1. The Shawshank Redemption
Year of Release: 1994
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Frank Darabont
Actors: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler, Clancy Brown, Gil Bellows
Plot: A young banker named Andy, has his life changed rapidly when he is convicted of the murder of his wife and lover, and sentenced to life in prison. As the story unfolds, Andy shows that he is a not a typical prisoner. With the help of his friend Redd, Andy makes the most of his prison life. The film takes place in the 1940's.
2. The Godfather
Year of Release: 1972
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama/Crime
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Actors: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Richard S. Castellano, Sterling Hayden
Plot: An organized crime leader gives up control of his "family" to his youngest son, Michael. The leader barely survives a battle between mobs, which leads Michael to begin a mob war against Sollozzo and tears the Corleone family apart.
3. Schindler's List
Year of Release: 1993
Overall Rating: 3.4 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama/Biography
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Steven Spielberg
Actors: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Mark Ivanir, Embeth Davidtz
Plot: Schindler (played by Liam Neeson) tries to save the Jews by bringing as many as he can to an ammunitions plant that may not produce any ammunition.
4. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Year of Release: 1975
Overall Rating: 3.4 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Milos Forman
Actors: Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Louise Fletcher, William Redfield, Christopher Lloyd, Michael Berryman
Plot: A man who may not really be insane is admitted to an institution. He plays tricks on the nurse and rounds up the other trouble patients for a healthy dose of fun.
5. Pulp Fiction
Year of Release: 1994
Overall Rating: 3.4 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Crime/Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Actors: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Uma Thurman, Harvey Keitel
Plot: A story of four interweaving stories developing from hit men, boxers, ringleaders, and anyone else who is involved with a crime. Violence and crime are not far away.
6. The Godfather: Part II
Year of Release: 1974
Overall Rating: 3.4 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Crime/Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Actors: Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, Robert De Niro, John Cazale, Talia Shire
Plot: The sequel to "The Godfather," we are taken back to the begining of the Corleone family, and how it all began back in the early 1900's.
7. Forrest Gump
Year of Release: 1994
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama/Comedy
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Actors: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright Penn, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, Sally Field
Plot: A "slow" man explains to people he meets on a park bench his life story which seems to encounter historic events.
8. 12 Angry Men
Year of Release: 1957
Overall Rating: 3.4 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Sidney Lumet
Actors: Henry Fonda, Jack Klugman, Joseph Sweeney, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Warden
Plot: One man on a jury stands alone in a case in which most are initially convinced one way but one by one may be convinced another way.
9. Fight Club
Year of Release: 1999
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama/Crime
MPAA Rating: R
Director: David Fincher
Actors: Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf, Zach Grenier
Plot: An average thirty-something office worker gets so bored of his life he creates a local fighting club. The path of insanity and psychosis is inevitable.
10. The Green Mile
Year of Release: 1999
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama/Mystery
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Frank Darabont
Actors: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Jeter, James Cromwell
Plot: A wrongly convicted man sits on death row while the officers who guard him interact with him and his powers.
