The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

[9]

According to IMDb, this is the most well-liked movie of all time. And true enough, I’ve never met a person who did not like it. A film about two convicts passing the time behind prison walls could have been an insufferable downer, but there’s a mystery behind Tim Robbins’ main character, Andy, that keeps you deeply engrossed in Stephen King’s story. Andy selflessly inspires the other inmates at increasingly greater risk to himself, eventually becoming almost a folkloric hero by the end. Along the way, he endears himself to a fine cast of supporting players headed by Morgan Freeman as Redd, who narrates the film more beautifully than a film has ever been narrated before.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

[10] Two drag queens and a grouchy transsexual brave the Australian outback to perform at a hotel in the middle of nowhere. Hugo Weaving (The Matrix, Lord of the Rings) plays the drag queen with a secret, Guy Pierce (Memento,…
The Piano (1993)

The Piano (1993)

[10] Holly Hunter picked up an Academy Award for her performance as Ada, a rebellious mute who finds solace and a means of expression only with her beloved piano in Jane Campion's gorgeously crafted and erotically charged The Piano. Ada…
True Romance (1993)

True Romance (1993)

[9] This is a fucking cool-ass movie.  The screenplay by Quentin Tarantino is an exciting blend of violence, sweetness, and dark humor.  Director Tony Scott (Top Gun, Crimson Tide) brings it to life with his usual polished style, and attracts…
Fearless (1993)

Fearless (1993)

[9] Jeff Bridges plays a plane crash survivor who helps fellow passengers carry on with their lives, ignoring his own needs until it's nearly too late. Fearless is from my favorite director, Peter Weir (Mosquito Coast, Picnic at Hanging Rock),…
Jurassic Park (1993)

Jurassic Park (1993)

[9] If you think of this movie as Jaws on land, as director Steven Spielberg has suggested, it can't quite compare to that masterpiece. The characters aren't strong enough. But it's still a hell of a summer event movie, delivering…
Six Degrees of Separation (1993)

Six Degrees of Separation (1993)

[9] Stockard Channing, Donald Sutherland, and Will Smith star in this dark comedy of manners that unfolds like a mystery. The entire film is told in flashbacks and montage, with Channing and Sutherland as art dealers regaling their New York…
Death Becomes Her (1992)

Death Becomes Her (1992)

[10] Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, and Bruce Willis headline this supremely dark comedy about two rival women (Streep and Hawn) who take a potion promising them youth and eternal life. But jealousy consumes them and leads to both their deaths.…
The Player (1992)

The Player (1992)

[9] Director Robert Altman made his post-Popeye comeback with this biting takedown of the film industry. Tim Robbins (Jacob's Ladder, The Shawshank Redemption) stars as Griffin Mill, an unscrupulous studio executive who's paranoid about being replaced by an up-and-coming rival…
The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

[9] Director Michael Mann (Manhunter, Heat) adapts James Fenimore Cooper's novel (with additional credit to the screenwriters of a 1936 version of this movie) set during America's French and Indian War. Three Mohican fur trappers, the last of their dying…