I was watching a few Hollywood movies over the weekend, and was inspired enough to write a post of my choice of Top 10 Hollywood movies. Some of these movies, also feature regularly in many other Top 10 movies list, and are critically acclaimed.
PS: They aren’t particularly ranked in any order.

The Shawshank Redemption

After the murder of his promiscuous wife, Andy Dufresne, a young and successful banker is sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife and her paramour. He is sent to the notorious Shawshank prison, where he faces a series of hardships and torture.
 Over the years, he gains the respect of his fellow inmates, especially longtime convict “Red” Redding (Morgan Freeman) and becomes influential within the prison. Eventually, Andy achieves freedom on his own terms.

Indiana Jones – Raiders of the Lost Ark

Set during the World War II period, the 1930s, archeologist and expert in the occult, Dr. Indiana Jones, is hired by the U.S. Government to find the Ark of the Covenant, which is believed to still hold the ten commandments. Unfortunately for Indian Jones, agents of Hitler are also after the Ark. The Ark is believed to carry an incredibly powerful energy that must not fall into Nazi hands. In the pursuit he encounters fights, chases, deceits and traps.

Citizen Kane

Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane” is widely considered to be the best film ever made.
Multimillionaire newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane dies alone in his extravagant mansion, Xanadu, speaking a single word: “Rosebud”. The film begins with a news reel detailing Kane’s life for the masses, and then from there, we are shown flashbacks from Kane’s life. As the reporters investigate further, the viewers see a display of a fascinating man’s rise to fame, and how he eventually fell off the “top of the world.”

Schindler’s List

The true story of Oskar Schindler, Czech born German businessman who owns a factory, and who makes his fortune by exploiting cheap Jewish labour. The vain and greedy Oskar eventually is taken by their plight and becomes an unlikely humanitarian who manages to save 1100 Jews from certain death at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

North by Northwest

A New York advertising executive, from Madison Avenue, Roger Thornhill is mistaken for a government agent by a gang of spies. The gang of spies led by Phillip Vandamm, believes Thornhill is a CIA agent George Kaplan. Thornhill escapes, but must find Kaplan in order to clear himself of a murder it is believed he committed. He gets involved in a series of misadventures and is pursued across the States by both the spies and the government whilst being helped by the beautiful Eve Kendall.

Vertigo

John “Scottie” Ferguson (James Stewart), a retired San Francisco detective who suffers from  acrophobia (extreme fear of heights) after a fellow police officer falls to his death while trying to save him during a rooftop chase. His acrophobia causes vertigo.

Scottie is hired as a private detective by an old college acquaintance, Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore), a wealthy shipbuilder. He wants him to follow his beautiful wife Madeleine (Kim Novak) because he fears that she is going insane and possessed by spirit. What ensues later, keeps the viewer engrossed, and the twist in the tale is shocking!

In the Heat of the Night

After wealthy factory owner is murdered, Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier), a renowned Philadelphia Homicide detective is arrested. The racist Mississippi cops accuse the black detective of the crime. However, when they learn of his credentials, they reluctantly employ his services to investigate the crime. As the case progresses, he wins their confidence with his skills and acumen.

To Kill a Mockingbird

A classic film, based on Harper Lee’s 1960, Pulitzer prize winning book. Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) is a lawyer in a racially divided Alabama town in the 1930s.
He agrees to defend a young black man accused of raping a white woman.
Many of the residents try to get Atticus to pull out of the trial, but he decides to stick to his principles, and go ahead.
The trial, drama and issues of prejudice pans out well through the movie.

Groundhog Day

Phil Connors (Bill Murray), a weather man is sent to cover a story about a weather forecasting groundhog. This is his fourth year on the story, and he makes no effort to hide his frustration. On waking up the ‘following’ day, he discovers that it’s Groundhog Day again. He uses this to his advantage initially, but then comes the realisation that he is doomed to spend the rest of eternity in the same place, witnessing the same events over and over again. Towards the end, comes the moment of epiphany, and the movie takes an interesting turn from there.

2001 – A Space Odyssey

2001, a Space Odyssey is a story of evolution. As with many movies that have followed, the movie touches upon the topic of humans versus artificial intelligence. Monoliths have been placed through time by somebody (probably a super power) and the discovery of each of the monoliths catapults the discovering species into the next stage of evolution. In this pursuit of the monolith, its a race between man and computer (the revolutionary computer – HAL 9000).