So, since it’s been a while since I’ve written anything, and it’s good to have something of a distraction at this point, so I was trying to think of something expansive and original and whatnot to write. Considered doing a March Madness style directors tournament, but got snagged on the fact that I would have no idea how to do that. So I’m just going to rank, extremely unscientifically, what I think at this point are my 52 favorite movies. Or, really, just 52 movies I really really really like. It’s 52 because… uh… because that’s the number… of weeks in a year… or something. Yeah it’s that. Not that it was originally 50 and I got a while in and then I remembered 2 absolutely critical exclusions. That didn’t happen.
52- They Live (John Carpenter, 1988)
The MVP: The line “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I’m all out of bubblegum/
Why I love it: Because it’s completely insane. It stars a professional wrestler, it features some of the cheesiest, greatest one-liners in history, and it spends most of its runtime in giddy high gear, disobeying rational laws of storytelling and charging forward at an absolute breakneck pace of total lunacy, pausing for the occasional six minute fistfight scene. Watching people react to the ending is maybe the second funniest experience of my life, behind watching the ending for the first time.
51- Fallen Angels (Wong Kar-Wai, 1995)
The MVP: The song “Only You” by the Flying Pickets, which plays over the final scene.
Why I love it: Look, I love the whole thing, that’s why it’s on this list, but I’m just going to use this time to talk about the ending, which is maybe my single favorite ending ever. The above song, Christopher Doyle’s cinematography, the heartbreaking rational endpoint of the story, inasmuch as there even is a story. It all washes together to create one of the most bittersweet moments in cinematic history. It’s a moment that reminds me why I love movies. And to think that the crux holding it all together is a song that, on its own, is actually quite bad.
50- Uncut Gems (Josh and Benny Safdie, 2019)
The MVP: Sandler.
Why I love it: Beginning with a note that there are like 4 films from 2019 on this list, which may be recency bias but I don’t care. It’s my list and I happen to think that last year was an all-time year for movies. Anyway, Uncut Gems. This is a hard watch, one so brutally anxiety-inducing and abrasive that it shouldn’t find its way onto a list like this. But oh my god is it so fun. It’s a nonstop thrill ride, with original concepts and brilliant performances that create a film so unlike anything else that it’s intoxicating. It also gave us “This is how I win”, among several other infinitely usable lines. Plus, it’s a rare Sandler dramatic performance, maybe even better than the one in Punch Drunk Love (also appearing on this list).
49- Kiki’s Delivery Service (Hayao Miyazaki, 1989)
The MVP: Jiji, the greatest cat in cinematic history. LOOK AT THIS GOOD BOY.
Why I love it: Well besides the cat, it’s just an absolute joy to watch. An almost oppressively optimistic and life-affirming film. Anyone with any preconceived notions about anime who skips this one is missing out (and I say this as someone who just watches the movies and avoids the shows. Just open your minds, people).
48- Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016)
The MVP: uhhh… hard to pick one for this one. Such a multi-faceted film. Mahershala Ali? Naomie Harris? I’m saying Barry Jenkins, but there’s so many things working to make this one work.
Why I love it: In my opinion, the greatest American film of the 21st century. All apologies to There Will Be Blood and any 21st century American films I actually ranked ahead of this one, but this is one of the top 10 films ever made. It’s beautiful, haunting, well shot and performed, with an unforgettably effecting story. A totally unique and singular experience.
47- Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick, 1999)
The MVP: It is Tom Cruise.
Why I love it: Kubrick’s final film is one of his most absolutely bonkers and one of his best, and he handles the many eccentricities with brilliance. It’s distinctly his film, but it also feels more ethereal and otherworldly than his other work. It’s almost tempting to compare it to Lynch or Cronenberg, but that’s not really fair. Eyes Wide Shut is its own thing, something bizarre and miraculous and incomparable. It’s also the greatest Christmas movie of all time.
46- In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai, 2000)
The MVP: Both leads, Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung. Also cinematographer Christopher Doyle. This is where I shout out all those people on this list, and I can list more than 1 MVP because I made the rules.
Why I love it: It’s objectively Wong’s best film, and a strong contender for the greatest of all time. It’s flawless, one of the most formally perfect films in existence. It’s never anything less than the quintessential display of Wong’s style, and one of the prime examples of the idea that style over substance doesn’t necessarily mean no substance. It’s maybe cinema’s greatest love story, in that it isn’t really a love story at all. Unforgettable.
45- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, 2019)
The MVP: Brad Pitt.
Why I love it: I think I’ve talked about my love for the Out of Time scene on here enough, right? No? One more time.
Besides that, it’s one of Tarantino’s oddest films, in that it just kind of meanders around. Nothing happens, and that’s okay. It’s enough to just exist and watch these characters exist in this time and this place. And when it gets full, typical Tarantino-y, it does it all the way, and it’s amazing.
44- Punch Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002)
The MVP: Adam Sandler, who I believe will somehow end up with the most appearances in this section.
Why I love it: Punch Drunk Love is not a typical Adam Sandler film. This is a Paul Thomas Anderson film first and foremost, but it definitely recognizes that it stars Adam Sandler. This is different from PTA’s other features: grand sweeping epics, intense character studies, two and a half hour plus runtimes, none of that is here. Instead we’re given this small, odd duck of a film, one that’s so personal and so human in the most aching and yet satisfying way possible.
43- Parasite (Bong Joon-Ho, 2019)
The MVP: God of cinema himself, Bong Joon-Ho.
Why I love it: A pure masterpiece of astounding vision and perfect execution, and one that manages to hold up on second viewing after you know all the twists and have built it up in your head as the pinnacle of all movies. This winning best picture was one of the most absolutely ecstatic moments I can remember. I will maintain my blog policy of not saying too much about this movie, ostensibly to avoid spoiling it but really because there’s nothing to say. It speaks for itself.
42- The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973)
The MVP: Mercedes McCambridge, whose unforgettable demon voice makes the movie. But shout out and RIP to Max Von Sydow.
Why I love it: A formative horror experience for me, which is not a unique experience. There’s a universality to the brilliance of The Exorcist. Any fan of the genre views it as gospel. Also contains the defining set of cinematic stairs. Screw you, Joker, you worthless piece of trash pretender to the throne. Bow down to the master. The power of Christ compels you. Anyway I feel bad I spent most of this blurb talking about freaking Joker, so I’ll just close by saying that The Exorcist is maybe the greatest horror movie in history.
(Joker will not be appearing on this list, in case you had any doubt).
41- Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
The MVP: I didn’t count Bogart’s performances among the very best ever until my most recent watch of the film. I do now. It’s him.
Why I love it: Because it’s Casablanca. The platonic ideal of a perfect film is just that. Just one of the absolute best.
40- The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2018)
The MVP: Olivia Colman. Or Horatio the duck.
Why I love it: I saw this in theaters when it first came out in my efforts to watch all the best picture nominees of that year. Nothing could have possibly prepared me for how much I loved it. It’s hilarious, tragic, enthralling, fascinating, all at once. A cocktail of madcap ridiculousness and flawless craft. It also holds up on repeat viewings shockingly well for something that gets so much power from the shock of how ridiculous it is. I’ve seen it 3 times now. Side note- the song that plays over the end credits is the harpsichord version of Elton John’s “Skyline Pigeon”. I didn’t realize that until my third viewing.
39- The Babadook (Jennifer Kent, 2014)
The MVP: Essie Davis, who gives one of the all time horror performances which is rarely lauded as such.
Why I love it: I’ve expressed my view that this is the defining horror masterpiece of our time. A generational terror, and one that conjures up such in inventive ways. The horror in The Babadook doesn’t come from jump scares, it comes from dread soaked in the overwhelming sorrow and angst that runs through the film. Original and far more terrifying than its title would have you believe.
38- The Social Network (David Fincher, 2010)
The MVP: Aaron Sorkin.
Why I love it: It’s hard to make a movie that defines its cultural moment as much as The Social Network does. It’s also hard to make a movie this entertaining and infinitely rewatchable. Combine them both into one movie, and you have something that grows more horrifyingly prescient by the day and remains exactly as fun to watch. A masterpiece.
37- Pain and Glory (Pedro Almodovar, 2019)
The MVP: Antonio Banderas.
Why I love it: I want to live in the feeling I had when I left the theater after Pain and Glory. Being a cinephile means, to me, chasing feelings. There’s the stunned awe of witnessing an all-time masterpiece like Apocalypse Now or Persona. There’s the fear of the best horror movies. There’s the pins-and-needles sensation I got in the final act of Uncut Gems. But there’s no other movie that has made me feel this content, this purely happy. I don’t know why exactly it did- maybe it’s my love of Almodovar, maybe it’s Banderas’s all-time performance, maybe it was just a product of the right thing hitting at the right time. I don’t question it. All I know is that this is what a movie should be.
36- Kill Bill (Quentin Tarantino, 2003/2004)
The MVP: Could there be any answer other than Uma Thurman?
Why I love it: First of all, it’s one movie. It doesn’t work unless you watch it all at once. Second, the experience of watching it all at once is the answer. It’s four hours of every genre and style crammed into one tremendous sensory overload, made by the most talented movie geek there is. It’s wall-to-wall awesome, full of twists and turns and raw entertainment and brilliant performances. My go to choice for midnight viewing. Sorry, Eraserhead.
35- The Fog (John Carpenter, 1980)
The MVP: Cinematographer Dean Cundey, whose shots of the ocean in this film are like crack cocaine to me.
Why I love it: Pure B-movie fun from one of my absolute favorite directors, complete with ghost pirates, the previously mentioned ocean shots, and so many moments you can lean over to whoever you’re watching with and go “That’s the fog”. A perfect movie.
34- Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
The MVP: The hobo, right?
Why I love it: It’s Lynch’s great masterpiece, a work of such staggering complexity and layer upon layer of Lynchian weirdness, under a sleek exterior and massive scope. It’s impossible not to spend hours mulling over Mulholland Drive after you finish it: I saw it over a year ago and it still takes up a lot of my thoughts. This is unbelievable to watch, it’s almost easy to get turned off by the sheer amount that’s happening just under the surface. It’s elusive, and hard to fully convey through writing. Watch it and it’ll be clear what I’m talking about.
33- The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006)
The MVP: Nicholson.
Why I love it: Yeah, it’s not anything particularly groundbreaking or special by Scorsese’s standards, but oh my god it is so fun. Pure entertainment, propped up at every turn by strong work from its director, the script, and the actors. This got Mark Wahlberg nominated for an Oscar and he deserved it. Also, I’ve seen people take aim and Nicholson’s performance in this film, which I can only respond to with an awed head shake and angry inquiry of “what the hell?”.
32- Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)
The MVP: This section is the most fun for the Ghibli stuff because I can use it to shout out whatever supporting animal/creature in the movie I like the most. Here I’m going with the small rodents, which can be seen in the above image just above her shoulder.
Why I love it: Another Miyazaki film, another instance of emotional mastery. In Spirited Away, there’s the pure joy I mentioned earlier, but there’s a melancholy washing over it. There’s fear. There’s uncertainty. This is a film that is comforting similar to Kiki’s Delivery Service, but in a different way. This puts the pain at the forefront as opposed to the exuberance. This is a joyous film, but it’s also one that hurts. Something special and unique, a world so inventive and lived in it’s hard not to get lost in it. One of the great wonders in the history of film.
31- Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
The MVP: Let’s go with a bit of a more abstract one and call it the sensation of watching something so plausibly the greatest film ever made.
Why I love it: the above sensation. I talked in the Pain and Glory write up about movies and the feelings they provide, and this one hits one of the most defining cinematic emotions hard. It’s so obviously something so great that it makes you want to pause it to take a breath, to survey what you’re experiencing. Vertigo is rightly one of the most daunting presences in cinematic history, and you get the sense of that while watching it. It’s a religious experience.
30- Stop Making Sense (Jonathan Demme, 1984)
The MVP: To even jokingly say the big suit would be offensive to David Byrne, the most convincing MVP of any film on this list.
Why I love it: Look, obviously this is a masterpiece in construction that redefined the concert film and still stands as the bar for that genre, but I love it for the music. It’s the perfect shrine to the music of the Talking Heads, a total encapsulation of their energy and weirdness. The big suit, the lamp, the words projected on the screens, it all comes together to make the most thorough document of what makes them such a great band.
29- Rosemary’s Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968)
The MVP: Mia Farrow.
Why I love it: The great slow burn, morphing from domestic drama to full blown horror so gradually that the line between the two often gets blurred, and it exists as both genres at once. Farrow’s performance is one of the best ever exercises in paranoia, and the film mounts with tension as she falls more and more into her convictions. A film so enveloping that you don’t fully realize how incredible what you’re watching is until it’s finished. Unshakable.
28- U.S. Go Home (Claire Denis, 1994)
The MVP: The great Gregoire Colin, who is maybe even better here than in Beau Travail.
Why I love it: This is my favorite of Denis’ films for a reason I’ve never really been able to put my finger on. Yes, it’s 100% perfect, but so is Beau Travail, and that one goes above and beyond, soaring into disorienting levels of greatness. This one is lighter, it’s less bold, less aggressively masterful. It’s only 66 minutes long, it’s a freaking TV movie. So why am I so drawn to it? Because the ratty, dejected nature of the film seeps through to its characters, creating one of the most unforgettable portraits of searching for your place in the world. Maybe the greatest coming of age film. It’s also the only one here that you can just find in full on youtube, in case anyone is interested. This is a film of isolation and confusion, one that has serious concerns about what it means to be isolated and confused. This wouldn’t exactly be my pick for the greatest film of all time, but like, if I got to the afterlife, and was asked what the greatest film ever is and it was this? I wouldn’t be mad I got it wrong and was damned for all of eternity. I could see that. Man, I went really long on this one, huh? This is an odd film, and one that I feel very strongly about, in a confused way.
27- All About My Mother (Pedro Almodovar, 1999)
The MVP: Cecilia Roth.
Why I love it: A lot of what I said about Kiki’s Delivery Service, but imbued with the brilliant and offbeat style of Pedro Almodovar, who I’ve already stated is one of my favorite filmmakers. This is a movie about triumph, about pulling out of mutual adversity, that also serves as a continually devastating character study. It’s Almodovar’s greatest love letter to women, which he certainly has plenty of. It’s maybe his most wholly enjoyable film to watch, yet not without its share of emotional ups and downs.
26- Being John Malkovich (Spike Jonze, 1999)
The MVP: Malkovich.
Why I love it: Gleefully and gloriously weird from beginning to end. A jumble of identity crises, self-loathing, high-concept sci-fi, the New Jersey Turnpike, and superfluous chimpanzees (seriously, what significance did that thing have on the plot?). Plus, the best performance from the great John Malkovich, which may sound weird considering he plays himself. It’s not, he’s brilliant. Malkovich malkovich malkovich malkovich.
25- It Follows (David Robert Mitchell, 2014)
The MVP: that tall dude iteration of the demon that shows up in the hallway in that scene. You know the one.
Why I love it: It’s a perfect horror concept executed perfectly. Every idea baked into the central premise is fully explored, and the ambiguity of the central threat means that there is no safe place. The variety of horror coming at you is infinite, because there’s never a single moment of possible safety. It’s suffocating. Paced perfectly and held up by the strong work from its cast, the most intriguing invention is in the visual style achieved by Mitchell and cinematographer Mike Gioulakis, one of the most underrated currently working cinematographers.
24- Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979)
The MVP: The xenomorph itself.
Why I love it: I’ve been over this a lot on this blog. Alien is the perfect fusion of sci-fi and horror, created with matchless discipline. It builds and builds over the first half and then drops you into hell along with its characters. This uses the inherent spookiness of space to its advantage, it’s both infinite and inescapable. They’re trapped in there with it, and so are you. Perfect movie.
23- The Before Trilogy (Richard Linklater, 1995-2013)
The MVP: It has to be both Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke. You can’t have one performance without the other.
Why I love it: I’m not going to argue that this is one film, like I did with Kill Bill. This only works because it’s three different films. Three separate snapshots of three moments in time, in the relationship between two people. It’s maybe the greatest feat of long form storytelling accomplished in cinematic history, with the real time differences between shoots providing each film with a unique worldview. They’re brilliant in their simplicity, it’s just two people walking around and talking. And yet it’s a flawless (the group dinner/whatever scene in Midnight didn’t happen) series of movies. Plus, Sunset boasts maybe the best ending ever.
22- Pierrot Le Fou (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965)
The MVP: Anna Karina, although Belmondo more than holds his own.
Why I love it: Godard unleashed, allowed to practice his rejection of narrative structure and disregard for convention in striking primary colors. This is the epitome of his breezy philosophical waxings mixed with unconventional style. He has, like the title suggests, gone crazy, throwing off whatever was still holding him to convention and creating this gloriously fun monstrosity that never loses its frantic cool even when staring down its own chilling narcissism.
21- Carnival of Souls (Herk Harvey, 1962)
The MVP: the titular carnival, which somehow manages to be exactly as creepy as the plot requires from a distance. Absolutely makes the atmosphere, which makes the movie.
Why I love it: An atmosphere unlike any other horror movie runs through Carnival of Souls. It’s genuinely creepy, and it’s ridiculously fun to partake in the creepiness. There’s no sense of the film being made on a shoestring budget, and it’s not even that it’s unsettling for its time. It’s genuinely eerie to watch, and astonishingly entertaining.
20- Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa, 1952)
The MVP: Takashi Shimura.
Why I love it: My favorite of Kurosawa’s films because of how heartbreaking it is. The central character is one of film’s great tragic heroes, and to watch him realize what a tragedy he is is something matched in few other films. The scene pictured above, in which he fully comes to terms with his life, is one of the very best scenes ever shot.
19- Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini, 1957)
The MVP: Giulietta Masina.
Why I love it: My go-to pick for the greatest film of all time. Nights of Cabiria is more tightly narratively wound than some of Fellini’s more famous films, but it’s a great example of why he’s such a canonically acknowledged director. Masina pulls off one of the greatest ever performances, fully nailing one of the most tragic yet triumphant characters ever put to screen. It left me wondering, as it immediately finished, if it was the best film ever. It hasn’t left me since. I think now I can definitively say yes.
18- Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
The MVP: Anthony Perkins. That grin at the end is all the explanation you need.
Why I love it: Remember for the Casablanca blurb how I just said “Because it’s Casablanca”? This is here because it’s Psycho. It’s ingrained into every horror or thriller film that followed it, and yet it still remains fresh and rewatchable. A classic is a classic for a reason.
17- Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007)
The MVP: oooh. Gyllenhaal. But all three leads give incredible performances.
Why I love it: It begins as a standard serial killer thriller and morphs into something more sinister. It’s the descent into madness of three men, a portrait of people who let obsession consume them. The film’s tagline, “There’s more than one way to lose your life to a killer”, is one of the best ever because it sums up its central conceit so well. What happens when things just don’t go like they’re supposed to in the movies? Probably Fincher’s best work.
16- The Meaning of Life (Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, 1983)
The MVP: The long-armed “Find the Fish” guy.
Why I love it: My personal favorite of the Python movies because of its continually relevant exasperation. This film presents itself with the great questions of philosophy and human existence, and shrugs it off, defaulting to the simplest possible answer. And it’s hilarious. Just start to finish, not one misplaced joke or bit that doesn’t land (with the possible exception of the crimson permanent assurance, which goes on for too long). Plus, some of the best musical numbers of all time. Here’s looking at you, “Every Sperm is Sacred”.
15- The Red Shoes (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1948)
The MVP: Jack Cardiff. To think that people even tried doing cinematography after he mastered it in 1948 is baffling.
Why I love it: Because it’s flawless. Two hours and fourteen minutes and not a single wasted second or off line of dialogue. A clinic in advanced storytelling, both through its exceptionally strong script and brilliant visual choices. This is a startlingly perfect achievement, one of the great accomplishments if only in that it leaves me without words to describe its excellence.
14- Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)
The MVP: Christoph Waltz
Why I love it: I’d wager that this is the film on this list I’ve seen the most times. And with good cause- it manages to get even better on every viewing. Tarantino’s most perfectly tense film- the 30-minute basement scene is one of the best in his oeuvre, a perfect balance of the film’s brilliant dark humor and sobering brilliance. They also kill Hitler, in satisfactorily gory and overdone fashion. It just might be his masterpiece.
13- Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)
The MVP: It is, unfortunately, Woody Allen.
Why I love it: Despite the fact that its creator, star, and subject is, uh, problematic to say the very least, it’s impossible to resist the quirky charms of this movie. It’s pretentious and violently strange, but that’s what makes it work. Its defiance of easy categorization is its defining characteristic. It’s a film as uncomfortable as its central figure, an awkward and small film that makes itself so endearing through its abundance of humor and charisma. This one calls me to revisit it every so often, and I always find myself amazed at just how plain good it is.
12- Blow Out (Brian De Palma, 1981)
The MVP: Travolta, although a shoutout to sound mixer James Tanenbaum is in order. A film about sound design needs good sound design, and he nailed it.
Why I love it: A perfectly made thriller with an absolutely devastating emotional impact. I was not prepared for Blow Out when I first watched it, and maybe that’s why it has stuck with me so much. It’s haunting and unshakable, with brilliant work from Travolta (Quentin Tarantino liked this movie so much that he made the call to cast him in Pulp Fiction) as well as John Lithgow as the sinister, psychotic villain. By turns entertaining and brutal, Blow Out is a brilliant beast.
11- The Big Lebowski (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1998)
The MVP: John Goodman. Bridges is phenomenal, but Goodman’s over the top intensity is an absolute sight to behold.
Why I love it: The funniest film ever made, in my opinion. Another one that seemingly gets better on every watch, the Coens’ comedy classic is nonstop hilarity. Until it isn’t. It can handle the tonal shifts because the people who made it are such geniuses, and it all wraps itself up in a brilliant bittersweet finale. It’s perplexing, it’s offbeat as hell, and it’s way weirder than anything this mainstream has a right to be. And it’s wonderful because of it. Quick shoutout to the Ben Gazzara scene, too. I always forget that Ben Gazzara is in this movie and then that scene happens and it’s BEN GAZZARA and it rules. I love this movie.
10- L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson, 1997)
The MVP: Russell Crowe.
Why I love it: Every time I go back to L.A. Confidential, I’m surprised at how well-made and endlessly entertaining it is. One of the very best scripts there is, combined with talented actors and assured direction. One of my favorite ever stories, and it’s an absolute joy to watch it be retold. Feels fresh and new every single time.
9- Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997)
The MVP: Burt Reynolds
Why I love it: Anderson is one of the greatest working talents, and this is him at his rawest and most wide open. This is the work of a young genius, an emotionally and structurally rich tapestry that’s so much more than just “the porn movie”. Don’t get me wrong, it’s totally the porn movie, but to refer to it as that is to diminish the work done here. Every performance is great- Wahlberg, Reynolds, Julianne Moore, William H Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John C Reilly, Don Cheadle. This is a much darker and vaster film than you would think based on its reputation.
8- Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976)
The MVP: Faye Dunaway.
Why I love it: Distressingly prescient. Becoming more and more of a chilling reality each day. What was once an outlandish parody is now disturbingly commonplace. Plus, it’s hilarious. One of the best screenplays ever, plus every actor is giving their all. Including the ones who are only in it for one scene and managed Oscar wins and nominations from it. Scary and funny like nothing else.
7- Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
The MVP: Quentin Tarantino.
Why I love it: It’s an audacious experiment in structure and writing, in subject matter and in what you can get the moviegoing public to consume and like. Despite all the wannabes and pretenders in the 25+ years since it came out, nothing has paralleled it. Remarkably entertaining and rewatchable.
6- The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
The MVP: Jack Nicholson
Why I love it: Horrifying and impossible to grasp, The Shining is my favorite horror movie of all time. Attractive derangement from Nicholson combines with pure terror from Shelley Duvall, all within the confines of Kubrick’s perfectly constructed claustrophobic hell. The ultimate horror film in every possible way, right down to the guy in the bear suit at the end doing… well you know what he’s doing.
5- The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)
The MVP: Shirley MacLaine
Why I love it: “Shut up and deal”. The platonic ideal of the romantic comedy, as well as one of the most thoroughly likable classic hollywood films. This is a film that walks the line between pure joy and unfiltered sadness so precariously that it could be called the most bittersweet movie of all time. Overall it stands as one of the most delightful movies ever made, and one that I feel should be common knowledge at the same level as the likes of Citizen Kane and Casablanca.
4- Chungking Express (Wong Kar-Wai, 1994)
The MVP: That shot that happens every so often where the main characters move in slo-mo while everyone else is sped up. The best.
Why I love it: In the Mood for Love may be Wong Kar-Wai’s best film, but this is my personal favorite. It’s odd and fun and just generally an ebullient joy to watch. An deceptive exercise in almost pure style, this one ends up packing a gigantic emotional punch. Chungking is wonderful from start to finish, an invitation to enter the world of these characters, to feel their sadnesses and joys and anxieties. Singular and indescribable, this is a film that’s meant a lot to me since the first time I saw it.
3- The Lobster (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2015)
The MVP: Colin Farrell
Why I love it: Lanthimos’ deeply off style lends itself perfectly to this deeply off story, set in a deeply off world with deeply off characters. This is as hilarious as it is heartbreaking, a gut punch with killer comedic bits. I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s unforgettable, haunting, a uniquely searing madness that makes you just sit and contemplate your whole existence. On the surface it may resist any attempts at easy understanding, but it burrows into your skull until you acknowledge it. Something I’ll never quite let go.
2- Big Trouble in Little China (John Carpenter, 1986)
The MVP: Kurt Russell
Why I love it: Big Trouble is wildly entertaining, surprisingly emotional, and completely bonkers at a rare level. This spans every genre under the sun, inverting tropes and defying expectations as it goes along. I can never get tired of this film, never regret choosing to watch it over any of the hundreds of movies on my watchlist. Pure fun in the most surprising ways possible.
1- Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
The MVP: Ray Liotta, specifically the laugh. And the delivery of the line “Now take me to jail”.
Why I love it: Why does anyone love their favorite movie? Goodfellas was a cinematic awakening for me, a critical moment in my love of film unlike any other. In the intervening dozens of times I’ve watched it, it loses none of the shine, the technical excellence, the endless entertainment. This is a film where everything clicks. Everything works to create a truly perfect work of art, that just happens to have a massive popular appeal simply because it’s so good. Goodfellas is the movie I’ve cited as my favorite for so long it’s almost lost meaning. But every single time I watch it, I’m reminded of just how fantastic it is, why I love it as much as I do. Goodfellas is a film that’s a part of me, that I can always take refuge in and enjoy. That’s the power of a favorite movie.
The Movie Files 