Must See Films - Chosen by film directors loving meaningful and entertaining stories, but no blood
by patrykw | created - 22 Apr 2018 | updated - 04 Jan 2023 | PublicThis is the personal favorite list of movies, chosen by directors Patryk and Kasia Wezowski, who love films that make you feel better, that inspire you to live a meaningful life and are entertaining at the same time. The list is in no particular order since all films on this list are a must to watch.
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1. Interstellar (2014)
PG-13 | 169 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
When Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Mackenzie Foy
Votes: 2,095,212 | Gross: $188.02M
2. The Greatest Showman (2017)
PG | 105 min | Biography, Drama, Musical
Celebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.
Director: Michael Gracey | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya
Votes: 310,987 | Gross: $174.34M
3. The Polka King (2017)
TV-14 | 95 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Local Pennsylvania polka legend Jan Lewan develops a plan to get rich that shocks his fans and lands him in jail.
Director: Maya Forbes | Stars: Jack Black, Jenny Slate, Jason Schwartzman, Jacki Weaver
Votes: 11,960
4. The Shape of Water (2017)
R | 123 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Doug Jones
Votes: 447,315 | Gross: $63.86M
5. I, Tonya (2017)
R | 119 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Competitive ice skater Tonya Harding rises amongst the ranks at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but her future in the activity is thrown into doubt when her ex-husband intervenes.
Director: Craig Gillespie | Stars: Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Julianne Nicholson
Votes: 242,455 | Gross: $30.01M
6. The Circle (I) (2017)
PG-13 | 110 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A woman lands a dream job at a powerful tech company called the Circle, only to uncover an agenda that will affect the lives of all of humanity.
Director: James Ponsoldt | Stars: Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, John Boyega, Ellar Coltrane
Votes: 100,266 | Gross: $20.50M
7. The Space Between Us (I) (2017)
PG-13 | 120 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
The first human born on Mars travels to Earth for the first time, experiencing the wonders of the planet through fresh eyes. He embarks on an adventure with a street-smart girl to discover how he came to be.
Director: Peter Chelsom | Stars: Gary Oldman, Asa Butterfield, Carla Gugino, Britt Robertson
Votes: 56,154 | Gross: $7.89M
8. Gold (I) (2016)
R | 120 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Kenny Wells, a prospector desperate for a lucky break, teams up with a similarly eager geologist and sets off on a journey to find gold in the uncharted jungle of Indonesia.
Director: Stephen Gaghan | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Edgar Ramírez, Bryce Dallas Howard, Corey Stoll
Votes: 69,186 | Gross: $7.23M
9. Hidden Figures (2016)
PG | 127 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.
Director: Theodore Melfi | Stars: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner
Votes: 254,940 | Gross: $169.61M
10. La La Land (2016)
PG-13 | 128 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
While navigating their careers in Los Angeles, a pianist and an actress fall in love while attempting to reconcile their aspirations for the future.
Director: Damien Chazelle | Stars: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Rosemarie DeWitt, J.K. Simmons
Votes: 670,002 | Gross: $151.10M
11. Why Him? (2016)
R | 111 min | Comedy
A holiday gathering threatens to go off the rails when Ned Fleming realizes that his daughter's Silicon Valley millionaire boyfriend is about to pop the question.
Director: John Hamburg | Stars: Zoey Deutch, James Franco, Tangie Ambrose, Cedric The Entertainer
Votes: 123,579 | Gross: $60.32M
12. Office Christmas Party (2016)
R | 105 min | Comedy
When his uptight CEO sister threatens to shut down his branch, the branch manager throws an epic Christmas party in order to land a big client and save the day, but the party gets way out of hand...
Directors: Josh Gordon, Will Speck | Stars: Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, T.J. Miller, Jennifer Aniston
Votes: 88,153 | Gross: $54.77M
13. The Accountant (2016)
R | 128 min | Action, Crime, Drama
As a math savant uncooks the books for a new client, the Treasury Department closes in on his activities, and the body count starts to rise.
Director: Gavin O'Connor | Stars: Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal
Votes: 320,990 | Gross: $86.26M
14. Elvis & Nixon (2016)
R | 86 min | Comedy, History
The untold true story behind the meeting between Elvis Presley, the King of Rock 'n Roll, and President Richard Nixon, resulting in this revealing, yet humorous moment immortalized in the most requested photograph in the National Archives.
Director: Liza Johnson | Stars: Michael Shannon, Kevin Spacey, Alex Pettyfer, Johnny Knoxville
Votes: 15,025 | Gross: $1.03M
15. Snowden (2016)
R | 134 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The NSA's illegal surveillance techniques are leaked to the public by one of the agency's employees, Edward Snowden, in the form of thousands of classified documents distributed to the press.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto
Votes: 162,846 | Gross: $21.59M
16. War Dogs (2016)
R | 114 min | Biography, Comedy, Crime
Loosely based on the true story of two young men, David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, who won a three hundred million dollar contract from the Pentagon to arm America's allies in Afghanistan.
Director: Todd Phillips | Stars: Jonah Hill, Miles Teller, Steve Lantz, Gregg Weiner
Votes: 253,445 | Gross: $43.03M
17. A Hologram for the King (2016)
R | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A failed American sales rep looks to recoup his losses by traveling to Saudi Arabia and selling his company's product to a wealthy monarch.
Director: Tom Tykwer | Stars: Tom Hanks, Omar Elba, Sarita Choudhury, Ben Whishaw
Votes: 47,435 | Gross: $4.20M
18. Kill Your Friends (2015)
Not Rated | 103 min | Comedy, Crime, Music
An A&R man working at the height of the Britpop music craze goes to extremes in order to find his next hit.
Director: Owen Harris | Stars: Nicholas Hoult, Thomas Conroy, James Corden, Georgia King
Votes: 10,031
19. The Brothers Grimsby (2016)
R | 83 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A new assignment forces a top spy to team up with his football hooligan brother.
Director: Louis Leterrier | Stars: Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Strong, Rebel Wilson, Freddie Crowder
Votes: 111,202 | Gross: $6.86M
20. Hail, Caesar! (2016)
PG-13 | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
A Hollywood fixer in the 1950s works to keep the studio's stars in line.
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen | Stars: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes
Votes: 143,047 | Gross: $30.50M
21. Joy (I) (2015)
PG-13 | 124 min | Biography, Drama
Joy is the story of the title character, who rose to become founder and matriarch of a powerful family business dynasty.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Edgar Ramírez
Votes: 145,019 | Gross: $56.45M
22. The Brand New Testament (2015)
Not Rated | 114 min | Comedy, Fantasy
Did you know that God is alive and lives in Brussels with his daughter?
Director: Jaco Van Dormael | Stars: Pili Groyne, Benoît Poelvoorde, Catherine Deneuve, François Damiens
Votes: 34,983 | Gross: $0.09M
23. Truth (I) (2015)
R | 125 min | Biography, Drama, History
Newsroom drama detailing the 2004 CBS "60 Minutes" report investigating then-President George W. Bush's military service, and the subsequent firestorm of criticism that cost anchor Dan Rather and producer Mary Mapes their careers.
Director: James Vanderbilt | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford, Dennis Quaid, Elisabeth Moss
Votes: 21,226 | Gross: $2.54M
24. Reality (2014)
Unrated | 95 min | Comedy
A wanna-be director is given 48 hours by a producer to find the best groan of pain, worthy of an Oscar, as the only condition to back his film.
Director: Quentin Dupieux | Stars: Alain Chabat, Jonathan Lambert, Élodie Bouchez, Kyla Kenedy
Votes: 6,932
25. The Big Short (2015)
R | 130 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
In 2006-2007 a group of investors bet against the United States mortgage market. In their research, they discover how flawed and corrupt the market is.
Director: Adam McKay | Stars: Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt
Votes: 483,690 | Gross: $70.26M
26. The Lobster (2015)
R | 119 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
In a dystopian near future, according to the laws of The City, single people are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in 45 days or they're transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods.
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos | Stars: Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Jessica Barden, Olivia Colman
Votes: 295,498 | Gross: $8.70M
27. Passengers (I) (2016)
PG-13 | 116 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
A malfunction in a sleeping pod on a spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet wakes one passenger 90 years early.
Director: Morten Tyldum | Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Pratt, Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne
Votes: 446,639 | Gross: $100.01M
28. Whiplash (2014)
R | 106 min | Drama, Music
A promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student's potential.
Director: Damien Chazelle | Stars: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist, Paul Reiser
Votes: 987,055 | Gross: $13.09M
29. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
R | 119 min | Comedy, Drama
A washed-up superhero actor attempts to revive his fading career by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway production.
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Stars: Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough
Votes: 666,162 | Gross: $42.34M
30. Game Night (I) (2018)
R | 100 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A group of friends who meet regularly for game nights find themselves entangled in a real-life mystery when the shady brother of one of them is seemingly kidnapped by dangerous gangsters.
Directors: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein | Stars: Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler, Sharon Horgan
Votes: 255,407 | Gross: $69.18M
31. Lost in London (I) (2017)
Not Rated | 100 min | Comedy, Drama
Within the course of one night, Woody Harrelson finds himself in a misadventure in London that winds him up in jail.
Director: Woody Harrelson | Stars: Louisa Harland, Daniel Radcliffe, Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson
Votes: 4,716
32. Okja (2017)
TV-MA | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young girl risks everything to prevent a powerful, multinational company from kidnapping her best friend - a fascinating beast named Okja.
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Stars: Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Ahn Seo-hyun, Jake Gyllenhaal
Votes: 132,042
33. 3 Idiots (2009)
PG-13 | 170 min | Comedy, Drama
Two friends are searching for their long lost companion. They revisit their college days and recall the memories of their friend who inspired them to think differently, even as the rest of the world called them "idiots".
Director: Rajkumar Hirani | Stars: Aamir Khan, Madhavan, Mona Singh, Sharman Joshi
Votes: 433,874 | Gross: $6.53M
34. Leap (III) (2018)
95 min | Documentary, Adventure, Drama
A one year experiment seeks to discover whether coaching can help ordinary people achieve extraordinary things.
Directors: Kasia Wezowski, Patryk Wezowski | Stars: Hisham Abdalla, Tara Antler, Clinton Callahan, Jack Canfield
Votes: 139
35. 500 Days of Summer (2009)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After being dumped by the girl he believes to be his soulmate, hopeless romantic Tom Hansen reflects on their relationship to try and figure out where things went wrong and how he can win her back.
Director: Marc Webb | Stars: Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Geoffrey Arend, Chloë Grace Moretz
Votes: 557,014 | Gross: $32.39M
36. The Great Gatsby (2013)
PG-13 | 143 min | Drama, Romance
A writer and wall street trader, Nick Carraway, finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his mysterious millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby, amid the riotous parties of the Jazz Age.
Director: Baz Luhrmann | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Tobey Maguire
Votes: 596,192 | Gross: $144.84M
37. The Shift (2009 Video)
Not Rated | 120 min | Drama
In this compelling film, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer explores the spiritual journey from ambition to meaning.
Director: Michael A. Goorjian | Stars: Wayne Dyer, Portia de Rossi, Edward Kerr, Michael DeLuise
Votes: 1,117
38. Secret Superstar (2017)
Not Rated | 150 min | Drama, Music
A talented teenage singer-songwriter living amid domestic abuse becomes a YouTube sensation after a video in which she hides her identity goes viral.
Director: Advait Chandan | Stars: Zaira Wasim, Meher Vij, Raj Arjun, Aamir Khan
Votes: 29,417
39. Ocean's Eight (2018)
PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Debbie Ocean gathers an all-female crew to attempt an impossible heist at New York City's annual Met Gala.
Director: Gary Ross | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling
Votes: 241,653 | Gross: $140.22M
40. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
R | 180 min | Biography, Comedy, Crime
Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey
Votes: 1,580,412 | Gross: $116.90M
41. Captain Fantastic (2016)
R | 118 min | Comedy, Drama
In the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a father devoted to raising his six kids with a rigorous physical and intellectual education is forced to leave his paradise and enter the world, challenging his idea of what it means to be a parent.
Director: Matt Ross | Stars: Viggo Mortensen, George MacKay, Samantha Isler, Annalise Basso
Votes: 234,832 | Gross: $5.88M
42. Dear Zindagi (2016)
Not Rated | 151 min | Drama, Romance
Kaira is a budding cinematographer in search of a perfect life. Her encounter with Jug, an unconventional thinker, helps her gain a new perspective on life. She discovers that happiness is all about finding comfort in life's imperfections.
Director: Gauri Shinde | Stars: Alia Bhatt, Shah Rukh Khan, Kunal Kapoor, Ali Zafar
Votes: 43,536 | Gross: $1.40M
43. Long Shot (2019)
R | 125 min | Comedy, Romance
Journalist, Fred Flarsky, reunites with his childhood crush, Charlotte Field; now one of the most influential women in the world. As she prepares to run for president, Charlotte hires Fred as her speechwriter, and sparks fly.
Director: Jonathan Levine | Stars: Charlize Theron, Seth Rogen, June Diane Raphael, O'Shea Jackson Jr.
Votes: 121,560 | Gross: $30.32M
44. Knives Out (2019)
PG-13 | 130 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A detective investigates the death of the patriarch of an eccentric, combative family.
Director: Rian Johnson | Stars: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis
Votes: 772,859 | Gross: $165.36M
45. Earthquake Bird (2019)
R | 107 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An enigmatic translator with a dark past is brought in for questioning after an ex-pat friend, who came between her and her photographer boyfriend, ends up missing and presumed dead.
Director: Wash Westmoreland | Stars: Alicia Vikander, Kiki Sukezane, Kenichi Masuda, Chiaki Kawamo
Votes: 15,794
46. The Gentlemen (2019)
R | 113 min | Action, Crime
An American expat tries to sell off his highly profitable marijuana empire in London, triggering plots, schemes, bribery and blackmail in an attempt to steal his domain out from under him.
Director: Guy Ritchie | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Michelle Dockery, Jeremy Strong
Votes: 398,323 | Gross: $36.47M
47. Archive (2020)
TV-MA | 109 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
2038: George Almore is working on a true human-equivalent AI. His latest prototype is almost ready. This sensitive phase is also the riskiest. Especially as he has a goal that must be hidden at all costs.
Director: Gavin Rothery | Stars: Theo James, Stacy Martin, Rhona Mitra, Peter Ferdinando
Votes: 26,365
48. Fish Story (2009)
113 min | Action, Comedy, Music
Several seemingly unrelated but surprisingly intertwined tales reveal how a Japanese band that independently invented punk rock in 1975 is, 37 years later, connected to a comet that is about to destroy the world.
Director: Yoshihiro Nakamura | Stars: Atsushi Itô, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Noriko Eguchi, Hidekazu Mashima
Votes: 3,432
49. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
R | 139 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A middle-aged Chinese immigrant is swept up into an insane adventure in which she alone can save existence by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led.
Directors: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert | Stars: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Quan
Votes: 531,495 | Gross: $72.86M
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