All time favorite films
I try to keep them ranked but only the top 3 are really set in stone
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- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsAlisa FreyndlikhAleksandr KaydanovskiyAnatoliy SolonitsynA guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.I randomly found this movie by scrolling through IMDB and being intrigued by its poster. When I watched it, it left me speechless in a profound way that I can only liken to the way Lloyd Kaufmann talked about his favorite film, a deeply religious experience that touched me way deep down.
The following day at work, I could think of nothing but this movie and I basically just sat there staring at the screen and going over everything I had seen the night before.
Tarkovsky is a master of film and while it is debatable if this is truly his best film, it is one that touched my soul like no other. - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroRay LiottaJoe PesciThe story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.I think this was the first Scorsese film I watched and, even after having watched most of his other movies, it is the one I come back to the most. I have showed it to basically everyone I know, and it is one I can watch any time at any day. I think this is Scorsese's magnum opus and the greatest gangster film ever conceived.
- DirectorMathieu KassovitzStarsVincent CasselHubert KoundéSaïd Taghmaoui24 hours in the lives of three young men in the French suburbs the day after a violent riot.La Haine is a film that any even slightly left-leaning person needs to watch.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsJack NanceCharlotte StewartAllen JosephHenry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newborn mutant child.It was Christopher Nolan's Memento that taught me movies could be more than mindless entertainment, but it was David Lynch's Eraserhead that taught me they can be art.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsHenry FondaLee J. CobbMartin BalsamThe jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.One of the few, if not the only, truly perfect films in my opinion.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsWoody AllenDiane KeatonTony RobertsAlvy Singer, a divorced Jewish comedian, reflects on his relationship with ex-lover Annie Hall, an aspiring nightclub singer, which ended abruptly just like his previous marriages.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKeir DulleaGary LockwoodWilliam SylvesterWhen a mysterious artifact is uncovered on the Moon, a spacecraft manned by two humans and one supercomputer is sent to Jupiter to find its origins.If you held a gun to my head and forced me to name the greatest film ever made, I would name 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsHarrison FordRutger HauerSean YoungA blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsAl PacinoMichelle PfeifferSteven BauerIn the 1980s, a determined criminal-minded Cuban immigrant becomes the biggest drug smuggler in Miami, and is eventually undone by his own drug addiction.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroAl PacinoJoe PesciAn illustration of Frank Sheeran's life, from W.W.II veteran to hit-man for the Bufalino crime family and his alleged assassination of his close friend Jimmy Hoffa.The Irishman is possibly Robert De Niro's finest performance since Raging Bull, one that showed that he still got it despite his age and a string of low effort appearances, and is a beautiful swan song for the mafia movie genre.
- DirectorWong Kar-WaiStarsLeon LaiMichelle ReisTakeshi KaneshiroThis Hong Kong-set crime drama follows the lives of a hitman, hoping to get out of the business, and his elusive female partner.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroJodie FosterCybill ShepherdA mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.Taxi Driver's accolades have been sung far and wide but what I love about this movie is its portrayal of 1970s New York and its unrelenting depiction of a truly sick individual.
It is one of Robert De Niro's greatest performances, only surpassed by Raging Bull, and features one of the greatest soundtracks ever composed. - DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsSean GulletteMark MargolisBen ShenkmanA paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsEwan McGregorEwen BremnerJonny Lee MillerRenton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out despite the allure of drugs and the influence of friends.Trainspotting was first shown this movie in class by my theology teacher when we went over the topic of substance abuse. He used these classes more for social studies than theology and I have learned more from him than any other teacher I had.
It was the first film I watched in school that was not a total snooze fest and one that actually showed me a side of life I had never seen before. I attribute it as a major milestone that put me on the path of becoming a cinephile. - DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJohnny DeppBenicio Del ToroTobey MaguireAn oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades.Fear and Loathing first introduced me to Hunter S. Thompson, who would go on to become my greatest idol.
Similar to The Godfather, it is one of the best adaptations of a novel; while it doesn't improve on its source material, it stays as true to it as it possibly can, and is one of Johnny Depp's finest performances as well as, in my opinion, one of Terry Gilliam's best movies. - DirectorDavid FincherStarsBrad PittEdward NortonMeat LoafAn insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.Despite its resurgence as a meme which often overshadows its substance as a satire, its bleak depiction of growing up in a consumerist society does still speak to me, and I think it is a film I think everyone should watch while they're young.
- DirectorDavid Robert MitchellStarsAndrew GarfieldRiley KeoughTopher GraceSam, a disenchanted young man, finds a mysterious woman swimming in his apartment's pool one night. The next morning, she disappears. Sam sets off across LA to find her, and along the way he uncovers a conspiracy far more bizarre.The most underrated film of the 2010s. I initially found it because it through comparisons to Mulholland Drive, which I could not disagree more. I think it is a unique and mesmerizing piece and one of A24's finest films.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames CaanThe aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.One of the most well paced films ever in my opinion. Not a single second is wasted, no scene too long or too short. A stellar breakout for Al Pacino and one of his finest performances to date. It is also a prime example of the film adaptation being superior to the novel.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsTobey MaguireKirsten DunstAlfred MolinaPeter Parker is beset with troubles in his failing personal life as he battles a former brilliant scientist named Otto Octavius.To this day the greatest Spider-Man film ever made. I held a great deal of nostalgia for this film before I went back into it as an adult and my appreciation for it has only grown since.
I still get tears in my eyes when Doc Ock finally sees Peter's face and says, "Peter Parker... brilliant but lazy," and smiles. - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleHeath LedgerAaron EckhartWhen a menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman, James Gordon and Harvey Dent must work together to put an end to the madness.Definitely the best Batman movie and a strong contender for the greatest super hero film ever made. Despite its degradation through meme culture, Heath Ledger's Joker is one of the finest performances of the 21st century. The Dark Knight is well deserving of all the accolades it has received.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsGuy PearceCarrie-Anne MossJoe PantolianoA former insurance investigator who now suffers from anterograde amnesia uses notes and tattoos to hunt down his wife's murderer.Possibly Christopher Nolans best film. It was the first movie that showed me what film could be.
- DirectorTed KotcheffStarsSylvester StalloneBrian DennehyRichard CrennaA veteran Green Beret is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.Possibly the film I hold the greatest amount of nostalgia for. This is one of my brother's favorite movies and we used to watch it all the time when I was a kid.
Going back to it as an adult, I have gained a lot of appreciation for its commentary on the treatment of Vietnam war veterans in America, as well as its general distance from the image of Rambo which the series would later become.
