(Photo by Columbia/courtesy Everett Collection)
Ethan Hawke Movies Ranked
We’re ranking by Tomatometer the movies of Ethan Hawke, from early-career classics (Dead Poets Society, Reality Bites, Gattaca), collaborations with directors Richard Linklater (the Before trilogy, Boyhood) and Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Magnificent Seven), and recent genre efforts (Predestination, The Purge, Sinister). His latest was Robert Eggers’ Viking revenge epic The Northman. —Alex Vo
#1
Adjusted Score: 103230%
Critics Consensus: Thought-provoking and beautifully filmed, Before Sunrise is an intelligent, unabashedly romantic look at modern love, led by marvelously natural performances from Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy.
Synopsis: On his way to Vienna, American Jesse (Ethan Hawke) meets Celine (Julie Delpy), a student returning to Paris. After long...
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#2
Adjusted Score: 107420%
Critics Consensus: Building on the first two installments in Richard Linklater's well-crafted Before trilogy, Before Midnight offers intelligent, powerfully acted perspectives on love, marriage, and long-term commitment.
Synopsis: On the last night of their idyllic Greek vacation, longtime lovers Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) reminisce about...
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#3
Adjusted Score: 113145%
Critics Consensus: Epic in technical scale but breathlessly intimate in narrative scope, Boyhood is a sprawling investigation of the human condition.
Synopsis: The joys and pitfalls of growing up are seen through the eyes of a child named Mason (Ellar Coltrane), his...
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#4
Adjusted Score: 99532%
Critics Consensus: As lyrical and bittersweet as the music its subject left behind, Blaze takes a decidedly unconventional -- yet richly rewarding -- approach to the musical biopic.
Synopsis: A reimagining of the life and times of Blaze Foley, the unsung songwriting legend of the Texas Outlaw Music movement....
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#5
Adjusted Score: 108028%
Critics Consensus: Brought to life by delicate work from writer-director Paul Schrader and elevated by a standout performance by Ethan Hawke, First Reformed takes a sensitive and suspenseful look at weighty themes.
Synopsis: The pastor of a small church in upstate New York spirals out of control after a soul-shaking encounter with an...
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#6
Adjusted Score: 99862%
Critics Consensus: Filled with engaging dialogue, Before Sunset is a witty, poignant romance, with natural chemistry between Hawke and Delpy.
Synopsis: A sequel to Before Sunrise, this film starts nine years later as Jesse (Ethan Hawke) travels across Europe giving readings...
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#7
Adjusted Score: 111463%
Critics Consensus: A bloody revenge epic and breathtaking visual marvel, The Northman finds filmmaker Robert Eggers expanding his scope without sacrificing any of his signature style.
Synopsis: The Northman is an epic revenge thriller, that explores how far a Viking prince will go to seek justice for...
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#8
Adjusted Score: 95803%
Critics Consensus: Maudie's talented cast -- particularly Sally Hawkins in the title role -- breathe much-needed depth into a story that only skims the surface of a fascinating life and talent.
Synopsis: Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis develops an unlikely romance with reclusive fishmonger Everett Lewis....
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#9
Adjusted Score: 96056%
Critics Consensus: A tense and effective thriller, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead marks a triumphant return to form for director Sidney Lumet.
Synopsis: Andy (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a debt-ridden broker, needs some quick cash. He ropes his younger brother, Hank (Ethan Hawke), into...
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#10
Adjusted Score: 93259%
Critics Consensus: Born to Be Blue benefits from a highlight-reel performance from Ethan Hawke and an impressionistic, non-hagiographic approach to Chet Baker's life and times.
Synopsis: In the late 1960s, jazz trumpeter Chet Baker (Ethan Hawke) begins a romance with an actress (Carmen Ejogo) while trying...
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#11
Adjusted Score: 90970%
Critics Consensus: Beautifully filmed and wonderfully acted, A Midnight Clear is a holiday war film in search of a wider audience.
Synopsis: In the winter of 1944, American soldiers led by Will Knott (Ethan Hawke) are assigned to capture a small squad...
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#12
Adjusted Score: 95348%
Critics Consensus: The Truth may not stand with Hirokazu Kore-eda's best work, but it finds the writer-director revisiting familiar themes with a typically sensitive touch.
Synopsis: A stormy reunion occurs between an actress and her daughter after the actress publishes her memoirs....
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#13
Adjusted Score: 94625%
Critics Consensus: With a typically absorbing performance from Greta Gerwig leading the way, Maggie's Plan gives rom-com sensibilities a smart, subversive twist.
Synopsis: A woman (Greta Gerwig) falls in love with a married man (Ethan Hawke), then devises a strategy to reunite him...
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#14
Adjusted Score: 90645%
Critics Consensus: Affecting performances from the young cast and a genuinely inspirational turn from Robin Williams grant Peter Weir's prep school drama top honors.
Synopsis: A new English teacher, John Keating (Robin Williams), is introduced to an all-boys preparatory school that is known for its...
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#15
Adjusted Score: 88594%
Critics Consensus: Fun genre fare with uncommon intelligence, Predestination serves as a better-than-average sci-fi adventure -- and offers a starmaking turn from Sarah Snook.
Synopsis: A temporal agent (Ethan Hawke) embarks on a final time-traveling assignment to prevent an elusive criminal from launching an attack...
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#16
Adjusted Score: 91003%
Critics Consensus: Juliet, Naked's somewhat familiar narrative arc is elevated by standout work from a charming cast led by a well-matched Rose Byrne and Ethan Hawke.
Synopsis: Annie breaks up with her longtime boyfriend Duncan -- a teacher who's obsessed with former 1990s rocker Tucker Crowe. She...
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#17
Adjusted Score: 86163%
Critics Consensus: Intelligent and scientifically provocative, Gattaca is an absorbing sci fi drama that poses important interesting ethical questions about the nature of science.
Synopsis: Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) has always fantasized about traveling into outer space, but is grounded by his status as a...
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#18
Adjusted Score: 86047%
Critics Consensus: Waking Life's inventive animated aesthetic adds a distinctive visual component to a film that could easily have rested on its smart screenplay and talented ensemble cast.
Synopsis: Transcending the boundaries of technology and imagination, "Waking Life" is a revolutionary breakthrough in film animation. In "Waking Life," Wiley...
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#19
Adjusted Score: 79362%
Critics Consensus: Powerfully acted and emotionally affecting, The Phenom proves a baseball movie can step away from the mound and still deliver a heater down the middle.
Synopsis: A sports therapist (Paul Giamatti) tries to help a troubled rookie pitcher (Johnny Simmons) who grew up with an abusive...
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#20
Adjusted Score: 80170%
Critics Consensus: Tape's stagebound feel is balanced by the engrossing psychodrama of its storyline, which allows a committed cast to shine.
Synopsis: A three-character ensemble piece set within the confines of a tawdry motor lodge in Lansing, Michigan. After 10 years apart,...
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#21
Adjusted Score: 80748%
Critics Consensus: In a Valley of Violence offers a smartly conceived homage to classic Westerns that transcends pastiche with absurdist humor and a terrific cast.
Synopsis: A mysterious drifter (Ethan Hawke) and his dog journey toward Mexico through the barren desert of the Old West. Hoping...
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#22
Adjusted Score: 80682%
Critics Consensus: Thought-provoking, timely, and anchored by a strong performance from Ethan Hawke, Good Kill is a modern war movie with a troubled conscience.
Synopsis: An Air Force drone pilot (Ethan Hawke) begins to question the ethics of dropping bombs on Afghanistan from the safety...
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#23
Adjusted Score: 82562%
Critics Consensus: An exceptionally well-acted apocalyptic thriller, Leave the World Behind steadily draws the viewer in despite its leisurely pace and somewhat simplistic messaging.
Synopsis: In this apocalyptic thriller from award-winning writer and director Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot), Amanda (Academy Award winner Julia Roberts) and...
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#24
Adjusted Score: 83365%
Critics Consensus: The Guilty is another Americanized remake overshadowed by the original, but its premise is still sturdy enough to support a tense, well-acted thriller.
Synopsis: The film takes place over the course of a single morning in a 911 dispatch call center. Call operator Joe...
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#25
Adjusted Score: 80131%
Critics Consensus: The ending may be less than satisfying, but Denzel Washington reminds us why he's such a great actor in this taut and brutal police drama.
Synopsis: Police drama about a veteran officer who escorts a rookie on his first day with the LAPD's tough inner-city narcotics...
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#26
Adjusted Score: 74079%
Critics Consensus: With a terrific young cast (including Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix) and some typically energetic work from director Joe Dante, Explorers soars past its '80s kiddie flick competitors with wit, good-looking effects, and tons of charm.
Synopsis: Young Ben Crandall (Ethan Hawke) spends his free time watching sci-fi films, playing video games and reading comic books. Surprisingly,...
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#27
Adjusted Score: 41493%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In this sequel, the hero of the first film, Jack Conroy, passes the torch to adventure-seeker Henry Casey (Scott Bairstow)...
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#28
Adjusted Score: 73943%
Critics Consensus: Stockholm can't quite do justice to its themes or the real-life events it dramatizes, but a light touch and well-chosen cast keep the end results consistently entertaining.
Synopsis: After taking hostages in a Stockholm bank, ex-con Lars Nystrom demands the release of his old partner in crime from...
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#29
Adjusted Score: 74922%
Critics Consensus: Though it arrives during an unfortunate glut of vampire movies, Daybreakers offers enough dark sci-fi thrills -- and enough of a unique twist on the genre -- to satisfy filmgoers.
Synopsis: Ten years after a plague turns most of the world's population into vampires, a critical blood shortage causes panic and...
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#30
Adjusted Score: 73659%
Critics Consensus: An evolution for director RZA, Cut Throat City overcomes occasionally muddled storytelling on the strength of its raw, infectious energy.
Synopsis: When Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans, four desperate friends band together to pull off a daring heist in the heart...
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#31
Adjusted Score: 70847%
Critics Consensus: Adopt a Highway might have done more to fill in its sparsely sketched story, but Ethan Hawke's performance is often enough to fill in the blanks.
Synopsis: When an ex-convict finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster, he gains a new lease on life, deciding to dedicate...
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#32
Adjusted Score: 68601%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A teen (Noah Fleiss) with an alcoholic, abusive father (Val Kilmer) and a harsh mother (Karen Young) turns to theft...
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#33
Adjusted Score: 69290%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Warren Odom (Albert Finney), a rich Southern gentleman, is left in a state of shock when his wife, Helen (Jill...
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#34
Adjusted Score: 67002%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: An out-of-work loser (James LeGros) is driven to action by the IRS, his girlfriend and the characters who cross his...
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#35
Adjusted Score: 66572%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Friends since childhood, Brian (Mark Ruffalo) and Paulie (Ethan Hawke) do whatever it takes to survive in their hardscrabble South...
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#36
Adjusted Score: 68099%
Critics Consensus: This glossy edition of White Fang shaves off the rough-hewn edges that made Jack London's epic story so distinct, but gorgeous photography and heartfelt performances make this an appealing adventure.
Synopsis: This adaptation of Jack London's wilderness tale focuses on young Jack Conroy (Ethan Hawke), who has arrived in Alaska to...
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#37
Adjusted Score: 66009%
Critics Consensus: Reality Bites may be too slick to fulfill its promise as a profound statement on Generation X, but an appealing ensemble and romantic sizzle make for an entertaining dive into the ennui of youth.
Synopsis: After college, Lelaina (Winona Ryder) films a documentary about herself and friends as they flounder in their attempts to forge...
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#38
Adjusted Score: 66801%
Critics Consensus: The Newton Boys uses a sharp cast and absorbing period detail to help make up for the frustrations of a story puzzlingly short on dramatic tension.
Synopsis: Seeking an escape from poverty, sibling Texas farmers (Matthew McConaughey, Skeet Ulrich, Ethan Hawke) gain notoriety as daring 1920s bank...
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#39
Adjusted Score: 79178%
Critics Consensus: The Magnificent Seven never really lives up to the superlative in its title -- or the classics from which it draws inspiration -- but remains a moderately diverting action thriller on its own merits.
Synopsis: Looking to mine for gold, greedy industrialist Bartholomew Bogue seizes control of the Old West town of Rose Creek. With...
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#40
Adjusted Score: 70074%
Critics Consensus: Its plot hinges on typically implausible horror-movie behavior and recycles countless genre cliches, but Sinister delivers a surprising number of fresh, diabolical twists.
Synopsis: True-crime writer Ellison Oswald (Ethan Hawke) is in a slump; he hasn't had a best seller in more than 10...
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#41
Adjusted Score: 67280%
Critics Consensus: While Lord of War is an intelligent examination of the gun trade, it is too scattershot in its plotting to connect.
Synopsis: The 20-year arms dealing career of Queens, N.Y., outcast Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) serves as a window onto the end...
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#42
Adjusted Score: 65916%
Critics Consensus: This remake has been praised by some as an expertly made B-movie, and dismissed by others as formulaic.
Synopsis: While en route to prison, a bus carrying criminals Marion (Laurence Fishburne), Beck (John Leguizamo) and Anna (Aisha Hinds) is...
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#43
Adjusted Score: 58227%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Businessman John Tremont (Ted Danson) has never had to worry about his father, Jake (Jack Lemmon). But, when his mother...
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#44
Adjusted Score: 62464%
Critics Consensus: Stiff performances fail to produce any tension onscreen.
Synopsis: This is a modern retelling of the classic tale of a young fimmaker in New York City (Ethan Hawke) struggling...
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#45
Adjusted Score: 60591%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In Paris, an American writer (Ethan Hawke) falls under the sexual spell of a mysterious widow (Kristin Scott Thomas) who...
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#46
Adjusted Score: 64162%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Stranded after a plane crash in the Andes mountains, individual members of Uruguay's rugby team respond differently. Group leader Nando...
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#47
Adjusted Score: 68505%
Critics Consensus: Appropriately bold and ambitious, Tesla takes a number of risks that don't always pay off -- but Ethan Hawke's performance makes those flaws easier to forgive.
Synopsis: Visionary inventor Nikola Tesla fights an uphill battle to bring his revolutionary electrical system to fruition, then faces thornier challenges...
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#48
Adjusted Score: 58893%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A teen (Asa Butterfield), a pregnant girl (Hailee Steinfeld) and the lead singer (Emile Hirsch) of a punk-rock band form...
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#49
Adjusted Score: 55931%
Critics Consensus: Zeros and Ones is poorly lit and beset by narrative chaos, but Ethan Hawke's passionate performance is a solid fit for Abel Ferrara's intriguingly idiosyncratic storytelling.
Synopsis: Ethan Hawke (Training Day) and director Abel Ferrara (Bad Lieutenant) join forces for this gritty, tense political-thriller set on one...
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#50
Adjusted Score: 47687%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: An Englishman (Jeremy Irons) dredges up his own racy past to spark his high-school history class in Pittsburgh....
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#51
Adjusted Score: 58120%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: After a mercenary dies in a brutal firefight, a new regenerative surgery gives him a second chance at life and...
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#52
Adjusted Score: 54745%
Critics Consensus: Despite some fine performances and memorable scenes, Fast Food Nation is more effective as Eric Schlosser's eye-opening non-fiction book than as Richard Linklater's fictionalized, mostly punchless movie.
Synopsis: Don Henderson (Greg Kinnear), a marketing executive for a national burger chain must leave blissful ignorance behind when his boss...
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#53
Adjusted Score: 51764%
Critics Consensus: Ethan Hawke and Ewan McGregor are almost -- but not quite -- compelling enough to make up for Raymond & Ray's listless narrative.
Synopsis: “Raymond & Ray” follows half-brothers Raymond and Ray who have lived in the shadow of a terrible father. Somehow, they...
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#54
Adjusted Score: 63504%
Critics Consensus: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets uses sheer kinetic energy and visual thrills to overcome narrative obstacles and offer a viewing experience whose surreal pleasures sometimes outweigh its flaws.
Synopsis: In the 28th century, special operatives Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline work together to maintain order throughout the human territories....
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#55
Adjusted Score: 49787%
Critics Consensus: It's appropriately gritty, and soaked in the kind of palpable tension Antoine Fuqua delivers so well, but Brooklyn's Finest suffers from the comparisons its cliched script provokes.
Synopsis: A massive drug operation changes the lives of three conflicted New York cops. Burned-out vet Eddie Dugan (Richard Gere) is...
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#56
Adjusted Score: 44631%
Critics Consensus: Well-framed, well-cast, and well-intentioned, The Kid still largely fails to set itself apart from the multitude of other westerns covering similar territory.
Synopsis: In 1879 Rio and his teenage sister go on the run across the American Southwest to escape from their violent...
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#57
Adjusted Score: 15660%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A New Jersey man named Jimmy (Frank Whaley) splits his time between working as a lowly supermarket stock boy and...
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#58
Adjusted Score: 47980%
Critics Consensus: Half social allegory, half home-invasion thriller, The Purge attempts to make an intelligent point, but ultimately devolves into numbing violence and tired clichés.
Synopsis: In an America ravaged by crime and overcrowded prisons, the government sanctions an annual 12-hour period during which all criminal...
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#59
Adjusted Score: 43259%
Critics Consensus: Though Snow Falling on Cedars is beautiful to look at, critics say the story becomes dull and tedious to sit through.
Synopsis: Fog as thick and palpable as cotton hangs suspended over San Piedro Island. On the bay, a flickering lantern signals...
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#60
Adjusted Score: 40495%
Critics Consensus: Like many anthologies, New York, I Love You has problems of consistency, but it isn't without its moments.
Synopsis: On the eve of her wedding, a Hasidic woman (Natalie Portman) considers a romance with another man, in one of...
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#61
Adjusted Score: 40521%
Critics Consensus: Great Expectations is all surface tension: beautiful people shot in beautiful locations without any depth or emotion.
Synopsis: Loosely based on the Charles Dickens' classic novel, "Great Expectations" is a sensual tale of a young man's unforgettable passage...
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#62
Adjusted Score: 32606%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: War erupts between dirty cops and outlaw bikers as a drug kingpin (Ed Harris) tries to protect his empire....
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#63
Adjusted Score: 25125%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A self-help guru's televised teachings inspire a down-and-out businessman to pursue his dream of making a movie....
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#64
Adjusted Score: 33447%
Critics Consensus: Despite strong performances and a unique style, The Hottest State is too self-conscious and pretentious to truly succeed.
Synopsis: A struggling actor (Mark Webber) and his lover (Catalina Sandino Moreno) have a rocky relationship....
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#65
Adjusted Score: 19988%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Teenage Tom McHugh (Ethan Hawke) is madly in love with his ravishing next-door neighbor, Geena Matthews (Teri Polo), but becomes...
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#66
Adjusted Score: 8990%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: After learning that his girlfriend is expecting their first child, blue-collar Sully (Ethan Hawke) decides to rob local mob boss...
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#67
Adjusted Score: 27024%
Critics Consensus: A stylish, but predictable thriller where the only thrills are offered by the sensuous Angelina Jolie.
Synopsis: An insidious serial killer is impersonating his victims' identities as he travels across Canada. A recent spate of murders in...
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#68
Adjusted Score: 15262%
Critics Consensus: Regression boasts a pair of eminently likable leads -- neither of whom are able to dislodge the movie from the mire of psychological thriller mediocrity.
Synopsis: A detective (Ethan Hawke) and a psychoanalyst (David Thewlis) uncover evidence of a satanic cult while investigating the rape of...
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#69
Adjusted Score: 9317%
Critics Consensus: Monotonously fast-paced to the point of exhaustion, Getaway offers a reminder of the dangers in attempting to speed past coherent editing, character development, sensible dialogue, and an interesting plot.
Synopsis: Though he used to race cars for a living, Brent Magna (Ethan Hawke) is now pitted against the clock in...
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