Movies about extreme survival go back to the dawn of Hollywood. Survival comes in many forms. It could be on a deserted island or a deserted planet. It may be in a jail or as a prisoner of war. There are many ways characters have to survive dangerous and arduous situations, and these movies will leave you white knuckling it until they either escape, get rescued, or perish trying to do either.

The Martian

Matt Damon plays an astronaut exploring Mars when he is accidentally left for dead on the red planet and is forced to find a way to live with no food and limited resources. The Martian has been praised for the science in (most) of the movie, but it's the survival aspect of the movie that really draws fans in.

The Bridge On The River Kwai

How dedicated are you to your country, and what will you endure to keep your pride? The legendary The Bridge On The River Kwai explores just how far a person will go in pursuit of both of those. In extreme conditions, the British prisoners of war go through the worst of everything, extreme heat, fatigue, disease, and torture, cannot keep them from that stiff upper lip attitude of the era.

28 Days Later

Plenty of movies show the extreme and terrifying nature of surviving a dystopian future or a zombie apocalypse. Few do it better than Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later. The zombies are the things of nightmares, but somehow the characters keep living in whatever way they are forced to.

12 Years A Slave

There may be no better example of surviving under the most extreme conditions than the era of chattel slavery in 19th-century America. 12 Years A Slave is one of the hardest movies you'll ever watch, and it's also one of the most important movies of the last half century on the subject. Survival doesn't even begin to describe just how hard it was.

Society Of The Snow

The Oscar-nominated Spanish film Society of the Snow tells the now-infamous story of the Uruguayan rugby team who survive a plane crash in the Andes only to be forced into committing cannibalism to survive in the barren wilderness. It's as terrifying as it is inspiring.

Apollo 13

There are only three people in the history of the world who can really understand what it's like to survive a disaster in space. Tragically, most astronauts who have, didn't live to tell the tale. The three astronauts on the Apollo 13 mission did survive, and the 1995 movie starring Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Bacon brings the story to the big screen in amazing fashion.

127 Hours

The true story of Aron Ralston, played by James Franco in 127 Hours, is one of the most visceral ever shown in a movie. It's a story that basically can understand just how harrowing it is. We can all imagine ourselves in a similar situation and wonder just how far we would go to save ourselves. Ralston goes further than most even dream possible, but he made it, and set an example of human endurance few have ever matched.

Schindler's List

Schindler's List is the kind of movie you are amazed by, but might not want to ever watch again. Of course, history is known to everyone who has been to school in the last 80 years, but that doesn't make the movie about the horrors of the Holocaust any easier to take in. It's an amazing movie and one of the scariest stories of survival by an entire group of people ever told. And it's told in honor of the six million who didn't make it.

The Revenant

Being left for dead in the wilderness, getting attacked by hostile people, and surviving a bear mauling certainly qualify a survival story for this list. Those things all happen in The Revenant, the movie that finally won Leonardo DiCaprio the Oscar he's been so deserving of.

Dunkirk

Dunkirk is not just about the survival of the British soldiers on the beaches of the titular town at the outbreak of World War Two, it's about the survival of the whole nation. Had the army not been evacuated, the entire war would likely have gone very differently, not to mention the history of the United Kingdom. Christopher Nolan's masterpiece tells a number of stories of survival, and every one is important.

Cast Away

You knew this one had to be here. It's a story as old as time: a man surviving on a tropical island. It's been in myths and stories for centuries, and there is no better example in modern times than Cast Away. From making fire to building a raft to escape on, this one has it all.

The Shawshank Redemption

Being wrongly accused and convicted of a crime you are not guilty of is a nightmare that many people share. One of the best movies of the '90s, The Shawshank Redemption lets everyone see just how scary and emotional something like that could be. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman are amazing in this enduring movie that people will still be watching and relating to for many more generations.

Alien

"In space, no one can hear you scream," is the tagline for one of the most celebrated sci-fi horror movies of all time. Ridley (Sigourney Weaver) in Alien is a survivor on her own level throughout the franchise, and it all started with her surviving this movie.

First Blood

Sometimes, survival comes at the expense of the people trying to hunt you, like the cops in First Blood who make the mistake of forcing Green Beret John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) into the woods. Rambo knows how to survive, the cops never stand a chance.

The Pianist

Surviving the Holocaust has rarely been shown on screen as emotionally as it is in The Pianist. Adrien Brody's Oscar-winning performance is as powerful an example of survival as has ever been put on film.

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games may not seem like it belongs on the list, but it certainly does. Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) has to endure a lot to survive the games, and she thrives when she has to. The movie may be fiction, but the reality doesn't seem impossible, as scary as that is.

A Quiet Place

Surviving is hard enough. Surviving in total silence? Wow, that is truly another level. In A Quiet Place, we learn just how terrifying the silence can be, or really how scary it is when that silence is disturbed. A budding franchise shows just how viscerally people feel the quiet.

Rescue Dawn

Prisoner of war movies are pretty common in Hollywood history. Each brings their own nightmares of survival. Some of the most terrifying come from the Vietnam War, even when the camp is not in Vietnam, as is the case in Rescue Dawn. Christian Bale stars in this movie based on the true story of a pilot shot down over Laos and the horrors he must endure as a POW.

The Road

Cormac McCarthy's excellent (and bleak) book The Road was turned into an even bleaker movie starring Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee and set in a dystopian future. Human endurance is incredible, as even in the worst kind of situation, some survive. Never underestimate the love a father has for his son.

Unbroken

Angelina Jolie directed one of the most incredible stories of POW survival ever in Unbroken. The true story, about Louis Zamperini surviving multiple ordeals, including a plane crash, 47 days in a raft in the middle of the ocean, and two years in a POW camp. At the camp, he was tortured and used as forced labor. How he survived is nothing less than astonishing. The movie has mixed reviews, but the story is incredible, no matter how it's told.

Lone Survivor

Peter Berg directed Lone Survivor, based on the incredible true story of Marcus Luttrell, who was, as the name of the movie implies, the only survivor in a group of Navy SEALs on a mission in Afghanistan. Mark Wahlberg plays Luttrell, and Taylor Kitsch plays one of the members of his team who was killed. Though the account has been disputed, the movie still serves as a shining example of survival.

Into The Wild

Sometimes, it's human hubris that puts us in a position where we have to survive. Such is the case in the book and the movie Into the Wild. Alexander Supertramp, aka Chris McCandless (Emile Hirsch), made his own choices that led him to the desperate situation that eventually, tragically killed him as he tried (and failed) to survive in the Alaskan wilderness.

Gravity

Surviving space is hard enough when you have other people with you. On your own, it's downright impossible. That's the situation Sandra Bullock's character finds herself in in Gravity. It's science fiction, but it's so believable. It's not like Alien or even The Martian, it's much closer to home.

The Diary Of Anne Frank

Maybe the most famous example of survival during the Holocaust is the story of Anne Frank and her family in German-occupied Holland during World War II. The incredible diary the young girl kept has inspired countless people and put a real face on the victims of the Third Reich. The book was turned into a movie nominated for eight Oscars, winning three.

Deliverance

It was supposed to be a relaxing and exciting canoe trip that instead turned into a harrowing story of survival after a group of friends, led by Burt Reynolds in Deliverance, are terrorized by a nasty group of locals who don't want them on the river. The incredibly popular movie is part action/adventure, part horror movie as the campers deal with some really scary actions from those out to kill them.

Alive

A few decades before the Society Of The Snow brought the story of the Uruguayan Rugby Team, who survived a plane crash and weeks on top of a mountain, to the big screen, Ethan Hawke and company told the story in Alive. It's not as visceral as the newer movie, but it's still an incredible telling of the story.

The Great Escape

To be fair, The Great Escape is as much a "boys adventure" movie as it is a story of survival. Still, there is no question that there are some sad, harrowing moments for the POWs in a German camp during World War II. People do die, and there are real stakes (at times) in this classic movie from old Hollywood with an all-star cast.

Children Of Men

Alfonso Cuarón's 2006 movie Children of Men is, in a world, incredible. It may be overshadowed by his more recent work, like Gravity and Roma, but it's my favorite movie of his. It's also a unique look at survival, not just by the main characters in the movie, but humankind as a whole.

The Is The End

We had to include one comedy on this list. There are a few examples of funny takes on survival, but none are quite as ridiculous as This is the End. The all-star cast of Hollywood stars playing ridiculous versions of themselves is both funny and actually pretty scary at times.

Into Thin Air: Death on Everest

Into Thin Air: Death on Everest, a television movie based on the book Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. It depicts the true story of one of the deadliest seasons of climbing the world's highest mountain. Not everyone survives, but those who do, like Beck Weathers (Richard Jenkins), endured some of the most harrowing weather conditions ever seen on Earth.

The Swiss Family Robinson

One of the most famous stories of "surviving" has to be The Swiss Family Robinson, as told by Disney in a couple of different versions, including one in 1960. It's hardly harrowing, and it's pretty luxurious and therefore unrealistic, but it sure does seem like fun! Survival doesn't always have to be a nightmare in movies, apparently.

Man Friday

It's sort of surprising that the story of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe hasn't been made into more movies. Man Friday is probably the best adaptation of the enduring novel, so it'll stand in for all of them.

Saturday Night Live has served as a showcase for a vast array of comedic actors over the course of its 50-year history, and Taran Killam is one of those stars. The veteran comedian was a cast member for six seasons and, in that time, he delivered some truly memorable performances. Not everything Killam tried on the show worked, however, which is natural for any performer. It would seem, though, that there was one bit he would use involving one of his career accomplishments, which made EP Lorne Michaels put his foot down.

It’s likely that most fans know Taran Killam for his performances in comedic films and TV shows. However, he also has a major dramatic credit under his belt in the form of the 2013 historical drama 12 Years a Slave (available with a Hulu subscription), in which he played con man Abram Hamilton. Killam brought up his supporting role in the Steve McQueen-directed flick during his appearance on the Fly on the Wall podcast, which is on YouTube. He then explained how it factored into a running gag he came up with:

The Amanda Show alum seemed to be playing on the “stuffy actor” archetype for those bits, which sounds funny. And, to be completely serious, I could understand if the star was seriously enthused about being part of that movie. After all, 12 Years a Slave is a Best Picture Oscar winner, among other accolades from the 2014 Academy Awards. It seems the comic’s idea was initially received well, but it didn't last the whole season, as he explained to podcast hosts David Spade and Dana Carvey:

Lorne Michaels has earned a reputation for not mincing words whenever he doesn’t care for something. For example, he apparently hated SNL’s “Lamps” sketch, which was panned by a few people behind the scenes. Michaels didn’t even care for recurring sketches for a time, but it was veteran host Buck Henry who changed his mind about that. When it comes to the 12 Years a Slave mentions, I can understand Michaels’ feelings, as it’s definitely a bit that seems like it could wear out its welcome over time.

Of course, those actor/host segments collectively just made up a small bit of Taran Killam’s tenure on Saturday Night Live, which began in 2010. He played characters like Jebidiah Atkinson and Jonathan Cavanaugh-san as well as impressions of celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher and Liam Hemsworth. Killam was ultimately let go from the show in 2016 and, at the time, he was unsure as to why. Lorne Michaels later chalked up the decision to a need for changes to be made to the show at that time.

Nevertheless, Taran Killam did manage to leave his mark on the show, even if that 12 Years a Slave-inspired bit didn’t have long-term appeal. In any case, watch Killam’s work by streaming past Saturday Night Live episodes on Peacock. Also, tune in tonight, Saturday, May 17, at 11:30 p.m. ET to see the latest SNL host, Scarlett Johansson, headline the Season 50 finale.

Sometimes an actor can carry an entire movie with a performance, while others make a lasting impression in merely one scene of action. We’re going to focus on the latter category today, as we present this list of single scene crushers who took a moment to bring the house down.

Ned Beatty - Network

Even in a big ticket classic like Sidney Lumet’s Network, there’s room for a performer like Ned Beatty to steal the entire movie in one fell swoop. Brought in as a last minute replacement, and with four pages of dialogue to work through, Beatty booms in a scene that nails the core tenets of writer Paddy Chayefsky’s blistering satire.

Drew Barrymore - Scream

Wes Craven’s reinvention of teen slashers kicked off the legendary Scream franchise with a murder no one saw coming. With Drew Barrymore featuring prominently in trailers and promotional art, everyone thought she’d be safe and sound for a good part of the picture. One scene was all it took to shake the audience to its core, and prove that anything can happen in Woodsboro… and it often does.

J.T. Walsh - Outbreak

As if having the late Donald Sutherland didn’t already inject a White House briefing scene with enough gravitas, legendary character actor J.T. Walsh gets a moment to protest an action that could wipe the small town of Cedar Creek off the map. His righteous anger is a lynchpin moment that perfectly sets the stakes for a nail-biting finale.

Viola Davis - Doubt

In just one scene of Doubt’s powerhouse narrative, Viola Davis scored something every actor dreams of: their first Academy Award nomination. A scene of masterful acting between herself and fellow legend Meryl Streep, Davis drives this moment of intense conversation with a gamut of authority and vulnerability. In a cast that also includes Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams, Viola Davis should have been credited on the poster, as her moment is that powerful.

Alec Baldwin - Glengarry Glen Ross

People who go to see David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross on stage are probably disappointed that Alec Baldwin’s Blake doesn’t appear in that version of the narrative. Crafted especially for the 1992 film adaptation the man that taught us to “Always Be Closing” sees Baldwin holding court viciously with a room that includes Ed Harris and Jack Lemmon among its ranks. Don’t worry if you forgot that character’s name… he’ll tell you soon enough.

Dame Judi Dench - Shakespeare In Love

Network actor Beatrice Straight is the record holder for the shortest performance to win an Academy Award. In a similar fashion, one scene in Shakespeare In Love was all it took for Dame Judi Dench to win her own golden accolade, playing the role of Elizabeth I. Although this is Dame Dench we’re talking about here, and that performance was certainly worth the hoopla… even if Saving Private Ryan is the film that should have won Best Picture that year.

Alfred Molina - Boogie Nights

You will never listen to “Sister Christian” the same way again after watching Alfred Molina’s single scene performance in Boogie Nights. His portrayal of unstable drug dealer Rahad runs the gamut from hysterical to horrifying, in a scene that only persists in the horrors that unfold to threaten Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) and his friends. Chekov’s Gun is so much more effective when you have firecrackers going off at irregular intervals.

Cate Blanchett - Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring

Is anyone absolutely sure Cate Blanchett isn’t really an Elf? The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring made a pretty good case for her actually being an ethereal being, as Galdriel’s one scene with Frodo (Elijah Wood) is an all-time stunner. You probably didn’t need the special effects to enhance the scene, as Blanchett’s actual physical performance in that moment makes you believe that she comes from the pages of J.R.R. Tolkien, and we should all be thankful.

August Diehl - Inglourious Basterds

Never, ever, set a meeting in a basement. Quentin Tarantino taught us that lesson in just one scene of Inglourious Basterds, as what was supposed to be a simple clandestine meeting of Allies became a bloody free-for-all. And it was all thanks to Dieter Hellstrom (August Diehl), the Nazi equivalent of Sherlock Holmes, sniffing out the truth behind Lieutenant Archie Hicox (Michael Fassbender) and his team.

Alice Nunn - Pee Wee’s Big Adventure

Children who grew up on the best ‘80s movies will still tell you that the appearance of Large Marge (Alice Nunn) in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure is something that just may have traumatized them. In a moment that’s akin to the ultimate campfire story, Marge’s story is made even more terrifying by her transformation into a horror only Claymation could properly convey.

Dave Bautista - Blade Runner 2049

Dave Bautista has been building an impressive resume through roles in projects like Blade Runner 2049. The eventual fight between his character Sapper and Officer K (Ryan Gosling) isn’t the point of his soft spoken presence, as the moments leading up to that explosion double as a crucial clue to the existential unraveling our protagonist undergoes. It’s a perfect showcase of the former wrestler turned actor’s range at work.

Vanessa Redgrave - Atonement

Atonement is a film that plays with the truth throughout time, through the eyes of its protagonist Briony. In the final incarnation of the character, Vanessa Redgrave devastates the audience by delivering the stone cold truth of what really happened between Robbie (James McAvoy) and Cecilia (Keira Knightley). Turning this romantic drama into a bittersweet tragedy, Redgrave delivers it like an expert.

Marcel Marceau - Silent Movie

Leave it to Mel Brooks to give famed mime Marcel Marceau the only line of dialogue in a film like Silent Movie. As Mel Funn (Brooks) and his pals make an important phone call to try and convince Mr. Marceau to join their motion picture, they get their answer pretty quickly. In a movie replete with cameos, this one takes the cake.

Carol Kane - The Princess Bride

Everybody remembers Billy Crystal’s Miracle Max from The Princess Bride, otherwise “Have fun storming the castle” wouldn’t be a memorable line of dialogue in human culture. But we also need to give Carol Kane’s Valerie an equal amount of credit for the magic, as she and Crystal are the ultimate double act that absolutely crush in just a short span of time.

Donald Sutherland - JFK

Whether you believe in conspiracy theories or not, Donald Sutherland’s appearance in Oliver Stone’s JFK will probably have you nodding your head in agreement throughout his patch of screen time. Commanding authority with his hushed oaken tones through a scene that lays down a lot of ground, it’s no wonder Kevin Costner’s memory of working with Sutherland is so fond.

Gloria Foster - The Matrix

Exposition is nothing new to The Matrix franchise, and neither is the concept of an all seeing character delivering the knowledge we need for the road ahead. And the OG actor that embodied that concept was the late Gloria Foster, playing the original Oracle who put Neo (Keanu Reeves) onto his path to destiny. Succeeded by actor Mary Alice after her untimely passing, Foster’s on-screen wisdom still sings to this day.

Ralph Fiennes - Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire

The first appearance of Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) in the Harry Potter movies is a revelation. Set as the ultimate threshold of importance, The Goblet of Fire heads into that point of no return with a scene so atmospheric, you can feel yourself standing in that graveyard. Seeing Fiennes step into the role for the first time is something akin to magic itself.

Edie McClurg - Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Working the customer service desk of Marathon Car Rental when Planes, Trains, and Automobiles’ Neal Page (Steve Martin) has an expletive filled breakdown over a portion of his trip from hell, veteran character actor Edie McClurg’s rental agent goes from friendly to fierce as quickly as any luxury car in the fleet; dropping the F-bomb that ties the scene together in its ultimate laugh line.

Christopher Walken - Pulp Fiction

With Quentin Tarantino’s non-linear narrative of cool customers trying to make it through the day in Pulp Fiction, anything can fit if you do it right. And Walken’s single moment of action is, without question, a scene that nails in the importance of one gold watch that you can sympathize with Butch (Bruce Willis) when he decides to risk it all to find it.

Alfre Woodard - 12 Years A Slave

12 Years a Slave writer John Ridley once told Vulture that the toughest scene he wrote for that film was the one where Alfre Woodard’s Mistress Burke tells Patsey (Lupita Nyong’o) to “take comfort” that vengeance will eventually visit “the plantation class.” Hearing her alternate between the distant promise of judgment and rationalizing her own lot in life, similar to that of her younger guest, is something that remains as chilling as it was when first heard.

Wilford Brimley - Absence of Malice

In just one scene of Absence of Malice, the legendary Wilford Brimley moves from quips to threats in fast fashion, and the man never fails to compel the audience for his one brief scene. Wasting no time as a character that has none to waste, where Brimley’s Wells cuts to the heart of the entire picture’s mystery and lays out the consequences that will play out, lest anyone involved lose more face than they have to.

Kathy Burke - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Author John le Carré’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the antithesis of the pulpy action that Ian Fleming injected into the books that would inspire the James Bond movies. Nowhere is that more present than in Kathy Burke’s monumental scene as Connie Sachs, ally and admirer of spy George Smiley (Gary Oldman). All at once, she goes from hitting on her former colleague to lamenting how the Cold War has left their kind adrift, and the sum total is properly heartbreaking.

Bill Murray - Little Shop of Horrors

Much like Jack Nicholson in Roger Corman’s 1960 original, Bill Murray gave Little Shop of Horrors’ musical movie adaptation a moment where the audience just had to laugh at someone who freaks out even sinister dentist Orin (Steve Martin). Coming in for a brief comedic interlude, Murray’s mania is a welcome pit stop in this tale of horror, Faustian bargains, and horticulture.

Molly Ringwald - Not Another Teen Movie

Not Another Teen Movie is Airplane! for generations who grew up in the presence of She’s All That, and some of the other best ‘90s movies. So having John Hughes alum Molly Ringwald highlighting just how ridiculous Janey (Chyler Leigh) and Jake (Chris Evans) are in their young romance is a late hour punchline that absolutely kills.

Clifton Collins Jr. & Thomas Jane - Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Playing something as ridiculous as Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’s Vegan Police is something that needs expert timing, as the right amount of menace and lunacy is required to make the gag work. With that in mind, Clifton Collins Jr. and Thomas Jane were just the pair to do it, as director Edgar Wright used their talents to give us a scene where even the threat of finger guns with laser pointers makes you feel something.

Kathleen Freeman - The Blues Brothers

Sister Mary Stigmata (Kathleen Freeman) isn’t called “The Penguin” for nothing. As the inciting character that sends The Blues Brothers’ heroes on their mission from God, her demeanor is as stinging as her ruler. So watch your language, and pray you leave her office standing up.

Brian Tyree Henry - If Beale Street Could Talk

Playing Daniel, an old friend of If Beale Street Could Talk’s Fonny (Stephan James), Brian Tyree Henry briefly holds court in a movie that knows how to simultaneously break and mend its audience’s heart. After James sets the scene up with his character’s own woes, Henry proceeds to build on that foundation with an understated sense of dread and sorrow that only scratches the surface of his talents.

Matt Damon - EuroTrip

What happens when you’re writing a teen sex comedy, and you happen to be friends with Matt Damon? You offer him a role like that of the rocker from EuroTrip, who admits in song that he’s been romancing the girlfriend of our hero. You have to wonder if this was an opportunity Damon took as a break from the intense seriousness of the Bourne movies. Whatever the truth may be, it’s a brief but memorable laugh riot, no matter where you parked your car.

Charlize Theron - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Charlize Theron’s shocking MCU debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was the first of a couple big Marvel reveals that still haven’t panned out to something greater. That doesn’t stop her moment in the sun as sorceress Clea from being any less impressive, as she literally shows up, tears a hole of the fabric of dimensions, and invites Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) on an adventure we’d still love to see play out.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson - Reno 911: Miami!

You wouldn’t expect Dwayne Johnson to bite the big one if he were to randomly show up in a movie sporting SWAT tactical gear. And yet, Reno 911!: Miami gave us just that moment brought to hysterical life, thanks to the brave sacrifice of Agent Rick "The Condor" Smith. Ok, maybe “brave” is the wrong term to use, as the man did kind of fumble a live grenade into an unforced error of grave proportions.

Salma Hayek - From Dusk Till Dawn

Having an alluring talent like Salma Hayek in your movie can move things along in a number of ways. Perhaps one of her greatest achievements is when she acted as the literal pivot point of Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn, as the gorgeous Santanico Pandemonium. One moment she’s dancing for a crowd of thankful patrons, and the next she’s plunging this delightful genre mashup into horror-comedy hell.

Will Smith - Winter’s Tale

Winter’s Tale is a movie that still has people scratching their heads, thanks to its magical thinking and high fantasy style story. If you match that description of moviegoer, the appearance of Will Smith in a cameo as Lucifer isn’t going to do much to change your mind. However, this rare performance that sees Smith playing the heavy is amazing, as he commands Shakespearian style language with an intense rage that absolutely sells the CGI enhancement that tops it off.

The 2010s were a transformative decade for movies as directors like Damien Chazelle, Greta Gerwig and Jordan Peele hit the mainstream, and many actors exploded into stardom or gave career-defining performances in movies like theirs. Now, it’s time to celebrate some of the best films of this decade and the performers who starred in them. 

Emma Stone – La La Land 

This ode to Old Hollywood and modern romance from Damien Chazelle is widely beloved in part because of Emma Stone's performance. If you go back to reviews for La La Land, you’ll see Stone and Ryan Gosling praised for their work as they played Mia and Sebastian, two aspiring artists who fall in love with each other. Notably, Emma Stone won her first Oscar for the film because of the wonderful performance she gave as the up-and-coming actress. 

Kristen Wiig – Bridesmaids

When it comes to Bridesmaids and all its hilarious lines and gags, we all need to say a collective thank you to Kristen Wiig. Not only did the Saturday Night Live alum lead the stellar ensemble cast of this 2011 flick, but she also wrote the movie with Annie Mumolo, and they got an Oscar nomination for it. 

Mahershala Ali – Moonlight

Moonlight, which famously won Best Picture in 2017, is a coming-of-age film that follows Chiron through three stages of his life, focusing on him exploring his sexuality and identity. In it, Mahershala Ali plays Juan, a man who has a pivotal role in Chiron’s early life. Famously, Ali won his first Oscar for his moving performance in this film. 

Daniel Kaluuya – Get Out

Get Out is considered one of the greatest horror movies of all time, and it marked the directorial debut of Jordan Peele. While this film about the deeply dark turn a trip takes after a white woman brings her Black boyfriend home to meet her family is career-defining for its director – as he’s gone on to become quite the name in the genre – it also marked a major breakout for Daniel Kaluuya who played the film’s lead, Chris. 

Amy Adams – Arrival 

Arrival is unquestionably one of Amy Adams’ best movies, and to this day, folks are still livid that she wasn’t nominated for an Oscar for it. She plays Louise, a linguist assigned to decipher and translate an alien language. However, as Arrival’s ending makes abundantly clear, there’s way more to it than that, and one of the major reasons this movie works is because of Adams’ masterful, emotional and nuanced performance. 

J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

In Whiplash, one of J.K. Simmons’ best films, he plays a brilliant and brutal jazz conductor and instructor named Terence Fletcher. During the film, Miles Teller plays a young drummer named Andrew who is determined to become great, and his intense relationship with Terence and the notion of being the best is what makes Damien Chazelle’s film magnificent. On top of its overall acclaim, Simmons also won an Oscar for his performance.

Hugh Jackman – Logan 

Logan was Hugh Jackman’s last ride as the Wolverine, and it was basically perfect. While he’s returned to the role since in Deadpool and Wolverine, Logan still serves as a wonderful conclusion to the iconic X-Man’s story. It was also a game-changing Marvel film, as it brought a level of grit and intrigue that we hadn’t really seen in a movie from this universe before. 

Ben Affleck – Argo 

Much like Good Will Hunting, Argo marked a major milestone in Ben Affleck’s career. It was one of the films that solidified him as a top-tier director, and on top of that, he also starred in the film about a CIA agent disguised as a producer who goes into Tehran on a mission to save a group of Americans. Oh, also, the film went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars too. 

Jesse Eisenberg — The Social Network

The Social Network cast is stacked, however, it wouldn’t be what it is without Jesse Eisenberg’s performance as Mark Zuckerberg at its center. His nuanced performance which is somehow both collected and chaotic compliments Aaron Sorkin’s fast-talking script perfectly, and he expertly helped build up tension in the film that director David Fincher is known for. All around, that made for a perfect, heart-pounding drama about the rise of Facebook.

Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf Of Wall Street  

While Leonardo DiCaprio has a long list of career-defining performances, and he and Martin Scorsese have made many great movies together, you can’t deny that his portrayal of Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street tops that list. 

Brie Larson – Room

The film Room, which is about a mother and her son escaping captivity, is masterfully led by Brie Larson, who plays Ma. Both she and Jacob Tremblay, who played her son Jack, were praised for their performances, and in 2016, the actress won an Oscar for her work. 

Daniel Craig – Knives Out

Now, I know that Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond was still happening in the 2010s. However, an equally important and brilliant role he took on was as detective Benoit Blanc in Rian Johnson’s first whodunnit Knives Out. Now, after leading the cast of Knives Out, Craig has gone on to reprise his role as the Southern detective on multiple occasions, because he loves it and so do we. 

Ryan Gosling – Drive

If you look over Ryan Gosling’s best movies, on one side you’ll find his brilliant comedic films – like Barbie and The Nice Guys – and on the other side, you’ll find his stoic and dramatic performance, like the one he gives in Drive. Put simply, Drive wouldn’t work without the actor’s lead performance, because the entire film hinges on him and his abilities. 

Ryan Reynolds – Deadpool

After years of working to get it made and some well-timed leaked footage, finally, in 2016, Deadpool came out and we got to see Ryan Reynolds in his element as the Merc with a Mouth. 

Casey Affleck – Manchester By The Sea 

In a film about a man returning home to reckon with his past and grief after losing his brother, Casey Affleck gives an emotional and commanding performance. Not only did he win an Oscar for his work in this drama, but it’s also one of the big defining roles of his career. 

Chris Evans – Captain America: The Winter Soldier 

Chris Evans began and ended his tenure as Steve Rogers in the 2010s. While all his outings as the star-spangled man with a plan were excellent, nothing tops his performance as Cap in the political thriller that is the Russo brothers’ Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which is easily one of the best Marvel movies ever made. 

Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel 

Under Wes Anderson’s precise direction, Ralph Fiennes occupied the pastel world of the Grand Budapest Hotel with grace and style. His fast-talking M. Gustave went on quite the adventure in this film, and he won over the hearts of audiences with his quick wit, smooth charm and impeccable work ethic. 

Natalie Portman – Black Swan 

Throwing it back to the beginning of the decade, Darren Aronofsky’s 2010 psychological thriller Black Swan showed us Natalie Portman’s talents in a new light. While she had been on the scene and in big movies for years, this film marked a major milestone in her career as her performance as a tortured ballerina got her an Academy Award. 

Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buys Club

Obviously, for a couple of decades before this, Matthew McConaughey was known and beloved for fun movies like Dazed and Confused and How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days. However, in 2013, Dallas Buyers Club marked a notable shift in his career. Not only did he win an Oscar for this dramatic turn as a man who finds out he has AIDS, but he also went on to star in acclaimed projects like Interstellar and True Detective one year later, cementing himself as a magnificent dramatic actor with serious range. 

Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook

Yes, Jennifer Lawrence leading The Hunger Games cast is one of the biggest triumphs of her career. However, amid all of that, she starred in the beloved dramedy Silver Linings Playbook with Bradley Cooper, and that’s the film for which she won her Oscar. This magnificent film about two people learning to live and thrive through grief and mental illness, is a thoughtful and funny film that Lawrence steals with her amazing performance. 

Brad Pitt – Moneyball 

Moneyball is the story about the general manager of the Oakland A’s using his business savvy and what little money his team had to assemble a rag-tag team of MLB players. Brad Pitt plays said manager, Billy Beane, and I mean it when I say the movie really wouldn’t work without him. He’s at the center of it, and he carries it to victory just like his character did with the A’s.  

Chadwick Boseman – Black Panther 

We sadly lost Chadwick Boseman way too early, however, his legacy will live on forever. This is in part because of his performance as the King of Wakanda, T’Challa. Black Panther was a historic moment in modern movie history, and his incredible take on the titular hero is a big reason why. 

Margot Robbie – I, Tonya 

Before I, Tonya, Margot Robbie was beloved for her supporting and ensemble roles in films like The Wolf of Wall Street and Suicide Squad. However, one of the movies that helped solidify her as both a leading lady and super producer was I, Tonya. She played Tonya Harding and produced the film under the banner of her company LuckyChap – which went on to make films like Barbie and Promising Young Woman. 

Florence Pugh – Midsommar

Florence Pugh exploded onto the scene with the haunting Ari Aster film Midsommar. The movie is now considered one of the best horror movies of all time, and a big reason why is Pugh’s performance. 

Saoirse Ronan – Lady Bird

Talk about a dynamic duo. Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan are a match made in heaven, and that was solidified into fact when the actress played the titular Lady Bird in the director’s breakout film. Not only did fans fall in love with Ronan’s performance as the defiant teenage gal, but she also received wide acclaim and an Oscar nomination for it. Plus, it was the beginning of a glorious partnership between her and Greta Gerwig as they then went on to make Little Women together. 

Timothée Chalamet – Call Me By Your Name

These days, when people think of Timothée Chalamet, they likely think of him as Paul Atreides, the leader of the Dune cast. However, before that (and in a different decade) the film that sprung him into the mainstream was Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name. The deeply romantic and tender coming-of-age drama was led beautifully by Chalamet, and since then he’s taken on more roles that have helped cement him as one of the top-leading men of his generation. 

Anna Kendrick – Pitch Perfect

If you were a kid in 2012 (like I was), odds are you learned the “Cups” song. The movie about college acapella was a phenomenon in the early 2010s, and it served as a big breakout leading role for Anna Kendrick. Not only was she funny as Becca, but everyone also became aware that she had the singing voice of an angel.  

Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years A Slave

Lupita Nyong’o’s first feature film was 12 Years A Slave. Her performance in the movie by Steve McQueen won her an Oscar in 2012 and solidified her as a top-tier dramatic performer. Since then, she’s gone on to star in massive blockbusters like Black Panther and A Quiet Place: Day One. 

Joaquin Phoenix – Joker

There have been many amazing takes on the Joker, and Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck was a totally new one. In Joker, we see the villain’s origin story, and it’s a film that’s unlike any other DC project. The haunting performance ultimately won the actor an Oscar, and he reprised the part again in Joker: Folie à Deux.

Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road

The movie is named after Mad Max, and he’s great, don’t get me wrong, but Furiosa steals the show. Charlize Theron’s performance as the driver in Mad Max: Fury Road is fierce and jaw-dropping, and she’s one of many reasons why George Miller’s movie is considered one of the best action films. 

Michael Cera – Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

You can’t have Scott Pilgrim vs. The World without a perfect Scott Pilgrim and that’s who Michael Cera is. He perfectly played the awkward yet heroic protagonist in Edgar Wright’s beloved film, and to this day, it's considered some of his best work.

Matt Damon – The Martian

This Ridley Scott movie is literally about one man who is stuck on Mars. Yes, there are other people in the film trying to save him. However, overall, The Martian is Matt Damon’s movie. He plays the stranded astronaut and scientist, and the heart, charisma, intelligence and even humor he brings to the space drama is unforgettable. 

All around, the 2010s were full of films that are on their way to becoming all-time classics, and it’s in part thanks to the brilliant actors who starred in them. 

There are tons of great movies about the history and culture of the American South. They aren't all positive, because all histories and cultures are messy and the South is certainly no exception. Some of the movies are heartwarming in a way that only Southerners can be and some are heartbreaking for many reasons. Either way, they are important, powerful, and fun stories about everyone living below the Mason-Dixon line. 

Fried Green Tomatoes

There is nothing more quintessentially southern than the dish fried green tomatoes. Like the dish, the movie of the same name just oozes Southern culture. Kathy Bates stars alongside Jessica Tandy and listens as Tandy's character tells her life story, which is a microcosm of life in the South in the 20th Century, including all the highs and lows. 

My Cousin Vinny

Everyone loves a good fish out of water story and having Joe Pesci play a lawyer - or someone pretending to be a lawyer - in the South is just perfect for that. My Cousin Vinny doesn't really punch down at anyone, while still maintaining a humoristic look at both the South, and the North, and how the two cultures may clash at times, but ultimately are still the same people, under it all. 

Selma

The Civil Rights movement is one of the most consequential periods in United States history, and while the story has been told many times in movies, in many different ways, Selma is one of the best, and broadest, telling of the story. David Oyelowo's performance as Dr. Martin Luther King is mesmerizing. 

No Country For Old Men

In many ways, Texas is a culture apart from the rest of the Deep South, but it still does overlap quite a bit. There are a lot of movies set in Texas, but No Country For Old Men finds a way to really nail a lot of the culture, while still maintaining the fanciful nature of the plot. Not bad for a couple of directors like the Coen Brothers who hail from Minnesota. 

To Kill A Mockingbird

The book and movie To Kill A Mockingbird is without a doubt one of the most important stories told in the 20th Century. It captures small-town life in the South in the Depression era perfectly. It's also obviously not afraid to dig into the more disturbing parts of life in Alabama at the time, the terrible racism that hung over everything. 

The Outsiders

The Outsiders became a cultural phenomenon when the book was first published in the late '60s. Telling the story of working-class kids fighting with the rich kids in Tulsa in 1965. It took a decade-and-a-half for Francis Ford Coppola to put together the now-legendary cast of The Outsiders and make the movie, but it was worth the wait. 

O Brother Where Are Thou?

For a couple of guys from Minnesota, The Coen Brothers really know how to capture the essence of the American South. They set a few of their movies there, but O Brother Where Are Thou? really stands out as a great example of how to tell a wild story that is sarcastic, fantastical, and over-the-top, but grounded in realism. 

Smokey And The Bandit

When a guy needs a bunch of beer you can only buy west of the Mississippi for a party in Georgia, there's only one person to hire to smuggle the load. The Bandit (Burt Reynolds). The movie basically covers all of what we call the Deep South from Texarkana to Atlanta. Jackie Gleason's Texas sheriff, Buford T. Justice, is the icing on the cake. 

12 Years A Slave

Sometimes filmmakers need to tell stories we don't want to hear but need to hear. 12 Years A Slave is a movie you can only watch once, but one that everyone needs to see at least once. It's a powerful story about the ugliest part of American history that everyone has a difficult time confronting, but a time we all need to remember for exactly what it was. 

A Street Car Named Desire

Playwright Tennessee Williams did as much to define Southern culture as anyone else in the arts with his plays like The Glass Menagerie and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The most successful adaptation of one of his plays, A Streetcar Named Desire, is no exception, bringing the era of mid-20th Century New Orleans to life with a classic cast that included Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, and Karl Malden. 

Dazed And Confused

Being a teenager in Austin, TX in 1976 sure looks like a lot of fun in Dazed And Confused. The cult classic comedy by director Richard Linklater is loved all over the country, not only for its witty script, but for the monster cast of then-up-and-comers like Ben Affleck, Parker Posey, and Matthew McConaughey. 

A Time To Kill

Matthew McConaughey is a proud son of Texas, but he's not afraid to call out the troubled history in the Southern U.S. A Time To Kill is a perfect example, of confronting racism in rural Mississippi in the 1990s. It's also one of Samuel L. Jackson's most powerful performances as the accused Carl Lee Hailey. 

Baby Driver

Let's be honest, Baby Driver could have happened in any city, but it happens in Atlanta. Atlanta, as anyone who has driven there will tell you, is actually kind of the perfect city for a movie about car chases. Wide highways, big streets, elevation changes... it all makes for great car chases, and Baby Driver has some of the best car chases ever. 

Glory

The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was one of the very first Black units in the Union Army during the Civil War and while it may have Massachusetts in the name, and the movie Glory is based on the true story of the regiment, it takes place almost entirely in the South during the war. It's one of the best war movies ever made and one of the most powerful stories about the South ever told. 

Friday Night Lights

No matter where you are in the South, from Virginia to Texas, if it's Friday night in the fall, there is serious high school football being played. Friday Night Lights, which is based on a book of the same name telling the true story of a small Texas town's team is one of the best representations of that culture ever put on film. The story is so good, that they later fictionalized it on TV as well. 

The Color Purple

Steven Spielberg managed to surprise everyone when he directed The Color Purple. It was a big departure from the kind of summer blockbusters audiences were used to from the director. It's no surprise that his deft hand helped tell an amazing story about all the hardships of life for a Black woman in the South in the early 20th Century. 

Steel Magnolias

If you want a real slice of Southern life on the big screen, there is no better example than Steel Magnolias. It's not always pleasant, but it's real. The highs and lows of life burst off the screen, all while celebrating all that is great about small-town life in the South. 

Gone With The Wind

It may be the most famous movie set in the South, ever. While Gone With The Wind is not without some deserved controversy, it's still one of the greatest cinematic achievements in history. Of course, it tells the story of the hardships even the very rich faced in the South during the Civil War 

Hustle & Flow

Hip-hop may have developed in the streets of New York, but it didn't take long for the South to start putting its own unique spin on the genre. Hustle & Flow is a great way to experience the development of rap in Memphis. Memphis plays an important role in the history of all American music and it's great to see where hip-hop fits in. 

Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil

High society in the South is perfectly represented in Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil. Kevin Spacey, as problematic as he is, puts in his typically great performance here, as a member of Savannah, Georgia's elite. It's just a darn good crime story. 

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Magical realism, Louisana-style is what Beasts of the Southern Wild is. The fantasy elements tell the tale, but the harsh realities of living in the Bayou with rising sea levels set the backdrop for this incredible movie. A movie made on a tiny budget that made a fortune. 

Deliverance

There are a whole lot of negative stereotypes in Deliverance that have to be acknowledged off the top here. The portrayals of locals as inbred, violent hicks are offensive to many, but that doesn't mean the movie isn't really scary and exciting. It's legendary for a reason. 

Driving Miss Daisy

Sometimes people forget just was a massive hit Driving Miss Daisy was. It's easy to see why it's argued by some that it's not a great representation of the South, but it is pretty accurate in a lot of ways. This is especially true of Miss Daisy (Jessica Tandy) and her attitude towards her driver (Morgan Freeman) in the beginning. 

Norma Rae

Sally Field stars as Norma Rae Webster in Norma Rae, who is based on the real-life North Carolinian labor organizer Crystal Lee Sutton. While the struggles of African-American communities across the South have often (and deservedly) been highlighted, the struggle of poor, white Southerners is less represented. That's part of what makes Norma Rae important when telling the story of the South in the 20th Century. 

Nashville

Director Robert Altman's 1975 masterpiece Nashville is one of the best representations of the power of music, specifically country music, carries in the South. Rock and Roll, Blues, Jazz, and of course, Country music all have their roots somewhere in the South, so spreading the gospel (another genre of music born in the South) of music tells us much of what we want to know. 

The Green Mile

Frank Darabont might have directed the best movie of the 1990s with The Shawshank Redemption, but it's another prison movie by the director that lands on this list. The Green Mile, which like Shawshank, was based on a Steven King story tells a very different kind of story, in a very different kind of prison. Of all the places in the world you wouldn't want to get locked up in, Louisiana in the 1930s would have to be close to the top of the list. 

The Iron Claw

Professional wrestling really came into its own in the South in the 50s and 60s. Sure, it's always been popular everywhere in America, but the South is its home. The South, specifically Texas, was also home to the legendary Von Erich family. The Iron Claw wonderfully tells the family's tragic story, all with the backdrop of 1970s and 1980s Southern culture. 

Green Book

2018's Green Book is an uncompromising look at the Jim Crow South. It's raw and honest about what it was like to be a Black man, specifically a musician, traveling in the South in the early 1960s. Mahershala Ali plays Don Shirley, who was one of the greatest jazz pianists of his day, but still found little respect in many parts of the South because of the color of his skin. 

Cape Fear

Martin Scorsese's 1991 remake of Cape Fear could have been set anywhere, but it's set in North Carolina and there really wasn't a better choice. The unique Carolina coast is the perfect setting and watching Robert De Niro's excellent performance with a Southern accent makes it all the better. 

Moonlight

There's a common saying saying in Florida that the further south you travel, the further north you get. That's because northern Florida has far more in common with the deep south than Miami. Still, Miami is as far south as you can get on the mainland of the United States, so a movie like Moonlight fits in, despite being more about the gritty streets of Miami than say, high school football. 

Coal Miner's Daughter

Kentucky isn't often represented in movies, and when it is, it's usually a pretty depressing take on the state. Coal Miner's Daughter isn't all sunshine and lollipops, either, but it is a very fair representation of life in a coal town for a young girl named Loretta Lynn. Yep, that Loretta Lynn, who came up in a tough situation but found her way to huge fame as a country singer. 

The Princess And The Frog

We couldn't have this list without a little Disney flavor. While the company has smartly buried Song of the South deep in their vault, or maybe even under the vault, The Princess And The Frog is another story completely. There are few better representations of New Orleans in film. The culture, the food, and especially the music.

There are just some movies, that despite how great they are, are just impossible to watch more than once. Either the subject is too heavy, like a holocaust film, or the violence is too much, like some horror movies, or any other number of reasons. This is a list of 32 of those amazing films that you just can't watch a second time. 

Schindler's List (1993)

The Steven Spielberg classic Schindler's List is one of the most difficult movies to watch ever. It's absolutely brilliant in the way it depicts the horrors and personal costs of The Holocaust, and while it's completely gripping and an amazing story, it is really hard to watch, emotionally. I've actually seen it twice after swearing to never watch it a second time, but I don't think I have it in me to watch a third time. 

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

The Rwandan genocide of the '90s is still very raw in that part of Africa. The movie Hotel Rwanda is like other movies about people trying to save people from such events, like Schindler's List, is both heartwarming and completely heartbreaking. You really feel for everyone viscerally when you watch, and because of that, it's really hard to watch a second time. 

The Green Mile (1999)

The Green Mile is a very different story than we are used to coming from the mind of Stephen King. It's not scary, in a traditional sense, but boy is it emotionally fatiguing. Michael Clarke Duncan's performance is what makes this heartbreaking movie about a prisoner on death row. The raw emotion he plays the role with is spectacular but absolutely draining.   

The Zone Of Interest (2023)

The 2024 Oscar winner for Best Sound, The Zone Of Interest, is one of the most worthy recipients of that award in history. The way that director Jonathan Glazer told the entire menacing part of the story with sound is simply incredible. It is also not for the faint of heart. Not seeing the horrors of the Holocaust depicted on screen makes it all the more powerful because it's all in your mind, making it much more real somehow. 

Uncut Gems (2013)

There is little harder than watching one man's decent in desperation and despair, like Howard (Adam Sandler) in Uncut Gems. You want to just reach out and hug and tell him to stop making things worse for himself. Audiences see every bad, desperate decision coming and are helpless to stop it. Sandler's performance is so good, that you completely forget this is the guy who played Billy Madison and is known for being funny more than a dramatic actor. 

12 Years a Slave (2013)

Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave should be required viewing for every American. It should be taught in schools, it's that important. Chiwetel Ejiofor's depiction of the real-life Solomon Northup, a free Black man kidnapped and enslaved for 12 years in the American South. Slavery is America's original sin, one we still are grappling with a century and a half after it ended, and seeing the way Ejiofor and McQueen show it is really, really hard, but really important to do.  

Midsommar (2019)

Horror movies are a lot of different things to different people. They can be campy and fun, or they can be psychologically terrifying. Midsommar is the latter, by a mile. There is nothing "fun" about Midsommar. It's one of the most disturbing movies made in the last decade, and it's a movie that will sit with you for a long, long time. So long, that you probably don't want to put yourself through it again. It's so good at doing what it sets out to do, you never want to see it again. Even star Florence Pugh was greatly affected by it. 

Inside (2023)

2023's Inside is one of those movies I went into knowing virtually nothing about, save for the fact that it starred Willem Dafoe. Wow was that a tough watch to see a man trapped in a gilded prison cell of his own making when Dafoe's character finds himself unable to escape a penthouse apartment he was trying to rob. Dafoe's performance of a man driven to madness is both brilliant and terrifying. 

Manchester By The Sea (2016)

Manchester By The Sea is one of those stories that just when you think things can't get worse, they do. One tragedy after another is revealed as the movie goes on and Casey Affleck's performance is one of the all-time greats in Hollywood history as the man who just can't seem to ever get a break, and is living one of the saddest lives you've ever seen on film. It's such a good movie, but too emotionally draining to watch more than once. 

The Passion Of The Christ (2004)

Even for non-Christians The Passion of the Christ is an incredibly difficult watch. The sheer amount of violence so viscerally depicted is stomach-churning and disturbing. I do think it's worth watching once, despite the controversy that has always surrounded it and its director Mel Gibson, but once is enough. 

The Revenant (2015)

Like a few others on this list, The Revenant is here not because of the story it tells, but rather how it's depicted. It's raw and violent and bloody and disturbing. It's a (mostly) true story, which makes it almost too incredible to believe, and Leonardo DiCaprio puts in one of his finest performances, but it's not a movie you watch over and over. 

The Machinist (2004)

2004's The Machinist is worth watching - and impossible to watch again - for one reason, really, Christian Bale's performance. The actor legendarily lost 62 pounds for the role, playing an emaciated, delusional factory worker who is unable to sleep, ever. It's one of the most incredible acting jobs you'll ever see, and never want to see again. 

Requiem For a Dream (2000)

Watching a decent into drug addiction can be among the most harrowing things to see in a movie and no movie is better (and scarier) for that than Requiem For a Dream. Viewers not only watch Sara's (Ellen Burstyn) downward spiral, but they feel it with Darren Aronofsky's direction and Burstyn's amazing performance. 

Oldboy (2003)

When a movie starts out as unsettling as the 2003 South Korean masterpiece Oldboy and only gets more harrowing from there, you know it belongs on this list. Choi Min-sik is amazing as the man imprisoned in what looks like a hotel room for years. As he learns the disturbing fate of his wife on TV, he sinks further into despair. Things only get worse when he is finally freed from the room. 

Civil War (2024)

Alex Garland's Civil War has garnered huge praise that it is worthy of, but the movie's premise and action are so tough to watch, that I'll likely never see it again. That sickness in my stomach I felt as I watched is both high praise and the reason for my decision. Seeing some of the images of a country at war that you never expect to see is haunting and scary. 

The Whale (2022)

Like other examples on this list, The Whale is carried by the performance of its lead actor, Brendan Fraiser. The Academy Award-winning role is played with such raw emotion, that it's impossible to look away from, yet it's not something I ever want to relive. 

Whiplash (2014)

There was a ton of praise for Whiplash when it was released in 2014, and it's deserving of all of it. The depiction of a student learning drums from an impossible taskmaster is nothing short of fantastic, yet you can't watch the movie and not feel all the violence and mental anguish right in your gut for the runtime of the movie. JK Simmons is terrifying in his role as the sadistic conductor pushing Andrew (Miles Teller) to the brink of sanity. 

Happiness (1998)

Though it's billed as a comedy, Happiness is as dark as a comedy can get. It's praised for its bold decision to cover issues that are rarely talked about, and so disturbing I'd rather not do that here, and the cast, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ben Gazzara, Jared Harris, Lara Flynn Boyle, and more. Still, it's hard to watch even once, much less twice.  

Life Is Beautiful (1997)

It's rare for a movie as funny as Life Is Beautiful to be so hard to watch again, but that's exactly what is it. The movie was controversial for the comedic elements within telling a story about the Holocaust, but Roberto Benigni is so good at the tragic clown that it's impossible to appreciate the movie. Even if you never want to see it again. 

American History X (1998)

While some movies are too hard to watch a second time because they are emotionally draining, American History X is impossible to watch again because it's just too disturbing. We don't want to believe that people like Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) exist, though we know they do and that makes it really hard to digest once, much less twice. 

Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

The level of self-destruction that Nicolas Cage's character in Leaving Las Vegas is astounding. When I saw it, it both repulsed me and made me want a drink, which is disturbing on a lot of levels. It's so heartbreaking to watch anyone so depressed and hopeless as the character is. 

The Pianist (2002)

Like other movies about The Holocaust, The Pianist is incredibly heartbreaking and hard to watch. Unlike movies like Schindler's List, it's really about one man's trials through the whole event and that makes it even more tragic to see everything happening around him. It's not just those murdered in the Holocaust, the survivors are also victims. 

Nightcrawler (2014)

Nightcrawler asks a lot of important questions and despite being almost a decade old, it's still questions we need answers to about the role of the press in our society. For that reason, it's an important movie to watch. The violence and disturbing images make it both critical and appalling to watch and for those reasons, once is enough. 

My Girl (1991)

Everything is tougher when it's kids. The death of a child is among the most heartbreaking things in the world, and My Girl is brutal in that respect. What makes it even harder is how sudden the death is in the movie, making it a wonderful movie, but one that you never want to watch again. 

The Saw Movies

The name of the company that produces the Saw franchise is Twisted Pictures and that name says it all. The horror movies are stone classics in the genre, but for anyone even a little squeamish, these movies are unwatchable nightmares. Even those of us that can stomach them once, have had enough by the end. 

Steel Magnolias (1989)

There is no question that Steel Magnolias has an amazing cast, led by the great Sally Field in one of her best roles. It's still a movie you only want to watch once. It's a little more rewatchable than some of the other movies on this list, but only due to the performances. It's truly one of the most iconic tear-jerkers in Hollywood history. 

The Act of Killing (2012)

Most of this list is fictional movies, but The Act of Killing is a documentary and that makes everything even more visceral. It's not only a true story - and a disturbing one at that - it features the real people involved. It's a naked look at the worst humanity can be and for that it's necessary viewing, but not multiple times. 

Marley & Me (2008)

There are millions of families that can directly relate to Marley & Me, which is what makes it both wonderful and sad. Many people know exactly how important dogs can be, especially to young families, and even though we know in the back of our heads that our dogs won't live forever, yet when we lose them, it really hurts. Marley & Me would be very rewatchable if it ended with the family moving the farm and Marley happily running around. But that's not how it ends and for that, it puts it in the same category as Old Yellar. Once is enough. 

Sophie’s Choice (1982)

There is no question that the role of Sophie Zawistowska in Sophie’s Choice is one of the finest performances of Meryl Streep's career, and that is really saying something. It's a revelation to watch her play this incredibly difficult role, and for that, everyone should see the movie. The "choice" she has to make wouldn't be wished on anyone's worst enemy and for that, we know we can only watch it once. 

Fruitvale Station (2013)

2013's Fruitvale Station forces the audience to confront, viscerally, some of the worst aspects of life in America for African Americans. It's not a pleasant thing to watch, though like others on this list, should be required viewing. It's hard to get through, but completely worth it in the end. It's a movie that will stick with you forever, so once is all you need. 

Mother! (2017)

There is a genre of movie, like Mother!, that are so hard to watch for mothers especially that they deserve their own sub-category of movie. That's not to say it's easy to watch for anyone else. The ending is so disturbing, that I still have nightmares about it, despite loving the movie. 

127 Hours (2017)

Danny Boyle's 2017 film about the harrowing ordeal Aron Ralston (James Franco) went through is so well told and shown that audiences can feel the scariest moments. The scene of Ralston cutting through the nerves on his arm is to this day the most squeamish I've ever felt in a movie. Another movie I absolutely loved, along with many of Boyle's movies, but the only one I never want to watch again. 

Paul Giamatti is one of those actors who always kills it on the big screen. Whether appearing in prestigious award-winning films, raunchy comedies, or even legendary kids movies, the award-winning actor is always firing on all cylinders, and more times than not is the most interesting person in any given scene. 

Over the years, I’ve been obsessed with the incredible character actor, and after spending the better part of the past few decades watching him go from having small yet scene-stealing roles in movies like Saving Private Ryan to winning a Golden Globe for his work in The Holdovers, and everything in between, I’ve put together a list of the best Paul Giamatti movies and how to watch them…

The Holdovers (2023)

A cranky and unlikable teacher, a rebellious student with nowhere to go, and a school cook grieving her recently deceased son are forced to spend the holiday break together at a New England boarding school, learning a great deal about each other, and themselves, in the process.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers could very well become a staple of Christmas movie marathons, it’s that good. All of the characters, especially Giamatti’s chronically hungover Paul Hunham, shine and grow throughout this two-hour dramedy, as does the audience.

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Sideways (2004)

When Miles Raymond (Paul Giamatti) takes his best friend, Jack Cole (Thomas Hayden Church), on a wine-tasting trip before tying the knot, he has no idea that the getaway will end in total disaster for everyone involved.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: How Giamatti didn’t win an Oscar for his portrayal of a prickly struggling writer and wine enthusiast in Alexander Payne’s Sideways is still a mystery nearly 20 years later. The way he brings the depressed and on-the-edge character to life with so much life and nuance is a masterclass in acting.

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Straight Outta Compton (2015)

A group of Los Angeles rappers change not only the face of hip hop but also pop culture as a whole when they team up and take the world by storm as N.W.A. 

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: When I heard Giamatti was cast to portray Jerry Heller in F. Gary Gray’s Straight Outta Compton, I knew he was going to kill it as N.W.A.’s shady manager and one of the most notorious figures in the music industry. He perfectly captures the “shake your hand while stabbing you in the back” essence of the businessman who helped build and tear apart the group.

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Buy Straight Outta Compton on Amazon.

Cinderella Man (2005)

A washed-up ex-boxer is given a shot at redemption and the chance for a better life upon stepping back into the ring. But success in sport can’t always fix everything, as he soon finds out.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: Giamatti is tour de force in his portrayal of Joe Gould, the manager and friend of Russell Crowe’s James J. Braddock in Cinderella Man. Giamatti pretty much steals every scene in this great boxing movie.

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The Ides Of March (2011)

In the heat of a bitterly contested presidential primary, a young and idealistic campaign manager learns the hard way that all is fair in love and war.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: George Clooney’s The Ides of March is full of heavy hitters like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright, and Ryan Gosling as Stephen Meyers. However, it’s Paul Giamatti as rival Tom Duffy who steals the show in this intense and untrusting political thriller.

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American Splendor (2003)

Despite not having great artistic ability, Havey Pekar (Paul Giamatti) uses his unique voice and friendship with legendary artists to kickstart a career in the comic industry, which he then helps revolutionize.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: American Splendor is a biopic like no other, as it is one part feature film and one part documentary featuring the real Harvey Pekar. This doesn’t take away from Giamatti’s portrayal of the underground artist. In fact, this fresh take makes it arguably the best comic book movie of all time.

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Buy American Splendor on DVD on Amazon.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

In the middle of the Allied assault on Nazi-controlled France, a small group of soldiers is tasked with finding and bringing home a young G.I. so that his mother doesn’t lose all four of her sons in the war.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan is one of the best war movies ever made, as well as one of Paul Giamatti’s greatest performances. Giamatti’s war-weary sergeant is only in one scene, but those couple minutes of screen time are pure brilliance.

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The Illusionist (2006)

When a popular magician starts a new show where he purportedly summons the spirit of his murdered lover, a tenacious police inspector attempts to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: Neil Burger’s The Illusionist is a fun and twisty mystery that you don’t fully grasp until the very end, right around the same time Giamatti’s tireless detective figures it out. This, combined with Edward Norton and Jessica Biel’s performances, make it one to check out. 

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12 Years A Slave (2013) 

After being tricked, kidnapped, and sold into slavery, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) endures 12 years of pain, suffering, and torture as he tries to survive and make it back home to his family.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: Though Paul Giamatti’s Theophilus Freeman is far from being a likable person in Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave, his brief time in the movie adds so much to Solomon’s struggle. 

Rent/Buy 12 Years a Slave on Amazon.
Buy 12 Years a Slave on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Man On The Moon (1999)

The life, times, and legend of the late Andy Kaufman are explored in great detail in the Jim Carrey-led 1999 biopic, Man on the Moon.

Why it is one of Paul Giamiatti’s best movies: Jim Carrey lost himself while playing Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon, but Giamatti is grounded throughout with his great portrayal of the late comedian’s longtime friend, Bob Zmuda. Less colorful than his co-star, Giamatti gives one of the great straight-man performances of his career.

Rent/Buy Man on the Moon on Amazon.
Buy Man on the Moon on Blu-ray on Amazon.

While we don’t yet know what the future has in store for Paul Giamatti or if we’ll see him play a Bond villain, there are some great 2024 movie releases on the way to hold us over in the meantime. 

Some of the biggest stars in Hollywood are also some of the most often snubbed by the Oscars when it comes to Best Actor and Actress Academy Awards. Legends like Harrison Ford, Jamie Lee Curtis, and many others have somehow had some of the most successful careers in film, but have only been nominated for one Academy Award in the acting categories. 

Harrison Ford - Nominated For Best Actor (Witness)

Harrison Ford is a national treasure, most everyone will agree. Everyone, it seems, except The Academy, as he has only ever nominated once, for 1985’s Witness. This actor has been in two of the biggest franchises in history, plus the two Jack Ryan movies and so much more. He should’ve been nominated for The Fugitive at least. 

Eddie Murphy - Nominated For Best Supporting Actor (Dreamgirls)

Another icon of the late 20th Century and early 21st Century is Eddie Murphy, who has only been nominated once, for Dreamgirls in 2007. This is probably more testament to the Academy's apparent lack of appreciation for some of his best comedic performances because I dare you to find better ones in history than Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop or Coming To America. 

Gwyneth Paltrow - Nominated For Best Actress (Shakespeare In Love)

Gwyneth Paltrow will likely be a polarizing name on this list because the actor herself tends to be, but she’s had a number of wonderful performances over the years. Roles in The Talented Mr. Ripley, Emma, and The Royal Tenenbaums are all worthy of more consideration than she’s received over the years. She's earned just one nomination for Shakespeare in Love, for which she also won. 

Taraji P. Henson - Nominated For Best Supporting Actress (The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button)

Taraji P. Henson has been nominated for more than thirty acting awards across her sterling career. Somehow, only one of those was for an Academy Award. Her lone Oscar nomination was for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in 2008, and it’s frankly astounding that’s the only one. At a minimum, she should have been nominated for Hidden Figures alongside her cast-mate Octavia Spencer. Hopefully, this changes with her role in the upcoming remake of The Color Purple. 

Hugh Jackman - Nominated For Best Actor (Les Misérables)

Hugh Jackman is one award away from achieving EGOT status. The “O” is missing and shockingly he’s only been nominated once for an Oscar, for his performance in Les Misérables. The multi-talented Jackman has won so many awards, but is shut out yearly at the Academy Awards. The Oscars may not show much respect to comic book films, but everyone else does, and saying he should have been nominated for Logan isn’t a stretch, nor is saying it about his performance in The Greatest Showman.

Jamie Lee Curtis - Nominated For Best Supporting Actress (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Jamie Lee Curtis is one of the most versatile actors of her generation. Horror, comedy, drama, she does it all. And yet, she has little to show for it in terms of Oscar nominations. She finally was nominated (and won) for Everything Everywhere All At Once but where were the nominations for My Girl and A Fish Called Wanda?

Salma Hayek - Nominated For Best Actress (Frida)

It’s been more than two decades since Salma Hayek was first nominated for an Oscar, for 2001’s Frida and she’s not been nominated since. Hayek is an icon and one of the most beloved actors today, yet never seems to get the attention of the Academy. This is likely in part due to the discounting of action films, which have become Hayek’s bread and butter, but that doesn’t mean her performances in movies like Traffic and Beatriz at Dinner weren't worthy of attention.

Matthew McConaughey - Nominated For Best Actor (Dallas Buyers Club)

When Matthew McConaughey won the Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club after being nominated for the first and only time, he led his speech with his trademark “Alright, alright, alright” and while his role in Dazed and Confused is a classic, he certainly deserved nominations for other roles, like how about a nod for his supporting role in The Wolf Of Wall Street or his performance in the vastly underrated Mud?

Samuel L. Jackson - Nominated For Best Supporting Actor (Pulp Fiction)

If there is anyone on the list that should be a perennial nominee, it’s Samuel L. Jackson. His lone nomination came from his unforgettable and meme-able turn in Pulp Fiction, but he’s an actor who steals every scene he's in, in a good way. Just his roles in Quentin Tarantino films alone, like Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight, are worthy of nominations, but it hasn’t happened, sadly. Thankfully for all of us, Jackson was given an honorary Oscar in 2021 for his contributions to film, which is some consolation. 

Uma Thurman - Nominated For Best Supporting Actress (Pulp Fiction)

Speaking of Pulp Fiction, the Tarantino classic also led to Uma Thurman’s one and only Academy Award nomination. Despite being one of the biggest stars on the planet, Thurman seems to have no luck getting the attention of the Academy. One role that really stands out is in the under-appreciated Prime. 

Benedict Cumberbatch - Nominated For Best Actor (The Imitation Game)

One has to believe that more nominations will be coming for Benedict Cumberbatch. Thus far, his only acknowledgment from the Oscars was for his wonderful performance as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. There are plenty of other roles he could have been nominated for, especially as William Bulger in Black Mass and Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate and that’s just the roles in which he’s played real people! 

Mark Wahlberg - Nominated For Best Supporting Actor (The Departed)

In 1990, no one would have expected “Marky” Mark Wahlberg to appear on any kind of list like that, but almost 35 years later, it’s astounding his only Oscar nomination has been for The Departed (one of our picks for the 100 best movies of the 2000s). You have to question why he was ignored for Boogie Nights, for sure. The Fighter is another clear snub, though he was technically nominated for Best Picture as a producer of the film. 

Halle Berry - Nominated For Beat Actress (Monster's Ball)

When Halle Berry earned her one Oscar nomination for 2001’s Monster’s Ball, she was the odds-on favorite to win. She had become one of the biggest stars of the 1990s and now was her time to shine. She won, of course, but sadly, it would be the last time Berry would be nominated, so far, at least. It’s a shame because there are plenty of roles she’d be deserving of a nomination, like Frankie & Alice, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe.

Laurence Fishburne - Nominated For Best Actor (What's Love Got To Do With It)

This could be the most shocking on the list. At first thought, you might guess Laurence Fishburne was nominated for his amazing work as Furious Styles in Boyz n the Hood or Professor Phipps in John Singleton’s other masterpiece, Higher Learning. Alas, the Matrix star has only one nomination, for playing Ike Turner in What’s Love Got To Do With It, and he didn’t win. 

Josh Brolin  - Nominated For Best Supporting Actor (Milk)

Josh Brolin has been a favorite since he was a teenager in The Goonies. He’s also starred in some powerhouse movies, like Sicario and, most of all, No Country For Old Men. No Country won a slew of Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor for Javier Barden, and yet Brolin wasn’t even nominated. It frankly doesn’t make sense. Brolin’s lone nomination came from his wonderful performance in Milk, but that was the year that the late Heath Ledger won for The Dark Knight.

Sharon Stone - Nominated For Best Actress (Casino)

You could argue that while Sharon Stone was brilliant in Casino, it wasn’t even her best performance, though it’s the only time she’s been nominated. She wasn’t nominated for Basic Instinct, despite winning the Golden Globe for the role, nor for the underrated The Muse in 2000. At least we have Casino. 

Tilda Swinton - Nominated For For Best Supporting Actress (Michael Clayton)

2007's Michael Clayton was awash in acting nominations, including George Clooney for Best Actor and Tom Wilkinson for Best Supporting Actor. The only winner of the night, though, was Tilda Swinton for Best Supporting Actress. Over her incredible career, Swinton has been honored for other roles, like her parts in The Deep End, We Need to Talk About Kevin, and even Snowpiercer, but this remains her only Oscar nod. 

Liam Neeson - Nominated For Best Actor (Schindler’s List)

Long before Liam Neeson re-invented himself as an action star in summer blockbusters, he was a character actor carving out a nice career in film. Then came the epic Schindler's List. He was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor in a movie, though he lost out to Tom Hanks for Philadelphia. In the 30 years since, Neeson has not been nominated, not even for fantastic turns in The Gangs of New York, Michael Collins, or Rob Roy. For shame.  

Lupita Nyong'o - Nominated For Best Actress (12 Years A Slave)

Lupita Nyong'o burst onto the Hollywood scene with her heartbreakingly beautiful performance in 12 Years A Slave. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress and has since been racking up the accolades everywhere... except the Oscars. Despite well-received turns in Us and Queen of Katwe, not to mention her roles in the Black Panther films, she hasn't again been nominated. 

Sean Connery - Nominated For Best Supporting Actors (The Untouchables)

Sean Connery was one of the biggest movie stars in the world, and yet he was virtually ignored by the Academy for his whole career. Setting aside his brilliance as James Bond, Connery should’ve earned nods for The Hunt For Red October, and The Name Of The Rose, at least. Instead, his only nomination came for The Untouchables, which, thankfully, he won. 

Alec Baldwin - Nominated For Best Supporting Actor (The Cooler)

Another fantastic performance in The Hunt for Red October that didn’t get recognition is Alec Baldwin’s as Jack Ryan. Baldwin could’ve been nominated for either of his two on-screen performances in 1992, Glengarry Glen Ross, and Prelude To A Kiss, but again he was snubbed. His only nomination came for his role in The Cooler.

Diane Lane - Nominated For Best Actress (Unfaithful)

Diane Lane found her footing in film in the late 1990s with outstanding performances in movies like A Walk on the Moon and The Perfect Storm, either of which could've been award-winning. Instead, it wasn't until 2002's Unfaithful that she got the recognition she deserved when she was nominated for Best Actress. 

Bill Murray - Nominated For Best Actor (Lost in Translation)

The Academy has missed out on great performances by one of the best comedic actors the world has ever seen in Bill Murray. Stripes, Ghostbusters, What About Bob?, and Groundhog's Day are some of the most beloved comedies of all time, and Murray was never recognized. Nor was he for his brilliant turns in Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. Murray's sole nomination came, deservingly, for 2003's Lost In Translation. 

Jennifer Connelly - Nominated For Best Supporting Actress (A Beautiful Mind)

Jennifer Connelly has been wowing audiences for decades, including in 2022's massive hit Top Gun: Maverick. It appears though, that she has not been wowing the Academy, as she's only ever been nominated for one Oscar, which she won, for her role in 2001's A Beautiful Mind. Other roles have earned her other awards, like her parts in Requiem For A Dream and The House of Sand and Fog, but to date, nothing from the Academy Awards. 

Kathleen Turner - Nominated For Best Actress (Peggy Sue Got Married)

Despite massive hits like Body Heat, Serial Mom, and of course, Romancing The Stone, Kathleen Turner has only earned one Oscar nomination, for the vastly underrated Francis Ford Coppola film from 1986, Peggy Sue Got Married. Surely this icon of the screen deserves more. 

Robert Redford - Nominated For Best Actor (The Sting)

It’s astounding that the great Robert Redford has only one acting nomination in his whole career, for The Sting. Though he defined what a movie star is, Redford never received Oscar attention for roles in All The President’s Men, All Is Lost, Out Of Africa, and Three Days of the Condor, among many others. The list is endless here. He has been nominated twice for Best Director, for Ordinary People and Quiz Show, and won for the former. Redford also received an Honorary Oscar in 2002.

Catherine Zeta-Jones - Nominated For Best Actress (Chicago)

At the 75th Academy Awards, Chicago was the biggest winner of the night, garnering 13 nominations and winning six of them, including Catherine Zeta-Jones for Best Actress. Alas, this, so far, is the only time the Welsh actress has even been nominated, despite powerhouse roles in Traffic and Entrapment. At least she shares this dubious distinction with her husband Michael Douglas. 

Micheal Douglas - Nominated For Best Actor (Wall Street)

Gordon Gekko in Wall Street is one of the all-time great cinema villains and Michael Douglas richly deserved the Academy Award he won for playing the part in 1988. An actor with a slew of amazing performances from Falling Down, to Traffic, to Fatal Attraction and more, with only one acting nomination. He was also nominated/won for Best Picture in 1976 as the producer of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. 

Lauren Bacall - Nominated For Best Supporting Actress (The Mirror Has Two Faces)

Lauren Bacall was one of the true icons of the Golden Age of Hollywood, starring in such films as The Big Sleep, Key Largo, and many, many more over her career. Shockingly, it took until 1997 for the Academy to recognize her work when she was finally nominated for a Best Supporting Actress role for The Mirror Has Two Faces. She did finally receive a well-deserved honorary Oscar in 2000. 

Kevin Costner - Nominated For Best Actor (Dances With Wolves)

Dances With Wolves was the darling of the Oscars in 1991. It was nominated for 12 awards, winning seven, including Best Director for Kevin Costner and Best Picture, which Costner won as a producer. It was also the one and only time Costner has been nominated for an acting Academy Award. There are so many other iconic parts he should’ve gotten more credit for, like JFK, Bull Durham, The Untouchables, and Hidden Figures, just to name a few. 

It just goes to show that even being a huge box office draw, and a megastar doesn't mean you'll get recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Oscars are incredibly hard to win and even being nominated is an honor, they say. Still, for everyone on the list, you'd think they'd have more than one.  

Over the years, Lupita Nyong’o has been part of a reclusive and closed-off African kingdom with seemingly infinite power and technological advances, a galaxly far, far away, and a brutal plantation of the American South, where she has provided decorated and award-winning performances the likes of which will not be soon forgotten. During that same stretch of time, the Academy Award winner has also face-off with doppelgängers, fought zombies, and provided the narration for a documentary on one of the most beloved lovable losers in comic strip history.

In honor of the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which sees the actress reprise her role from one of the best Marvel movies to date, we have put together a list of Lupita Nyong’o’s best movies and how to watch them in a variety of ways. There are a lot of movies to break down, so let’s get this show on the road…

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Although Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is still playing in theaters and doesn’t have a release date for either its home release or eventual debut on Disney+, leaving it off the list of Lupita Nyong’o’s best movies would be a disservice to the actress’s portrayal of Nakia as it would be to Ryan Coogler’s emotional tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman.

Without giving too much away for those who have yet to watch the 2022 movie, Nyong’o’s take on Nakia the second time around is not only as captivating as the first go-around, it’s far more brilliant in every possible way. Whether it’s moments where she’s still coming to terms with the death of her king and lover, investigating Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía), or fighting alongside Shuri (Letitia Wright), Nyong’o is, once again, a shining star.

Black Panther (2018)

Following the death of his father and the king of Wakanda, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) ascends to the throne as the sworn protector of his people and protector of their secretive nation. But, when a ghost from his family’s past arrives in the form of vengeful and revolutionary Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael B. Jordan), the titular hero of Black Panther prepares to fight his toughest and most personal fight yet.

Brought in early on in the movie (during the incredible nighttime rescue mission), Lupita Nyong’o’s Nakia quickly shows T’Challa (and the audience) that she is more than capable of handling her own in a fight. The same can be said about the “War Dog” when it comes to matters off of the battlefield, as she proves time and time again in one of the MCU’s best supporting performances.

Stream Black Panther on Disney+.
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Get it on Blu-ray on Amazon.

12 Years A Slave (2013)

Nearly five years before playing one of the fiercest heroines in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Lupita Nyong’o made a name for herself as the incredibly strong-willed Patsey in Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave. The movie, which follows Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) as he goes from a free man living in the North to being kidnapped and sold into slavery, remains one of the most grueling yet inspiring Oscar winners in the past decade.

12 Years a Slave immediately turned Nyong’o into a massive star with her Oscar win and stunning on-screen performance. At the center of some of the movie’s most heartbreaking scenes while also being in some of the more tender, her take on the character is an absolute triumph.

Stream 12 Years a Slave on HBO Max.
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Get it on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Us (2019)

Two years after the critical and commercial success of Get Out, writer-director Jordan Peele continued his unique brand of socially-concious horror movies with the 2019 thriller Us. In the movie, Nyong’o plays Adelaide “Addy” Wilson, a woman who goes with her husband and two kids on a vacation, only instead of peace and relaxation, the family encounters an unnerving discovery.

Much like Get Out and Nope three years later, Us is full of complex characters, themes, and a mysterious ending that will leave you going back to watch it a second or third time. This is due to Peele’s mastery of horror, suspense, and social commentary, as well as because of the performances, especially those of Nyong’o.

Buy/Rent Us on Amazon.
Get it on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

A little over three years after Disney’s 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm, audiences received their first live-action Star Wars movie during the 2015 holiday season. The first installment of a new trilogy, Star Wars: The Force Awakens introduced a new crop of heroes and villains with a story that that could be described as equal parts sequel and reboot.

Many new faces were introduced (and familiar fan-favorites brought back) throughout the movie, including Lupita Nyong’o’s Maz Kanata, a friend of Han Solo who helped Rey (Daisy Ridley) on her own hero’s journey as well as one of self-discovery. The character with a mysterious past was brought back in the two subsequent titles, but her grand introduction and wonderful motion-capture performance by Nyong’o was at its best early on.

Stream Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Disney+.
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Get it on Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Jungle Book (2016)

Jon Favreau’s 2016 remake of The Jungle Book brought the story of Mowgli (Neel Sethi) to life like never before with a combination of live-action and CGI characters and elements. Much like the original novel and 1967 musical animated comedy, the movie saw the young orphaned boy go from an unlikely member of a pack of wolves to one of the key figures in the survival of the animal kingdom by taking on the feared Shere Khan (Idris Elba).

The voice cast of The Jungle Book is one of the most impressive of the Disney “live-action” remakes, and includes the likes of Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, and Lupita Nyong’o, who takes on the role of Mowgli’s adoptive wolf mother, Raksha. With a more prominent role than the character had in the 1967 version, and Nyong’o made the most of it with a strong, fierce, and nurturing performance.

Stream The Jungle Book on Disney+.
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Little Monsters (2019)

The 2019 horror comedy, Little Monsters, follows Dave Anderson (Alexander England), a struggling, and recently dumped, musician who goes with his young nephew on a school field trip as an attempt to get closer to his teacher, Miss Audrey Caroline (Lupita Nyong’o). And, while his wish does come true, Dave finds himself trapped in a gift shop with his nephew, Miss Audrey, and the rest of his class as a horde of zombies attempts to eat them as an afternoon snack.

A ridiculous premise and even more ridiculous execution, this offbeat zombie movie is full of thrills, chills, laughter, and heart as its story unfolds. Everyone is in on the gag too, as the performances by the cast, which also includes Josh Gadd as a children’s show host, are out of this world. Nyong’o is especially great with her blend of absurdity and sincerity throughout.

Stream Little Monsters on Hulu.

Queen Of Katwe (2016)

The 2016 sports drama, Queen of Katwe, which is based on a true story, follows Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwanga) as she goes from a young girl living in a Ugandan slum to one of the most inspirational stories in the world of chess.

This uplifting biographical drama also has a great deal of wonderful supporting characters, including Phiona’s mother, Nakku Harriet, played by Lupita Nyong’o. Throughout the movie, Nakku is the embodiment of motherly love and support, as she helps her young daughter’s dreams come true, and never stops supporting her, even when the odds seem insurmountable.

Stream Queen of Katwe on Disney+.
Buy/Rent Queen on Katwe on Amazon.
Get it on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Non-Stop (2014)

Released in 2014, the Liam Neeson-led action thriller, Non-Stop, sees the Taken star take on the role of U.S. Air Marshal Bill Marks, who finds himself in the middle of a hostage situation after an unknown passenger sends a text message saying they will begin killing passengers if a large sum of money is not wired to an offshore account.

The down-on-his-luck marshal isn’t alone in his fight, as flight attendants Nancy (Michelle Dockery) and Gwen (Lupita Nyong’o) play key roles in the tense situation. Although Nyong’o doesn’t get a whole lot of time to shine in Non-Stop, she makes the most of it and provides a memorable performance.

Stream Non-Stop on HBO Max.
Buy/Rent Non-Stop on Amazon.
Get it on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Who Are You, Charlie Brown? (2021)

The 2021 Apple TV+ documentary Who Are You, Charlie Brown? not only explores the impact and significance of the beloved comic strip and its primary character, but also the man who created it all, Charles Schulz. But, this isn’t just some documentary with talking heads (though, there are some), as it also includes a new animated story created solely for the release.

One of the best options for anyone one with an Apple TV+ subscription, this touching documentary also features soft and soothing narration by Lupita Nyong’o, who turns something great into something enchanting.

Stream Who Are You, Charlie Brown? on Apple TV+.

East River (2008)

And then there is Marc Grey’s 2008 short film, East River, which marked the onscreen debut of Lupita Nyong’o. The 17-minute short, which features no dialogue, follows a man (Tommaso Spinelli) as he aimlessly wanders around Brooklyn, encountering people and situations as his personal journey unfolds.

Nyong’o comes into the picture partway through the film as a photographer who strikes up a relationship with the central figure. If anyone wants to see how her career in film got started, East River is a good place to begin.

Stream East River on Vimeo.

With only a decade-and-a-half of appearing on the big screen, it’s safe to say this is just beginning for the incredibly talented Lupita Nyong’o. Her next confirmed role is an appearance in A Quiet Place: Day One in 2024, but it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see her in any of the upcoming 2023 new releases before then.

Lupita Nyong’o had quite an impressive film debut when she played Patsey in 12 Years a Slave. This led to the start of her remarkable film and theater career playing memorable roles. But after Nyong’o won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, she experienced “panic” and serious health issues.

12 Years a Slave was a great movie about race and social justice. It followed a Black man in the 1840s who is kidnapped and sold into slavery, where he befriends top cotton picker slave Patsey. The heart-wrenching emotions that Lupita Nyong’o brought out to the tragic role made her more than worthy of her Oscar. However, Nyong’o told The Hollywood Reporter that the extreme stress she endured after her win led to serious health problems after. In her words:

Fibroids are muscular tumors that grow in the wall of the uterus. According to Fibroid Free, anxiety can be a cause of that condition where extra hormones are released to cope with stress. When hormone levels rise, this can stimulate fibroid growth and cause symptoms to occur. Fortunately, Nyong’o went through surgery to remove the fibroids and she continues to be healthy today. I can understand the stress the Kenyan-Mexican actress went through, as you fear your Oscar win could be the only accomplishment you achieve in a tough industry.

Lupita Nyong’o had an outstanding Yale experience where she earned her Master’s degree in acting. She was in many productions like Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights, Uncle Vanya, The Taming of the Shrew and The Winter’s Tale. She even won the Herschel Williams Prize for “acting students with outstanding ability.” However, she was told at Yale that the entertainment business would be a challenge once out in the real world.

This talented actress clearly beat the odds. Other than her infamous Oscar win, she managed to freak us out playing her dual role in Jordan Peele’s Us, was turned into Maz Kanata for a motion-capture role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and earned a Tony award for the Broadway play Eclipsed. Lupita Nyong'o recently got back into superhero shape by reprising her Black Panther role Nakia in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. It appears that she’s able to accomplish anything she puts her mind to with talent and poise.

While Lupita Nyong’o suffered from “panic” and health issues after her 12 Years a Slave win, it’s good to know she rose back to health. The entertainment industry is not done with her yet and we’re so thankful for that. You can watch her in the upcoming Marvel movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which comes to theaters on November 11th. 

The divorce of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt has gone on for years and despite the two being legally separated it seems likely that the war over child custody as well as the battle over the fate of a winery the two owned together and nowhere near seeing an end. However, now it appears the winery may not be the only business to change hands, as Brad Pitt’s production company could reportedly also change hands.

Brad Pitt started Plan B in 2001 with, somewhat ironically, his then wife, Jennifer Anniston. When they divorced, Pitt took over the company himself. Deadline is now reporting that the company is, at the very least, looking for new investors, but that it is also open to the possibility of a sale. There are apparently some interested parties, but nothing has progressed past the exploratory stage yet.

It’s unclear why Plan B is looking for investors at this time. Pitt's production company has been remarkably successful in recent years, putting out Oscar winners like 12 Years a Slave and Moonlight. This year it’s behind the Marilyn Monroe inspired Blonde, which has thrown star Ana de Armas onto the shortlist for a potential Best Actress nomination, as well as She Said, the movie about former producer Harvey Weinstein and the accusations of sexual assault that led to his going to prison.  

If Brad Pitt is entertaining the idea of a sale then it seems he’s at least willing to walk away from producing movies. Even a new investor would lessen Pitt’s authority within the organization, which may be what he’s looking for. Pitt has spoken in the past about possible retirement and the fact that there are other things he likes doing, he recently debuted his work as a ceramic artist, so he may just be looking to focus on other things in life right now.

It’s also possible that Pitt’s desire to find an investor or a buyer for his company is that he needs some money because of ongoing legal battles. Angelina Jolie has continued to fight Pitt over custody of their minor children. Separate from the divorce Pitt has sued Jolie over her sale of her share of the winery they own together, claiming he was not properly consulted on the sale. Jolie has also sued Pitt over what she claims is his attempts to force her out of the winery. 

Whatever the reason, it looks like Brad Pitt will at least have a partner in his production company going forward. In the end, perhaps that will be a good thing that will help the company succeed even more. If nothing else, the success that Plan B has had likely makes it a very valuable production company. Whoever wants to buy it will probably be spending a lot of money to do so.

There is no way of getting around it, Chiwetel Ejiofor is one of the best living actors, and one who can easily bounce from playing a shoe-obsessed drag queen with an entrepreneurial spirit to an unlawfully enslaved person on a 12-year crusade to secure his freedom, and a vengeful and overzealous sorcerer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe without even so much as batting an eye. Yeah, he’s that good.

So good, in fact, that it is hard to settle on one, two, or even 10 of Chiwetel Ejiofor's best movies and we had to go and make a longer-than-usual list of his great performances that should all be required viewing for anyone who appreciates films that are better than just great. Let’s dive in...

12 Years A Slave (2013)

After being kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1840s Washington, D.C., talented violinist Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) spends the next 12 years of his life enduring hardships and atrocities no person should endure, while never letting go of his fight for survival, freedom, and reunion with his family back home.

Steve McQueen’s masterpiece, 12 Years a Slave, features one of the most outstanding and heartbreaking performances of Ejiofor’s career, one that sticks with you nearly a decade after its release. The actor’s take on the historical character is so raw and real you almost forget you’re watching an actor and not the real person.

Stream 12 Years a Slave on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy 12 Years a Slave on Amazon.
Get it on DVD on Amazon.

American Gangster (2007)

The lives of Harlem drug dealer Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) and NYPD detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) become intertwined as the former falls under the watchful eye of the latter over the course of a sprawling drug investigation.

The American Gangster cast is full of talented actors from top to bottom, and this includes Chiwetel Ejiofor and his portrayal of Frank’s brother and right-hand man, Huey Lucas. And even though he’s not front and center throughout Ridley Scott’s crime epic, Ejiofor further cemented his place in Hollywood with this gripping and unforgettable performance.

Stream American Gangster on Peacock.
Rent/Buy American Gangster on Amazon.
Get it on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Love Actually (2003)

Nine stories of varying levels of interconnectivity play out over the course of the holiday season, where people explore new beginnings, fresh starts, and one final shot at love before it’s too late. 

One of the best parts of Richard Curtis’ 2003 Christmas classic Love Actually is the story involving a love triangle shared by Juliet (Keira Knightley), her husband Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and his best friend Mark (Andrew Lincoln), who is madly in love with the new bride. It is hard not to feel bad for Peter throughout the course of this story, but it is somewhat comforting to know he has no knowledge of his friend’s obsession with his wife.

Stream Love Actually on Netflix.
Rent/Buy Love Actually on Amazon.
Get it on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Children Of Men (2006)

After a mysterious pandemic leaves the human population infertile and on the brink of disaster, Theo Faron (Clive Owen) finds himself in the middle of the fight for survival when he is tasked with escorting a young refugee with a history-changing secret to safety.

Chiwetel Ejiofor absolutely shines in Alfonso Cuarón’s 2006 dystopian thriller, Children of Men, with his portrayal of Luke, a colleague of Theo’s ex-wife Julian Taylor (Julianne Moore) whose role in the plan to deliver Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) to safety isn’t what it seems. And plus, he’s at the center at the movie’s most thrilling sequence, the one-shot escape scene.

Rent/Buy Children of Men on Amazon.
Get it on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Kinky Boots (2006)

With his family’s shoe factory on the verge of going out of business, Charlie Price (Joel Edgerton) teams up with Lola (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a daring and confident drag queen, to come out with a line of kinky footwear in hopes of reversing their fortunes.

Ejiofor is to die for in Julian Jarrold’s 2006 comedy, Kinky Boots, and it's undoubtedly one of the actor’s most confident and lovable characters yet. The way he handles himself as Lola never comes off as anything but genuine. But, he should have won the Golden Globe if we’re being honest.

Stream Kinky Boots on Showtime.
Rent/Buy Kinky Boots on Amazon.
Get it on Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Martian (2015)

After it is discovered that astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is not actually dead but fighting to survive alone on the surface of Mars, a global rescue operation is booted up to pull off the impossible and bring him home.

Ridley Scott's The Martian is a team effort through and through, and everyone gets time to shine in this thrilling astronaut drama, including Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Vincent Kapoor, the man in charge of NASA’s Mars program. It is also funny seeing the actor share the screen and work with Benedict Wong just one year before they’d do it again in Doctor Strange.

Rent/Buy The Martian on Amazon.
Get it on 4K/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Doctor Strange (2016)

Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) goes from having everything he could want in life to having nothing at all after losing the ability to use his hands following a near-fatal accident. But, his fortunes are changed when the meets a powerful sorcerer who can give him what he lost and more.

Although not the best Marvel movie, Doctor Strange does lay a great deal of groundwork for what was to follow in the MCU, as well as introduced several memorable characters, including Karl Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor). We’ll avoid all the details of his arc for those who haven’t seen the movie, but it is a tremendous turn with a prospect of an interesting future, especially in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, one of most anticipated 2022 movies.

Stream Doctor Strange on Disney+.
Rent/Buy Doctor Strange on Amazon.
Get it on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Dirty Pretty Things (2002)

Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is an illegal immigrant living in London who makes his living driving a cab during the day and working at a hotel at night. If life couldn’t be any more complicated enough for the young man, things take a turn when he discovers a human heart clogged in the toilet of one of the hotel’s rooms.

Although he had appeared in a number of movies and shows by this point, Ejiofor became a force to be reckoned with thanks to his brilliant performance in Stephen Frears’ incredible 2002 thriller, Dirty Pretty Things, a movie that also starred French superstar Audrey Tautou.

Stream Dirty Pretty Things on HBO Max.
Rent/Buy Dirty Pretty Things on Amazon.
Get it on DVD on Amazon.

The Old Guard (2020)

When a group of centuries-old mercenaries with amazing regenerative powers learns they are being hunted by a mysterious organization, they do everything in their power to preserve their secret, their lives, and the only family they’ve ever known.

There is just so much to love about Gina Prince-Bythewood’s 2020 Netflix superhero film, from its thrilling story, exceptional cast, and all those incredibly choreographed and painful-looking action sequences. But, one aspect that grounds the movie and gives it a lot of heart is Chiwetel Ejiofor’s portrayal of James Copley, a former CIA agent who goes to very extreme (and questionable) lengths to come to terms with his own grief. Let's hope this is the same when the upcoming The Old Guard 2 lands on the streamer.

Stream The Old Guard on Netflix.

Amistad (1997)

In the aftermath of a slave uprising aboard a ship heading from Cuba to America, those involved are held prisoner and forced to go trial in 19th-century Connecticut. When the matter reaches new levels and becomes one of the biggest topics of discussion, everyone from freed slaves (Morgan Freeman) to a former President of the United States (Anthony Hopkins) become involved.

Although Steven Spielberg’s historical drama is mostly remembered for the performances by Freeman, Hopkins, Matthew McConaughey, and Djimon Hounsou, there is a tremendous early show of talent by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays James Covey, the man who served as an interpreter for the defendants during the heated trial. 

Stream Amistad on Paramount+.
Rent/Buy Amistad on Amazon.
Get it on DVD on Amazon.

Tsunami: The Aftermath (2006)

Set in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that claimed the lives of more the 227,000 people, the stories of multiple survivors, government officials, and journalists are told in great detail as they fight for survival and understanding against a ticking clock.

Bharat Nalluri’s 2006 two-part disaster film Tsunami: The Aftermath (which came out more than a half-decade before the emotionally taxing The Impossible) features a tremendous cast who tell all sides of the tragic story, including Chiwetel Ejiofor and Sophie Okonedo, who play a married couple searching for their young daughter who was swept away in the wave. The way in which Ejiofor captures the pain, confusion, and anger of a father searching for his missing child is gut-wrenching to say the least.

Stream Tsunami: The Aftermath Part 1 on HBO Max.
Stream Tsunami: The Aftermath Part 2 on HBO Max.
Buy Tsunami: The Aftermath on Amazon.
Get it on DVD on Amazon.

As you can see by the sheer number of impressive roles that touch just about every genre, there’s a strong case to be made for Chiwetel Ejiofor being one of the all-time greats. Let’s just hope he finally receives an Oscar and Golden Globe one of these days. If not that, maybe he'll receive some accolades for his performance in Showtime's The Man Who Fell to Earth, just one of the major series coming to the 2022 TV schedule.

Quickly, HBO Max has been building its platform to include an impressive selection of original movies and TV shows, licensed classic films, blockbuster movies, and some of the latest hit TV shows and films. HBO Max only launched in 2020, but is already a leader in the streaming wars. With HBO Max being a top downloaded app, it may not be long before it hits similar subscriber numbers as Netflix and Disney+. Luckily for new, current, and future subscribers, HBO Max makes sure that its content is worth the price. One category that the streaming service excels in is Black-led TV shows and movies. There are many great Black-led movies on HBO Max.

There are so many Black-led movies on HBO Max that I had trouble narrowing it down to just 12 movies. However, I tried to offer a varied collection of Black-led movies on HBO Max. There is something for everyone--historical films, comedies, romance, action and adventure, classics and more. Let’s explore some of the great Black-led movies on HBO Max currently. 

12 Years A Slave (2013)

Steve McQueen directed this Best Picture Academy Award winning film about Solomon Northup (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free African-American man kidnapped and sold into slavery. 12 Years a Slave also stars Lupita Nyong’o, Michael Fassbender, Sarah Paulson, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

12 Years a Slave is a powerful film that offers a glimpse of some of the horrors that many Black people faced daily by those who enslaved them. It isn’t an easy film to watch, and it shouldn’t be, as it’s a horrific reminder of the monstrosities man can inflict on man when they view them as less than human or property. 12 Years a Slave features amazing performances by the entire cast, but especially Lupita Nyong’o who won her first Academy Award for this role.

Stream 12 Years a Slave on HBO Max.

Love & Basketball (2000)

Gina Prince-Bythewood made her feature film directorial debut with Love & Basketball. The film tells the life-long love story of Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps). The film follows their up and down relationship and their similarly up and down careers as professional basketball players.

In the last few years, there have been more mainstream romance films with Black leads, but it's still rare to see Black love as the main romance in major studio films. Love & Basketball’s cult following helped to show that there is a want and need for these types of romance movies. HBO Max also includes some other great Black-led romance movies, such as Brown Sugar, The Photograph, and the interracial love story Something New. 

Stream Love & Basketball on HBO Max. 

The Friday Movies (1995, 2000, 2002)

Friday is a 1995 comedy about the misadventures of Craig (Ice Cube) and Smokey (Chris Tucker). The original Friday also stars Nia Long, Bernie Mac, the late John Witherspoon, and Regina King. The films have become such a cult classic because they’re hilarious, lighthearted despite the plot, and features future stars like Regina King and comedy legends like Bernie Mac.

It’s a must-watch '90s movie that gave us one of the best ways to insult anyone named or not named Felisha. HBO Max also has Next Friday and Friday After Next. Just turn on these movies and let yourself enjoy the ridiculousness of Craig, Smokey, and Day-Day's (Mike Epps) situations.

Stream Friday on HBO Max.

Malcolm X (1992)

Spike Lee co-wrote and directed Malcolm X, the biographical film about civil rights activist Malcolm X. The film stars Denzel Washington in the title role, with supporting roles from Angela Bassett, Albert Hall, and Delroy Lindo. Malcolm X is one of Denzel Washington’s most iconic roles and one of Spike Lee’s best movies. 

The film not only has an amazing performance by Washington, but it offers a layered look at one of the most influential and memorable figures of the last 100 years. It also gives viewers a look at a Black leader at a critical point in America’s history. HBO Max also has some other great films starring Denzel Washington, such as Training Day, The Little Things, and Inside Man, which was also directed by Spike Lee. 

Stream Malcolm X on HBO Max. 

A Patch Of Blue (1965)

Guy Green directed A Patch of Blue, a movie that starred Sidney Poitier and Elizabeth Hartman. It’s about the friendship between a Black man and an 18-year old white girl who is blind. It showcases some of the conflict that comes from their friendship during this period in history (the 1960s), where division and racism was the norm.

Sidney Poitier acts as a mentor to Elizabeth Hartman’s character, and he seems to be the only one who truly cares about helping this young girl. It’s a well-acted and really interesting take on the idea of loving someone for the content of their character, not their skin-color. It’s one of the best Sidney Poitier movies. If you’re in the mood to watch more Poitier movies, HBO Max also has In the Heat of the Night. 

Stream A Patch of Blue on HBO Max. 

Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Hotel Rwanda is based on the true story of Paul Rusesabagina and Tatiana Rusesabagina, who attempted to save more than 1,000 refugees by providing them shelter during the Rwandan genocide of 1994. It stars Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo. The film is a heartbreaking look at political corruption and violence.

It’s one of those movies that haunts you, because the monsters are real and this is something that happened not too long ago and could occur again. Don Cheadle gives one of his best performances in Hotel Rwanda.

Stream Hotel Rwanda on HBO Max. 

Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999)

Martha Coolidge directed Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, and the screenplay was co-written by Shonda Rhimes and Scott Abbott. It was an HBO original film that premiered in 1999. The film starred Halle Berry as film legend and singer Dorothy Dandridge.

Introducing Dorothy Dandridge won many 2000 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for Halle Berry. The film is considered one of Halle Berry’s best movies for her exceptional performance. Introducing Dorothy Dandridge gives fans of the screen star a closer look at her complex life, and at being a Black actress during that era of Hollywood. 

Stream Introducing Dorothy Dandridge on HBO Max.

Soul Food (1997)

George Tillman Jr. directed and wrote Soul Food. It focuses on an extended African-American family as they reunite every Sunday for dinner and gossip. It is told from the perspective of an 11-year-old boy named Ahmad (Brandon Hammond). Soul Food’s ensemble cast includes Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox, Nia Long, Michael Beach, and Mekhi Phifer.

Soul Food is about the trials and tribulations this family faces as they lose the matriarch. It’s a look at a Black family from all angles: the good, the bad, and the things that make them find each other time and time again, despite flaws and mistakes.

Stream Soul Food on HBO Max.

42 (2013)

42 is a Jackie Robinson biographical film starring Chadwick Boseman as Robinson. It also stars Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie,  Andre Holland, and Christopher Meloni. It depicts the struggles Robinson faced as a Black man playing professional baseball during a time of segregation in America. 42 is a sports movie, so it has all the excitement that comes when the hero finally achieves his goals and brings the team to victory, and in this movie, also his personal victories.

42 is even more exciting than some sports movies because it depicts a historical figure who helped change Major League Baseball forever. Playing Jackie Robinson was one of Chadwick Boseman’s best performances. 

Stream 42 on HBO Max. 

The House Party Movies (1990-2013)

Reginald Hudlin directs Christopher “Kid” Reid and Christopher “Play” Martin, better known as the hip hop duo Kid 'n Play, in this comedy film. House Party also features Robin Harris, Martin Lawrence, and Tisha Campbell. The first House Party movie, and the ones after, is just about one wild night and party.

These films are some fun party adventure movies, similar to Booksmart and Can’t Hardly Wait. The first House Party film is also enjoyable to watch to see the evolution of actors such as Martin Lawrence. HBO Max has all five of the House Party movies, expanding from 1990 to 2013, available to stream. a new House Party movie is also scheduled to be released on HBO Max on July 28, 2022. 

Stream House Party on HBO Max.

Dreamgirls (2006)

Dreamgirls is the 2006 film adaptation of the 1980s Broadway musical of the same name. It’s the fictionalized story of the rise and fall of the all-girl singing group The Dreams. The story clearly takes inspiration from real life Motown groups, including The Supremes. 

The Dreamgirls cast includes Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx, Anika Noni Rose, Keith Robinson, and Eddie Murphy. Dreamgirls has some of the best musical songs ever, and some of the best performances in a Hollywood musical film. Dreamgirls is definitely one of my favorite musical movies. Hearing Jennifer Hudson perform “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” is always an exciting moment in the movie, no matter how many times you see it.

Stream Dreamgirls on HBO Max.

Pariah (2011)

Dee Rees wrote and directed Pariah, a coming-of-age story about a Black teen girl coming to terms with her lesbian identity. Alike (Adepero Oduye) finds it especially hard to come out because of her very conservative family. 

Pariah is one of the few and best LGBTQ+ movies out there that shows queer identity from a Black teen character. It’s easy to connect with Alike and also see her parents as terrible but also still see them as fully formed and realistic characters. It’s a great indie film that deserves more attention.

Stream Pariah on HBO Max.

These Black-led movies on HBO Max aren’t the only interesting options, there is also The Color Purple, Judas and the Black Messiah, Bessie, Beverly Hills Cop, and many great documentaries such as 4 Little Girls, The Gospel According to Andre, and John Lewis Good Trouble. HBO Max also isn’t the only streaming service celebrating Black voices. There are plenty of great Black-led movies on the internet, so start with this list and then go seek out other films.

Of all the great 2024 movies nominated for Best Picture at the 2025 Academy Awards – including The Brutalist, The Substance, and Wicked – Anora was the big surprise winner of the night. In celebration of the most recent celebration of Hollywood's finest achievements, let’s take a look back at not just the best Best Picture Oscar winners but all 97 films to receive the honor in the annual ceremony’s prestigious history, along with a tip on how to watch them from home. Let’s start at the very beginning.

The 1920s-1930s

Wings (1927)

Director: William A. Wellman

Starring: Clara Bow, Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Richard Arlen

What it’s about: According to History.com, the first movie to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards (before they were called Oscars) was Wings – an action-packed, silent epic following two World War I fighter pilots and their bitter feud over the same woman.

How to watch Wings

• Stream Wings on Tubi
• Rent or buy Wings on Amazon
• Buy Wings on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Broadway Melody (1929)

Director: Harry Beaumont

Starring: Charles King, Anita Page, Bessie Love

What it’s about: There is a romantic rivalry at the heart of The Broadway Melody – a musical about show business dreams and the first “talkie” to win the highest honor at the Academy Awards.

How to watch The Broadway Melody

• Stream The Broadway Melody on Tubi
• Rent or buy The Broadway Melody on Amazon
• Buy The Broadway Melody on Blu-ray on Amazon

All Quiet On The Western Front (1930)

Director: Lewis Milestone

Starring: Lew Ayres, Lewis Wolheim

What it’s about: The first adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, – and only the first to be nominated for Best Picture before Netflix’s 2022 version (one of the best war movies on Netflix) – won the prize for its heartbreaking depiction of World War I from a German soldier’s perspective.

How to watch All Quiet on the Western Front

• Stream All Quiet on the Western Front on Tubi
• Rent or buy All Quiet on the Western Front on Amazon
• Buy All Quiet on the Western Front on Blu-ray on Amazon

Cimarron (1931)

Director: Wesley Ruggles

Starring: Richard Dix, Irene Dunne

What it’s about: Edna Farber’s novel about a newspaper editor and his involvement in the late 19th-Century Oklahoma land rush inspired Cimarron – the first Western to win at the Academy Awards, including the top prize.

How to watch Cimarron

• Rent or buy Cimarron on Amazon
• Buy Cimarron on Blu-ray on Amazon

Grand Hotel (1932)

Director: Edmund Goulding

Starring: Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore

What it’s about: An iconic ensemble leads the thrilling, romantic interwoven stories told in Grand Hotel, which was only nominated for Best Picture but managed to take it home.

How to watch Grand Hotel

• Rent or buy Grand Hotel on Amazon
• Buy Grand Hotel on Blu-ray on Amazon

Cavalcade (1933)

Director: Frank Lloyd

Starring: Diana Winyard, Clive Brook

What it’s about: Several notable and tragic events of the early 20th Century are seen through the eyes of a well-to-do English family in Cavalcade, which also earned awards for Frank Lloyd and art director William S. Darling.

How to watch Cavalcade

• Rent or buy Cavalcade on Amazon
• Buy Cavalcade on Blu-ray on Amazon

It Happened One Night (1934)

Director: Frank Capra

Starring: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert

What it’s about: Frank Capra, Clark Gable, and Claudette Colbert each won their first Academy Award for It Happened One Night – one of the most charming and influential romantic comedy movies ever made.

How to watch It Happened One Night

• Stream It Happened One Night on Tubi
• Rent or buy It Happened One Night on Amazon
• Buy It Happened One Night on Blu-ray on Amazon

Mutiny On The Bounty (1935)

Director: Frank Lloyd

Starring: Clark Gable, Charles Laughton

What it’s about: Mutiny on the Bounty is a thrilling adventure, inspired by a real incident from 1789, about a ship crew rebelling against their sadistic captain.

How to watch Mutiny on the Bounty

• Rent or buy Mutiny on the Bounty on Amazon
• Buy Mutiny on the Bounty on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Director: Robert Z. Leonard

Starring: William Powell, Luise Rainer, Myrna Loy

What it’s about: The Great Ziegfeld is a lavish, fact-based tale about the ups and downs of show business that also took home an award for Seymour Felix’s choreography.

How to watch The Great Ziegfeld

• Rent or buy The Great Ziegfeld on Amazon
• Buy The Great Ziegfeld on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Life Of Emile Zola (1937)

Director: William Dieterle

Starring: Paul Muni, Gloria Holden

What it’s about: The following year, the Academy gave the Best Picture Oscar to another fact-based drama, The Life of Emile Zola, which follows the titular French writer and his fight against the unjust Dreyfus affair.

How to watch The Life of Emile Zola

• Stream The Life of Emile Zola on Max
• Rent or buy The Life of Emile Zola on Amazon
• Buy The Life of Emile Zola on Blu-ray on Amazon

You Can't Take It With You (1938)

Director: Frank Capra

Starring: Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart

What it’s about: You Can’t Take It with You – based on playwrights George S. Kaufmann and Moss Hart’s brilliant, romantic class satire – won Best Picture the first year the Academy started calling the statuette “Oscar.”

How to watch You Can’t Take It with You

• Rent or buy You Can’t Take It with You on Amazon
• Buy You Can’t Take It with You on Blu-ray on Amazon

Gone With The Wind (1939)

Director: Victor Fleming

Starring: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Hattie McDaniel

What it’s about: Still the all-time highest-grossing movie when adjusted for inflation, according to Box Office Mojo, Gone with the Wind made Oscar history as the first color film to win Best Picture and Hattie McDaniel became the first Black person to be nominated and awarded by the Academy when she won Best Supporting Actress.

How to watch Gone with the Wind

• Stream Gone with the Wind on Max
• Rent or buy Gone with the Wind on Amazon
• Buy Gone with the Wind on Blu-ray on Amazon

The 1940s

Rebecca (1940)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Starring: Laurence Olivie, Joan Fontaine

What it’s about: It is hard to believe that Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar himself, but his adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s riveting suspense novel, Rebecca, at least earned him the honor of saying he helmed a Best Picture winner.

How to watch Rebecca

• Stream Rebecca on Filmzie
• Buy Rebecca on Blu-ray on Amazon

How Green Was My Valley (1941)

Director: John Ford

Starring: Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara

What it’s about: Famous for beating Citizen Kane for the top prize is How Green Was My Valley, which is based on Richard Llewellyn’s story of one family’s struggles in a Welsh mining village in the early 1900s.

How to watch How Green Was My Valley

• Rent or buy How Green Was My Valley on Amazon
• Buy How Green Was My Valley on Blu-ray on Amazon

Mrs. Miniver (1942)

Director: William Wyler

Starring: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon

What it’s about: As World War II was still raging, the Best Picture Oscar went to Mrs. Miniver, which chronicles the early days of the earth-shattering conflict through the eyes of a middle-class British family.

How to watch Mrs. Miniver

• Stream Mrs. Miniver on Max
• Stream Mrs. Miniver on IndieFlix
• Rent or buy Mrs. Miniver on Amazon
• Buy Mrs. Miniver on Blu-ray on Amazon

Casablanca (1943)

Director: Michael Curtiz

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman

What it’s about: The events of World War II were very much an influence on the story of the heartbreaking classic about unrequited love, Casablanca, in which former lovers reunited over political intrigue in Morocco.

How to watch Casablanca

• Stream Casablanca on Max
• Rent or buy Casablanca on Amazon
• Buy Casablanca on Blu-ray on Amazon

Going My Way (1944)

Director: Leo McCarey

Starring: Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald

What it’s about: The Academy must have been in the mood for something lighter when it awarded Best Picture to a musical called Going My Way, which also earned Bing Crosby his sole Oscar.

How to watch Going My Way

• Rent or buy Going My Way on Amazon
• Buy Going My Way on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Lost Weekend (1945)

Director: Billy Wilder

Starring: Ray Milland, Jane Wyman

What it’s about: Following World War II’s end, the Academy sought darkness again and gave the top prize to Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend – a film noir classic following an alcoholic’s days-long bender.

How to watch The Lost Weekend

• Rent or buy The Lost Weekend on Amazon
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The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)

Director: William Wyler

Starring: Myrna Loy, Fredric March

What it’s about: While many films set around and released close to World War II intended to glorify the conflict, The Best Years of Lives took a more honest approach to its psychological effects, by following a trio of traumatized veterans struggling to readjust.

How to watch The Best Years of Our Lives

• Stream The Best Years of Our Lives on Amazon Prime
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Gentleman's Agreement (1947)

Director: Elia Kazan

Starring: Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire

What it’s about: A renowned journalist goes undercover as a Jewish man as research for a series of articles covering anti-Semitism in Gentleman’s Agreement.

How to watch Gentleman’s Agreement

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Hamlet (1948)

Director: Laurence Olivier

Starring: Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons

What it’s about: Sir Laurence Olivier also did uncredited screenwriting work on and gave an Oscar-winning performance in the title role of Hamlet – the first talkie based on William Shakespeare’s tragedy and the first non-American film to win Best Picture.

How to watch Hamlet

• Stream Hamlet on Max
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All The King's Men (1949)

Director: Robert Rossen

Starring: Broderick Crawford, John Ireland

What it’s about: Broderick Crawford earned an Oscar for his lead performance in All the King’s Men – based on Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel following the triumphant rise and fall of a corrupt politician.

How to watch All the King’s Men

• Stream All the King's Men on Tubi
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• Buy All the King’s Men on Blu-ray on Amazon

The 1950s

All About Eve (1950)

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Starring: Anne Baxter, Bette Davis

What it’s about: “Fasten your seatbelts” for All About Eve – the dazzling drama in which the title character schemes to assume the life of an aging Broadway star.

How to watch All About Eve

• Rent or buy All About Eve on Amazon
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An American In Paris (1951)

Director: Vincente Minnelli

Starring: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron

What it’s about: A painter struggles to find work in France in the essential romantic musical, An American in Paris, which also won Best Original Score.

How to watch An American in Paris

• Rent or buy An American in Paris on Amazon
• Buy An American in Paris on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Greatest Show On Earth (1952)

Director: Cecil B. DeMille

Starring: James Stewart, Charlton Heston

What it’s about: The Greatest Show on Earth brought all the excitement of the circus to the movie theater and, as depicted in The Fabelmans, inspired a young Steven Spielberg to pursue a career in filmmaking.

How to watch The Greatest Show on Earth

• Stream The Greatest Show on Earth on MGM+
• Rent or buy The Greatest Show on Earth on Amazon
• Buy The Greatest Show on Earth on Blu-ray on Amazon

From Here To Eternity (1953)

Director: Fred Zinnemann

Starring: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed

What it’s about: One of the most exciting and romantic war dramas of all time is From Here to Eternity, which includes one of the most iconic movie kisses and for which Frank Sinatra won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

How to watch From Here to Eternity

• Rent or buy From Here to Eternity on Amazon
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On The Waterfront (1954)

Director: Elia Kazan

Starring: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden

What it’s about: Marlon Brando won his first Academy Award for playing a down-and-out former boxer who “coulda been a contender” in On the Waterfront, which also earned Elia Kazan his second Oscar.

How to watch On the Waterfront

• Rent or buy On the Waterfront on Amazon
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Marty (1955)

Director: Delbert Mann

Starring: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair

What it’s about: Ernest Borgnine gives an Oscar-winning performance in the title role of Marty – a Bronx butcher who receives an unexpected chance at love when he meets the equally disillusioned teacher, Clara.

How to watch Marty

• Stream Marty on Amazon Prime
• Stream Marty on Tubi
• Stream Marty on Pluto TV
• Buy Marty on Blu-ray on Amazon

Around The World In 80 Days (1956)

Director: Michael Anderson

Starring: David Niven, Cantinflas

What it’s about: Based on Jules Verne’s seminal, inventive adventure novel, Around the World in 80 Days follows two explorers attempting to do just what the title suggests.

How to watch Around the World in 80 Days

• Rent or buy Around the World in 80 Days on Amazon
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The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)

Director: David Lean

Starring: Alec Guinness, William Holden

What it’s about: Future Obi-Wan Kenobi actor Alec Guinness won the Best Actor Oscar for playing one of many POWs forced to build a doomed railroad during World War II in The Bridge on the River Kwai.

How to watch The Bridge on the River Kwai

• Rent or buy The Bridge on the River Kwai on Amazon
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Gigi (1958)

Director: Vincente Minnelli

Starring: Leslie Caron, Louis Jordan

What it’s about: Winner of all nine Oscars it was nominated for, Gigi is a sweeping musical about a friendship between a rich playboy and a courtesan-in-training that blossoms into more.

How to watch Gigi

• Stream Gigi on Tubi
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Ben-Hur (1959)

Director: Willian Wyler

Starring: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins

What it’s about: Charlton Heston won Best Actor for playing the title role of a Jewish prince wrongfully sold into slavery in Ben-Hur – a quintessential period epic that is also celebrated for its editing by experts of the craft.

How to watch Ben-Hur

• Stream Ben-Hur on Tubi
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The 1960s

The Apartment (1960)

Director: Billy Wilder

Starring: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine

What it’s about: One of Billy Wilder’s most definitive achievements was The Apartment – an inventive comedy about an insurance clerk who allows his coworkers to have romantic encounters in his Manhattan home.

How to watch The Apartment

• Stream The Apartment on MGM+
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West Side Story (1961)

Director: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise

Starring: Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer

What it’s about: William Shakespeare’s seminal romantic tragedy, Romeo & Juliet, is given a modernized, musical update with West Side Story, which Steven Spielberg would later reimagine in 2021.

How to watch West Side Story

• Stream West Side Story on Amazon Prime
• Stream West Side Story on Tubi
• Buy West Side Story on Blu-ray on Amazon

Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)

Director: David Lean

Starring: Peter O’Toole, Alec Guinness

What it’s about: It is hard to believe that Peter O’Toole never won an Oscar, even for his performance in the title role of Lawrence of Arabia, which is about how England’s T.E. Lawrence led Arab tribes against the Turks during World War I.

How to watch Lawrence of Arabia

• Stream Lawrence of Arabia on Max
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Tom Jones (1963)

Director: Tony Richardson

Starring: Albert Finney, Susannah York

What it’s about: Four Oscars went to this adaptation of Henry Fielding’s period novel, Tom Jones, which follows the romantic exploits of the chivalrous, titular lothario.

How to watch Tom Jones

• Stream Tom Jones on Max
• Rent or buy Tom Jones on Amazon
• Buy Tom Jones on Blu-ray from Walmart

My Fair Lady (1964)

Director: George Cukor

Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison

What it’s about: Based on the stage musical of the same name, My Fair Lady is the largely influential story (it was the basis for She’s All That) of a phonetics professor who wagers he can make an upper-class citizen out of a working-class, Cockney woman.

How to watch My Fair Lady

• Rent or buy My Fair Lady on Amazon
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The Sound Of Music (1965)

Director: Robert Wise

Starring: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer

What it’s about: Another iconic musical that earned the top prize at the Oscars in the 1960s is Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews as a governess who teaches the children of her employer about the joys of song.

How to watch The Sound of Music

• Stream The Sound of Music on Disney+
• Stream The Sound of Music on Hulu
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A Man For All Seasons (1966)

Director: Fred Zinnemann

Starring: Paul Scofield, Wendy Hiller

What it’s about: Sir Thomas More’s defiance of the Catholic Church’s prohibition of divorce inspired the play A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt, who would win an Oscar for penning the screenplay of this enthralling adaptation.

How to watch A Man for All Seasons

• Rent or buy A Man for All Seasons on Amazon
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In The Heat Of The Night (1967)

Director: Norman Jewison

Starring: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger

What it’s about: In one of Sidney Poitier’s best movies, In the Heat of the Night, he plays a Black detective asked by a Mississippi police chief to help solve a murder he was unjustly accused of.

How to watch In the Heat of the Night

• Stream In the Heat of the Night on Tubi
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Oliver! (1968)

Director: Carol Reed

Starring: Ron Moody, Mark Lester

What it’s about: Based on the classic Charles Dickens novel, Oliver! is a musical that tells the story of a young orphan who adopts the art of pickpocketing in 1830s London.

How to watch Oliver!

• Stream Oliver! on The Roku Channel
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Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Director: John Schlesinger

Starring: Jon Voight, Dustin Hoffman

What it’s about: The first and only Best Picture winner to receive an X rating is Midnight Cowboy, in which a Texas hustler in Brooklyn forms a deep bond with a rebuffed local.

How to watch Midnight Cowboy

• Stream Midnight Cowboy on Amazon Prime
• Stream Midnight Cowboy on Tubi
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The 1970s

Patton (1970)

Director: Franklin J. Schaffner

Starring: George C. Scott, Karl Malden

What it’s about: George C. Scott brilliantly embodied one of the most famous military figures in history to Oscar-winning acclaim in the monumental biopic, Patton.

How to watch Patton

• Rent or buy Patton on Amazon
• Buy Patton on Blu-ray on Amazon

The French Connection (1971)

Director: William Friedken

Starring: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider

What it’s about: In addition to earning a Best Director Oscar, William Friedkin arguably redefined the cop thriller with The French Connection, starring Gene Hackman in a winning performance as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle.

How to watch The French Connection

• Rent or buy The French Connection on Amazon
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The Godfather (1972)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino

What it’s about: The mafia thriller genre was inarguably redefined by one of the best ‘70s movies, The Godfather, starring Marlon Brando in an Oscar-winning performance as Don Vito Corleone.

How to watch The Godfather

• Stream The Godfather on Paramount+
• Rent or buy The Godfather on Amazon
• Buy The Godfather on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Sting (1973)

Director: George Roy Hill

Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford

What it’s about: In the classic heist thriller classic The Sting, a pair of grifters plan a huge con to avenge the murder of their mutual friend.

How to watch The Sting

• Stream The Sting on Netflix
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• Buy The Sting on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Godfather Part II (1974)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro

What it’s about: Francis Ford Coppola won Best Director after completing his adaptation of Mario Puzo’s novel with the, arguably, more powerful follow-up, The Godfather Part II, starring Robert De Niro in an Oscar-winning performance as a young Don Vito Corleone.

How to watch The Godfather Part II

• Stream The Godfather Part II on Paramount+
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One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Director: Milos Forman

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher

What it’s about: A movie that gets real about mental health is One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which features one of the greatest Jack Nicholson performances as a petty criminal who leads a rebellion against a sadistic nurse after an insanity plea gets him sent to a mental institution.

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• Rent or buy One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest on Amazon
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Rocky (1976)

Director: John G. Avildsen

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire

What it’s about: Sylvester Stallone was nominated for both writing and starring in the title role of Rocky – one of the best sports movies ever made, which inspired an ongoing franchise of beloved boxing films.

How to watch Rocky

• Stream Rocky on Pluto TV
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Annie Hall (1977)

Director: Woody Allen

Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton

What it’s about: A neurotic comedian looks back on his unique relationship with a free-spirited, aspiring singer in Annie Hall, which remains one of the best romantic comedy movies of all time.

How to watch Annie Hall

• Stream Annie Hall on Tubi
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The Deer Hunter (1978)

Director: Michael Cimino

Starring: Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken

What it’s about: Less a war movie and more an analysis of post-war trauma, The Deer Hunter – one of the best Robert De Niro movies – is the harrowing and controversial story of a veteran and his struggles to find his friends after becoming separated in Vietnam.

How to watch The Deer Hunter

• Rent or buy The Deer Hunter on Amazon
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Kramer Vs. Kramer (1979)

Director: Robert Benton

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep

What it’s about: Both Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep received Oscars for their performances in Kramer vs. Kramer as a separated couple embroiled in a bitter custody battle over their young son.

How to watch Kramer vs. Kramer

• Rent or buy Kramer vs. Kramer on Amazon
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The 1980s

Ordinary People (1980)

Director: Robert Redford

Starring: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, Timothy Hutton

What it’s about: Dysfunctional family dynamics are also at the heart of the devastating drama, Ordinary People – one of Donald Sutherland's best movies – for which Robert Redford won his sole competitive Academy Award.

How to watch Ordinary People

• Stream Ordinary People on Pluto TV
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Chariots Of Fire (1981)

Director: Hugh Hudson

Starring: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson

What it’s about: Vangelis earned his sole Academy Award for his instantly recognizable score for Chariots of Fire, which follows two young, British track runners of differing backgrounds at the 1924 Olympics.

How to watch Chariots of Fire

• Rent or buy Chariots of Fire on Amazon
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Gandhi (1982)

Director: Richard Attenborough

Starring: Ben Kingsley, John Gielgud

What it’s about: Sir Ben Kingsley, who is of Indian descent on his father’s side, disappears into the role of the titular, iconic proponent for non-violent resistance in the rousing historical biopic, Gandhi.

How to watch Gandhi

• Stream Gandhi on Tubi
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• Buy Gandhi on Blu-ray on Amazon

Terms Of Endearment (1983)

Director: James L. Brooks

Starring: Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson

What it’s about: It is hard to believe that Shirley MacLaine has just one Oscar, for her performance in Terms of Endearment – a drama tracing the relationship between a woman and her daughter that is often funny, until it is devastating.

How to watch Terms of Endearment

• Stream Terms of Endearment on Paramount+
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Amadeus (1984)

Director: Milos Forman

Starring: Tom Hulce, F. Murray Abraham

What it’s about: Milos Forman earned his second Best Director Oscar for Amadeus – a retelling of the life of renowned composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as told by a fellow musician who claims to have enviously murdered him, Antonio Salieri.

How to watch Amadeus

• Rent or buy Amadeus on Amazon
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Out Of Africa (1985)

Director: Sydney Pollack

Starring: Robert Redford, Meryl Streep

What it’s about: A big game hunter and a Danish baroness fall in love in 20th-century Kenya in the tender, powerful romance, Out of Africa.

How to watch Out of Africa

• Stream Out of Africa on Netflix
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Platoon (1986)

Director: Oliver Stone

Starring: Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe

What it’s about: American soldiers are subjected to relentless, senseless brutality while serving in Vietnam in one of the greatest war movies to win Best Picture, Platoon.

How to watch Platoon

• Stream Platoon on Amazon Prime
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The Last Emperor (1987)

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci

Starring: John Lone, Joan Chen

What it’s about: The story of Pu Yi – who would become the last person to serve as the monarchical leader of China – is revealed in The Last Emperor, for which Bernardo Bertolucci earned Oscars for both writing and directing.

How to watch The Last Emperor

• Stream The Last Emperor on Max
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Rain Man (1988)

Director: Barry Levinson

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise

What it’s about: Dustin Hoffman gives one of the most esteemed performances of his career as an autistic savant opposite a stellar Tom Cruise as his previously unwitting younger sibling in Rain Man – a beautiful story of redemption through brotherly love.

How to watch Rain Man

• Stream Rain Man on Tubi
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Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

Director: Bruce Beresford

Starring: Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman

What it’s about: Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman make an irresistible pair as a disgruntled, elderly widow and her chauffeur in one of Freeman’s best movies, Driving Miss Daisy – an inspirational story about redemption through friendship set between the 1950s and 1970s.

How to watch Driving Miss Daisy

• Rent or buy Driving Miss Daisy on Amazon
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The 1990s

Dances With Wolves (1990)

Director: Kevin Costner

Starring: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonell

What it’s about: Kevin Costner won a Best Director Oscar for Dances with Wolves – the first Western to win Best Picture since 1931’s Cimarron – in which the Yellowstone cast member also plays the title role of a Civil War-era soldier who learns the ways of a Native American tribe.

How to watch Dances with Wolves

• Stream Dances with Wolves on Amazon Prime
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The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)

Director: Jonathan Demme

Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins

What it’s about: An FBI trainee seeks help from a cannibalistic former psychologist to catch a killer in The Silence of the Lambs – one of the best horror movies ever made and the only film out of a handful of horror movies nominated for Best Picture to win so far.

How to watch The Silence of the Lambs

• Rent or buy The Silence of the Lambs on Amazon
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Unforgiven (1992)

Director: Clint Eastwood

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman

What it’s about: The Academy would show its taste for the Western again by giving the top prize to one of the best Clint Eastwood movies, Unforgiven, for which the star won his first Oscar as both director and producer.

How to watch Unforgiven

• Rent or buy Unforgiven on Amazon
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Schindler’s List (1993)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes

What it’s about: Arguably the best Steven Spielberg movie is the film that made him an Academy Award-winning filmmaker as director and producer, Schindler’s List – a technically magnificent, emotionally distressing portrait of the Holocaust.

How to watch Schindler’s List

• Stream Schindler’s List on Netflix
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Forrest Gump (1994)

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright

What it’s about: In one of Tom Hanks’ best movies, the actor gives his second Oscar-winning performance as the simple-minded title hero of Forrest Gump – an endearing revisionist history drama from director Robert Zemeckis.

How to watch Forrest Gump

• Stream Forrest Gump on Paramount+
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Braveheart (1995)

Director: Mel Gibson

Starring: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau

What it’s about: Mel Gibson became an Oscar-winning filmmaker as the director and producer of the historical epic Braveheart, in which he also stars as Scottish warrior William Wallace in a bid to free his people from England’s tyrannical rule.

How to watch Braveheart

• Stream Braveheart on Pluto TV
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The English Patient (1996)

Director: Anthony Minghella

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche

What it’s about: A French-Canadian nurse indulges in an affair with a British, semi-amnesiac plane crash victim in the romantic World War II-era drama, The English Patient.

How to watch The English Patient

• Stream The English Patient on MGM+
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Titanic (1997)

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet

What it’s about: Sparks fly between a wealthy young woman and a poor young man while on an ill-fated luxury ship in Titanic – James Cameron’s heavily dramatized retelling of the 1912 tragedy that became the highest-grossing film ever for a time.

How to watch Titanic

• Stream Titanic on Paramount+
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Shakespeare In Love (1998)

Director: John Madden

Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Judi Dench

What it’s about: A young William Shakespeare indulges in an affair with a woman who inspires some of his most iconic work in Shakespeare in Love, for which Gwyneth Paltrow and Judi Dench also won Oscars for their performances.

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• Stream Shakespeare in Love on Paramount+
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American Beauty (1999)

Director: Sam Mendes

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening

What it’s about: Following his own death, a forty-something suburban dad recalls the bizarre last few weeks of his life through overhead narration in American Beauty.

How to watch American Beauty

• Stream American Beauty on Pluto TV
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The 2000s

Gladiator (2000)

Director: Ridley Scott

Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix

What it’s about: Russell Crowe gives an Oscar-winning performance as the hero of Gladiator – a thrilling period piece that surely had audiences “entertained” and spawned the sequel, Gladiator II, in 2024.

How to watch Gladiator

• Stream Gladiator on Paramount+
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A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Director: Ron Howard

Starring: Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly

What it’s about: Russell Crowe headlined back-to-back Best Picture winners in the early 2000s – the second being A Beautiful Mind, in which he plays real-life mathematician John Nash, whose struggles with mental illness almost threatened his career.

How to watch A Beautiful Mind

• Rent or buy A Beautiful Mind on Amazon
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Chicago (2002)

Director: Rob Marshall

Starring: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellwegger, Richard Gere

What it’s about: Catherine Zeta-Jones danced her way to Oscar glory in Chicago – the cinematic adaptation of the Broadway musical inspired by the infamous “Murderess Row” case of the late 1920s.

How to watch Chicago

• Stream Chicago on Paramount+
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The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003)

Director: Peter Jackson

Starring: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen

What it’s about: Director Peter Jackson completed his trilogy inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s influential fantasy books with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which also became the most acclaimed of the Lord of the Rings movies and earned him a Best Director Oscar.

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Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Director: Clint Eastwood

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman

What it’s about: Clint Eastwood won his second Best Director Oscar for the tragic boxing drama Million Dollar Baby, which also saw Morgan Freeman win his first Academy Award and Hilary Swank her second.

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Crash (2005)

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle

What it’s about: Paul Haggis earned a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for co-writing Crash – an analysis of modern racial tension as told from the point of view of various Los Angeleans in a 36-hour period.

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• Stream Crash on Plex
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The Departed (2006)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson

What it’s about: Martin Scorsese received a long-overdue Oscar for directing The Departed – a gritty, bleak, twisty remake of the Chinese cop drama, Infernal Affairs, set in Boston’s criminal underground.

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• Rent or buy The Departed on Amazon
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No Country For Old Men (2007)

Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin

What it’s about: One of Joel and Ethan Coen’s best movies and one of the all-time best Western movies, No Country for Old Men – based on Cormac McCarthy’s powerful commentary on violence as seen through the eyes of three men on different sides of the law – also earned the duo Oscars for both writing and directing.

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• Stream No Country for Old Men on Paramount+
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Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Director: Danny Boyle

Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto

What it’s about: A young man reflects on his childhood in Mumbai while competing on a game show in the inspiring fairy tale, Slumdog Millionaire.

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• Rent or buy Slumdog Millionaire on Apple TV
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The Hurt Locker (2009)

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie

What it’s about: Kathryn Bigelow became the first female Best Director winner for The Hurt Locker – one of the best war movies of all time, which stars Jeremy Renner as a military bomb defuser whose recklessness puts him at odds with his peers while serving in Iraq.

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The 2010s

The King's Speech (2010)

Director: Tom Hooper

Starring: Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush

What it’s about: Colin Firth gives a brilliant performance as an heir to the British throne struggling to overcome his debilitating stammer in The King’s Speech, which also earned Tom Hooper an Oscar.

How to watch The King’s Speech

• Stream The King's Speech on The Roku Channel
• Rent or buy The King’s Speech on Amazon
• Buy The King’s Speech on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Artist (2011)

Director: Michel Hazanavicius

Starring: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo

What it’s about: The first “silent film” to win the Best Picture Oscar since the very first Best Picture Oscar winner (Wings) was The Artist, which, itself, is a rousing, visually stunning love letter to the silent era.

How to watch The Artist

• Stream The Artist on Tubi
• Rent or buy The Artist on Amazon
• Buy The Artist on Blu-ray on Amazon

Argo (2012)

Director: Ben Affleck

Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston

What it’s about: One of Ben Affleck’s best movies, the intense thriller Argo is based on the true story of a CIA agent who helped Americans escape an Iranian hostage situation by posing as a film crew in 1979.

How to watch Argo

• Rent or buy Argo on Amazon
• Buy Argo on Blu-ray on Amazon

12 Years A Slave (2013)

Director: Steve McQueen

Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael Fassbender

What it’s about: Lupita Nyong’o earned a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in her feature-length debut, 12 Years a Slave, which is based on Solomon Northrup’s experience as a free Black man abducted and sold into slavery.

How to watch 12 Years a Slave

• Stream 12 Years a Slave on Hulu
• Rent or buy 12 Years a Slave on Amazon
• Buy 12 Years a Slave on Blu-ray on Amazon

Birdman Or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance) (2014)

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Starring: Michael Keaton, Emma Stone

What it’s about: One of the best Michael Keaton movies, Birdman is a masterclass in satire and surrealism that sees the Oscar nominee poking fun at his own career by starring as a former superhero movie actor seeking a comeback.

How to watch Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

• Stream Birdman on Hulu
• Rent or buy Birdman on Amazon
• Buy Birdman on Blu-ray on Amazon

Spotlight (2015)

Director: Tom McCarthy

Starring: Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams

What it’s about: Michael Keaton led back-to-back Oscar winners in the mid-2010s – the second being Spotlight, which tells the story behind the Boston Globe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning exposé about child molestation cover-ups in the Catholic Church.

How to watch Spotlight

• Stream Spotlight on Starz
• Rent or buy Spotlight on Amazon
• Buy Spotlight on Blu-ray on Amazon

Moonlight (2016)

Director: Barry Jenkins

Starring: Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris

What it’s about: Although an infamous mistake initially made it seem like La La Land won in 2017, the Best Picture Oscar really went to Moonlight – the harrowing story of a young Black man struggling with abuse and his sexual identity.

How to watch Moonlight

• Rent or buy Moonlight on Amazon
• Buy Moonlight on Blu-ray on Amazon

The Shape Of Water (2017)

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Starring: Sally Hawkins, Doug Jones

What it’s about: Visionary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro won over the Academy with The Shape of Water – one of his many celebrated collaborations with Doug Jones – which sees him continue to indulge in his love of creature features but filtered through a powerful commentary on forbidden love.

How to watch The Shape of Water

• Rent or buy The Shape of Water on Amazon
• Buy The Shape of Water on Blu-ray on Amazon

Green Book (2018)

Director: Peter Farrelly

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali

What it’s about: Mahershala Ali won his second Best Supporting Actor Oscar for one of his best roles yet – a Black pianist who forms a strong bond with his white chauffeur while touring the Jim Crow era South – in Green Book, which takes its name from a real road guide used to locate safe areas for Black travelers at the time.

How to watch Green Book

• Rent or buy Green Book on Amazon
• Buy Green Book on Blu-ray on Amazon

Parasite (2019)

Director: Bong Joon-ho

Starring: Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun

What it’s about: An impoverished, South Korean family infiltrates the lives of a wealthy family in the striking, brilliant, subversive thriller, Parasite – the first movie to win Oscars for both Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture.

How to watch Parasite

• Stream Parasite on Netflix
• Stream Parasite on Hulu
• Rent or buy Parasite on Amazon
• Buy Parasite on Blu-ray on Amazon

The 2020s

Nomadland (2020)

Director: Chloé Zhao

Starring: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn

What it’s about: The Chinese-born Chloé Zhao became the first woman of color to win Best Director for Nomadland, which could almost count as a documentary on the post-Recession culture of middle-aged people living exclusively on the road for its casting of real “nomads” as themselves.

How to watch Nomadland

• Stream Nomadland on Hulu
• Rent or buy Nomadland on Amazon
• Buy Nomadland on Blu-ray on Amazon

CODA (2021)

Director: Sian Heder

Starring: Emilia Jones, Troy Kotsur, Marlee Matlin

What it’s about: A young woman, who is the only hearing person in her family, struggles between following her musical aspirations and helping her parents when they fall on hard times in CODA, which also saw star Troy Kotsur make history as the first deaf person to win the Best Actor Oscar.

How to watch CODA

• Stream CODA on Apple TV+

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

Director: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert

Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu

What it’s about: One of the best A24 movies, Everything Everywhere All At Once – a bizarre, emotional, and crowd-pleasing Multiverse movie – took home the top prize, while acting awards went to Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Jamie Lee Curtis and DANIELS earned Best Original Screenplay and Best Director.

How to watch Everything Everywhere All At Once

• Stream Everything Everywhere All At Once on Max
• Rent or buy Everything Everywhere All At Once on Amazon
• Buy Everything Everywhere All At Once on Blu-ray on Amazon

Oppenheimer (2023)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr.

What it’s about: Robert Downey, Jr. became the first former SNL actor to win an Oscar for his supporting performance in Oppenheimer – a dramatization of the story of the Atomic Bomb's construction from the perspective of the project's leader, J. Robert Oppenheimer, that also won the top prize.

How to watch Oppenheimer

• Stream Oppenheimer on Amazon Prime
• Buy Oppenheimer on Blu-ray on Amazon

Anora (2024)

Director: Sean Baker

Starring: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov

What it’s about: At the 2025 Academy Awards, five went to Anora – in which a young, Brooklyn sex worker's impulsive marriage to a Russian oligarch's son creates issues in her life – including Best Editing, Original Screenplay, and Director for Baker; Best Actress for Madison; and top prize.

How to watch Anora

• Rent or buy Anora on Amazon
• Buy Anora on Blu-ray on Amazon

Now that you can say you have seen every Best Picture Oscar winner so far, would you say you agree with the Academy?

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Michael K. Williams passed away at the age of 54 on September 6, 2021, leaving behind a family and a body of work that is up there with some of the all-time greats from the medium. Throughout his acting career, which went back to 1995, Williams gave life to the likes of Omar Little on The Wire, Albert “Chalky” White on Boardwalk Empire, and dozens of others who felt like fully-realized and three-dimensional people rather than characters on a show or in a movie. As we mourn the loss of one of the best actors of his time, we should look back on Williams’ extensive library of shows and movies so that we can best remember the greatness of his craft. Here is just a sampling of the gifts Michael K. Williams had to offer us all.

The Wire (HBO Max)

David Simon’s HBO crime epic The Wire shows how the lives of those on opposite sides of the law and different neighborhoods of Baltimore, Maryland, are connected in one way or another, including series standout, Omar Little (Michael K. Williams), a modern-day Robin Hood in a trench-coat.

Why it’s worth watching: Not only is The Wire one of the greatest television dramas of all time, it also features Michael K. Williams’ best characters in Omar Little. A good man who does bad things to bad people, Omar was at times the funniest character on The Wire cast while others the most tragic of the bunch. It’s just a damn shame Williams never won an Emmy for this iconic performance.

Stream The Wire on HBO Max.

Rent/Buy The Wire on Amazon.

Boardwalk Empire (HBO Max)

Set in Prohibition era Atlantic City, New Jersey, the HBO period crime drama Boardwalk Empire tells the story of the unforgettable characters who found a way to become not only profitable and successful with their various businesses but also feared for the manner in which they operate said businesses for better or worse.

Why it’s worth watching: Two years after he portrayed Omar Little for the final time (not counting the 2012 The Wire musical) Michael K. Williams played Albert “Chalky” White, a powerful African-American gangster with his hands in various cookie jars throughout Boardwalk Empire’s Atlantic City. Beloved in his own community but feared in others, Chalky was a dynamic character who appeared to always be one step ahead of the competition.

Stream Boardwalk Empire on HBO Max.

Rent/Buy Boardwalk Empire on Amazon.

12 Years A Slave (Hulu)

Steve McQueen’s harrowing biographical drama 12 Years a Slave tells the story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejofor) a free African-American man living in New York who is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the years leading up to the Civil War, kicking off more than a decade in captivity and failed attempts to free himself from the shackles of the south.

Why it’s worth watching: There is a long list of tragic characters in 12 Years a Slave including Robert (Michael K. Williams), one of the men that Solomon Northup meets on the slave ship early on in the movie. Even though he’s only in the movie for a few minutes, Williams makes the most of his time and delivers a performance as a man willing to do anything to be free, even if he has to die in the process.

Stream 12 Years a Slave on Hulu.

Rent/Buy 12 Years a Slave on Amazon.

Lovecraft Country (HBO Max)

Set in the Jim Crow American South, the HBO horror drama series Lovecraft Country tells the story of Atticus Freeman (Jonathan Majors) as he sets off on a journey to locate his missing father Montrose Freeman (Michael K. Williams), uncovering several monsters (both man and non-human) along the way.

Why it’s worth watching: One of the most beloved and talked about shows of 2020, Lovecraft Country was made all the better thanks to its brilliant cast that included Jurnee Smollett, Courtney B. Vance, and others in addition to Jonathan Majors and Michael K. Williams. Every one of the stars makes the most of their time in this mind-bending blend of human drama and supernatural horror.

Stream Lovecraft Country on HBO Max.

Rent/Buy Lovecraft Country on Amazon.

When They See Us (Netflix)

Ava DuVernay’s 2019 Netflix limited series When They See Us tells the story of the 1989 Central Park jogger case in which five African-American and latino teenagers were falsely accused of brutally assaulting a white woman. This tragic series shows just how far some will go to solve a case even if it means doubling-down on those who are innocent.

Why it’s worth watching: Told over the course of four tense and emotionally raw episodes, When They See Us shows how false accusations built up by prejudice and misunderstanding can impact multiple lives, including the parents of the falsely accused, which were led by Michael K. Williams as Bobby McCray.

Stream When They See Us on Netflix.

Gone Baby Gone (HBO Max)

Set in Boston, Ben Affleck’s Gone Baby Gone centers on the disappearance of a four-year-old girl and tireless effort by local detective Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) to find her before the whole neighborhood is torn apart by the case.

Why it’s worth watching: With a cast that includes Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Michelle Monaghan, Amy Ryan, and Michael K. Williams, it’s easy to see why Gone Baby Gone remains a highly-regarded crime drama 14 years after its release. Combine that with an intricate story where everyone feels both innocent and guilty and it just gets better.

Stream Gone Baby Gone on HBO Max.

Rent/Buy Gone Baby Gone on Amazon.

The Night Of (HBO Max)

After being implicated in the murder of a young woman in New York City, Pakistani-American college student Nasir “Naz” Khan’s (Riz Ahmed) finds himself going through the criminal justice system in hopes of clearing his name.

Why it’s worth watching: Awaiting his trial, Naz is sent to Rikers Island where he meets Freddy Knight (Michael K. Williams) an influential prisoner who can make things happen to those living outside the jail’s walls just as much as he can to those wasting away in their cells. This morally ambiguous character is made all the more realistic thanks to Williams’ ability to be both warm and terrifying at the same time.

Stream The Night Of on HBO Max.

Buy The Night Of on Amazon.

Hap And Leonard (Netflix)

Based on Joe R. Landsale novels of the same name, the Sundance TV crime comedy-drama series Hap and Leonard tells the story of two best friends — Hap Collins (James Purefoy) and Leonard Pine (Michael K. Williams) — who find themselves in a get-rich-quick scheme that turns out to be not as easy as they once thought.

Why it’s worth watching: Although it doesn’t receive as much acclaim as some of Michael K. Williams’ other crime shows, Hap and Leonard is one that shouldn’t be overlooked. Throughout the series’ three seasons, Williams’ Leonard is at times a hilarious character with a great deal of emotional depth while at others a complete mad man with an unforgettable temper.

Stream Hap and Leonard on Netflix.

Rent/Buy Hap and Leonard on Amazon.

Bessie (HBO Max)

One of the best movies on HBO Max, Bessie follows Bessie Smith (Queen Latifah) as goes from an unknown blues singer in Tennessee to one of the most prominent and influential music artists of the early 20th Century, detailing the success and setbacks she experienced along the way.

Why it’s worth watching: The Primetime Emmy Award-winning biographical drama is anchored by the outstanding performance by Queen Latifah as the trailblazing Bessie Smith and Michael K. Williams as her husband and manager Jack Gee. The chemistry between these two is out of this world and makes the highs and lows of their marriage seem all the more real, no matter how hard some of it is to take.

Stream Bessie on HBO Max.

Rent/Buy Bessie on Amazon.

When We Rise (Amazon Purchase)

The ABC limited series When We Rise chronicles the struggles — both personal and political — and successes of a various members of the LGBT community over the course of 45 years.

Why it’s worth watching: The large ensemble cast, which includes Guy Pearce, Mary-Louise Parker, and Michael K. Williams playing various trailblazers in the LGBT community in different periods of time helps tell a well-rounded story about those who sacrificed so others could have a voice and the freedom to live their lives without fear of prosecution or persecution by society.

Buy When We Rise on Amazon.

The Road (Pluto TV)

Based on Cormac McCarthy’s award-winning novel of the same name, John Hillcoat’s 2009 post-apocalyptic survival film The Road tells the story of a father (Viggo Mortensen) and son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) as they push towards the Southern coast in hopes of surviving a cataclysmic event while also keeping ahold of their humanity in the process.

Why it’s worth watching: Michael K. Williams is only in The Road for a few minutes, but his performance as the thief who is forced to give his clothes to the father and son after being caught stealing their cart is one that can’t be missed. This emotionally-gutting scene is difficult to watch but helps illustrate one’s need for survival in a dying world.

Stream The Road on Pluto TV.

Rent/Buy The Road on Amazon.

Inherent Vice (IMDb TV)

Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2014 adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s neo-noir novel Inherent Vice tells the story of down-on-his-luck private detective Larry “Doc” Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) as he attempts to get to the bottom of a mystery involving a wealthy real-estate tycoon set in the psychedelic world of 1970s Los Angeles.

Why it’s worth watching: Throughout Inherent Vice, Doc encounters one over-the-top character after another, including Tariq Khalil (Michael K. Williams), a member of the Black Guerrilla Family who hires him to hunt down a member of the Aryan Brotherhood who owes him big. And that is just one of the situations Doc finds himself wrapped up in throughout this sprawling affair.

Stream Inherent Vice on IMDb TV.

Rent/Buy Inherent Vice on Amazon.

There will never be anything that will take the place of Michael K. Williams, but each and every one of those movies and TV shows can help remind us of the amazing and versatile talent of one of the greatest actors of our time.

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I think many would agree at this point that the casting of Sarah Paulson is enough to assure you are in for a good thriller. One of the top reasons viewers of American Horror Story keep coming back each season is to see what character she will play next and what she will bring to the role. Those very fans are probably the same people who made Run, her latest feature-length effort, the most watched movie on Hulu to date.

While film and TV projects of a spookier and more suspenseful variety certainly make up the bulk of the Tampa native’s filmography, you can not forget about her comparatively more positive credits, such as criminally fun comedies like Ocean’s 8, lavish throwbacks to romantic ’60s cinema like Down with Love, or even more historical period dramas like The Post, from director Steven Spielberg. None of these movies are currently available to stream, however, but there are plenty of other titles within a similar tone starring Sarah Paulson that you can still find at the moment on most of your favorite digital platforms.

In fact, I sifted through all the best-known streaming services I could think of and managed to conjure a list of 12 movies and TV shows every person who considers themselves a fan of Sarah Paulson should see. As you will probably expect, there are a good deal of thrillers among the following selection, such as this more recent flick that has acquired some killer ratings and killer reviews thanks a particularly killer premise, so to speak.

Run (Hulu)

A wheelchair bound and homeschooled teenager makes a discovery about her mother’s protective instincts that gives her longtime ambition to flee the nest a more dire purpose.

Why It's A Good Option for Sarah Paulson Fans: Originally intended for a fitting Mother’s Day weekend release before Hulu’s acquirement, Run is a relatively simple and familiar escape thriller elevated by Sarah Paulson’s reliably chilling performance as a mom from hell and especially actress Kiera Allen in a shockingly brilliant debut.

Stream Run on Hulu here.

Ratched (Netflix)

A woman is hired as a nurse at a widely respected insane asylum for a supposedly personable appearance and committed disposition that hides her darker true nature in 1940s California.

Why It's A Good Option for Sarah Paulson Fans: Co-creator Ryan Murphy knew from working with her on American Horror Story that Sarah Paulson was perfect for the title character of Ratched, a twisted Netflix original series profiling the earlier life of Louise Fletcher’s Oscar-winning, blood-curdling role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Stream Ratched on Netflix here.

Glass (HBO Max)

A real-life superhero (Bruce Willis) meets a villain with Dissociative Identity Disorder (James McAvoy) and reunites with his disabled former ally turned arch enemy (Samuel L. Jackson) at mental hospital where they begin to question the reality of their unusual abilities.

Why It's A Good Option for Sarah Paulson Fans: While not quite the sadist that Mildred Ratched is, Sara Paulson is still an effective antagonist as a psychiatrist trying to convince the main characters they are delusional in Glass, the final chapter of M. Night Shyamalan’s comic book-inspired trilogy first kicked off by Unbreakable in 2000 and followed by Split 17 years later.

Stream Glass on HBO Max here.

The People V. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (Netflix)

Former NFL player and actor O.J. Simpson (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is put on trial for the June 1994 murders of his ex-wife and her friend.

Why It's A Good Option for Sarah Paulson Fans: Sarah Paulson won her first Emmy and her first Golden Globe for her performance in the first season of FX’s historical anthology series American Crime Story as Marcia Clark, one of the struggling prosecuting attorneys of the infamous 1997 court case.

Stream The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story on Netflix here.

Carol (Netflix)

A young retail clerk (Rooney Mara) an a middle-aged mother going through a divorce (Cate Blanchett) strike up a close friendship that begins to evolve into something more during the holiday season in 1950s New York City.

Why It's A Good Option for Sarah Paulson Fans: While Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett are both a tour de force as the lead duo of Carol, Todd Haynes' gorgeous forbidden romance, Sarah Paulson is an undisputed scene-stealer as Carol’s friend and possible former lover - a role that could be interpreted as especially personal for the openly lesbian actress.

Stream Carol on Netflix here.

Bird Box (Netflix)

A woman (Sandra Bullock) struggles to bring her children to a potential safe haven years after the apocalyptic emergence of a deadly supernatural force that brings death to anyone who lays eyes on it.

Why It's A Good Option for Sarah Paulson Fans: Despite having very little screen time, Sarah Paulson makes a lasting impact as Jessica, the sister of Bullock’s character Malorie, in Bird Box - an intriguing fantasy thriller based on the 2014 novel by Josh Malerman (despite assumptions of ripping off fellow 2018 sci-fi flick A Quiet Place) that was a huge hit for Netflix.

Stream Bird Box on Netflix here.

The Goldfinch (Amazon Prime)

A young man (Ansel Elgort) begins to face the consequences of stealing a priceless painting from the rubble of museum which was destroyed in a terrorist bombing that also killed his mother when he was a child.

Why It's A Good Option for Sarah Paulson Fans: Once again, Sarah Paulson makes a big impression in yet another adaptation of a bestselling novel here, in this case the 2019 Amazon Prime original film The Goldfinch in which she plays Xandra, who is dating young Theo Decker’s (Oakes Fegley) estranged father Larry (Luke Wilson) at the time of his mother’s tragic death.

Stream The Goldfinch on Amazon Prime here.

Mud (Hulu)

A teenage boy (Tye Sheridan) and his pal (Jacob Lofland) become friends and accomplices to a murderer (Matthew McConaughey) trying to outrun a Texas bounty hunter and reunite with his lover (Reese Witherspoon).

Why It's A Good Option for Sarah Paulson Fans: Playing Mary Lee, the mother of Tye Sheridan’s character Ellis in writer and director Jeff Nichols’ 2011 gothic crime thriller made Sarah Paulson a central figure in the history of the McConaissance as Mud, named after Matthew McConaughey’s fugitive, is widely credited as the first major jumpstart to the future Oscar-winner’s career.

Stream Mud on Hulu here.

12 Years A Slave (Hulu)

A professional musician from New York (Chiwetel Ejiofor) travels to Washington, D.C., is abducted into the slave trade, and sold to a Louisiana plantation where he is held for more than a decade.

Why It's A Good Option for Sarah Paulson Fans: Arguably the most chilling antagonist that Sarah Paulson has played thus far is the the equally bigoted wife of Michael Fassbender’s slave owner Edwin Epps in 12 Years a Slave, Steve McQueen’s Oscar-winning adaptation of Solomon Northup’s memoir recalling his long stretch without freedom in pre-Civil War America.

Stream 12 Years A Slave on Hulu here.

American Gothic (Hulu)

A seemingly idyllic South Carolina town is ruled with an iron fist by the mystically powerful Sheriff Lucas Buck (Gary Cole), whose only threat to his reign is his own illegitimate son Caleb Temple (Lucas Black).

Why It's A Good Option for Sarah Paulson Fans: Before critically supernatural soap operas became a staple of her career, one of Sarah Paulson’s earliest TV roles was Merlyn Temple, a ghost trying to protect her younger brother Caleb from the ruthless sheriff on American Gothic, which was cancelled after one season on CBS in 1996.

Stream American Gothic on Hulu here.

American Horror Story (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime)

A family falling prey to the sinister spirits of their new house, sideshow performers burdened by their unique “talents,” and a group of psychotic clowns terrorizing innocents in the wake of political unrest are just three of the current total of nine twisted tales of this phenomenal, season anthology series.

Why It's A Good Option for Sarah Paulson Fans: American Gothic’s Merlyn Temple was only the first ghostly figure whom Sarah Paulson would play on TV before creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk gave her that opportunity again in hotel-set fifth season of American Horror Story, which the actress is set to return to for the upcoming Season 10 in 2021.

Stream American Horror Story on Netflix here, on Hulu here, or on Amazon Prime here.

Coastal Elites (HBO Max)

A civil rights activist (Issa Rae), a young nurse (Kaitlyn Dever), a gay actor (Dan Levy), and others make deep, personal confessions via webcam about how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected their lives.

Why It's A Good Option for Sarah Paulson Fans: Speaking of American horror stories, Sarah Paulson plays a meditation instructor whose weekly YouTube livestream is upended by her own political concerns in Coastal Elites, an HBO original satirical film shot remotely by its A-list cast that takes bold aim at the infamous events of 2020.

Stream Coastal Elites on HBO Max here.

What do you think? Will your devotion to watching anything starring Sarah Paulson entice you to watch something that will only remind you of all the real world issues you are currently trying to forget, or will you settle for waiting until the premiere of Season 10 of American Horror Story? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back for additional information and updates on the widely beloved actress, as well as even more recommendations of what to stream starring your favorite celebrities, here on CinemaBlend.

I know you’ve heard this one before, but if you’re a movie fan, then the Oscars are your Super Bowl. Yeah, it’s super corny, but it’s also super true. If you’re a cinephile, (and you must be if you’re reading an article about the Oscars in the summer), then the Academy Awards are your Super Bowl, and the Golden Globes are your playoffs. And this is because the Oscars is the biggest event of the year for movies, and you’re actually super knowledgeable about it, too. You know the movies that are nominated, and might have even seen all of them during the past year. Plus, if somebody were to bet on the Oscars and wanted to know your thoughts, you could comfortably say, “Well, 1917 looks like the favorite, but Parasite might take it all.”

But with Covid-19 pretty much making 2020 a disaster movie, who knows if we'll even get an Academy Awards this year, or at least, it will probably look much different. Hopefully, the Oscar-bait will still come out in the normal months, but who’s to say? With that in mind, I thought it might be good to look back at this past decade to have a sort of a battle royale to see which Best Picture winner was the best. Now, you’re likely to disagree with this list, but that’s what comments sections are for! 

So, without further ado, here is every Best Picture Winner since 2010, ranked. Oh, and note that the years beside the entries are for when the movie won Best Picture, not for when the movie came out.

11. The Artist (2012)

Talk about a movie riding its gimmick to the big show. Starring Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, The Artist is pretty much a less enjoyable version of Singin’ in the Rain. It’s about the silent era of film, and how a movie star falls in love with a dancer. It’s in black and white and also deals with the rough transition some silent stars had when the “talkies” were introduced. It has all the hallmarks of Oscar-bait, but none of the depth.

The Artist is not a bad movie, per se, and it’s quant enough to be enjoyable. But it’s also nothing special. That particular year didn’t really have any huge stand-out films to challenge it (except for maybe The Tree of Life), but when it comes to Oscar winners for Best Picture, this is one of the more boring picks.

10. Green Book (2019)

Green Book just narrowly missed my pick for the “worst” Best Picture winner of the 2010s, but only because I forgot about The Artist when making this list. It’s the story of the real-life black musician, Donald Shirley (played by the Oscar-winning Mahershala Ali) as he’s escorted into the racist deep south by real-life tough guy, Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga (played by Viggo Mortensen). Tony Lip starts out as racist, but then acquires a new understanding of black people while traveling with Shirley. Shirley also learns to reconcile with his black background and loosen up a little bit. It’s the feel-good movie of 2018!

But it’s also really bland. Like The Artist, it’s fine, but this was also the year of BlackKklansman and the mega box office hit, Black Panther. If you’re going to pick a movie about race, why this one?

9. The Shape of Water (2018)

Shout out to Guillermo del Toro for making a sexy time version of Creature from the Black Lagoon. It’s about a mute janitor (played by Sally Hawkins) who falls in love with a sea creature man. It’s super artsy, and super classy, too. Way to go, Guillermo!

But you know what? Maybe The Shape of Water is a bit too classy. For a plot like this, it seems to take itself super seriously, and even though del Toro does a great job of navigating the story and the characters, it just feels a tad bit pretentious. Plus, this was the year of Get Out, which will likely be remembered long after The Shape of Water is forgotten. It’s an okay film, but not the best pick for, er… Best Pic.

8. The King’s Speech (2011)

2010 was a really good year for films. Inception, Toy Story 3, Black Swan, The Fighter, and of course, The Social Network would have all been acceptable and preferred winners. Instead, we got a movie about King George VI (Played by Colin Firth) having a stammer, and the speech coach (Geoffrey Rush) who helps him overcome it. Fascinating.

But you know what, it actually is! Yes, The Social Network definitely spoke to the zeitgeist more, but The King’s Speech is an overall more enjoyable film. It has great drama, great humor, and excellent characters. I personally would have picked The Fighter for this year, but The King’s Speech is not a bad pick at all.

7. The Hurt Locker (2010)

No pun intended, but The Hurt Locker started off the decade with a bang. It’s about a Sergeant (Jeremy Renner) in the Iraq War who gets his rocks off disabling bombs. There’s more to it, but that’s about the size of it. It was directed by Kathryn Bigelow who was the first (and alas, only) woman to win Best Director.

The Hurt Locker is a tense movie and a provocative one since it came out while the Iraq War was still ongoing. It’s a difficult movie to watch at times, but it’s also engrossing all the way. This was also the first year that there were 10 nominations rather than 5 for Best Picture, and it deserved to beat all of its competitors. Yes, even Inglorious Basterds.

6. Moonlight (2017)

Best Picture winner La La Land, I mean, Moonlight, tackles a controversial topic in the often religious African American community—homosexuality. And it tackles it beautifully. Told in three parts of a black man’s life, Moonlight is the movie that’s too good for all of us.

It’s just a beautiful film overall, and if there’s any problems with it, it’s that some sections (most notably the last leg of the film) are not as good as other parts. It’s a slightly lopsided movie, to be sure, but when it hits, it hits hard.

5. Parasite (2020)

The most recent winner on this list is definitely one of the better ones. It’s the first foreign film to ever win Best Picture, and out of the films nominated (I’ll get to that in a second), it definitely deserved the win. Parasite is a story about class. And it’s an interesting one, since it deals with not only how the rich views the poor, but also how the poor views the poor as well. It also feels different from most Western films, since there’s a complete tonal shift toward the end, making it a sort of horror movie comedy? It’s hard to describe, but it’s wonderful because of it.

Parasite is fantastic, but a strong contender for 2019’s other best movie, Uncut Gems, wasn’t even nominated. What’s up with that?

4. Argo (2013)

Ben Affleck was robbed. Based on a true story, Argo is about a CIA agent (played by Affleck, who also directed the film) who pretends to be a producer for a sci-fi flick in order to get six Americans out of Iran. It’s tense, it’s funny, and it’s a history lesson, all in one!

For its plot, you would think Argo would get caught up in being the thriller that it’s billed as, but it’s also a really funny movie. The tension gets ratcheted up sky high, but the film is so engaging that you’re always along for the ride. Argo F yourself if you don’t like this movie.

3. 12 Years A Slave (2014)

By far the hardest Best Picture winner on this list to watch, 12 Years A Slave is the true story of Solomon Northup (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor). Solomon is a free man who got captured in the North and sold down in the South. Probably the most harrowing movie about American slavery ever put to film, Lupita Nyong’o also won an Academy Award for her portrayal of an abused slave.

12 Years a Slave is unabashed and raw. It’s not a film that’s begging for you to like it (like The Artist). Instead, it’s a film that doesn’t care what you think. And for that, it’s a bold choice for Best Picture. That said, I would have preferred Dallas Buyers Club for that year, because, well, I love that movie.

2. Spotlight (2016)

Spotlight is our All The President’s Men. But unlike All The President’s Men, it actually won Best Picture! It’s the true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered and covered (see what I did there?) the sexual molestation going on in the Catholic Church. It’s meticulous and rich in detail, just like all good journalism should be.

Spotlight is the kind of movie that doesn’t seem to exist anymore. Sure, there are still newsroom pictures today, but none that are really unvarnished and play it straight like Spotlight does. There’s no bombast, and no spectacle, and the movie’s all the better for it. Just excellent acting and fantastic storytelling all around. Who knew a movie so straightforward could be so riveting?

1. Birdman (2015)

I might catch hell for this, but for me, Birdman is not only the best movie to win Best Picture in the past 10 years, but also the best American film in that time frame as well. It’s super meta, and Michael Keaton (who should have won Best Actor) is perfect in the role as a former superhero actor who’s trying to hang on to the last vestiges of his career by writing and directing a hoity toity Broadway play. But while this is going on, he’s kind of going crazy in the process, and his old character is coming to take over his brain.

It’s rhythmic, it’s hilarious, and it’s brilliant. I know I bemoaned The Artist at the start of this article for being gimmicky, and there are plenty of people who will say that Birdman’s “single-shot” trick is a gimmick. But I actually feel that it works into the plot since the character himself has a mind that never stops moving, so it’s all just poetry to me. Absolute poetry. Boyhood would have been the easier pick, given how long it took to make, but Birdman is the more audacious and correct pick for Best Picture.

So, as you see, I love the Academy Awards. And so do you! But what do you think was the best movie of the 2010s and why? Sound off in the comments.

This poll is no longer available.

What exactly is a “black movie”? I ask this question because I see it all the time in various articles and write-ups. In fact, if you type “Black movies” up in Google, you’ll find multiple lists on that very topic. And I get it. When you hear the term “black movies,” it doesn’t necessarily mean movies for black people, by black people (though, it may). It really just means stories that predominantly star black characters, and it may (if it’s good) even deal with issues uniquely concerning African-Americans. Now, movies of this nature could be happy, or sad. Though, if I’m being completely honest, they’re usually sad. Especially concerning today’s times.

Now, this is not a list of movies that I think all black people should watch (I’ve seen those lists, too). So you won’t find movies like The Wiz or Friday on here—Though, I do love those movies, too. Instead, this is a list of black-led films that I think all movie fans should watch, no matter the race or creed. Every single one of them is a landmark film in cinema, and the fact that they’re so ethnically unique just makes them all the better. How many of these black-led movies have you already watched?

Black Panther

It might be weird to start this list off with a COMIC BOOK MOVIE, but when said comic book movie is the first ever to be nominated for Best Picture, well, then I think it deserves a pass. Starring Chadwick Boseman as the titular character and helmed by Fruitvale Station/Creed director, Ryan Coogler, Black Panther wasn’t just any “comic book movie.” it was a phenomenon.

This might be because—say it with me, folks—representation matters! With a cast comprised mainly of black actors, and with a budget of $200 million, Disney was putting its money where its mouth (its mouse?) was. It doesn’t hurt that the film is a lot more heady than most movies in the genre, as it dealt with concepts such as colonization and inner city struggles. A landmark film that everybody should—and probably already has—see(n).

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

Does Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner fully work in 2020? Hmm, maybe, maybe not. It’s definitely not going to have you discussing it endlessly like you did with Jordan Peele’s, Get Out (even though Guess Who's Coming to Dinner partly inspired that movie). It’s also kind of cheesy. But does it make for an interesting time capsule of what tolerance would have looked like back in the very contentious 1960's when it was released? Well, yeah, sure. I think it does.

It stars Sidney Poitier as a physician who wants to marry a young white woman (Katharine Houghton) from a rich Liberal family. The parents, played by Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn, never expected their daughter to come home with a black man, but the film gets into how such a union doesn’t seem right to certain people. But, being a comedy, things turn out all right in the end. Still, interracial marriage is something that, even today, can get deeply frowned upon in certain communities. And while Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner definitely wouldn’t be considered a “black movie,” it does still deal with concepts that black people would be very familiar with.

Just don’t watch the race-flipped remake, Guess Who starring Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac. It’s, uh, not as good.

Get Out

I mean, I already mentioned Get Out, so…Jordan Peele’s debut has so much to say in its meager 1 hour and 44 minute runtime that you’re going to have to watch it at least two more times just to catch everything. Daniel Kaluuya plays a black photographer who is about to meet his white girlfriend’s Liberal parents. Everything seems great at first. That is until his girlfriend’s mom invites him down to “the sunken place." That's when he finds himself in a world of trouble.

Get Out is a horror film, but it was nominated for Best Picture. That’s because it’s so much more than just a horror movie. It’s a commentary on race in America, and what it means to be black (and white, for that matter, in some regards). It’s a powerful film, and even a funny one at times. A modern day classic.

Lilies of the Field

Let’s get back to Sidney Poitier. The film that won Mr. Poitier his Academy Award (making him the first black actor to win in a competitive category), Lilies of the Field, based on the excellent novel of the same name, is about a skilled wanderer (played by Poitier) who stumbles upon some German nuns and helps them build a chapel. That’s pretty much it, really.

But the film is told very cleanly, and it’s at times a very pretty film. Directed by Ralph Nelson, Poitier deserved his Best Actor Oscar as Homer Smith, so it’s worth watching just for his performance alone.

Uptown Saturday Night

Okay, we might as well just stick with Poitier since we’re already here. Uptown Saturday Night is actually the first in a trilogy, the other two being Let’s Do it Again, and A Piece of the Action. Honestly, I think you should watch all three movies since they’re all really good, even though the two leads—Poitier and (gulp) Bill Cosby—have different names in each one. But if you only watch one, watch this one.

It’s about two friends who are held up by robbers. But when one of the friends (Poitier) realizes that he has a winning lottery ticket in the wallet that was stolen, the two friends try to get the wallet back themselves. Fun times ensue. This is a great movie full of a lot of laughs, and it’s just great to see two excellent actors (if you can separate the act from the actor when it comes to Cosby, which I know is difficult), then you’re bound to have a good time.

12 Years a Slave

Based on a true story about the life of Solomon Northup, 12 Years a Slave, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong’o, who acted her ass off for that Oscar, is a depressing movie that will not elicit a single smile out of you. You will also likely cry. But it’s an important film and well worth its Best Picture win.

Directed by Steve McQueen (No, not that Steve McQueen)12 Years a Slave is a harrowing film that delves into the horrors of slavery, and it goes deep into the torture that black people (even free black people) had to go through in the history of this nation. Have a Kleenex handy.

Moonlight

Another Oscar winner, director Barry Jenkins’ masterpiece, Moonlight, is about three pivotal times in a young black man’s life—one as a child, one as a teenager, and one as an adult. Each phase of his life informs his ultimate future.

But Moonlight is special since it deals with homosexuality in a way that many other films don’t. Especially since it’s set within the black community, which sometimes, unfortunately, views homosexuality very negatively as a culture. It’s a beautiful movie, and I’m happy (sorry, not sorry) that it beat La La Land for Best Picture.

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song

Is Melvin Van Peebles’ Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song a classy film like Moonlight? Hell to the no. But it doesn’t make it any less important. The film that pretty much created the blaxploitation genre, Sweet Sweetback’s is just a culturally important movie in general. If you’re a fan of cinema at all, then you’ve probably already seen it.

In a nutshell, Peebles plays a dude with big wang who gets hassled by the police and then gets some sweet payback. There’s more to it, but that’s about the size of it. So, if you like Tarantino, then you’ll probably like this movie. And the 2003 film Baadasssss!, directed by Melvin’s son, Mario, is also pretty good. Watch both of them.

Fences

Based on the great August Wilson play of the same name, Fences finds Denzel Washington (who also directed) and Viola Davis living out their lives in 1950's in Pittsburgh. Denzel Washington plays a garbage man who was born too late, since he was also an excellent baseball player but was too old by the time the major leagues started accepting black players. This made him bitter, and it washes over his entire family.

It’s just a great overall story, and Denzel Washington handles the material well for the Pulitzer Prize winning play. Fantastic acting + fantastic storytelling=a fantastic movie. And that ending always gets me.

Hidden Figures

Lastly, how about an important, feel-good movie? The Academy Award nominated Hidden Figures is the true story about three black women who helped NASA in a major way but didn't really get the credit for it until now. Starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae as real life mathematicians, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and NASA engineer, Mary Jackson, respectively, Hidden Figures is the kind of movie that you show your kids and say, see? African Americans have done much more for this country than you ever even knew.

But it’s rarely a preachy film, and it’s entirely safe for people of all ages. It’s the kind of film that you can show in school knowing that the students will enjoy it and learn something at the same time. In other words, it's edutainment done right.

There are a lot of other black-led films to choose from, but I think these are a good starting point. If there are any other movies you think should have been mentioned here, then please leave them in the comments section below.

The term “woke” may be seen as a dirty word nowadays in certain corners of the country, but initially, the term meant that you were socially aware of injustice. In fact, if you want to continue believing that to be the meaning of the word, then so be it. In other words, just because somebody else doesn’t agree with your point of view, that doesn’t mean that you’re wrong. It just means that you see things differently. And that’s what each one of these movies does. By exploring race and injustice, they show things differently than what you might be accustomed to. Because, as far as we’ve come as a country, race is still, unfortunately, a sticky subject.

That’s why movies are often so important, especially ones that tackle race and social justice. They create a window into lives that you might not completely understand, but want to. And, if you do want to understand another race, then you’re probably “woke,” whether you like to believe it or not. But, honestly, is that such a bad thing? To be socially aware of others? We don’t think so, and neither do these movies.

Just Mercy (2019)

In this powerful legal drama (and true story), Michael B. Jordan plays Bryan Stevenson, a real lawyer who worked tirelessly to get death row inmate Walter McMillian (played by Jamie Foxx, who Jordan always wanted for the role) released for a murder he didn’t commit. Just Mercy’s story may take place in 1989, but its events still ring true today. At times frustrating to watch, given everything McMillian had to go through, the film is a textbook study on how the criminal justice system is flawed, and how we still have a ways to go before we can have true equality for everyone.

Rent or buy Just Mercy on Amazon Prime

The Hate U Give (2018)

Based on the novel of the same name by Angie Thomas and directed by George Tillman Jr., The Hate U Give is about a girl named Starr Carter (played by Amandla Stenberg) who witnesses the death of her friend at the hands of a cop. Her journey is a mostly internal one, with this question hanging at the center of it—Should she remain silent about what she saw, or should she testify and potentially get slandered herself? The answer isn’t completely clear-cut.

Rent or buy The Hate U Give on Amazon Prime

Selma (2014)

In this unique approach to a biopic from director Ava DuVernay, Selma chronicles a groundswell effort by Dr. King (played by David Oyelowo) and many others as they fight to make it easier for Black people to vote in Selma, Alabama. Many sacrifice their safety as they walk together, arm-in-arm, from Selma to Montgomery, and the film makes a point to show how politics played a large role in shaping the Civil Rights Movement in this country. Though it’s a great movie to watch on Martin Luther King Jr., it's honestly a great movie to watch any day of the year because its message remains the same – never give up fighting for what’s right.

Stream Selma on Netflix
Stream Selma on Paramount+

Loving (2016)

Directed by Jeff Nichols, and starring Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga, this true story centers around Richard Loving (Edgerton) and Mildred Loving (Negga), an interracial couple who got national attention for fighting to stay married. The state of Virginia didn’t allow interracial marriage back in the late ‘50s, and police even threw them both in jail due to them having children together. As somebody who is actually in an interracial marriage, this movie resonates on so many different levels for me. In the end, true love lives on, but at what cost?

Rent or buy Loving on Amazon Prime

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

Based on the James Baldwin novel of the same name and directed by Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk (which we gave a stellar review upon release) is the story of two lovers named Clementine “Tish” Rivers (played by Kiki Layne) and Alonzo “Fonny” Hunt (played by Stephan James). Alonzo is in jail for a crime he didn’t commit, and Tish is pregnant with his child. Tish wants to have Alonzo freed so he can see the birth of their child, but she faces hurdles along the way. This movie is relevant today, even though it takes place in the ‘70s, because Fonny is wrongly convicted, and racism definitely plays a part in that conviction.

Stream If Beale Street Could Talk on Hulu

Fruitvale Station (2013)

Another film starring Michael B. Jordan, this one by Ryan Coogler, director of the Black Panther films, Fruitvale Station is a tough film to watch, especially if you’re already aware of the events in question. This film, based on a true story, chronicles the short life of Oscar Grant, a young man killed by a police officer at Fruitvale Station in San Francisco. The movie is hard to stomach, especially because it gives us a glimpse at Oscar's life, only to show him having that life snuffed out unjustly.

Stream Fruitvale Station on MAX

BlacKkKlansman (2018)

Directed by Spike Lee, and starring John David Washington and Adam Driver, this story based on the memoir by Ron Stallworth is about a Black detective (Washington) who works with a white detective (Driver) to infiltrate the local chapter of the KKK, and take it down from the inside. At times, the film makes the KKK look both comical in their idiocy, but also frightening in their power, especially when it comes to locals hiding behind a hood. It’s one of Spike Lee’s most relevant movies in a whole career’s worth of relevant movies, so you know it’s definitely worth a watch.

Rent or buy BlacKkKlansman on Amazon Prime

Do The Right Thing (1989)

Another Spike Lee Joint, Do the Right Thing wasn’t even nominated for Best Picture (but should have been) back when it came out in 1989. Today, it would probably win the top prize. It takes place in a single, simmering day in a Brooklyn neighborhood and showcases the racial tension that exists within it. The story also deals with gentrification, making it almost like a time capsule for the Brooklyn we have today. The film is relevant for many reasons, but mostly because of its brutal ending, which also concerns a police officer using excessive violence against a person of color.

Stream Do the Right Thing on Amazon Prime

12 Years A Slave (2013)

This 2013 film (which we gave a 5 star review) won the Academy Award for Best Picture and a Best Supporting Actress Award for Lupita Nyong’o. 12 Years a Slave, directed by Steve McQueen, tells the true story of Solomon Northup (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free man who was captured and sold into captivity for 12 years, as the title suggests. It’s a gruesome film to watch, as it fully details the harsh realities of slavery, and by the end of it, you don’t feel any sort of catharsis or happiness. Just depression. The movie is still relevant, because many will tell you that the events of slavery still impact African Americans today. Watch it for historical purposes, not for enjoyment.

Rent or buy 12 Years a Slave on Amazon Prime

I Am Not Your Negro (2016)

Another film based off of James Baldwin’s writings (this one on his unfinished memoir, Remember This House), I Am Not Your Negro is a documentary directed by Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck, which attempts to finish the memoir and connect it to today’s events, such as the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, it goes over Baldwin’s personal thoughts on his contemporaries, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers, all of whom were assassinated. The documentary is relevant today, as it’s important to often look to the past in order to possibly understand the future.

Rent or buy I Am Not Your Negro on Amazon Prime

Detroit (2017)

In this harrowing film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, and starring the likes of John Boyega, Will Poulter, and Anthony Mackie, this story centers around the 12th Street Riot that actually occurred in Detroit back in 1967. Amidst the rioting, a Black R&B group headed into a motel, and after one of them fired a starting pistol as a prank, the police swarmed the building, and started firing at the people inside. The rest that follows features police corruption, racism, and all manner of other subjects that are difficult to sit through if you’ve ever felt intimidated by the police. An important watch that still feels relevant today.

Stream Detroit on Amazon Prime with a free trial of Movie Sphere+

The Learning Tree (1969)

In this period piece (which takes place in the 1920s) directed by Gordon Parks, The Learning Tree follows a black teenager named Newt Winger (played by Kyle Johnson) who has to grow up quickly following a series of events involving murder and race-blaming. This film bears the distinction of being the first film directed by an African American for a major studio, and it deals with issues that many young, African American males still have to confront today, such as whether or not we can trust that the legal system will do the right thing if we come forward to report a crime.

Rent or buy The Learning Tree on Amazon Prime

Killer Of Sheep (1978)

Directed by Charles Burnett, Killer of Sheep is a film about African American culture in Los Angeles. The story—what story exists, since a lot of it is disjointed—is about a man named Stan (played by Henry G. Sanders) who works in an abattoir. But, because of the repetition of senseless killing he performs at his job, he’s become disconnected with the family that he’s working so hard to support. I take it that there's a deeper message to Killer of Sheep about the brevity of life, but there's also the message about the stark realities of what it means to be African American, and how life is different in many ways from other Americans, and yet, somewhat similar.

Buy Killer of Sheep on Amazon

Dear White People (2014)

Satire can be a powerful tool if used correctly, and Dear White People is a great example of that. The story concerns a predominantly white Ivy League school and some of its Black students. Tessa Thompson (swoon) and many other Black stars show that even in the elite schools, there are still going to be racial issues.

Stream Dear White People on MAX

Ken Burns: The Central Park Five (2012)

This is the true story of five Black and Latino teenagers who were wrongly accused of raping a jogger in Central Park. At the time of this film’s release, it was the first time the teenagers’ side of the story was shown. There is also a highly watched series on Netflix called When They See Us centered around the events that is very difficult to watch for the first time. Both are worthy watches and make for good companion pieces.

Buy The Central Park Five on Amazon
Stream When They See Us on Netflix

Queen & Slim (2019)

Directed by Melina Matsoukas, and starring Jodie Turner-Smith and Daniel Kaluuya, this Black Bonnie and Clyde story is about two people who fall in love while on the lam. It all starts after “Slim” kills a police officer (in self-defense) after the officer shoots “Queen” in the leg, which ignites a multi-state manhunt for the two. Queen & Slim is like what The Hate U Give would be like if it was a revenge thriller. That said, it still has a great deal to say about how some cops don’t exactly follow the rules when it comes to law enforcement.

Rent or buy Queen & Slim on Amazon Prime

13th (2016)

This depressing documentary by Ava DuVernay that gets its title from the 13th Amendment, which ended slavery, goes into how Black people in this country are overwhelmingly pushed into the prison system. It posits that slavery is actually still ongoing, but it's just been given a different name—incarceration.

Stream 13th on Netflix

Moonlight (2016)

Another Barry Jenkins movie, Moonlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture (and deserved to win), and also netted Mahershala Ali an Academy Award, making him the first Muslim to win an acting Oscar. Moonlight is a very special movie since it tackles homosexuality, which is unfortunately still somewhat taboo in the African American community. The film took a brave approach, and was thankfully rewarded for it.

Rent or buy Moonlight on Amazon Prime

Rustin (2023)

Directed by George C. Wolfe, produced by Barack and Michelle Obama, and starring Chris Rock, Aml Ameen, Audra McDonald, Jeffrey Wright, and an exceptional Colman Domingo in the titular role, the movie tells the story of how Bayard Rustin helped organize the famous March on Washington with Dr. King. That said, it also gets into how Rustin was not only looked down upon as a Black man, but also as a gay man, sometimes within his own race. All the same, Rustin still believed in the cause (and himself), which makes this an inspirational film that also doubles as a great movie about the Civil Rights Movement.

Stream Rustin on Netflix

Get Out (2017)

And finally, one of the biggest movies about race to ever go mainstream, the Academy Award-nominated Get Out from Jordan Peele (who has never made a bad movie) has probably said more about the hypocrisy of white Liberalism and its intersection with black culture than any other film in American history. The movie is about 50% humorous, 50% terrifying, and 100% insightful. You’ve probably already seen it, but see it again. It has layers and there’s probably still a lot for you to uncover.

Rent or buy Get Out on Amazon Prime

There are plenty of other movies that explore race and social justice (and feature other races besides Black people), but we decided to spotlight these 20. Remember, stay woke.

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There are a lot of people out there who say that Benedict Cumberbatch is one of the greatest actors of his generation, and there’s not a lot to use as an argument against that belief. For more than 20 years now, the British actor has brought laughter, pain, joy, and sorrow to the stage, television, and cinema. With performances in every genre from comic-book action films to WWII-era biopics and everything in between, Benedict Cumberbatch has taken audiences on some pretty wild rides. And while we would love to break down Cumberbatch’s best television roles (hello, Sherlock) and runs in the theatre (Frankenstein, anyone?), for now we’ll focus on his best movies. So without wasting any more of anyone’s time, let’s take a look at Benedict Cumberbatch’s 10 best movies.

10. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

When it was revealed that Benedict Cumberbatch was cast as a villain in Star Trek Into Darkness, pretty much everyone expected him to be taking on the role of Khan, though it wasn't confirmed. And in the role, Cumberbatch didn’t let us down. The film centers around Captain James Kirk (Chris Pine) and the crew of the Starship Enterprise as they track down the super soldier Khan following the events of a devastating terrorist attack on Starfleet headquarters. Following a cat and mouse game between Kirk and Khan and a series of revelations, the two square off in one of the most satisfying encounters from the franchise. And a lot of this is thanks to Cumberbatch’s brilliant delivery that makes you both fear and admire the conflicted villain. This one is definitely worth a watch, but I’m sure most of you have already seen it… multiple times.

Stream it here.

9. Black Mass (2015)

Although Benedict Cumberbatch isn’t the first actor you recall when thinking about the 2015 James “Whitey” Bulger (Johnny Depp) biopic Black Mass, but yeah, he’s all in this movie. Portraying Whitey’s brother William “Billy” Bulger, Cumberbatch gave audiences one of the film’s best performances as he tried to balance his brother’s criminal history and role as an FBI informant with that of his as the Massachusetts Senate President. And while we would have loved to have seen more of Cumberbatch’s performance as Bulger, he is part of several key moments throughout the film. His Boston accent alone should have Cumberbatch up for some awards consideration.

Stream it here.

8. Atonement (2007)

It was hard to avoid Atonement, a film following the lives of young lovers Robbie Turner (James McAvoy) and Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley) as they are torn apart by Cecilia’s younger sister, Briony (Saoirse Ronan). The lie, which kick-starts the plot of the Academy Award-nominated period piece, comes about after Briony believes she has witnessed Robbie sexually assaulting her 15-year-old cousin, Lola, when in fact it was Paul Marshall (Benedict Cumberbatch) who was committing the act.

From the very first time we meet Paul, we are introduced to a menacing and disgusting member of society’s upper-class who believes that he is above everyone else and is brought to life only in a way that Cumberbatch could pull off. It’s one of those performances where you absolutely detest the character but find yourself not being able to get enough of the actor’s performance.

Stream it here.

7. Starter For 10 (2006)

Before Benedict Cumberbatch and James McAvoy shared the screen in Atonement, the two appeared against one another in the 2006 British indie film Starter For 10. The film features Cumberbatch in smaller role as Patrick Watts, the post-grad captain of a college quiz team who goes back and forth with McAvoy’s character, Brian Jackson, as their team prepares for the University Challenge television quiz show. Cumberbatch isn’t in the film as much as McAvoy or co-stars Alice Eve and Rebecca Hall, but he does give us one of his most pretentious and unintentionally hilarious characters of his career. This was one of Cumberbatch’s first film roles and it showed the world (or at least those who saw the movie when it first came out) what he was capable of achieving on screen.

Stream it here.

6. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Before Benedict Cumberbatch showed up in billion-dollar franchises he was still finding smaller roles in a number of different films, and that’s very much the case for his performance in the 2011 spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. When a mission to discover the identity of a Soviet mole in the ranks of MI6 goes horribly wrong, ages George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is forced out of retirement to uncover the double-agent and stop them in their tracks. With not a lot of trust in those outside his inner-circle, Smiley enlists the help of agent Peter Guillam (Cumberbatch) to help sniff out and expose the person who is feeding information to the Russians. Cumberbatch has a bit of an understated performance throughout the film, and is especially a departure from the over the time and otherworldly characters he would be known to portray a few years later into his career.

Stream it here.

5. Doctor Strange (2016)

By the time Benedict Cumberbatch entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Dr. Stephen Strange in the 2016 hit Doctor Strange, the actor had already appeared in multiple major franchises (Star Trek and The Hobbit come to mind), so the accomplished actor was more than prepared for what would become a career-defining role.

This origin film does two things in that it tells the story of how Strange went from a world-renowned surgeon to a multidimensional sorcerer and also further expanded the MCU as the overreaching arc prepared audiences for what was to come later on in the “Infinity Saga.” Cumberbatch had already proven that he was capable of handling the grueling physicality of role as well as the certain level of arrogance that made Doctor Strange such a memorable character. And this might have been the first time audiences were introduced to Doctor Strange, but thankfully, it wasn’t the last.

Stream it here.

4. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

We didn’t see Dr. Strange’s true potential until the end of his first film, but by the time Avengers: Infinity War rolled into theaters in April 2018, the character had not only reached his potential, he exceeded it. You could tell that Cumberbatch was fully intertwined with the character in every scene where he is featured in this crossover epic. Whether it be when he’s casting spells protecting the Time Stone from Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his underlings or teaming up with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Cumberbatch is in control the entire time, even when it seems that he’s throwing in the towel and giving Thanos the stone.

We're including an honorable mention to Avengers: Endgame here, as Strange didn't join the film until the big return in the third act. The look on Cumberbatch’s face as he submits the stone to Thanos in Infinity War is only matched by his face at the end of Avengers: Endgame when he confirms to Iron Man exactly what he meant when he said there was only one out of 14,000,605 different futures in which Thanos is defeated. There’s barely a verbal exchange between Strange and Stark, but the looks says it all.

Stream it here.

3. 12 Years A Slave (2013)

12 Years A Slave is one of the most beautiful, riveting, and emotional movies I have seen in the past 10 years, but it’s so taxing, brutal, and harrowing that I will probably never watch again despite how much I loved my first viewing. This is mostly due to the fact that the film is one of the most accurate and horrifying portrayals of slavery in recent years and should probably been seen by everyone, but man, it’s a tough film.

We only see Cumberbatch’s portrayal of plantation owner William Ford for a short time in the 12-year struggle by Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and during that time, we see as tender of a performance as we can see from a slave owner. Compared to what comes later in the form of Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), Ford comes off as a conflicted and complicated man on his time that is capable of seeing the error of his ways. This especially seen in the scene where Ford gifts the classically trained musician a violin. But then again, he does sell Northup to Epps after an incident with an overseer on the plantation.

Stream it here.

2. 1917 (2019)

Benedict Cumberbatch, while only featured in 1917 for less than five minutes of the film’s runtime, is a key component in the conflict driving the narrative of this World War I military epic. Centered around two young British soldiers, Lance Corporal William “Will” Schofield (George MacKay) and Lance Corporal Thomas “Tom” Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) as they try to prevent an ill-fated attack led by Colonel Mackenzie (Cumberbatch) that will result in the deaths of over 1,600 British soldiers, the film is nothing short of a masterpiece in emotional storytelling.

And though we don’t see Cumberbatch’s Mackenzie until the final moments of the film, he is very much a character throughout the movie as the two young soldiers race against time (and German soldiers) as they try to call off the attack before it ends in a massacre. The look on Cumberbatch’s face right before he reluctantly calls off the attack is painted with a mixture of pride and pain, a look only Cumberbatch could pull off in that moment.

Stream it here.

1. The Imitation Game (2014)

Benedict Cumberbatch was mostly featured in supporting roles in the lion’s share of his films going into The Imitation Game, but that would change after the actor gave one of the emotionally gutting performances of 2014 in the biopic about the Cambridge mathematician Alan Turing, who helps crack Nazi codes during World War II and later commits suicide after being thrown in prison for being gay.

Cumberbatch brings a certain level of arrogance and nervousness to the role that to this day remains his most captivating performance. Throughout the film, we see Turing learn to work tirelessly to protect his country from the Nazis only to be chastised, punished, and ridiculed by the country he helped protect years later after he was outed as a homosexual. In those final moments of the film we see how much the pain of a hidden life and tarnished public image weighs on Turing both physically and emotionally.

Stream it here.

Do you agree with our ranking of Benedict Cumberbatch's best movies? Let us know in the comments below.

As Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Benedict Cumberbatch has become a huge movie star. While he was previously best known for his stellar performance as legendary detective Sherlock Holmes on the BBC/PBS hit Sherlock, which has been playing since 2010, his resume beyond those two roles is mighty impressive.

So if you know Benedict Cumberbatch from those two roles, but are unfamiliar with some of his other wonderful work, we’ve put together a nice little list of where to see him in other excellent performances, including a couple of very well-known franchises you might not have known he was a part of.

The Imitation Game (Alan Turing)

The Imitation Game, released in 2014, is the wonderful and tragic true story of a World War II code-breaker named Alan Turing, who was the leader of the team that cracked the German Enigma code. Benedict Cumberbatch plays Turing, who, in addition to being a genius codebreaker and inventor of an early prototype computer, was also gay.

Being gay in the 1950s in England was illegal, and Alan Turing was arrested and convicted of “gross indecency.” His punishment was, in lieu of prison, chemical castration. Within two years of the sentence, he would be dead by cyanide poisoning that was ruled a suicide, though this has been disputed by his family and some historians, as has the historical accuracy of the film.

Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance as the brilliant and troubled Alan Turing is phenomenal, and he was deservedly nominated for an Oscar for it. The film and Cumberbatch’s performance brought a bright spotlight on Turing and all the other men convicted of similar crimes in the same era, and eventually inspired a new law granting amnesty to all those convicted of violating those barbaric laws at the time.

Black Mass (William “Billy” Bulger)

Showing his true versatility, in 2015, Benedict Cumberbatch starred as Billy Bulger, the long-time President of the Massachusetts State Senate and brother of the notorious Boston mobster, James “Whitey” Bulger, who is played terrifyingly by Johnny Depp in the film.

Playing a very famous person can always be dicey for an actor, but it’s something that Benedict Cumberbatch does well. His turn as a politician from South Boston with a distinctive Boston accent can be even trickier. Just look at all the bad Boston accents in movies over the years. Cumberbatch pulls off the role with aplomb and displays a fantastic ability to become the character. The acting doesn’t get bogged down by the accent, it is simply a part of the role, allowing Cumberbatch to be completely natural in his performance.

Star Trek Into Darkness (Khan)

The villain with the British accent has become a bit of an overused trope in Hollywood recently, but with Benedict Cumberbatch, he proves in 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness why it works so well. Or maybe it’s just that his acting chops were perfect for the most notorious villain in the Star Trek universe, Khan.

This version of Khan is a genetically engineered human hiding behind the alias “John Harrison,” a Starfleet member who becomes a terrorist that is eventually caught by Captain Kirk on the Enterprise and becomes Kirk's prisoner. These scenes, after he reveals his true identity in the brig of the Enterprise, are when Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance soars. His character’s intelligence and his manipulation of the Enterprise’s crew with an underlining evilness is the highlight of the movie.

The Fifth Estate (Julian Assange)

This is yet another example of Benedict Cumberbatch’s uncanny ability to play real people, as he does in The Fifth Estate, playing the journalist-turned-cyber-outlaw Julian Assange. Like so often as other historical figures, he transforms into Assange -- and despite the unevenness of the film, there is nothing uneven about his performance.

Amazingly, it was released in 2013, the same year as three other movies on this list. It was an incredible year for Benedict Cumberbatch and this underrated role was overshadowed by the others -- in Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hobbit, and 12 Years A Slave -- but for fans of the actor, it is a must-see performance.

12 Years A Slave (William Ford)

Benedict Cumberbatch didn’t play a leading role in the nightmarishly difficult to watch 12 Years A Slave, instead having a supporting part as plantation owner William Ford (yet another real historical person). Ford was not a brutal slave-owner, though he was the owner of Solomon Northrup, played by the amazing Chiwetel Ejiofor in the film. Ford’s compassion comes through in Cumberbatch’s performance as he tries to be as benevolent as possible for a slave owner of the day.

Benedict Cumberbatch walks a fine line between good and bad in the film brilliantly. On one hand, he is a slave owner and has little remorse for it, on the other, Ford was clearly more compassionate than most others of the day. Threading that needle in the performance is easily one of the best things Cumberbatch has done in his career.

Brexit: The Uncivil War (Dominic Cummings)

For those of us who live in the U.S., Brexit can be a little confusing. That’s where Brexit: The Uncivil War can help immensely. Benedict Cumberbatch plays yet another real person, political strategist Dominic Cummings, who led the “Vote Leave” campaign. Think of him as the Karl Rove of the United Kingdom. In Cuberbatch's true chameleon-like ability to become another person, he completely transforms in Cummings, totally changing his look and his mannerisms.

This, like so many of Benedict Cumberbatch’s roles, is not a case of an actor playing someone else, but doing little more than simply being their usual self and calling it someone else. Cumberbatch IS Cummings. Cummings is actually a lot like an Alan Turing-lite. A self-centered man whose disdain for social norms overshadows his intellectual genius. Cumberbatch was the perfect actor for the job.

The Hobbit (Smaug and Necromancer)

It would be easy to not recognize Benedict Cumberbatch’s roles in The Hobbit film series, as his acting is all motion-capture, but his voice is unmistakable. His performance -- both as villains in the series -- is, of course, excellent. It also marks his inclusion in a third massive franchise (along with Star Trek and the MCU) and makes one wonder how he never ended up in a Harry Potter movie. He is British, after all.

Between voicing both Smaug the dragon and The Necromancer, better known as Sauron, Benedict Cumberbatch did an impressive job pulling double duty across The Hobbit trilogy and bringing gravitas to both roles. And that wouldn't be the last time the actor would contribute to a movie with two different performances, as in Doctor Strange, along with bringing Stephen Strange to life, he also voiced and did the motion capture for Dormammu, ruler of the Dark Dimension.

Benedict Cumberbatch has become one of the premiere actors of his generation. He's not afraid to play difficult roles that challenge his craft and the audiences that have the pleasure of watching an actor at the top of his game. He may be best known for Dr. Stephen Strange and Sherlock Holmes but there are many, many more performances worth checking out and more to come, with the new Sam Mendes-directed 1917 due out later this year and the long-awaited release of The Current War, also due later this year.

One of Hollywood's favorite types of movies are those that are "based on a true story." But just how true is that story? It varies in most cases, but it turns out that one movie, in particular, was significantly less true than others. One website has taken on the task of reviewing the authenticity of those "true story" movies scene by scene and The Imitation Game is actually more fiction than fact.

If you need a new way to waste time online during the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve, you could do a lot worse than Information Is Beautiful. The site has put together a great page that looks at several different movies that were purportedly true, and they have studied all the available data to see how much of the film is actually true. The most surprising thing may be how many of the film's reviewed are mostly accurate, however, that just makes The Imitation Game stand out, as only 41.4% of the movie is claimed to be true. It's the only movie being looked at that falls below the 50% mark, making it look like it isn't really based on a true story at all.

Most of the outright false material comes from a couple places. A significant part of The Imitation Game is dedicated to an Inspector named Nock who investigates Alan Turing and thinks the man might have been a spy. In doing so, Nock eventually discovers that Turing is gay. In actuality, the character of Nock is entirely fictional, and nobody ever believed Alan Turing was a spy. The investigation into him was specifically in regards to indecency law violations because Turing was gay. In addition, Benedict Cumberbatch plays the role of Turning as a shy and standoffish man. From all accounts, while he could be harsh to people he viewed as less intelligent than himself, he was a quite sociable person.

The site looks at every scene in several movies and rates it. True, if the scene pretty much happened as shown, true-ish, for scenes that may not be exactly right, but contain a spirit of truth with some evidence, false-ish, mostly untrue, but with reasonable dramatic license, or false, for those moments that are just entirely fictional.

In case you're interested, if you want to see a movie that was really based on a true story, check out Selma. While there are a few segments listed as unknown, because they were unable to uncover evidence to prove some scenes true or false, everything that could be confirmed turns out to be true, or true-ish. It's the only movie with a perfect score. Other films that turn out to be significantly true include The Big Short, Spotlight, and 12 Years a Slave. American Sniper and Dallas Buyers Club don't fair nearly as well, but they look like documentaries compared to The Imitation Game.

How did your favorite true story fair? Let us know in the comments.

Chances are good that your recent Internet perusing has included seeing stories about History’s remake of the classic TV miniseries Roots, as adapted from the Alex Haley’s moving novel. Reviews have come in from all around, and while most have been glowing, there’s someone out there who has absolutely no interest in the reimagining or anything like it, and that someone is Snoop Dogg. Though he presumably didn’t actually see any advanced Roots screeners, that didn’t stop Snoop from sharing his blunt and absolutely NSFW comments. Check out some of them below.

Snoop Dogg made his judgmental and angry views known via an Instagram post recorded when he was apparently not feeling very many good vibrations from the leafy green that he’s been associated with for his career. Seriously, he went the hell off in this rant, which didn’t just call out Roots, but also the Academy Award-winning 12 Years a Slave and WGN America’s Underground and pretty much any other TV series or movie that centers on that horrifying period in black history before slavery had been outlawed. He has clearly had enough of that particular angle from the entertainment industry, and would much rather see the small screen taking a more diverse look at others who have had more positive experiences within our culture. And it’s hard to argue with that point in the way that I generalized it.

But on the other hand, while slavery-infused epics have often achieved critical acclaim, it’s not as if they’re as common as police procedurals were in the 1990s. And shows like Black-ish and Empire (sort of) indeed show black families that achieve success in different ways. They’re needles in the haystack that is the current TV landscape, to be sure, but they and creators like Shonda Rhimes have become huge successes that are slowly inspiring other TV bigwigs to catch up. Not that anything will likely stop slavery narratives from getting produced in the future, but perhaps it’ll keep us all from living in a world where Snoop Dogg has TWO social media videos chastising TV shows.

Check out the full video below, keeping in mind not to play it too loudly wherever you are.

A known fan of certain TV shows, Snoop Dogg could very well one day put his (or someone else’s) money where his mouth is by developing his own show with a built-in set of morals and encouraging messages. Until then, be sure to check him out in the most recent season of Trailer Park Boys for a set of hilarious appearances.

Roots, the 2016 edition, will premiere on History tonight, May 30, at 9 p.m. ET, and will air its next three parts over the next three nights. Head to the next page to check out an extended trailer for the much-hyped remake.

The world's greatest filmmakers tell their stories from the very first frame in their movies to the very last. Need proof? Just watch the amazing supercut below, and you'll notice just how many brilliant films have beginnings and endings that work in stunning tandem.

This video, titled bluntly "First and Final Frames," was created by Vimeo user Jacob T. Swinney, and it's an impressive edit that highlights the brilliant work of filmmakers from every era, including John Ford, Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, Quentin Tarantino and many more. It's amazing to watch just how many movies have perfectly poetic beginnings and endings.

So what are some of the highlights? One of the earliest in the video comes from a film that was only released just last year: David Fincher's Gone Girl. The mirrored beginning and ending here isn't exactly subtle in framing, but what's lurking behind Rosamund Pike's eyes completely changes the context.

My next favorite is featured from Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch Drunk Love. This is a movie all about a man rejecting his loneliness and finding love, and it's illustrated perfectly here.

And then there's the visual magic of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, which juxtaposes "sunrise" with the giant space baby:

I've always found that part of the fun in watching these kinds of videos is simply naming as many of the movies as you can - and I imagine that many of you are the same way. If you've already made your guesses, head over to Page Two to check them against the full list of films, which the editor was kind enough to provide.

It’s finally here! The most distinguished, important and prestigious award show of the entire year has finally arrived! It’s the MTV Movie Awards, and they boast enough clout to break careers and ruin lives.

Okay, maybe those positives are a wild exaggeration, but then again, so are a lot of negatives people say about the show. In truth, it’s an unbelievably fun night for celebrities to have a few drinks, meet some famous musicians and appeal to their younger demographics of fans. There’s not a whole lot of pressure, and presenters can do pretty much whatever they want. Besides, it’s hard to complain about an awards show that nominates The Wolf Of Wall Street and That Awkard Moment in the same category with a straight face.

We’ll be tuning in and updating the winners live. So, follow along below. The winners will be in red once they’re announced…

MOVIE OF THE YEAR

12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Warner Bros. Pictures)

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate)

The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE

• Amy Adams – American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)

• Jennifer Aniston – We’re the Millers (New Line Cinema)

• Sandra Bullock – Gravity (Warner Bros. Pictures)

• Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate)

• Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE

• Bradley Cooper – American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)

• Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)

• Chiwetel Ejiofor – 12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

• Josh Hutcherson – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate)

• Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

• Liam James – The Way Way Back (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

• Michael B. Jordan – Fruitvale Station (The Weinstein Company)

• Will Poulter – We’re the Millers (New Line Cinema)

• Margot Robbie – The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)

• Miles Teller – The Spectacular Now (A24 Films)

BEST KISS

• Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams – American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)

• Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Scarlett Johansson – Don Jon (Relativity Media)

• James Franco, Ashley Benson and Vanessa Hudgens – Spring Breakers (A24 Films)

• Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller – The Spectacular Now (A24 Films)

• Emma Roberts, Jennifer Aniston and Will Poulter – We’re the Millers (New Line Cinema)

BEST FIGHT

• Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (Paramount Pictures) – Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner and Steve Carell vs. James Marsden vs. Sacha Baron Cohen vs. Kanye West vs. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler vs. Jim Carrey and Marion Cotillard vs. Will Smith vs. Liam Neeson and John C. Reilly vs. Greg Kinnear

• Identity Thief (Universal Pictures) – Jason Bateman vs. Melissa McCarthy

• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Warner Bros. Pictures) – Orlando Bloom and Evangeline Lilly vs. Orcs

• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate) – Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Sam Claflin vs. Mutant Monkeys

• This is the End (Columbia Pictures) – Jonah Hill vs. James Franco and Seth Rogen

BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE

• Kevin Hart – Ride Along (Universal Pictures)

• Jonah Hill – The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)

• Johnny Knoxville – Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (Paramount Pictures)

• Melissa McCarthy – The Heat (20th Century Fox)

• Jason Sudeikis – We’re the Millers (New Line Cinema)

BEST SCARED-AS-S**T PERFORMANCE

• Rose Byrne – Insidious: Chapter 2 (FilmDistrict) • Jessica Chastain – Mama (Universal Pictures)

• Vera Farmiga – The Conjuring (New Line Cinema)

• Ethan Hawke – The Purge (Universal Pictures)

• Brad Pitt – World War Z (Paramount Pictures)

BEST ON-SCREEN DUO

• Amy Adams and Christian Bale – American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)

• Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)

• Vin Diesel and Paul Walker – Fast & Furious 6 (Universal Pictures)

• Ice Cube and Kevin Hart – Ride Along (Universal Pictures)

• Jonah Hill and Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)

BEST SHIRTLESS PERFORMANCE

• Jennifer Aniston – We’re the Millers (New Line Cinema)

• Sam Claflin – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate)

• Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)

• Zac Efron – That Awkward Moment (Focus Features)

• Chris Hemsworth – Thor: The Dark World (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

#WTF MOMENT

• Steve Carell, Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd and David Koechner – Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (Paramount Pictures)

The Channel 4 News Team's afternoon is no longer a delight as their speeding van filled with bowling balls, scorpions and hot oil takes a tumble on the highway.

• Johnny Knoxville and Jackson Nicoll – Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (Paramount Pictures)

Johnny Knoxville and Jackson Nicoll manage to strike fear into a room full of unsuspecting beauty pageant-loving parents thanks to a bump n' grind dance routine to a Warrant classic.

• Cameron Diaz – The Counselor (20th Century Fox)

Having sex in a car is pretty much a rite of passage, but having sex with a car? Cameron Diaz's Malkina gets down and dirty with a bright yellow Ferrari to show the world how it's done.

• Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)

Leonardo DiCaprio's iconic portrayal of excessive Wall Street player Jordan Belfort takes a turn for the insane when he takes his Lamborghini for a spin.

• Danny McBride and Channing Tatum – This is the End (Columbia Pictures)

Danny McBride shows an apocalyptic world, and uncomfortable theater-goers everywhere, that there's no better pet than a scantily-clad Channing Tatum.

BEST VILLAIN

• Barkhad Abdi – Captain Phillips (Columbia Pictures)

• Benedict Cumberbatch – Star Trek into Darkness (Paramount Pictures)

• Michael Fassbender – 12 Years a Slave (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

• Mila Kunis – Oz The Great and Powerful (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

• Donald Sutherland – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate)

BEST ON-SCREEN TRANSFORMATION

• Christian Bale – American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)

• Elizabeth Banks – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Lionsgate)

• Orlando Bloom – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Warner Bros. Pictures)

• Jared Leto – Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)

• Matthew McConaughey – Dallas Buyers Club (Focus Features)

BEST MUSICAL MOMENT

• Backstreet Boys, Jay Baruchel, Seth Rogen and Craig Robinson – This is the End (Columbia Pictures)

Spoiler alert! Backstreet Boys reunite in heaven to perform "Everybody" with signature boy band moves and flair for this unforgettable apocalyptic ending.

• Jennifer Lawrence – American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)

Lawrence cleans and dances her frustrations away as she mouths the words to 70s classic "Live and Let Die."

• Leonardo DiCaprio – The Wolf of Wall Street (Paramount Pictures)

During his wedding reception, DiCaprio's fraudulent Jordan Belfort pops and locks it to Bo Diddley’s "Pretty Thing."

• Melissa McCarthy – Identity Thief (Universal Pictures)

To ease the tension of stealing Sandy's identity, McCarthy's Diana shows her musical range as she attempts to sing along with the car radio -- and even hits that high note in "Barracuda."

• Will Poulter – We’re the Millers (New Line Cinema)

With eyes wide shut, Poulter's Kenny Rossmore throws it back to the 90s with a hilarious rendition of TLC's "Waterfalls."

BEST CAMEO PERFORMANCE

• Robert De Niro – American Hustle (Columbia Pictures)

• Amy Poehler and Tina Fey – Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (Paramount Pictures)

• Kanye West – Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (Paramount Pictures)

• Joan Rivers – Iron Man 3 (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

• Rihanna – This is the End (Columbia Pictures)

BEST HERO

• Henry Cavill as Clark Kent – Man of Steel (Warner Bros. Pictures)

• Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man – Iron Man 3 (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

• Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (Warner Bros. Pictures)

• Chris Hemsworth as Thor – Thor: The Dark World (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

• Channing Tatum as John Cale – White House Down (Columbia Pictures)

After coming up empty at the Oscars, fan-favorite films The Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle enjoyed strong showings with the MTV Movie Awards nominations, leading the pack this morning with eight noms apiece. The films will vie for Movie of the Year, alongside fellow nominees 12 Years a Slave, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Because MTV loves them some Jennifer Lawrence.

Catching Fire, according to the network, picked up seven nominations, making it the second-highest-nominated film of the pack. The Hunger Games will compete for Best Female Performance (for Lawrence), Best Male Performance (for Josh Hutcherson) and Best Villain (for Donald Sutherland, who I really hope attends the ceremony). And because the MTV Movie Awards are a show for the people, the smash-comedy hit We’re the Millers racked up 6 nominations, including Best Shirtless Performance for Jennifer Aniston. Who says this isn’t the Golden Age of Cinema?

As we reported earlier, Conan O’Brien will host this year’s show, which will be held on Sunday, April 13, on MTV. Here’s a complete list of this year’s nominees. Who are you pulling for?

Millions of dollars were spent along the "campaign trail" leading up to Steve McQueen’s masterful 12 Years a Slave taking Best Picture at the Oscars this year. The film held its World Premiere at the exclusive Telluride Film Festival, and held press opportunities at film and awards events around the globe in hopes of winning the top prize. And it worked… though now we’re learning that all the time and money might not have mattered, and the historically important film might have won no matter what happened prior to the Oscars.

That’s because in the wake of the film’s victory, two Oscar voters privately admitted to the L.A. Times that they voted for McQueen’s movie without even seeing it. They feared that actually watching the movie would be "upsetting," but confessed that they felt "obligated" to vote for the movie because of its "social relevance." (The quotes are from the Times’ piece, and not the words of the anonymous voters.)

That’s beyond screwed up. There’s no other way to put it. And it might be the final nail in the coffin of an Oscar system that’s broken beyond repair.

Oh, most of us tracking the annual Oscar race recognize the various faults of the process. Movies that open later in the year have a distinct advantage over films that open from January to September. Films with the financial backing of a major (or mid-major) studios can survivie the intense and expensive hoops that come with a multi-month Oscar campaign. Your smaller, independent film might be a groundbreaking work of art, but if you can’t get enough people to support the film, it has no chance of competing with the "Big Boys" in the Oscar race.

They might not actually watch your film. But they will support it.

Personally, I think that’s disgusting. And I don’t want to put words in McQueen’s mouth, but I’m fairly confident he’d reject the votes of an Academy member who didn’t even bother to WATCH his film before casting a ballot. In today’s day and age, a movie can win Best Picture without certain Academy members even seeing it? I’m not trying to be naïve, but how is that acceptable?

If there’s a silver lining to this, it’s that the label "Best Picture" applied to 12 Years a Slave will convince more people to check it out, and it’s really a brilliant film. You could make an easy argument that, even without the racial guilt built into the equation, 12 Years would have won the Best Picture Oscar on merit. The film boasts a 96% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and banked an impressive $140 million worldwide. All of us who bothered to watch it know that it earned its Oscar. The full Academy membership should be able to say the same.

Rarely do you make a great movie without getting some blood on the streets. Creative types who can make it in Hollywood are usually headstrong enough to believe their vision is superior to another’s, and that results in clashes. Some of those clashes happen behind the scenes of the greatest movies ever made. There’s often a lot at stake, and it matters if your name is or is not seen on the screen in a bid for immortality. It turns out one of these clashes can be found behind the film that just took home Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

12 Years A Slave won big at the Oscars, on Sunday night, but The Wrap reports there’s a deep chill occurring between credited screenwriter John Ridley and director Steve McQueen - two deeply respected individuals who earlier seemed to have happily collaborated on one of the year’s most acclaimed movies. Though both received honors last night, neither acknowledged the other in their acceptance speeches. And when Ridley won his award, McQueen responded with this hilariously goofy non-clap.

Their initial collaboration, and resulting disagreement, is actually quite simple. McQueen enlisted Ridley for the project, and Ridley ended up adapting Solomon Northrup’s memoir on spec, which is to say he completed the work for free in order to receive eventual compensation. McQueen’s contributions to the script are unknown, but they were enough for him to request a co-writing credit. Ridley, who also wrote or co-wrote Three Kings, Undercover Brother and Red Tails, denied McQueen’s request, and a WGA ruling as well as Fox Searchlight also sided with Ridley.

Rather than accept the decision quietly, McQueen has apparently been less than cordial, and the two have not fraternized at awards events and promotional gatherings. The Wrap even details events where McQueen made Ridley’s wife cry, which is probably a gossipy exaggeration but one that nonetheless fits with McQueen’s brusque, plainspoken manner. It’s gotten so bad that the film’s producer, Brad Pitt, had to come in and mediate. And if Brad Pitt can’t make you chill out, then who can? That was probably a really chill mediation meeting.

These sorts of things strike every year at awards season. A few years ago there was a nasty spat between credited writer Sheldon Turner and director Jason Reitman over the writing credit for Up In The Air. Screenwriter-director relations are notoriously ugly: just ask Ridley, who has spoken at length about Three Kings leaving him with only a "Story By" credit. The screenwriter is often very low on the totem compared to the director, but many of the directors are writers themselves. When it comes time to claim the words, friction results from the act of having to share. And sometimes, Brad Pitt has to mediate. Hopefully there’s pizza involved.

Steve McQueen’s harrowing, brutal and brutally honest 12 Years a Slave took home the Oscar for Best Picture Sunday evening at the Academy Awards. 12 Years eeked out a victory over Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity, if you believe that they were the two films running neck-and-neck in the final stretch of the Oscars. Cuaron did take home Best Director, leading many to believe Gravity had a chance to claim the Picture prize. But it was McQueen and his A-list producer, Brad Pitt, standing on the Oscar podium at the end of the long ceremony, claiming the night’s final prize.

"Everyone deserves, not just to survive, but to live," McQueen said in his speech. And he’s right. McQueen was handed the mic after executive producer (and co-star) Brad Pitt gave a few words, saying how proud he was to follow the story of Solomon Northup. But Pitt quickly, and wisely, defaulted to McQueen, the brilliant director who is either a a "garbage man" or a "doorman," depending what member of the prestigious New York Film Critics Circle you are speaking with at the moment.

Picture wasn’t McQueen’s only win. 12 Years a Slave also took home major Oscar wins for Best Supporting Actress (for Lupita Nyong’o) and Best Adapted Screenplay (for John Ridley). But even though it missed out on Best Actor, Director and other top categories, 12 Years had enough support to take Best Picture.

Here’s the film’s trailer. We’ll have plenty more on the film’s Oscar win as the week progresses:

It is no easy task to stand here, covered in targets, claiming that one of the most important African American films in recent cinema is not the deserved Best Picture for this year’s Oscars. In the middle of Black History Month no less.

So let me start with an apologist’s backpedal, behavior that is certainly familiar where the subject of slavery is concerned. Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave is absolutely one of the greatest films of the year, if not many years past, and while I don’t know if can say I loved it, given the often unsettling narrative, I was completely riveted by the long and bruising path that Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) was dragged down. The journey from beginning to end was a hard one, but it came across as well-earned by the time the credits rolled. I felt like I had experienced Northup’s trials and tribulations myself, stripped of my comparatively carefree life and sent into a world of tragedy and despair.

But no, that’s ridiculous, because I didn’t actually experience anything nearly as shattering as the malicious treatment Northup endured for his twelve-year servitude. In fact, with the two-month cushion sitting between now and my first viewing, I can barely recall the mental anguish I felt while watching it. And I’m not sure where this sense of diminishing emotion comes from.

Perhaps because McQueen didn’t over-dramatize Northup’s violent thrust away from his life as a free man, using a similarly simple tactic to unremarkably grant him back his freedom by the end of the film. These shifts weren’t jarring enough for me to feel a connection to his life before or after. I completely respect McQueen sticking to the memoir’s non-melodramatic nature, for it is this contemplative (rather than exploitative) approach to the material where 12 Years angles away from its parallels with slavery films and miniseries that we’ve seen in the past. But when the viewer is only given time to sit with its main character and think about the things that are happening to him, that’s when it stops transcending the material and reminds us that this is a movie about slavery.

To qualify that as a sub-genre of film sounds callous and reductive, as one probably wouldn’t limit their descriptions of other nominees The Wolf of Wall Street to "an addiction movie" and Gravity to "a space movie." But when all the unspecific adjectives like gripping, emotional and strengthening are taken away, the description is pretty much limited to the obvious. I blame my hatred of film loglines for this reliance on multi-threaded plotlines.

It’s a refreshing change of pace to have such a gutting drama told without the stereotypical villain inevitably facing off against the lead in some showdown, and it allows for a more realistic string of biased assholes to come in and out of Northup’s life with varying levels of intensity. But without a major conflict to grasp onto, my attention span was free from any feeling of anticipation. Calling this "one man’s fight against a million men’s plight" is certainly Best Picture-worthy, but we’re never really taken to an edge in 12 Years a Slave. I suppose you could count seeing nude, scarred-up slaves bathing edgy, or the unflinching scenes of whip-fueled abuse. But that material, when taken out of context, is no more disturbing than something in the climax of an indie horror. The tolerance of the viewer factors in here, of course.

And no, I’m not comparing this movie to direct-to-video schlock, but that comparison points at how important context is when considering 12 Years as a Best Picture. This is a film whose importance needs at least a sliver of independence from the subject matter it is talking about, without letting the heavy hand of slavery overwhelm the details of its merits. Is this film really the sum of so many amazing parts that it outperforms everything else we’ve seen this year?

One cannot consider the best film of an entire year without thinking ahead, wondering if a particular choice will retain its glory and sit high atop the mountain of cinema through future generations. A Best Picture should be so memorable that its name should come up instantly when asked. Through hindsight, we’ve often seen the Academy pick the "wrong films" to award its top honors, even when there aren’t any other clear frontrunners. If I’m feeling less interested in this pic after only two months, I can’t imagine the dwindling fondness I’ll feel for it twelve years down the road.

Many prestigious films come from unforgettable true stories, but there are even more that get lost in the critical mix and become mere footnotes. Should Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave indeed beat out the other nominees for Best Picture, it will not be a crime against movies, and I will applaud a little harder than I would for most of the other nominees. This film is no footnote, but a rewarding chapter of filmmaking, with strong performances and gorgeous cinematography laying out a troubling tale of historical ignorance. It is indeed one of the best films of 2013. Just not THE best.

Go ahead and be the guy who stands up against 12 Years A Slave. Go be that Armond White, see what happens. The film has its critics, but they tend to be drowned out by the overwhelming amount of praise for the film, which is largely now seen as canon. The picture has received a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a sterling 97-rating on Metacritic, and nine Academy Award nominations. Add to that the $109 million in global receipts, and clearly the film has reached, and touched, a considerable amount of people, enough to show a fairly powerful legion of supporters. This isn’t just some fly-by-night favorite, but clearly a movie that inspires passion.

Not a huge surprise then that Steve McQueen’s slavery jeremiad would also take home the top prize at the BAFTA Awards. The film also took top acting honors for Chiwetel Ejiofor, earning the spotlight on a night where Gravity was the night’s big prizewinner with six awards. McQueen took to the stage and reminded the audience that his movie didn’t exist in a bubble, stating that there were, "21 million people in slavery now as we sit here. I just hope there will not be another 120 years of ambivalence that allows another filmmaker to make a film like this."

12 Years A Slave has come very close to running the table, awards-wise. The film already took home Best Picture honors from (deep breath) the Golden Globes, the Austin Film Critics Association, the Boston Society of Film Critics, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the Chicago Film Critics Association, the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association, the Florida Film Critics Circle, the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, the Las Vegas Film Critics Society, the London Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle, the New York Film Critics Online, the Online Film Critics Society, the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards, the San Diego Film Critics Society, the San Francisco Film Critics Circle, the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the Vancouver Film Critics Circle and the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association. Geez, what have YOU done today?

The Oscar ballots are due February 25th, and Slave certainly stands a chance of taking home the top prize. Then again, the six BAFTA’s won by Gravity included Outstanding British Film (which filmed in Shepperton Studios) and Best Director for Alfonso Cuaron. And there’s also the matter of American Hustle, which took home the Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy and has not only boasted its own great success during awards season, but has handily out-grossed Slave by surpassing $200 million worldwide. Which, again, is topped by Best Picture nominee Wolf Of Wall Street grossing over $300 million globally and inspiring its own groundswell of support. Oscar handicappers should be pretty excited, as it looks like this is going to be a horse race until the very end.

We have been busy breaking down the major categories in this year’s Academy Awards race, naming the current frontrunners for Best Actor, Actress, Director and beyond. It all has been building to the Mack Daddy of them all: Best Picture!

I’ve been opposed to the expansion of the Best Picture category from Day One. Why change from five (5) nominees to as many as 10 in a given year? You are only increasing the number of movies that – on the Monday after the Oscars – can call themselves "losers." My argument is that the category should have shifted from five nominees to three. That would increase competition. Imagine how tight this year’s Oscar race would be if Academy voters could only choose between Gravity, 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle? Now THAT’s a race!

For some movies, the nomination is the win. So let’s start with the also-rans – an odd thing to say in the Best Picture category – and end with the movie we believe will win the Oscar this year.

NO SHOT

You may be the captain now, Captain Phillips, but you are one of the three BP nominees that we don’t believe have any chance of surprising audiences and claiming Oscar’s top award. Nebraska and Her land in that crowd, as well, becoming movies that should be very happy to have an invite to the ceremony, but probably don’t have to bother preparing any speeches.

I say this because these movies haven’t won in any of the categories at major awards shows leading up to the Oscars. When it comes to Her and Captain Phillips, the movie was surprised to see Tom Hanks and Joaquin Phoenix left out of the Best Actor race… and both men carried their respective films. Nebraska earned several important nominations – including Actor, Director and Supporting Actress. But the lack of any real support leading up to the Oscars means the black-and-white drama lands in the "No Shot" classification this year.

DARK HORSES

The next batch of Best Picture contenders all have elements that we could point to and argue "Possibly," but the momentum swings haven’t happened over the course of the lengthy Oscar marathon.

Dallas Buyers Club, for example, has been collecting numerous acting awards over the course of the season for Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto, and I view both of them as frontrunners in their respective categories. But 2013 has been a rare year where Oscar love looks like it’s going to be spread to multiple films, meaning Picture is probably out of the question. There has been some chatter that Philomena, which is beloved, could connect with the older members of the Academy – of which there are several – and the movie could somehow rise up and capitalize on a vote-split caused by movies like Hustle and Gravity. But that likely isn’t happening. The Wolf of Wall Street has a passionate, vocal fan base. Even though it runs 3 hours, it has crossed the $100 million mark domestically. It has a chance… but the chance feels slim.

CONTENDERS

Gravity and American Hustle If it were up to me, Gravity would win. It’s the best movie of the year, and the fact that Alfonso Cuaron has been collecting Best Director trophies left and right leads me to believe that the blockbuster awards contender has a solid shot at prevailing at the Academy Awards.

If it were up to me, American Hustle wouldn’t even be in this category. I don’t care for the movie, but I am in the EXTREME minority. Hustle cleaned up in the other categories, punching its ticket in almost every major category. Rarely do movies get nominations in categories like Picture, Director, Screenplay, every Actor category and NOT win Picture. It suggests that, across the board, it is appreciated. I still think that it’s going to lose to…

FRONTRUNNER

Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave has been a powerhouse this awards season, grabbing top awards at multiple presentations leading up to the Oscars, even as it has split support with Gravity (in the director categories) and Hustle (in the acting categories), yet still getting Picture love. So while Lupita Nyong’o could grab Best Supporting Actress, it’s likely that Chiwetel Ejiofor and McQueen could lose BUT 12 Years could take Best Picture.

Which is fine with me, for so many reasons. McQueen’s movie is brilliant, and if something has to beat Gravity (my personal favorite), then I’m glad that it’s a masterpiece like this. And I appreciate an awards slate that isn’t dominated by one film. Appreciation should be spread to movies like Wolf, Dallas Buyers, Gravity, 12 Years and, yes, American Hustle. It’s the best possible scenario on Oscar night.

A common indicator of what film will take home the Academy Award for Best Picture is the frequently foreshadowing category of Best Director. In the past 20 years of the Academy's history, there have only been five instances where a movie didn't take home both honors: 1998 (Saving Private Ryan for Best Director; Shakespeare in Love for Best Picture), 2000 (Traffic for Best Director; Gladiator for Best Picture), 2002 (The Pianist for Best Director; Chicago for Best Picture), 2005 (Brokeback Mountain for Best Director; Crash for Best Picture), and 2013 (Life of Pi for Best Director; Argo for Best Picture).

Aside from being a huge honor of itself, this year's showdown for Best Director could well determine Oscar night's top award. And we've got some serious heavyweights fighting for the gold. One is an eight-time nominated director and Hollywood icon. Two are unconventional storytellers up for their third Oscar nomination for Best Director. And the final two are foreign-born helmers celebrating their first Academy Award nomination for this particular accolade. But who will win? We break it down below:

DARK HORSES: Alexander Payne And Martin Scorsese

This marks Alexander Payne's third nomination for Best Director at the Academy Awards. His first came in 2005 with his deliciously dark comedy Sideways. The second came in 2012, when he offered up the bittersweet family dramedy The Descendants. But third time won't be a charm for Payne. Nebraska is a tender and poignant comedy that has received heaps of critical praise, but with only 6 nominations its not an especially strong contender on Oscar night in general. Besides that, Payne has earned far less directing honors as his competitors this year, boasting only six while others have over 20 from various critics circles, award shows and film festivals.

Though he is arguably one of America's most legendary living filmmakers, Scorsese hasn't had a great track record with the Academy. Sure, this is his eighth nomination for Best Director, but he has only won once, and that was for The Departed, 26 years after his first nod for Raging Bull. Between the polarizing response Wolf of Wall Street has had among critics and its low count of four Academy Award nominations, this will not be Scorsese's night.

CONTENDERS: David O. Russell And Steve McQueen

This is also David O. Russell's third time being nominated for Best Director, following The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook. With 10 Oscar nominations, American Hustle is poised to be a big winner come show time, thanks to a cast that includes nominees like Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. However, it's less certain that Russell will take to the stage. While he's earned a string of nominations for his helming here, he hasn't taken home many of those awards. Plus, some in the Academy might have a distaste for the director's reputed mercurial nature on sets. Don't doubt the Oscar's are in part a popularity contest.

Steve McQueen has earned his first-ever Academy Award nomination with 12 Years A Slave. With 9 nominations his unforgettable biopic about the life of Solomon Northup has a great pole position, bolstered by representation in such major categories as Best Director, Best Lead Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay and both Supporting performer categories. For his work here, McQueen has earned a long list of directing honors all over the world, including Golden Globe and DGA Award nominations. However, he has already lost these two major awards to our frontrunner…

FRONTRUNNER: Alfonso Cuarón

Gravity wasn't just a heart-wrenching drama; it was a cinematic event that had people rushing to 3D and IMAX to take in the enormity and terrible grandeur of space from the safety of a theater. At their core, The Academy Awards are about promoting movies, moreover promoting people to go to the movies. And Gravity gave audiences around the world a reason to go to the theater. Aside from that, Cuarón managed to make a film that felt infinite and yet intimate in the tradition of 2001: A Space Odyssey or Lawrence of Arabia, the latter of which won the Best Director Oscar for David Lean.

Like American Hustle, Gravity has 10 Oscar nods. But Cuarón has also got some serious momentum on his side. Already he's beat Payne, McQueen and Russell at the Golden Globes (Scorsese was not nominated). Then, he beat McQueen, Russell and Scorsese for the DGA award (Payne was not nominated). Between the incredible innovation of practical and visual effects, the awe-inspiring use of 3D and IMAX, and the captivating story of an astronaut lost in space, I'd say Cuarón has this race all sewn up.

Check out our breakdowns on the other categories here.

It is difficult to recall who last year's other nominees for Best Supporting Actress Oscar even were thanks to the full-throated and heartbreaking turn Anne Hathaway gave in Tom Hooper's adaptation of the Les Miserables musical. The night was all hers, and rightfully so. But this year, the race is an absolutely fascinating one, featuring two previous Oscar winners (one a longtime A-lister the other an adored It Girl), an under-sung character actress, one acclaimed octogenarian, and one ingénue recognized for her first-ever film role.

Hailing from such buzzed about features a Blue Jasmine, American Hustle, Nebraska, August: Osage County and 12 Years a Slave, each of these actresses has earned plenty of ink over the last few months. But only one will win on Oscar night. Whose in it to win it and who will have to say, "Just getting the nomination is such an honor?" Allow me to break it down.

DARK HORSE: Sally Hawkins

In Blue Jasmine, the English actress transformed herself into a lower class single mom, looking for love in all the wrong places. She was terrific, proving a perfect foil to Cate Blanchett's broken title character. But while Blanchett's brilliant portrayal of a downward spiral has her pegged as a frontrunner in the Best Actress race, Hawkins is destined to be left in the dust in Supporting. It's not that she's not deserving; it's just not her year. I mean, have you seen the competition?

CONTENDERS: Julia Roberts And June Squibb

Let's get real: Previous winner Julia Roberts was practically guaranteed an Oscar nod for August: Osage County from the moment she was cast. Playing opposite Meryl Streep (a contender in the Lead category), she was offered a meaty role with Barbara Weston, favorite and furious daughter of a cruel pill-popping matriarch. And Roberts dug in, convincingly hurling f-bombs and plates of fried fish while matching Streep for energy and gravitas. However, there's two things that hurt her chances on Oscar night. One is that August: Osage County is a pretty lame movie outside of its central performances, and two, Roberts' relegation to the Supporting category reeks of award season politics. She and Streep were both leads, but wisely the Weinsteins broke them up to cover more ground. It has gotten the movie more nominations, but it won't equal a win for Roberts.

As a mouthy matriarch in her own right, June Squibb has had critics raving over her turn in Alexander Payne's bittersweet comedy Nebraska. She's been nominated left and right for Critics guild honors, and even snagged a Golden Globe nod. However, it's noteworthy that out of 20 nominations, she's only taken home two awards so far. Undoubtedly, her no-nonsense performance has won her tons of fans in the press, but it won't be enough to take home the gold on Oscar night.

FRONTRUNNERS: Jennifer Lawrence And Lupita Nyong'o

I know you were hoping for a clear edge in your office Oscar pool, but honestly this race is too close to call!

Even the film's detractors confess that Jennifer Lawrence is the best part of David O. Russell's American Hustle, in which she played a venomous housewife. The film itself seems a favorite for Oscar night, boasting ten nominations, and many of them in major categories, including every acting race, Best Directing, Best Original Screenplay, and of course Best Picture of the Year. It won a trio of honors at the Golden Globes, including a statuette for Lawrence. Plus, the queen of off-the-cuff remarks and wacky red carpet moments is beloved by the Academy. At 23, she's already a three-time nominee, having earned her first for Winter's Bone and her second for Silver Linings Playbook, for which she won and with flare. She'd be a lock for a repeat win this year if it weren't for the rise of an exhilarating new talent.

Astonishingly, Lupita Nyong'o made her film debut with Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave, which has 9 nominations at the Academy Awards. In it, she offered a performance so delicate and heartbreaking that it had some claiming her a frontrunner back in October, when the film hit the New York Film Festival. Of course that was before critics had seen American Hustle. Frankly, it's difficult to pick between these two performances that are both electric and mesmerizing. We just don't know how the Academy will make the call. Will they pick the ingénue they already love, or will they see this new talent, who dazzles on the red carpet and on the screen, and throw their accolades at her feet? Nyong'o lost to Lawrence at the Golden Globes, but she beat her at the SAG awards. Who will come out on top at the Oscars? Between these two, your guess is as good as ours.

Check out our breakdowns on the other categories here.

Last year’s Best Adapted Screenplay contenders at the Academy Awards competed in one of the most competitive categories of the night, with movies like Life of Pi, Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook going head to head. But by the time it was all over, the literal Best Picture had won. Chris Terrio, a relative newcomer to the industry, took home the Oscar for his work crafting the script for Ben Affleck’s Argo, ultimately making it one of the most agreeable wins of the night.

But now nearly a full year has passed and there are five new titles fighting to say that they had the Best Adapted Screenplay of 2013. Will it be The Wolf of Wall Street that picks up the prize this year, or maybe Philomena? Does Before Midnight stand a chance against 12 Years A Slave, or could the prize wind up going to Captain Phillips? Allow us to break it down.

DARK HORSES: Philomena and Captain Phillips

As a general rule, any film that has been nominated for a major Academy Award like Best Adapted Screenplay likely has a lot going for it - but within every category there are titles that have a good chance of winning and those that don’t. These are the ones that fit into the second group.

Stephen Frears’ Philomena is one of the biggest surprises of this year’s lineup of Oscar nominees, collecting three other nods in addition to Best Adapted Screenplay, but the truth is that there isn’t a very good chance writers Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope will go home with a prize this year. The film was a critical darling when it came out last November and The Weinstein Company has worked hard to make sure that critics associations have paid attention to it as they’ve voted for their favorite titles over the last few weeks, but the truth is that Philomena is a movie that will likely be satisfied just with the notice it’s gotten so far.

Paul Greengrass’ Captain Phillips certainly has a higher profile than Philomena and was also one of the best reviewed films of the year, but the chances for Billy Ray’s script in the Best Adapted Screenplay category look slim. The film took a big blow when Tom Hanks wasn’t named as a contender in the Best Actor category, and while the movie and Ray have picked up plenty of nominations during this year’s award season, not many of them have actually resulted in wins.

CONTENDERS: Before Midnight and The Wolf Of Wall Street

At the end of every Oscar race there is typically only one winner (the exception being the incredibly rare tie), but there are always titles in each category that you can imagine came up just short when all of the votes were tallied. In the case of this year’s Best Adapted Screenplay race, we predict that those two titles will be Terence Winter’s The Wolf of Wall Street and Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke and Julie Deply’s Before Midnight.

A big part of what elevates Winter’s role in the race from "Dark Horse" to "Contender" for his Wolf of Wall Street script is Quentin Tarantino’s big win for Django Unchained last year. The Academy is notorious for not touching controversial movies with a 10-foot pole – and The Wolf of Wall Street is nothing if not controversial – but Tarantino’s big win last year in the Original Screenplay category demonstrated that the organization behind the Oscars can recognize great work even when its filled with various kinds of profanity, sex and violence.

Helping Linklater’s Before Midnight’s status in the race is not only a lack of controversy, but also an impressive history. All three Before films – including 1995’s Before Sunrise and 2004’s Before Sunset - have been adored by cinephiles, making it one of the most critically-beloved trilogies ever, but with the exception of a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination for the second film the movies have never seen any Oscar love. Perhaps this will be the year that the Academy rewards Linklater, Hawke and Deply for 11 years of brilliant filmmaking.

FRONTRUNNER: 12 Years A Slave

Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave is a movie that’s so good it hurts. Literally. Walking out of the movie theater you can’t help but feel a deep pain in your chest as you reflect on the truly horrific and terrible things that humans are able to inflict upon each other. At the same time, however, 12 Years A Slave is also an uplifting film that beautifully and effectively portrays the power of human perseverance and will. No movie released in 2013 packed quite the deep emotional punch that McQueen’s did, and a deeply important reason for that is John Ridley’s gutting adaptation of Solomon Northrup’s memoir of the same name. It was so important, in fact, that we expect Ridley will be rewarded handsomely for his work come Oscar night.

McQueen’s film has been having a very successful run on the awards circuit thus far, and while most organizations that don’t divide screenplays into "original" and "adapted" works have given their writing prizes to Spike Jonze’s Her, 12 Years A Slave is likely the favorite to win the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Ridley has already picked up prizes from critics groups from around the country, including the Broadcast Film Critics Association, and we suspect he will continue his run of success come March 2nd.

The Best Actor race is no laughing matter this year, despite the fact that The Wolf of Wall Street star Leonardo DiCaprio keeps picking up acting awards in Best Actor in a Comedy categories (like at the Golden Globes and the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards). Oscar streamlines its categories to five worthy nominees, so while Leo is in, it means – as we pointed out – that deserving actors such as Tom Hanks and Robert Redford were left out in the cold on Oscar morning.

Now we know who our five Best Actor nominees are, and we can begin to properly handicap the race. We’re going to continue analyzing all of the top Oscar categories as we work to the March 2 ceremony hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. By the time all is said and done, CinemaBlend will offer you the most comprehensive analysis of the entire Oscar field, all but guaranteeing you a win in your office Oscar pools. (You’re welcome!) Let’s start with our choice for the Best Actor category:

DARK HORSES: Christian Bale and Bruce Dern

For some, the nominee is the win. That’s likely the case with these fine actors who deserved nominations, but will probably see their performances eclipsed by the higher-profile movies like 12 Years and Dallas Buyers.

The problem for Bale might be that there are too many performances in American Hustle, and no one in David O. Russell’s all-star ensemble was given a chance to break out. It’s a true team effort, so while the Academy selected Bale here (and sprinkled love to his co-stars in other categories), I think the American Hustle section will be rowdy, happy to be there, but the ones who go home empty handed on Oscar night.

Dern needs a bigger boost for Nebraska, overall. The movie was well-received by the Academy, earning noms for Picture, Director, Supporting Actress, Screenplay and more. But you don’t hear a lot of experts talking about the movie. I’m sure the older Academy members appreciated seeing Dern in a relevant part again. He deserves the nomination. I’d be very surprised to see him triumph against the competition in this stacked category.

CONTENDERS: Chiwetel Ejiofor and Leonardo DiCaprio

You can’t overlook the fact that DiCaprio has been collecting hardware as the awards season has rolled on. His performance in Martin Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street grabbed Acting trophies at the Globes and CCMAs… but, they were in Comedy categories that don’t exist at the Oscars. Still, DiCaprio’s in the race, and it’s very possible that as more Academy members see Wolf (which opened VERY late in the season), his turn as a disgusting Wall Street mogul swings support in his direction.

Ejiofor also has been viewed as a frontrunner in the Acting race, even before he scored the nomination many assumed he would secure. His performance as enslaved free man Solomon Northup was a gut-wrenching uppercut that helped sell the majority of Steve McQueen’s difficult journey through our nation’s past. Here’s why we’re not ready to count Ejiofor out: At ceremonies like the Globes and CCMAs, 12 Years a Slave has walked away with Best Picture honors, so a sweep at the Oscars could pull this amazing actor along in the movie’s powerful wake.

FRONTRUNNER: Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey followed the industry’s win-an-Oscar checklist for Dallas Buyers Club. He lost a ton of weight. (Check.) He played someone suffering a fatal illness. (Check.) And he delivered one hell of a memorable performance. (Check mate.) As fiery Texan Ron Woodroof, McConaughey gave a spine to the usual Hollywood "message" movie, shedding pounds but picking up attitude as he railed against a flawed government system that keeps powerful drugs out of the hands of the people who need them.

But that’s not why McConaughey is our choice for frontrunner in the Best Actor category. It’s simply his time. The actor switched gears on his career a while back, abandoning the safe path (which led to more Kate Hudson movies) to challenge the status quo. His recent hot streak includes Magic Mike, Mud, Bernie, The Wolf of Wall Street, Killer Joe and The Lincoln Lawyer. Recent wins at the Golden Globes, SAG Awards and the Critics’ Choice suggest McConaughey is riding a tidal wave of support that we think will bring him the Oscar on March 2.

The Screen Actors Guild held their annual award ceremony this evening, and long story short, the voting members really didn’t favor one specific film. In fact, the only movie that took home multiple awards was Dallas Buyers Club. Both lead and supporting actors Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto were honored by their peers, though that love didn’t carry over to the overall film honors, which went to American Hustle.

The lead-up to the Oscars is filled with award shows. Contrary to what they might have you believe, an overwhelming majority of them are meaningless. They’re sorta nice in the moment, of course, but they’re not particularly good indicators of the Academy Awards, nor do they have any lasting impact beyond adding a little depth to Wikipedia pages. The SAG Awards, however, are right more often than not, probably because the single biggest chunk of Oscar voters are actors.

So, does that mean the mean Cate Blanchett should start preparing a speech now? Or that Jennifer Lawrence might actually lose at the beginning of March? Maybe. We'll keep you updated. Until then, you can check out all of the winners below...

Oustanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

August: Osage County

Dallas Buyer's Club

The Butler

Oustanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Sandra Bullock, Gravity

Judi Dench, Philomena

Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

Oustanding Performance By A Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips

Daniel Bruhl, Rush

Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave

James Gandolfini, Enough Said

Jared Leto, Dallas Buyer's Club

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Bruce Dern, Nebraska

Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave

Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips

Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyer's Club

Forest Whitaker, The Butler

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle

Lupita Nyongo, 12 Years a Slave

Julia Roberts, August: Osage County

June Squibb, Nebraska

Oprah Winfrey, The Butler

The Golden Globes announced their winners on Sunday, revealing the biases and beliefs of the ninety-something member Hollywood Foreign Press Association. As much as they get mocked for their ability to be bought and paid for, the Globes often look like a solid predictor for how the Oscars will fare. The Oscar ballots were due last week before the Globe results were announced, but it seems certain that the GG nominations heavily influenced the Oscar nods, which will be announced this Thursday.

With the results, one can get a glimpse at an early draft of where the Oscars might lean. The Globes complicate matters by dividing categories into comedies and dramas, but the films this year cross enough genres (and the Oscars’ Best Picture category acknowledge enough movies) to make it look like one big pool of potential honorees. Here are five things that we’re certain the Oscars have confirmed.

1. Her Is Still A Major Player

The one film that keeps missing out on the major prizes at these awards is Her, yet it keeps popping up in the nominations, and has secured a number of Best Screenplay wins. Sunday’s victory for Best Screenplay only cemented the fact that this film has a ton of supporters who respect its craft, suggesting that it’s the one film bound to inspire passion in its supporters. Some acting support would certainly help – Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams may not receive deserved nods this Thursday – but even without it, Spike Jonze’s script is likely strong enough on its own to get the film into the Best Picture scramble.

2. Leo’s Wolf Of Wall Street May Still Howl At The Moon

Few expected that Leonardo DiCaprio would receive kudos for his bacchanalian turn in Martin Scorsese’s controversial comedy. And yet there he was at the podium accepting Best Actor Musical Or Comedy ahead of a challenging pack of candidates. Support for Leo suggests a groundswell of support for the film, which in turn would launch him into the competitive Best Actor Oscar category, where he has been far from a lock to receive attention. It’s very likely a very deserving front-runner or two in the Best Actor race ends up on the outside looking in (Redford?), with Leo taking his spot.

3. Dallas Buyers Club Will Be A Best Picture Candidate

Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto took home Golden Globes for their work in the film, a rare acting sweep that bodes well for the film’s Best Picture chances. Dallas Buyers Club was looking like an acting play for the longest time, and it seemed as if few had a passion for the ginned-up AIDS melodrama where Leto plays an entirely invented character. But recognizing both actors proves that it’s likely impossible to ignore both the film and its message regarding the AIDS crisis. McConaughey isn’t nearly the lock in Best Actor that Leto is in Supporting Actor, but both are sure to be nominated as the film fits into the Best Picture merry-go-round.

4. 12 Years A Slave Is No Longer The Frontrunner

As soon as the film premiered at fall festivals, Steve McQueen’s slavery epic was labeled the film to beat during awards season. Since then, there’s been an almost-clockwork critical backlash, which coincided with the film’s lukewarm theatrical release. Ultimately, the movie didn’t exactly blow the doors off, grossing less than $40 million in America, and the picture was already forgotten by audiences by the time the late-year deluge of prestige pics flooded the marketplace. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong'o were also considered locks, but both went home empty-handed this weekend, even as one of Nyongo’s previous competitors, Oprah Winfrey in Lee Daniels’ The Butler, wasn’t even nominated. The film did win the Best Picture Drama award, and is certain to be a Best Picture nominee, but it may not stand a chance because…

5. American Hustle Has It In The Bag

David O. Russell’s frothy comedy peaked at just the right time, approaching $100 million at the box office as ballots had been sent to Academy members. The film was a major player at several critic awards, riding the wave quite perfectly to become the top choice amongst prognosticators as it saw commercial release, but it needed an extra boost, one that it initially hadn’t received as its crowded ensemble failed to get attention.

The Golden Globes alleviated this problem, giving acting nominations not only to the expected duo of Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence, but also Christian Bale. And Lawrence’s recent resurgence in the Best Supporting Actress category gave the film the support it needs in Best Picture. The Best Picture Drama win for 12 Years A Slave and the Best Director award for Gravity’s Alfonso Cuaron suggests what many have been saying for a long time, that it’s a three horse race. But Slave has lost support in the acting races, while Sandra Bullock is not expected to best Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine. A Best Picture winner usually needs some support in the acting categories, and there’s certainly a likelihood that American Hustle grabs the most acting nods of any Best Picture nominee, making it impossible for the voters to ignore it.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet your (likely) Best Director nominees at the Academy Awards, which will be announced next Thursday, Jan. 16.

It’s possible we’re getting ahead of ourselves. But the five nominees for the Directors Guild of America – announced this afternoon on the DGA’s official site – tend to line up with the five directors singled out by the Academy, and so this list should be what we hear next week. The DGA went with: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity; Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips; Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave; David O. Russell, American Hustle; and Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street. Instead of talking at length about these men, let’s showcase some of their work:

With all due respect to the other four nominees, it would be a huge, cosmic joke if anyone other than Cuaron were to take home this prize – and every other trophy for directing – this year. Mind you, Gravity was my No. 1 movie of the year (and I’ve gone on record as finding two of the five movies nominated by the DGA as unwatchable). But these five directors will fend for the top prize. Winners will be announced during a Jan. 25 ceremony.

This also means that all five movies tied to the DGA-nominated directors have excellent shots at securing Best Picture nominations next week. That’s not a guarantee. As you probably remember, only two directors nominated by the DGA earned Oscar nods. And the DGA winner, Ben Affleck (for Argo), didn’t even get a Best Director nod… even though his film went on to win Best Picture.

Isn’t the annual awards chase ridiculous?

The Screen Actors Guild. The Hollywood Foreign Press. The Broadcast Film Critics Association. The Producers Guild of America. The Academy. We understand if it’s hard to keep track all of the different organizations annually handing out year-end awards, even if the titles of the movies honored seem to sound the same after a while.

The Producers Guild (PGA) became the latest group to get on the board, revealing its nominees for the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures, the equivalent of Oscar’s Bets Picture trophy. This year, according to The Hollywood Reporter, 10 feature films are contending to the PGA’s top prize. They are, in alphabetical order:

As the trade notes, the PGA nominees serve a dual purpose, as Oscar trackers view them "as indicators of which films have momentum heading into the Academy Award nominations, which will be announced Jan. 16." With this in mind, it’s worth noting that Oscar hopefuls like Lee Daniels’ The Butler, August: Osage County, Ron Howard’s Rush and Inside Llewyn Davis were caught on the outside of the PGA race, looking in.

Do you think this will be the final list of Oscar nominees? The Academy can go as high as 10 when filling out its Best Picture category. Or they can whittle the group of contenders down to five… which seems unlikely given the sheer number of Oscar-worthy films that are cramming everyone’s lists. If we had to choose a frontrunner from the list of films recognized by the PGA, I’d limit it between Gravity and 12 Years a Slave, though American Hustle, Wolf and Mr. Banks feel like they easily could play spoilers.

The PGA trophies will be handed out at the 25th annual PGA Awards, which are set for Jan. 19 at the Beverly Hilton. Certain individuals have been singled out for special recognition, including: Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures); Robert Iger (Milestone Award); Peter Jackson and Joe Letteri (Vanguard Award); Chuck Lorre (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television); Chris Meledandri (Visionary Award); and Fruitvale Station (Stanley Kramer Award).

For a complete list of PGA nominees, click here.

Kicking award season into gear, the Screen Actors Guild unveiled their nominations for their award ceremony this morning, spurring lots of talk about what the Oscar line-up might look like, as the two tend to have lots of crossover. Looking over the list, I was a bit disappointed at how predictable it was overall. I mean, some of these films we figured as contenders as soon as they were cast.

The strongest example of this is in the category for Outstanding Ensemble, which nominated 12 Years A Slave, American Hustle, August: Osage County, Dallas Buyers Club and Lee Daniels' The Butler. All five are positively stacked with already acclaimed stars. Then a couple feed into the major physical transformation trend that so often earns awards.

Dallas Buyers Club had Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto shed a ghastly amount of weight to play AIDS patients, while American Hustle had Christian Bale switch-up his Batman burliness for a comb-over and an impressive potbelly. Now I am by no means saying these casts aren't incredible. They are. But it seems the deck was already stacked in their favor with big names alone. I mean really, how was a movie with Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts not going to get a nomination? Personally, I was pulling for the indie wonder The Spectacular Now's cast, but apparently historical drama is too damn enthralling this year.

There are few surprises in the other major film categories. This is partially because of SAG's love of their stars, and partially because some performances this year are just clear standouts. Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Sandra Bullock (Gravity), Tom Hanks Captain Phillips), Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave), and Bruce Dern and June Squibb (Nebraska) seemed dead locks on nominations as each and every one drew wild praise upon their film's release. Meryl is practically engraved on every nominee ballot at this point, because she is Meryl fucking Streep! And the late James Gandolfini seemed guaranteed a spot in honor of his career's work if nothing else. Thankfully, he got this nom for a role he absolutely deserves it for, as he is entirely wonderful, vulnerable and heartbreaking in Enough Said.

But despite all the predictable picks, there are some surprises. Jennifer Lawrence is the only star from American Hustle to get a solo nomination, and many are already calling Amy Adams' exclusion here a snub. Barkhad Abdi for Captain Phillips is a welcomed surprise as he did as much of that drama's heavy lifting as Hanks' did. And it's downright shocking that Julia Roberts' role in August: Osage County is being dubbed "supporting" instead of "leading." But that's award season strategy for you.

The other surprises are more flat out snubs. Despite early buzz, Martin Scorsese's upcoming The Wolf of Wall Street got nothing, leaving Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill out in the cold. Will Forte, despite much praise for his dramatic turn in Nebraska, got nothing. But the most resounding snub is Robert Redford for All Is Lost, especially considering Sandra Bullock got a nomination for a pretty similar role. In case you're one of the many people who hasn't seen J.C. Chandor's shipwreck drama, allow me to explain that it relies almost completely on Robert's nearly wordless performance for its entire 106 minute runningtime. While I personally thought it was a failed experiment, I'll admit I thought Redford's efforts here locked him in for a SAG nom at the least. But it's possible that the outcry over this snub could help Redford get more notice come Oscar nomination time.

Nominees for the 2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced Wednesday morning in Los Angeles, giving Oscar trackers a clearer picture of the ongoing race as it continues to gel.

As the L.A. Times notes, the annual SAG Awards can be "the most reliable early predictors of the Oscars," primarily because the Academy’s acting branch tends to be the largest voting group – so their collective preferences can point to a notable direction in the Oscar race. This year, SAG seems to have put its weight behind 12 Years a Slave and August: Osage County, which earned multiple nominations including the key category of Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (the SAG equivalent of Best Picture).

SAG isn’t always right. Last year, the group accurately predicted that Ben Affleck’s Argo would have a big night at the Oscars. But the year prior, SAG went with The Help over the eventual Best Picture Oscar winner, The Artist.

How will history shape this race? We’re starting to see the final pieces snap into place. The major regional critics’ groups continue to recognize the best of 2013. The Broadcast Film Critics Association will reveal its nominees for the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards on Monday, Dec. 16. And tomorrow, Dec. 12, we’ll have a full slate of Golden Globes nominees to analyze … and likely criticize.

Until then, here’s the complete list of film nominees for the 2014 SAG Awards, which will be aired on TNT and TBS on Saturday, Jan. 18. What did they get right? Where did they go wrong?

Movie Awards

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

August: Osage County

Dallas Buyer's Club

The Butler

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Sandra Bullock, Gravity

Judi Dench, Philomena

Meryl Streep, August: Osage County

Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips

Daniel Bruhl, Rush

Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave

James Gandolfini, Enough Said

Jared Leto, Dallas Buyer's Club

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

Bruce Dern, Nebraska

Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave

Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips

Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyer's Club

Forest Whitaker, The Butler

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle

Lupita Nyongo, 12 Years a Slave

Julia Roberts, August: Osage County

June Squibb, Nebraska

Oprah Winfrey, The Butler

The American Film Institute tends to play a little more fast and loose with its annual end of the year best movies list when compared against other organizations. Usually, there’s at least one selection odd enough to cause a double take. Last year, for example, more than a few heads were turned by the surprising selection of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. Back in 2009, The Hangover was honored with a well-deserved place, and this year, it’s Fruitvale Station that got the unexpected hat tip.

After a very warm reception at Sundance, a whole lot was expected of Fruitvale Station, but for whatever reason, the buzz just never built as loudly as expected. Everyone agrees lead actor Michael B Jordan is great and the film is really powerful, but many assumed it was all but out of awards contention. Maybe this will be the jolt it needs to put it back into the race, or maybe this will be just a deserved moment in the sun. Either way, it’s pretty cool for the under the radar film.

Beyond Fruitvale Station, AFI also selected Oscar frontrunners 12 Years A Slave, Gravity and Inside Llewyn Davis. You can check out the full list of honorees below…

12 Years A Slave

American Hustle

Captain Phillips

Fruitvale Station

Gravity

Her

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

Saving Mr. Banks

The Wolf Of Wall Street

Outside of the aforementioned Fruitvale Station, the big news here is that The Wolf Of Wall Street is apparently good. Everyone who has seen it as embargoed from talking about it, but adding it to end of the year best of lists is fair game. The voters here clearly liked what they saw, and considering most of us assumed the Scorsese/ Dicaprio team up would be incredible, this is a really nice vote of confidence.

The end of the year is filled with dozens and dozens of end of the year lists. An overwhelming majority of them are all but ignored, but the American Film Institute’s always gains a lot of traction, probably because it deviates from the norm at least a little bit. Considering the list never includes foreign films, it’s far from an accurate predictor of Oscar glory, but even so, it's always worth a look.

It was pretty well expected that the highly anticipated (or, at least, highly marketed) Ender's Game would be number one this weekend, but just how close it would come to missing that mark wasn't on most box office radars.

On the heels of lukewarm reviews the sci-fi movie debuted with just $28 million against its $110 million budget. While that was still enough for number one, it wasn't too much more than the second place $20 million that Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa banked, adding to its now $62 million domestic running total.

Some might attribute Ender's Game's lack of financial success to a boycott against the novel's author and his political views, but if that particular vote-with-your-wallet audience was really all that influential you'd think a movie full of actors supporting their political position would have done better than Last Vegas did. The story of bucket list debauchery banked a mediocre $16.5 million for a third place opening weekend.

At the very least they would have supported it enough to do far better than the $16.2 million taken in by the critically panned animated Free Birds. The sort-of-Thanksgiving themed movie didn't appear to get any kind of boost from the holiday connection, and will likely have faded into obscurity before the actual Thanksgiving weekend box office rush hits at the end of the month.

12 Years A Slave expanded to just over 410 venues and climbed from eighth place to seventh, more than doubling its take last weekend earning $4.6 million.

For the full weekend top ten, check out the chart below:

Ender's Game *

$28,000,000Total: $28,000,000LW: N

THTRS: 3,407

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

$20,500,000Total: $62,058,000LW: 1

THTRS: 3,345

Last Vegas *

$16,520,000Total: $16,520,000LW: N

THTRS: 3,065

Free Birds *

$16,200,000Total: $16,200,000LW: N

THTRS: 3,736

Gravity

$13,130,000Total: $219,196,000LW: 2

THTRS: 3,024

Captain Phillips

$8,500,000Total: $82,551,000LW: 3

THTRS: 3,021

12 Years a Slave

$4,600,000Total: $8,760,000LW: 8

THTRS: 410

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2

$4,200,000Total: $106,195,000LW: 5

THTRS: 2,430

Carrie (2013)

$3,400,000Total: $31,973,000LW: 6

THTRS: 2,252

The Counselor

$3,250,000Total: $13,368,000LW: 4

THTRS: 3,044

There are some weekends when a movie that is so well crafted, so thought provoking, and so much the cinematic masterpiece sweeps into theaters and is overwhelmingly the number one movie at the box office, restoring faith in the American psyche and its ability to both enjoy and reward great movie making. And then there are weekends like this one when we're reminded that people with short attention spans and a preference for watching little boys dressed like strippers and laughing at people getting kicked in the balls (literally and figuratively) have money to spend at the movies too.

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa banked $32 million this weekend to take the number one spot. That's a step down from the $50 million banked on opening weekend by the last Jackass movie Jackass 3-D. That's due in part to the fact that Bad Grandpa had lower non-3-D ticket prices, but also perhaps due to Jackass fans staying away from a movie that was diluted by even the saddest attempt at incorporating a story. That's just good ball-kicking time wasted. No doubt they're holding out for Blu-ray when they can fast forward through the sappy-ish stuff.

The other new movie out this weekend somehow managed to get an incredibly lower RT score than Bad Grandpa, and also fared far worse at the box office. The Counselor opened with just $8 million dollars for a weak fourth place.

Twelve Years A Slave expanded to just over 120 venues but still managed to break into the top ten. At eighth place with $2 million, the movie's word of mouth movement and high praise in the media has it poised to launch even higher when it hits wider release. But the next two weekends will have it up against some heavy competition with Ender's Game debuting next week and Thor: The Dark World the week after. 12 Years may attempt the slow burn build to try and carry audiences in the holiday season.

Gravity may have slipped into second place, but even after three weekends at number one it is still going strong. Dropping just over 30% it still brought in over $20 million and came within a couple hundred thousand of breaking the $200 million mark, an achievement only eight other movies have reached so far this year.

For the full weekend top ten, check out the chart below:

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa

$32,000,000Total: $32,000,000LW: N

THTRS: 3,336

Gravity

$20,300,000Total: $199,814,000LW: 1

THTRS: 3,707

Captain Phillips

$11,800,000Total: $70,074,000LW: 2

THTRS: 3,143