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

Leaving Las Vegas(1995)

Combined Rating:
76
Combined Critics Rating: 67

Ben Sanderson, a Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his alcoholism, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.



Sling Blade(1996)

Combined Rating:
76
Combined Critics Rating: 69

Karl Childers, a simple man hospitalized since his childhood murder of his mother and her lover, is released to start a new life in a small town.



As Good as It Gets(1997)

Combined Rating:
76
Combined Critics Rating: 65

A single mother/waitress, a misanthropic author, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.



Wag the Dog(1997)

Combined Rating:
76
Combined Critics Rating: 68

Shortly before an election, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood producer join efforts to fabricate a war in order to cover up a presidential sex scandal.



American History X(1998)

Combined Rating:
76
Combined Critics Rating: 64

A former neo-nazi skinhead tries to prevent his younger brother from going down the same wrong path that he did.



Venus(2006)

Combined Rating:
75
Combined Critics Rating: 81

Life for a pair of veteran actors gets turned upside down after they meet a brash teenager.



The People vs. Larry Flynt(1996)

Combined Rating:
75
Combined Critics Rating: 66

A partially idealized film of the controversial pornography publisher and how he became a defender of free speech for all people.



Malcolm X(1992)

Combined Rating:
73
Combined Critics Rating: 64

Biographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam.



The Remains of the Day(1993)

Combined Rating:
73
Combined Critics Rating: 65

A butler who sacrificed body and soul to service in the years leading up to World War II realizes too late how misguided his loyalty was to his lordly employer.



Shine(1996)

Combined Rating:
73
Combined Critics Rating: 67

Pianist David Helfgott, driven by his father and teachers, has a breakdown. Years later he returns to the piano, to popular if not critical acclaim.



Being the Ricardos(2021)

Combined Rating:
73
Combined Critics Rating: 74

Follows Lucy and Desi as they face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage.



Saturday Night Fever(1977)

Combined Rating:
72
Combined Critics Rating: 64

A Brooklyn teenager feels his only chance to succeed is as the king of the disco floor. His carefree youth and weekend dancing help him to forget the reality of his bleak life.



The Color of Money(1986)

Combined Rating:
72
Combined Critics Rating: 63

Fast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.



Born on the Fourth of July(1989)

Combined Rating:
72
Combined Critics Rating: 62

The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for.



Philadelphia(1993)

Combined Rating:
72
Combined Critics Rating: 60

When a man with HIV is fired by his law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.



Broadcast News(1987)

Combined Rating:
71
Combined Critics Rating: 68

Take two rival TV reporters: one handsome, one talented, both male. Add one producer, female. Mix well and watch the sparks fly.



Gods and Monsters(1998)

Combined Rating:
71
Combined Critics Rating: 66

The last days of Frankenstein (1931) Director James Whale are explored.



Reversal of Fortune(1990)

Combined Rating:
69
Combined Critics Rating: 72

Wealthy Sunny von Bülow lies brain-dead, husband Claus guilty of attempted murder; but he says he's innocent and hires Alan Dershowitz for his appeal.



The Fisher King(1991)

Combined Rating:
69
Combined Critics Rating: 59

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.



Sweet and Lowdown(1999)

Combined Rating:
69
Combined Critics Rating: 63

In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.




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