Metacritic Must-See Movies, Ranked by Metascore, a list by Truck Clancy

8.2

/455500/

80

/8221/

81

/6162/

4.2

/740688/

93

/98/

92

/6508/

100

/32/

4.0

age 13+

A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.

91

8.5

/564100/

82

/9351/

83

/6954/

4.4

/758503/

99

/134/

95

/8885/

100

/18/

4.0

age 10+

A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.

93

IMDb 79

9.2

/2194735/

88

/35352/

86

/22268/

4.5

/2369298/

97

/153/

98

/41090/

100

/16/

4.0

age 16+

Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.

90

8.1

/76663/

81

/1443/

81

/1174/

4.4

/136430/

100

/52/

93

/871/

100

/19/

4.0

The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.

89

8.2

/490339/

79

/7470/

79

/5876/

4.2

/593461/

99

/132/

90

/11624/

100

/19/

4.0

age 12+

Newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane is taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. As a result, every well-meaning, tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event.

91

8.5

/649659/

82

/9283/

81

/5864/

4.3

/730255/

99

/135/

95

/19580/

100

/18/

4.0

age 10+

In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.

85

7.9

/379917/

75

/10260/

74

/5402/

3.8

/599493/

97

/331/

80

/5046/

100

/50/

4.0

age 15+

The film tells a story of a divorced couple trying to raise their young son. The story follows the boy for twelve years, from first grade at age 6 through 12th grade at age 17-18, and examines his relationship with his parents as he grows.

87

7.9

/114192/

76

/1726/

78

/1543/

4.2

/96972/

96

/85/

92

/1684/

99

/24/

4.0

When a car bomb explodes on the American side of the U.S./Mexico border, Mexican drug enforcement agent Miguel Vargas begins his investigation, along with American police captain Hank Quinlan. When Vargas begins to suspect that Quinlan and his shady partner, Menzies, are planting evidence to frame an innocent man, his investigations into their possible corruption quickly put himself and his new bride, Susie, in jeopardy.

90

8.5

/214757/

81

/2923/

83

/2371/

4.3

/171726/

95

/58/

95

/1757/

99

/15/

4.0

A tramp falls in love with a beautiful blind flower girl. His on-and-off friendship with a wealthy man allows him to be the girl's benefactor and suitor.

80

79

7.7

/17787/

70

/377/

71

/365/

3.7

/19919/

98

/42/

76

/290/

99

/15/

The story of a poor young woman, separated by prejudice from her husband and baby, is interwoven with tales of intolerance from throughout history.

89

8.1

/28724/

78

/690/

79

/714/

4.4

/54052/

97

/77/

94

/535/

99

/24/

4.0

Betrayed by an informant, Philippe Gerbier finds himself trapped in a torturous Nazi prison camp. Though Gerbier escapes to rejoin the Resistance in occupied Marseilles, France, and exacts his revenge on the informant, he must continue a quiet, seemingly endless battle against the Nazis in an atmosphere of tension, paranoia and distrust.

87

7.9

/33136/

75

/607/

74

/643/

4.1

/55542/

97

/62/

89

/704/

99

/21/

4.0

A weekend at a marquis’ country château lays bare some ugly truths about a group of haut bourgeois acquaintances.

87

7.8

/28883/

76

/894/

77

/631/

4.2

/98185/

98

/55/

89

/577/

99

/19/

4.0

Clumsy Monsieur Hulot finds himself perplexed by the intimidating complexity of a gadget-filled Paris. He attempts to meet with a business contact but soon becomes lost. His roundabout journey parallels that of an American tourist, and as they weave through the inventive urban environment, they intermittently meet, developing an interest in one another. They eventually get together at a chaotic restaurant, along with several other quirky characters.

90

8.3

/279724/

82

/5495/

81

/3383/

4.3

/572196/

100

/78/

95

/7922/

99

/17/

4.0

age 6+

In 1927 Hollywood, a silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his paranoid screen partner struggle to make the difficult transition to talking pictures.

82

7.5

/170778/

72

/9024/

71

/6134/

3.5

/359400/

100

/64/

73

/6213/

99

/17/

4.0

age 6+

When the gentle woodcarver Geppetto builds a marionette to be his substitute son, a benevolent fairy brings the toy to life. The puppet, named Pinocchio, is not yet a human boy. He must earn the right to be real by proving that he is brave, truthful, and unselfish.

85

7.4

/348743/

73

/16031/

73

/7374/

4.2

/1321405/

98

/402/

79

/2199/

99

/53/

4.0

age 15+

The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.

89

8.1

/194488/

79

/3196/

80

/2436/

4.2

/266593/

98

/64/

93

/2665/

98

/18/

4.0

age 15+

Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

89

8.3

/29325/

79

/782/

76

/322/

4.4

/50913/

98

/60/

92

/881/

98

/19/

4.0

age 13+

Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school well-known for the excellence of its basketball program. Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way. This acclaimed documentary was shot over the course of five years.

90

8.2

/147938/

79

/2294/

80

/1643/

4.4

/133156/

99

/110/

94

/2747/

98

/15/

4.0

age 12+

From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve Harrington is determined to take the reins of power away from the great actress Margo Channing. Eve maneuvers her way into Margo's Broadway role, becomes a sensation and even causes turmoil in the lives of Margo's director boyfriend, her playwright and his wife. Only the cynical drama critic sees through Eve, admiring her audacity and perfect pattern of deceit.

86

7.7

/24565/

73

/457/

75

/486/

4.1

/60215/

100

/45/

85

/385/

98

/20/

4.0

The story of a donkey Balthazar as he is passed from owner to owner, some kind and some cruel but all with motivations beyond his understanding. Balthazar, whose life parallels that of his first keeper, Marie, is truly a beast of burden, suffering the sins of humankind. But despite his powerlessness, he accepts his fate nobly.

89

8.1

/67329/

79

/1163/

80

/1048/

4.4

/119726/

98

/63/

93

/953/

98

/21/

4.0

A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.

84

7.7

/60773/

75

/1274/

74

/993/

3.9

/63627/

98

/52/

88

/958/

98

/17/

age 12+

On a train headed for England a group of travelers is delayed by an avalanche. Holed up in a hotel in a fictional European country, young Iris befriends elderly Miss Froy. When the train resumes, Iris suffers a bout of unconsciousness and wakes to find the old woman has disappeared. The other passengers ominously deny Miss Froy ever existed, so Iris begins to investigate with another traveler and, as the pair sleuth, romantic sparks fly.

86

7.9

/94631/

75

/1714/

75

/1285/

4.1

/71973/

91

/67/

90

/1765/

98

/20/

4.0

age 16+

An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.

87

8.3

/367189/

80

/6064/

79

/4374/

4.2

/313996/

97

/119/

94

/5406/

98

/16/

age 11+

Advertising man Roger Thornhill is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.

89

8.2

/302318/

80

/4881/

80

/3752/

4.3

/346766/

95

/74/

94

/5923/

98

/19/

4.0

age 11+

In Prohibition-era Chicago, musicians Joe and Jerry witness a mob hit, and flee the state in an all-female band disguised as Josephine and Daphne, but further complications set in.

88

8.2

/741150/

80

/18180/

77

/11194/

4.2

/916678/

95

/239/

91

/62195/

98

/37/

4.0

age 15+

In post–civil war Spain, 10-year-old Ofelia moves with her pregnant mother to live under the control of her cruel stepfather. Drawn into a mysterious labyrinth, she meets a faun who reveals that she may be a lost princess from an underground kingdom. To return to her true father, she must complete a series of surreal and perilous tasks that blur the line between reality and fantasy.

85

7.6

/46588/

74

/776/

75

/1029/

3.9

/83325/

94

/51/

89

/1072/

97

/18/

4.0

In the carefree days before World War I, introverted Austrian author Jules strikes up a friendship with the exuberant Frenchman Jim and both men fall for the impulsive and beautiful Catherine.

86

8.0

/41486/

78

/821/

76

/457/

4.2

/43021/

100

/82/

90

/45/

97

/16/

3.5

Bosnia, July 1995. Aida is a translator for the UN in the small town of Srebrenica. When the Serbian army takes over the town, her family is among the thousands of citizens looking for shelter in the UN camp. As an insider to the negotiations Aida has access to crucial information that she needs to interpret. What is at the horizon for her family and people – rescue or death? Which move should she take?

93

9.0

/968668/

88

/16278/

85

/9643/

4.6

/1304036/

100

/63/

97

/6764/

97

/18/

4.0

age 12+

The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open and shut case soon becomes a mini-drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other.

86

7.9

/65412/

75

/1090/

75

/786/

4.2

/55387/

96

/145/

86

/2898/

97

/37/

4.0

Two college roommates have 24 hours to make the ultimate choice as they finalize arrangements for a black market abortion.

86

7.9

/64592/

75

/1205/

76

/1255/

4.0

/107149/

100

/51/

86

/1131/

97

/22/

4.0

A dramatized account of a great Russian naval mutiny and a resultant public demonstration, showing support, which brought on a police massacre.

86

7.9

/119248/

75

/1837/

76

/1440/

4.0

/144904/

97

/63/

89

/2833/

97

/20/

4.0

age 14+

A disturbed, aging Southern belle moves in with her sister for solace — but being face-to-face with her brutish brother-in-law accelerates her downward spiral.

90

8.5

/777755/

82

/14288/

84

/10724/

4.3

/1254034/

97

/118/

95

/10327/

97

/18/

4.0

age 14+

When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.

91

8.5

/1133941/

85

/43995/

85

/19948/

4.5

/4844739/

99

/485/

90

/2503/

97

/56/

4.0

age 16+

All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.

87

8.0

/106460/

77

/2189/

78

/1757/

4.3

/221585/

93

/87/

90

/1894/

97

/21/

4.0

In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.

88

8.1

/193698/

78

/3060/

79

/2026/

4.2

/177978/

99

/97/

93

/3386/

97

/30/

4.0

age 13+

In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.

87

7.9

/173234/

76

/2898/

77

/1819/

3.9

/135929/

99

/111/

91

/2982/

97

/16/

4.0

age 12+

A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a beautiful liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.

87

8.2

/353647/

78

/5190/

79

/4276/

3.9

/236566/

90

/103/

92

/18576/

97

/19/

4.0

age 10+

The spoiled daughter of a Georgia plantation owner conducts a tumultuous romance with a cynical profiteer during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era.

90

8.3

/547721/

81

/9139/

81

/5987/

4.3

/567661/

98

/98/

94

/10882/

97

/32/

4.0

age 14+

After the insane General Jack D. Ripper initiates a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, a war room full of politicians, generals and a Russian diplomat all frantically try to stop it.

86

7.8

/84391/

76

/1378/

75

/985/

3.9

/61380/

98

/45/

92

/1439/

97

/18/

4.0

age 16+

No one expects much from Christy Brown, a boy with cerebral palsy born into a working-class Irish family. Though Christy is a spastic quadriplegic and essentially paralyzed, a miraculous event occurs when, at the age of 5, he demonstrates control of his left foot by using chalk to scrawl a word on the floor. With the help of his steely mother — and no shortage of grit and determination — Christy overcomes his infirmity to become a painter, poet and author.

90

8.2

/149711/

80

/2542/

80

/1725/

4.5

/226531/

96

/94/

95

/2188/

97

/21/

4.0

Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.

83

7.4

/104630/

73

/2407/

70

/1534/

3.7

/136294/

95

/62/

84

/2634/

97

/15/

4.0

age 13+

A couple of high school graduates spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college.

83

56

8.0

/15135/

76

/64/

80

/4/

4.2

/58440/

96

/38/

age 13+

The Harlem Cultural Festival, also known as "Black Woodstock", was a series of music concerts held in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City during the summer of 1969 to celebrate African American music and culture and to promote the continued politics of black pride. The concerts took place in Harlem's Mount Morris Park on Sundays at 3PM from June 29, 1969 to August 24, 1969. The manifestation came soon after the Watts Riots, and the assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.

85

7.7

/93930/

74

/1827/

75

/1955/

3.9

/272671/

95

/82/

90

/2243/

96

/24/

4.0

A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he attempts to persuade a girl to run away to Italy with him.

89

8.3

/22312/

79

/345/

80

/442/

4.3

/23283/

98

/42/

95

/480/

96

/20/

4.0

In a chaotic 19th-century Paris teeming with aristocrats, thieves, psychics, and courtesans, theater mime Baptiste is in love with the mysterious actress Garance. But Garance, in turn, is loved by three other men: pretentious actor Frederick, conniving thief Lacenaire, and Count Edouard of Montray.

86

7.7

/37409/

76

/670/

73

/570/

4.0

/33887/

100

/32/

87

/474/

96

/15/

4.0

Following the Civil War, headstrong rancher Thomas Dunson decides to lead a perilous cattle drive from Texas to Missouri. During the exhausting journey, his persistence becomes tyrannical in the eyes of Matthew Garth, his adopted son and protégé.

87

8.1

/925632/

79

/37317/

78

/18060/

4.2

/3198103/

96

/251/

87

/79171/

96

/37/