Guest | Stars: Fred Willard, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Jennifer Coolidge

Votes: 66,962 | Gross: $18.72M

3. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

R | 101 min | Comedy, Drama

80 Metascore

A family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus.

Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris | Stars: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear, Abigail Breslin

Votes: 518,276 | Gross: $59.89M

4. A Christmas Story (1983)

PG | 93 min | Comedy, Family

77 Metascore

In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.

Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Peter Billingsley, Melinda Dillon, Darren McGavin, Scott Schwartz

Votes: 168,635 | Gross: $20.61M

The one American Christmas movie to see if you can only see one.

5. Chocolate (2008)

R | 110 min | Action, Drama

An autistic girl with powerful martial art skills looks to settle her ailing mother's debts by seeking out the ruthless gangs that owe her family money.

Director: Prachya Pinkaew | Stars: JeeJa Yanin, Hiroshi Abe, Pongpat Wachirabunjong, Taphon Phopwandee

Votes: 18,862 | Gross: $0.01M

Quite possibly my favorite foreign film. Incredibly well acted by JeeJa Yanin.

6. American Beauty (1999)

R | 122 min | Drama

84 Metascore

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: 1,211,315 | Gross: $130.10M

7. Cast Away (2000)

PG-13 | 143 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance

74 Metascore

A FedEx executive undergoes a physical and emotional transformation after crash landing on a deserted island.

Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, Paul Sanchez, Lari White

Votes: 638,931 | Gross: $233.63M

8. Groundhog Day (1993)

PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

72 Metascore

A narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.

Director: Harold Ramis | Stars: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky

Votes: 685,329 | Gross: $70.91M

9. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)

R | 93 min | Comedy, Drama

72 Metascore

A Chicago advertising man must struggle to travel home from New York for Thanksgiving, with a lovable oaf of a shower-curtain-ring salesman as his only companion.

Director: John Hughes | Stars: Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins, Michael McKean

Votes: 160,319 | Gross: $49.53M

In no other movie do two actors play off each other so well.

10. Juno (2007)

PG-13 | 96 min | Comedy, Drama

81 Metascore

Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes a selfless decision regarding the unborn child.

Director: Jason Reitman | Stars: Elliot Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman

Votes: 549,365 | Gross: $143.50M

11. Kick-Ass (2010)

R | 117 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

66 Metascore

Dave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan who one day decides to become a superhero, even though he has no powers, training or meaningful reason to do so.

Director: Matthew Vaughn | Stars: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nicolas Cage, Chloë Grace Moretz, Garrett M. Brown

Votes: 593,549 | Gross: $48.07M

There are not enough movies with 11-year-old potty mouthed super heroes!

12. My Cousin Vinny (1992)

R | 120 min | Comedy, Crime

68 Metascore

Two New Yorkers accused of murder in rural Alabama while on their way back to college call in the help of one of their cousins, a loudmouth lawyer with no trial experience.

Director: Jonathan Lynn | Stars: Joe Pesci, Marisa Tomei, Ralph Macchio, Mitchell Whitfield

Votes: 140,642 | Gross: $52.93M

13. The Princess Bride (1987)

PG | 98 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family

78 Metascore

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: 451,066 | Gross: $30.86M

14. The Breakfast Club (1985)

R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama

66 Metascore

Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.

Director: John Hughes | Stars: Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy

Votes: 436,713 | Gross: $45.88M

15. 12 Angry Men (1957)

Approved | 96 min | Crime, Drama

97 Metascore

The jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.

Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler

Votes: 865,567 | Gross: $4.36M

16. What About Bob? (1991)

PG | 99 min | Comedy

60 Metascore

A successful psychotherapist loses his mind after one of his most dependent patients, an obsessive-compulsive neurotic, tracks him down during his family vacation.

Director: Frank Oz | Stars: Bill Murray, Richard Dreyfuss, Julie Hagerty, Charlie Korsmo

Votes: 74,485 | Gross: $63.71M

17. House of Flying Daggers (2004)

PG-13 | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

89 Metascore

A romantic police captain breaks a beautiful member of a rebel group out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.

Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Dandan Song

Votes: 116,277 | Gross: $11.05M

18. Baraka (1992)

Not Rated | 96 min | Documentary

A collection of expertly photographed scenes of human life and religion.

Director: Ron Fricke | Star: Patrick Disanto

Votes: 40,998 | Gross: $1.33M

19. Beyond Rangoon (1995)

R | 100 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

Laura is trying to pick up the pieces of her life after the murder of her husband and son, and goes on vacation with her sister to Burma. After losing her passport at a political rally, she... See full summary »

Director: John Boorman | Stars: Patricia Arquette, U Aung Ko, Frances McDormand, Spalding Gray

Votes: 5,451 | Gross: $5.75M

Much more authentic than 'The Lady'

20. Everything Is Illuminated (2005)

PG-13 | 106 min | Comedy, Drama

58 Metascore

A young Jewish American man, with the help of an eccentric local, endeavors to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II in a Ukrainian village that was ultimately razed by the Nazis.

Director: Liev Schreiber | Stars: Elijah Wood, Eugene Hutz, Boris Lyoskin, Jonathan Safran Foer

Votes: 59,921 | Gross: $1.71M

The movie is great, but it is less than half of the book, which is definitely worth reading.

21. Dirty Pretty Things (2002)

R | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

78 Metascore

Irregular migrants Okwe and Senay work at a posh London hotel and live in constant fear of deportation. One night Okwe stumbles across evidence of a bizarre murder, setting off a series of events that could lead to disaster or freedom.

Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou, Sophie Okonedo, Kriss Dosanjh

Votes: 44,100 | Gross: $8.11M

22. Persepolis (2007)

PG-13 | 96 min | Animation, Biography, Drama

90 Metascore

A precocious and outspoken Iranian girl grows up during the Islamic Revolution.

Directors: Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi | Stars: Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Gena Rowlands, Danielle Darrieux

Votes: 100,205 | Gross: $4.45M

23. Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior (2003)

R | 105 min | Action, Crime, Thriller

69 Metascore

When the head of a statue sacred to a village is stolen, a young martial artist goes to the big city and finds himself taking on the underworld to retrieve it.

Director: Prachya Pinkaew | Stars: Tony Jaa, Phetthai Vongkumlao, Pumwaree Yodkamol, Suchao Pongwilai

Votes: 78,198 | Gross: $4.56M

Much better than #2 and #3. Tony Jaa is an animal!

24. Katyn (2007)

Not Rated | 121 min | Drama, History, War

81 Metascore

An examination of the Soviet slaughter of thousands of Polish officers and citizens in the Katyn forest in 1940.

Director: Andrzej Wajda | Stars: Andrzej Chyra, Maja Ostaszewska, Artur Zmijewski, Danuta Stenka

Votes: 17,414 | Gross: $0.12M

25. Schindler's List (1993)

R | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History

95 Metascore

In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall

Votes: 1,451,418 | Gross: $96.90M



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