Movies which must be watched

Pro tip: Skip the sequel. Robin Williams' English teacher John Keating will leave you wanting to seize the day and live your life to the fullest. Carpe diem, indeed. It's tough to pick just one "Lord of the Rings" movie to watch. You should really invest in the entire trilogy about the young hobbit embarking on a perilous journey to destroy an all-powerful ring. If you only have time to watch one, go with the second movie that won two Oscars and is the best-reviewed of the trilogy.

His ensuing adventure of sabotaging two wannabe burglars in the neighborhood with pranks like hot tar and feathers is a holiday staple.

Sp you've watched the Disney classics? Why not switch things up with the story of a different mouse leaving NYC for the west with his family.

Still not convinced? Before she was J. After a few less-than-stellar releases, Pixar nails it with a heartwarming story about the importance of family during the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos The Day of the Dead. He winds up in search of his great-great-grandfather who he believes to be a famous guitar player in a stunningly vibrant-colored Land of the Dead.

You can read our review here. The film received four Oscars. Not done with your Keanu Reeves fix? Us neither. The unexpected Lionsgate hit is a nonstop minute rush of adrenaline of Reeves taking names as he seeks revenge on the men who killed his puppy. You read that right.

It also made us fall in love with the adorable mogwai, Gizmo. Fritz Lang's thriller is about the manhunt of a serial killer who murders children. Other people hate him so much that even criminals try to catch him, teaming up with police to do so. The major difference is Ryder's character Veronica teams up with a badboy, J. Christian Slater , to take down the group and she eventually gets in over her head.

If you're looking for another good rom-com, look no further. You wouldn't think that a movie about zombies on a train could be equally funny and heartbreaking, but the South Korean apocalypse thriller is just that. For the squeamish, this movie isn't scary. Think the setting of "Snowpiercer" with the fast-moving zombies from "World War Z. You've probably seem the image parodied somewhere: Max von Sydow, playing a knight, challenges Death himself to a chess match on the beach.

The entirety of Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" is loaded with allegorical, beautifully composed images like these that will haunt you with questions about death and life. The Jennifer Garner movie about going from a teen to an adult overnight is essentially Tom Hanks' "Big" for young women.

If you're going to watch any of the "Fast and Furious" movies, we recommend watching the fifth installment which course-corrected the franchise. It united Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, and more cast members from previous movies for a giant "Ocean's 11"-like heist.

And let's not forget a massive brawl between Diesel and the Rock. You can read our ranking of the "Fast and Furious" movies here. Gene Wilder made every child want to win a golden ticket to visit a magical candy factory and ride down a chocolate river. Sean Penn's performance as a father with a developmental disability fighting for custody of his daughter, who's played by a young Dakota Fanning, is both heartbreaking and warming.

Leonardo DiCaprio's chemistry with Tom Hanks as a youngster con man trying to evade the law i s electric.

It's one of those movies you can always watch when it's on TV. The first time you watch this movie, you think you're in for a sweet movie about two young friends who are falling in love.

One of them is played by McCauley Culkin. Then the rug is ripped up from under you. Have some tissues on standby. It's adorable watching the "He-Man-Woman-Hating" friends try to sabotage Alfalfa as he attempts to court his crush Darla.

Movies about growing up are always difficult, but with "Lady Bird," director Greta Gerwig nailed it. Saoirse Ronan plays an unforgettable woman trying to find her place in the world , and it's now the best-reviewed movie in the history of Rotten Tomatoes. The lone directorial effort from the legendary actor Charles Laughton and written by James Agee is about a couple of children who flee a corrupt minister when he hatches a plot to marry their mother and steal their dad's money.

It's scary, sure, but it's shot more like an elegiac fairy tale. With a remarkable performance by Paul Newman, "The Verdict" is one of Sidney Lumet's finest and most overlooked films.

It doesn't have the same actorly fireworks as "12 Angry Men" or "Dog Day Afternoon," but it has someone everyone can root for.

Newman plays an alcoholic lawyer trying to redeem his career by taking a medical malpractice case that fights against the entrenched health system.

You'll find scenes that inspired everything from "Michael Clayton" to "Spotlight. A spin on the movie "Blow-Up," where a photographer discovers he accidentally captured a murder scene in the background of his photos, "Blow Out" does that with sound.

It's about a movie sound effect technician, played by John Travolta in his prime, who discovers he found audio of a would-be political assassin while recording sounds in the park. It's an inventive thriller and a thrill to watch — especially if you have good speakers. It's definitely worth seeking out. It's about a young woman — beautifully played by Anna Paquin — who witnesses a bus accident and the consequences of it spiral through her life and to the people around her.

You'll definitely cry. Smith about the effect he had on Moore's hometown of Flint, Michigan, after closing down several factories. Fun fact: the sequel is set in the far-away future, a. In Vietnam, an American group aboard a Navy patrol boat travel up the Viet Cong-held river, where they're horrified by the destruction and corruption they see.

See for yourself where all the live versions of the cult favorite Rocky Horror Picture Show began with this over-the-top, perfectly cast musical see: young Susan Sarandon. This movie is trippy and a bit hard to follow, but it's absolutely required viewing. Stanley Kubrick takes us from the dawn of the human species to the dawn of a totally new species in just a few hours, and his view of space and space travel set the standard for a thousand sci-fi films to come.

More importantly, it's compelling and totally, totally terrifying. It's aged really well, despite being made over 50 years ago. If you don't know why Miss Marilyn Monroe was and is such a big deal, take a look at this one. The film shows off her vocal chops as the lead singer of an all-girl band who dreams of wooing a millionaire. As her band travels to sunny Florida, she makes friends with two new musicians in the group, who she doesn't realize are men in disguise and on the run.

One of the highest grossing Nigerian movies of all time, anyone interested in Nollywood should check out The Wedding Party. The film shows every aspect of the wedding day between Dozie Banky Wellington and Dunni Adeusa Etomi , down to the families' concerns and the planner's antics.

Plus there's plenty of glamorous inspo for your own big day. In this legendary Korean thriller, a group of travelers on a bullet train have to fight off a car full of zombies as a mysterious infection ravages the country. The pulse-pounding film has a stellar cast and a secret heart, with the characters making touch choices to help their families survive.

A hilarious comedy with a super-sweet love story, Coming to America is an essential watch for anyone who loves to smile. This film also cemented Eddie Murphy's place as comedy royalty, with him and Arsenio Hall cracking us up through multiple different characters.

The classic carol of the same name is just one of the great songs in this Irving Berlin musical. While it does hit harder during the holidays, the story of two song-and-dance duos banding together to save a Vermont Inn tugs the heartstrings year-round.

A Chicago family, the Youngers, are about to receive a windfall that will change their lives, but they have different ideas on how to use the money. An adaptation of the Lorraine Hansberry play made with the original cast, this film questions who is allowed the American Dream.

United States. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. The New Power Dressing. Hollywood Loves Books. Smith-Cameron Is in Control. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. The Notebook The Hate U Give WATCH Amandla Stenberg gives a masterful performance in The Hate U Give —an equally heartbreaking and eye-opening film about main character Starr Stenberg who's stuck navigating between two worlds: the prep school she attends that reeks of white privilege and the mostly Black neighborhood where she lives that's harmed by police brutality.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge Ferris Bueller's Day Off Parasite Titanic Casablanca Popperfoto Getty Images. A Star Is Born The Farewell Daughters of the Dust Michael Ochs Archives Getty Images. Rebel Without a Cause Archive Photos Getty Images.

Carmen Jones FPG Getty Images. Promising Young Woman Focus Features. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Silver Screen Collection Getty Images. Rocky Jaws Universal Pictures Getty Images. Schindler's List Getty Images. The Shining Sunset Boulevard Getty Images. Annihilation Peter Mountain Paramount. Monty Python and the Holy Grail Columbia TriStar Getty Images. Life is Beautiful Dead Poets Society Jurassic Park Murray Close Getty Images.

Sony Pictures. The Dark Knight Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Minari Roman Holiday Before Sunrise Hulton Archive Getty Images. His Girl Friday John Springer Collection Getty Images.

Carrie Trainspotting Moviestore Collection Ltd Alamy. To Kill a Mockingbird Legally Blonde Psycho Paramount Pictures Getty Images. Lady Bird You've Got Mail Walt Disney Getty Images. The Sound of Music Get Out Moonlight Courtesy of A24 Films.

Her The Godfather Silver Linings Playbook Moviestore collection Alamy. Boyhood Mean Girls Paramount Pictures Alamy. Little Women Adam Rountree Getty Images. The events in Minnesota and elsewhere in brought viewers back to this stunning documentary that works from an unfinished manuscript by the brilliant James Baldwin. Narrated by Samuel L.

It was such a hit that it landed three Oscar nominations, including the last one for Malkovich. Sean Penn wrote and directed an adaptation of the non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer, which introduced the world to the story of Christopher McCandless.

The young man, played in the film by Emile Hirsch, left everything behind, basically wandering into the Alaskan Wilderness, from which he never returned. After the massive success of Cobra Kai on Netflix, the streamer finally now also offers fans the original trilogy of films about the kid who learns karate from Mr. The original is still, by far, the best, starring Ralph Macchio and the great Pat Morita.

Less successful are the and sequels, but no one would blame fans for wanting to watch the whole trilogy. A man who likes to play God meets a boy who likes to play Satan in this twisted horror film from Yorgos Lanthimos , the daring director of The Lobster and The Favourite.

Saoirse Ronan stars as a young Californian who longs for someplace cooler than her own hometown. Before he was , he was a character known only as XXXX in this story of a London criminal who is trying to get out of the drug business and having great difficulty doing so.

Also known as The Professional , this film was the breakthrough for Natalie Portman, who plays year-old Mathilda, a girl taken in by a stoic hitman, played by Jean Reno. Luc Besson wrote and directed this taut thriller that also features a memorable over-the-top performance from the great Gary Oldman.

The brilliant Liz Garbus moved from her traditional form of documentary filmmaking to direct this thriller based on the book of the same name by Robert Kolker. Amy Ryan plays Mari Gilbert, the mother of a young sex worker who disappeared on Long Island, leading to the revelation that a serial killer has been prowling the location.

Take this true story of an interracial couple — played with beauty and grace by Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga — who had to go all the way to the U. Supreme Court for their marriage to be legal. And that was in Jeff Nichols wrote and directed this nuanced, moving drama. Chadwick Boseman is electric in his final film role in this adaptation of the beloved play by August Wilson. Even people who have never seen this movie know the story of how Christian Bale nearly killed himself with weight loss to make it all the more harrowing.

Bale stars as Trevor Reznik, an insomniac who spirals into complete madness. David Fincher returned in after a six-year hiatus from filmmaking and delivered one of his most ambitious works, an accounting of the controversy over who actually wrote Citizen Kane.

Gary Oldman plays Herman Mankiewicz, the disgraced writer who was hired by Orson Welles, and, if one believes the movie, channeled his personal history with William Randolph Hearst into Kane. Noah Baumbach returns to Netflix with his best film to date, the story of the dissolution of a marriage between a theatre director Adam Driver and his lead actress Scarlett Johannson. One of P.

Adam Sandler does arguably the best work of his career in this drama about how family can both connect and divide us, sometimes in the same moment. Forget the Sandler Netflix Originals — watch this one instead. Dramatic Film that year. Emayatzy Corinealdi is excellent as a woman visiting a husband Omari Hardwick behind bars when she meets a new man who could end that chapter in her life. Easier said than done. Grodin and De Niro have perfect comic chemistry. Clint Eastwood directed the sports drama that gained such a critical and commercial following that it won the Oscar for Best Picture along with Actress, Director, and Supporting Actor.

Based on the short stories by F. Toole, it tells the tale of an amateur boxer named Maggie Fitzgerald, played by Hilary Swank, and the trainer who helps her go pro before unforgettable tragedy strikes. Once set to be releases in theaters with the name Connected , Sony shipped this project off to Netflix, and the result is one of the most delightful animated films of Start here and then move on to the sketches and other movies, some of which are also on Netflix. One of the most popular classic movie musicals of all time dropped on Netflix, a streaming service not exactly known for a deep catalog of movies from previous generations.

The writer-director of The Babadook may have terrified more audiences with her follow-up to this film, but The Nightingale is no less terrifying. Aisling Franciosi gives a daring performance as Clare, a servant in a penal colony in , who is raped before her baby is killed. She hunts down her attackers and gets her vengeance, but that description simplifies a daring, complex film about colonialism, trauma, and pure evil.

Martin Scorsese directed this masterful documentary, one of the best music films ever made. God bless Bong Joon-ho. The director of The Host , The Mother , and Snowpiercer — all of which you owe it to yourself to see — brought arguably his weirdest movie yet to Netflix in this sci-fi dramedy about a giant pig.

Clint Eastwood strengthened his own onscreen image with a Western that he directed back in He plays the title character, a Missouri farmer whose whole family is murdered during the Civil War, leading him to join a group of deadly Confederates, and becoming an outlaw after the end of the war. Even in a movie that features a child-eating creature called the Pale Man, the real monster may be human.