11. 12 Years a Slave
Year of Release: 2013
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama/Historical
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Steve McQueen
Actors: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti
Plot: Follows the true story of Solomon Northup, an upstate free black man who, years before the civil war broke out, was abducted and sold into slavery. Facing both extreme cruelty and incredible kind deeds, he struggles to maintain his dignity while fighting to survive. In the twelfth year of his ordeal a chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will change his life forever.
12. How to Train Your Dragon
Year of Release: 2010
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Animation
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
Actors: Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Kristen Wiig
Plot: Based on the book by Cressida Cowell. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III is the son of a powerful Viking chief, but is no hero. To prove his courage he seeks out the biggest, meanest dragon... only to end up with an surly, toothless runt of a dragon.
13. The Grand Budapest Hotel
Year of Release: 2014
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Wes Anderson
Actors: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, Adrien Brody, Saoirse Ronan, Willem Dafoe, F. Murray Abraham
Plot: Between WWI and WWII, Gustave H works as a legendary concierge at one of Europe's finest hotels. During his tenure he creates a life-long friend in a lobby boy, Zero Moustafa.
14. The King's Speech
Year of Release: 2010
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama/Historical
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Tom Hooper
Actors: Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Colin Firth, Timothy Spall, Michael Gambon, Geoffrey Rush
Plot: After his brother abdicates the throne young "Bertie" assumes his place as king, but his stuttering speech lead many to believe he is unfit for the position. Utilizing the talents of speech therapist Lionel Logue, whose unique techniques help him overcome his stuttering, King George VI emerges as a great leader.
15. Beasts of No Nation
Year of Release: 2015
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama/War
Director: Cary Fukunaga
Actors: Idris Elba, Ama Abebrese, Abraham Attah, Richard Pepple, Opeyemi Fagbohungbe
Plot: Follows the life of Agu, a child soldier forced into fighting a civil war in an African nation.
16. Hunt, The ( Jagten )
Year of Release: 2013
Overall Rating: 3.4 out of 4 stars
Language: Danish
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Actors: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp, Alexandra Rapaport, Susse Wold, Lasse Fogelstrøm
Plot: A lonely teacher, struggling to gain custody of his son, finds his entire world crashing down around him after being accused by a student of sexual molestation and finds everyone in his life turning against him.
17. Inside Out
Year of Release: 2015
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Animation
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Pete Docter
Actors: Bill Hader, Mindy Kaling, Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black
Plot: On the outside, Riley is just like any typical young girl - dealing with the ups and downs of life - but on the inside, things are much different. When her father gets a new job in San Francisco and moves the family from the Midwest to the West Coast, "Headquarters" the place in Riley's mind that contains her emotions, goes into overdrive. Joy, Fear, Sadness, Anger, Disgust - each one plays a role - and with a new city, home and school - there is going to be some major conflict.
18. Dunkirk
Year of Release: 2017
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama/Historical
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Christopher Nolan
Actors: Fionn Whitehead, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy, Aneurin Barnard, Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh
Plot: After landing at Dunkirk, France during the Battle of France in WWII, a group of Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire, Canada and France find themselves surrounded by the German army. A fierce battle ensues, leading to one of the most daring and miraculous rescues of the war.
19. Avengers: Infinity War
Year of Release: 2018
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Action/Fantasy
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Actors: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Josh Brolin, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Holland
Plot: Following the events of Captain America: Civil War, the avengers must team up to stop the Titan Thanos from taking the six infinity stones for his infinity gauntlet to obtain total galactic destruction.
20. The Wolf of Wall Street
Year of Release: 2013
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: English
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Martin Scorsese
Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Jon Favreau, Jean Dujardin, Jon Bernthal, Kyle Chandler
Plot: A Wall Street stockbroker lives the high life with his likewise wealthy buddies - but the net is closing in around him. But even as the feds close in on one of the largest securities fraud cases in the corporate banking world, he refuses to cooperate in any way.
