Movie reviews from critics serve an important purpose, helping us sift through the many, many garbage films out there to find diamonds in the rough. On Rotten Tomatoes, reviews serve an even greater good because they’re used to determine the 100% Club, a listing of over 100 movies with absolutely pristine positive reviews from both critics and viewers alike.
In order to qualify for this ranking, a movie must have at least 20 positive reviews from film critics. After that, they’re ranked by how many positive reviews they have; the one with the most 100-percent ripe reviews becomes the top-rated film in the 100% Club. Now that you know how these movies are scored and ranked, take a peek at the 10 top-rated movies ever reviewed, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
1. Leave No Trace (2018)
Leave No Trace sits at the top of the list thanks to more than 252 positive critic reviews and over 5,000 positive viewer scores. Based on the 2009 novel My Abandonment, this story tells the true story of a military veteran (Ben Foster) who struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. As a survivalist, he lives in the woods with his daughter (Thomasin McKenzie) until civilization comes knocking and threatens their way of life.
Where to watch: Hulu
2. Toy Story 2 (1999)
It’s incredibly rare for a sequel to be just as good as—possibly even better than—the original, but Toy Story 2 pulls it off. Many critics believe this award-winning follow up to 1995’s Toy Story is superior to the original, even calling it one of the greatest animated films ever made. The sequel follows Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) getting stolen by a toy collector (Seinfeld’s Alex Murphy) and meeting his long-lost doll partners, Jessie (Joan Cusack) and Stinky Pete the Prospector (Kelsey Grammer). Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and the gang have to save Woody from being trapped inside a museum forever.
Where to watch: Disney+
3. Man on Wire (2008)
In 1974, a group of people sneaked into the World Trade Center in New York City and put on a spectacle for the ages. French highwire artist Philippe Petit was already known for his unauthorized highwire crossings at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and Sydney Harbor Bridge in Australia, but the Twin Towers were his greatest feat yet. On the morning of August 7, he crossed the space between the towers eight times while carrying a 30-foot-long custom balancing pole. He was promptly arrested right after.
This 2008 documentary by James Marsh offers a suspenseful look at the time before, during, and after Petit’s incredible coup. The film won multiple awards, including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Where to watch: Tubi and Peacock
4. Honeyland (2019)
Macedonian filmmakers Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov didn’t intend to make a feature-length documentary that would resonate with audiences worldwide; they set out to make a short film about a small region near the Bregalnica river. Their plans changed once they met Hatidže Muratova, a beekeeper who lived alone in the area until new neighbors moved in and threatened her ancient ways. The filmmakers recorded more than 400 hours of footage over three years to produce Honeyland, a reflection on the effects of human beings on the world around them.
Where to watch: Max
5. Minding the Gap (2018)
Bing Liu spent more than a decade gathering footage of himself and his friends Keire Johnson and Zack Mulligan as they transition from skateboard-loving teens to adults in the rust belt of Rockford, Illinois. Minding the Gap tracks the men as they grapple with unstable homes and abuse, followed by tribulations of adulthood none of them could have imagined.
Where to watch: Hulu
6. His House (2020)
His House is one of those movies that will stick with you like glue. The story follows a refugee couple who escape war-ravaged South Sudan only to flounder in a foreign land. The English immigrants and their child live with a growing dread that the audience can feel as well, and by the time we reach the startling conclusion, we’re as convinced as they are that their home is haunted.
Where to watch: Netflix
7. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, and Ruth Hussey star in The Philadelphia Story, a remake of the hit Broadway show of the same name. Tracy Lord (Hepburn) is a Philadelphia rich girl who plans to get remarried, until her ex-husband (Grant) and a nosey reporter (Hussey) cause trouble. Hepburn’s character was inspired by real-life socialite Helen Hope Montgomery-Scott.
Where to watch: Tubi and TCM
8. 76 Days (2020)
In the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, filmmaker Hao Wu set out to make a documentary to chronicle the disease. He later teamed up with Weixi Chen and another anonymous filmmaker to make 76 Days, a grueling behind-the-scenes look at the start of the pandemic in Wuhan, China. As difficult as it is to relive the days of personal protection gear, sickness, and death, this is a necessary film for the ages.
Where to watch: Paramount+
9. Crip Camp (2020)
Barack and Michelle Obama, through their Higher Ground Productions banner, executive produced Crip Camp, a documentary about Camp Jened, a New York state summer camp for teens with disabilities in the 1970s. Director James LeBrecht, who was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair, attended the camp himself. Nicole Newnham co-directed and cowrote the film, which follows a group of former campers who became disability rights activists.
Where to watch: Netflix
10. Summer 1993 (2017)
This Spanish drama centers on Frida (Laia Artigas), a 6-year-old girl whose mother dies and forces her to move from the city to the Catalan countryside with her aunt, uncle, and cousin. Writer-director Carla Simón does a beautiful job capturing the sadness, fear, and uncertainty the child faces with each new experience. By the end of the summer, Frida finds her way, and it’s a lovely testimony to the power of family to persevere through grief.
Where to watch: OVID and Plex
These are just the first 10 movies on the 100% Club list, but we’ve got lots of favorites further down the list. Don’t miss the first Toy Story, Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece Seven Samurai, and the original The Terminator. Sometimes, the critics get it right.
(featured image: Bleecker Street / Hulu / Magnolia / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Netflix)
