Year Released: 1943
It shouldn’t come as a surprise there are a few Alfred Hitchcock films popping up on this list. Shadow of a Doubt is a psychological thriller full of murder and mystery, but unlike the majority of Hitchcock films, is somewhat of a slow burn. The director has apparently said it’s his favorite of all that he’s created.
The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Story and won the Satellite Award for Best Classic DVD. It has a 4/4 from Roger Ebert and a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Philadelphia Story
Year Released: 1940
We’ve headed back in time to 1940, when this romantic comedy directed by George Cukor hit the scene. Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn star as a young married couple on the verge of divorce. Critics seem to agree that the storyline is one of the best of its time, with one calling it a “beautifully spun tale.”
The film won the Academy Award for Best Writing in an Adapted Screenplay and brought in $3.3 million – which was a lot of money in 1940.
Inception
Year Released: 2010
Leonardo DiCaprio stars in this unique sci-fi film from Christopher Nolan that delves into lucid and hive-mind dream exploration. Audiences and critics alike went wild for the film, which the latter referred to as “wholly original,” and “cut from a new cloth.” And, indeed it’s not like anything we’ve ever seen before.
Inception was nominated for eight Oscars and won four, including the awards for Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects. It was nominated for four more, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture.
Coco
Year Released: 2017
Coco is Disney’s 2017 coming of age tale about a pre-teen boy named Miguel that has dreams of becoming a musician. He finds himself in the land of the dead having a life altering experience and communicating with skeletons. The film, while it’s definitely a comedy, also really tugs on the heartstrings of viewers, and is hard to watch without getting at least a little teary-eyed.
The film won several awards in 2018, including both the Academy and Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film. It is a favorite of both children and their parents and makes a great choice for family film night.
Wall-E
Year Released: 2008
The first animated film on our list thus far, Wall-E came out in 2008 and delighted children and families all over the world. It grossed over $533 million across the globe against a $180 million budget. The film centers on lonely trash compactor robot who’s been left alone on an uninhabitable world and falls in love with another robot who happens to come visit him.
Wall-E made Time’s list of the “Best Movies of the Decade,” and voted 29th out of 100 “Best of the 21st Century” films by 117 international film critics. It won the 2008 Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, and the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, among several other accolades.