Top 40 Thought Provokers
by johneesmail | created - 04 Apr 2017 | updated - 10 months ago | PublicConundrums & Some Things to Think Over,
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1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
R | 133 min | Drama
In the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco
Votes: 1,071,303 | Gross: $112.00M
Really real, frightening in its possibility, terrifying if applied , pray you never have to deal with an issues like this, 1st , 2nd, hand, or even peripherally. Brilliantly done by all involved, 9/10, so close to perfect. In fact, I'm having trouble finding a fault.!
2. Easy Rider (1969)
R | 95 min | Adventure, Drama
Two bikers head from L.A. to New Orleans through the open country and desert lands, and along the way they meet a man who bridges a counter-culture gap of which they had been unaware.
Director: Dennis Hopper | Stars: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson, Antonio Mendoza
Votes: 116,864 | Gross: $41.73M
My generation found this so cathartic, Everything out there for all to See, rebellion with a cause, the Vietnam moratoriums confirming many like minded souls sick of the hypocrisy, the acceptance of the status quo through our immoral unethical compliance , & just to get with the program, Or Else, ! The mind blowing scene of good old boys upholding their values against new true thought , conscience & rationale, but, Jack left his mark before more good ol boys put their final judgement on logic. Full stop . Murdochracy rules now. . .
3. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
R | 113 min | Drama
A naive hustler travels from Texas to New York City to seek personal fortune, finding a new friend in the process.
Director: John Schlesinger | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Sylvia Miles, John McGiver
Votes: 120,578 | Gross: $44.79M
The idealistic 60s had to produce films about ethics & morals, modern realization & the human condition , especially with the contemporary temptations available in prosperous times.
4. The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
PG | 129 min | Adventure, Drama, War
In 1880s India, two former British soldiers decide to set themselves up as Kings in Kafiristan, a land where no white man has set foot since Alexander the Great.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, Saeed Jaffrey
Votes: 51,990
Excellent, Brilliantly told & performed by 2 of the all-time greats in their prime, the temptations of power & it's erosions on the soul
5. The Killing Fields (1984)
R | 141 min | Biography, Drama, History
A journalist is trapped in Cambodia during tyrant Pol Pot's bloody 'Year Zero' cleansing campaign, which claimed the lives of two million 'undesirable' civilians.
Director: Roland Joffé | Stars: Sam Waterston, Haing S. Ngor, John Malkovich, Julian Sands
Votes: 59,062 | Gross: $34.70M
Scary movie, but, the horror, suspense, drama & survival against all odds, was the foundation of the story, the movie cannot impact the viewer with the smells of destruction,, despair & death, the tastes of these combined with bitter terror & sour memories, are all but impossible to purvay. Still, it's all true, it has & does happen ,
6. The Name of the Rose (1986)
R | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
An intellectually nonconformist friar investigates a series of mysterious deaths in an isolated abbey.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud | Stars: Sean Connery, Christian Slater, Helmut Qualtinger, Elya Baskin
Votes: 117,114 | Gross: $7.15M
The true politics inside the church. More frightening than any horror story. Clash of personalities with absolute power the prize. A reward that makes it dangerous for the resistors of temptations. Unfortunately, power corrupts & it likes to do it early in a relationship just to extract maximum influence through the complete possession of its servants.
7. Salvador (1986)
R | 122 min | Drama, History, Thriller
A burnt-out photojournalist becomes involved in a Central American revolution.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: James Woods, Jim Belushi, Michael Murphy, John Savage
Votes: 23,126
Be afraid, be very afraid, since Teddy said, "Goddam it, we'll soon be the most powerful, we should be running the world," of course many Americans have poor history on trust, ethics & compassion.
8. The Fisher King (1991)
R | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A former radio DJ, suicidally despondent because of a terrible mistake he made, finds redemption in helping a deranged homeless man who was an unwitting victim of that mistake.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams, Adam Bryant, Paul Lombardi
Votes: 90,802 | Gross: $41.90M
Tmany reasons to make someone give a little extra thought, to everything.
9. Medicine Man (1992)
PG-13 | 106 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In the beautiful and dangerous Amazon rainforest, dissimilar people must make their choices between business, science, and love.
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Sean Connery, Lorraine Bracco, José Wilker, Rodolfo De Alejandre
Votes: 24,762 | Gross: $45.50M
R & D cost the bottom line which makes for disgruntled share holders, when things change in the chemical industry it can affect established control & threatens all the little players, in every way , even termination of of a perceived is a possibility.
10. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
PG | 95 min | Comedy, War
An unhinged American general orders a bombing attack on the Soviet Union, triggering a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn
Votes: 517,565 | Gross: $0.28M
11. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
R | 125 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Three amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a bank. A nice simple robbery: Walk in, take the money, and run. Unfortunately, the supposedly uncomplicated heist suddenly becomes a bizarre nightmare as everything that could go wrong does.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Penelope Allen, Sully Boyar
Votes: 272,851 | Gross: $50.00M
Who is the good guy,? Why so much grey interpretation, why be empathetic or even logical,? So many heroes & so little opportunity to be the alpha hero.
12. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
Passed | 116 min | Drama, Romance
In 15th-century France, a gypsy girl is framed for murder by the infatuated Chief Justice, and only the deformed bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral can save her.
Director: William Dieterle | Stars: Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara, Cedric Hardwicke, Thomas Mitchell
Votes: 12,268 | Gross: $3.27M
. So many lessons within the romantic, drama, thriller, mystery . & a nice ending, . Perhaps the reality of the times demanded nice because happy was a hill too far. . Evil embedded in the highest levels of the church will of course be ignored by 95% of viewers & allows unfettered abuse of unquestioned power.
13. Pulp Fiction (1994)
R | 154 min | Crime, Drama
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.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis
Votes: 2,216,793 | Gross: $107.93M
What can you learn from all the lessons in the stories within this story. They are there & in fact they are real. Choose your career carefully, treat it seriously, take as many tricks from the characters as possible, life is a variety of all sorts & this tale includes all sorts. .
14. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
R | 99 min | Crime, Thriller
When a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn
Votes: 1,087,142 | Gross: $2.83M
Suspicions, consequences, ultimate gambling & trust. Or, Planning & procedure makes for a pay off,
15. American: The Bill Hicks Story (2009)
Not Rated | 102 min | Documentary, Animation, Biography
Photo-animated feature documentary, uniquely narrated by the 10 people who knew Bill best.
Directors: Matt Harlock, Paul Thomas | Stars: Bill Hicks, Dwight Slade, Mary Hicks, Steve Hicks
Votes: 5,005 | Gross: $0.09M
16. Three Kings (1999)
R | 114 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
In the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, four soldiers set out to steal gold that was stolen from Kuwait, but they discover people who desperately need their help.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze
Votes: 180,358 | Gross: $60.65M
Based on true stories, most of which are about stealing as much as possible from as many sources as possible & keep it as quiet as possible,
17. Acolytes (2008)
Not Rated | 91 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
Three teenagers blackmail a serial killer.
Director: Jon Hewitt | Stars: Joel Edgerton, Michael Dorman, Sebastian Gregory, Hanna Mangan Lawrence
Votes: 2,482
Magic of Aus movies & talent of Joel Edgerton, brilliant portrayal of true Aus crime
18. Heathers (1988)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Crime
At Westerburg High where cliques rule, jocks dominate and all the popular girls are named Heather, it's going to take a Veronica and mysterious new kid to give teen angst a body count.
Director: Michael Lehmann | Stars: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk
Votes: 115,691 | Gross: $1.11M
19. Little Big Man (1970)
PG-13 | 139 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Jack Crabb, looking back from extreme old age, tells of his life being raised by Native Americans and fighting with General Custer.
Director: Arthur Penn | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Chief Dan George, Martin Balsam
Votes: 37,872 | Gross: $31.56M
Must be remembered, the injustice upon the sustainable indigenous communities all over the world is high lighted in stories of this genre.
20. Z.P.G. (1972)
PG | 97 min | Sci-Fi, Thriller
Concerned with population over-growth, the Earth government bans, under the penalty of death, all pregnancies but one couple decides to risk having a real baby rather than legally adopt a cyborg child.
Director: Michael Campus | Stars: Oliver Reed, Geraldine Chaplin, Don Gordon, Diane Cilento
Votes: 1,576
21. Stark (1993)
158 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
In the near future, the greenhouse effect has plunged the world into recession, and the unscrupulous Stark Corporation is making as much money as it can from the crisis.
Stars: Colin Friels, Ben Elton, Derrick O'Connor, Jacqueline McKenzie
Votes: 207
One of the " odds on," outcomes for humanity. Again, be afraid,
22. Twin Peaks (1990–1991)
TV-MA | 50 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks.
Stars: Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Mädchen Amick, Dana Ashbrook
Votes: 215,108
Tickle your Cosmic curiosities with this concoction of riddles & intricate mysteries. Your questions may become more complex & confusing, or, may make some of them appear as just natural wonders for occasional visits, while others could manifest as lost causes, meant to be conundrums for the confounded.
23. Erin Brockovich (2000)
R | 131 min | Biography, Drama
An unemployed single mother becomes a legal assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a California power company accused of polluting a city's water supply.
Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, David Brisbin, Dawn Didawick
Votes: 220,950 | Gross: $125.60M
Woops, yet another True story of toxic government, profits before principals people or public interest. Those who don't know the obscene facts or true situation, can't protest the unexplained illnesses. & or deaths .
24. Air America (1990)
R | 113 min | Action, Comedy, War
A young pilot finds himself recruited unwittingly into a covert and corrupt CIA airlift operation in Laos during the Vietnam conflict.
Director: Roger Spottiswoode | Stars: Mel Gibson, Robert Downey Jr., Nancy Travis, Ken Jenkins
Votes: 30,509 | Gross: $31.05M
Once more the CIA is exposed as the biggest drug smuggler in the world, since b4 WW2 deals were done for & with covert operations to contribute to lots of retiring agents, with such success the covert departments expanded after that to create hugely profitable smuggling operations in the 50s 60s & 70s with total immunity to the point of absolute confidence in denial whenever a leak occurs.
25. Hudson Hawk (1991)
R | 100 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A cat burglar is forced to steal Da Vinci works of art for a world domination plot.
Director: Michael Lehmann | Stars: Bruce Willis, Danny Aiello, Andie MacDowell, James Coburn
Votes: 60,285 | Gross: $17.22M
As silly as it is funny, & as serious as it is revealing. Any similarity to fiction is pure coincidence & reference to actual papal practices is accidental despite its relation to the truth.
26. 30 Nights of Paranormal Activity with the Devil Inside the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2013)
R | 80 min | Comedy, Horror
After a stint in a psychiatric hospital, a young woman returns to the house where her father killed the entire cast of The Artist during his exorcism.
Director: Craig Moss | Stars: Ashley Martin, Austin Scott, Heidi Kramer, Pickles Moss
Votes: 3,956
Though this movie can stand alone, I strongly recommend seeing the first two of the "Dragon Tattoo Girl", movies, & ofcourse we wish these things didn't exsist & never happened in our society, but they do, & willwill. . Oft adopted by bent officials. , .
27. Apocalypto (2006)
R | 139 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
As the Mayan kingdom faces its decline, a young man is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Gerardo Taracena, Raoul Max Trujillo, Dalia Hernández, Rudy Youngblood
Votes: 330,958 | Gross: $50.87M
No good deed goes unpunished.
28. Broken Arrow (1996)
R | 108 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
Terrorists steal nuclear warheads from the U.S. military but don't count on a pilot and park ranger spoiling their plans.
Director: John Woo | Stars: John Travolta, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Delroy Lindo
Votes: 105,160 | Gross: $70.77M
Just another entrepreneur in the American military machine, truth is, public would never be told when nukes go missing, !
29. Minority Report (2002)
PG-13 | 145 min | Action, Crime, Mystery
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.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max von Sydow
Votes: 583,824 | Gross: $132.07M
If it's fallible then it will at some point fail the society it's meant to protect. Power is corrupting & will be abused through the corrupted.
30. 2012 (I) (2009)
PG-13 | 158 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A frustrated writer struggles to keep his family alive when a series of global catastrophes threatens to annihilate mankind.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: John Cusack, Thandiwe Newton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet
Votes: 397,497 | Gross: $166.11M
Be Afraid, very afraid, Murdoch & GOP cronies cannot even see the little people they use for greasing the cogs of profit from exploitation & rape of everything including the future of their planet.
31. An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
PG | 96 min | Documentary
Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim follows Al Gore on the lecture circuit, as the former presidential candidate campaigns to raise public awareness of the dangers of global warming and calls for immediate action to curb its destructive effects on the environment.
Director: Davis Guggenheim | Stars: Al Gore, Billy West, George Bush, George W. Bush
Votes: 85,180 | Gross: $23.81M
. Our Unbelielvabley capricious gall, to sell the entire future for ego & ignorance, . The Truth was kidnapped almost a century ago, then divided by the despots of the times, some portions were lost, while other relatives were locked up by ruling classes & shown off at parties, even rented, or loaned out to associates. . Too many branches were burned up or simply destroyed for lack of purpose . .
32. Fight Club (1999)
R | 139 min | Drama
An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Meat Loaf, Zach Grenier
Votes: 2,320,321 | Gross: $37.03M
The machinations of youthful exuberance continuing into traumatic 20s. The many hormones & reactive chemicals the young males can produce makes for bizarre actions among seemingly normal young men.
33. Last Action Hero (1993)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
With the help of a magic ticket, a young movie fan is transported into the fictional world of his favorite action movie character.
Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, F. Murray Abraham, Art Carney, Charles Dance
Votes: 163,607 | Gross: $50.02M
Great tale
34. Alive (1993)
R | 128 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller
After crash-landing in the snowswept Andes, a Uruguayan rugby team has no choice but to turn to desperate measures in order to survive.
Director: Frank Marshall | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Vincent Spano, Josh Hamilton, Bruce Ramsay
Votes: 64,373 | Gross: $36.73M
Hope you never find yourself in any situation like this,! Serious deep crap
35. Snowblind (2010)
95 min | Western
After the ice age returns civilizations and nations break down. A gunman is about to be executed when he is pardoned - conditioned on him killing someone. However, he ends up befriending his target instead but trouble doesn't end there.
Director: Kilian Manning | Stars: Robert Lyons, Mala Ghedia, Erik Hansen, Jana Pallaske
Votes: 363
Hope you never find yourself in a drug addled , make your own rules while wasting copious wads of money lost in hazy situations,! Good luck if you do.
36. The Mission (1986)
PG | 125 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Eighteenth-century Spanish Jesuits try to protect a remote South American tribe in danger of falling under the rule of pro-slavery Portugal.
Director: Roland Joffé | Stars: Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally, Aidan Quinn
Votes: 65,638 | Gross: $17.22M
Oliver Stone dreams of telling a story of invasion, persuasion & integration this well . With the detail & comprehensive emotions & perceptions of this saga. Brilliant insight into colonising a primitive, but, successful society. .
37. Total Recall (1990)
R | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
When a man goes in to have virtual vacation memories of the planet Mars implanted in his mind, an unexpected and harrowing series of events forces him to go to the planet for real - or is he?
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Rachel Ticotin
Votes: 354,112 | Gross: $119.39M
Don't remember if I had a previous or alternate life , but we need not worry, it is a fictional story set in a future of mining on Mars under absolute colonial rule .
38. Dave (1993)
PG-13 | 110 min | Comedy, Romance
An uncanny Presidential lookalike named Dave is recruited by the Secret Service to become a momentary stand-in for the President of the United States.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Kevin Dunn
Votes: 56,794 | Gross: $63.27M
What the public doesn't know won't hurt them. The less they know, even better.
39. Roxanne (1987)
PG | 107 min | Comedy, Romance
The large-nosed C.D. Bales is in love with the beautiful Roxanne; she falls for his personality but another man's looks.
Director: Fred Schepisi | Stars: Steve Martin, Daryl Hannah, Rick Rossovich, Shelley Duvall
Votes: 47,650 | Gross: $40.05M
So many messages mixed through this gentle little Rom-com, &, they lived happily ever after. Not epic investigations of the seriously deep & meaningful. Basic life lessons 101
40. Dead Poets Society (1989)
PG | 128 min | Comedy, Drama
Maverick teacher John Keating returns in 1959 to the prestigious New England boys' boarding school where he was once a star student, using poetry to embolden his pupils to new heights of self-expression.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles
Votes: 544,943 | Gross: $95.86M
More intellectual sustainence & optional views, when dedication overcomes the banal & apathetic status quo of teaching teenagers.
41. Overboard (1987)
PG | 112 min | Comedy, Romance
A cruel but beautiful heiress mocks and cheats a hired carpenter. When she gets amnesia after an accident, he decides to introduce her to regular life by convincing her that they're husband and wife.
Director: Garry Marshall | Stars: Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Edward Herrmann, Katherine Helmond
Votes: 67,777 | Gross: $26.71M
One of my all time faves, lots of laughs but some important messages.
42. Underbelly (I) (2013)
100 min | Action, Thriller
This is the story from the underbelly of one gritty city and the dirty business it's home to. The price one family has to pay, for being so close to its very core. Jacob Benning is left ... See full summary »
Director: Kye Loren | Stars: Tom Benedict Knight, Kye Loren, Nick Ferreira, Neil Alexander Smith
Votes: 25
43. The Devil's Playground (1976)
107 min | Drama
Fred Schepisi's first feature is this lushly photographed period drama detailing a young boy's coming-of-age in a strict Catholic seminary in 1950s Australia.
Director: Fred Schepisi | Stars: Charles McCallum, John Frawley, Arthur Dignam, Nick Tate
Votes: 1,312
44. The China Syndrome (1979)
PG | 122 min | Drama, Thriller
A reporter finds what appears to be a cover-up of safety hazards at a nuclear power plant.
Director: James Bridges | Stars: Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, Scott Brady
Votes: 32,995 | Gross: $51.72M
45. Wolf Creek (2005)
R | 99 min | Horror, Thriller
Three backpackers stranded in the Australian outback are plunged inside a hellish nightmare of insufferable torture by a sadistic psychopathic local.
Director: Greg McLean | Stars: Nathan Phillips, Cassandra Magrath, Kestie Morassi, John Jarratt
Votes: 78,273 | Gross: $16.19M
Travel the bush, taste the dusty winds of the outback, enjoy the surprises you can find on Aussie back roads, see places few white men have, virtually zero contact with outside world, besides a light aircraft at 8000 feet with little interest of what's below other than same of the same seen for last 4hours, a never ending horizon
46. Breaker Morant (1980)
PG | 107 min | Drama, History, War
Three Australian lieutenants are court martialed for executing prisoners as a way of deflecting attention from war crimes committed by their superior officers.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson, John Waters, Bryan Brown
Votes: 14,410 | Gross: $7.14M
47. Flight (I) (2012)
R | 138 min | Drama, Thriller
Troubling questions arise after airline pilot Whip Whitaker makes a miracle landing after a mid-air catastrophe.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Denzel Washington, Nadine Velazquez, Don Cheadle, John Goodman
Votes: 375,912 | Gross: $93.77M
48. Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film (2014)
Documentary
The life story of the film director, movie star and industry figure who furthered the cause of cinema: Lord Richard Attenborough.
Director: Sally Norris | Stars: Richard Attenborough, Candice Bergen, Michael Douglas, Julian Fellowes
Votes: 42
49. Platoon (1986)
R | 120 min | Drama, War
Chris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Keith David
Votes: 439,069 | Gross: $138.53M
50. Snatch (2000)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Crime
Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond.
Director: Guy Ritchie | Stars: Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Stephen Graham, Vinnie Jones
Votes: 909,883 | Gross: $30.33M
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