Best movies that are oscar winners or nominees in actor in a leading role category

Phantom Thread(2017)

Combined Rating:
86
Combined Critics Rating: 92

Set in 1950's London, Reynolds Woodcock is a renowned dressmaker whose fastidious life is disrupted by a young, strong-willed woman, Alma, who becomes his muse and lover.



A Beautiful Mind(2001)

Combined Rating:
86
Combined Critics Rating: 79

After John Nash, a brilliant but asocial mathematician, accepts secret work in cryptography, his life takes a turn for the nightmarish.



Half Nelson(2006)

Combined Rating:
86
Combined Critics Rating: 83

An inner-city junior high school teacher with a drug habit forms an unlikely friendship with one of his students after she discovers his secret.



The Curious Case of Benjamin Button(2008)

Combined Rating:
86
Combined Critics Rating: 80

Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with bizarre consequences.



Invictus(2009)

Combined Rating:
86
Combined Critics Rating: 81

Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.



Fences(2016)

Combined Rating:
86
Combined Critics Rating: 85

A working-class African-American father tries to raise his family in the 1950s, while coming to terms with the events of his life.



Darkest Hour(2017)

Combined Rating:
85
Combined Critics Rating: 84

During the early days of World War II, the fate of Western Europe hangs on the newly-appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Adolf Hitler, or fight on against incredible odds.



Gangs of New York(2002)

Combined Rating:
85
Combined Critics Rating: 79

In 1863, Amsterdam Vallon returns to the Five Points area of New York City seeking revenge against Bill the Butcher, his father's killer.



Cold Mountain(2003)

Combined Rating:
85
Combined Critics Rating: 80

In the waning days of the American Civil War, a wounded soldier embarks on a perilous journey back home to Cold Mountain, North Carolina to reunite with his sweetheart.



Walk the Line(2005)

Combined Rating:
85
Combined Critics Rating: 79

A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins.



A Single Man(2009)

Combined Rating:
85
Combined Critics Rating: 81

An English professor, one year after the sudden death of his boyfriend, is unable to cope with his typical days in 1960s Los Angeles.



Captain Fantastic(2016)

Combined Rating:
85
Combined Critics Rating: 80

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.



The Two Popes(2019)

Combined Rating:
85
Combined Critics Rating: 81

Behind Vatican walls, the conservative Pope Benedict XVI and the liberal future Pope Francis must find common ground to forge a new path for the Catholic Church.



Annie Hall(1977)

Combined Rating:
85
Combined Critics Rating: 79

Neurotic New York comedian Alvy Singer falls in love with the ditzy Annie Hall.



The Silence of the Lambs(1991)

Combined Rating:
85
Combined Critics Rating: 77

A young F.B.I. cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims.



The Insider(1999)

Combined Rating:
85
Combined Critics Rating: 80

A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a "60 Minutes" expose on Big Tobacco.



The Last King of Scotland(2006)

Combined Rating:
84
Combined Critics Rating: 79

Based on the events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime as seen by his personal physician during the 1970's.



Raging Bull(1980)

Combined Rating:
84
Combined Critics Rating: 78

An emotionally self-destructive boxer's journey through life, as the violence and temper that leads him to the top in the ring destroys his life outside it.



Unforgiven(1992)

Combined Rating:
84
Combined Critics Rating: 78

Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner and a young man.






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