Year Released: 2010
The Toy Story franchise has brought joy to children and families all over the world for decades. In 2010, the third installment hit theaters and did not disappoint fans, new or old. In this movie, the gang of toys are accidentally dropped off at a daycare center and chaos ensues.
Toy Story 3 won a number of awards throughout 2010 and 2011, including both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Animated Film. Although the film had a mega $200 million budget, it still grossed an impressive $1.067 billion worldwide.
The Red Shoes
Year Released: 1948
The Red Shoes is a British drama released in the U.K in 1948. Written, produced, and directed by Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell, the film tells the tale of a ballerina that falls in love with a composer at her company and must decide between love and her career.
The film was nominated for a total of five Academy Awards, winning both Best Original Score and Best Art Direction. It also won the Golden Globe for Best Original Score and made the Top Ten Films list of the National Board of Review.
Star Wars: Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back
Year Released: 1980
This addition to the famed movie franchise did just as well as the rest of them, scoring a 95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with nearly a 9/10 score on IMDb. The original cast teamed up with George Lucas to create another mega hit that grossed nearly $223 million after its 1981 re-release.
Critics were just as thrilled with the film as audiences, with one even using the word “thrilling” to describe his experience in theaters. The Empire Strikes Back won the Academy Award for Best Sound, along with several other accolades over the years.
Singin’ in the Rain
Year Released: 1952
Everyone in the western world is at the very least familiar with the famous theme (title) song from Singin’ in the Rain. “What a glorious feeling, I’m happy again!” But the film that the song was pulled from was just as successful, especially in its heyday in the ‘50s.
The musical comedy was both directed and choreographed by Gene Kelley, along with Stanley Donen. Kelley also stars as male lead, Don Lockwood, a silent film star whose production company is transitioning over to sound for the first time. In 1953, the film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Musical.
Apocalypse Now
Year Released: 1979
Martin Sheen plays a war captain in 1970’s Vietnam who leads a team upriver on the hunt for an officer (played by Marlon Brando) who’d completely lost his mind. The film was directed, produced, and co-written by Francis Ford Coppola, and somewhat based on the 1899 novella Heart of Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad.
Critics around the world praised the film, and it is constantly named one of the best films in history by publications left and right. At the 52nd Academy Awards, it was nominated for eight different accolades, winning for Best Cinematography and Best Sound, and just missing out on Best Picture and Best Director.