Best Movies for Grownups Hall of Fame
Take a look at our winners over the years
by Bill Newcott, January 13, 2015
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Everett Collection
Movies for Grownups Hall of Fame
Go all the way back to 2002 to recall the “Best Movie” winners of our Movies for Grownup Awards.
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Liam Daniel/Universal Pictures International
2014: 'The Theory of Everything'
Directed by Steve McQueen The true story of a free black man sold into slavery in the years before the Civil War manages to crystalize the diabolical combination of savage brutality and condescending paternalism that sustained America’s original sin. Through sheer artistry, it remains a beautifully realized film.
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Pictorial Press/Alamy
2013: '12 Years a Slave'
Directed by Tom Hooper A wondrous mix of inspired direction, breathtaking performances and compelling, true human drama, The King’s Speech is darn close to perfect. Seldom in film have the currents of history and the eddies of human frailty been so gingerly interwoven.
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Fox Searchlight Pictures
2012: 'The Descendants'
Directed by Ron Howard Howard’s astonishing take on Richard Nixon’s historic 1977 TV interviews with British talk-show host David Frost is based not on a history book but on a Broadway play. Still, between his restrained guidance and his stars’ uncanny channeling of the individuals they portray, we feel this is more than one person's version of history.
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Weinstein Company/Courtesy Everett Collection
2011: 'The King’s Speech'
Directed by Tamara Jenkins Usually, movies try to tell us that our family quirks make us unique and somehow wonderful. But in a distinctly grownup (and oddly funny) approach, writer-director Jenkins refuses to sanctify her characters — or demonize them. One of the lessons they learn is that you can’t really undo all the nasty stuff you’ve done to each other. Another lesson is to get over it.
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Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
2010: 'Invictus'
Directed by Bennett Miller When defiantly strange author Truman Capote dropped in on Holcomb, Kan., to research a notorious murder, he must have seemed extraterrestrial. In the performance of a lifetime, Philip Seymour Hoffman captures a guy who’s uncomfortable in his own skin yet uses that uneasiness to bend others to his will.
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Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
2009: 'Frost/Nixon'
Directed by Clint Eastwood The fearless juxtaposition of innocence and horror is just one of the elements that make director Eastwood’s Mystic River a visually riveting, emotionally scorching grownup movie.
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Fox Searchlight/Courtesy Everett Collection
2008: 'The Savages'
Go all the way back to 2002 to recall the “Best Movie” winners of our Movies for Grownup Awards.
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Fox Searchlight/Courtesy Everett Collection
2007: 'The Last King of Scotland'
Go all the way back to 2002 to recall the “Best Movie” winners of our Movies for Grownup Awards.
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Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
2006: 'Capote'
Go all the way back to 2002 to recall the “Best Movie” winners of our Movies for Grownup Awards.
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Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
2005: 'Ray'
Go all the way back to 2002 to recall the “Best Movie” winners of our Movies for Grownup Awards.
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Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
2004: 'Mystic River'
Go all the way back to 2002 to recall the “Best Movie” winners of our Movies for Grownup Awards.
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New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection
2003: 'About Schmidt'
Go all the way back to 2002 to recall the “Best Movie” winners of our Movies for Grownup Awards.
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Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett Collection
2002: 'Lantana'
Go all the way back to 2002 to recall the “Best Movie” winners of our Movies for Grownup Awards.
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More Entertainment Slideshows
Go all the way back to 2002 to recall the “Best Movie” winners of our Movies for Grownup Awards.
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