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Col Needham's Top 20 Movies from 1990-2010

by Col Needham • Created 14 years ago • Modified 14 years ago
I'm the founder and CEO of IMDb and here are my favourite movies from the last 20 years. Of course this list needs a little trimming to say the least ...
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  • 69 titles
  • Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Elliot Page, Ken Watanabe, and Dileep Rao in Inception (2010)

    1. Inception

    20102h 28mPG-1374Metascore
    8.8 (2.7M)
    A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O., but his tragic past may doom the project and his team to disaster.
    DirectorChristopher NolanStarsLeonardo DiCaprioJoseph Gordon-LevittElliot Page
    My #2 favourite movie of all-time and also a proxy for Chris Nolan's other masterpiece: The Prestige
  • Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman in Se7en (1995)

    2. Se7en

    19952h 7mR65Metascore
    8.6 (1.9M)
    Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.
    DirectorDavid FincherStarsMorgan FreemanBrad PittKevin Spacey
    Also a proxy for other great David Fincher movies: Fight Club / The Social Network / Panic Room / The Game / Zodiac.
  • Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction (1994)

    3. Pulp Fiction

    19942h 34mR95Metascore
    8.9 (2.3M)
    The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
    DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. Jackson
    Also a proxy for other great QT movies: Kill Bill / Inglourious Basterds
  • Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

    4. Eyes Wide Shut

    19992h 39mTV-MA69Metascore
    7.5 (401K)
    A Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.
    DirectorStanley KubrickStarsTom CruiseNicole KidmanTodd Field
    An extremely underrated Kubrick film with one of the best last lines in movie history. A massively misunderstood story about love and obsession and where (not) to draw the line.
  • Zoe Saldaña and Sam Worthington in Avatar (2009)

    5. Avatar

    20092h 42mPG-1383Metascore
    7.9 (1.4M)
    A paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.
    DirectorJames CameronStarsSam WorthingtonZoe SaldañaSigourney Weaver
    Also a proxy for other great James Cameron movies from this period: T2 / True Lies / Titanic
  • Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Philip Baker Hall, Jason Robards, and Jeremy Blackman in Magnolia (1999)

    6. Magnolia

    19993h 8mR78Metascore
    8.0 (338K)
    An epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.
    DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsTom CruiseJason RobardsJulianne Moore
    Also a proxy for other great PTA movies: Punch Drunk Love / There Will Be Blood
  • Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey in Contact (1997)

    7. Contact

    19972h 30mPG62Metascore
    7.5 (304K)
    Dr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, sending plans for a mysterious machine.
    DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsJodie FosterMatthew McConaugheyTom Skerritt
    One of the most well-written movies ever
  • Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Joe Pantoliano, and Carrie-Anne Moss in The Matrix (1999)

    8. The Matrix

    19992h 16mR73Metascore
    8.7 (2.2M)
    When a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.
    DirectorsLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne Moss
    Fresh and original before the sequels sort of spoiled it (with the exception of the freeway chase sequence in Reloaded). Also a proxy for the Wachowski brothers' other masterpiece, the neo-noir thriller Bound
  • Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe, and Emma Watson in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

    9. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

    20042h 22mPG82Metascore
    7.9 (731K)
    Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their third year of study, where they delve into the mystery surrounding an escaped prisoner who poses a dangerous threat to the young wizard.
    DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsDaniel RadcliffeEmma WatsonRupert Grint
    The best Harry Potter book and the best Harry Potter movie and the only one outside the all-time top 25 highest grossing movies. Also a proxy for the other HP movies.
  • Keira Knightley and James McAvoy in Atonement (2007)

    10. Atonement

    20072h 3mR85Metascore
    7.8 (315K)
    Thirteen-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit.
    DirectorJoe WrightStarsKeira KnightleyJames McAvoyBrenda Blethyn
    Another brilliant script with masterful direction by Joe Wright
  • Tom Cruise in Minority Report (2002)

    11. Minority Report

    20022h 25mPG-1380Metascore
    7.6 (604K)
    John works with the PreCrime police which stop crimes before they take place, with the help of three 'PreCogs' who can foresee crimes. Events ensue when John finds himself framed for a future murder.
    DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom CruiseColin FarrellSamantha Morton
    Also a proxy for Steven Spielberg's other great movies from this period: Schindler's List / Jurassic Park / Saving Private Ryan
  • Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Al Pacino, Ted Levine, Wes Studi, Jerry Trimble, and Mykelti Williamson in Heat (1995)

    12. Heat

    19952h 50mR76Metascore
    8.3 (760K)
    A group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD when they unknowingly leave a verbal clue at their latest heist.
    DirectorMichael MannStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroVal Kilmer
    Also a proxy for Michael Mann's other great movies from this period: The Last of the Mohicans / The Insider
  • Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct (1992)

    13. Basic Instinct

    19922h 7mR43Metascore
    7.1 (233K)
    A violent police detective investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist.
    DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsMichael DouglasSharon StoneGeorge Dzundza
    A guilty pleasure but who can forget this sexy Hitchcock homage by Paul Verhoeven?
  • Kim Basinger, Russell Crowe, Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, and Guy Pearce in L.A. Confidential (1997)

    14. L.A. Confidential

    19972h 18mR91Metascore
    8.2 (642K)
    As corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.
    DirectorCurtis HansonStarsKevin SpaceyRussell CroweGuy Pearce
    It's all in the writing and, here, the casting too!
  • Jodie Foster in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

    15. The Silence of the Lambs

    19911h 58mR86Metascore
    8.6 (1.6M)
    A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
    DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJodie FosterAnthony HopkinsScott Glenn
    Thrilling horror and unforgettable characters
  • Signs (2002)

    16. Signs

    20021h 46mPG-1359Metascore
    6.8 (402K)
    A widowed former reverend living with his children and brother on a Pennsylvania farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields, which suggests something more frightening to come.
    DirectorM. Night ShyamalanStarsMel GibsonJoaquin PhoenixRory Culkin
    Everything is on a slow burn to the amazing final sequence where everything comes together and rewards the viewer who has been paying attention (one of my favourite scenes ever).
  • Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

    17. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

    20032h 23mPG-1363Metascore
    8.1 (1.3M)
    Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow to save Elizabeth Swann, the governor's daughter and his love, from Jack's former pirate allies, who are now undead.
    DirectorGore VerbinskiStarsJohnny DeppGeoffrey RushOrlando Bloom
    Amazing fun
  • Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley in House of Sand and Fog (2003)

    18. House of Sand and Fog

    20032h 6mR71Metascore
    7.5 (75K)
    An abandoned wife is evicted from her house and starts a tragic conflict with her house's new owners.
    DirectorVadim PerelmanStarsJennifer ConnellyBen KingsleyRon Eldard
    Another writing masterpiece and a very attractive leading lady
  • George Clooney in Michael Clayton (2007)

    19. Michael Clayton

    20071h 59mR82Metascore
    7.2 (179K)
    A law firm brings in its "fixer" to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multibillion-dollar class action suit.
    DirectorTony GilroyStarsGeorge ClooneyTilda SwintonTom Wilkinson
    Yet another writing masterpiece.
  • Kevin Costner in JFK (1991)

    20. JFK

    19913h 9mR72Metascore
    8.0 (177K)
    New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
    DirectorOliver StoneStarsKevin CostnerGary OldmanJack Lemmon
    Oliver Stone creates a rich story which leads to the unforgettable assassination recreation courtroom sequence (another all time favourite scene).
  • Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, and Madeleine Stowe in 12 Monkeys (1995)

    21. 12 Monkeys

    19952h 9mR75Metascore
    8.0 (665K)
    In a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.
    DirectorTerry GilliamStarsBruce WillisMadeleine StoweBrad Pitt
  • Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, and Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men (1992)

    22. A Few Good Men

    19922h 18mR62Metascore
    7.7 (303K)
    A military lawyer intends to prove that two US Marines charged with murdering a fellow Marine were only following their base commander's orders.
    DirectorRob ReinerStarsTom CruiseJack NicholsonDemi Moore
  • Sean Connery in The Hunt for Red October (1990)

    23. The Hunt for Red October

    19902h 15mPG58Metascore
    7.5 (223K)
    In November 1984, the Soviet Union's best submarine captain violates orders and heads for the U.S. in a new undetectable sub. The American CIA and military must quickly determine: Is he trying to defect or to start a war?
    DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsSean ConneryAlec BaldwinScott Glenn
  • Jennifer Connelly in Requiem for a Dream (2000)

    24. Requiem for a Dream

    20001h 42mNC-1771Metascore
    8.3 (941K)
    The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep.
    DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsEllen BurstynJared LetoJennifer Connelly
  • Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, and Richard Harris in Unforgiven (1992)

    25. Unforgiven

    19922h 10mR85Metascore
    8.2 (455K)
    Retired Old West gunslinger Will Munny reluctantly takes on one last job to avenge an injustice with the help of his old partner and a newer outlaw known simply as The Schofield Kid.
    DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGene HackmanMorgan Freeman

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