On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the founding of Rotten Tomatoes, the editors of the world’s largest review aggregator asked critics to report their favorite films released over the past quarter century, and then compiled a rating.
Headers like parasites AND Mad Max: Fury Roadbut also movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Black Panther AND Paddington 2.
Here is the methodology used: “We sent out a survey to individually approved critics from the Tomatometer, asking them to select (in no particular order) their top five films from the past 25 years. Then we counted their votes, narrowed down their list to the 25 most played games, and voila! Here are our lists.
Here is the list, taking into account that four films from the top five made it to Cannes Film Festival:
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Tomatoes: 97%
Cast: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keys-Byrne.
Directed by: George Miller
Review
Parasite (2019)
Tomatoes: 99%
Cast: Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-gyun, Choi Yeo-jung, Choi Woo-sik
Directed by: Bong Joon Ho
Review
Mulholland Doctor (2001)
Tomatoes: 83%
Cast: Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Ann Miller
Directed by: David Lynch
Review
The Dark Knight (2008)
Tomatoes: 94%
Cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine
Director: Christopher Nolan
Review
Portrait of a girl on fire (2019)
Tomatoes: 97%
Cast: Noémie Merlan, Adele Haenel, Luana Bajrami, Valeria Golino
Directed by: Celine Siamma
Review
In the Mood for Love (2000)
Tomatoes: 92%
Cast: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung, Kelly Lai Chen, Rebecca Peng
Directed by: Kar-Wai Wong
Spirited Away (2001)
Tomatoes: 96%
Cast: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Jason Marsden, Susan Egan
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Review
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Tomatoes: 95%
With: Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdu, Ivana Baquero, Alex Angulo
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Review
Matrix (1999)
Tomatoes: 83%
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving.
Director: Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
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Social Network (2010)
Tomatoes: 96%
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer
Director: David Fincher
Review
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Tomatoes: 93%
Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson.
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
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Oilman (2007)
Tomatoes: 91%
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O’Connor, Ciarán Hinds
Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
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Run Away – Get Out (2017)
Tomatoes: 98%
Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford
Directed by: Jordan Peele
Review
Moonlight (2016)
Tomatoes: 98%
Cast: Mahershala Ali, Alex R. Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, Trevante Rhodes
Director: Barry Jenkins
Video review
All everywhere and at once (2022)
Tomatoes: 94%
Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Hai Quan, James Hong
Directed by: Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
Review
Magnolia (1999)
Tomatoes: 82%
Cast: Jason Robards, Julianne Moore, Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Review
Whiplash (2014)
Tomatoes: 94%
Cast: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist, Paul Reiser.
Directed by: Damien Chazelle
Review
About Davis (2013)
Tomatoes: 92%
Cast: Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Review
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Tomatoes: 91%
Cast: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen.
Directed by: Peter Jackson
Review
Zodiac (2007)
Tomatoes: 90%
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Edwards
Director: David Fincher
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Tomatoes: 89%
Cast: Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Tree of Life (2011)
Tomatoes: 85%
Cast: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Fiona Shaw.
Directed by: Terrence Malick
Review
Paddington 2 (2017)
Tomatoes: 99%
Cast: Ben Whishaw, Hugh Grant, Sally Hawkins, Hugh Bonneville
Directed by: Paul King
Review
Black Panther (2018)
Tomatoes: 96%
Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira
Directed by: Ryan Coogler
Review
Arrival (2016)
Tomatoes: 94%
Cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg
Directed by: Denis Villeneuve
Review