Best Movie from each Genre (Updated)

by tolivetowatch | created - 15 Sep 2014 | updated - 20 Oct 2014 | Public

A list of my top 25 favorite movies from each genre (note: not based on the IMDb genres). All movies are stand alone movies that did not have a movie franchise. If you like my list, follow me (tvmusicgames) on twitter.

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1. Equilibrium (2002)

R | 107 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

33 Metascore

In an oppressive future where all forms of feeling are illegal, a man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system and state.

Director: Kurt Wimmer | Stars: Christian Bale, Sean Bean, Emily Watson, Taye Diggs

Votes: 346,768 | Gross: $1.20M

Best "future" movie ever!

2. The Last Samurai (2003)

R | 154 min | Action, Drama

55 Metascore

Nathan Algren, a US army veteran, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Nathan finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.

Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, William Atherton

Votes: 470,508 | Gross: $111.11M

Best "epic" movie ever!

3. The Prestige (2006)

PG-13 | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

66 Metascore

After a tragic accident, two stage magicians in 1890s London engage in a battle to create the ultimate illusion while sacrificing everything they have to outwit each other.

Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine

Votes: 1,439,462 | Gross: $53.09M

Best "magic" movie ever!

4. Up (2009)

PG | 96 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

88 Metascore

78-year-old Carl Fredricksen travels to Paradise Falls in his house equipped with balloons, inadvertently taking a young stowaway.

Directors: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson | Stars: Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, John Ratzenberger, Christopher Plummer

Votes: 1,123,227 | Gross: $293.00M

Best "animated" movie ever.

5. The Book of Eli (2010)

R | 118 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

53 Metascore

A drifter fights his way across a ravaged, post-apocalyptic America while protecting a sacred book that holds the secrets to humanity's salvation.

Directors: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes | Stars: Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Gary Oldman

Votes: 339,064 | Gross: $94.84M

Best "action" movie ever!

6. Dinner for Schmucks (2010)

PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy

56 Metascore

After he finds out that his work superiors host a dinner celebrating the idiocy of their special guests, a rising executive questions the merits of his invitation just as he befriends a man who would be the perfect guest.

Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Stephanie Szostak, Zach Galifianakis

Votes: 111,052 | Gross: $73.03M

Best "comedy" movie ever.

7. The King's Speech (2010)

R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, History

88 Metascore

The story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.

Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Derek Jacobi

Votes: 707,507 | Gross: $138.80M

Best "drama" movie ever!

8. Paul (2011)

R | 104 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi

57 Metascore

Two English comic book geeks traveling across the U.S. encounter an alien outside Area 51.

Director: Greg Mottola | Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Mia Stallard

Votes: 265,943 | Gross: $37.41M

Best "alien" movie ever!

9. Life of Pi (2012)

PG | 127 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

79 Metascore

A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.

Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain, Tabu

Votes: 666,317 | Gross: $124.99M

Best "based on a book" movie ever!

10. Les Misérables (2012)

PG-13 | 158 min | Drama, Musical, Romance

63 Metascore

In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The decision changes their lives forever.

Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried

Votes: 345,803 | Gross: $148.81M

Best "musical/movie" ever!

11. The Impossible (2012)

PG-13 | 114 min | Drama, History, Thriller

73 Metascore

The story of a tourist family in Thailand caught in the destruction and chaotic aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Director: J.A. Bayona | Stars: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Oaklee Pendergast

Votes: 243,786 | Gross: $19.02M

Best "based on a true story" movie ever!

12. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

PG | 114 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

54 Metascore

When both he and a colleague are about to lose their job, Walter takes action by embarking on an adventure more extraordinary than anything he ever imagined.

Director: Ben Stiller | Stars: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Jon Daly, Kathryn Hahn

Votes: 340,563 | Gross: $58.24M

Best "feel good" movie ever!

13. Prisoners (2013)

R | 153 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

70 Metascore

When Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts.

Director: Denis Villeneuve | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Melissa Leo

Votes: 808,134 | Gross: $61.00M

Best "thriller" movie ever!

14. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

PG-13 | 113 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

71 Metascore

A soldier fighting aliens gets to relive the same day over and over again, the day restarting every time he dies.

Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson

Votes: 735,841 | Gross: $100.21M

Best "Tom Cruise" movie ever!

15. The Legend of Hercules (2014)

PG-13 | 99 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

22 Metascore

The origin story of the mythical Greek hero. Betrayed by his stepfather, the King, and exiled and sold into slavery because of a forbidden love, Hercules must use his formidable powers to fight his way back to his rightful kingdom.

Director: Renny Harlin | Stars: Kellan Lutz, Gaia Weiss, Scott Adkins, Roxanne McKee

Votes: 56,193 | Gross: $18.85M

Best "worst" movie ever!

16. Gravity (2013)

PG-13 | 91 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller

96 Metascore

Dr Ryan Stone, an engineer on her first time on a space mission, and Matt Kowalski, an astronaut on his final expedition, have to survive in space after they are hit by debris while spacewalking.

Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Stars: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris, Orto Ignatiussen

Votes: 862,698 | Gross: $274.09M

Best "space" movie ever!

17. Battle Los Angeles (2011)

PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

37 Metascore

A squad of U.S. Marines becomes the last line of defense against a global invasion.

Director: Jonathan Liebesman | Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan, Ramón Rodríguez

Votes: 185,096 | Gross: $83.55M

Best "alien" movie ever!

18. Fast Five (2011)

PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Crime, Thriller

66 Metascore

Dominic Toretto and his crew of street racers plan a massive heist to buy their freedom while in the sights of a powerful Brazilian drug lord and a dangerous federal agent.

Director: Justin Lin | Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster

Votes: 406,814 | Gross: $209.84M

Best "car/racing" movie ever!

19. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

R | 169 min | Drama, War

91 Metascore

Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns

Votes: 1,494,792 | Gross: $216.54M

Best "war" movie ever!

20. Alice in Wonderland (I) (2010)

PG | 108 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy

53 Metascore

Nineteen-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror.

Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway

Votes: 440,613 | Gross: $334.19M

Best "Disney (excluding Pixar)" movie ever!

21. The Other Guys (2010)

PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

64 Metascore

Two mismatched New York City detectives seize an opportunity to step up like the city's top cops, whom they idolize, only things don't quite go as planned.

Director: Adam McKay | Stars: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Derek Jeter, Eva Mendes

Votes: 288,074 | Gross: $119.22M

Best "buddy comedy" movie ever!

22. Leap Year (2010)

PG | 100 min | Comedy, Romance

33 Metascore

Anna Brady plans to travel to Dublin, Ireland to propose to her boyfriend Jeremy on February 29, leap day, because, according to Irish tradition, a man who receives a marriage proposal on a leap day must accept it.

Director: Anand Tucker | Stars: Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, Adam Scott, John Lithgow

Votes: 110,610 | Gross: $25.92M

Best "romance" movie ever.

23. Jurassic Park (1993)

PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

68 Metascore

A pragmatic paleontologist touring an almost complete theme park on an island in Central America is tasked with protecting a couple of kids after a power failure causes the park's cloned dinosaurs to run loose.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough

Votes: 1,065,711 | Gross: $402.45M

Best "dinosaur" movie ever!

24. Finding Nemo (2003)

G | 100 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

90 Metascore

After his son is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, a timid clownfish sets out on a journey to bring him home.

Directors: Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich | Stars: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe

Votes: 1,112,036 | Gross: $380.84M

Best "Pixar" movie ever!

25. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)

R | 122 min | Action, Crime, Drama

76 Metascore

A small-time rancher agrees to hold a captured outlaw who's awaiting a train to go to court in Yuma. A battle of wills ensues as the outlaw tries to psych out the rancher.

Director: James Mangold | Stars: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Ben Foster, Logan Lerman

Votes: 330,824 | Gross: $53.61M

Best "western" movie ever!

26. Gladiator (2000)

R | 155 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

67 Metascore

A former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.

Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed

Votes: 1,617,832 | Gross: $187.71M

Best "Roman" movie ever !



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